How could I introduce Obscene Extreme Festival to anyone who never has been there before? So easy: the craziest, freakiest and funniest Metal Festival ever!
This was our second time there and since the first moment I spent there last year I knew I will always return there for the rest of my days.
Obscene Extreme is not just a festival, it's a family, it's friendship. It's just a perfect mini-world full of happiness and metal music going on each year for 5 perfect days. A place for underground music, bands from all around the world, exclusive shows. Old School is what you are going to find. Grindcore, Thrash, Death Metal… the most Extreme Metal bands you could think about will play at OEF!
The prices are more than fair. Beer is between 1,20€ -1,60€ for 0,5L and you will find a vast choice of vegan and vegetarian food with great prices. The merch is awesome, but you need to be fast if you want any souvenier from the festival because they get sold out so fast!
This year we made it; we arrived on Wednesday to enjoy all the freak events and few special shows, like Gutalax recording a dvd; that was really funny because they did the show in the middle of the bathrooms, and the stage was packed with people before, during and after the show. During the show the stage couldn't handle all the people jumping and having a great time and simply broke – now that is a sight you don't get to see often. A really great way to start the music this year. After this some freak fightings and a great lunatic daft show from Eat The Turnbuckle, that was totally barking mad!!! They were playing and fighting but in a very comical way, and few of them finished spilling real blood, being hurt but so happy anyway. The show was something to remember, they were touring around Europe after so I hope you didn’t miss them live!
To culminate the first night we had Selfi The Clown, I must say that this show can hurt sensibilities, but was really impressive anyway, if you are curious just check the name on Facebook and see what he is able to do: sick!
After warming up on Wednesday the 3 day festival starts. Thursday didn't start as early as Friday and Saturday - 12.00. Not a great weather for the first day, raining and a bit cold, but duty calls and we arrived to enjoy the first band on time.
And of course – big surprise - the first band opening was Grind, Kandar from Czech Republic. They published their first LP “Groovy” this year. After them we had a great Brutal Death Metal band coming from Basque Country; Virulency and like the music they play, the show was brutal! Their first LP saw the light of the world few month ago. A great band to take a look at.
Just Wär was next, some fast Hardcore Punk to move your body and have fun. Right after one of the funniest Grindcore/Death band came on the stage: Serrabulho from Portugal. They have only 2 records out but they are one of the biggest actual names on the Grind scene. The show was really funny, they start with the Star Wars score and the bass player Guilhermino Martins came on stage dressed like Darth Vader and of course, the rest of the members with different crazy/funny costumes. Really full of people jumping from the stage and doing crowd surfing…
Cancerous Womb, more Death/Grind but this time more direct and serious, from UK. Their only full length came out 2 years ago, I hope they are working on new material and we can enjoy them touring with it so soon.
Semen, same style as 2 bands before but now we start with international bands. They are from Mexico and they did a lively show. Active since 2004 with 2 full lengths edited. The name said everything; so much Goregrind!
Maticrust from Dubai with just one EP, playing Death/Grind/Crust: fast and energical show.
Nervochaos was next, they have a new line up since their last european tour and it worked great live, they did a very good show. They start 20 years ago and they have several records. Legendary Death Metal band from Brasil. It’s always great enjoy this band live.
From Japan: Palm, mixing Groove/Thrash/Metalcore, so accelerated on stage, nice performance.
The turn now was for Criminal, a more than consolidated band from Chile. 25 years making music. Death/Thrash with some Groove, they sound Killer live! Antoher awesome show. This time presenting the new album “Fear Itself”. More than a warming up for Anton, who joined Brujeria since few months ago and played with Lock Up the same day too.
Skeletal Remains is one of the best new Old School Death Metal bands at the moment, only 6 years active and 2 great LPs out. They are from the US and they are doing great for becoming a big name in their style.
Dead Infection, one of the most important Goregrind band from Poland. Nice answers from the crew, so much entertainment.
Venomous Concept jumps on the stage, the “superband” formed by members of Napalm Death, Lock Up, S.OB., Brutal Truth, Nuclear Assault… They play Hardcore Punk, so Old School. Kevin Sharp came on stage “really happy” talking a lot and making many jokes with the audience, him and Shane Embury had just 1 hour to rest until they came back to perform with Lock Up. During that hour they brought us a perfect lesson of Old School Death: Incantation started their career 27 years ago and recorded many masterpieces…one of the biggest names in this category, always playing absolutely perfect shows.
So, let’s continue with Lock Up, my first time watching them with Kevin, since Tomas Lindberg left the band in 2014. Another “superband”, this time playing Grind/Death. Their last work is from 2011, let’s hope they will record the new material soon and tour around, to enjoy them live again as soon as possible.
And then… Toxic Holocaust came to destroy the stage! That perfect super fast combination of Speed/Thrash and Black Metal. Joel broke it again, that aggressiveness and punk attitude… 50 min of impeccable review of many classics from the band. They absolutely broke it!
Time to finish the first day, Brujeria was the headliner on Thursday. From Mexico but with members from few of the biggest bands on the underground scene like Carcass, Napalm Death, Lock Up, At the Gates, Arch Enemy… After 16 years they will publish their new album next September 16th!
All the people went crazy, the stage was absolutely crowded and all the people sang the chorus and there was quite a lot of dancing…Great end for the first day. Gigantic gig!
After too little sleep it was time to get up and enjoy the second day of madness. Today the first band started at 10 a.m.; Ramin Kuntopolku, Urban Grind from Finland, ski mask and a megaphone to sing, just the voice and the drummer. More people than expected because of the time, so interesting and peculiar show without any guitar or bass.
Grid was next; Grindcore from Umea, Sweden. They started in 2014 and they were featuring their new EP, they release it just before OEF to show to all of us in novelty.
Famine; from Leeds playing Grinding Hardcore. Great riffs and pungent drumming! Their last album “Razzin’” is just 11 minutes, so imagine the show, fast as hell! Their show just proved how great Grind and Hardcore fit together.
We jump to something a bit different; Brutal death, with Slam and Grind. From Netherlands: Korpse. Only 3 years active and 2 Full Lengths out, last one out this year, “Unethical”. The show was full, moshpits, circle pits and stage diving all the time. Harsh!
Live Som Insats, more Grindcore, from Sweden. Fast and noisy as hell. So rude performance!
Wretch arrived with more Grind but also with a lot of influences from Death, Thrash, Punk, Hardcore, a perfect mixture of all those different metal styles. They come from Australia and the act was just wondrous! Check out this band if you like brutal metal music!
Mincing Fury from Czech Republic shared with us their Goregrind/Brutal Death. The band started in 1996. So easy to notice that they were playing at home, people driving themselves crazy, the stage so full of people head banging, jumping and dancing!
From Turkey and since 1995, Decaying Purity. Brutal Death. Their last release was out in 2014 “Malignant Resurrection Of The Fallen”, accelerated, rooted and deep.
Speed!!!Noise!!!Hell! from Japan, fastcore with a strong punk vein. Absolutely DIY fast-punk show, The guys jumping to the audience most of the time, singing from the crowd and playing. Mad!
SHACKLΣS, Ocean Shores NSW: Harcore/Punk/Grind. No time to breath, super swift show. The band is breaking it since 2010 and after what we saw, no doubts, they are going to be one of the references of their style. Tremendous band!
All the fun was arriving, Spasm was next, just the performance is wacky! Radim jumping on the stage just with his favoured „mankini“ and a big penis as a face mask! Brutal Death/Goregrind, a lot of funny lyrics about sex. So much fun for everyone, the stage absolutely full from the audience enjoying, dancing, diving… Amusing as hell!
One more from home; Czech Republic. Gride are one of the grindcore references, playing since 1996. Just 2 Full Lengths but plenty of Splits on their backs. Nimble!
Brutality arrived once again, this time with Defeated Sanity. Technical Brutal Death from Germany. When you listen to the records it's awesome, so technical and superb. Is not so easy doing this kind of music live but once again they show us how tremendous they are; immense!
Warwound, legendary Hardcore punk/Crust from UK. They start cracking it in 1982. Since last year Tony ‘Rat’ Martin (Discharge) is the vocalist. DIY show, 80’s UK Punk sound. The band has not so many works out. They recorded 3 demos from 1982 to 1984. Then played until 1990 only to return last year. Only demos but enough for bringing us a great DIY spectacle.
First live show ever for the new band formed from musicians from Bolt Thrower and Benediction: Memoriam. As an introduction those are the words Karl Willetts said few month ago about forming the band “Memoriam was primarily developed to fill the void that was left following the tragic death of Martin ‘Kiddie’ Kearns, the drummer from Bolt Thrower, back in September 2015. Bolt Thrower subsequently placed all activity on hold for the foreseeable future, which gave me an opportunity to develop a new project with friends that had expressed interest in forming a band for some time.”(http://www.invisibleoranges.com/interview-karl-willetts-memoriam-bolt-thrower/). Right now they have “The Hellfire Demos” with 3 songs and recently they release the single “Surrounded By Death”. A lot of expectation for this “new” old school Death Metal “superband”. And like most of us expected, they did a great performance, all of them are so experienced musicians. A lot of empathy with the audience, so direct and swell. I'm so proud of being at the first live performance of this brilliant band.
Time for some 80’s MetalPunk from Japan, Death Side . Nice moment to change from one extreme to another, DIY, noisy and so rapid.
Insect Warfare, one of the stars of the second night. Mad and insane but in all the great sense of those two words, non stop circle pits and moshpits, stage diving and screaming! From United States and making Grindcore since 2004, And absolutely, they are one of the biggest grind bands in this moment. Something important to add, this year Insect Warfare and Obscene Extreme made an special t-shirt design to support Doctors Without Borders!
Noise Rock from Melt Banana (Japan), no idea about how to describe this band. seems like many people liked them. They are just so different, of course, is noise rock, but the biggest mark in this band is the voice, goes straight into your stomach like the sharpest knife. Not so much to say, just not my style.
The mythical Crust/Metal/Grindcore/Punk UK band: Extreme Noise Terror was jumping on the stage. Making noise since 1985. Crazy old school Punk style show, the craziness invaded the battlefield. Was so difficult finding the guys from the band with all the followers braking it, dancing and diving on and from the stage. So brisk and swift show.
Vader comes right after, one of the headliners of the day. One of the biggest metal bands from Poland. They formed in 1983 and they are one of the first bands that come to your mind when you think about the mixture of Thrash and Death. This month their new EP “Iron Times” came out. Like always they appear on stage in leather and spikes, with a very aggressive attitude. Playing in a destructive way. Always a pleasure to enjoy Vader live.
With The Vile the most old school Punk Hardcore came back, and with the same singer as Warwound, Rat (Discharge) and member from bands like Hellkrusher, Broken Bones or Anti System. They started this adventure in 2009. Passionality, empathy and camaraderie with the audience. And after many hours of music, headbanging, beer, hanging out with many friends we were so broken when The Vile ended and it was time to get some rest and revocer, so we decided to go to sleep. We miss Krush, The Dog and Gewoon Fucking Raggen, a big heartache for us - Sorry guys. I hope you play around soon!
The last official day of OEF started strong and so early again - 10 a.m., get ready to Grind! Tina Turner Fraiseur, grinding from France. Was so easy to notice that was the last day, not a big audience but they did great anyway. Their last album “Moutons” was released October 2015.
More Grindcore but this time mixed with Hardcore from France with Bain De Sang, introducing the audience to their EP “We are the blood, we are the fear”.
From Slovakia playing a perfect mixture between Grind and Thrash: Jakubysko. They started in 2003 and their last release is a Split with Paskuda. So good show enjoying that mixture of 2 of the most extreme sounds on metal.
Some progressive Grindcore from Piss Vortex. Formed in Denmark in 2011, they released their second album “Future Cancer” in April 2016 and we could enjoy it live. A great mixture of Grindcore with Noise Rock, Hardcore, Sludge… So crazy, experimental and absolutely interesting sound. One of those bands you should keep an eye on.
From United States, formed in 2013 and with only 2 EPs on their backs 908 arrived to OEF, breaking our ears with their impeccable Death/Grind mixture. Brian Ostrow’s dances make people move!
Small deserved break to eat and relax a bit, we are so sorry about missing Prümyslová SMRT and Terrordome. We wanted to come back for Bodyfarm but they finally couldn’t make it and the band playing instead was Shit Grinder, just 2 members but enough for moving our necks as fast as hell.
Guineapig was next, Goregrind from Italy, or the way they describe their music: Slow-motion bulldozer gore. What a nice show, just 3 years since they started this adventure and they have become a big name in the scene. Their first LP from 2014 is called “Bacteria”. If they are this big now I’m totally sure they’ll be on the frontline so soon, they have all it takes - talent, attitude…
Sacrificial Slaughter, Extreme Death/Grindcore/Thrash from California. Making extreme and brutal noise since 2001. Callous show! Utmost! Their last recording was in 2013 “The great oppression”, and right now they are touring with Master around the States. Let’s hope they release new material soon and they can come and delight us with their raw brutality!
War time with War Master! This band is personified aggression. From Texas, playing fast and dark Death Metal in the most extreme way you can imagine. So old school and underground. They started in 2009, and after what we saw, I really can’t wait for their next visit, I want to see them on a smaller stage headlining, it will be one of the most extreme and underground tours of that moment.
Fun and obscenity came with the hand of Excrementory Grindfuckers! They were celebrating their 15 anniversary. Like the name said they play Grind and they come from Germany, but for being more precise, like they describe their music: Grindcoredancemusic. That was the craziest show of the day, Grind with funny music for dancing, people moving with the rhythm, having fun, jumping, singing… That was a fucking wacky party!
Skullhog from Netherlands with their Savage and barbaric Cave-Metal jump on the stage, so deep and slow parts but keeping the essence of extreme metal. Not so much movement from the guys, but a lot of headbanging, it's what that music needs. The show was great after the craziness we saw before for keep the calm and relax in an intense way.
Right now if anyone ask you about Death Metal in Spain I’m sure your answer is going to be Avulsed, without thinking so much, there are many great Death Metal bands but after working so much they got a big name. Formed in 1991, this year is their 25th anniversary. They are without any doubt one of the Death Metal references in the scene. Touring around Europe, South America… Sharing stage with the biggest names and playing in many festivals. In those years they release a lot of great material but for being a great band you can't just rely on great albums, you need to prove your value on stage - and Avulsed totally broke it live! The performance was killer, acting like being possessed from metal. Aggression, Destruction… That is Avulsed live, the description of an extreme performance. And the most important part for any musician, they enjoy what they do and they know how to show that to the audience. That’s Avulsed!
Putrid Pile, the band with the solitary man. Brutal Death, only one member. Shaun LaCanne is coming from Wisconsin, he is the only composer and member in Putrid Pile but he made it anyway. It's true that he can´t move so much to perform, but he is playing Brutal Death, and a serious posture is perfect. A very interesting show!
Time for the most different band performing this year: Gehennah. They are from Sweden and they were here to show us their new material from “Too Loud to live, Too Druk to Die”, their 4th full length edited 19 years after “Decibel Rebel”. Different from the music we use to listen at OEF but something so fresh, accessible and great to enjoy. The group is influenced from bands like Venom, Bathory and Motörhead. Dirty war street attitude.
Devourment gave us a lesson of Brutal Death Metal. Eagerly awaited by many, the band from Texas had a great slot on the running order and the field was absolutely packed. Like the music they play the show was brutal!
It was a pitty Rotten Sound couldn’t play all the set because Sami Latva couldn’t make it and they had another drummer replacing him during his recovery. Keiko spoke a lot with the audience and tried to do his best dealing with the problem they had. Not a long setlist but they tried hard and did all they could to make us happy and complete the time playing grindcore.
The headliners of the last day trip were ready to break our necks! Sodom jump on stage to show us how to play old school Thrash metal, one of the Teutonic Four, one of the biggest Thrash Metal bands in Germany, Europe and all around! They played classics and some new stuff from their last record “Decision Day”. Always faithful to their sound, and perpetually bringing a perfect spectacle to their audience .
Cattle Decapitation had a hard job after Sodom’s discharge. But they brought us a superb progressive Death/Grind show. More than 20 years since they started with that characteristic and unique sound. For many people this was the end of the festival, the last big name and for that was just a great end. But we had few more huge bands to enjoy the party for a couple of hours.
More than 30 years active, Hellbastard did a fast and furious show full of Crust/Crossover/Thrash. From UK showing that they are really on shape to play for many more years.
Crust and hardcore so well mixed from Gust. They release they debut album in 2014 and they are one of those bands to follow so close, really great discovery from this festival.
Tibosity brought to us a funny show, goregrind from Spain. They released their second LP last year “Bimbocracia”. A perfect band to play at OEF and wake up the people who were a bit tired after days of craziness.
Last band to close dawn the day was Pothead. They were playing at home, they came out with those characteristic creepy masks. Like they describe their music: guttural weedcore | gangsta goregrind. Interesting show and great end for this awesome saturday.
Unfortunately that was our last show too. The festival has a great after party on Sunday, going on in the bar tent but because of work we couldn’t stay and we missed that last day of partying. All the people who stay there enjoyed again bands like Semen, Palm, War Master… We hope we can stay next year because one more day at OEF is something we can’t resist.
And this is the end of the review. We just want to say Thanks to Curby for bringing us the opportunity to cover and support the festival once again, and all the OEF Crew for treating us more than great.
We can’t wait to go back to Battlefield Trutnov in 2017!
See you all there, in the best festival in this world!
Long life OEF!
Text: Fani Nadki & Benner
Pics: Fani Nadki
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