MetalDays Festival 2019
Tolmin and the Soča valley in Slovenia is simply one of the most stunningly beautiful locations possible for a metal festival. Being surrounded by such natural beauty you sometimes forget that you are actually at a metal festival and as such once you have been you will always be drawn back. This was my third visit to the festival and yet again was a completely overwhelming experience with a supremely winning combination of stunning location, awesome bands and fantastic company. It is also a punishing experience with the festival running for five days (or seven days if you pay for the early arrival) but in the end it is wholly worthwhile. Bands don’t start until mid afternoon so you have almost a whole day to explore the area, unwind in the river or find bars and restaurants in the town to hang out in. This is easily the most relaxed metal festival experience you are likely to have.
This year's edition of the festival was definitely the most gruelling to date with extremely hot weather conditions (temperatures reached a ridiculous 38 degrees). Being a pale skinned Welshman this meant that the conditions were a bit of a struggle for me and I didn’t get to watch as many bands as planned as standing out in the sun in that heat was just physically exhausting. So I made sure that the bands I watched were the ones that mattered so here is my summation of the week of Metaldays Festival 2019.
Day One
My group arrived on the Sunday afternoon and despite there being bands playing on the New Forces stage we opted to spend the day relaxing and getting ourselves used to the hot climate so bands for me started good and proper on the Monday. Kicking things off on the Ian Fraser “Lemmy” KIlmister Stage were Irish stoner groovesters Ten Ton Slug (7) who got the festival off to a great start with their chunky riffs and fat grooves. Heads were bobbing and beers were rapidly consumed during their very enjoyable set. Next I headed to the Boško Bursać Stage to catch Belgian melodic death metal act Hexa Mera (7) who whilst playing a fairly unremarkable and bog standard style of melodic death metal played with enough passion and conviction to keep me interested throughout their set. I headed back over to the Lemmy stage to catch occult rockers Lucifer (8) who despite the sweltering heat definitely cast a spell over the audience.
Tolmin and the Soča valley in Slovenia is simply one of the most stunningly beautiful locations possible for a metal festival. Being surrounded by such natural beauty you sometimes forget that you are actually at a metal festival and as such once you have been you will always be drawn back. This was my third visit to the festival and yet again was a completely overwhelming experience with a supremely winning combination of stunning location, awesome bands and fantastic company. It is also a punishing experience with the festival running for five days (or seven days if you pay for the early arrival) but in the end it is wholly worthwhile. Bands don’t start until mid afternoon so you have almost a whole day to explore the area, unwind in the river or find bars and restaurants in the town to hang out in. This is easily the most relaxed metal festival experience you are likely to have.
This year's edition of the festival was definitely the most gruelling to date with extremely hot weather conditions (temperatures reached a ridiculous 38 degrees). Being a pale skinned Welshman this meant that the conditions were a bit of a struggle for me and I didn’t get to watch as many bands as planned as standing out in the sun in that heat was just physically exhausting. So I made sure that the bands I watched were the ones that mattered so here is my summation of the week of Metaldays Festival 2019.
Day One
My group arrived on the Sunday afternoon and despite there being bands playing on the New Forces stage we opted to spend the day relaxing and getting ourselves used to the hot climate so bands for me started good and proper on the Monday. Kicking things off on the Ian Fraser “Lemmy” KIlmister Stage were Irish stoner groovesters Ten Ton Slug (7) who got the festival off to a great start with their chunky riffs and fat grooves. Heads were bobbing and beers were rapidly consumed during their very enjoyable set. Next I headed to the Boško Bursać Stage to catch Belgian melodic death metal act Hexa Mera (7) who whilst playing a fairly unremarkable and bog standard style of melodic death metal played with enough passion and conviction to keep me interested throughout their set. I headed back over to the Lemmy stage to catch occult rockers Lucifer (8) who despite the sweltering heat definitely cast a spell over the audience.
Old school groove with plenty of psychedelia and the enchanting vocals of Johanna Sadonis definitely won over this reviewer. These guys rocked like it was 1972 and it was awesome. I managed to catch a few songs of New Zealand groove metallers Alien Weaponry but not enough to justify a score. Despite being very much part of a huge hype machine at the moment Alien Weaponry always manage to bring a great show and are fantastic performers. Whether they justify the hype is questionable but I have thoroughly enjoyed these guys when watching them live. Unfortunately the rumblings of my stomach and the need of a rest were louder than the band.
After a meal and a few drinks back at the campsite I returned to the Boško Bursać Stage to catch Swedish death doom merchants October Tide (8). Featuring ex-members of Katatonia these guys performed a compelling set of darkened misery with new songs such as Ögonblick av Nåd sitting comfortably alongside older songs such as Blue Gallery and The Custodian Of Science. It was then back over to the Lemmy stage for atmospheric sludge outfit Neurosis (8) who whilst not the most visually exciting act definitely more than made up for that with the aural devastation unleashed on the crowd. Atmospheric and ambient sections were broken up by a dense wall of sound which you could feel as much as you could hear. An interesting choice of band for the slot but one that most definitely made an impression on those who watched. In the headline slot for the evening were Swedish melodic death metal megastars Arch Enemy (5) who were disappointingly lacklustre.
After a meal and a few drinks back at the campsite I returned to the Boško Bursać Stage to catch Swedish death doom merchants October Tide (8). Featuring ex-members of Katatonia these guys performed a compelling set of darkened misery with new songs such as Ögonblick av Nåd sitting comfortably alongside older songs such as Blue Gallery and The Custodian Of Science. It was then back over to the Lemmy stage for atmospheric sludge outfit Neurosis (8) who whilst not the most visually exciting act definitely more than made up for that with the aural devastation unleashed on the crowd. Atmospheric and ambient sections were broken up by a dense wall of sound which you could feel as much as you could hear. An interesting choice of band for the slot but one that most definitely made an impression on those who watched. In the headline slot for the evening were Swedish melodic death metal megastars Arch Enemy (5) who were disappointingly lacklustre.
The performances seemed clinical with very little to no passion and a complete lack of stage presence from frontwoman Alissa White-Gluz. The set was very heavily leaning towards recent material with three quarters of it from the last two albums which to me are easily the weakest Arch Enemy albums. Renditions Of Ravenous and Dead Eyes See No Future helped pick things up a bit but after a while I gave up and wandered elsewhere. The final band of the evening and in the deadline slot on the Boško Bursać Stage were Swedish blackened death metal legends Necrophobic (9). After the tedium of the previous band this was a much needed injection of energy and Necrophobic absolutely delivered with a furious set with relentless renditions of Mark Of The Necrogram, Awakening and Revelation 666 amongst others. This was the perfect way to bring the first day of Metaldays to a close.
Day Two
The temperature rose on day two and as such it was evening until I ventured to watch any bands. First band of the day were German progressive death metallers Alkaloid (7). I’ve been told that live performances of Alkaloid are few and far between with the band featuring members of Obscura, Hate Eternal and Dark Fortress so this was a must see set and Alkaloid certainly impressed with their guitar pyrotechnics. The band were a guitarist down but had this not been mentioned by the band I certainly would not have noticed. Next up and over on the Lemmy stage were Icelandic hard rockers The Vintage Caravan (9) who played one of the best sets of the entire festival. They performed simplistic and catchy hard rock but it was played so well and the songs so enjoyable that it was impossible not to love. Despite the searing heat I rocked my balls off to tunes such as Crazy Horses, Midnight Meditation and Last Day Of Light.
Day Two
The temperature rose on day two and as such it was evening until I ventured to watch any bands. First band of the day were German progressive death metallers Alkaloid (7). I’ve been told that live performances of Alkaloid are few and far between with the band featuring members of Obscura, Hate Eternal and Dark Fortress so this was a must see set and Alkaloid certainly impressed with their guitar pyrotechnics. The band were a guitarist down but had this not been mentioned by the band I certainly would not have noticed. Next up and over on the Lemmy stage were Icelandic hard rockers The Vintage Caravan (9) who played one of the best sets of the entire festival. They performed simplistic and catchy hard rock but it was played so well and the songs so enjoyable that it was impossible not to love. Despite the searing heat I rocked my balls off to tunes such as Crazy Horses, Midnight Meditation and Last Day Of Light.
A must see band if they come round your way. A return to the campsite was needed for a rest and cool down before heading back in for mighty folk metallers Finntroll (8) who drew one of the biggest crowds of the entire festival. The band have been on a break for a few years but were certainly charged and energised during their performance with fantastic fun renditions of songs such as Blodsvept, Ett Norrskensdåd and of course Trollhammaren. It was over to the Boško Bursać Stage for Swedish gothic extreme metallers Tribulation (8) who were thoroughly enjoyable with their over the top dark Gothic theatrics. If you have never heard Tribulation they have a sound that can be described as The Cult and Danzig meets black metal. They are not a band I have listened to a huge amount of but one I shall definitely be giving a thorough listening from their performance.
Metalcore is not a subgenre of metal I enjoy finding it very limited and contrived but seeing as they have a massive following I thought I would give headliners Architects (4) a go. I didn’t hate every second of the performance but there was plenty I despised with half arsed Meshuggah riffs, pointless and repetitive breakdowns and whiny clean vocals. The band did perform well and had an impressive stage show but this music is really not for me and I completely fail to see the appeal in it. Especially as what followed was so damn fucking good. Final band of the evening and in the deadline slot were Norwegian atmospheric metallers In The Woods.. (10).
Metalcore is not a subgenre of metal I enjoy finding it very limited and contrived but seeing as they have a massive following I thought I would give headliners Architects (4) a go. I didn’t hate every second of the performance but there was plenty I despised with half arsed Meshuggah riffs, pointless and repetitive breakdowns and whiny clean vocals. The band did perform well and had an impressive stage show but this music is really not for me and I completely fail to see the appeal in it. Especially as what followed was so damn fucking good. Final band of the evening and in the deadline slot were Norwegian atmospheric metallers In The Woods.. (10).
I seem to be the MoM fanboy of In The Woods… having reviewed their two previous records and scored them very highly but this was my first time seeing the band live and they certainly did not disappoint. Getting a position at the front of the stage I was utterly mesmerised by over an hour of truly wonderful music. The band performed a nice mix of recent material such as Empty Streets and Respect My Solitude and older material harking back to their black metal days such as Heart Of The Ages and In The Woods (very appropriate considering the band were playing on a stage situated in the woods). The band performed fantastically buy frontman James Fogarty certainly impressed with his mix of baritone clean vocals and anguished screams. The perfect end to the second day and easily my favourite performance of the festival.
Day Three
The heat continued to rise as Wednesday hit but struggled through I did to catch fellow campsite buddies and awesome UK melodic death metallers Countless Skies (8). Despite the relentless heat and their slot on the New Forces stage they attracted a very decent sized crowd and wowed with their melancholic melodic death metal stylings with a set comprising of old and new material. This is a band surely destined for great things ahead. Next it was over to the Boško Bursać Stage for Italy’s Hour Of Penance (7) who performed a furious set of bowel rupturing violent death metal. Hour Of Penance are a fantastic band who balance the right level of technicality and brutality but after a few songs things can start to get a bit repetitive.
Day Three
The heat continued to rise as Wednesday hit but struggled through I did to catch fellow campsite buddies and awesome UK melodic death metallers Countless Skies (8). Despite the relentless heat and their slot on the New Forces stage they attracted a very decent sized crowd and wowed with their melancholic melodic death metal stylings with a set comprising of old and new material. This is a band surely destined for great things ahead. Next it was over to the Boško Bursać Stage for Italy’s Hour Of Penance (7) who performed a furious set of bowel rupturing violent death metal. Hour Of Penance are a fantastic band who balance the right level of technicality and brutality but after a few songs things can start to get a bit repetitive.
Next it was over to the Lemmy stage for one of my most anticipated bands of the festival Finnish swampy melodic death metal band Kalmah (7). Unfortunately Kalmah were the first sound casualty of the festival for me with a mix that took all the power out of the music. Performance wise the band were fantastic with their relentless take on the Finnish melodic death metal sound and frontman Pekka Kokko entertained with this very dry sense of humour. The band also played a fantastic selection of songs such as Swamphell, The Black Waltz, Heroes To Us and Hades. It’s just a shame that it sounded so shite.
I remained at the Lemmy stage for the remainder of the bands I saw for the rest of the day and next up were Norwegian rockers Kvelertak (8) who came out on stage and absolutely owned it with one of the most energetic sets of the festival. Their unique blend of hard rock, punk rock and black metal definitely won over the Metaldays audience with plenty of movement from the crowd to raucous anthems such as Bruane Brenn, Nekroskop and Blodtørst. Next up were a band who were a late addition to the line up replacing the cancelled Philip H Anselmo & The Illegals but it was an announcement that was universally praised by the Metaldays attendees as the replacement band was none other than Greek metal legends Rotting Christ (9) who performed the best set I have seen them play to date. They took full advantage of the setting sun utilising lighting and pyrotechnics to great effect but it was the music that made this set with jaw dropping renditions of recent material such as Hallowed Be Thy Name, Kata Ton Demona Eautou and Elthe Kyrie alongside relics from their lengthy discography such as The Forest Of N’Gai, King Of A Stellar War and In Serviam.
I remained at the Lemmy stage for the remainder of the bands I saw for the rest of the day and next up were Norwegian rockers Kvelertak (8) who came out on stage and absolutely owned it with one of the most energetic sets of the festival. Their unique blend of hard rock, punk rock and black metal definitely won over the Metaldays audience with plenty of movement from the crowd to raucous anthems such as Bruane Brenn, Nekroskop and Blodtørst. Next up were a band who were a late addition to the line up replacing the cancelled Philip H Anselmo & The Illegals but it was an announcement that was universally praised by the Metaldays attendees as the replacement band was none other than Greek metal legends Rotting Christ (9) who performed the best set I have seen them play to date. They took full advantage of the setting sun utilising lighting and pyrotechnics to great effect but it was the music that made this set with jaw dropping renditions of recent material such as Hallowed Be Thy Name, Kata Ton Demona Eautou and Elthe Kyrie alongside relics from their lengthy discography such as The Forest Of N’Gai, King Of A Stellar War and In Serviam.
I was absolutely rooted to the spot for the entire set and totally mesmerised throughout. Then it was time for the evenings headliners and a band I had not seen for many years US progressive metal masters Dream Theater (7). This was definitely a set of two halfs - a tedious first half comprising of mainly new and recent material which got fairly boring and tested my patience and then an amazing second half with some absolute gems from the Dream Theater back catalogue such as In The Presence Of Enemies Pt. 1, The Dance Of Eternity, Lie and As I Am. Like Arch Enemy two nights previously way too many songs from the latest album were played when people really wanted to hear the old stuff.
Day Four
Day Four
After an amazing morning floating down the Soča river with friends and burning to a crisp it was time for another bunch of bands. Stifling heat again meant I missed out on the earlier bands but thankfully it clouded over and cooled down before I headed to the Lemmy stage. There were several bands either clashing or overlapping so there was plenty of running between the stages this evening starting with Polish death metallers Decapitated (8). Decapitated never fail to impress live with their brutally precise technical death metal . This set was a little too heavy on recent material for my liking but it was impossible not to bang my head to tunes such as Kill The Cult, Homo Sum and the classic Spheres Of Madness.
Unfortunately I had to miss the end of the set to get over to the Boško Bursać Stage for US old school death metallers Skeletal Remains (7) who despite the sparse crowd performed a great set with plenty of killer riffs and old school groove but unfortunately after the razor sharp precision of Decapitated their set felt slightly underwhelming. Again the last chunk of the set was missed to run back over to the Lemmy stage for Swedish metal masters Soilwork (8) who are a band I absolutely adore and have never to date disappointed me live. Björn “Speed” Strid is a masterful vocalist effortlessly switching between harsh and clean vocals and the rest of the band put in a commanding performance with fist pumping renditions of Like The Average Stalker, Nerve, The Living Infinite I, Stabbing The Drama and Stålfågel.
Another of the most anticipated sets of the weekend was from Swedish death metal legends Hypocrisy (9) and they most surely did not disappoint. Having been on a hiatus for a few years it was fantastic to see these guys back on stage and they also seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the experience performing a career spanning set. We were treated to belters such as Fractured Millennium, End Of Disclosure, Eraser, Fire In The Sky and Warpath to proper old school cuts such as The Fourth Dimension, Pleasures Of Molestation and Penetralia. It’s safe to say that I was grinning from ear to ear for the entire duration of their set. Nabbing the headlining slot of the day is a band that I never thought I would see live being as it’s more of a side project/super group than bona fide band and that is Demons And Wizards (8).
Another of the most anticipated sets of the weekend was from Swedish death metal legends Hypocrisy (9) and they most surely did not disappoint. Having been on a hiatus for a few years it was fantastic to see these guys back on stage and they also seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the experience performing a career spanning set. We were treated to belters such as Fractured Millennium, End Of Disclosure, Eraser, Fire In The Sky and Warpath to proper old school cuts such as The Fourth Dimension, Pleasures Of Molestation and Penetralia. It’s safe to say that I was grinning from ear to ear for the entire duration of their set. Nabbing the headlining slot of the day is a band that I never thought I would see live being as it’s more of a side project/super group than bona fide band and that is Demons And Wizards (8).
For those not in the know they are a power metal group formed by Iced Earth’s Jon Schaffer and Blind Guardian’s Hansi Kursch with members from both bands making up the rest of the line up. This proved to be something very special indeed. Material was drawn from the two albums in the Demons And Wizards discography with fine renditions of Poor Man’s Crusade, Crimson King, Wicked Witch and Terror Train but the biggest cheers were for the covers of Iced Earth and Blind Guardian songs performed. Two songs from each band were performed with Burning Times and I Died For You from the Iced Earth catalogue and Welcome To Dying and Valhalla from the Blind Guardian catalogue. Valhalla especially had everyone singing along though hearing Hansi Kursch singing Iced Earth songs was truly awesome as he is hands down one of the finest singers in heavy metal. A fantastic end to the day.
Day Five
The final day of the festival and things finally cooled down with actual rain falling late in the evening. I never thought I would be happy to see rainfall at a festival. After a day of relaxing in the town with some refreshing beers and ice creams I headed to the Boško Bursać Stage for the majority of the day starting things off with French blackened death metallers Svart Crown (7) who performed a suitably vicious set but not too compelling. There was nothing particularly wrong with their set but it didn’t particularly enthuse me either though I enjoyed what I saw. Next up was a band who was proper heavy metal veterans and that is US power metal band Helstar (8). A band who rarely tours in the UK so this was the first time I had seen them perform and it was a fantastic set. After starting with a couple of more recent tunes the band stated that the rest of the set would be old school and delved into the back catalogue they did with performances of Remnants Of War, Genius Of Insanity& Harker’s Tale (Mass Of Death) amongst others. Next up was some German atmospheric black metal courtesy of The Ruins Of Beverast (6). Atmospheric black metal is a genre I do really enjoy but I definitely need to be in the mood for it so following a power metal band I struggled to hold my interest throughout the set and eventually three quarters of the way through decided to walk off to get some pizza. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the performance and if I see The Ruins Of Beverast again I may thoroughly enjoy. It just wasn’t what I wanted to hear at that right time.
The night starting drawing in and the rain started to fall as Finnish black metallers Impaled Nazarene (8) hit the stage. Playing a far more energised and aggressive style of black metal than The Ruins Of Beverast the set was a barrage of vitriolic punked up black metal derailed only when nearby storms temporarily caused a power cut to the whole area. Luckily this was short lived and the band continued as if nothing had happened. The final headliner of the festival was none other than Norwegian symphonic black metal horde Dimmu Borgir (8). With this being the final headline slot of the festival my expectations were high and I think maybe too high as whilst Dimmu Borgir performed a great set there was nothing particularly special about it. Some of the new material was cool to hear live but the rest of the set was comprised of the same songs they always play. With the band recently celebrating 25 years of existence I was hoping for some old and rarely played material but we got the usual setlist suspects such as The Serpentine Offering, Gateways, Dimmu Borgir, Puritanica, Progenies Of The Great Apocalypse& Mourning Palace. All were played to absolute perfection but if you’ve seen Dimmu Borgir before it felt like deja vu. Seeing as I had an early morning pick up and a campsite to dismantle I opted to miss Tiamat and retire for the evening.
So in summary MetalDays 2019 was a fantastic festival. The heat prevented me from checking out some of the smaller bands but I got to see who I really wanted to. Seeing as next years festival is looking to be the last at Tolmin I most certainly will be returning in 2020 and with Testament, Paradise Lost, Napalm Death, Malevolent Creation and Razor already confirmed it would be rude not to. MetalDays is highly recommended for those who want a very unique festival experience.
The final day of the festival and things finally cooled down with actual rain falling late in the evening. I never thought I would be happy to see rainfall at a festival. After a day of relaxing in the town with some refreshing beers and ice creams I headed to the Boško Bursać Stage for the majority of the day starting things off with French blackened death metallers Svart Crown (7) who performed a suitably vicious set but not too compelling. There was nothing particularly wrong with their set but it didn’t particularly enthuse me either though I enjoyed what I saw. Next up was a band who was proper heavy metal veterans and that is US power metal band Helstar (8). A band who rarely tours in the UK so this was the first time I had seen them perform and it was a fantastic set. After starting with a couple of more recent tunes the band stated that the rest of the set would be old school and delved into the back catalogue they did with performances of Remnants Of War, Genius Of Insanity& Harker’s Tale (Mass Of Death) amongst others. Next up was some German atmospheric black metal courtesy of The Ruins Of Beverast (6). Atmospheric black metal is a genre I do really enjoy but I definitely need to be in the mood for it so following a power metal band I struggled to hold my interest throughout the set and eventually three quarters of the way through decided to walk off to get some pizza. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the performance and if I see The Ruins Of Beverast again I may thoroughly enjoy. It just wasn’t what I wanted to hear at that right time.
The night starting drawing in and the rain started to fall as Finnish black metallers Impaled Nazarene (8) hit the stage. Playing a far more energised and aggressive style of black metal than The Ruins Of Beverast the set was a barrage of vitriolic punked up black metal derailed only when nearby storms temporarily caused a power cut to the whole area. Luckily this was short lived and the band continued as if nothing had happened. The final headliner of the festival was none other than Norwegian symphonic black metal horde Dimmu Borgir (8). With this being the final headline slot of the festival my expectations were high and I think maybe too high as whilst Dimmu Borgir performed a great set there was nothing particularly special about it. Some of the new material was cool to hear live but the rest of the set was comprised of the same songs they always play. With the band recently celebrating 25 years of existence I was hoping for some old and rarely played material but we got the usual setlist suspects such as The Serpentine Offering, Gateways, Dimmu Borgir, Puritanica, Progenies Of The Great Apocalypse& Mourning Palace. All were played to absolute perfection but if you’ve seen Dimmu Borgir before it felt like deja vu. Seeing as I had an early morning pick up and a campsite to dismantle I opted to miss Tiamat and retire for the evening.
So in summary MetalDays 2019 was a fantastic festival. The heat prevented me from checking out some of the smaller bands but I got to see who I really wanted to. Seeing as next years festival is looking to be the last at Tolmin I most certainly will be returning in 2020 and with Testament, Paradise Lost, Napalm Death, Malevolent Creation and Razor already confirmed it would be rude not to. MetalDays is highly recommended for those who want a very unique festival experience.