I recently travelled to the Czech Republic and I am going to try and review Obscene Extreme Festival (OEF) with journalistic integrity and professionalism, but due to various shenanigans that took place, it might be a fool’s errand.
Before we left Stockholm for Prague we met some more grinders at the Arlanda Airport, one of which was pretty adamant on showing us his Bathtub Shitter tattoo on his bum. The same man later disclosed a Cock and Ball Torture tattoo, situated on his scrotum to a very (un)lucky member of the traveling party.
Prague, the Czech Republic. After landing at the very modest airport on the 2nd of July with my Partners In Grind, some Swedish Slam Pigs (top blokes, the fucking lot) and leaving a copy of Bunker 66 – Alive and Melting and Bolt Thrower – In Battle There is No Law on an ATM machine, it was time to dry my eyes and just get on with it.
After taking a much needed grind-break and shopping for some supplies (mostly meat and beer) and consuming it like barbarians in a near by park, we made our way into the subway system of Prague. After a lot of asking around and calling people various names we manage to find our way to our hostel.
Drinking ensued and I was basically the supervisor, making sure everyone got back to the hostel. Debauchery again took place after we met another one of the Swedish crew at the train station. Finally after a day of continuous mucking about we managed to get some shut-eye.
Trutnov station
The next morning we made our way back to central station and bought a group ticket… destination: Trutnov. The train trip was 3 hours and of course it was filled with more OEF cretins, so it was party on… again! Eventually we reached the town of Trutnov with modest inhabitants of 30-odd thousand just going about their daily lives, not for long. We made a few stops, stocking up on supplies and met some lovely Canadian ladies along the way.
After a massive trek, up the worst fucking hill in existence, we made it. It was smaller than I expected, but that is the beauty of Obscene Extreme! Tents up and so the OEF Olympics ensued with dumpster racing, saltwater drinking and various other extra curricular activities, such as piss drinking and vomiting. Sounds like quite the glamour lifestyle, am I right?
OEF Olympics: salt water drinking
Music -or Noise depending on your point of view- is the reason you’re all reading this I assume. On the Wednesday we had some awesome doom bands that started at 9pm, with Evoken from New Jersey, USA. The “Kings of Funeral Doom” and we were treated to a performance worthy of such a mantle! It was eerie, slow and just crushing from start to finish! They seem to be taken aback by the stage invaders, but it didn’t really stop them from delivering a performance that was fucking mint! If you like My Dying Bride and the lot, definitely check these guys out. I managed to catch up with Dave (Bassist) and Robert (Keyboardist) after their show and they seem to have had a busy, but successful European tour, absorbing the freak culture of OEF and enjoyed it thoroughly.
Evoken
Next up was Esoteric from Birmingham, England. I was a fan before they started as one of the members was wearing a Camel tee. So they had to be champs form the offset, right? They did not disappoint. The English doom titans delivered a spectacular set of eerie, droning doom filled with misery and despair. What more could you want? At that point the crowd was getting into it for the most part when I noticed the unmistakable Aussie accent going “Fuck man, this is cool, but I want something faster”. I didn’t mind, the doom was satisfying and overpowering any urge for noise, easing us into the carnage that was to follow in the coming days.
Hooded Menace
Finally, the moment I was waiting for… Hooded Menace! Three black figures appeared on stage with hoodies, some with sunglasses and it was on! Our doom was at hand with crushing riffs, amazing variations and excellent instrumental showmanship from the Finnish doom masters. The biggest catcher was the variation in tempo as it had a healthy dose of death metal with faster sections in the various tracks. The lyrical themes were filled with utter horror and on a wet eerie night it was pretty appropriate, creating an atmosphere that is hard to describe.
Pretty fucking sweet for a pre-OEF Doom Fest if you ask me!
Read Berns' review of Day 1 tomorrow, including Chapel of Disease, Negative Approach, Cryptopsy and many more!
