Aalborg Metal Festival 2018 - Our recommendations!

Aalborg Metal Festival is just around the corner, and in less than seven days we’ll all be gathered at Studenterhuset for an action packed 3-day festival in the name of all that is heavy. With these recommendations we wish to inspire your choice of bands for this weekend, and we’ll hopefully see you in the front for many of these amazing acts!

3-day tickets are running very low, so if you haven't secured one for yourself, now is the time!

3-day tickets as well as single day tickets can be bought right here! Aalborg Metal Festival tickets

Thursday

Xenoblight (DK) - Progressive thrash/death metal

Xenoblight released their debut album back in February 2018, this female fronted band (you would never have guessed it..) is full of fury. Back in august these guys and gal won the 4th place at Wacken Metal Battle 2018, and it shows a bright future as well as a milestone for these young, but well hardened and talented musicians. If there ever was a band to open up a festival with a punch in your face, then this is the band!

Xenoblight - Transcendence:

Beyond Creation (CAN) - Progressive/technical death metal
All the way from Canada, Aalborg Metal Festival can proudly present these tech-loving guys. The band has released their third full-length record this month, and they are for sure only improving! By using a fretless bass, Beyond Creation has created a unique sound, so if you like some technical fingering, this band will deliver sweet music to your ears this Thusday evening.

Beyond Creation - The Inversion:

Vreid (NO) - Black metal
The headliner for Thursday is none other than sognametal titans, Vreid from Sogndal, Norway. The band was founded back in 2004 after the tragic death of the late Terje 'Valfar' Bakken founder of Windir (1994-2004). So these guys have been around since some of you were even born, and it shows! Having just released their 8th full length record back in late-September, an album we gave 5 out of 5 (re-read our review of Lifehunger here: https://metal-to-go-dk.blogspot.com/2018/09/vreid-lifehunger-album-review.html), we are definitely grateful to have them back in Denmark to perform, and we can garuantee we’ll be front row! Heidra Sogndal, Heidra Vreid!

Vreid - One Hundred Years:

Other bands playing Thursday:

Gorod (FR) - Progressive/technical death metal
Brought by Pain (CAN) - Progressive death metal
Entheos (CAN) - Black metal

Friday

Whoredom Rife (NO) - Black metal

If there was ever a new black metal band from Norway receiving recognition from all around the world then Whoredom Rife must be the band! Having only existed about four years, these guys have released two full length records and an EP, you can simply not fathom what we are about to witness except for absolute mayhem and chaos when they enter the stage for their first show in Danish soil. Your neck and soul will bleed for eternity after this!

Whoredom Rife - Beyond the Skies of God:

Gaahl’s Wyrd (NO) - Black metal

Back in 2015, Gaahl announced the final God Seed show, and also the beginning of a new project, Gaahl’s Wyrd, a band that just signed with Season of Mist and are finally about to release their debut album in early 2019! The show will most likely consist of songs from all of Gaahl’s musical career, ranging from older Gorgoroth, and Trelldom to God Seed, and it will without a doubt be a dark highlight of Friday… Satan!

Gaahl’s Wyrd - Steg (Live):

Anaal Nathrakh (UK) - Industrial black metal/grindcore

Anaal Nathrakh is finally returning to Denmark since their last visit in 2015, this time at Aalborg Metal Festival 2018, taking the medal as the most extreme band at the festival this year.
Almost a month ago, the band released their tenth studio album A New Kind of Horror, and we bet they will play some songs from this new album, along with classics like ‘Between Shit and Piss We Are Born’ and ‘In the Constellation of the Black Widow’. We are going to witness something wild and ferocious this evening, as Anaal Nathrakh’s music is described best as organized chaos, so this will definitely be an interesting live experience.

Anaal Nathrakh - Of Fire, And Fucking Pigs:

Enslaved (NO) - Progressive black/viking metal

The true Norwegian kings of progressive black and viking metal are back on Danish soil for a third time in 2018, just after a little over a month of absence, and we gladly welcome them back as always! Having released over 14 full length albums(!) in their career, spanning over more than 25 years, it is impossible to guess what we songs we will receive this night as these guys always have a surprise hidden somewhere in the set. Show up and get blown away!

Enslaved - The River's Mouth:

Other bands playing Friday:

Illdisposed (DK) - Melodic death metal

Blood Eagle (DK) - Death/groove metal

Rising (DK) - Sludge/groove metal

Mortal Dread (DK) - Death metal

Saturday

Portrait (SE) - Heavy metal

If there ever was a band to follow the path that Mercyful Fate and King Diamond created, Portrait would be one of them! Hailing from Kristianstad, Sweden, these guys have been rocking the falsetto and sweet-ass guitar licks since 2006. Back in 2017, they released their fourth full-length through Metal Blade records. A definite milestone in their career! Do not miss these guys!

We can’t wait to scream along on songs like ‘Beast of Fire’, ‘Darkness Forever’ and ‘Burn The World’!

Portrait - Burn The World:

Saturnus (DK) - Doom/death metal

One of the most important doom/death metal bands around is back at Aalborg Metal Festival and it is always a treat to see this band live as they rarely perform. Having ‘only’ released four albums, though nearly all of them spanning over an hour long each, in their 25+ years of activity is not a bad thing, as these guys are taking all the time they need to produce masterpieces like ‘Paradise Belongs To You’ and ‘Saturn in Ascension’. The true poet, Thomas A.G. Jensen and the rest of the guys of Saturnus: We welcome you back to Aalborg, and let’s get this melancholic show started!

Saturnus - Christ Goodbye (live):

Necrophobic (SE) - Black/death metal

Hailing from Stockholm, Sweden this band has been at the forefront of the Swedish death/black metal scene. Having released eight full-length records, the latest one ‘Mark of the Necrogram’ released back in February 2018, the first one in five years, and the first one in over 25 years to feature Anders Strokirk back in lead vocals. Suffice to say, this band is back with renewed energy, passion and pure hellfire! These guys don’t play around and you would know if you have ever witnessed a Necrophobic show during the last few years.

Necrophobic - Mark of the Necrogram:

Ross the Boss (US) - Heavy/power metal

If you are into the truest form of metal, then Ross the Boss is your band! Ross, the founder (alongside with Joey DeMaio) of Manowar and songwriter of some of the greatest heavy metal classics like 'Battle Hymn', 'Kings of Metal' and 'Hail and Kill', are finally on Danish soil with the rest of the gang. We can expect and evening full of Manowar classics as well as their own material. If you're not into metal, you are not my friend! Fuck the world. Hail and kill!

Ross the Boss - Battle Hymn (live)

Decapitated (PL) - Death/groove metal

A death metal band founded back in 1996 by mere teenagers aging 12-16 that has been through every bands worst nightmare. On October the 29th 2007 their tour bus collided with a logging truck, resulting in the death of Witold ‘Vitek’ Kiełtyka (and younger brother of the only remaining original member, Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka) along with leaving back then frontman, Adrian ‘Covan’ Kowanek with severe brain damage leaving him in an almost vegetative stage. No one should ever witness the things that these guys have, and we honour their strength and courage to carry on and we welcome them back with our utmost sincerity. Now play some fucking death metal and wake Covan the fuck up!

Decapitated - Kill The Cult: