Ελληνικά
The truth is that starting my trip to the OEF I wasn’t in the best mood. The political developments in our country, the referendum and then signing the agreement with the European vampires, the loads of loose threads i left behind me in the office and a flu that had me going, didn’t allow me to dive into the right festive mood I was hoping for. Of course once we landed in Prague, as if by magic, all these problems were left behind. The walk from the hostel to St.Vitus, crossing the entire historical center of the city, coffee, beer, the onion soup and good company were great allies.
After a day of psychological adjustment in Prague, we took the train to go to Neverland in Trutnov and the most underground festival of extreme sound that’s out there. We checked in at the specially built portal for the bands, we got our wristbands, cards, stickers, posters and taxis to take us to the hotel and then we headeded back to the fest to start the party.
Everything in OEF smells like death / grind. The first exploratory walk in the battlefield involved pubs, distros, carnivals, canteens, dicks, backstage and thousands of people. If you have money to spend there is no way you’ll be left with a single penny. Records, CDs, shirts in tons of quantities hanging everywhere. The official shop of the fest is extremely rich in products, as well.
Each year 69 bands participate in OEF, so you shouldn’t expect a typical report for each one of them. I’ll just talk about the few that I personally liked more and narrate it to some general impressions. On the first day of the fest (Thursday 9/7), the highlight was the appearance of the band of which there is now this musical idiom we all worship… and I mean Oscar Garcia’s Terrorizer. Performing the entire “World Downfall” (album – monument) in front of a rabid audience, they caused the bones of about 1,500 Prussians and 5000 Austrians buried in that battlefield during the War of 1866 to creak. Stage diving, smacks and kicks all over the place and a unique guitar performance by Mr. Leon Del Muerte, composed the breathtaking scenery of the first afternoon we spent in Trutnov. Before and after the live, while we were in the backstage drinking beers with the band members, nothing made you think that these people are responsible for the largest massacres in this scene. Amazing guys, with an appetite for much talk and exchange of views, they taught us how things are done.
Curby was anxious; while he was talking on the phone I overheard him say that Pig Destroyer‘s flight had been delayed and he was trying to find a solution on how to transport the band directly from Prague to Trutnov. I don’t know how it all happened, however, Pig Destroyer was definitely on time on OEF’s stage and I saw them with my own two eyes. Scott Hull’s music is for me something like “The Sound Of Music”. Should I talk about “Prowler in the Yard”, “Phantom Limb” or the recent “Book Burner”? All records with amazing and excellent production. We had the chance to listen to lots of their hits live, though admittedly, perhaps due to the jet lag, it wasn’t their best possible performance. Blake Harrison, however, managed to keep the morale of the public high and since he had no reason to be on stage (his synthesizer never appeared), he did not stop drinking beer and dancing constantly, inviting the world to make a total mess.
Earlier that afternoon, Teethgrinder, whose last EP was more than fantastic, unleashed their own sonic assault on bloody Trutnov. With a full set list, including many tracks from their fresh records, they raised the level of fun. I wish all the Dutch people to be as enjoyable as Teethgrinder and not like that guy Daiselbloom, spoiling the fun.
General Surgery, who filled the position of Nausea last minute, was one of the highlights of that first day at the festival. Four bathed in blood and sweaty guys performed with surgical precision their own repertoire. After their appearance, meeting the Doctor Mitrouli backstage, I found out that he still had red paint from head to toe, inside his ears and on his shoes, which meant the entire “Vilarimpa and Vilabaho” would probably be needed to help him get rid of the paint. With these images in our heads, and with this music still in our ears, we went through the first night of sleep in Trutnov.
The second day (Friday 10/7) started with a rather long walk in the town of Trutnov. Along with Mitch, we decided to walk in the fresh mountain air, leading to a picturesque square for coffee and breakfast where we would meet with the other two. After we drank our coffee with sparkling water and ate our sandwiches, and pastries, we decided to eat a beastly pizza right before returning to the fest to listen to Feastem. Feastem were boisterous. Their sound was made of concrete, their speed was formula 1 and the incredible compositions rightly forced many people to climb on stage to dance like there would be no tomorrow. Respect should be given to the Finns who managed to create such a characteristic sound. Blast beats full of despair and super rehearsed strings in combination with a highly communicative frontman, they immediately dominated the stage.
Some hours later we experienced probably the biggest party our two eyes had ever seen. Rompeprop had already orchestrated their circus and were ready to give it all for their swan song, since this would be their last show in Europe, as they announced their disbandment. How can anyone describe such a thing? Asses, lifejackets, dicks, thongs, shit, balloons, condoms and people, many people, thousands of people in delirium. I would describe it as a Dionysian mystery or just as another Obscene Extreme Festival. I don’t listen to Rompeprop, it is neither close to my taste nor my style, but undoubtedly in that day, the band won every last listener. They were the kings of the fest and delivered the ultimate show. The frontman of the band seemed to be in his happy place, he was super communicative and interactive with the audience, the bass player offered his own show bathing the crowd with paint fired from his bass and the drummer at some point decided to pop a beer so Mitroulias took his place behind the kit wearing the notorious uniform of Birdflesh. Respect for this ultimate show.
The second night in Trutnov ended with the best possible way, since we saw and heard the gods S.O.B. playing in Europe after 25 years, teaching the young and the old how the right karate is done. Ok, this is my favorite music. It’s the band I liked the most. Imagine listening to something between “Harmony Corruption” and “FETO”; these guys showed why they are the real thing in Japan. And indeed we have to thank them for another reason: when the next day we run out of beer – they flooded us with their own coupons and saved the night. Arigato kosai mas!
The third day of the fest (Saturday 11/7) hid emotions of equal depth. After we finished our work, I was able to enjoy the fantastic performance Cloud Rat gave, a band I admire infinitely for their fantastic attitude and tremendous tension on stage. We were fortunate to get to know them better since we stayed on the same floor in the hotel, so we were finally able to talk face to face, since up until now we only communicated via internet. Cool guys, very pleasant company and i also finally got my hands on their last album which I highly recommend. Guitar, dirty drumming and noise production from synthesizer combined with Madison’s amazingly expressive voice, they created a fantastic atmosphere on OEF’s stage.
And as the second day ended with S.O.B., so did the third one, with another of japan’s legends, the breathtaking, Unholy Grave. I watched Takaho every day in the official store of OEF, sitting cross-legged and wearing a mask (it’s a common thing in Japan if you are down with the flu) and was wondering if this man is now in a position to rise up and kick our asses. Meek and stoic, we exchanged an ohayo gozaimasu and a konichiwa together with a smile and made some small talk and like that everyone continued their work. But when the time came for him to grad the microphone, he was definitely no longer himself. Hyperactive on the stage, dancing and mercilessly screaming, visualizing the music with similar body movements and full of energy of a bygone age- by all the members of the band- they were jaw dropping and neck snapping. When we asked him to get a group shashin after the live, we saw him running up and down battening like crazy and screaming, we thought he was floating on his own cloud 9 and that he just forgot about us; but we immediately realized that this was not the case; he ran to gather his band and to be photographed together as it was the right thing to do. I have only the outmost respect for these incredible guys… These guys will be close to my heart forever.
Generally speaking, Curby has set a fantastic festival in Trutnov. Everything he promised us were realized with absolute precision and consistency. The festival was incredibly organized, with fantastic sound, a beautiful stage, professional sound engineers and cameramen, thousands of records to buy, great variety of food and drink, several toilets, first aid services, and above all thousands of people who feel the music you love.
If you ever have the chance to experience it, you should do it in the blink of an eye.
