ODYSSEY TO BLASPHEMY I in March was a great kick off for this new series of one-day festivals. The second installment raised some questions in the run-up due to the somewhat less spectacular line-up. Upon arrival at the venue, it’s obvious that many have decided to stay home as the room is far from crowded even at 7:30 pm. Looks like you need the big names to draw a significant crowd even in the Black Metal underground. Fuck it, this kind of concerts is for those truly devoted exclusively, so if you don’t think you should be part of it, i guess the joke’s on you.

As usual, I miss the first couple of bands, which is a pity as there are some promising gems from the underground scene playing tonight. But anyway, ILLUM ADORA, my „opener“ for the night easily compensate for that with their traditional, raw Black Metal. This kind of sound just never gets old if done the right way and there can’t be the shadow of a doubt that these German soldiers are on the straight road to hell. Fronted by Hurricane Hellfukker of Zarathustra fame, ILLUM ADORA spit out their often mid-paced, brutal yet melodic attacks with just the right balance between musical quality and authentic fuck-off attitude. Good to see this music is still alive and well.

AZARATH are up next and I have to admit I am not at all familiar with the band’s back catalogue. Anyway, tonight’s show is a fucking demonstration of dominance and supremacy. Blackened Death Metal in the tradition of fellow Poles Behemoth (minus pop-appeal) or Morbid Angel. The record title „Infernal Blasting“ pretty much sums up what songs like „Whip The Whore“ or „Baptized In Sperm Of Antichrist“ are all about. Relentlessly brutal and on an impressive technical level, AZARATH lead an hour long attack on the listeners’ senses which is not necessarily my cup of Antichrist Sperm but leaves a strong impression anyway.

HETROERTZEN just keep getting better and better. The rather big stage of the „Resonanzwerk“ fits their ritual a lot better than the tiny corner they had to play in at this year’s Inferno Festival and the band seems to gain more confidence with every show. The music itself obviously belongs to the best the so-called „orthodox“ scene has to offer and as always the musical performance is flawless. The absolute devotion of every band member to their art is tangible. Furthermore, it’s good to see HETROERTZEN make more and more use of classic metal stage acting, adding some flesh and bones to the ethereal being the band is at its core. The sound tonight is massive and transparent, thus the wonderful guitar melodies can shine in all their forbidden light. HETROERTZEN are on their path to supremacy and it will be exciting to watch them rise further with the release of their next record scheduled for 2017.

If HETROERTZEN are one of the most interesting representatives of the current stream of Black Metal artists, IMPALED NAZARENE are veterans from a time when this music was all about violence, perversion and not giving a shit about anything. You might doubt wether it’s possible to transport this attitude all the way to the 26th year of a band’s existence but all your doubts will be swept away in the blink of an eye by seeing the mighty IMPNAZ play live. Mika may have apparently aged but his humor and voice haven’t. Diabolically tongue-in-cheek as always, the Finnish maniacs hammer through classics from their early records and set the whole place on fire in minutes. Despite the pretty small crowd, there’s a violent moshpit from the first song to the last. Fists are flying, the unholy words of IMPALED NAZARENE’s classic tracks are shouted by the few devoted throats that came out tonight. The setlist is a dream, everybody in the room is happy like a child and when „Total war - winter war“ closes the set you would pity all the lazy idiots who stayed home - if there was place for pity in Black Metal.

ODYSSEY TO BLASPHEMY II might not have been a success in terms of visitor numbers but it definitely was as a celebration of Underground Metal. Let’s hope there are many more editions to come - with or without the big names. 

00 Void