OSLO DEATHFEST: DAY 1

 Concert Reviews  1 Response »
Dec 042024
 

(Our Oslo-based contributor Chile had the good fortune to attend the latest edition of Oslo Deathfest on November 29-30, and he has given us the following lively report, accompanied by his photos.)

Time does fly on the wings of death. Nowhere more true than on the ice-covered streets of Oslo, where a moment of inattention takes you straight into the abyss or the pavement, whichever comes first. A bit dramatic, but that’s life. Threading slowly and with great care, walking through winter streets alone, he stops and takes a breath with confidence and self control; Friday has finally come to bring us the first day of Oslo Deathfest, the annual fest of unreadable logos.

A full year has already come to pass from the first edition of Oslo Deathfest, which aims to be a regular gathering for both the bands and the fans of that most beautiful genre of gut-wrenching riffs and crushing rhythms, namely death metal. Last year’s first edition was a success in itself and it was only normal to expect that the organisers would build on that by trying to expand the festival.

And they do. Going from nine bands in 2023, mostly of local fare, but still full of strong names, this year’s festival brings us fourteen bands of colourful, international variety from four corners of the Earth spread over the course of two days. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: IMPUGNER — “OSTRACIZED VITALITY

 Premieres  2 Responses »
Sep 302022
 

Last December an obscure death metal band from Oslo named Impugner independently released their debut demo Advent of the Wretched in a tiny run of tapes. But Impugner won’t remain unnoticed, because that tape found its way to Sentient Ruin Laboratories and Caligari Records, who pounced on it. They will jointly be reissuing it on November 4th, and with respected labels like that giving Advent of the Wretched a big push, Impugner are about to find a much bigger audience.

It’s no wonder these labels were seduced. Impugner have invested themselves in an early phase of death metal’s evolution, when bands like Autopsy, Death, Pungent Stench, Nihilist, and Darkthrone (circa Soulside Journey) were shaking up the underground, but while that kind of old-school devotion is at the core of what Impugner have achieved on Advent of the Wretched, there’s more going on here than slavish worship of early heroes — as you’ll discover from our premiere of the song “Ostracized Vitality” today. Continue reading »