Royal Metal Fest 2019 (FULL FESTIVAL REVIEW)

By Xenia Kromann
All pictures by Xenia Kromann

Another year has passed of the yearly metal festival in Aarhus, Denmark. In two days twenty-six bands were distributed in three venues, Voxhall with the mainstage and Atlas and Radar with all the other acts and artists. The weather was amazing as last year, so the chance to sit outside and socializing was at least exploited. 


Friday, 5th

Deadnate
The progressive Danish metal band from Fredericia, Denmark opened this year's festival. The band released the EP "Concrete Flood" last year and has since been well known in the Danish underground metal scene. To kick off the first show at the venue Atlas, we were witness to some serious headbanging through-out the entire show and well playing young good musicians who seemed to have their wardrobe in the right place, with matching outfits that looked planned but well chosen for both the lightning and the eye. But we have to talk about their vocals that were right next door and sounded uncooperative with the rest of the music. There was no better start for RMF 2019! 

The Interbeing
Another Danish act was up as we moved towards the mainstage, Voxhall, where melodic death metal was on the menu. More and more people showed up to support the Danes and as they entered the stage the energy was high. New songs were played while their new guitarist was also introduced. The melodic level was high and one was in no doubt that the band got their energy from listening to their own music. Visuals, smoke, and everything were brought to the stage which gave a more dimension to the show. The crowd was massive and the opening of Voxhall was celebrated. 

Lingua Ignota
As the first female to perform this year, the booking was quite special. We were introduced by closed curtains and a keyboard on the floor in front of the stage, surrounded by big lightning bulbs that she would later walk around with between the crowd while speaking the unknown language that could have been the "Lingua Ignota" language. There was some type of really depressed feeling about the entire show, it was entertaining but in an emotional way. You could tell every sound came directly from her heart which was the key and how she moved every one of her audience. The show was sucking everyone in and we all came under her spell. It did not last for long and towards the end, someone in the crowd screamed: "That's it?" and she gave us one last number while packing up her stuff. 

Faanefjell
The only pagan booking this year was also a great one. The first Norwegian act was up on the main stage while coming on with such energy. The setlist was included with everything the crowd wanted to hear and that leads one to know how strong they were in the eyes of the audience. But we did not necessarily agree and for us, they lost a lot of excitement and energy after a few songs. They seemed to come on too strong which faded out and turned into a clumsily show from their side.

Vomitory
For many attendees of the festival, this was absolutely a must in this years lineup. In front-row was a lot of longtime fans who were more than ready for a round of death metal. The band always appear brutal as ever and in this case, it was no different with songs like "Madness Prevails" and "Raped in Their Own Blood" which was to perfection. Throughout the show, there were too many sounds from the drums as they overruled a lot of other great moments. 

Taake
The second Norwegian band this evening was up as they found themselves back on Danish soil. Around the audience, there wasn't any mentioning if the band was worth looking forward to, cause none really seemed to talk about this booking compared to others. The black metal band had bad lightning and their always filled stage with smoke. To play it safe they played all the right songs like “Fra Vadested til Vaandesmed” and “Hordalands Doedskvad” for the crowd to love but came off humdrum although their energy was preeminent. 

Impalers
The band decided to call it quits for at least this time. With that being said, closing off Atlas was their mission for their second last show as Impalers. The spirit and strength were like never before especially between the crowd and the stage, that was overall an intense feeling. The road the band went down on this evening was, however, not much like what we have seen them before, cause the Manowar style was the big theme here. Especially when the audience also felt it and went all the way to do “The Sign of the Hammer” which is a similar gesture to the metal horns and in the end, the whole thing did not suit them 


Saturday, 6th

Nordjevel
It has only been a few months since their last visit to Denmark and as their return, the main stage was already set. Their stage setting is by now their signature with the two inverted crosses that have marked logos and the blue lightning that already did set the mood before the show even started. The Norwegians could not look more ready as they entered the stage with their spikes and makeup in place. Going through the show they played among other “Sunset Glow”, “Amen Whores” and “Apokalupsis Eschation” from the new album which was mixed with older songs. Sadly, sound problems was a huge deal, coming from the drums that were unfocused together with the guitar that was missing a density that made it sound flat, totally not comparable to the records. Halfway through the show, it was time for some deeper crowd and stage unity, so blood was brought up as the frontman Doedsadmiral who took a sip and passed it on to the audience. Everyone seemed to enjoy what was in front of them, cause it was the only booking with this type of visual stage appearance. 

Tongues
A local blackened doom band entered the stage at Atlas as many headed towards Radar, and we were not many to enter these Danes world of exploration. The underground band started out on a very misty and dark stage where they conveyed themselves into a red world, where both the atmosphere and their attitude was soothing to where they were headed. The frontman had a certain character, he had marked himself with a cape and some jewelry made of bones that gave a hint to which direction they turned us into. Where the rest of the band looked like any black metal band that was in their true spirit. Doubtless one of the best act for this year's festival. 

God Dethroned
Netherlands own blackened death metallers have existed for many years, and now it was our turn to have them here on Danish soil. From the very beginning, the show went out of hands and the sound was more than bad, everywhere around the venue, the drums, especially the bass drum was drowning everything on its way. Disregarded that the audience was chanting along on most of their songs, peculiarly “Your god is dead”. 


Asphyx
Second Dutch band was up at the main stage, and boy was they, one happy band, to look at. The air around them was overall positive and the connection between the stage and the crowd was more than one could ever imagine, while the whole venue was packed. Everything went totally insane and the show was overall exciting, effectively and pleasantly surprised to be a part of. We hope to hear some news from them soon, in the form of a new release. 

Decline of the I
The booking we were looking forward to the most, was these French post-black metallers. Already from the moment they entered the stage their atmosphere was absolutely overwhelming and the total stage show gave one’s whole body a skin erection. There is something about French black metal that attracts, and in this case everything just turned into a huge hypnosis that had been formed because of their visuals, the vocal, the French-speaking voice in the background and the big instrumental part, that in the end turned out to be a quite intense feeling that became personal and touched the inner emotions. The band had a mix of French and English in their expressions, which sounded just right. Sound and lightning were without a doubt complete just like the emotive show turned out to be. Best show of Royal Metal Fest 2019. 

Tribulation
Swedish gothic horror metal was also in this year's lineup and with their full-on completed stage appearance, the audience was stoked to be a part of what was going to happen. Their outfits were like taken out from a Tim Burton movie, all in all stylish. The first couple of songs were memorable but as we headed towards the fourth song it all just became repetitive, just like nothing else was going to happen, which made the show extremely characterless. The entire show seemed to be one long guitar solo and mixed with the vocalist it was tiring to listen to because it made all the songs sound the same. It was definitely an older version of the Danish band Slægt.

Suffocation
The closing act for this year's festival was all the way from the United States. Currently, on tour, they had their last stop at Royal Metal Fest. The brutal death metal band did not seem to be in many festival attendees favorites since already a lot left the area. The crowd left did appear used for energy so there was no massive thing happened compared to the fact that it was a brutal death metal band that was playing. The show came of uninteresting which was aggravating since the musicians were full of energy, but something was definitely missing in relation to closing of the festival.


It was great to see so many underground metal bands to perform for their participating metal fans over the weekend. Especially that many of the bands or artists were women for once. We had our favorite shows this year at Atlas where the experiences were just right every time. On the way home, it was difficult to see through all the bands and artist compared to what was good, since we found a huge part of the shows generally disappointing.



The Interbeing Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theinterbeing/
Decline of the I Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/declineofthei/




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