Killtown Death Fest 2013 preview

//Killtown Death Fest 2013 preview

Killtown 2013 preview

Last year’s Killtown festival came as a very welcome surprise.  I hadn’t heard of it before but several friends had recommended it and after seeing the killer line up cameras got packed and I was Copenhagen bound.  If you missed my review in the first issue of Iron Fist magazine then a quick summary of what to expect is needed for those thinking of going to the 2013 edition.  Firstly Copenhagen is expensive, especially for those of you travelling from the UK, the strong Danish economy means everything in the city is considerably higher than over here, but don’t let that put you off.  The reason? Well the festival is a DIY non-profit affair, everything is done as cheap as possible when it comes to the food and drink inside.  Beers were around the £2 mark, and a meal of (vegan) burger and chips was around £3, hell on the last night when trying to pay for vodka and coke the bar girl said they had broken even and just gave us the drinks for free.  Yep that’s right we went to a music festival and were given drinks, you don’t get that too often now huh?  Not only are the promoters and staff super friendly and warm the venue Ungdomshuset is a good size, holding around 850, and the sound system was excellent with bands sounding great all weekend long.  There’s weed also available for those of you who partake, with space cakes, pot chai, and bags of green available for very reasonable prices.

Killtown weed

With the first two thirds of this years festival line up already being announced and presale tickets available we thought we’d put together an embed page featuring music from all the bands so you can check them out easily.  

This page will be updated as more bands get added to the bill.

 

In no particular order here are the bands so far confirmed for the 2013 edition:

Drowned – The announcement of Germany’s Drowned playing at Killtown has certainly got the underground buzzing.  2013 marks 20 years since their first demo was released, the last new material came out in 2006 but along with the Killtown announcement the band have also released some new rehearsal tracks which you can listen to on their website here.  Drowned can also be found on facebook here.

Sweden’s Tribulation started back in 2001 under the monicker Hazard.  With a change in direction from thrash influences to a far more old school death orientated sound they changed their name in 2004 to Tribulation.  This is one band where quality over quantity rules, their one full length came out back in 2009 (The Horror – see below).  However 2013 marks the release of their highly anticipated second album “The Formulas of Death” which is due out on March 1st.  Tribulation can be found on facebook here.

 

Texan death metal act Blaspherian have been going nine years but Killtown marks their first trip to Europe.  Fans of old school Incantation, and Immolation should already be familiar with their work, you can find them on facebook here.

 

Karnarium head over from Gothenburg in Sweden, find them on facebook here.

 

Vaxjo, Sweden is the home to Entrails, find them on Facebook here.

 

 

Convulse hail from Nokia in Finland and disbanded in 1994 leaving behind a legacy that grew as time has past.  Both of their full lengths “World Without God” and “Reflections” are classics of the Finnish scene that no death metal record collection should be without.  Reformed in 2012 and primed to take on Killtown you can find them on facebook here.

 

 

Death metallers Ataraxy owe more than a nod to the influence of Convulse along with fellow Finn’s Depravity.  They play heavy dark and fast tremelo picking old school Finnish death metal, but Ataraxy hail from Spain.  They can be found on facebook here.

 

“To put it simply, Macabre Exaltation is probably THE demo of the year” – Olivier ‘Zoltar’ Badin.  High praise indeed for the recently released first demo from France’s Cadaveric Fumes.  Check out one of the tracks below then go buy your Killtown ticket! Cadaveric Fumes can be found on facebook here.

 

Berlin’s Essenz wrap up elements from black metal, death and doom with a healthy dose of lyrics inspired by Occult themes.  They can be found on facebook here.

 

Ogdru Jahad have been about for several years but their debut full length is only now about to get released by Iron Bonehead Records.  Starting off as a temporary band their idea was to record a few songs, play a few shows and disappear but they have no plans to disband having now settled on a full time line up.  A track from their soon to be released debut can be found on Soundcloud here and you can find them on facebook here.

 

Copenhagen 4 piece Reverie have only been going since 2012 and their first demo “First Reverie” is due out in March through Serpent Pulse records

 

Sulphurous also hail from Copenhagen and according to their bandcamp page they take their inspiration from classic US Bands like Incantation, Deicide, and Morbid Angel.  They currently have a demo out on Serpent Pulse Records which is available on tape in a limited run of 200 or as a digital download from bandcamp.

 

The final day at Killtown entitled “Gloomy Sunday” moves away from Death and focuses on Doom. Bands currently confirmed as playing this year are as follows:

Seattle’s Anhedonist released their debut full length Netherwards in 2012 to rave reviews and made a lot of year end lists, if you haven’t checked them out already you really should!  They can be found on facebook here.

 

Apothecary are a Doom/Death metal band from Nørresundby in Denmark and can be found on facebook here. They are currently working on their first full length which is due out later in 2013.

France’s Funeralium deliver depressive funeral doom, their demo tape “Ultra Sick Doom” came out to massive praise from the underground back in 2004, and is now considered a classic.  Their new second full length “Deceived Idealism” released this month is proving the band can continue to destroy already getting multiple 9/10 scores in reviews worldwide.

 

Italy’s Into Darkness are in their own words Death/Doom Metal inspired by Asphyx/Soulburn, Derketa, Rippikoulu, Disembowelment, Acrostichon, Thorr’s Hammer, Moondark, Eternal Darkness, Mthic, Delirium, Winter, Goatlord, Crypt Of Kerberos, Bolt Thrower, Transgressor etc. Their demo was only supposed to be just that, but Hellthrasher thought it was so good, they re-released it as a CD and No Clean Singing classed it as “One of the best death/doom releases of 2012”.  You can find them on facebook here.

 

Ophis is Greek for snake but this depressive doom act hail from Hamburg in Germany.  Anyone that witnessed their set at Doom Over London in 2011 can tell you they crush live.  They can be found on facebook here.

 

 

NEW ADDITIONS:

4 more bands have been added to the bill as follows:

Alchemyst are a 4 piece hailing from Thuringia in Germany that started in 2009.  Following a string of demos that got their name known in the underground they released their debut full length “Nekromanteion” on Necroshrine Records in 2012. They will be playing London on 23rd March with Tribulation, and fans of dark occult death in the vein of Teitanblood should check them out.  Find them on facebook here.

 

Obscure Infinity also hail from Germany and started in 2007.  Influenced by the likes of early 90’s bands like Unleashed, Grave, and Asphyx, they also add in elements of Thrash and Black Metal. 2012 saw the release of their second full length “Putrefying Illusions” on Obscure Domain Productions, and in January 2013 they released a split with Deathronation on Whispers Of Death Records. Find them on facebook here.

 

Katechon are from Trondheim in Norway and have their debut album which has been mastered by James Plotkin due to be released by Nuclear War Now Prodcutions later in 2013.  You can check it out below, find them on facebook here

 

 

The latest edition to Gloomy Sunday should be instantly recognisable to anyone familiar with metalgigs as we’ve covered them a few times on the site.  London based death/doom act Indesinence produced one of the finest albums released on Profound Lore last year, “Vessels Of Light and Decay”, and their live shows are as crushing as the album that made so many end of year lists in 2012. Find them on facebook here.

You can check out the stream of “Vessels Of Light and Decay” over on Steregum here.

Tickets for Killtown are on sale now.  Find tickets and more information at the official website here.

By |2013-02-25T00:00:00+00:00February 25th, 2013|Featured Gigs|0 Comments

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