'THRASH 'TILL DEATHВ 2009' - DIMMU BORGIR, Korozy, The Revenge Project, Serpentine Creation
15.08.2009,В 'Kaliakra' stadium, Kavarna - Bulgaria

words byВ Ivaylo Alexandrov, photo: Georgi Georgiev

Monstrous! I cannot describe the phenomenon Dimmu Borgir in a different way. The Norwegian metal leaders are one of the most uncompromising bands one could experience the happiness seeing live. They produce a wall of sound, the stage is like their own home and the music… they may not be playing TRVE KVLT black metal long time ago but their titanic compositions blew like a tsunami the stadium in Kavarna on 15th of August.

The melomania could be such a pain in the ass sometimes. Especially when in three days you break your feet of roaming to see few favorite bands in locations, randomly scattered in Bulgaria. A Burgas spirit, Kavarna festival and then back in Burgas for Clawfinger. But this is also one of the marks that makes us different and united in the not-so-small community of festival travelers and musical fetishists.

The flying vans of the Black Sea took us from Spirit of Burgas to Thrash Till Death in five hours, including the waiting at the stations, the “pleskavitsa” in the Burgas restaurant 'Belgrade' (yes, it appears that here we all love the Serbian capital… and grill) and the obligatory for such kind of trips beers in liters. 

Kavarna welcomed us around 6:30PM with enough time to take a shower, take care of some hygiene and slight march towards the Kaliakra stadium where a crowd of black-shirted people and some face-daubed orcs were starting to gather. The stadium was wide but the crowd was loose. At least at the beginning, for the opening band Serpentine Creation.

“Satan made us do iiiiiit!”, screamed Vlad and there rushed half an hour of severe godlessness. The music of the Sofia-based band does not impress with uniqueness and shortly after the end of their set we quickly forgot exactly of what blasphemies they were telling. And we were about to face maybe the strongest extreme Bulgarian metal band in the last few years. The Revenge Project  don’t need to prove themselves – their portfolio is big enough and their talent is heard miles away with a contrary wind. Without any delay, they directly punched us with Anger to Dwell, the crowd boiled and unleashed a serious mosh[it. Thick sound, strong growls from Max Pain, great guitar duets and riff-rhythmic hurricane. How could anyone stay calm? A half an hour of pure metal pleasure.

The situation with Korozy is a bit of strange. Undoubtedly deserved cult status with everything they did few years ago but the long time of inactivity has its pluses and minuses. An advantage is the huge wish and desire Gani and his guys stood up and took the torch. It is obvious that he misses playing live. But this is also the slight negative – not good coordination between the musicians, passed by actuality of both material and sound and the notable uncertainty during their performance. Just an opinion – The Revenge Project should have been the third band.

We have waited for about 30-40 minutes, the audience grew to around 3,000 people (nice surprise, I’ve expected less) while the stage drowned in darkness and there scattered a pompous introduction. And there erupted Spellbound! (Un)Holy shit! There just isn’t such a beginning of a concert. We went insane. A through ticket for the planet Madness. All of us, and I mean everybody, raised the horns and fists and thousands hairs flew off in never-ending carousels. And Dimmu Borgir totally crush at a concert. What a profound sound, what a stable appearance, what a playing! I apologize for the tautology but this show of darkness hardly fits a verbal suit. The Norwegians go out and rule. It is hard to say something more.

В 

A killer band and great setlist that included tracks of almost all their periods. Of course, they paid attention to the last album 'In Sorte Diaboli' (The Serpentine Offering, The Chosen Legacy). But the band also included old and favorite songs like 'Kings of the Carnival Creation', 'IndoctriNation', 'Relinquishment Of Spirit And Flesh...'

Shagrath is an extraordinary frontman, who knows how to attract the audience. Infernal screams and his typical acid-poisonous voice evoked a wave of furor while the hymns of the band were spread. And the giant Vortex treated us with his specific clean vocals and conducted the crowd, swinging his bass like a Viking his war hammer.В 
The classic 'Mourning Palace' closed the standard set and minutes later we’ve heard the smashing Puritania, “a song we have created to play live, on festivals like this one”. The blasting riff and the insane rhythm of the song poured on us and in the next moment clouds, grass, stage and people blurred before the eyes while the necks, waists and bodies twisted harshly in hysterical ritual of brutal headbanging.
A second encore, 'Progenies Of The Great Apocalypse', last hurricane blast and there remained buzzing ears, aching necks, a fresh memory and the promise of Shagrath that they will come back. Here we bow deep before all (un)saints this to happen as soon as possible…  

Faith No More, Dimmu Borgir and Clawfinger in three days… And what a fierce Autumn is coming! Horns up!

GALLERY