HELLBOTN METALFEST 2023 (Kolbotn, Norway)
August 25-26, 2023
by Jorge Patacas
The last metal festival in Eastern Norway this summer was Hellbotn Metalfest, a small but great event with a family-like atmosphere, held annually at the Kolben Kulturhus in Kolbotn.
The venue has a large space to hang out as soon as you enter, including tables and seats where you can chat while having a drink from the bar and listening to a selection of metal songs curated by DJs who are usually found in rock/metal bars around Oslo. You can also support the bands performing at the festival by buying their merch at the Katakomben record store stand in the same area. Maintaining the same format as last year, this time there were also two stages with six bands performing each day and there was the possibility of seeing all of them since there were no overlapping shows as usually happens in larger festivals. This is also a plus of Hellbotn that the audience appreciates.
It all started on the small stage (Sal 2) with the Oslo-based Iron Bra, a doom metal trio that has been active in the scene for about five years now. The current lineup consists of Niamh McElhill (guitars/vocals), Kamilla Sauvaleinen (bass/vocals) and Alica Liebich (drums), who also works at Kniven, one of the capital’s best metal bars. Their sound has elements of traditional doom inspired by bands like Candlemass, as well as some stoner influences and psychedelic passages. Dense, heavy, groovy. A good way to kick-off the 2-day festival.
The main stage (Sal 1) was opened by Svarttjern. This black metal outfit was originally formed by vocalist HansFyrste and guitarist HaaN as a two-man project, but later evolved into a band which currently features Fjellnord (guitars), Malphas (bass) and Grimmdun (drums) in its lineup. They delivered a ferocious 45-minute long performance with songs full of evil riffs, blast beats and relentless aggression, capturing the essence of the genre. It’s been twenty years since these guys started and nothing seems to stop them. Check out their latest album “Shame Is Just a Word” (2020) if you haven’t already!
It was the turn of the Swedish heavy metal sensation Century on Sal 2. Many in the audience were very excited to see them perform live after listening to their debut album “The Conquest of Time” (2023) which was praised by both press and fans. And the band didn’t disappoint. Despite being probably the shortest set of the festival (only 30 minutes), it was enough for them to show off their skills with those fast riffs, amazing guitar solos and good songs, including “Black Revenant”, “Neon Warrior” from their demo of 2020, “Streets in the Dark” and “The Fighting Eagle” which with they closed their set.
Time to return to the bigger stage to check out Dødheimsgard, who had recently played at a venue called Blå in Oslo with Tilintetgjort and the legendary Strid.
For almost thirty years, this act from Oslo has stood out for their unique spin on the black metal genre, flirting with many different sounds, from thrash metal riffs to industrial elements, always creating high quality material for which they earned the respect of the scene. This year they released “Black Medium Current”, their first album in eight years, so naturally it was represented with songs like “Interstellar Nexus”, but we also got to hear older material like “Ion Storm” from “666 International” (1999), and even from the old school black metal-oriented first record “Kronet til Konge” (1995). Vocalist Vicotnik stands out on stage as he moves around throwing colored powder into the air putting on a very entertaining show and having a very good interaction with the audience.
After a successful performance last year, local band Abhorration was invited once again to shake the foundations of Kolben Kulturhus with their raw death/thrash metal assault. Speed, riffs, pounding drums, and the overall old school sound, image and attitude we all love. It was all there in a performance that received nothing but good comments among the members of the audience. These guys released their demo “After Winter Comes War” in 2021 and has the potential to go far. Looking forward to new material!
Gaahls Wyrd, led by Gaahl (ex Gorgoroth), were going to be the headliners on the first day, but had to cancel due to a medical condition. Fortunately, Carpathian Forest was able to replace them. Fronted by the legendary Nattefrost, they put on an hour-long show not as bizarre as the one in 2019 on the same stage, but the five-piece delivered a good show with their trademark punk-influenced black metal dirty sound that fans love. They haven’t released new material in a while, but classics like “Knokkelmann” and “Black Shining Leather” always work, and this time they chose to play a couple of covers in the form of The Cure’s “A Forest” and Turbonegro’s hit “All My Friends Are Dead”, revealing the different influences the band has.
For some reason, there were more people in the audience on the second day than on the first. Astrosaur opened Sal 2 at 18:00 as expected. During their 35 minutes on stage, this instrumental trio from Oslo gave a masterclass on how to play stoner rock with hints of prog and psychedelic elements. The compositions are dynamic and technical enough to keep you engaged, forgetting the fact that there are no vocals. Solid and entertaining performance.
Next up was Asagraum, who has played in Norway a few times now. The band was founded by vocalist/guitarist Obscura in the Netherlands and has in its lineup A. Morthaemer (also from Netherlands) on drums, Makhashanah (Abyssic, ex Sirenia) from Norway on bass and Morgane Rake from Austria as live guitarist.
As usual, they delivered an intense black metal performance opening with “They Crawl from the Broken Circle” followed by a new song called “Impure Fire” that will appear on their upcoming third studio album “Veil of Death, Ruptured” to be released on October 20th.
A. Morthaemer hit the drums showing off her skills and Makhashanah moved around the stage playing her bass with attitude, while Obscura and Morgane were more static focused on their instruments delivering a powerful performance where the title track of “Dawn of Infinite Fire” (2019) was a highlight. The end came with “The Lightless Inferno” and “Waar ik ben komt de dood” from the same album released by the Norwegian label Edged Circle Productions.
Reptilian is a band from Fusa in Western Norway that played at last year’s edition of Hellbotn. The members returned to the festival this year, but with a different band called Sepulcher, which has so far released two albums, “Mausoleum Tapestry” (2015) and “Panoptic Horror” (2018), and are currently promoting “Derealization”, the first single off their upcoming new EP. These guys really know what they’re doing, giving the crowd a real dose of death/thrash metal with an intense performance where they seemed to have endless energy. Fantastic job!
One of the most anticipated bands of the festival was Black Viper, an old school heavy/speed metal band from Oslo formed in 2012.
The energy displayed on stage here was outstanding and contagious and the good sound of the venue helped to appreciate each instrument. The hour-long set featured tracks from their new EP “Volcanic Lightning”, as well as their debut album “Hellions of Fire” (2018) where “Freedom’s Reign” and the title track stood out, but the icing on the cake was the duet with Deathhammer’s Sergeant Salsten on Razor’s “Take This Torch” paying tribute to this legendary band that was going to play at the festival and unfortunately had to cancel.
The German black/thrash outfit Old returned to Norway after fifteen years and played their first show after five years of silence. “Dawn of Darkness” is their second album released in March of this year, so they started their set with the album’s opening track “Baptized in Hell” followed by a very old song, “Blood Skull”. From start to finish both the band and the audience had a blast, headbanging, singing and throwing fists in the air. At some point, vocalist Oz, whose parents are from Spain, asked the audience if anyone spoke Spanish. The number of Spanish speakers could be counted on one hand and that’s counting me as well, but he dedicated the song to us and proceeded with “Sombra del Mal” whose lyrics are entirely in Spanish. Another highlight was definitely “Tyrants of Death”, where Hades from the local band Incinerator joined as a guest vocalist. Hopefully it won’t be another fifteen years until they return!
Replacing the aformentioned Razor, the legendary Norwegian band Aura Noir took over as the headliner. As expected, they rose to the occasion with their black/thrash, but this time with a longer set than the one they did at Tons of Rock festival a couple of months ago. Songs like “Hell’s Fire”, “Fighting for Hell” from their debut album “Black Thrash Attack” (1996), “The Stalker” and “Released Damnation” got the crowd totally engaged and surrendered to the band’s riff machinery and rawness.
It was raining a lot outside, but everyone left the venue satisfied with yet another great edition of Hellbotn Metalfest. Congratulations to the organizers and crew for making it possible, see you next year!
