Obscene Extreme 2009

This will be a report from one of the most twisted festivals in Europe: Obscene Extreme. I doubt anyone needs an explanation of what those two words entail. Three days of sonic terror and a vibe that cannot be described in words.

I kicked off my trip to the Czech Republic on Wednesday, hitchhiking towards Wrocław. I was lucky, as the wait times were relatively short, and I arrived at my destination after just five rides. Breslau welcomed me with a heavy downpour, and I arrived soaking wet at my friend’s place, who kindly offered me a place to stay. In the morning, I wandered around the capital of Lower Silesia, admiring the stunning architecture and lounging on the grass in the park. Pure bliss. I had so much free time because my friends, with whom I was supposed to travel to Svojsice, didn’t plan to leave Wrocław until around 4 PM. The journey to the Czech Republic went by quickly as we immediately found common ground, and while clutching our beers, we had a delightful chat. I was especially amused by a comment from one, who succinctly summed up our discussions about the bands playing this year’s Obscene with: “I’m just waiting to get my five liters of vodka” haha. We managed to get onto the festival grounds in the evening, specifically during Birdflesh’s set, of which I only saw a snippet because we had to set up our tent.

The guys were, as usual, dressed to the nines, entertaining the crowd with their laid-back yet ass-kicking grindcore. The audience was already revved up, so we quickly rushed to get our cabin sorted out (thanks, Mesjasz, for the hospitality!), just in time for Municipal Waste. When we got to the stage and saw what was happening, I couldn’t contain myself; I handed my keys, phone, and wallet to the guys and jumped straight into the mosh pit. The fantastic energy of their thrash metal was wonderfully embraced by the crowd, who went wild in every possible way—stage diving, moshing, the whole vibe was a solid 10/10. The guys from MW also didn’t hold back—plenty of movement on stage and great interaction with the audience. There was even a wall of death, which went over really well. Stylistically, the band was definitely out of place, but I think the „diversification” effort worked perfectly, and I hope to see more such interesting „raisins” in the future. After Municipal Waste, it was time for the Polish representation (the second for the day, unfortunately, we missed FAM), namely Dead Infection. I can’t say I was particularly impressed with this performance. I get the impression that the band’s current form is just coasting along, playing almost out of obligation. I didn’t like the vocal parts at all; Pięścień and Hal are not cut out for this role. I believe that bands that deliver the most crushing performances have a dedicated frontman focusing 100% on the „microphone work.” Therefore, for me, Cyjan and company were a disappointment. To wrap up the first day, we had the traditional performance from the Hell Show guys doing a show of extreme piercing, suspension, etc. Very intense stuff, amplified by the big screen that allowed the audience to see everything „up close.” Speaking of which, the aforementioned screen turned out to be a great addition to the performances, as it not only showed what was happening on stage but also included snippets from various films. Overall, I find the use of visuals as a complement to performances quite an interesting idea. However, the day was not over yet, as together with some guys I met from Chełm, we headed to the camping area, where we enjoyed some drinks in a friendly atmosphere, and the master storyteller turned out to be the vocalist of Jig-Ai. Never mind that I couldn’t catch half of his stories because he was speaking at the speed of a racing car haha. But I must admit, he was a really nice guy. In the end, though, fatigue got the better of us, and everyone retreated to their own tents.

The second day started with Mesjasz (or Masjesz, whatever hehe) as we took a bit of a scenic route towards the store to explore the area. And as people on forums have said (this being the first Obscene in a new location, previously held at Brutal Assault), it was a complete backwater. But on the other hand, that didn’t matter when the weather was okay and you had a car. However, if I had to hitchhike here, I think I’d pass hehe. Svojsice is a village dead as a doornail, with just one shop, a few houses, and fields and forests all around. After washing up and having a small breakfast, we went looking for some shade near the stage because it was blazing hot (which suited me just fine ;)). After some chit-chat, the bands started playing. I caught all of them at first, but I don’t remember them very well. I liked Distaste, which presented a Swedish grind style inspired by bands like Nasum, and that kind of music really gets to me hehe. Around 2:30 PM, I experienced the biggest surprise of Obscene—the band Idiots Parade (from the Czech Republic). Three guys jumped on stage with a rather unassuming girl, and… they knocked me on my ass. Pure fire! Incredible, fresh, and fast grindcore (with rather short songs) featuring the amazing vocals of this lady (high-pitched and very distinctive scream). I definitely recommend them. A little earlier, we noticed a rather thick cloud of smoke rising near the food stalls, and it turned out there was a serious fire that completely burnt down one of the food trailers. Since we’re on the topic of food, at Obscene, you could indulge in a full range of typical Czech delights, like langos, fried cheese, etc. The entire “catering” was vegetarian, which I must admit suited me very well hehe. Next up was a band called GAF, but I don’t remember them at all. However, I do know and like M:40, so I enjoyed their interesting Swedish crust with a touch of melody. It was a great performance, and the audience really liked it too. Overall, one of the best things about Obscene is that people have fun from the first band to the last every day. After the Swedes, the Czech Imperial Foeticide took the stage, but their brutal death metal didn’t quite do it for me; in short, it felt derivative and boring. However, it’s good that there are such bands because it gives you time to mingle with people hehe. During this time, a “party” was happening on the benches occupied, among others, by a crew from the wild east of Poland. By joining in, I got to taste some decent homemade brews poured unpretentiously from five-liter containers hehe. I hung out there for a while, then returned to my previous group hehe. In the meantime, Wormrot from Singapore was performing, and of course, they completely swept everything away with their dirty, furious, and astronomically fast grind. You could expect that after the release of their latest amazing album titled “Abuse.” Swiss band Mumakil was one of the acts I most wanted to see at this year’s OEF. For me, they were stunning. Brutal, modern, and technical grind/death that really appealed to me. The hefty, bearded frontman and the drummer, who was executing some seriously impressive tempos, really caught my attention. I don’t remember the next Bombstrike well because we were busy having drinks up on the hill with the guys, so we were only half-focused on what was happening on stage. Overall, I really enjoyed the Afgrund performance; there was power and a unique feeling. The guys confirmed that there’s a reason their name is mentioned among the best heirs of Mieszko Talarczyk’s crew. After their set, I headed back to the tents to continue mingling hehe. Because of that, I missed Lividity (not crying) and Venomous Concept (a bit of a bummer hehe) but I certainly couldn’t miss Disfear. Their rock’n’roll d-beat crust was top-notch and immediately got me moving to the front of the stage, where I was really “working it,” ending the night with a slight mishap (after jumping off the stage, I fell backward onto the concrete hehe). Disfear crushed it, Tompa is an amazing, incredibly charismatic frontman, and the music itself swept the audience away, who couldn’t praise them enough after the show. The performance of the next Swedes that day even overshadowed the set of the “founders of grind.” You can’t say Napalm Death disappointed, but something was lacking in their performance. The sound was really messed up because at times it was truly hard to recognize specific songs. The performance felt a bit flat too. But despite that, I was glad I got to see and hear them once again. Just for the sake of those iconic classic tempos, the feeling radiating from their songs, Barney’s movements and antics, and the balding grandfather figure Shane with his curtain of curls—you had to be there. Right after Napalm, I rushed to the tent, probably for a hoodie, and that turned out to be my biggest festival fail because I missed Wolfbrigade! I’m kicking myself for that and holding onto the hope that I’ll make up for this transgression soon. I simply got caught up in conversation with some Dutch guy on the way, and then it started to rain heavily, so I opted to wait it out in the tent. When I returned, Mexican Oxidised Razor was already setting up. My friends from Chelm particularly awaited this performance because they had bonded really well with them in the camping area the day before hehe. Even though I don’t listen to gore grind much, I enjoyed what those unassuming guys were doing on stage. The attention was drawn especially by the short, “Indian” looking vocalist. I must admit, he delivered some pretty solid growls. I was already almost ready to head back to the tent because it was getting a bit chilly, but my buddy Globus (shoutout!) held me back, and we enjoyed the performance until the last band hehe. Abaddon Incarnate from the British Isles was undoubtedly one of the brightest highlights of the festival. Their well-executed grind/death with three vocalists was truly impressive. A lot was happening on stage, and the music was interesting, so there was certainly no room for boredom. The next band, Joe Pesci, didn’t stick in my mind at all, except that their performance was terrible hehe. Then Urtikaria Anal took the stage, presenting a rather primitive, simple, and rudimentary version of gore grind or porn grind; I don’t really know, I’m not an expert hehe. The guys drew attention with their BDSM masks, but aside from that, there really wasn’t much to impress. That was pretty much the last band I actually saw because I hardly remember two songs from the next one, Amoclen, just like with Joe Pesci—memory fails me, hehe.

The third and final day of Obscene greeted us with a sky completely shrouded in clouds. It didn’t bode well. But no worries, we had to get ready somehow and head to the stage for the first band. This was some German band called Boiler. Their name knocked me to my knees, but the performance was so mediocre that I don’t even recall it. The next group, the French Defecal Of Gerbe, showed a better side. The guys wore some pretty cool costumes, and as is customary for such conventions, they played something similar to Gronibard or Ultra Vomit, albeit without that much power. Even though there were three guys handling vocals, overall, they didn’t really present anything captivating. When you have that many “frontmen,” you expect total craziness, fire, and mayhem. That was somewhat lacking. And here in the report, there’s going to be a break because directly above the festival area, a cloud burst, pouring rain for a good few hours, causing me to miss a lot of bands in the morning. I know I should sacrifice for you and watch everything as it comes, but quite frankly, no one would sponsor my medication package afterward. Unless there are some grind grants from the National Health Fund hehe. In general, among the bands I missed, I only wanted to see the Russian Septicopyemia.

I headed to the stage despite the rain (and I did try a bit hehe) for the Czech band Spasm. It was raining as if someone had downed 666 beers and had been holding the sun for the previous two days, with temperatures maxing out at around 15 degrees Celsius, and here come three jolly fellows nearly naked onto the stage. The drummer and guitarist were in snug little shorts wedged between their cheeks, while the vocalist looked like a mustachioed, chubby little president in Borat attire for a change. The trio showcased the Czech school of gore grind, fairly decent, but overall there wasn’t much to get excited about. I then moved around a bit until I reached Pigsty. And from this band, things started to get lively on stage. Nice, energetic grind with some hardcore influences and pretty good sound. I just didn’t like the vocals, which, given such a name, should have transformed the stage into a big, powerful pigsty. But alas, there was a bit of a lack of force in those vocals. The situation was, however, salvaged by Jig-Ai, which I saw once again, and this performance confirmed my belief that they are currently the best grind band in the Czech Republic. A massive danceable gore-grind roller with an incredible feel and extremely low sound. Their vocals are a work of art, especially since apparently the guy doesn’t use any pitch shifters or harmonizers. The growls, screams, and inhalations made it feel like the guy was about to have his guts explode through his throat. Beautiful stuff:). Fleshless was about to set up, but we dashed to the pub adjacent to the amphitheater, and we listened to most of the concert from the fence. A strange formation, they had some pretty cool moments, but it all got lost in the sea of Czech mediocrity. It was all incredibly uneven. Although their technical death metal is quite diverse, nothing really came of it. There was a lack of spontaneity and aggression. Mob 47, the legendary Swedish crew reactivated after many years, showed a positive side. Lots of fury, dirtiness, madness, and speed, but this type of sound works best in tight clubs or squat venues. Just some strange sense of unfulfillment remained. Death metal fans started crowding around the stage because Hail Of Bullets was about to begin their show, one of the biggest revelations of the genre lately. The guys entered the stage just after dark, which made the lights quite enjoyable. As for the music, it was pretty good. A lot of old school, moderate tempos, plenty of slowdowns, without technical pressure, overall, a very nice atmosphere. A great alternative to bands like Origin. But for me… it was just too long. The songs started to drag, and in such dreary weather, I needed something specific, fiery, and fast to smack me in the face. Soon, however, Australian Blood Duster was up next. Everyone was electrified by the prospects of what they would deliver this time. For those hungry for sensationalism, I’ll let you know that there was no scandal this time. A bit of a letdown, it seemed that downstage, people were eager to taste the lead vocalist’s urine hehe. This time, however, the guys brought out a gigantic bottle of vodka and started pouring it from the stage into the audience’s mouths. Musically, I like Blood Duster because their laid-back, party grind’n’roll flows very smoothly, but what the guys represent doesn’t quite convince me. There’s definitely too much odd nonchalance, star antics, and a lack of respect for the audience. And the stunt of pushing girls off the stage out of nowhere and with full force also left a rather negative impression. A bad impression was somewhat erased by the song the band performed together with Curby and his daughters. Throughout the track, the vocalist held one of the girls up, passed her the mic, and so on. A nice gesture towards the organizer, and I hope the band heads in that direction, rather than launching cups of urine at the audience ;). Later, Brazilian Ratos De Porao, a living legend of old-school, raw hardcore/punk took the stage. A quite enjoyable and pleasant performance, though it didn’t blow me away. I was really looking forward to the Spanish Machetazo, especially after their canceled performance at Gore Galore. Unfortunately, it was an immense disappointment due to the catastrophic sound. The sound engineer must have fainted at the console because what we heard from the speakers was tragedy incarnate. Indecipherable, crackling, cutting guitars, zero vocals, it was a disaster. Midway through the performance, things began to improve, but it wasn’t enough to save the concert. Such a pity, as it was clear that the guys were trying—they were moving, thrashing their heads, and the drummer was doing a good job balancing between playing and vocals, but unfortunately, it turned out as it did. I barely recall Bufo, and to be honest, I was slowly getting ready to head back to my tent, but I decided to stick it out for Crepitation. And I thank my female intuition for it because it turned out to be one of the best concerts of the entire Obscene festival. I was literally crushed! Ultra brutal, groovy, slammy death metal was something I’d been missing all day. Megaton riffs, frogs, boars, wild boars, and bears on vocals, and an incredible sense of humor and lightheartedness emanating from the stage. The Brits didn’t even mind that the sound engineer was still having concentration issues, resulting in a power outage in the middle of their set. During the break, they were still going strong, and the smiles never left their faces hehe. Thankfully, the performance resumed, and Crepitation maintained their momentum until the end. But that’s not all! After finishing their set, the guys from the band played ABBA from the speakers and started pulling people onto the stage. I literally fell on my back when I saw about 30 people freely dancing on the Obscene stage to hits like „Dancing Queen.” Standing with Noiser and watching this spectacle, we couldn’t believe our eyes hehe. It was total madness; moments like these make life worthwhile hehe.

Time to wrap things up. Obscene Extreme offers three days of unforgettable experiences, silly antics, an incredibly friendly atmosphere, and performances by bands that can blow your eardrums out. If someone is deterred by the name, photos from the fest, and the overall “extreme and fecal” profile of the event, they might change their mind upon finding out that there’s even a kindergarten functioning on festival grounds! “Kinder Grinder”—that’s what blew my mind the most. A big green tent where you could leave your child under the care of friendly staff. This encapsulates the entire essence of Obscene—onstage, there are some insane screams, chaos ensues, and nearby, five-year-olds are quietly assembling blocks or puzzles in “Little Grinder” shirts. It’s mind-blowing :D. Shoutout to my travel companions: Joker, Hacek, Mesjasz (the Woodstock dirty boy hehe), Maciaki, and all the crazy folks we met along the way! See you next year! 🙂