Death Doom Black

Welcome to Hell, or should we say, welcome to Hole in the Sky 2010. This particular introduction is of course chosen carefully as we all know what happened back in 1981, when three lads by the name of Venom decided to put out their debut album with that heartfelt title. Metal music has never been the same afterwards.

Venom has influenced everything from Metallica and Slayer to the vast majority of all black metal bands we know today, even coining the genre name with their second album “Black Metal”.

But Hole in the Sky isn’t all about the legends; it’s about drawing the lines from the roots to the present. Lately there’s been a great resurrection of underground talent and a growing interest in the underground in general, something that we find healthy and inspiring. Lately a lot of smaller specialized festivals have surfaced around in Scandinavia and on the continent and these gatherings play a major role in keeping the music scene alive and exciting.

This year all four days have been put together with a loose theme for each day that all together is intended to be the ultimate celebration of death, doom, and black metal, from the pioneers Venom, Obituary, and Cathedral, via underground heroes such as Grave Miasma, Enforcer, and Dead Congregation, to rising stars Secrets of the Moon, The Devil’s Blood and Watain. In-between, you’ll find legends in new outfits such as Ihsahn and Tom G Warrior’s Triptykon and a whole bunch of other fantastic bands that make the world a better place.

In addition to usual four days of metal mayhem, there are also a few other occasions ideal for some serious hellraising. On the Sunday before the festival kicks off, Bergen Live, in cooperation with Hole in the Sky, is presenting the absolutely brilliant French metal act, Gojira, which did their first gig in Norway during the Hole in the Sky festival in 2006. In addition we have the “Incoming” day on Tuesday, featuring some mighty fine acts from Oslo and Bergen.

Hole in the Sky 2010 is not for the weak hearted, it’s there to challenge and celebrate. Raise your fists.

22.08 Bergen Live in cooperation with HITS: Gojira at USF Verftet
24.08 Incoming: Dead To This World, Valhall, Lobotomized, Byfrost, Rikets Crust
25.08 Invocation: Rotting Christ, Dead Congregation, Repugnant, Grave Miasma, Urfaust
26.08 Evil Spells: Suffocation, Angel Witch, Evile, Enforcer, Astrosoniq
27.08 Black Mass: Venom, Cathedral, Ihsahn, The Devil’s Blood, Solstafir, Secrets of the Moon
28.08 Total Death: Surprise act TBA in June, Obituary, Watain, Triptykon, Nunslaughter, Obliteration
28.08 HITS for KIDZ: Secrets of the Moon, Hellish Outcast, Gravdal

Related posts:

1. Program Schedule – Full Lineup
2. HOLE IN THE SKY presents Angel Witch, Secrets of the Moon, Repugnant
3. Impending Doom: Cathedral, The Devil’s Blood, Dead Congregation
4. HOLE IN THE SKY presents Triptykon