From the 24th to the 27th of April, the small village of Barroselas received another edition of the SWR Barroselas Metalfest festival, amassing already 24 editions.
40 bands split between the two stages. The 2024 edition featured the classics Cancer, Tankard, I am Morbid, and Blasphemy.
Day 0 – W:O:A Contest
It is already a tradition that the festival begins with the final phase of “W:O:A Battle, Portugal”, a contest that leads the winning band to play at the incredible Wacken Open Air, the dream of any heavy music band and metalhead! The 2024 edition was no different, day 0 started with the battle that brought to the finals, Verme, Alpha Warhead and Vøidwomb.
Formed in 2015, Verme, a death and crust band, opened the concerts on day 0 of the festival. The audience eagerly awaited the concert that began with the song “Senhor das Moscas”, from their second EP “MMDCCC”. The band’s very intense energy was contagious and did not leave the audience indifferent, who accompanied the songs with mosh pits. “There’s Nothing” was their final act.
Originally from Lisbon, thrash metal band Alpha Warhead came next. Formed in 2019, this group delivered the typical essential thrash metal energy, while the audience reacted well and responded with mosh pitting and crowd surfing. “Bullets of Hate” ended the band’s solid performance.
Time to restore energy, but no less energetic, Vøidwomb, an obscure black metal band, closed the final battle. Being a local band from the same village as the festival, Vøidwomb performed songs such as “Summon of Utu – Shamash” from the EP “Altars of Cosmic Devotion”, “VesselVoid” and “Metempsychosis”, both from their most recent work “Spiritual Apotheosis”. They were the great winners of “W:O:A Battle Portugal” 2024!
With energies replenished, and a short time to catch your breath, Cobrafuma, a band from Porto, bringing members from bands such as Plus Ultra, Greengo, Solar Corona and Killimanjaro as influences from the beginnings of thrash metal, punk and rock. They closed the first night of concerts of SWR BARROSELAS METALFEST. The concert was wonderful, the interaction with the audience was outstanding, and the band played songs like “Aço”, “Coma do Rock” and “Cascavel”.
Day 1
Redemptus, a sludge band featuring members from Porto and São João da Madeira (Aveiro), started the first day of SWR Barroselas Metalfest 24 at the Arena Stage (secondary stage). The cold made the audience a little shy at first, and after the first song “Heads you win, tails I lose”, the audience started headbanging and everything took off to become an incredible concert. The band’s set was mostly comprised of the fantastic album “Blackhearted” with songs such as “It was never meant”, “How much pain can fit in one’s chest”, “Swallow the tears” and “Doomed to crumble”, only to be interspersed by “Opposable Guilt”, from the “Every Red Heart Fades to Black” record.
Redemptus ©Rita Mota Photo
Also, at the Arena Stage, the Brazilian thrash and death metal: Disgrace and Terror, returned to Portugal, on a tour to present their sixth album “The True Will of Evil”; a performance that featured themes such as “Samael”, “Baphomet”, “The primordial call” and ended with “Golachab”.
Debuting the main stage – Abyss Stage, the Portuguese Toxikull (heavy/ speed), filled the room and quickly exploded the minds of the audience with their energy onstage and incredible vocals. Toxikull is a band that has increasingly gained recognition, both nationally and internationally. The concert ended with “Metal Defender” and featured songs from their latest release, “Under the Southern Light”. Returning to the secondary stage, the Portuguese black band Soneillon, faced some sound problems, but this did not prevent their performance as fans banged their heads to “Black Death 1348”, their last song of the afternoon.
With activity since 2014, the Swedish Lik brought to SWR old school death metal, which left the public radiant. Vircolac, an Irish death metal band, which also aroused great interest in the public, started the concert with the song “Veneration”, which gives its name to their latest album released in February of this year. A bold concert with powerful sound, which certainly left the interest in those who did not know the group.
21:00: At dinner time, a more empty room was expected, but this did not happen. The American Bell Witch were one of the most awaited moments of the first day, for those who were excited about the concert may have been disappointed, after all, “The Clandestine Gate”, was the only theme that Jesse Shreibman and Dyla Desmond brought to the festival. Some left the grounds, but those who stayed felt hypnotized by the funeral doom. Truth be told, it takes courage to play only a single theme! To contrast with the previous band, the Swedish Fredag den 13:E, infected the audience with their Crust, mosh’s did not lack as well as heads spinning.
Cancer, a classic and also one of the most anticipated moments of the first day starts off with one of the classics “BloodBath” from the famous album “To the Gory End” (1990) which soon left the audience amazed and the themes that mark the band did not stop there, “Death Shall Rise”, into “The Acid”, “Hang, Drawn and Quartered” (which ended the concert) were also part of the setlist. What an amazing concert! Debuting in Portuguese territory, the New Zealanders Diocletian were a beautiful surprise. With the bold and aggressive sound, as black metal demands, they had a great performance and certainly conquered new fans. A concert that made travel to the dark side with themes such as “The Iron Fist”, “Repel the Attack” and ended with “Antichrist Hammerfist”.
The American headliners, and also long-awaited, Terrorizer, achieved the first Wall of Death of the festival. The concert of the death/grindcore band was also marked by comical moments, such as, for example, when vocalist Brian Werner asked if we were at Trivium concert, a funny way to ask the audience for more animation and movement, and they replied, without question, with a large Circle pit. The band played mostly songs from the classic “World Downfall” (1989), with themes such as “After World Obliteration”, “Corporation Pull-In”, and “Resurrection”. “Crematorium” ended the show with the best concert of the night!
Schizofrenia unfortunately cancelled their performance, being replaced by the winners of the final phase of “W:O:A Battle Portugal”, Vøidwomb.
Day 2
April 25th is a holiday in Portugal to celebrate freedom, and what a great way to celebrate it, with music.
The Spanish Entropiah blasted on the second day of the festival. Grind/Crust, active since 2001, soon won the audience that did not hesitate to mosh pit, which band members also did not resist and participated. They were followed by the Portuguese Thrash metal/hardcore punk band, Booby Trap, who started their performance with “March of the Boobies”. They’ve experienced some technical problems, but it did not prevent the fun and energy, which marks all their concerts, nor the excitement of the audience. “O Bom, o Mau e o Filho da Puta”, closed the concert, and the enthusiastic audience sang along with them.
Analepsy, a band that has been gaining more and more recognition both nationally and internationally, opened the main stage of the second day, leading with a full and energetic venue, which did not resist a Wall of Death at the request of vocalist Calin Paraschiv. Some of the bangers heard were “Witness of Extinction”, “Apocalyptic Premonition” and “Genetic Mutations”. Necrobode, a black metal band, also did not leave the audience indifferent, the rain still made this concert more atmospheric, which ended with “Gale of Nanna”, a cover of the classic Finnish band Beherit.
The German Vulture brought the fun and energy of the speed and thrash metal, and it was also an opportunity to present their latest album “Sentinels”. A concert full of energy! The Germans were followed by the Swedish grindcore and crust band Child who came on the stage and delivered a relentless and unmerciful performance. Sargeist, the Finnish black metal band, was one of the most anticipated moments of the night, and they did not disappoint the audience. The Finns, who played for the second time in Portugal after performing at Caos Emergente 2009 festival, brought songs like “Empire of Suffering”, “Satanic Black Devotion” and “Kingdom Below”. A concert marked by sound violence.
The Swiss group, Nostromo, who played for the first time in Portugal, brought their grindcore, the concert that started with “Ship of Fools” and ended with “Uraeus”. From Switzerland and back to Finland. Krypts brought their death metal that left the audience of Barroselas amazed. They ended their show with “Beneath the Archaic”, taken from their well-received debut album “Unending Degradation”. Canadian act Thantifaxath (good luck pronouncing that correctly), hypnotised the audience with their Avant-Garde Black Metal. Itr was a concert with an incredible and undoubtedly different atmosphere that was noticed since the first song played: “Where I End and the Hemlock Begins”.
Also for the second time in Portugal, I am Morbid, headlining the second day of the festival. Dubbed by many as “a cover band” by Morbid Angel, I am Morbid, created by David Vincent (former Morbid Angel singer and bassist), was undoubtedly one of the most awaited moments of the festival; the audience raved! There were classics such as “Immortal Rites”, “Blessed Are the Sick”, “Rapture”, “Visions From the Dark Side”, “Pain Divine”, “Dominate” and, of course, the classic “Where The Slime Live”. This was a memorable concert, undoubtedly marked by nostalgia.
French thrash/heavy metal Hexecutor ended the second day’s concerts and managed to successfully gather the last remaining headbangers of the night.
Day 3
The Portuguese thrash metal Capela Mortuária opened the concerts of the last, and what an excellent way to start: the audience did not stop from the headbanging, the traditional mosh pit and also the famous crowd surf. Then came veteran Aposento. Formed in 1990, the Spanish band brought with them their death metal marked by heavy riffs and relentless drumming.
Portuguese iconic black metal Morte Incandescente opened the concerts on the main stage, and they were also very well-received, which was confirmed by the full venue. “Desabafo” was the song that ended his concert. From start to finish, hypnotised attendees did not budge while the band was performing. From black metal came the time for some Heavy Metal with the also Portuguese Els Focs Negres (Catalan name). The band fronted by the charismatic and funny Belathauzer (known for his work in Filii Nigrantium Infernalium), but this time known as Monsenyor Bthzr, performed songs like “Purgatori” Martirs De La Creu” and “Nació Metall” to the excited fans who did not stop for a minute.
The British Conjurer were a big surprise, a band with about 10 years, marked by their talent and different sound. At some point, the main vocalist ignores the microphone and shows the power of his voice, making it listenable without any amplification. A different and powerful concert! “Those Years, Condemned” and Cracks In the Pyre” brought the house down and ended the show. The Italians Hierophant had their music accompanied by the seasonal rain, which fustigated the festival this year, brought the perfect atmosphere with the black/Sludge metal. “Mortem Aerternum” opened the concert, also the played songs like “Devil Incarnate” and “Death Siege”, “Nemesis of Thy Mortals” from “Death Siege” ended their show.
For the first time ever in Portugal, the Swedish Crust Punk band SkitSystem was also much expected. The mosh pit started with the first song, “Ondskans Ansikte”, and the good energy remained until the end of the show. From Sweden, we returned to Germany with the band Rope Sect that brought heavier themes with songs like “Fallen Nation”, Rope the Just”, “Knives”, “Death is your Lover”. Their sound could seem out of place for a festival like this, but their Goth Rock atmospheric music grabbed a lot of people’s attention. Rope Sect may not have animated many, but the joy and movement surely came back with the classic German thrash/speed metal band Tankard, one of the most expected names of the 2024 SWR Barroselas Metalfest edition. The singer Andreas’s knee injury did not cancel the show, and he shared his amazing, funny energy with the audience. From the earliest to the latest, Tankard played classics such as “Ex-Influencer”, “The Morning After”, “A Girl Called Cerveza” and finished with the classic (Empty) Tankard. The audience was thrilled and responded with a non-stopping moshpit.
With about six years of activity, coming from Prague (Czech Republic), the band Sněť were also a good surprise. With a fantastic presence, they brought sounds reminiscent of old school metal. Featuring a singer with impressive vocals, the band destroyed the stage performing songs from their excellent debut album “Mokvání v okovech”. Canadian band Blasphemy appeared in Portugal for the first time, almost 34 years after their first mythical album “Fallen Angel of Doom”. A long-awaited concert, after all, is almost forty years of “blasphemies” and it was their debut in the country. Their power was felt, the audience looked closely and also with admiration, after all, we were facing a classic, and for the very first time! “War Command” opened the concert and was followed by “Blasphemous Attack”; also heard “Desecration”, “Blasphemy”, and “The Desolate One”. After a few minutes of silence, leading to thinking that the concert had ended, Blasphemy returned with “Necrosadist”, “Demoniac”. “Atomic Nuclear Desolation”, “Empty Chalice” and “Ritual”. The Portuguese punk act Systemik Viølence, had the honour of closing the 24th edition of SWR Barroselas Metalfest, with incredible energy and mercilessly making the walls tremble at the festival.
Snet | Photo by @filipegomes.photo
The 24th edition of SWR BARROSELAS METALFEST, was marked by nostalgia and the classics. Another fantastic edition successfully took place!
Special thanks to SWR organisation.
Text: Lara Brito
Photos: Rita Mota (thank you!) & Filipe Gomes
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