Review and photos (C) – Simon Ward
About as extreme a metal festival as it gets, Beyond the Gates arose from the ashes of the cult Hole in the Sky festival in 2013. Renowned for curating some of the best lineups in extreme metal has grown into a favorite summer event for heavy music fans all over the globe.
The festival takes place for four days across multiple venues, including USF Verftet, Kulturhuset, and the legendary Grieghallen, where many seminal Norwegian black metal albums were recorded in the 90s.
Beyond the Gates experience
In addition to this massive extreme metal event, Beyond the Gates offers attendees unique and exciting opportunities to explore Norwegian and black metal culture in this historic city!
For years, fans have been flocking to Bergen to experience their favorite Norwegian artists in their home environment. Nature and local culture has always been a poignant source of inspiration for the bands emerging from the Bergen scene.
Beyond the Gates will make a great effort to give all the traveling fans a unique insight into all aspects of the Norwegian Metal scene and the local culture in general. In that regard, the festival hosts put together a series of events so that fans can enhance and build on the Beyond the Gates Experience, including guided tours, art exhibitions, a tattoo festival, and more! It’s no wonder then that our reviewer Simon returns year after year. Here then is his experience of Beyond The Gates 2025….
Hellbutcher:
I can’t think of a much better way to get a festival kicked off than with some frantic, melodic Swedish black metal. Featuring former members of Nifelheim,Unleashed and Opeth, the band’s pedigree as musicians is not in question. Indeed, this was the case live too, as a thoroughly tight set, aided in no small measure by the charisma and energy of the eponymous frontman was delivered to those in attendance. Speed, spite and Satan. As good as it gets.
Hellripper:
Stepping things up a gear in terms of intensity and speed, Scotland’s Hellripper are the first band to grace the Rokeriet stage this year. These guys play blackened speed metal, gritty but sharp and precise, with elements of Motorhead, Bathory and Venom, and they play it at blistering speeds. Frontman James McBain gets special praise for the ease with which he humourously engages with crowds as well.
I Am Morbid:
Keeping the legacy of early Morbid Angel alive, I Am Morbid were formed by David Vincent with the intention of only playing early era MA material (Altars of Madness, Blessed are the Sick, Covenant, Domination) live. For those feeling nostalgic for this era of Morbid Angel this set was a real treat. Heralded by Manowar’s Kings of Metal on the PA, the band kicked straight into Dominate and Where the Slime Live before going further back to the likes of Immortal Rites and Maze of Torment, representing what is inarguably the best period of Morbid Angel’s output.
Musicianship was as tight as one would expect, given the complexity and technicality of some of the arrangements, with both guitarists performing their duties particularly well.
With Chapel of Ghouls, the set ended. And what a shame, because I could have easily watched another hour of this.
Attic:
Germany’s Attic are the first traditional style heavy metal band to perform this year. With elements of Portrait, early In Solitude and the obvious King Diamond/Mercyful Fate influences, Attic still have enough of their own personality to avoid being cast aside. Indeed, the audience seemed to lap it all up. There’s just something about occult themed heavy metal delivered by face painted maniacs that seems to work so well.
Triptykon:
I don’t have too many concert regrets, but missing out on Celtic Frost’s Wacken 2006 performance is one of them. After the subsequent dissolving of the band and passing of Martin Eric Ain, I had given up hope of ever seeing Celtic Frost material performed live. Thankfully, I was afforded the chance, as Triptykon were to perform such a set. As one of the most importand bands in the genre, this was something I was immensely looking forward to. Opening with earlier material (Circle of the Tyrants and The Usurper) before switching to downtuned guitars for the later material (with the tracks off Monotheist sounding earth-shatteringly heavy) the band allowed the audience to enjoy something very special, and judging by the reaction, it was was received especially well. Magnificent stuff.
Destruction:
Ending the first night are German thrashers Destruction, a vital part of the thrash scene for more than 40 years. And seeing as their debut Infernal Overkill was released 40 years ago, this appearance would mostly feature song from that album. Entering the stage to the Star Wars Imperial March theme, the band then tore straight into Invincible Force. German thrash, the old fashioned way. A great end to day one.
Day Shift….
This year’s Day Shift began in the Kulturhuset venue with Nihilvm, Askeregn and Koldbrann making up the bill.
Poland’s Nihilvm were first up, with this performance coinciding with the release of their first full-length Ancient Cosmic Emanation. Cold, malevolent riffs and melodies drenched with reverb, shouted and growled vocals and pummelling drumming; never a bad thing. For fans of Kriegsmaschine and Deus Mortem.
Askeregn are up next. And having seen them before, I knew to expect some intense black metal with various punky and doomy elements. Frantic stuff, conveyed well by musicians with passion.
Finally, Koldbrann. Aggressive, desolate sounding black metal with plenty of variation in style and tempo, from blastbeats and doom, to D-Beat and icy tremolo riffs.
Misthyrming:
Not the first time they’ve played at Beyond the Gates, and hopefully not the last, the Icelandic quartet bring boundless energy and a very impassioned delivery as usual. I’ve enjoyed watching them go from strength to strength with each release and the confidence that they developed early on is a testament to the quality of their recorded output. This performance is no different. They’re the first band to play at Grieghallen this year, and they own it. Set highlights for me are the magnificent Með Harmi and Alglemi’s opener Orgia. I won’t tire of seeing these guys any time soon.
Lucifer:
70s occult worship is the order of the day with Berlin based rockers Lucifer.
Velour, tassels and capes make up a significant portion of the stage attire, accompanying the sounds. But it’s not all for show, as there are some serious riffs and hooks here.
Paradise Lost:
Progenitors of goth metal Paradise Lost are up next and I had been looking forward to seeing them for quite some time. Opening with Draconian Times’ wonderful Enchantment, the band then go back and forth through their discography, not focusing on any particular album or era. Thankfully there’s a veritable raft of top tier material to choose from here, as one would expect from veterans of the scene.
King Diamond:
These guys were one of the main draws for me this year. A band who I’ve been a fan of since the early 2000s. I had always preferred the solo material over that of Mercyful Fate, and as good as Mercyful Fate were at this festival 2 years ago, this was what I was really getting hyped up for.
With a 2 tier stage setup revealed with the curtain drop, complete with balcony, staircases, cell door and a variety of macabre props, it was clear that this would be as much of a horror theater performance as a concert.
As for the music itself, it was flawlessly executed. The King himself sounds as good to these ears as he ever did, and the guitar work of the legendary Andy LaRoque was as impeccable as you’d expect.
The packed and buzzing Grieghallen was very receptive of the stage antics, from Miriam and Grandma, to King’s dry sense of humour and crowd interaction.
Set highlights for me had to include Abigail and the especially killer Sleepless Nights.
Day Shift 2…..
Day Shift no. 2 saw Morax, Eternal Evil and Furia in Kulturhuset.
Norway’s Morax play a fairly traditional brand of heavy metal. Very competently too.
Swedes Eternal Evil are probably the youngest band on the bill, and with that comes plenty of enthusiasm and surprising levels of musicianship given their apparent ages. Black thrash with bags of energy. These lads have a bright future id today’s performance is anything to go by.
Finally, Poland’s Furia are the last of the Day Shift bands for 2025. More unorthodox in style than any of the other black metal bands on the bill, Furia’s sound is fairly experimental. Cold and confrontational, with byzantine compositions and interesting guitar effects, this is black metal that demands proper attention to fully absorb. Not that it doesn’t work live. Far from it. These were easily one of the most interesting bands of the week and I’d recommend giving them a proper listen with some good headphones.
Hexvessel
Atmospheric Finnish post-metal with black metal, folk-ish influences, keyboards and sombre, gothic undertones.
The set was made up of material mostly from 2023’s Polar Veil and just 1 song from this year’s Nocturne. Atmospheric, immersive and ethereal with Mat McNerney’s fantastic vocals conveying a very personal, heartfelt message. Beautiful.
Tribulation
Having had the pleasure of seeing Tribulation several times over the course of their existence, from death metal beginnings to more elaborate, heavily goth-infused rock, and despite my interest having waned for a while before the release of the absolutely cracking Sub Rosa in Aeternum, I was nevertheless very much looking forward to catching them in Grieghallen once again.
It seems that they have come on in leaps and bounds in terms of stage presence and confidence in recent years, with incredibly fluid playing and stage presence/physicality. It was highly unlikely that they were going to surprise me by playing some of their earlier material, but I was more than happy with a couple of tracks from The Children of the Night.
Candlemass:
With 40 years under their belt, Swedish doom legends Candlemass are a force to be reckoned with. The creators of the epic doom style are still as confident and masterful as ever on stage. With a setlist featuring mostly songs from Epicus Doomicus Metallicus and Nightfall, it was simply not possible to be disappointed with what was on offer here. Personal highlight was Nightfall’s Well of Souls.
Opeth:
Another band I’ve been lucky to see many times over the last 20 plus years. With such a diverse back catalogue and song lengths that aren’t what one might call radio-friendly, it was a tricky task to try to keep everyone happy. I don’t think there were too many disappointed with the set, as it turned out. We got 3 new and several old, going as far back as Morningrise. Plenty of variation between light and heavy as well, with Damnation and Deliverance tracks being aired, with the crowd participation during In My Time of Need being especially notable.
Notable too was Mikael’s stage banter. Effortless as usual (when he decided to deliver it in English!). And the cover of Napalm Death’s You Suffer was a perfect example of this.
Speaking of covers, Solitude by Black Sabbath was played as a tribute to the recently deceased Ozzy Osbourne. A very fitting piece.
Absu
The last time I saw Texan black thrashers Absu was in Dublin in 2010. Since then, main man Proscriptor has emerged from behind the drumkit to front the band properly. A wise move, because as it turns out, the man has the energy and charisma to deliver his material in a very convincing manner. The smaller Kulturhuset stage didn’t seem nearly big enough to contain his antics, as he marauded back and forth, stabbing with his custom mic stand.
With a setlist featuring mostly tracks from The Sun of Tiphareth, as this was the 30th anniversary tour, I was still slightly disappointed to hear nothing from similarly highly acclaimed Tara. A minor gripe in the grand scheme of things, however. Getting to hear Feis Mor Tir na n’Og more than made up for this!
Helheim
Folk/viking black metal stalwarts Helheim open proceedings on the final day of the festival, celebrating the 30th anniversary of 1995’s Jormundgand. Clad in traditional style garb, the band kick straight into the title track. Screams and blastbeats issue forth. A very intense beginning! Later, guest vocalists and musicians are brought out for the quieter, folky elements. A very well presented tribute.
Dark Sonority
It was an honour once again to be able to witness one of Dark Sonority’s very rare live appearances (still in the single digits after 12+ years of activity).
Robed and lit by candelabras, the atmosphere was very fitting for this particular otherworldly experience; Minimalistic and focused on mood rather than technicality or complexity.
A cover of Thorns’ sinister sounding Aerie Descent ended the proceedings in an appropriately gloomy way.
Gehenna
I was denied the chance to see Gehenna live several years ago, with the cancelling of the festival they were just about to play. Once again, I was allowed a 2nd chance with their addition to the BtG bill.
A band who never quite got the recognition they deserved, Gehenna nevertheless left their mark on the underground. First Spell and Second Spell material made up the setlist and it was so good to be able to hear this live, especially The Shivering Voice of the Ghost and Angelwings and Ravenclaws.
Taake
Tonight’s appearance would see Taake celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of their 3rd album Hordalands doedskvad, a very highly regarded release that blends a raw 2nd wave black metal style with a more progressive and melodic approach. Constantly shifting dynamics, tempo changes and folk influences lend it a very unique feel. Front and centre is the hooded, wildly energetic Hoest, screaming for all he’s worth and clearly relishing the spotlight. A very highly charged performance, and one of the most well received of the festival.
Abbath
Seeing as I never got to see Immortal live, a chance to see some of their classic material performed by one of their founding members was something I was eagerly anticipating. I have for a long time considered Abbath to be one of the best frontmen to emerge from the Norwegian scene. Not only is he a terrific player, but a great performer as well. It’s hard to take your eyes off him as he poses and crab walks across the stage. As for the setlist, I couldn’t have asked for much more, with the At the Heart of Winter material really ticking those boxes.
In summary:
If you need more convincing to attend next year, check out the festival recap below:
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