Last weekend (22nd-23rd of March), the 11th edition of the infamous Inner Awakening Festival was held in the Kék Yuk Klub in Budapest. One of the reasons which made this edition so special was that after 15 years of hard work and tribulations, the festival has come to an end, but not before celebrating one more ritual together with some of the most dedicated bands from the real black metal underground. The other special reason was that 3 of the bands which have been the core of the Inner Awakening Circle and Festival – Niedergang, Lepra and Dunkelheit – have also decided to go back into the swirling void from which they emerged long time ago.
For me this was the first time attending an edition of the Inner Awakening Festival so I was extremely eager and curious to witness such an important black metal event I heard so much about before. Some of the most respected bands from the underground played at the festival in the past (Thy Darkened Shade, Hell Militia, Acherontas, Mortuus, Chaos Invocation or Head of the Demon to name a few), so this final edition was not to be missed no matter what.
Friday: Niedergang – Lepra – Barshasketh – Mortuus – Zhrine
The first show of the day started around 18h15. Niedergang is a band I always appreciated, both ideologically and musically, but which unfortunately I never got to see live. I was extremely anxious to see them and let me tell you I was not disappointed at all.
Niedergang‘s music is dark, raw and melancholic at the same time, it takes you away from the mundane planes and puts you in various moods, depending on your state of mind in that particular moment. On disc Niedergang sounds perfect, but live is where Whisper (guitars and vocals) truly shines as he expresses his possessed state he finds himself in while playing with utmost conviction. I was watching the band during their set and all I could think of was dedication: to their craft, to their music and to that dark and special place the inspiration comes from. The performance was long and intense and I immersed myself in the atmosphere until the very last note, filling my lungs with the music (and the annoying smoke from the smoke machine) while my mind was travelling through different spheres. On the last two songs Csonka (Infectus, Lidérc) took over the guitar while Whisper took over the mike and unleashed all his hatred and disgust still left in him, ending the show and Niedergang in a glorious way with “Lángoló szárnyak árnyékában” and “Perverz hozsanna az ördögnek” . It’s a real pleasure to see such dedicated bands doing their thing not for the public or “glory” but for themselves and their beliefs. Hail Niedergang!
After the mandatory change over and a short soundcheck, next on the bill was Lepra, another band from the Inner Awakening Circle and one which played regularly at IAF. The 5 musicians entered the stage dressed in black robes and after a short “Intro” they started to spread their gospels of death over the audience. Lepra‘s stage set up (black hooded robes, altar with skulls, bones, scythe, Santa Muerte statue and black candles) also created a ritualistic and occult atmosphere which I was instantly drawn into. Those who saw the band before probably knew what to expect, but I was only about to discover. Their black metal is not a simple one, that’s for sure, but it’s quite atmospheric, with lots of mid tempo passages and quite complicated and abrasive guitar riffs and rhythm changes. Despite the relatively new line up assembled for this show, the band sounded as a whole and looked as if they played together since ages. I really liked Árpád‘s drumming, it was really fucking intense and I felt his double bass right in my head. Watching this band at work for the first and last time (alpha and omega) was pure pleasure and their performance went straight to my heart.
Barshasketh is a band I am quite familiar with but to whom I haven’t paid too much attention in the last years, so now it was a good opportunity to see them live and catch up again with their music. Krigeist is not a stranger to Hungary, his bands played several times at the IAF and he is also part of Dunkelheit. The same was going to happen at this edition, so that made things even more interesting for me. From the moment they went onstage Barshasketh unleased pure havoc and mayhem upon the audience. Their black metal is highly aggressive and unrelenting so that at some point you might feel like your head will explode from all the virulence. The blast beats are reaching unimaginable speed, making you doubt if the drummer is actually human, while Kriegeist uses his voice and guitar as tools through which his hate is propelled right into your brain. Their performance was extremely intense and ferocious and it was worth watching them at work in such a crowded and sweaty place, before an enthusiastic audience. The show ended with the fantastic “Palingenesis“, which happens to be one of my favorite tracks from this very interesting band.
After Barshasketh, it was time to leave the speed behind and embrace the oppressive Scandinavian darkness invoked by Mortuus . I missed them when they played at the 2018 festival edition so now I had no excuse to skip on their performance. Mortuus are one of those bands who since their inception have indeed practiced what they preached. The duo JK and MH have always kept the band in a somehow reclusive state so any Mortuus live apparition is considered a real event in itself. With that in mind I took my place in the first row and waited patiently for their performance. During their short sound check I noticed that the live bassist for this evening was Vlad (Valkyrja, ex-Onskapt etc) , a fellow Romanian who moved to Sweden a long time ago. Once everything was set, the band entered the stage and for almost 1 hour the purest darkness descended upon the audience. The setlist was not very long, only 6 tracks (including “Nyctophilia” from the split 7″ with Serpent Noir), but very intense and extremely dark. Besides the big inverted cross which hung from Johannes‘s neck, the band didn’t use other (occult) accessories, the slow, mid tempo music and the suffocating atmosphere were more than enough to sink you into the sheer darkness . Sometimes less is more and Mortuus seems to know it very well. I embraced every moment of their performance and I was extremely happy I could hear a track (“Penetrations of Darkness“) from one of my favorite black metal albums ever recorded, “De Contemplanda Morte“. One of the highlights of the festival, for sure!
The last band of the night was Zhrine from Iceland, a band I was (and still am) not very much into. After witnessing Mortuus deliver such an amazing performance, to watch and listen something completely different in style was a bit weird for me. Therefore, after just one song I decided to call it a day and drift slowly into the night, already looking forward to the 2nd day of the festival.
Saturday: Lidérc – Dunkelheit – Belliciste – Sotherion – Acherontas
The 2nd day started with Lidérc, a band I instantly fell in love with after I discovered their promo tape 3 years ago. Since the last time I saw them, opening for Xalpen, the band has released its first full length “Profán Mystérium” so this show was the best way to witness live the songs from the album. As it turned out Lidérc not only played the album in full, but they also played some new tracks as well, which means the musicians are really inspired and in a full writing mode. Except only one minor issue on the 1st track, “Zsarátnok“, the sound was very good and the band put on a great and energetic show. Throughout their performance I felt every song going right through me like a powerful lightning bolt, electrifying me and making me shake uncontrollably. The chemistry between the band members is very good and that is perfectly visible on stage. The musicians complement each other very well, but I just couldn’t take my eyes off the drummer who simply abused his kit in unspeakable ways. Lidérc performed a fantastic show, devoid of any tricks or clichés, keeping the focus only on the music itself. Their intense show ended with “Bacchanalia“, an old track from the demo tape which still gives me shivers every time I hear it. “Én vagyok az Ördög!“
The following act turned out to be one of my other highlights of the festival, not only because it was the last show of the band in this format, but also because it was my first time seeing them live. The band didn’t choose the name ‘Darkness’ for nothing, as Dunkelheit‘s music is not even close to melody or catchiness, releasing instead complex tunes of desolation and spirituality. The slower passages and the dissonant guitar riffs added more shadows to the music, creating an aura of blackness that enveloped me throughout their set . Dunkelheit ended their final performance with “Swirling Void“, the last track off their fantastic “Inner Awakening” album, a perfect closure for such an amazing performance.
Belliciste, the next band on the bill, consists of the same members as Barshasketh, plus one extra guy, the bassist INIMICVS. Their show was extremely fast and intense and the audience enjoyed every second of it. For me this was the first time seeing them live but the people in the front rows apparently knew what to expect and supported the band in a frenzied way. I caught myself banging my head a lot during the songs and I couldn’t help staring at that insane drummer as he was punishing his kit as if it were no tomorrow. At some point during the set Kriegeist‘s mike broke down but instead of stopping, the band played on as he started to shout the lyrics right into the face of the fans. This short incident did not impact the band’s performance and once the issue got solved, Kriegeist put all his anger and hate at work and together with his fellow band mates they played one of the most energetic sets of the festival. Total respect Belliciste!
Sotherion may be a new band but BST, the main guy behind it, has a long history in black metal, as he played over the years with bands like Garwall, Aosoth, Antaeus, VI, The Order of Apollyon or Temple of Baal. With only one demo tape released so far, “Schwarmgeist (the full length is yet to be released), Sotherion came to IAF to play what they know best: black metal (with some death metal twists) in the French way. Despite having a strong line-up, I cannot say that I was impressed by their show and I found Sotherion‘s performance rather linear and repetitive. I had the impression that all the songs sounded the same and I could not find any track to “move me” in the way all the previous bands did. Barshasketh and Belliciste were probably the fastest and rawest bands on the bill yet I was still able to find something in their music to resonate with. This was not the case with Sotherion and to be honest I was quite happy when their show ended. I will still give their music another shot, maybe next time I will come to appreciate it more.
The end of the festival was fast approaching and that meant only thing: Acherontas was about to take the stage. Over the years I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with this band (that usually happens when the band’s discography is very rich) but I never had the chance to see them live. I came very close to do it in 2017 during the Rites of the Black Mass in Bucharest, but fate decided otherwise. Now, 7 years later I was again given the opportunity to see them live so this time I went to the first row to absorb it all from up close. This show had also a special meaning for the Inner Awakening Circle as some time ago, one of its members – Ágost (Lidérc/Niedergang) – joined The Drakonian Coven as a live guitarist and this was his first time playing with them, in front of the home crowd. What a night! After a quick soundcheck the 4 musicians, faces covered in the pure Acherontas tradition, started their downward journey on the left hand path. As they mentioned a few days prior to the festival, their set list was to be quite special and they were not wrong at all. The band played songs from their most recent works (“Sorcery and the Apeiron/Faustian Echoes“, “The Offering of Hemlock“/Psychic Death” and “Hecate/Malocchio“), before going back to the old releases and resurrect tracks like “Blood Current Illumination/Amenti“, “Legacy of Tiamat/Theosis” or “Conjuration of the Five Negatives/Theosis“. The night ended in blazing fires with the Stutthof era track “Wampyric Metamorphosis“, a song I always loved and hoped to see live. The show was intense and very visual from start to finish (altar, bones, candles, incense and tons of smoke), with an enthusiastic crowd who responded well to V.Priest‘s instigations, thus creating an invisible thread between the band and the audience. I absolutely loved the performance, the visuals, the dedication and the skills of all those musicians, they have created a truly memorable night. I almost forgot to mention how good the band sounded without a bass guitar player on stage. The 2 guitars were in permanent connection during the show and their aggressive (and sometimes melodic) tunes struck home right in the soul.
To wrap things up, I want to congratulate the organizers for putting up such an amazing event and for ending the festival in such a great manner. IAF was one of the best underground events I ever attended, with truly dedicated bands, great atmosphere, and lots of good shows. My total respect goes to the 3 Hungarian bands – Niedergang, Lepra and Dunkelheit – which honored their legacy with 3 legendary shows before crawling back to their shadows. Lidérc is on the rise, I am convinced their attitude and musical skills will make them one of the leaders of the Hungarian real black metal underground. Total respect to Kriegeist and the other maniacs in Barshasketh and Belliciste, their attitude and energy definitely set the festival on fire. Mortuus and Acherontas represent the real darkness in black metal, a genre which has been corrupted by so many plastic bands. Their performances were very inspiring and I am extremely glad that I was able to watch them from so close. They are among those few bands whose messages and dedication are sometimes more powerful than the music itself. I cannot end this report without mentioning the impeccable attitude of most of the bands, who during their shows kept their interaction with the audience at a minimum, focusing instead their complete attention onto the music itself. This almost ceremonial approach complemented the music, the atmosphere and the visuals, setting these performances apart from the other mundane rock events. This is how true black metal should look and sound like!
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