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Hüttikerberg - Hüttikon - Switzerland 

09-10 September 2011

FOTOS

fotos Requiem

fotos Nargaroth

fotos Marduk

fotos Vital Remains

fotos Manegarm

fotos Vomitory

fotos Legion Of The Damned

fotos Gorgoroth

VIDEOS 

videoclip Vital Remains

videoclip Legion Of The Damned

videoclip Gorgoroth

Videoclip Manegarm

Videoclip Vomitory

Videoclip Marduk

REVIEW  

reportage (all stuff) by dalia di giacomo

from day 1: Requiem, Nargaroth, Marduk, 

Vital Remains

from day 2: Manegarm, Vomitory, 

Legion Of The Damned, Gorgoroth

Review 

This year edition has been awesome. Awesome again. With a super bill of extreme metal this intimate yet important and competent Swiss Metal Festival has risen its chant again 2 days long more in the wood of Hüttikon near Zürich, under the precise and enthusiast organization of the Meh Suff!- Team. And again i like to remember when this festival was a very local event with mainly Swiss underground bands, since a couple of years the Meh Suff! Metal-Festival has grown so much at the point to offer to the fans bills that are rich of bands of international fame. This year there are Marduk, Legion Of The Damned, Vital Remains, Eluvetie, Gorgoroth, among others. Considering the whole bill, it's easy to notice a balance between Thrash, Death and Black Metal integrate with the participation of Folk Metal and Doom. Nice that this great Swiss manifestation doesn't forget its origins by letting always perform Swiss bands too, many of them, in the meanwhile, have become well renown like Excruciation and, in particular, Requiem, without mentioning how successful Eluveitie are now all over the world.
I was very excited about the presence of Marduk Vital Remains and Gorgoroth, but what i have also appreciated was what this year 's edition has fully manifested: a new breeze of freshness and competence in the Swiss metal scene. There was even a refound joy in asking for setlists and picks. And for us reporters and photographers there was the surprise of a comfortable fotopit. By the way, several other logistic things were improved or fully new. Although the location has not changed, the festival area has been enlarged in rectangular shape and brought a bit nearer to the car parking. The backstage has become wider too. The weather was excellent, the service optimal and kind.The short path to the festival in the flat wood was again perfectly marked. it's incredible that only few metrs can divide the urban cluster from the magic of nature. And magic of music of course! All bands that i attended have been so enthusiast but also very practical and focused to the essential in the same measure as the fans were. Each band has played what and how was expected from them bringing on the stage the most important features of their image and style. Another common thing was the great performance of the drummers: almost all of them were enveloped in the smoke, difficult to be seen from the pit but all of them were war machines that allowed their bands to be impressive as well as very natural and easy going. More than headliners we speak of co-headliners here (concept which i like) and each band was happy and sincere by thanking the fans, the organization and when the case to announce the next one. It was not something that it's usual to be done, it was a very relaxed being together. But The great audience impressed too. impressed the bands with the already mentioned competence. This festival  represents the big knowledge of the Swiss fans and i think that the bands of this edition were very satisfied to play in this frame, which is far from the complicated spotlights of the mammoth-open airs yet so grateful. I have followed 8 bands out from the bill: 4 in the day 1, and four in the day 2. I saw some of them for the first time. All bands performed tight; i appreciated many songs that finally i had the possibility to taste live, as, for example, songs from Legion Of The Damned and from Gorgoroth. 

Day one began for me with Requiem, the Swiss artillery trio around vocalist and bassist Ralf Winzer Garcia, whose latest album "Within Darkened Disorders" was produced by Andy Classen. From Switzerland to Switzerland, Requiem was supported in the sunset by the warm greeting of fellow countrymen (and countrywomen). Requiem has played Death Metal (mainly in US -old school) from their interesting discography: one of the most speed and punishing was the "new Symbol Of Nine. 

The German Nargaroth and its "Black Metal ist Krieg" have surprised me by sounding so super on the stage. Nargaroth brought a sinister wind of misanthropic music among the trees in Hüttikon. The darkness of the evening was descending slowly and bright, in only 3 days it will be full harvest moon. René "Kanwulf" Wagner describes his music as "German Hateful and Misanthropic Metal" but influences from Black metal are evident, very strong. Nargaroth's performance was intense, vocals expressed hate and evilness, the stage acting solid, straight-forward, headbanging, inspired and nihilistic. 

From Sweden the legion of Marduk led by Mortuus brings the atmosphere one step further with a massive gig full of energy, hate... and sweat .Warschau 2: Headhunter Halfmoon marked one of the most intense moments. But by Fistfucking God's Planet, the "Panzer Division Marduk" played a bit too speed and extremely angry, although words like "stare into the face of war, death to you forevermore" were still intelligible. Anyway...a true tornado of brutality and epic evilness crashed upon the fans. In contrast with the old-Marduk , this line up is a true powerhouse and battle-machine, and, as such, it was absolutely deadly when performing one of the highlights of the evening: Limbs Of Worship. While the enthusiasm for the song Burn my Coffin was not galactic, the unholy rapture was on the contrary truly reached when Mortuus announced the song Panzer Division Marduk.

Vital Remains were quite eagerly awaited. The alchemy between the band and the audience worked very well in spite of the long songs. But From the moments that all tracks resulted fierce and attractive, their length was surely not a reason for boredom, on the contrary was the source of involving loops and solos and rhythmic force which compelled many fans to non stop headbanging. Tony Lazaro's band acted very good live and was very generous towards the Swiss fans. Vocalist Scott Willy was very resolute yet friendly , he enjoyed every second with the crowd. And I imagine that someone ended up very happy, the one who was able to catch the free dvd launched by Scott to the pit during the very beginning of the song Scorned. 

I began the second day began attending Swedish Manegarm. I reached the pit just in time few minutes before they hit the stage. Actually could have lost part of the show because i was amazed by the sunset i saw driving to Hüttikon. For a couple of seconds i would have preferred to stop somewhere in the middle of the way: the almost full moon was low at the horizon and, at the  opposite direction, the orange-coloured sun was setting illuminating indeed the moon hemisphere. The evening was as beautiful as obvious, i smiled and went on driving to the festival. Manegarm was awaited and greeted by many devotees and a big Swedish flag. The mixture of Viking Metal and Pagan was successful and surely the violin played by Janne Liljeqvist focused the attention extremely. The new song Eternity Awaits unleashed a great enthusiasm because the band combined well folkish melodies with power, technique and an impressive stop and go. But i liked so much the beautiful Sigrblot because of the excellent music composition, and i must say that it was very good played and sung, almost perfect for a live, in particular violin and guitars (arpeggio included). A bit suffering has been on the contrary the violin intro for Nattsjäl, Drömsjäl, song from which i expected more bombastic force and more evilness. Delicious were anyway violin and guitar playing together in the intro of the song Hemfärd. 

The Swedish flag was there for Vomitory too. The band has played Death metal at its finest with brutal attitude straight to the point. The set list was opened by Regorge in the Morgue and Hollow Retribution. Vomitory played heavy. It was a bad ass show, absolutely concentrated on all what guitars, bass and drums can apply to brutality. Great proficient technique which reached a peak with the song The Dead Awaken from the newest album Opus Mortis VIII. Other songs performed were Carnage Rages On, Terrorize, Brutalize, Sodomize , Serpents and Hate In A Time Of War with its harmonic clean-guitar intro and the following rhythmed blasts. 

The show of Thrash/Death Legion Of The Damned was extremely lively  with strong and solid vocals. Aggressive, even a bit nervous. Great and relentless headbanging riffs with incredible loops. But the show had also an epic touch because of the intros that separated the whole concert  3 parts at least. The band was announced by the intro "Descent into Chaos" which opens the latest album too. It is a formidable menacing intro, mainly spoken, with these lyrics:


This is the age of chaos
This is the age of war
This is the age when empires fall

This is the age of terror
This is the age of retribution
This is the age of mass executions

This is the age of chaos
This is the age of war
This is the age when empires fall

This is the age of death
This is the age of fear
As images of fire and brimstone near

This is the age of chaos
This is the age of war
This is the age when empires fall

This is the age of iron
This is the age of fire
This is the age of vengeful desire

This is the age of chaos
This is the age of war
This is the age when empires fall

That way the show was enriched by moments of sinister and truly fear-inspiring emotions. Descent into Chaos was immediately followed by Night Of  The Sabbath. Spanning from album Malevolent Rapture till the new one Descent into chaos (produced by Peter Tägtgren), Legion Of The damned have presented much from their discography in one hour that ran away fo fast and so furious as you can only imagine. A show of great impact which honoured the Meh Suff! in the best way.If i remember well they dedicated the song Diabolist to Vomitory, and surely presented the new guitarist Twan van Geel.

Setlist legion Of The Damned:

Night of the sabbath
Legion of the Damned
Shrapnel Rain
Death's Head March
----
Cult of the Dead
Killzone
Bleed for Me
Son of the Jackal
-------
Pray and suffer
Diabolist
Holy Blood, Holy War
Werewolf Corpse

And now the headliner: Gorgoroth were iconic. Gorgoroth gained a well deserved success, which, after all, was never  in doubt. There was even a  change of flag: from the Swedish to the Norwegian one. Yes, Gorgoroth got the pleasure to be welcomed with the flag of their country hanging on the pit-gate. I think that no one was disappointed by the absence of something provocative on the stage. There was no need for another Krakov 2004. So much better because the music and the utter and authentic evil aura of the band were the only protagonists, and, of course, vocalist Pest and guitarist Infernus catalyzed the attention. The setlist was well balanced: an hour in the realm of brutal old school Black Metal. The intro was already sinister, shrill and asphyxiating. Maybe only with the last song , the masterpiece Unchain My Heart  Gorgoroth have disclosed, if i can say so, a kind of romanticism. It was also the only song that Pest announced. I might be wrong but i don't remember any other song presentation. All tracks were played the one after the other in a growing sense of blasphemous mood. In few words, Gorgoroth were powerful, hateful and malignant. Moreover i got the impression that it was not us that observed them...it was them that watched us..

Setlist Gorgoroth:

Bergtrollets Hevn 
Aneuthanasia
Prayer 
Katharinas Bortgang 
Revelation Of Doom 
Forces of Satan Storms 
Rite of Infernal Invocation 
Ødeleggelse og undergang 
Blood Stains the Circle 
Satan Prometheus
Destroyer 
Incipit Satan 
Krig
Profetens Apenbaring
Unchain My Heart

FOTOS   REQUIEM

 

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FOTOS   NARGAROTH    

 

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FOTOS  MARDUK

 

song Burn My Coffin
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FOTOS  VITAL REMAINS

 

song Scorned
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FOTOS  MANEGARM

 

song Eternity Awaits
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