Legendary Brazilian band SEPULTURA has just played in Poland, demolishing the famous Spodek venue in Katowice. Those who have already climbed from under the debris do not need much persuading to attend the Brazilians’ farewell festival show in Poland.
This story began exactly 40 years ago in Belo Horizonte with juvenile, basement blasphemies. A moment later, with their debut album, Morbid Visions, the Brazilian band became a local power, only to then conquer the world with their third record, Beneath the Remains. Roots, released in 1996, is a phenomenon that married thrash metal with modern sounds but also drew from the ethnic heritage of South America, and turned the band into bonafide stars. A year later, with the microphone now in the hands of Derrick Green, the band had to reinvent themselves – successfully at that, cause although SEPULTURA’s music is a constant evolution, its quality and energy remain the same. Each encounter with Sepultura is one of a kind, but this story is unfortunately coming to a close. Their Gdańsk concert, entitled Life Through Death, will be a festival farewell to the Polish audience. You don’t want to miss this.
The Last Will and Testament, OPETH’S new album, heralds the two comebacks we’ve been waiting for – the band has returned to a heavy sound in the studio, and will return to Mystic Festival next June.
Is it possible for metal to be both extreme and noble? Well yes, if its name is OPETH. The Swedes may come from death metal underground, but they owe just as much to the art rock classics of the 70s. Acoustic guitars, wild key parts, stacked arrangements – these are all the band’s hallmarks. However, The Last Will and Testament, OPETH’S latest record, whose release we will celebrate this Friday, proves that the progressive element has not consumed them entirely. Mikael Akerfeldt is growling once again, riding on powerful riffs, for a tale of one lineage’s dark secret requires such a mode of expression… We have already hosted Opeth in Gdańsk, so you don’t need us to tell you that it will be one hell of a concert.
DARK TRANQUILITY and TIAMAT, two living legends hailing from Sweden, with the entrenched in the past Green Lung and modern Cobra the Impaler to boost – here are the newest names you can expect in next year’s festival program.
At the threshold of the 90s, the Swedes had not only mastered how to play death metal, but almost immediately begun to change the rules of the still emerging genre. DARK TRANQUILITY were among the pioneers from Gothenburg who married brutal force with melodies straight out of NWOBHM.
It’s a history still being written. The title of the latest DARK TRANQUILITY record is Endtime Signals, but all it takes is one listen to decode that the signal hardly signifies the end – the band still has a vision for and the energy to follow their own path.
They also started out with death metal, but they quickly decided to blow up the convention with turns to prog rock, doom metal and gothic rock. Johan Edlund and his bandmates were not the only ones to walk the experimental path, but few have come across as many treasures there as TIAMAT – The Astral Sleep, Wildhoney, A Deeper Kind of Slumber, Skeleton Skeletron… there’s too many to name. You cannot mistake their sound for that of any other band, for TIAMAT has had many copycats, but virtually no competition.
GREEN LUNG play a blend of stoner rock and doom metal, lyrics full of eerie superstitions, blood-churning folktales, almost forgotten curses and the devil incarnate. If it were an Olympic sport, the UK would always bring metals home and this London four-piece would sport at least three golden ones, one for each album.
Impeccable technique, a talent for merging different subgenres of metal, a mastery in writing earworm refrains, and fantastic vocal harmonies – this is the Belgian band COBRA THE IMPALER. Although the title of their latest record, Karma Collision, might suggest otherwise, the band smoothly takes their turns, speeding from groove metal, through thrash and metalcore to traditional heavy metal.
If you are looking for a place to stay for Mystic Festival, then check out our interactive accommodation map below. Just add in the dates you want to stay and venue and you will be able to see what’s available nearby!
If you also need to find a flight to get you there, try our flight search feature below!
