Festival Review: Beyond the Gates ~ Jul 31-Aug 4 2024 – Bergen, Norway
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Review by Dagon M.
Beyond the Gates has managed to earn the last years its place as the best Black metal festival in the world. Through its astonishing lineups, the many personalized experiences around the genre and also its location being Bergen, one of the birthing grounds for Black metal. This year I had the chance for the first time to experience the festival in full and what it had to offer, having the fortune to see probably its best lineup ever with the very illustrious Bathory tribute on the closing day.
DAY 1 – USF Verftet / Main stage
17:30 Whoredom Rife – Hallen
18:20 Manbryne – Røkeriet
19:10 Watain – Hallen
20:25 Black Anvil – Røkeriet
21:30 Mayhem – Hallen
23:00 Trelldom – Røkeriet
The first 2 days of the festival were located in USF Verftet, a venue located in an isolated part of the city however easily accessible. At 16.00 all festival attendees had the chance to get access to the venue, seeing the marketplace and merchandise area being overrun by people. The only disadvantage of the place was that it had 2 stages, so you had to move to see everyone, meaning I had to miss Manbryne & Black Anvil, as I had managed to be in the first row in the Hallen Stage. Whoredom Rife was the band to mark the festival’s beginning, with the Norwegians being on a great tear along with the release of their latest masterpiece.
They presented to the audience 2 songs from their 2024 album, along with some of their best-known tracks in a cold showing of Black metal prowess. Their sound was excellent, their performance on point and worthy of their reputation as one of the elite bands.
Next up we had the honor to witness yet another Watain ritual. The Swedes are without a doubt the best live-performing entity in the whole scene. Energy, fire and chaos came as a cataclysm from their opening track “Hymn to Qayin”, while the crowd was covered in Blood and rotten stench by the end of “Devil’s Blood”. The band was unrelenting nonstop featuring masterpieces such as “Four Thrones “, “Wolves Curse” and “Sacred Damnation”. After presenting a couple of tracks from their latest opus “The Agony & Ecstasy of Watain”, everything to a grand closure with “Malfeitor” crushing and defying all laws of man.
After a short break to re-adjust the stage the fathers of the Norwegian scene, Mayhem, presented a show for the ages as a tribute to their 40-year history. With songs spanning their entire discography starting their way from “Daemon” and carving back to “Pure Fucking Armageddon”, including one of their most astounding tracks in “Crystalized Pain in Deconstruction”. The band was in perfect condition, the sound was sharp and Hellhammer blasted everyone to oblivion as Euronymous & Dead made their appearances in the video screen on the back as part of a haunting tribute video. The highlight of the night was Manheim and Messiah performing Deathcrush & Necrolust, as well as the closure accompanied by Attila.
The first day came to an and with the highly anticipated debut live performing appearance by Trelldom. Gaahl’s imposing figure on stage set the tone for a highly mystagogue appearance. Their show was mostly based around their newest material, creating a very obscure atmosphere, with the presence of a saxophone highlighting the strength of their material. You couldn’t take your attention off Gaahl as he stood there menacing, showcasing his talent as one of the most revered Black Metal vocalists.
DAY 2 – Kulturhuset i Bergen / The Day Shift
13:30 Bad Omen
14:30 Doombringer
15:30 Ritual Death
USF Verftet / Main stage
17:30 Cult of Fire – Hallen
18:20 Portrait – Røkeriet
19:10 Venom – Hallen
20:25 Darkspace – Røkeriet
21:30 Behemoth – Hallen
23:00 Death SS – Røkeriet
Kulturhuseti Bergen / The Night Shift
00:30 Akhlys
01:40 Old Tower
The highly energetic showing from Day 1 took its toll waking up the next day, combined with the will to explore Bergen I decided to miss the day shift as well as the first bands on the main stage. So when I showed up it was already time for the legendary Venom to get center stage. Not knowing what to expect at this point in their careers I was pleasantly surprised by a top performance, Witnessing Cronos form up close was a sight to behold as you could only stare while they let out a barrage of all-time classics. From “Black Metal” to “Welcome to Hell” all the way to “In Nomine Satanas” and “Witching Hour” the band was breathtaking. One of the highlights of the whole festival, the crowd got into it moshing in every song. Cronos seemed as if he had not aged a day from his younger self and the whole trio blew all expectations away in a frenzy.
In a complete change of scenery and atmosphere I had the privilege to witness Darkspace perform live. The highly gifted musicians took us on a cosmic trip into the unknown. Alien civilizations and terrors of the deep space unfolded before our very eyes freezing the entire room. Even though I consider their material to be an experience for the listener to isolate and not as much of a live experience, it was nothing sort of breathtaking to witness this legendary act in the flesh.
Moving on were the big headliners of the night Behemoth. Their performance was everything you could expect from a band of their caliber. Completely synchronized movements, pyro show and with a great display of music craftmanship. With a fair mix of newer and older songs, highlights included “Ora pro nobis lucifer”, “ Blow your trumpets Gabriel”, “ Demigod” and the closing track “ O Father O Satan O Sun “. They have earned their place as one of the most well-known extreme metal bands and even though their music isn’t exactly to my taste, I can’t help but admit they were in top performing artists of the whole festival.
After an exhausting experience and choosing not to be present for Death SS I made my way to Kulturhuset, a nice bar with quite a big indoor stage. Half an hour past midnight Akhlys made their appearance, letting their nightmarish world unleash upon the feeble. Start with “Maze of Phobetor”, a track from their new masterpiece, and take us through the plane of nightmares with songs like “Ephialtes”, “The Dreaming Eye” & “Incubatio”. Each time I saw them live I have been left astounded. They manage to present the feeling of each album intact and are on their way to the top of the Black Metal world, if not there already.
DAY 3 – Kulturhuset i Bergen / The Day Shift
13:30 Fir
14:30 SYN
15:30 Owls Woods Graves
GRIEGHALLEN / Main stage
17:30 Dødheimsgard
18:45 Djevel
20:15 Enslaved – Frost
22:00 Satyricon – Horns and Diadems pt 1
Kulturhuset i Bergen / The Night Shift
00:00 Aura Noir
Day 3 of the festival marks its transition to Grieghallen, located right in the heart of the city. A legendary place where albums of Black Metal legends such as Burzum, Immortal, Emperor were recorded there and most notably “De Mysteriis dom Sathanas”. Upon arrival at the venue, there was a Satyricon exhibition called “ Horns and Diadems”. Pictures and artifacts spanning from every era of the band’sexistence, as well as a short signing session by the band themselves. My day started by witnessing Djevel’s performance. The Norwegians, with Faust in their epicenter, have been on an absolute tear since their inception in 2009. The sound and atmosphere of the place were a thing to behold. Highly captivating, you could hear the vocals pierce through your ears, it was as if listening to the studio version of each track. Djevel are a classic display of Norwegian Black Metal in a fresh and up-to-date version musically.
Speaking of the devil, up next Enslaved, one of the cornerstones of the scene. Presenting their all-time classic “Frost “ in its entirety, invoking the old spirit of the 90’s. Little can be said about the duet of Ivar & Grutle, as both are on top of their game, both studio-wise and performing live. The band was accompanied by Pytten, the music engineer of Grieghallen who gave form to the Norwegian sound at the base of its inception.
Highlighting the night was the return of Satyricon in live action, on the first of their back-to-back performances. Satyr in perfect condition and with a near-perfect setlist, it was a memorable performance. With tracks from Nemesis Divina, later era masterpieces and my personal favorite “Hvite Krists død”, the night ended on a perfect note with the crowd chanting as “Mother North” echoed in the hall.
DAY 4 – Kulturhuseti Bergen / BTG Young
13:00 Slaughterhead
14:00 Astronautist
Grieghallen / Main stage
17:30 Vemod
18:45 Vreid
20:15 Satyricon – Horns and Diadems pt 2
22:15 Blood Fire Death – A Tribute to Quorthon and the Music of BATHORY
As everything comes to an end in this futile existence so must the festival after 3 days filled to the core with Black Metal excellence. Vreid my welcome-in on the 4th day of the festival, consisting of Windir’s past members, with their melodic black ‘n’ roll style was a sight to behold. The band also paid tribute to Valfar’s memory with 2 tracks from Windir’s discography. Especially by choosing to end their set with the hymn known as “ Journey to the end”.
Taking their place at center stage for the 2nd night in a row, Satyricon reminded us where we left off with “To your Brethern in the Dark” and “Forhekset”. A well put together setlist consisting mostly of later-era material, they succeeded in creating the feeling that this was the second half of what they started the day before. As a Satyricon fan you couldn’t lose their 2day set, as they gave an experience of their whole existence and evolution through the years. The flame of their long-awaited return was lit with the sound of “Now Diabolical”, “The Pentagram Burns” and of course what other way to cap off a Satyricon show but with the fan favorite “K.I.N.G”.
Finally, it was time for the festival’s most awaited attraction. Bathory gear, Blood fire death cover art and the picture of His Majesty.. Quorthon, filled the stage. The feeling of just looking in the name of Bathory can’t be explained, the same way words can never do justice to what we witnessed. Damned those who missed what Beyond the Gates had in store for the infernal souls in the audience. With a once in a lifetime lineup consisting mainly of Faust, Blasphemer, Apollyon & Ivar at the instruments, we were in for a treat. Gaahl opened up the ritual with “A fine day to die”. Apollyon took it upon himself as the vocalist for “The Rite of Darkness” & “Possessed”, as Erik appeared to sing “Enter the Internal Fire” despite Watain’s grueling live schedule. Then Satyr accompanied by Bathory bassist Frederik Melander presented us with the iconic “Raise the Dead”, as Frederik was there also for “The Return of Darkness and Evil” with Wraath of Darvaza handling the vocal duties. Apollyon, Grutle & Kvitrim took turns shredding the next few tracks before Erik gave the majestic closure with the “Blood Fire Death” for the 4-day festivities. It is worth mentioning also that Eirinde also handled some of the drumming duties. From start to finish it gave you the feeling that you were witnessing true Bathory playing live. An event that should be repeated in the fire by the festival with more of the release of Bathory’s illustrious discography.
BEYOND THE GATE EXPERIENCES
As always the organizers offered a wide range of activities for the Black metal fan to see everything that happened in the past in full. From touring Black metal landmarks to wine tasting with Gaahl, everything was meticulously put together. I managed to experience the Fantoft Stave Church tour with Hakon and Are Mundal who took the “Aske” picture. A place vibrant with a cult feeling of what had transpired and also some inside stories and events following Vikernes’slife in Bergen. Wine tasting with Gaahl was truly a personal experience, as he took the time to speak to everyone, not to mention the exquisite tastes and very hefty amount of wine offered. There was also the Beyond the Ink festival, with world-renowned artists being present to showcase their work for anyone wanting to get some ink flowing.
In conclusion Beyond the Gates is truly a festival catered to the needs of the fan. The venues were top-notch, the marketplace was very extensive for anyone wanting to find something to buy and easily accessible. The only downside I could think of was the very limited quantity of the festival merch, as you had to be very lucky to find a t-shirt before all was gone, which is something beyond my understanding. A highly recommended experience for every fan that combines both the best present and past bands, letting you feel as part of the culture of the 90’s Norwegian circle for your time there.
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