For some time now, a small town in central Poland – Zduńska Wola – has been hosting extremely attractive concerts for fans of heavy sounds. What’s most interesting is that these concerts are organized as part of the town’s annual festivities and are completely free. During one of these festivals, an alternative stage is set up, featuring bands playing metal, hardcore, and punk music. In previous years, we’ve had the chance to see live performances by Ignite, Booze & Glory, and during the 2020 edition, which was unfortunately cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, even Death Before Dishonor was scheduled to perform.
This year, I was electrified by the news that Integrity was planning to perform in Zduńska Wola. I’d seen them twice before, but it wasn’t a barrier for me to see them again. So, my friends and I set off on Friday evening after work in a group of four. When we arrived at the venue, we noticed that the atmosphere was quite festive. Thanks to the good weather, many people were sitting on the grass, chatting and enjoying drinks. There were also stalls selling records, zines, and merchandise. A significant number of people in the audience were visitors from other towns.
The first band we saw was Pandemonium, a death metal band from Łódź, known as a legend of Polish death metal and celebrating its 25th anniversary soon. Many people came to see how they’d fare. The performance was decent, but not particularly captivating. The stage presence was lacking, with too many slow parts and not enough intensity. Fans of old-school death metal based on moderate tempos might have been satisfied, but I missed more energy.
After Pandemonium’s approximately one-hour performance, it was time for the main event of the evening – Integrity, a legend of American metallic hardcore. We weren’t sure if this performance would meet our expectations, but it turned out to be one of the best Integrity concerts we’d seen. The band members emanated an extraordinary enthusiasm that infected the audience. Integrity also had great contact with the audience, who were wild and “fed” the musicians with applause. The musicians on stage were dynamic, with the bassist even venturing into the crowd during performances. Musically, the band presented themselves professionally and powerfully, with an appropriate balance of speed and aggression.
The setlist featured hits like “Hollow”, “Sarin”, “Taste My Sin”, “Abraxas Annihilation”, “Systems Overload”, and “Judgement Day”. The people in front of the stage were also unrestrained, like they didn’t care about tomorrow. The concert wasn’t long – Integrity played for about 40 minutes – but it was enough time to feel satisfied.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t time to catch up with friends after the concert as we had a long way to go home. I got home late at dawn when it was already light out. Thankfully, I didn’t have to go to work the next day. In summary, this was a great outing and concert experience. Following Zduńska Wola’s example, more Polish towns could revive their celebrations with alternative scenes like this one, inviting niche but exceptional artists playing less popular genres of music.
