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After losing my job in March of this year due to the weak economy of the USA, I would have told you that a miracle would have to happen for me to go to the cozy village of Bergen for the best Metal festival in Europe. Hole in the Sky 2010! 2009 was my first HITS and it was a grand one. The line up this year was simply amazing. So I get to my 12:25 pm flight to Bergen promptly, and as the plane takes off from the runway, I realize that I left my 2 day club pass for the festival on my dresser at home! Man what an idiot. So after a 13 hour commute, I safely landed in Bergen on Tuesday the 24th of August. Caught the bus to downtown and hopped off at my stop (The Fish Market) and then walked up to the hotel. I met up with my friend who had traveled the day before me also from Seattle and we walked over to the “Vinmonopolet” (in English- Liquor Store) and picked up some big bottles of Nogne-O, a Norwegian Brewery that creates beer the way it should taste. Strong, Bold and full of flavor. So we pick up some stouts and porters and head back to the hotel. But on the way, I had to stop by the Polske stand aka Hot Dog stand. Last year this little hole in the wall was a staple of our drunken nights, staying open until 5 in the morning or something. Then we got our drink on and headed over to The Garage for the pre party.
We got down there when Lobotomized from Oslo were playing. They were ok, but really not my thing with the punk/crust revival thing. I did not really hear GG Allin/The Mentors in their sound. Next up are Valhall from Oslo, I was quite excited to see them. Fenriz of Darkthrone fame drummed on the two albums they have out. They were great. Psychedelic/stoner rock and roll with some doom influence. Yeah I really liked Valhall. Great performance! Finally headlining Tuesday evening they had “Dead to this World” another band from Norway that features “Iscariah” formerly of Immortal fame, as well as members of Taake and Black Flame. I had not heard them before and they were pretty fucking good. Very thrashy. Crowd liked them as well. Will have to check out their album. So that brought Tuesday to a close. Got a pretty good buzz that first night, but I was a little jet-lagged, so we stumbled to our hotel and called it a night. Ok so we did not get up until like 1:30 or 2:00 on Wednesday! Our friends from Oslo arrived and knocked on our door. We woke up, dressed and went to lunch and then off to the liquor store for strong ales. We then went back to the hotel for the pre party. Got nice and buzzed and then headed to the Garage promptly as the line up was fantastic this night.
The first band was Urfaust and I was unfamiliar with them. They are Dutch. I am not a fan of much mid-era Burzum or Xasthur. They were ok, but not really my cup of tea. I just watched a few songs and traveled around saying hello to everyone. I was totally stoked for the next band. Grave Miasma from the UK, formerly known as Goat Molester, I have the bands Exalted Emanation EP and it is totally killer. Grave Miasma got off to a rough start in the sound department but it was quickly fixed and they came across as totally brutal. I love this band. They played the EP material including “Arisen from the Grave Miasma” which completely crushed. Also played were “Pillars” and “Gnosis of the Summon”. This is a band to watch out for. Nice guys too. HAIL! Next up were Stockholm based death metal machine “Repugnant”. There was quite a buzz about these guys. My friends had all told me to make sure not to miss them. And I am very glad that I did not. This band totally killed it. These guys were really tight and loud and had great sound. They were also fun to watch. They had tons of energy. I cannot wait to get some of their material because I really enjoyed their set at Hole in the Sky!! Brutal Death Metal! Speaking of brutal and death metal, up next we had fucking “Dead Congregation” from Athens, Greece. This band is great! I loved their album from 2008 “Graves of the Archangels” and could not wait to see them live. They crushed of course. They do play the old school style death metal quite well indeed. Reminding me of Immolation or Seattle’s own Drawn & Quartered at times, they plowed through about a 40 minute long set. Feeling pummeled after “Dead Congregation” I went outside to get some fresh air. The heat and humidity in the Garage (downstairs) is at times almost unbearable.
After fresh air it was time to go back to hell to watch “Rotting Christ” from Greece. This was a band that I have seen several times before and they never disappoint. They had great sound, almost the best of the night and they played a great set. The crowd stuck around for these guys, proving that they are a pretty big deal in Norway. Was glad that they pulled something on “Thy Mighty Contract” and “Triarchy of the Lost Lovers”. What a band to close out the evening. We stumbled back to our beloved sausage/hot dog stand for a night cap and had a little party at the hotel room before we passed out.
Thursday August 26th- The Garage.
Ok so the last night for The Garage portion of Hole in the Sky 2010. And a pretty sweet line up. We got there just as “Evile” were starting. And I admit that I have never heard of them before. Well they really tore up shit, playing some classic riffing thrash ala old Metallica. Dug these guys. Found out later that they started out as a Metallica Cover band. Really great live band!!! Next up were “Enforcer” from Sweden. HELL YEAH! This band was SMOKIN’! They play old school heavy metal like Iron Maiden and at times reminded me of Flotsam and Jetsam (Doomsday for the Deceiver era). And the singer looked like he could be Warrel Dane’s (Sanctuary/Nevermore) son. One good thing about these festivals is finding out about bands you do not know about. And Enforcer are one of those bands. The crowd ate them up as well. Headbanging and pumping their fists. Hail the True Metal! I will keep my eyes on these Swedes.. Ok the band “Astrosoniq” went on, I guess they are from the Netherlands and I watched 2 songs before I found myself yawning. It really was not my thing and they were the least “metal” band on the bill probably. I headed up to the bar upstairs where the good beer was sold and excellent tunes were being spun. Alan of Primordial was DJ’ing for the Garage portion of the festival. And he did a fucking brilliant job!!! Thank you Alan! After catching quite the buzz upstairs, I made my way downstairs for a band I have been into since 1980, when I was a senior in high school and picked up their self-titled LP (on vinyl of course). ANGEL WITCH from the UK! These NWOBHM legends do not need introductions. They are a classic. Wow. They were AWESOME. They had excellent sound and ripped through a very tight set. “White Witch”, “Confused”, “Angel of Death” were standouts and when they whipped into their staple anthem “Angel Witch” I am sure that ½ of Bergen could hear the crowd singing the chorus “You’re a Angel Witch, YOU’RE A ANGEL WITCH!!!!!!!!!!” Seeing Angel Witch at HITS 2010 was a definite highlight. It was really a fun set. I headbanged, sang, screamed and sweated my ass off during Angel Witch, so I had to go outside for air. Then quickly went back in and downstairs, and grabbed a 8 dollar shitty Hansa beer just as Suffocation from the USA were taking the stage. Sheer brutality. Destroyed the stage. Played shit off Breeding the Spawn and Pierced from Within and even Despise the Sun. Really was a pleasure to see the European crowd enjoy a band I have seen at least a dozen times. I stuck around and watched the whole set though. Because the sound was killer and the club is intimate/small and so its like they are playing for you! It was cool to see them having such a great time up there. Thank you Suffo-dudes! What a great capper for the closure of the first ½ of Hole in the Sky. We had another beer upstairs before we made our way to the sausage/hot dog stand and then rested our feet and heads for the next adventure Friday and Saturday.
The 2nd half of the Hole in the Sky festival is held at the larger venue “USF Verftet” Pretty cool venue, except for the annoying posts that get in the way of the view of the stage. There is a really great lounge and outside deck at the restaurant that is adjacent to the venue. So, Friday afternoon we ended up sleeping in some and then got up and drank some strong Nogne-O ales before we headed to the USF. And we got to the venue as “Secrets of the Moon” were finishing. It bummed me out because I wanted to see them, even though I have seen them twice. Oh well. Next up a band I had heard the name of, but never actually heard. “Solstafir” from Iceland. Ok these guys were pretty interesting! They were on the mellow side but I liked them! I love psychedelic rock from the 70s and it had that vibe going and reminded me somewhat of the last couple of Enslaved albums a little bit. Real glad I got to see these guys play live!!
Excited to see the next band would be a understatement. “The Devil’s Blood” from The Netherlands were a band that I got into at the beginning of this year. I started with the “Come Reap” EP and then picked up the full length “The Time of No Time Evermore” in March and really dug on them both. They really are not very metal but metal fans love this band. They play hard rock or psychedelic rock. With artistic and occult lyrics. Out jumped the band (except for the singer) and most of them were shirtless and drenched with Blood and they put on their instruments and then came the sounds of “Come Reap” the title track/opener of the EP. Then out walks the beautiful vocalist for The Devil’s Blood, known only as “The Mouth of Satan” or “TMOS” for short. She was wearing a long black dress and her face, neck and part of her breasts were drenched with blood. A sight to behold. She seemed to summon up all kinds of pure evil just standing there and singing. At times, she would hold her arms out and look up at the ceiling, like she was crucified or something. TDB played the EP! “Heaven’s Cry out for the Devils Blood” is my favorite song by TDB and when they performed it at HITS 2010, I was reduced to tears. “River of Gold” and “Voodoo Dust” ruled as well.
Amazing would be a good sum up of what I thought of TDB performance. They played a few off the latest LP too including the killer track “Christ or Cocaine” When the band went into long jams, TMOS would walk over and face the drummer and just stand there, not moving at ALL. There was no communication with the audience. They just play. And it works. This band just rules live. They are one of my favorite bands period.. TDB are a band to be on the lookout for. If you want something unique, different and totally dark, then check them out! I am looking forward to seeing them again in a few short weeks at the Noctis Valkries IV Metal Festival in Calgary, Canada! I had to buy a shirt from TDB after their set and then go out to the deck for some air and chatting. When I went back inside, “Ihsahn” was playing. He is famous for being in Emperor. Well this solo thing is not Emperor, nor was in really my thing. Rather unoriginal and boring to me. Maybe it was because after seeing TDB I had a lot of expectations. I only watched ½ their set before I went up to the VIP lounge for a cheaper shit beer and some good tunes! I was up there for a couple beers and by the time I made it back downstairs, “Cathedral” had just started playing. And they were playing “Soul Sacrifice”! I love this band. And I have seen them 5 times at various stages of their career, first time was in 92 with Carcass and Napalm Death in support. Gods of Grind North American Tour! So this Cathedral were quite different than the Cathedral I saw in ’92. They went to the extreme of stoner rock/psychedelic doom. I enjoyed watching them, but I must say that it was not their best performance that I have seen.
It was time for the headliners of Friday “Black Mass”. And it was a biggie. Black Metal Gods- VENOM!!!!!!!!! Was really stoked to be seeing Cronos and crew again. I first saw them at Milwaukee Metalfest ’97 with the classic line up and then again at Wacken Open Air Festival 2000 (with a different drummer). After a intro that seemed to last for an eternity, loudly over the PA “Ladies and Gentlemen….From the very depths of HELL……..VENOM!!!” and they wasted no time by ripping into “Black Metal”!!!! I was singing and banging with Eric of Watain for that song. Venom were tight as hell, and the new blood did justice! Cronos looked and sounded fucking great. Treated us to some real Venom classics. Like, “1000 Days in Sodom”, “In League with Satan”, and one of my favorites “Welcome to Hell” the classic from the 1981 album of the same name. They ended their set with “Witching Metal”!! I was really hoping that they would have played for another 20 or 30 minutes but with the curfew and shit they could not play longer. Their complete setlist was:
Black Metal
Antichrist
Straight to Hell
Welcome to Hell
Don’t Burn the Witch
In Nomine Satanas
1000 Days in Sodom
7 Gates of Hell
Hell
Calm Before the Storm/Krackin’ Up (Medley de Mayhem 1)
At War With Satan
Burn in Hell
Buried Alive
Man, Myth & Magic
Resurrection/The Evil One (Medley de Mayhem 2)
In League with Satan
Witching Hour
With that we just left awestruck and amazed. Venom still has it and it was only the 2nd show they ever played in Norway so it was a lot of fans 1st time seeing them live. And I know they did not disappoint! Hail Venom!!!! We headed back through town to the hotel, not before stopping for the staple drunk food at the sausage stand. A little bit of a party in the room and then crashed for the energy to last through the final night of the festival. Saturday.
I woke up on Saturday a tad bit hungover and was able to rid that by going out for Thai food in Bergen. It was very expensive and I had the Phad Thai. Tasty but was missing lime, cilantro and chopped peanuts. No bean sprouts either. So it was really expensive as is everything in Norway. But it was worth it because it was spicy and cured my hangover. Back to the hotel for more Nogne-O and then off to the show! Ok, this is a note to self: Get there early and for the first band. We ended up missing Obliteration somehow. As we arrived, they just got done and some people said that they simply fucking owned and killed. So, the second time I have missed them as I missed them at Maryland Deathfest earlier this year!! Oh well, I missed 4 bands at HITS, better than missing them all. Ok so we do get there and to the front and center for Nunslaughter from the U.S.! These satanic warlords really pack a punch live. I have seen them 2 times previously and they never disappoint. They are a pleasure to watch and a fun band all around. Nice guys to boot. They played a great set of Devil's Metal but sadly I thought they had too short of a set. The Bergen crowd loved them though! Great band and a highlight for sure! The anticipation was high for the next band on the bill. Triptykon. This band is fronted by former Hellhammer/Celtic Frost member Tom G. Warrior. I really love the Triptykon album and was really stoked to see them live. They were awesome. Opened up with the Celtic Frost classic "Procreation of the Wicked" and also playing "Circle of the Tyrants"!! The Triptykon material was great live. Tom and the rest of the band were totally tight. The female bass player is awesome and hot. Great set and I am looking forward to seeing Triptykon when they hit Seattle in just a few short weeks on their North American tour!!!!
After Triptykon, I went for another 15 dollar Nogne-O in the adjacent restaurant/lounge before the next band. One of my favorites. The Blackened Death band Watain from Sweden!!!!!!! This was the third time that I have seen this band. They are simply stunning live. And I think that Watain's performance at HITS 2010 was my favorite gig of the 3. E. Watain has dropped the guitar and was just singing and it was fucking great. They had this killer stage set up with flame pots flashing and there were two "Fires" that constantly burned on the drum risers. I was right up front and combined with the stage lights, I thought to myself as I drank my last drop of beer "Wow, this must be what hell feels like". AWESOME! They only played for 50 minutes or something and I was a little disappointed because I wanted them to play 2 hours. What I was thrilled about was hearing more of the "Lawless Darkness" material played live! Thank you Watain for making my trip to Bergen 100 percent worth it. The show was great and I hope the van/trailer made it back to Sweden ok!! Cheers! Watain's set list from what I can remember..
Malfeitor
Sworn To The Dark
Reaping Death
I Am The Earth
Wolves Curse
Stellarvore
On Horns Impaled
Needed a beer after Watain and I was out of money. Great. I still had Sunday and now I was broke. Sucks. I went up to the VIP where I met up with some friends that bought me a couple of beers and chatted with everyone for a good long while. I heard Obituary were playing. Well being American, I have seen Obituary dozens of times. They were great back in May at Maryland Deathfest! I opted to miss most of their set by talking and drinking with friends. I did end up catching "Chopped in Half" and what Obituary show is not "The End Complete" without something from "Slowly We Rot"!!!! And the crowd were really headbaning furious for that song. It was time for the big headliners to make their appearance and close out this years edition of Hole in the Sky festival. Having never played in Norway before ever, the reunited gore/death pioneers AUTOPSY! I had seen them at Maryland Deathfest and they were fucking killer beyond words. So I made sure to get a good spot for their debut on Norway soil. The band were sounding very loud and tight. This was Danny Lilker's last show with them. I am hoping that they continue on as this is one of the best reunions that has ever taken place. Chris Reifert's voice and drumming capabilities are incredible. I just do not know how he does it. Autopsy owned the crowd and they owned the night and the owned the festival. Playing shit from every part of their career, it was a real treat to be able to see them again. A few of the songs I remember them playing, spraying and slaying were "Gasping for Air", Destined to Fester", "Death Twitch", "Fiend for Blood" (Fuck Yeah), "Severed Survival", "Human Genocide", "Horrific Obsession" and "Charred Remains"!!! Wow, they played probably 15 or 16 songs and even though my 48 year old body was giving out, I would have stayed there for more. They closed out the festival properly in my eyes. We got to the sausage/hot dog stand for one last drunken bite to eat and then partied until 3 in the morning and talked about what a great festival Hole in the Sky was and our hopes for next year. 2009 and 2010 were awesome! I hope to have another miracle in 2011 and that I make it over for this kick ass festival for the third time in a row! Thank you to Martin and Ivar for putting up with my american stupidity and believing me!! And I hope to see everyone in 2011! Until then, Beers high and Horns fly!
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