March 31st, 2024
Munich, Germany @ Backstage
Photos By: Kimberly Baarda
Words By: Jason Deaville
Waking to summer-like weather in Munich, we were primed and ready to get some breakfast into us at the official Dark Easter Metal Meeting hotel and get our day started. I gotta say, nothing beats breakfast more than dining with a room full of metalheads all gorging on much-needed sustenance for what would be another brutalizing day!
Unfortunately, due to some scheduled sight-seeing in Munich, we were unable to catch the first few acts of the day. That being said, once we did make it over to Backstage, we were immediately regaled with stories from friends that highlighted the awesomeness of the performances by Chapel Of Disease, Perchta, and Fair Of The Forgotten.
ENDSTILLE (WERK)
Germany’s very own black metal terrorists, Endstille, are an absolute force to be reckoned with on the live front. Getting their start back in 2000, the band have been quite active, releasing nine full-length albums in that time. Of course, with such a vast array of material under their bullet-adorned belts, it certainly can’t be an easy job putting together a set-list. Thankfully, Endstille‘s material has been quite consistent as it relates to quality over the last quarter century, which means the band couldn’t go wrong today, no matter what they threw at us.
The guys blasted onto the stage with the title track of their 2004 album, Dominaz. It was immediately clear that the band meant to destroy every set of eardrums in venue Werk. The musical assault being issued forth was akin to a WWII tank battalion steamrolling its way across Europe. With no reprieve, the band launched into ‘Pro Patria Mori’ from last year’s incredible DetoNation album, followed by the aptly-titled ‘Ripping Angelflesh’ from 2003’s Frühlingserwachen.
At this point, Endstille had the packed afternoon house eating out of their hands. There was no turning back. Black fucking metal.
Setlist
Dominanz, Pro Patria Mori, Ripping Angelflesh, Anomie, Sick Heil, Jericho Howls, Conquest Is Atheism, Depressive, Endstilles Reich, Frühlingserwachen
MORTEM (WERK)
My excitement couldn’t be contained for the next band. The band first got their start way the fuck back in 1987, first as a death metal band. They released one very well received demo in ’89, and then all but disappeared. Well, that isn’t quite true, as guitarist Steinar Johnsen and vocalist Marius Vold would go on to form Arcturus in 1991 (Marius would also front both Thorns and Stigma Diabolicum around the same time).
Fast forward exactly thirty years, to 2019, when the band made the incredibly wise decision to reform and release their first proper full-length, Ravnsvart. And what a comeback it was! To be quite honest, it is one of the best contemporary Norwegian black metal albums ever released. A cold, clinical, and slightly ambient affair that recalls very early Enslaved, Thorns, Mayhem and, of course, Arcturus.
As showtime drew closer, venue Werk slowly, but surely, filled to capacity. There wasn’t a spot to stand by the time the band slinked out onto the stage. As the curtains were opened, Vold, with a nail-studded mace in hand, looked the part of a blackened metal mage, while the rest of the band, his black metal minions, hung tight right behind him, ready for battle. The band started their set off with the title track from their debut full-length, Ravnsvart. This was followed by the song ‘Aftermath’ taken from the Peaceville Presents Dark Side Of The Sacred Star (a compilation of rarities/exclusives from various black metal bands).
Mortem then switched gears a bit with the tracks ‘Slow Death’ and ‘Agonized To Suicide’ from their ’89 demo. As I remember it, both tracks were originally pure death metal, but the guys gave the songs a bit of a black metal treatment on this afternoon, which sounded absolutely awesome. They then jumped back to Ravnsvart with the sligthlty occultish track ‘Sjelestjeler’.
By this point in their set Mortem were in the zone, with their stage presence and posturing coming across as otherwordly. It’s fair to say that everyone in attendance was sucked into a Nordic black metal-induced trance-like state. Incredible set from one of the best Norway has to offer.
Setlist
Ravnsvart, Aftermath, Slow Death, Agonized To Suicide, Sjelestjeler, Mørkets Monolitter, Truly Damned, Port Darkness, The Corp
ABYSMAL GRIEF (HALLE)
Next up was Italian doom metallers, Abysmal Grief. Heading over to venue Halle a bit early to ensure we scored a prime viewing spot, we were immediately hit with the overhelming scent of incense. Our olfactory senses were proven correct, as a quick glance toward the stage one could see the swirling smoke mingling with the gloomy hue of red light that swathed the venue.
The venue immediately transformed into a gothic church of doom metal as the guys walked out onto the stage to the massive sound of a pipe organ. The band kicked things off with the song ‘Ruthless Profaners’ from their 2018 album, Blasphema Secta. Almost immediately, the guys had the heads of each and every person in the packed house bobbing. The groove and swagger Abysmal Grief possess is so absolutely palpable that you can’t help but move with the groove.
Top-hat clad frontman, Labes C. Necrothytus, bellowed his occult-like vocal magic from behind a pulpit, while the rest of the band (Lord Alstair – bass, Regen Graves – guitars, Vesperus Haldegorr – drums, Flux Mortis – keyboards) acted as his musical congregation. With gears in overdrive, the band chugged their way through a collection of songs that spanned their twenty-seven year career. A fantastic, refreshing addition to the Dark Easter 2024 family of bands.
Setlist
Ruthless Profaners, Nomen Omen, Crypt Of Horror, Borgo Pass, The Samhein Feast, Chains Of Death
CULT OF FIRE (WERK)
Chechen epic black metallers Cult Of Fire were, without doubt, one of the highlights of the festival. Having caught these guys way back at the 2014 edition of the Messe des Morts festival in Montreal, I was incredibly stoked to witness the spectacle once again. Unlike that day back in 2014, where the band performed without any of their costumes or stage props (due to an issue by the airline that saw their gear arriving too late), the guys were in full-on theatrical mode for tonight’s performance.
Not unlike Abysmal Grief before them, Cult Of Fire too swathed the stage with incense, so much so that, if you were anywhere near the stage, it was hard to breathe in anything but perfumed air. Of course, as was expected, the stage was adorned with all the pomp and circumstance that Cult Of Fire has worked so hard to cultivate over the years. Sure, it’s a little tacky, but it works (think Iron Maiden, but on a much smaller scale). It was truly difficult to take it all in at once, as there was just so much going on… a buddhist altar strewn with baskets of fruit and various other far-east looking paraphenalia, two giant snakes on either side of the stage each housing a stringed instumentalists perched cross-legged beneath said serpents, and a singer fully masked with a bull-horned headdress and cloak of the acid-tripping kind.
With the stage set, it was time to see if the band could deliver above and beyond the lavishness of their visual presence… and deliver they did! They kicked the ceremony off with a track that I am unfamiliar with called ‘Dhoom’. A fitting start that projected a cult-like vibe with ominous chanting and an eastern-inspired flair. This was followed-up with a personal favourite, ‘Zrození Výjimečného’, from 2020’s Moksha. A fantastic, vicious, straight-up black metal song that translated just as well in the live setting.
The band then jumped into another unknown track, this one titled ‘Hněv’ (which translates to ‘Anger’ in Czech). Things were about to get deep and meditative with the next song of the night, ‘Kali Ma’ (taken from their incredible Ascetic Meditation Of Death album released back in 2013). This is a song that you can’t help get sucked up in. Add to that all the visual ambience emanating from the stage making it a truly transcendental experience.
I gotta say, the organizers of Dark Easter Metal Meeting are definitely skilled at selecting bands that are both fitting for the festival as well as slightly different. Things could get rather monotonus if each and every band sounded indistinguishable from one another. Like Abysmal Grief and Tiamat before them, Cult Of Fire went down with as much success and reverence as any of the more extreme acts of the weekend.
Setlist
Dhoom, Zrození Výjimečného, Hněv, Kali Ma, Untitled 1 (Bhairavi), Jai Maa!, Buddha 5, Ztratit Lze Víc
SODOM (WERK)
It goes without saying that the big kahuna of the weekend was certainly hometown heroes (by ‘hometown’ I’m referring to Germany), Sodom. You all know them. You all love them. No need for any setup, so lets get right to it…
First things first. Good luck getting anywhere near the stage without using some friendly elbow force. Venue Werk was absolutely packed. In fact, I’m almost certain they could have filled a venue at least half a size bigger. Prior to the band even taking stage, the chants of ‘Sodom, Sodom, Sodom!’ reverberated throughout the hall. The excitement and anticipation was absolutely palpable. Like the true Teutonic thrash metal gods that they are, Tom Angelripper and crew roared onto the stage to the sounds of ‘Among The Weirdcong’ from their 2001 album, M-16. The crowd went absolutely apeshit, with beer cups being thrown this way and that, and, add to that, the formation of the first REAL pit of the weekend.
Feeding off the energy being exuded by the packed house, Sodom wasted no time jumping into some fan favourites, which included ‘Jabba The Hat’, ‘The Crippler’, ‘Sodomized’, ‘The Saw Is The Law’ and ‘Blasphemers’. Tom, much to my surprise, was quite chatty between songs. Unfortunately, everything he said was in German, so there was no luck for us non-native speakers in attendance.
The guys then bulldozed their way through several more songs from albums such as Persecution Mania, Obsessed By Cruelty, Demonized, and Better Off Dead. And then it was time. A roar filled the venue as the band jumped into the opening notes of the classic song ‘Agent Orange’. It wasn’t long before Angelripper stepped away from the mic, allowing the rabid crowd to bark the chorus of the song out. Hearing a couple thousand plus folks sing in unison was truly goosebump-inducing.
A legendary performance by a legendary band at a legendary festival. What more could a metalhead ask for?
Setlist
Among The Weirdcong, Jabba The Hat, The Crippler, Sodomized, The Saw Is The Law, Blasphemers, Tired And Red, The Conqueror, Proselytism Real, Nuclear Winter, Let’s Fight In The Darkness Of Hell, Sodomy And Lust, Outbreak Of Evil, Better Off Dead, Agent Orange, Obsessed By Cruelty, Remember The Fallen, Bombed Out, Rain Of Bombs
BENEDICTION (WERK)
I don’t care who you are, but anyone following Sodom on their home turf has BIG shoes to fill. As such, it was surprising to me that UK death metal legends, Benediction, took the headlining spot on the last night of the festival… for all the reasons I mentioned above. Of course, this isn’t to say that Benediction aren’t deserved or just as incredible as Sodom. Both bands are of equal value in a historic sense. The problem was that many punters left after Sodom, leaving venue Werk a bit more sparse for Benediction‘s appearance.
Nevertheless, Benediction put on one helluva performance… fuelled by a love for pure, old-school death metal. Vocalist Dave Ingram was on fire tonight, prancing around the stage like a stodgy, old crust punk/football hooligan, yet bellowing and spewing gutturals like someone half his age. The same could be said for the rest of the band, as there was no shortage of energy or enthusiasm from any member of the band. The guys absolutely destroyed with some classics such as ‘Unfound Mortality’ from 1993’s Transcend The Rubicon, ‘Vision In The Shroud’ from ’91’s The Grand Leveller, ‘Agonized’ from 1998’s Grind Bastard, ‘Subconcious Terror’ from the 1990 album of the same name, among many others.
It was definitely a treat to hear some old-school death metal after two days of being kicked in the face by black metal. An incredible end to a fantastic couple of days. Make Dark Easter Metal Meeting your next festival experience. You will not be disappointed!
Setlist
Unfound Mortality, Scriptures In Scarlet, Vision In The Shroud, Agonized, Progenitors Of A New Paradigm, The Grotesque, I bow To None, Shadow World, Fetus Noose, Dark Is The Season, Subconscious Terror, Stormcrow, Rabid Carnality, Magnificat
