Dear friends, after a brief intermission, we continue our roster ride, meaning we are announcing further confirmed bands! And since the dramaturgy of the 10th anniversary installment of ours/yours Czech metal feast is partly retrospective, some of today's additions to the festival bill will be no strangers to you.
So, get ready for:
THE GREAT OLD ONES (fr)
Do you recall THE GREAT OLD ONES? This French post-black/dark metal quintet from Bordeaux, which, as its name gives away, draws significantly on the “weird fiction” of H. P. Lovecraft, joined us in 2016, and it was the first visit not only to our festival, but also to Czech Republic as such. Last year, TGOO presented primarily their then current album “Tekeli-li”, though included was also their debut “Al-Azif” and even a preview of their upcoming third full-length “EOD: a Tale of Dark Legacy”, which was released this year, hence it shall the focus of their show next year. This conceptual album, which stands as a direct sequel to Lovecraft’s iconic story “Shadow Over Innsmouth”, solidified the band’s reputation as masters of unique dark compositions, as well as underscored their rapid rise to fame. And since there is never enough cosmic horror, we are delighted to welcome TGOO once again to the roster of MGCDF, and we hope you will not miss their return!
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR (gr)
As we decided to compose the dramaturgy of the anniversary MGCDF 2018 in a partially retrospective vein, in few instances we also ventured beyond just the past festival rosters. For this year’s third installment of Hellenic Darkness, i.e. of the club festival dedicated to Greek metal, hosted among others one of the hidden jewels of the Hellenic scene, the progressive black metal psychedelics HAIL SPIRIT NOIR, who captivated us so much so that it would be a great pity not to invite them again, this time to our festival. This act from Thessaloniki has music experiments in its blood, as apparent already from the 2011 debut “Pneuma”, which presented a moder approach to black metal combined with somber melodies and elements of horror and psychedelia. The album sound was created purposefully with only analogue equipment, thus reaching a significant retro effect. This striving for a truly unique sound carried over to the second album "Oi Magoi", which synthesized the prog black with notable jazz elements. The third studio album "Mayhem in Blue", released last year, took this approach even further. The raw black metal was scaled back, while more space was given to weird combinations of classic instruments and electronic sounds, whereby creating a very addictive whole. In short, something for all aficionados of strange and complicated music.
BIGBOSS BAND (cz)
Meet BigBoss, the Czech devil-in-chief and vocalist of the iconic band Root, whose reputation exceeds Czech borders. Beside his home band, BigBoss also has a solo career of long standing and he is coming to MGCDF 2018 to present precisely this side of his music. And if we say long standing, we are talking decades, since his first solo album “Q7” was released in 1994, when Root was inactive, but creative impulses needed an outlet nonetheless. Thus far latest score in BigBoss’s discography is the fourth full-length “Collection of Black Roses”, which was released as 2CD this summer. So, please welcome the BIGBOSS BAND and get ready for a doomy poetic recital of the Grandiose Magus!
MELANCHOLY PESSIMISM (cz)
Another name with retrospective connotations. Veterans of previous installments will surely recall that MGCDF already played host, in 2011, to these veterans of Czech grind (spiced with death metal), who began their career in 1992, had the release show of their debut “Recompense To Saints” alongside Benediction, supported Kataklysm or Napalm Death and played over 500 live shows. Back then, the band presented their sixth full-length “End Of Vermin Nations”, which was released a year earlier. A year later, came a hiatus, second one in their history, from which MELANCHOLY PESSIMISM return now, both in terms of live performances, as well as of adding another piece into their discography, and we are honored that ours will be the first summer festival they will visit as part of this comeback. Excited? We are!
DEHYDRATED (sk)
We have not yet head the pleasure of welcoming to out festival this Slovakian death metal warmachine, the roots of which go deep into the past, specifically to 1991, when the first band line-up was formed. A year later, the band released two demos, “Festered Find” and “Suffering of the Living Mass”. The full-fledged debut, entitled “Ideas”, came in 1997, and was released first as an MC and on CD a year later. Afterwards DEHYDRATED pursued primarily live shows, until going on hiatus in 2004. This hibernation lasted till 2015, when a new line-up was formed, and new material began to take shape, resulting in a new album aptly named “Resurrection”, which was released this year (with MetalGate being its Czech distributor btw.). Seek no progressive elements here, for DEHYDRATED are all about old school approach, whereby this should be right up the alley of all orthodox death metal fans. If you count yourself among them, their show on MGCDF is then for you a must!
Enjoy!