Gig Report: Underground For The Masses I

It looks like it was one of the most awaited events for fans of extreme metal, and that was Underground For The Masses I, which took place in Bucharest, at Quantic Club on April 5-6, and, without blabbering too much, I’d like to say a few words about how it was, from my point of view…

The first day started with the energetic performance of Whiskey Ritual which fired up the atmosphere immediately, I arrived just in time to catch them up, and can’t complain, they delivered a great performance, a killer black n’ roll band that should not be missed. The next two bands to hit the stage, the Danes from Sunken and Holland’s Helleruin as well fired up the atmosphere, Sunken with an atmosphere that would send you a little in a ”calming darkness” journey, and Helleruin with their pure and dark sound, both bands captivated the audience with their grim sets.

Serpents Oath, killer! Their performance fascinated me, I can say they were one of my favorite bands to perform, their dark, relentless, and raw presence hailed the entire audience, and to continue with the next band, Thy Light’s music captured the audience with their set from the start, I looked to me that Thy Light was the audience’s highlight of the evening, forging a melancholic bond and a nostalgic atmosphere.

Last but not least, the first day ended with the Norwegians from Mork, one of the bands I was looking forward to seeing the most. Their set was without a doubt relentless, and their true Norwegian black metal sound was not missing, Mork hit the stage with full confidence and energy, and delivered a killer performance, a real sanity of sound, which truly unleashed the stage.

The second day began with an energetic performance by the Greeks from Akrotheism, who also gathered the audience slowly, and got it ready for the second day of mass. Following Akrotheism, French acts Thagirion and Vortex Of End captured the stage with their amazing performances. I was impressed by Thagirion, another band that unleashed the stage with full force, and I want to mention both bands were led by guitarist Vagus Nox. These bands are indeed worth seeing live, without a doubt.

Now, a strange presence and performance was from Pensees Nocturnes, I would describe this band as the Korpiklaani of black metal, why not play black metal, and also play instruments such as trombone, and accordion? The French performance was almost like a true party, such energetic, and lively, that they drove the audience crazy, with their penultimate song, we all almost danced instead of headbanging. Let’s move on, with two other French bands on the bill, Merrimack and Hell Militia, not much to add here, because both bands were amazing too, and a little surprise, Thagirion’s Spir Ignis seems to be the new vocalist of Hell Militia. With their ace performances, I’d say they prepared the audience for the next and last band of the evening.

And how can you end the entire event and evening? With a band like Cult Of Fire, damn… Not sure what to say about them, because they were mind-blowing, a true oriental-hindi theatrical ritual: ”cobras”, an altar, incense sticks, flowers, fruits… A true, and strange but mesmerizing performance delivered by Cult Of Fire, I guess you don’t see it every day, impressive at the max., not just myself, but the entire audience was fascinated by the Czechs, and if you ever have the chance to see them live somewhere, just go for it, because it’s worth it! Cult Of Fire’s music is exactly what I like to hear from an extreme metal band, black metal with weird and mind-blowing elements and sounds that make you transcend into a different kind of journey.

Overall, there were two days with great and selected bands, you know, bands which you don’t have the chance to see live very often, at least not in Bucharest, there were no delays, the schedule was smooth, everything was well organized by people with a true passion for extreme music, it was also great to meet old and new faces, indeed, it was a mass, already a second edition of Underground For The Masses for next year was announced and it looks promising. Well then, till next time!