Beyond The Gates - the offspring of Bergen, Norway’s much-loved Hole In The Sky festival - is celebrating its fifth anniversary of bringing together the most reality-warping, sulphur-infused and ceremonial acts the metal underground has to offer by expanding to a four-day event, and has just announced the full lineup that takes place at the Garage venue on August 24-27.
With Venom Inc, Secrets Of The Moon, Degial, and Saturnalia Temple already confirmed, Gaahls Wyrd have been announced for headliners on Thursday August 25, playing a special set consisting solely of songs by Trelldom, their iconic frontman Gaahl’s first ever foray into black metal, and a band whose trance-inducing intensity immediately made its mark on black metal lore.
Australia-born black/thrash ruffians Destroyer 666 will be bringing their none-more-metal, fist-to-the-face anthems to Garage as headliners the following Friday, and no will no doubt prove again why their reputation as one of heavy metal’s most exhilarating and uncompromising and chaos-inciting live acts is now permanently carved into underground lore. Norway’s own epitome of black/thrash atavism, Nekromantheon, have also been announced, and they’ll be tearing over all manner of irradiated wastelands on the closing Saturday, while fellow Nordic cavern-dwellers, Reptilian, Nettlecarrier and Gravdal are also the newest conscripts.
Taking place at the legendary subterranean Garage venue, historically one of the epicentres of Norway’s world-dominating black metal scene. With the bar above open until 3am featuring in the past various DJs such as Primordial’s Alan Averill and Roadburn Festival founder Walter Hoeijmakers, and various events throughout the day, including the notoriously difficult Metal Quiz and various new album playbacks, Beyond The Gates has become emblematic of the Bergen scene’s sense of community, and one of the friendliest, hard-partying events on the calendar. Both a reliable signpost for where the underground is headed and an annual pilgrimage for locals and globetrotters alike, this is a rallying of the faithful and the kind of life-affirming experience only small, devotedly curated festivals can offer.
Journey to the Beyond The Gates Facebook page here!
And order your tickets for this most delirium-inducing of festivals here!
