Extreme Metal

[Maddolis]

Brutal Assault was incredible, as it was last year.
So many ridiculously good bands, but I did manage to find a few highlights.
Solefald were probably my favourite- they were the only band I saw that didn't play any of the two main stages, but rather a very large tent/shed type building. The energy in that room was incredibly powerful, as I suppose you'd expect when such a band of comparably small size but with a passionate cult audience performs. The contrast between the heavier and softer sections was great, they were tight as all hell, and it was such an experience.
Very, very fucking close to Solefald were Carcass, who I'm not incredibly familiar with (knew maybe two of the 8-9 songs they played, and Obscura and Opeth, both of whom's sets I was very familiar with. There were a couple of tracks Obscura played I wasn't hugely familiar with, but they played at least three off Omnivium and 2-3 off Cosmogenesis and were very tight. A couple of the intricate harmonies I couldn't hear perfectly, but they were incredibly tight and generally had a very good sound. Opeth had a great setlist for the hour they had. The Devil's Orchard, Ghost of Perdition, Atonement, Deliverance, Demon of the Fall (acoustic) and Blackwater Park. I'd prefer the regular Demon of the Fall seeing as I'd already heard the acoustic version earlier this year, but the whole set was fucking tight as always. Primordial were incredible too, though they only had time for four songs. Two of those I adore though, and Nemtheanga looked like a fucking sith lord. Orphaned Land were great, though I missed a couple of songs because it pissed down raining after a song or two, and I was a pussy with some mates. If I wasn't going to see them at Summer Breeze I definitely would've stayed- but I know full well from Wacken last year how uncomfortable being soaked at a festival can be. Borknagar were fucking great, but I was so tired from Solefald and Opeth that I wasn't 100% psyched for them. I didn't expect them to play Dawn of the End, which was a delightful surprise. Alcest were perfectly tight as always, and Amorphis were such a pleasure to watch, though I wasn't big on the first, second, and last songs, which I think were off the new album and more mainstream. They did play a heavy track off their new album though, which inspires me to listen to the whole thing. Gojira were very tight and had a generally solid setlist, same as Ensiferum. Both Gojira and Ensiferum could play one of the most amazing gigs for me, or could play a fairly ordinary one due to their set lists, but they always have great energy and did play at least a couple of tracks that I love. Coffins were solid, and we also saw some of Vreid, Voivod, Leprous/Ihsahn, Meshuggah, Rotten Sound, Entombed, and November's Doom. Saw In Flames but didn't like their set.