Live Review: Dark Lord Day with High On Fire, Abbath, Fugitive, 1349, Spirit World & Sybris

5/20/2024

Writing and Photography by Bobby Talamine
Edited by Fiza Javid

3 Floyds Brewing - Munster, Indiana
Saturday May 18, 2024

Talk about a well run metal festival.
An A Plus as far as logistics, such as getting into the festival, let alone leaving, along with overall layout and feel.

I don't say this lightly, especially how some metal festivals I've been to in similar size are more cramped, with not many areas to chill, and especially for the summer months, areas to find shade when things get hot and sweaty.
But we're talking all things metal, so you have to expect some of those things no matter what- metal being "Metal".

Yes, 3 Floyds Brewing has been making this an annual "Go To" event since 2004, so they've been able to adapt accordingly, tweak things, make this a more memorable metal festival in relation to celebrating all things "Dark Lord"- 3 Floyds famous Russian Imperial Stout, let alone exclusive yearly event offerings, such as limited edition and uniques art prints, let alone varieties of and variants of certain brews.

And the fans- they come in from all over, especially from overseas.
While traversing the grounds, taking things all in besides the main music stage- I met people from Belgium, from Germany, all the Scandinavian countries you can think of, let alone Latin America.
I mean from all over.

By the looks of things, people definitely arrived super early to claim the main bench tables at the huge beer tent- I mean rows and rows and rows of benches that had bottles upon bottles of a wide variety of beers- what looked like to infinity.
And no one was moving out of their space, even for the bands.
And overall just so celebratory, and super friendly.

The vibe was that way no matter where I went to get proper pictures of the festival, and the goings on.
You have to give credit to the 3 Floyds staff, their management and ownership, let alone the production crew for the bands at the main music stage, and also the hospitality.
Way above board, in all aspects.

As with most music festivals of this size, there's bound to be hiccups- and getting a proper crew together to pivot accordingly is key, to do your best to keep things on track in regards to set times, let alone curfews.

The main issue from my vantage point was with the set changes the band 1349 into Fugitive, and two main floor wedges not working properly, let alone lead guitar cables crackling into the same wedges.
And when things are kinda on a tight schedule set wise and band wise, it takes time to replace all of the above, and getting them to work properly, knowing full well that shit happens.
Kudos to the production team in getting things worked out, and back on track, even if it means cutting some set times down a bit to accommodate the timing of it all.

Have been photographing festivals of all kinds for decades now, and have seen the bottomless pit of disturbances that can derail a show such as this, with tempers flying from the higher ups, then circulating down to the actual crew setting up shop.
Again- shit happens.
It's inevitable.

But the fun and experience of it all, at least for me, is watching crews work, getting to know them a bit, and seeing how they pivot to solve problems, from front of house to back of house, and making sure not to get in their way, but also to be supportive.
So it goes without saying, before even discussing anything artist and band related, that 3 Floyds know what they're doing, and doing their best to make this weekend in May such a special event, known worldwide.

And as for the bands, starting with headliner High On Fire, courtesy of the one and only Matt Pike- He's just as renegade as ever, brandishing crack the whip guitar riffs with nary a break in sweat, uprooted with gnarly and gutteral howls to try to outmatch his super sludgy notes, followed by a rhythm section that knows how to stay afoot of said notes and produce the concrete block pounding, courtesy of Jeff Matz on bass, and Coady Willis on drums.
Not much fanfare needed as well in regards to signage, let alone anything special effects related- just plug in and play kinda guys.

But again, with 3 Floyds and budgeting for a festival of this type- that PA they brought in....talk about packing a mighty wallop- from subwoofers to floor stacks- that was sternum punch amazing.
Let alone the sophisticated lighting for the stage.

The enhancement of all this does not go unnoticed- Matt Pike was side stage off and on most of the afternoon, taking in the bands in support, let alone getting a feel of the backstage and how things are handled, and also soaking in the vibes from the stage looking out to the main floor in the gigantic stage tent.

Loved how he shared his thoughts, saying time and time again how much he digs Dark Lord Day, and wanting to play here.
But High On Fire's set- just so blistering and punishing, teeth rattling awesome.
Same with Abbath, and all things Abbath Doom Oculta.
And Abbath strikes me as the kinda guy that prefers to play when the sun is down, not when the sun is up.

No matter- not much idol chat before he hits the stage with his band- from the coach to the stage- play your heart out- from the stage back to the coach- in the need of air conditioning.
Abbath- poor guy- he was sweating bullets thirty seconds into the first song- "Acid Haze".
Abbath- he's the real deal- heavy corpse paint as always, followed by sinister and heavy chest armor, followed by lots of thick black leather, and also knee high and sinister black boots.
So yeah- eighty degree heat, followed by intense stage presence, followed by that gigantic PA pounding, and ultra heavy red strobe lighting- Abbath brings an inferno to an inferno.
Amazing when you think of it- nothing changes for these guys, sun up, or late at night.
Abbath brings the bludgeoning, and then some, occasionally cracking a wicked smile through the heavy sweat.

As for the boys of Fugitive- Hardcore as hardcore gets, with songs such as "Blast Furnace" which is well - a blast furnace.
Not much coaxing needed, especially for that song in particular, however when main vocalist Seth Gilmore wants a mosh pit for that song- the faithful oblige.
And it was huge.

Left the pit to document that, right along the edge of the mosh, and into the eye of the storm.
How else to document that equal to the punishment of the band?
And yes, I paid a price- got walloped in the back and forced forward, but all well and good.
Doesn't matter if I got a bit of a beating- mosh pits ad to the excitement of it all- risk taking is part of the deal, especially with a band like Fugitive in the middle of a hot and sweaty afternoon.
Same with the Norwegian Black Metal band 1349- who at around 3:30 in the afternoon provided a pounding of their own, just oh so nasty and harsh riffs throughout, and a stage presence heavy on the fog, just to add some more sinister luster.

Clouds of doom, in my opinion- great for photography, great for making things feel like you're in an old growth forest north of Oslo while summoning demons to dance.
They've been around awhile, like since 2003 / 2004- so they know a thing or two in bringing an onslaught of Scandinavian Death to the folks in the midwest.
As for Spirit World, which went on around 2:30 or so- they bring a party as well, decked out in rhinestone cowboy suits- kinda like hardcore mixed with country punk, if there is such a thing.
Definitely full on metal electric- but with a gnarly twang that is catchy and barroom brawl kinda worthy in attitude.

They certainly have boatloads of confidence playing live, immersed in a bit of western horror.
As for Sybris, couldn't make it in time for their set- the ultra long freight trains off of the Borman Expressway and south on Calumet put a kabash on that.
So overall- the look, the feel, the overall vibe of all things Dark Lord Day- yeah- just oh so memorable.
This yearly event, brought to you by 3 Floyds Brewing- a must see, if you haven't seen.
The kinda event that you have to go back to, putting it on your yearly calendar, up there with all the holidays you have checked off.

Bobby Talamine - JBTV Music Television Chicago

Dark Lord day, 3 Floyds Brewing, High On Fire, Matt Pike, Abbath, Fugitive, 1349, Spirit World, JBTV Music Television, Fiza Javid, Bobby Talamine

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Live Review: Dark Lord Day with High On Fire, Abbath, Fugitive, 1349, Spirit World & Sybris

Dark Lord day, 3 Floyds Brewing, High On Fire, Matt Pike, Abbath, Fugitive, 1349, Spirit World, JBTV Music Television, Fiza Javid, Bobby Talamine

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