August 4th, 2023
Bergen, Norway @ Grieghallen
Photos By: Kim Baarda
Words By: Jason Deaville
FOUR DAYS OF DARKNESS IN THE HEART OF BERGEN – DAY 3
Grieghallen. The legendary concert hall in Bergen, Norway named after Norwegian composer and Romantic-era pianist, Edvarg Grieg. Situated in the heart of Bergen, Grieghallen has become synonymous with Norwegian black metal. The Grieghallen Lydstudio (Lyd = Sound), run by Eirik Hundvin (Pytten), was the very location that many of the classic Norwegian black metal recordings were produced, including albums by Mayhem, Burzum, Emperor, Immortal, Enslaved and others.
There really is no more fitting venue for Beyond The Gates than Grieghallen. In fact, as part of the Beyond The Gates Experience, Pytten himself acted as tour guide for fans, exploring the depths of this historic venue in an effort to unlock the mysteries and events as it relates to some of these legendary bands and recordings that took place in Grieghallen’s hallowed halls.
Prior to the festivities set to occur on the Grieghallen stage later that evening, the day shift consisted of some monumental performances by In Twilight’s Embrace, Stormkeep, and Issolei over at Kulturehuset’s Club Stage. This was the perfect chance for festival-goers to satiate their metal appetites prior to this evening’s main event.
ETERNAL CHAMPION (Grieghallen)
Austin, Texas’ reigning champs of epic heavy metal, Eternal Champion, were the first band to take the Grieghallen stage by storm. It was clear that the near-packed room was intimately familiar with the band, as more than once fans could be heard singing along to the incredibly catchy choruses of the Eternal ones. Frontman, Jason Tarpey, commanded the audience behind a chainmail head shroud, belting out Dickinson-worthy vocal melodies with ease.
Overall, the execution and clarity being channeled by the band from the Greighallen stage was world class. Not to take anything away from Eternal Champion, as they are certainly a world class heavy metal act, but there was a marked difference in audio quality at Grieghallen compared to that of USF Verteft (the venue in which both day one and day two of the fest occurred). This is not surprising, as Grieghallen is home to the Bergen Philharmonic. As such, it’s acoustical architecture is one suited to bombastic, grandiose music. To their benefit, Eternal Champion was the perfect band on the perfect stage, making for a pitch perfect, fist-pounding performance.
PRIMORDIAL (Grieghallen)
Dublin, Ireland’s beloved Celtic folk/black metal ensemble Primordial are an enigma. There is no band quite like them. Not even close. Mind the pun, but there is something incredibly primordial about Primordial when they take to the stage. That little bit of dirt/grit that accompanies a live metal performance breathes new life into the songs over that of the recorded versions. Frontman, A.A. Nemtheanga, did a formidable job at transforming venue Grieghallen into a fierce battle on a hilly lowland in the Irish countryside during the middle-ages.
This was a very special night indeed, as Primordial treated the throngs of BTG festival-goers to a full rendition of their 2007 album, To The Nameless Dead. The crushing emotional density of this album truly captures Primordial at their very best, with every song a journey into heathen realms.
The band kicked things off with the now-classic ‘Empire Falls’. Despite a few sound problems throughout the first song, the guys managed to quickly capture every ear and heart in Grieghallen. The acoustics of the venue amplified the melancholy of the song ten-fold. Situated on stage-left stood a threatening-looking mock gallow, primed and ready for the second song of the night, ‘Gallow’s Hymn’.
Quite honestly, the rest of the set remains a blur in my memory, as I was absolutely captivated by their overwhelming, jaw-dropping performance. A bucket-list experience and an absolute highlight of the festival thus far.
ALCEST (Grieghallen)
French post-black metallers, Alcest, though great, were the odd duck out this year. For this scribe, their brand of almost indie rock-like black metal didn’t quite work with this year’s lineup. Sure, it’s great to have a bit of diversity to mix things up a bit, but their performance seemed to take the wind out of the sails of the mighty Viking ship that was BTG 2023. I don’t think most of those in attendance would agree with me, as the band were warmly welcomed by the packed room.
Frontman, Neige, and his black-clad cohorts, plucked and sauntered their way through four songs culled from their albums Les Voyages de l’âme, Écailles de lune, and Spiritual Instinct (the songs ‘Autre Temps’, ‘Percées de lumière’, ‘Sapphire’, ‘Écailles de lune – Part 2’, respectively).
Perhaps not my cup of tea, but a classy performance that was very well received by the packed-to-the-gills Grieghallen.
KREATOR (Grieghallen)
German perfection isn’t just relegated to car manufacturing (Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Volkswagen), it is also prevalent in the world of thrash metal. The big four of Teutonic terror – Tankard, Sodom, Destruction, and Kreator – collectively, have been destroying ears the world over for more than 160 years. Tonight, our ears were subjected to even more Teutonic carnage by the latter of four bands, Kreator.
At this point, one will not experience a sub-par Kreator performance. With over thirty years of stage hopping, these Germans have perfected their craft on the live front. The tricky part is selecting a setlist that represents every era of the band, as there have been many. Tonight, they graced the packed house with sixteen gems pulled from their extensive catalog of fifteen full-length releases.
Helping the proceedings along, the guys pulled out the pyro cannons and confetti blasters, which in turn fired-up the already-pumped fans even more. In fact, Kreator were the first band of the festival to spawn a circle pit. Frontman, Mille Petrozza, took things a step further and instigated a wall of death, which all BTG punters in the pit were happy to oblige.
I can’t say Kreator were my favorite of the fest up to this point, but they certainly were a spectacle of well-oiled German metal machinery that left a satisfactory smile on each and every face.
PENTAGRAM (Kulturehuset)
The day three festivities at Grieghallen may have come to an end, but the metal had not. The metalheads poured out of the venue making their way to Club Kulturhuset, just a short jaunt away, to catch American doom metallers Pentagram who were set to take the stage at midnight.
Fifty-two years. 52. Yes, that is how many years Pentagram have been kicking it. That is an unbelievable number, and even more unbelievable considering that frontman Bobby Liebling will turn 70 in December. Dressed in a sequined jacket and lime green shirt, Bobby looked the part of a doom metal icon. His long, flowing grey hair and captivating eyes were spellbinding. With the neon purple and red lighting emanating from the stage, it felt like the venue had been transported back to the mid-70s. This prior to the music even starting.
Though not a large venue, you could not possibly fit one more body into the club. Clearly, Pentagram had a ton of fans in Bergen on this night. If tonight’s performance was any indication, the goblin-esque Liebling was firing on cylinders of someone half his age. With a swagger and hip thrust that defies the ages, Liebling took to the mic with a confidence and dynamism that was truly something to behold.
Pentagram effortlessly plowed their way through five decades worth of material… too much to ramble off here. At the end of it, the packed house would not let the guys exit the stage. The chants for more were deafening. A rousing performance to end a perfect day at Beyond The Gates 2023.
