Gefle Metal Festival 2023

When we heard the news of the bankruptcy of TADC, the organizer of many concerts in Sweden including the popular Gefle Metal Festival, during the end of last year, people were immediately worried of what would happen to the festival. Luckily FKP Scorpio, another big organizer, stepped in and took over many concerts including the festival. But would things be the same with a new organizer, would people recognise the festival, or would everything change? The quick answer to that is; Yes, but also no.

Having attended the festival myself since 2018, not counting 2021 and 2022 because of obvious reasons, there was a lot of things I recognised and saw upgraded. First, the entrance area still had a great number of stalls with merchandise and music recordings that is very popular, not to mention all the great food stalls including my favourites such as American Burger and the popular “Viltkebab”. This year’s newcomer was a Mac n Cheese stall which were not bad at all! If you were not in a rush, then the Mac n Cheese were worth the long wait! The 666 Lounge (VIP-Area) was noticeably upgraded this year. The area was moved this year to be located behind the market and included the usual things such as a bar, nice relaxing area with comfortable sunchairs and some minigames. This year we could also see some exhibits of very interesting things such as paintings, dark arts, handcrafted bags, and other handcrafted leather things. A tattoo artist was also on site for the visitors who would tattoo the artists handpicked designs or a favourite band logo. In the festival area you could also find multiple bars serving several beverages and you rarely had to stay in queue for long. The festival contained the usual stages called Fire Stage, Goat stage and Gas Stage which is situated inside one of the buildings where the other bands is playing that isn’t headlining the festival. Leaving the festival area and moving on to the camping site we also saw some upgrades and things we recognised. The camping site was on the same location as last year on the football field of “Måsbergets IP” which contained a cafeteria, real showers and toilets which were open until 20.00. Also, the festival made a new few cooperations with local stores which had discounts to all visitors of the festival and even offered free hamburgers during one of the days.

The festival has truly remained true to its visitors and kept the atmosphere we all love and also offered us a few upgrades with its new organizer. The soundmix from all the stages were truly on point and I couldn’t find any performance where the volume didn’t decline. As the festival keeps growing each year, we still hope that it will remain to be the heaviest music festival in Sweden and keep booking huge acts while also supporting the more local bands with a big stage and a crowd. The festival have also done a tremendous work with keeping campvisitors happy by offering alot of options at the camp when it comes to food and municipalities. During the visit we rarely heard any complaints and myself couldn’t find anything I were missing. FKP Scorpio have done a great job in keeping the festival alive and help it keep growing. However in my opinion; I found the lineup a bit lacking and would have loved seeing a bit more bigger bands being booked. Other then that, loved the festival and rest assured I will be back again next year!

What: Gefle Metal Festival
Where: Gävle, Gasklockorna
When: 13/7 – 15/7 2023
Rating: 9/10

Here are some of the highlights from this year’s lineup:

Naglfar (Sweden)
The weather was not on their side during the concert, and we were met with a rainfall. Naglfar still put on a great show and gathered quite a crowd during the 1st day of the festival with their melodic black metal and with a singer who screamed as he come from the dark abyss. Naglfar is one of those bands that have great songs and a great setlist but come of a bit dull on stage that could be made up by offering a bit more spectacle on stage to keep the show a bit more interesting.

Crowd favorite: “Harvest”
Stage: Goat Stage
Rating: 7/10

Sylvaine (Norway)
Sylvaines 2nd show in Sweden ever, offered a magic show inside the Gas Stage and were well received by the audience. With their dark atmospheric tunes, one couldn’t help but drift away like inside a dark dream. Although they only performed three songs, 30minutes of the show easily passed by.

Crowd favourite: “Mørklagt”
Stage: Gas Stage
Rating: 9/10

Defacing God (Denmark)
“Defacing God is founded and fronted by Sandie Gjørtz and when she goes on stage, her body becomes possessed by Lilith, who uses her body as a portal to the world of the living, so she can return and take her revenge.” This comes directly from the bands Spotify page, and I couldn’t agree more. This band took me with storm and offered a brutal melodic act which I won’t forget.

Crowd favourite: “Rise of the Trinity”
Stage: Gas Stage
Rating: 7/10

Alcest (France)
I’m not gonna lie, this was one of the most anticipated concerts for me during this year’s festival. Alcest offered as usual a spiritual experience where the crowd drifted away on the atmospheric tunes and the ghastly vocals. Gefle Metal might not be their main audience but people who came out and watched them were truly paralyzed by their magnificent performance. We will most likely see more of these bands being booked to bigger stages in the future with the increased popularity we are witnessing.

Crowd favourite: “Sapphire”
Stage: Fire Stage
Rating: 9/10

Amon Amarth (Sweden)
Amon Amarth is one of those bands that will always draw in a crowd, and they truly deserve it. As usual we were given a spectacular performance with many fan favourites and a lot of theatrical props on stage where we were visited by Viking warriors and even Loki himself. The show opened up with “Guardians of Asgard” where we also saw the familiar face of “LG Petrov” on monitors, honouring the legendary singer (LG Petrov passed away back in 2021 due to cancer) who performed in the death metal band Entombed and also featured in the song “Guardians of Asgard”. Amon Amarth performed with great energy and performed with one of the best setlists so far.

Crowd favourite: “Raise Your Horns”
Stage: Goat Stage
Rating: 9/10

Dark Funeral (Sweden)
Black metal legends Dark Funeral finished off the evening with hellish inferno of fire on stage and dragged us into their dark hell. One can’t help but be amazed of their incredible stage performance where we are mesmerized by their dark tunes and theatrical stage.

Crowd favourite: “Unchain My Soul”
Stage: Fire Stage
Rating: 8/10

Dark Tranquility (Sweden)
I sure use the words “legend” or “legendary” quite often, but when it comes to Dark Tranquility, there is no more fitting word. As pioneers with their “Gothenburg Sound”, Dark Tranquility can’t disappoint on stage. Mikael Stanne also seems not to be able to slow down and perform stronger and stronger for each year while also being one of the humblest frontmen in the whole showbiz making time for the bands fans and making sure we all have a great time. This performance were no exception and we all got our heavy dose of that “Dark Tranquility Melancholy”.

Crowd favourite: “Misery’s Crown”
Stage: Goat Stage
Rating: 9/10

Watain (Sweden)
One of the most brutal acts this year and with an incredible opening where the weather gods offered us the heaviest rainfall, during the festival, and lightning across the sky. With a hellish weather we were also offered a even more hellish performance with the angriest stage performance one won’t soon forget. In usual manner there were also loads of blood thrown out in the audience for those who stood in front row. Yummy!

Crowd favourite: “Night Vision”
Stage: Goat Stage
Rating: 8/10

Kreator (Germany)
Kreator put on a great show during the end of the third and last day of the festival and got the audience rolling. With their “nod” to the classic Thrash sound mixed with their melodic tunes, Kreator is still an act to be reckoned with.

Crowd favourite: “Violent Revolution”
Stage: Goat Stage
Rating: 8/10

Be sure to check out all exhibitors and mentioned bands in the links if you want to learn more!