01 + 02 May 2015 - Oberhausen, Germany

There can be little doubt that Ván Records is one of the most exciting underground Metal labels there are. Consistently releasing relevant and innovative albums by bands from almost all subgenres of Metal, the german company has brought such diverse artists as The Devil’s Blood, Urfaust or Vanderbuyst to the attention of the underground community. No surprise that the scene freaked out at the announcement of the first ever label-festival a few months ago.

FRIDAY

The venue is already filled with a few hundred music lovers as THE WHITE FACES enter the stage. Being the new band of Farida Lemouchi apparently, they deliver classic, 70s influenced rock not too far from Faridas previous band. However, Satan doesn’t seem to be involved here, no blood or occult stage props are present so that the music has to speak for itself. And does quite fine, though I’m not a real enthusiast of this kind of sound. Good to see Farida is back though and to have her hang around at the venue the whole two days. 

Next up are (DOLCH), playing a kind of downtempo, female fronted black doom with a strong own identity. The audience is quite intrigued by the sound and there’s more than a few people asking for records at the VÁN desk after the show. However, there’s a little to much repetition in the tracks and I miss some substance beneath the fascinating sound. Anyway, interesting band, worth to keep an eye on.

HERETIC are much more well-known to everybody of course since the long-running band has put out a shitload of releases during their 20 year career. The style has evolved towards what the band calls „Satanic Sleaze“, being simple, black-infused Punk’n’Roll basically. To be honest, I could live without the three-chord based „songs“ and the Misfits-inspired stage show, but it’s cool to see Urfaust’s VRDRBR play the bass for this otherwise rather boring band.

I was really looking forward to the UNIVERSE 217 gig - and I was right. Intense, heavy and crowned by the stunning voice of vocalist Tanya, the totally unique sounding, doomy songs make the world outside disappear. Extremely low frequencies and hypnotizing melodies fill the room and leave no listener unimpressed. The first real standout performance of the day. 

CASTLE are next, and I’m not the only one who has forgotten a little bit about the band, who had a great start with their debut record „In witch order“ but whose career lost momentum somehow with their two following records. This night’s performance is a clear statement: CASTLE are still a force to be reckoned with. Tight and unpretentious, the trio delivers its trademark „witch thrash“ with focus and dedication. And again, it’s a woman leaving the most profound impression: Elizabeth Blackwell is an extraordinary fronter and wins over any skeptics easily with her bass playing and vocal performance. Seems like the future of metal is female indeed, as will be proven the following day.

Germany’s finest Death Metal commando SULPHUR AEON has no room for femininity though. Massive, unrelenting and with breathtaking technical abilities the band delivers what could be a pure demonstration of power - if the sound quality wasn’t so unbearably bad that it hurts. The bass drum kills everything, the sophisticated guitar playing is almost inaudible. Nonetheless, the tightness and power of SULPHUR AEON are impressive once more but it’s a real pity to have the excellent material of their two records drowned in a total mess of noise. 

VANDERBUYST have a little more luck, though the sound still isn’t as good as it could be. I’m not a big fan of traditional, melodic hard rock to say the least, but of course the performance is tight and the harmony vocals are plain fantastic. Great band, not my cup of tea though.

German Heavy Metal hopefuls ATTIC have brought their entire families apparently, as there’s an army of middle-aged women in band merch watching from the side. Funny sight, considering the King Diamond-inspired satanic apparel and stage decoration of the band. The sound again is terrible but not as bad as with Sulphur Aeon. The show itself is flawless as always, the quality of the songwriting is unmatched in the genre in recent years and Cagliostro’s vocals are almost better than the original. There’s not a second band at the moment playing traditional Metal of this quality and as ATTIC premiere a new song, waiting for the follow-up to the fantastic „The Invocation“ becomes even harder. 

It’s 1 am when the Epic Metallers of ATLANTEAN KODEX enter the stage to perform a 90 minute set of songs from their two excellent albums. The sound has improved significantly and the band manages to mobilize the last remaining powers of the remaining visitors. The anthems from their second album „The White Goddess“ like „Heresiarch“, „Twelve stars and an azure gown“ and (of course) „Sol Invictus“ are the highlights in a set full of hits and close the first day of the festival in the most appropriate manner. Being shouted back for an encore at 2:30 am speaks for itself.

SATURDAY

Over the course of the weekend, you hear a lot of people talking about the Ván Records family. And indeed, walking through the venue on both days feels like witnessing a family meeting of the extreme underground scene. Most of the bands are hanging around at their merch desks in the main hall the whole weekend, a lot of well known faces, be it journalists or label owners, crowd the place, drinking and partying with the crowd. It’s cool to see stuff like that still actually happen in 2015.

First band on Saturday are CROM DUBH from London, playing their first ever gig tonight. The British gentlemen deliver mostly mid-paced Black Metal with decent melodies and a little ‘post’ edge. Good, but not excellent. For a debut performance, the gig is pretty solid though.

CARONTE have a little more live routine obviously. Painfully loud (even wearing earplugs), the band brings their Shamanic Doom to Oberhausen and lets the earth shake. The stage presence of bull-like frontman Dorian Bones is impressive, from the first droning roar to last massive riff the man has all eyes on him. As with most bands from the Doom spectrum, I miss a little variation and excitement on guitar from here, but that’s just me. For what it is, CARONTE’s performance is close to perfect.

In preparation for the SALIGIA show, the stage is decorated with two tables bearing candles, skulls and burning incense which will be present until after the Necros Christos show a few hours later.  The occult setting compliments the band’s music, as SALIGIA play rather orthodox Black Metal with a good sense for atmosphere. However, what the band lacks is the aura of possession and danger which is so quintessential for this kind of music. If anything, SALIGIA are surrounded by an aura of insecurity as none of the band members seems to be really comfortable on stage.  Musically this is good but not excellent stuff and altogether there’s not much that could set these Norwegians apart from the myriad of similar bands crowding the scene.

Sticking out from the rest isn’t really a problem for SORTILEGIA as a) they are a two-piece band and b) a woman is handling guitar and vocals. Unfortunately, the music is no bit as exciting as you would suggest. Lengthy, mostly instrumental black metal songs driven by repetitive and quite stereotypical riffs, interrupted only by a tormented shriek or ghostly chant here and there. Sounds like a description of what I love actually, but for some reason, SORTILEGIA are boring the shit out of me.

The drunkards are in the house! Telling from the amount of shirts, patches and other devotionalia, URFAUST has to be the most anticipated band of the weekend – and rightfully so. Despite the immense (underground) hype around the Dutch duo, they have maintained their absolutely unmistakable sound and philosophy, pushing their art into unexpected territories again and again as recently witnessed on their “Apparitions” EP. In a live setting, URFAUST stick to their trademark sound of mysterious, trance inducing ritual Black Metal pushed forward by VRDRBR’s manic, minimalistic drumming and IX’s strangely melodic guitar playing and otherworldly howls. As always, I am absolutely caught in the music as is everybody in the room – including the band members who ignore every attempt of JaKa fronter Bony to make them aware of their playing time running up. Thus, the gig ends rather abruptly and the clochards are pulled back into this profane world without warning. Anyway, maybe the highlight of the festival. Lo-Fi Black Magic!

Another highlight is just to come though as NECROS CHRISTOS are up next. The Berlin based Death Metallers are regarded as one of the most influential and innovative underground Acts of recent years and though I never was TOO much into their two records, the show at Acherontic Arts is fucking stunning. The massive, low- to mid-paced songs are performed with amazing power and although not a technical band in nature, the musical abilities shown on stage are impressive. Mors Dalos Ra’s precise and super-tight riffing lets every guitarists mouth stand open for the duration of the show, the roaring, thunderous drums are just all over the place. One of the most memorable performances of the weekend for sure. Why a German band playing in Germany communicates with a mostly German audience in English will forever remain one of the great mysteries in life though.

DEATHRONATION are part of Germany’s prospering underground Death Metal scene and definitely one of its strongest acts. Unfortunately, their audience is ruined by the catastrophic sound just as it was the case with SULPHUR AEON a day ago. Additionally, a good part of the audience has left the room so that only a few maniacs support the band. The performance is solid (from what I can tell through the wall of noise) but altogether it’s quite a disappointment for fans. 

I’m not a big fan of Doom Metal, so I watch Sweden’s GRIFTEGÅRD from the back of the venue. Traditional Doom with the singer standing behind a pulpit, loooooooong and slooooooow songs, you know the game. The closing duet with Farida on the cover version of Aphrodite’s Child’s “The four horsemen” is moving.

THE RUINS OF BEVERAST are a massive, unforgiving, black wall of sound. Their performance is monolithic, punishing and suffocating. The show at Acherontic Arts, again starting at around 1:00 am, makes no exception.  Just like the day before, many have already left the venue but the remaining few witness a fascinating manifestation of utter blackness that leaves everyone exhausted and mangled at 2:30 am.

What a ride! From the start, Acherontic Arts has established itself as one of the finest gatherings in tasteful underground Metal. If there’ll be a 2016 edition – I’ll definitely be there.

Vernichtungsschmerz