Tons Of Rock Day 2, June 20th 2014
Photos by Eivind Nakken
Friday
After last night’s feats of strength, Friday morning still looks alluring as a temperate sun looks down upon Halden. A visibly tired group of diehards, numbering perhaps 60 people, have encroached upon the tent-stage to witness the young Fusa-natives Reptilian demolish the dim stage. Although the members look endearingly like they had to skip school to play the festival, their relentlessly heavy death metal harkens back to the mid-80’s. It’s solid old school stuff, and even if they could be mistaken for an Autopsy cover-band, these guys surely have a bright future ahead of them. Keep an eye out!
Back out under the burning ball of fire, we arrive just in time for Sweden’s alluring Year Of The Goat. Opening with the lengthy anthem “Angels’ Necropolis”, they immediately prove themselves worthy purveyors of occult rock. Mainman Thomas Eriksson might look like a slightly younger Roky Erickson, but he has a voice that could melt glaciers. With three guitarists on stage, the band is interweaves intricate melodies, psychedelic crescendos, and some devilishly catchy hooks and choruses that would make the Blue Öyster Cult blush.
The darkness inherent in Year Of The Goat’s satanic manifestos would undoubtedly be best suited for a more intimate venue, or at least after the sun has set. They overcome the adversarial sunlight by pure force, adding a heavier edge that is mostly absent from their studio output. It’s been two years since their last album, and today they premiere a new track. “The Key And The Gate” continues the confident seductive bent of Angels’ Necropolis, but leans further towards a catchy hard rock formula. Finishing their set with the solo-heavy “Thin Lines Of Broken Hopes”, Eriksson and his coven leave beaming with pride – they’ve deserved it.
A completely different beast is awakening on the far-side of the concert field. A hard rock-institution here in Norway, political powerhouse Black Debbath are almost unheard of outside of Scandinavia. Part Motörhead, part stoner rock, and all satirical, the members have made themselves known through music, television, and even the theatrical stage. It’s no surprise, then, that the Bøler-natives have gathered a large crowd by the time they take the extravagantly rigged stage.
Doing a Black Debbath-show justice in writing is futile, especially when you’re publishing in English to an international audience. The band knows this, and takes care to make themselves understood to foreign audiences, through multilingual songs like “Traditional Food” and “Jag Är Din Pojkvän, Yeah”. More than a concert, Black Debbath combines stand up, political grandstanding, audience-interaction, self-promotion, and interpretative dance with chest-beating rock and roll. Getting the audience moving and singing along, the boys from Bøler demonstrate why they are an all-pervading force in Norwegian media.
Back in the tent, Swedish heavy metal renegades In Solitude are a lot more serious but just as catchy as the Norwegian rockers. The overwhelmingly eerie “Fire Of God’s Love” sets the atmosphere as the band sets out to woo the audience. Vocalist Pelle Åhman is as entertaining to watch as ever, and manages to bust the microphone-stand just a couple of songs in. Covering most of their recent masterpiece Sister, the fantastic source-material is unfortunately marred by a sound mix that favors the drums and not much else.
The combination of a singer going berserk and a heavy amount of flashing strobes makes In Solitude look like major rock stars. Despite the underwhelming sound, tracks like “Death Knows Where” and “Lavender” are brilliant cuts that lends themselves perfectly to a live setting. Having already appeared at the Tons Of Rock kick-off a few months ago, the better acoustics at the Rockefeller venue definitely suited the band better than the tent though.
An exceptionally busy day, we only have half an hour to rest our weary bones before another homegrown underground behemoth will pummel the tent-attendees. Representing the Kolbotn Thrasher’s Union (which they founded together with Darkthrone’s Fenriz), Obliteration made waves in the underground with last year’s Black Death Horizon. Taking the stage with his face covered in blood, frontman Sindre Solem and his co-conspirators seem unstoppable.
The recipe isn’t particularly complicated; it’s death the old way. Like Reptilian did four hours ago (but which now feels like days), Obliteration pummels the audience with waves of grotesque and warmongering death metal. It’s a shame that the guitars are almost completely drowned out by the rhythm-section, but at least Solem’s gravelly throat comes into its own. With a commandeering presence, Obliteration lives up to their lofty name.
I’m going to come right out and admit it; I’ve never been a big fan of W.A.S.P. and their hard rock shenanigans. Having the displeasure of seeing KISS a few years ago soured me on these kind of nostalgia-heavy shows, leaving me cold and a little embarrassed on behalf of the band. Thus my expectations were low when Blackie Lawless and his band approached the sizable crowd to thunderous applause.
To my surprise, and the rather drunk and raunchy audience’s great delight, Lawless still has the charisma and voice to pull it off. The timing is perfect, the beer flows freely, and “Wild Child” is blaring from the stage. It’s a heavy metal party that brings together old and young in buzzed singalongs. Another great choice to really kick off the evening at the open air festival at the Norwegian fortress.
There’s never any rest for the wicked, and the most wicked of all is yet to come. The sun goes down and sets the perfect atmosphere for the unholy mass of Ghost. This ritual looks to be a good one; the acolytes are numerous and emotions are running high. The venerable Papa Emeritus II and his nameless ghouls appear from the smoke and smell of burning incense. Still on their meteoric trajectory from anonymous cult-band to international stars, Ghost are a marvelous spectacle to behold.
Hitting all the high points from Opus Eponymous and the bombastic Infestissumam, the chanting of the audience surpasses even W.A.S.P.’s fans. The frontman’s bizarre juxtaposition of an imperial and malevolent appearance, and timid banter in Swedish, perfectly captures the weird appeal of Ghost. Their creepy yet enticing takes on Beatles and Roky Erickson-classics are just another way for Ghost to spread their satanic gospel, and it’s irresistible. An encore consisting of “Ghuleh / Zombie Queen” and fan-favorite “Monstrance Clock” seals the deal; this is a definite high point of the festival!
Lesser beings may be ready to collapse after such a tight schedule of exciting bands, but we are soldiers and we will not be so easily broken. As an army of homo-erotic warriors head to the main stage to party with Turbonegro, we take the somber route to the tent. Here black candles have been lit, and more incense is burning with a repugnant sweet stench. Spearheads of the Nidarosian black metal scene, One Tail, One Head, are set to tear away the scraps of an already battered bunch of fans.
It’s a ritualistic performance, characterized by intensity and grim brutality. After eight year in the shadows, it’s something of a mystery that this usually elusive band would play a mainstream metal festival like Tons Of Rock. Never the less, the blood-soaked Trondheim band delivers the fiercest set of the festival. We’ve reached the pitch black end of the tunnel, and now it’s time to crawl home to lick our wounds. This gig is going to leave its mark in the morning, and a new day already looms on the horizon.
<<< Day 1: Uncle Acid, Sahg, and Volbeat, oh my!
Day 3: Hippies, stoners, and fuckin’ Slayer! >>>
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