Those who are familiar with me will attest that I am really fond of live shows when it comes to industrial and experimental music. Even while being highly abstract, those genres receive a different perspective played live especially when they are supported by different visual effects and projections. But when talking about live shows, I certainly prefer big festivals because such events offer an opportunity to get to know and appreciate a wider range of bands and projects in one bundle. And of course it is much better when the festival has some conceptual framework that carries a specific atmosphere to dive in. 

It goes without saying that summer is the best period for taking a trip to some festival to experience a proper leisure time with good music, tasty food and lovely people. Each time starting from March I search for interesting locations in Europe that offer such an experience and this year was no exception. Usually, I automatically concentrate on those events that can offer me a bigger line-up of dark ambient and noise artists because those genres remain an intense focus of my interest during a long period. That's why when I noticed the festival called Midgardsblot which takes place in distant Norway, I didn’t consider it too seriously as one of the possible destinations for this summer trip and not only because of the distance. This event was organized around viking culture and hosted metal bands mainly without a specific focus on the themes close to my heart. But as soon as I heard about several industrial bands that had joined a broad line-up of this festival, my childhood dream of visiting Norway took a more concrete form. 

As I mentioned in the past, I went through different transformations towards the development of my current musical taste and each of those transformations left a unique mark like in the case of extreme metal. I spent thousands of hours headbanging to my favourite tunes around 20 years ago, and several metal albums appear on my playlist even today. It is obvious, that metal music is associated with paganism and mystery quite often as it explores different provocative themes that affect society for ages. And I believe that here lies a true connection that sets a link between metal and industrial music while those genres appeal to the strongest spirits of human nature. Therefore, Midgardsblot festival turned for me to be the best choice to feel the atmosphere of dark ambient and death industrial music in the context of viking culture and ancient paganism. 

I must admit that festival location plays as important role in general atmosphere as the line-up and Midgard totally fulfills the expectations. You cannot find a better location to host a viking festival like the park of Borre, where the mighty rulers of the Norwegian Vikings lived, feasted, and were laid to rest. But besides being a specific place in Norwegian town called Horten, the word Midgard has a much deeper meaning in Norse etymology. Midgard is a realm in Norse mythology, one of the Nine Worlds and the only one that is completely visible to mankind. Also the word Midgard became applied to the wall around the world that the gods constructed from the eyebrows of the giant Ymir as a defense against the Jotuns who lived in Jotunheim, east of Manheimr, the "home of men", a word used to refer to the entire world. So, a high spiritual charge of the location adds a special charm to the whole event. Besides different live shows of the best bands in the world, the festival has lots of other activities in its program like Vikingbattles and ancient Norse games, seminars, workshops and panel debates, craftbeers and tastings, all that turns it to be one of the most atmospheric happenings of European alternative scene. 

If I omit all the preface and focus on pure musical content, I would like to mention several projects from the industrial world that confirmed their participation alongside their metal colleagues. I believe that the first name will not need any introduction while Deutsch Nepal became one of the leaders of the scene since early 90ies. Peter Anderson aka Lina Baby Doll became a truly recognizable character of the whole genre developing the taste of a generation through the prism of his sound exploration, creating a boiling mix of rusted machinery and contemporary mysteria. His classic albums like “Benevolence” or “Comprendido” became role models for many artists around the globe. I am 100% sure that it will be the matter of the greatest interest to watch him live in a context of the viking fest and to feel his union of ego and ancient scandinavian spirit. 

Another noble gentlemen that joined forces with Lina Baby Doll to shake the stage in Horten is Thomas Martin Ekelund who is well-known for his activity as bloody Trepaneringsritualen. To be honest, I was not surprised by his appearance on the list of Midgardsblot. Though TxRxP is a fairly new project being active since 2008, mr. Ekelund proved himself to be a vital force in the new wave of death industrial and power electronics scene. His gloomy and obscure soundscapes guided by an emphatic stage performance turn every venue into one massive hellish ritual. Being in possession of a huge portfolio of a truly poisonous material is worth to present during Midgardsblot. 

A thirst for ancient knowledge unites not only Scandinavian brothers and sisters in arms. The last, but not the least to confirm the show during this viking happening is a modern witch Lamia Vox which hails from Russia. With her full-length album “Sigillum Diaboli” (the witch mark) that was released by Cyclic Law label in 2013, Lamia Vox managed to establish itself as one of the most promising projects of ritual ambient genre presenting a majestic and occult atmosphere of the highest quality full of mysterious melodies supported by tribal drumbeat. Personally, I didn’t have a chance to experience the show of Lamia Vox live in the past and I am really curious about it. I believe that the choice of the promotional crew to invite Alina (the person behind Lamia Vox) to play on the same stage with Trepaneringsritualen and Deutsch Nepal is definitely right due to the spirit and energy that she can share with the audience. 

It is two weeks to go, the flights are booked, expectations are high and patience begins an exponential decay to zero. Even though I have a 20 hour trip to the cherished destination, nothing will stop me and I am packed and ready to join the forces of Valhalla. Five days of great music, delicious food, the finest mjod and, of course, the northern culture are exactly what I need during this exhausting local summer. 

To be continued…