MIDGARDSBLOT 2022 (Horten, Norway)
August 17-20, 2022
by Jorge Patacas
It was mid-august, therefore time to visit the sacred grounds of Borre, Norway, where the Midgardsblot festival is held. The area is somewhat magical, full of nature and history and it’s unique in Scandinavia since it contains the largest number of burial mounds from the Viking Age. It’s also home for the Midgard Vikingsenter, an exhibition facility that conveys knowledge about that period which serves as introduction to the history of the area. There is no better place to arrange a festival that focuses as much in metal as it does in the Viking culture, and this is something that attracts not only locals, but a lot of people from abroad who are into metal, vikings and even spirituality.
As they usually do, this year they also had many other activities besides the concerts. Among them, the Mimir Talks presented by Vicky Katarina Mikalsen which is a seminar program where speakers who have expertise in different fields share their knowledge, the Norse Tattoo Con where you could get Norse/Viking style tattoos by some of the best artists, a listening session of the new Heilung album, “Drif”, and a lot more.
There were some changes when it comes to the stages this year compared to the last time in 2019. A new main stage called Helheim was added while the previous main stage called Valhalla was moved to another area and worked as a second stage. Then they had the small stage inside Gildehallen, which is a reconstruction of a hall from the Viking Age. It’s a bit challenging to get in when a lot of people want to see the band playing on that stage, but if you manage, you find out the atmosphere is amazing. There were also some mini shows at the Grimfrost merch tent, which is the Swedish brand of viking products owned by Arve, Sjöberg and Amon Amarth’s vocalist Johan Hegg who was at the festival by the way, as well as the guitarist Johan Söderberg who was invited to be a DJ in the bar tent one of the nights.
When I arrived to Borre, Norwegian black metallers Mork were about to start their show at the Valhalla stage. The band from Halden who is the brainchild of vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Thomas Eriksen, has been very active both in studio and live. They released their latest album “Katedralen” in 2021 and were about to release a new EP called “Den Svevende Festning” at that point. They had also played at Wacken Open Air in Germany for the first time a few days before and were about to embark on their first tour ever in Latin America. Their performance at Midgardsblot met the expectations of the black metal fans with a set containing songs from their latest effort including “Født Til Å Herske”, “Arv” and “Det Siste Gode I Meg”. The last one has some parts with cleaner vocals, while “Da Himmelen Falt” was one of the most melodic compositions that evening showing they’re not afraid of pushing some boundaries.
Up next at the same stage was Kalandra, a name that was unknown to many bloters, but they were surprised after an impressive performance which definitely fit the spirit of the festival. The band started in 2011 and has a background from LIPA (Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts) with Norwegian and Swedish musicians playing a unique style weaving ethereal melodies into eerie musical landscapes, sometimes close to an alternative kind of pop music. This was the first time they played with a full arrangement, so they had more musicians than usual on stage creating the atmosphere that each song demanded. They have served as opening act for Wardruna in the past and decided to play a cover of “Helvegen”, but most of the setlist was based on their debut album “The Line” (2020) which got really positive reviews. The band not only captivates with their music and vibes, but visually as well.
The second day started early in the afternoon with the Greek act Lucifer’s Child playing at the new Helheim stage. This is a band formed in 2013 by then Rotting Christ’s guitarist George Emmanuel and Nightfall’s bass player Stathis Ridis, who later on was replaced by the current member Kostas Gerochristos. They play black metal, as you may have guessed judging by the name, and have released two full-length albums, “The Wiccan” (2015) and “The Order” (2018), and a split album called “Under Satan’s Wrath” with the legendary Mystifier from Brazil which came out earlier this year limited to 1000 copies. The four-piece displayed a lot of energy on stage with great riffs, lyrics full of blasphemy and a strong attitude. Some raindrops began to fall, but that didn’t stop the crowd from starting a circle pit three (!) times. We were very fortunate to be there early to witness their performance.
At the Kaupangr stage located inside the Grimfrost tent, Rúnahild started her show for a small group of people while the rain was now pouring down outside. Accompanied by Gustav Holberg, she delighted the crowd with her spiritually-charged ethereal neofolk. People loved it and that was clear considering the effusive applause at the end.
After the healing sounds of Rúnahild, it was time to go back to the main stage for some Swedish death metal (yes, that’s how varied the festival can be) in the form of the legendary Vomitory, who reunited in 2018 after splitting up five years before and playing a lone show in Germany in 2017. Non-compromising death metal is what they usually offer and there was no exception this time. Solid performance.
There has been this trend of faceless black metal bands in recent years where Batushka, Mgla, Cult of Fire or Gaerea would be good examples. Gaerea comes from Portugal and played at the main stage putting on a brilliant show where the vocalist screamed his lungs out and you could notice he was really feeling what he was saying. The sinister yet melodic riffs and thunderous blast beats were outstanding as well. A modern approach to black metal which was widely accepted by the crowd.
There was more black metal waiting for us on the Valhalla stage, but this time in a more traditional way. Norwegian act Urgehal came out on stage with their old school black metal in terms of music and aesthetics as well, which consisted in corpsepaint and lots (I mean, lots) of spikes. They destroy everything in their path with massive blistering-fast riffs in some of the songs, while they have many slower, colder and grim passages in others.
It’s been a while since the last time Myrkur performed in Norway and the area of Borre was just perfect for an act like her. Contrary to her show at the John Dee venue in Oslo in 2018, this time the format was focused on folk songs where the vocalist (real name Amalie Bruun) played keyboards as well as guitar, a big drum and a nyckelharpa depending on what the songs required. Backed up by great musicians including her collaborator Christopher Juul from Heilung and a fantastic choir, songs like “Crown” from her “Mareridt” album (2017) sounded great, while folk songs like “House Carpenter” made her voice shine, thus earning the applause of the audience.
The Celtic folk-influenced black metal band Primordial has played in Norway many times and they already established an audience here, so naturally they got a very good response from the crowd during their performance at the Valhalla stage. The vocalist A.A. Nemtheanga is a really good frontman and got the audience on board with his movements and poses. “Where Greater Men Have Fallen” and “Empire Falls” were definitely the highlights here.
The Helheim stage was packed when the headliners of the day, Wardruna, were about to start their show. This makes sense considering they share inspiration and values with the festival and its attendees. They opened with the title song from their latest album, “Kvitravn” (2021) released by the label By Norse Music, and right from the start the atmosphere turned into something powerful and truly magical where the audience seemed to be in a state of trance while listening to the sounds coming from all kinds of instruments from the past and present and Einar Selvik’s unique voice. At this point, it’s hard to think about him as Kvitrafn, the black metal stage name he used when playing drums for Gorgoroth back in the early 2000’s. He’s in a different phase of his career right now and clearly feels comfortable with it. The crowd was outstanding, erupting in a roar at the end of every song, specially in “Solringen”, “Raido”, “Fehu” and “Odal”, and was by far the best response on the entire festival. The last song was “Helvegen” and Selvik addressed the audience about Wardruna’s intention to allow the oral music tradition to survive, not to bring back the Viking Age, leaving the stage to a standing ovation.
The Norwegian black metal outfit Endezzma were the first to perform at the Helheim stage under the sunlight on the third day of Midgardsblot. The five-piece from Hønefoss began their career in 2005, but released their debut full-length album seven years later, same year that guitarist/bassist Trondr Nefas sadly passed away. They were able to continue with a new lineup and last year they released their third album, the epic “The Archer, Fjord and the Thunder”. Their songs are intense, powerful, complex yet emotional and they know how to convey that on their live show. Great way to kick-off a new day.
Wardruna’s female vocalist Lindy-Fay Hella has her solo career and performed at the main stage with the band Dei Farne and Otto Egil Sætre as male vocalist as well. Hailing from the island Radøy near the western city of Bergen, she was able to release her solo debut “Seafarer” in 2019 having a listening session of the same at Gaahl’s Galleri Fjalar where Rise! was present. It was very interesting to finally see these songs live and she impressed with her vocals and ethereal style.
There were many options for black metal fans this day and one of them was Ragnarok, a Norwegian band coming from Sarpsborg that has been around since 1994. They took the stage with their trademark corpsepaint and were a relentless force from the start playing tracks from their latest album “Non Debellicata” (2019) as well as previous material.
Eivør from the Faroe Islands was next and many in the crowd were looking forward to seeing her live and enjoy her tunes inspired by folk, art pop, rock and even electronica. She was clearly excited about performing at this festival as well and the chemistry with the audience was good from the start. Songs like “Falling Free” and “Ocean” stood out and showed how powerful her voice is, perhaps a bit too powerful for the sound system that suddenly short-circuited in the climax of “True Love”! There was a delay of some minutes due to this issue, but everyone had a good laugh about it and Eivør and her band were able to return and end their set.
Later on the Polish black metal band Batushka invited us to their orthodox “ceremony” with candles, incense, icons and a coffin on stage. There were lots of conflicts in this band in recent years between the founder Krzysztof Drabikowski and vocalist Bartlomiej Krysiuk, leading to two different versions of the band, but this was Drabikowski’s version. Their lyrics are written in Old Church Slavonic, an ancient liturgical language, and this in combination with their melodic atmospheric black metal and the Orthodox aesthetics works perfectly. Their show was absolutely fantastic.
The Norwegian folk band Voluspá performed for the first time at Midgardsblot back in 2019 at the main stage and with a full lineup. Now they were performing at the tent as a duo with Sól Geirsdóttir on vocals and Varg Saastad on guitars and vocals, so this time it was a lot more intimate and the small audience was very excited. Several songs were performed including “Valfar” and they closed with a really emotional version of “Heathen Heart” with everyone singing alone united. It was one of those moments that gives you goosebumps.
The last band of the evening at the main stage was the Hellenic black metal masters Rotting Christ who have a lot of followers in Norway and always get an overwhelming response. This was the case this time as well right from the start with “666” and “P’unchaw kachun- Tuta kachun” from their “Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy” album (2013). The bass player Kostas Heliotis (ex Chronosphere) deserves a special mention for his attitude on stage constantly interacting with the audience, trying to get them in the mood. He joined the band in 2019 and it was definitely a great addition as well as guitarist Kostis Foukarakis. The group led by the brothers Sakis and Themis Tolis (vocals/guitars and drums respectively) went throughout their long career playing both old school and new material, so we got to hear “Fire, God and Fear”, “King of a Stellar War”, “In Yumen-Xibalba” and “Grandis Spiritus Diavolos” leaving the stage for the first time with the title track of their second album “Non Serviam” from 1994. They returned for the encore consisting of “The Forest of N’Gai” from their debut EP “Passage to Arcturo” (1991). Epic performance!
The weather was hot and the sun was shining on the last day of the festival and Helheim was the first band to take the stage of the same name. That was a coincidence that does not happen everyday and they mentioned it. This is a Norwegian viking-oriented black metal coming from Bergen that was founded in 1992 and have released many albums throughout the years. The latest one, “WoduridaR”, came out last year and we got to hear some of this material, always in the path of black metal with melodic soundscapes.
Koldbrann was next with their very aggressive and raw sound with lots of energy and confrontational attitude, specially from the vocalist Mannevond. This is black metal in its purest form. If you have the chance, check them out. Totally recommended!
Time to enter the Gildehallen where a very young trio called Dep was performing. They’re coming from a small town called Steinkjer in central Norway and started playing four years ago. The audience got impressed by the skills on their instruments and the vocalist delivered even though he mentioned he was not feeling good. We’ll see what’s next for them but the talent is there!
Borknagar released their latest album “True North” in 2019 and now they were finally able to perform live some of its songs as well as older material. The band went through different phases over the years having their roots in black metal, then becoming more melodic with folk elements at times, while the latest stuff is more prog-oriented, but always focused on topics like nature, spirituality and mythology. The set was quite varied with atmospheric and dynamic songs from all eras, including the latest singles “True North” and “Voices”. There was also time for some of the early black metal stuff with ICS Vortex on vocals. The end came with the title track from the “Winter Thrice” album (2016).
One of the highlights of the festival was Zeal and Ardor, the Swiss/American avant-garde band that made an impact with their debut album “Devil is Fine” back in 2016. Despite the success, they were still unknown to many of the bloters who got very impressed and concluded it was the best performance of the day. Their compositions alternate between full aggression and more quiet moments with amazing choral chants by Denis Wagner and Marc Obrist backing up vocalist/guitarist and founder Manuel Gagneux.
The band members were visibly happy with the response they were getting from both fans and those who were curious. The energy flowing on stage could definitely be felt. In fact, this is a band that usually don’t interact with the audience that much between the songs, but this time the frontman addressed the crowd more than once even saying “you guys are insane!”. Highlights were “Death to the Holy”, “Devil is Fine” and the end with “Baphomet”.
Just like the previous days, the area in front of the main stage was completely packed when it was time for the headliners, which this time was the most anticipated band for most people attending the festival, Heilung. It seems like there is no better place for them to play than this event considering the historical surroundings, the nature and the magic that place has. Last time they played at Midgardsblot was in 2019 and now they returned for another ritual which, as usual, was amazing. Everything was in synchrony: the movements, the chants, the sounds. They create a unique atmosphere that has some kind of hypnotizing effect on the crowd. It was truly a breathtaking experience.
Midgardsblot is getting better and better every year and it’s always a very special experience that is hard to forget. You get to see great bands you already know, discover new ones, meet new people which in many cases become friends for life, learn new things about the Viking culture, visit the area around and overall, you have a great time. Kudos to the organizers and crew for making it happen and making sure everyone had a good time at all times. Skål!
