Well, each and every visit to Black Silesia Open Air is utterly exciting, to say the least.
I simply got to like this event a lot. Not only because of amazing bands but the very venue too. The wooden fort located in Byczyna, Poland is a perfect venue for festivals like Black Silesia.
And the very atmosphere this festival gives off is something else, I tell you. Every year, I get to meet my friends. Not only from Poland but also from other European countries. Interestingly, there are more and more fans coming from overseas and such exotic places like Chile, Ecuador, Columbia and Mexico.
Well, this is the very proof this festival is becoming really important – don’t you agree? And what is even better , this is still a very underground event, lock stock and barrel. First, the fest`s max capacity is about 1000 fans. Second, apart from classic tycoons, there are always underground bands present.
And the vibe is very informal. No problem if you want to talk to your band after the show is over, you can drink beer with them, get your records signed or take some pictures. This is very family-like this fest and many people enjoy it very much. Yes, those two-day fest is something phenomenal. I love this fest very much. The 2024 edition was rich in good bands so rather unsurprisingly, the fest attracted plenty of fans.
Day 1
ABOMINATED was first. They didn’t impress me too much though their lethal metal was really ok. Old-school to the bone, through and through.
VENEFICES was the band many maniacs looked forward to, no doubt. This rotting band was formed by sadist from BESTIAL RAIDS, DOOMBRINGER and CULTES DES GHOULES (cult!!!).
Unfortunately, the band had to play their music in broad daylight. Not a good idea, since their music stands for darkness so some later hours would be much better. It was what I was, right. Anyhow, the VENEFICES show was a blast, and many maniacs from the mosh pit were affected by that death/black pogrom unleashed by this crew from the city of Kielce.
The DRAGON show was one of the more interesting ones since the band`s repertoire included their early stuff. Their songs were full of energy, which resulted in a nice mosh pit.
They started their show off with “fallen angel”, then we got “Beliar,” and “Demon Wojny.” Of course, they also performed “Lzy Szatana.” DRAGON also played two cover songs by KAT: “Wyrocznia” and “Morderca.” They added up to the atmosphere of the show, for sure. Their show was ended with two classic songs – Szymon Piotr and Armageddon.
Their show was a real blast so we all looked forward to UNPURE (Sweden). They released a very good album prophecies ablaze in 2023. What about their show then? Well, it was a perfect mixture of old school death metal and black/thrash. I knew that their show would be killer but I was just stunned! So good that was.
Well, when you think the lineup had such guys as Pelle Forsberg, Emil Forcas or “Hampus Death,” connected , in one way or another with unholy WATAIN.
Next was GEHENNAH, also from Sweden. I saw them at Black Silesia Fest volume I, years ago. Lucky me, because these guys don’t play live too often. A lethal dose of infernal rock and roll, that was what I got in my face. Man, the mosh pit that evening was just insane. Young maniacs kept headbanging, singing along with Mr. Violence to each and every song.
Man, it was when I realized that it would be also awesome to have another Swedish band – BEWITCHED play live in Byczyna.
I saw them at Mystic Festival in Gdansk, Poland. Oh man, if only BEWITCHED had played their two first albums “Diabolical Desecration” and “Pentagram Prayer,” well, there would have been no prisoners, I am sure of that.
CIRITH UNGOL was this year`s headliner. They have been around for 43 years, imagine? And it did indeed take a long time for them to finally come over to Poland. No matter, we were glad they were here, in our country. What was more, that was their farewell tour so many of us were very keen on seeing them in Byczyna.
For their Poland`s show, CU had selected 14 songs, including “I’m Alive,” “Frost” and “Fire, Blood & Iron.” A slightly newer song, “Join the Legion” closed their show.
To be honest, that was a good show but I was expecting a better performance. Something was missing, that’s for sure.
Day 2
Day 2 started off with HELLISH CROSSFIRE and their speed metal. Those guys turned out to be super nice jokers whom, after their show was over, did have a good time with fans, drinking beer and so on. And I must say that their show itself was much better than their albums , which are good, but not as energized as the very same songs when performed live.
I was very surprised with the OMEGAVORTEX`s show and the band themselves, I must say. To be honest, I had never heard of them before Black Silesia Fest.
Jarek Szubrycht told me about them. As said, their live performance was very stunning.
Yes, their music drilled effectively into my mind, a condensed dose of death metal with plenty of devilishness in it. OMEGAVORTEX stands for ultimate darkness, seeping cadaveric poison and putrefaction. The sound was very archaic, ennobling their music even more. Damn, I wish they had played their show a bit later, in the evening or at night. It would’ve been much more exciting, that’s for sure.
NIGHT DEMON`s setlist was not suitable for the BS fest, that’s for sure. Man, if only they`d chosen some more energetic songs, well, the final effect would’ve been much better. I would say their show at Summer Dying Loud was better.
CRUEL FORCE from Germany was another blast Black Silesia Fest offered us. Their live show killed. Man, KREATOR ought to pay heed to their music to understand what genuine, 100% true Teutonic thrash metal is all about. Sure, I know that Mile and KREATOR play, nowadays, different sort of music for a completely different kind of fans.
Glad we these days have bands like MAYHEMIC, DESOLUS or CRUEL FORCE, the bands who, quite successfully, took over where old KREATOR left off. Anyhow, CRUEL FORCE attacked with 8 lethal songs, including “Night of Thunder,” “Satanic Might,” “Obscure Evil” and closing “Power Surge.” Damn, they killed totally, plain and simple.
This is what devilish thrash metal is all about!!!
Another band many of us looked forward to was the thrash metal legends – WHIPLASH!!! I have seen them live twice and I must confess their shows are always very exciting.
When I saw them in Warsaw, Poland, their drummer (Dave Carlo who was unwell at the time) had been replaced by RAZOR`s – Rider Johnson. I was actually eager to find out whether that guy was going to become their permanent drummer. But no, in Byczyna, WHIPLASH`s drummer turned out to be some another, a fairly young guy. His style was a bit like TONY MARTIN`s ex drummer (Danny “Dante” Needham) who has been supporting Cronos (VENOM) for some years now.
The WHIPLASH’S show in Byczyna was to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the band`s cult album “Power and Pain”. I was hoping WHIPLASH would play all the songs from the album, but it didn’t actually happen. The first song was “Last Man Alive.” Then we had “Spit on Your Grave,” “Red Bomb,” and “Nailed to the Cross.” Bonus songs were “Stage Dive” and “Power Thrashing Death,” so all I missed was just three songs. Also, we got some tracks from the “Ticket to Mayhem” album: “Walk the Plank,” “The Burning of Atlanta,” “Spiral of Violence;” some cuts from “Thrashback,” as well as “Insult to Injury” from band`s third album. Tomy Portato did his best to provide a very energetic, aggressive show.
I saw him smiling when he confronted the wild audience in Byczyna. It must’ve injected some extra adrenaline into his system, no doubt. A very good show, indeed, but I prefer the ones from Warsaw and Czech Republic (Headbangers Ball).
Another awesome band for us to enjoy that evening was MASSACRE (USA), which performed all the songs from their debut album (“From Beyond”).
They added some demo songs too. And that was good. Kam Lee , the only original member left, did really fine that night. Same for other band members. Roger Johansson handled his guitar really well, in an almost magical way. The MASSACRE`s show was so good that I didn’t want to ruin my excitement so I intentionally missed BLOODY VENGEANCE.
I do however regret the very fact I missed ADORIOR (UK). I was told their show was very good, one of the fest`s best this year. Damn it.
Anyhow, I must say this year`s edition of Black Silesia turned out to be very good. I am all excited to see what we are going to witness in 2025. Hello and how are you to all the maniacs, see you all in Byczyna next year!
NecronosferatuS
