On May 18-19, 2018 in the Finnish town of Hyvinkää for the seventh time the STEELFEST festival was held, bringing to life the darkest and boldest fantasies of the sophisticated black & death metal lover!
Once again I went to the festival in pursuit of 1-2 groups, in this case Watain and Mortiis, last year - Marduk. It would seem strange to go to the fest because of one gang with such an abundance of names, but Steelfest is not just a bunch of performances - it is, first of all, a get-together of people with common interests, where you can feel at ease, find new friends and sometimes it is pleasant to be surprised by the live performance of an unfamiliar band, for example, this time such a discovery was Dødheimsgard.
DAY 1.
Our bus tour began in St. Petersburg, and the road to the festival site on a big bus (border crossing, visiting Duty Free, stopping for lunch) passed without any difficulties, besides, the weather did not disappoint again this year: it was sunny and warmth. After reaching Hyvinkää, we checked into a hostel, which is traditionally used by the local school. Then everyone could use the time at their own discretion: someone immediately went to the territory of the festival so as not to miss a single group, but someone wanted to first take a walk in a small and cozy town.
This year, the line-up of the festival seemed to strive to present the most diverse areas of dark art from traditional black metal to Dungeon Synth from former Emperor Mortiis, who in fact invented this style after leaving the legendary group. Also new this year are autograph sessions.
The festival began traditionally with more or less unknown bands Havukruunu, Cohol, One Master. Unfortunately, there was no such enchanting opening as last year with the participation of Azazel, but maybe it's for the better))
Then there were the French Baise Ma Hache, the tremendous Archgoat, Malokarpatan and the Finnish black metal cult Satanic Warmaster.
One of the most powerful performances of the day was the devilish napalm from Deströyer 666. A vigorous mixture of thrash and black metal, multiplied by the movement in the crowd. These devils know their stuff!
The highlight of the first day of Steelfest 2018 was the WATAIN ritual performance! Live fire along the edge of the stage and burning tridents, reaching out to which you could feel their heat and the fierce power of the Swedish Black Metal Militia. Their light illuminated the madness that was happening on the stage and in front of her. The crowd of people raged, intoxicated with Finnish beer and the devilish beauty of a poisonous red, bursting straight from the underworld. This time Eric, in addition to the trance vocals, took over the guitar. Watain's unique show - Steelfest's brightest flash in the black sun.
The first day ended with a performance by Mortiis, which magically transported us from the infernal cauldron to the mystical thickets of the near-black forests. The big-eared devil lulled the festival after a hot day and prepared for the second crazy day.
In between the two festival days, it is worth talking about the "everyday" aspects. On the way from the hostel there is a large shopping center with a grocery supermarket with ready-made food and beer from 3 euros. Near the entrance to the fest there is a Rax Buffet with a buffet for 12 euros. On the territory of the festival, prices are higher. Beer can be bought for 6 euros (moreover, this is the price in a plastic glass, if you buy beer in a can, then the price will be 8 euros, 2 of which can be returned if you return the can).
Food can be bought for a price of 8 euros. These are mainly potatoes with sausages, fried small fish, rice with sausage, etc., there are also hamburgers and sweets. There are a large number of outdoor tables with benches on site and an indoor area by the second stage. Also in several tents you can buy a variety of merchandise: discs, vinyl, T-shirts, etc.
DAY 2.
The second day also began with a warm-up in the form of Hin Onde, Nattfog, then Skogen, Asagraum, Demilich, Alghazanth were chopping. It is worth noting the atmospheric and melodic performance of Saor, then Necrophobic viciously presented their new album in Swedish and of course they played the pesky Revelation 666! Next came the Forteresse. Cult Of Fire, famous for their intricate stage image, also played to the glory of all possible gods, adding atmosphere not only using live fire, but also pleasant incense that filled the hall.
And Necros Christos pounded right and left with their low tuning of guitars and simple riffs, causing sincere joy.
At the end of the second day, the performance of DHG (Dødheimsgard) was a pleasant opening. Next came Moonsorrow.
A real exclusive was the final performance of the Hungarians Tormentor led by Attila from Mayhem. Thirty years later, the band reunited to pay tribute to their album "Anno Domini", which did not receive wide recognition, although everything seemed to be in place: both sawmill guitar parts and Attila's inhuman screaming. Tormentor was one of the first to use it all, but Black Metal only became incredibly popular a few years after the recording of "Anno Domini". But by that time the group will have ceased to exist. In the finale of the Tormentor festival, they cheerfully turned on the heat, squeezing the last strength from the audience.
After the end of the performances, the most persistent continued to drink their beer, and someone decided not to sleep until the morning, so as not to miss a single second of this dark celebration.
DAY 3.
On the morning of the third day, we set off for the return journey. Tired, but satisfied after the tour, we returned to the festival with other people with a huge number of inexpressible impressions and new acquaintances and friends. Our black metal journey ended in St. Petersburg 2.5 days later. This whole crazy trip has once again confirmed that next year you will definitely need to go to Steelfest for the third time! Black Metal awaits!
