Obscene Extreme 2022

Obscene Extreme Festival 2022

July 13 – 17, 2022 @ Trutnov, Czech Republic

I have no doubt that the Obscene Extreme Festival is the most wonderful place in the world for every grindcore fan. Despite my absence from this event for several years, returning to this place once again made me feel at home. The atmosphere, which is the cornerstone of this event, is incomparable to any other festival.

We started this year’s edition on Wednesday evening, with an overnight journey from Lublin to Trutnov, which meant we had to miss the first day of performances. However, there weren’t many performances that interested us on that day. Of course, it would have been nice to see fellow countrymen from Belzebong, industrial legend Godflesh, or extreme shows as part of the „Hell Show”, but not everyone could afford to take 3 days off in the middle of the week.

The journey passed without any obstacles, and early in the morning, we could already check in at the legendary gas station „Ono”, where we could rest a bit on the lawn after the hardships of travel and at the same time greet acquaintances we met. We also had to grab some food and shower, so part of the day was spent exploring the city and taking a trip to a pool a bit far from the festival. Of course, along the way, we also tried fried cheese and the fantastic Cerny Kozel beer, so our spirits were significantly lifted. In the meantime, I arrived at the festival area, where I watched the performance of the Costa Rican band Heresy, who delivered a very decent, fast thrash metal performance to start off. Despite the early hour, the four likable Latinos painted in black or red managed to warm up the audience who showed up for their performance. I was particularly drawn to the very noticeable bass lines, which added to the overall enjoyment of the performance. Next up on stage were my compatriots from Death Crusade, who delivered a solid and dynamic dose of simple, traditional crust grind. The short, uncomplicated numbers based on a punk backbone appealed to part of the small audience gathered. The guys from Trójmiasto turned out to be a good choice to kick off grind Thursday. We returned to the festival area when the fantastic and smiling Crisix from Spain were playing their energetic thrash metal, setting the audience into a frenzy. It all sounded great, and I would have loved to see this band again. Right after them, the Swedish death metal band God Macabre took the stage. Good playing with a grave atmosphere, maybe not in the top tier of bands from that country, but it was quite enjoyable to listen to. However, the members of God Macabre were quite static on stage, which was a significant contrast compared to the previous band Crisix. Next up, the stage was dominated by thrash metal again, this time by the seasoned veterans Onslaught. The audience livened up more here, and the sounds generated by the band resonated with a large part of the crowd. I’m not a huge fan of this band, but it was nice to see them. Lik from Sweden was one of the main attractions of OEF 2022 for me – I really wanted to see them live for a long time, as their death metal based on the best examples of bands like Dismember or Entombed is right up my alley. Unfortunately, their performance was slightly disrupted by the rain that decided to fall a bit during that time. Despite this flavorful musical accompaniment, one could not nitpick about such details. What’s important – Lik sounded fantastic, and I have to say that after a few years of my absence from Obscene Extreme, the sound quality at the festival has significantly improved, which pleasantly surprised me. As for the Swedes’ performance, we got to hear songs like „The Weird,” „Decay,” „Corrosive Survival,” „Necromancer,” and the climactic „Becoming.”

Memoriam from the UK also delivered a great performance, a real treat for fans of straightforward mid-tempo death metal. The Swedish band Skitsystem also performed excellently, very well received by the audience, who went wild during the short, punchy grind punk sprints of the band. I’ve seen this band several times, and this was undoubtedly one of their best performances that I’ve had the opportunity to see.

The next band to take the stage was the masters of Incantation. This was definitely one of the best performances of Thursday. Their crushing death metal with great slowdowns stole the hearts of me and many other fans who crowded in front of the stage. Tracks like „Propitiation,” „Entrails of the Hag Queen,” „Ascend Into the Eternal,” and „Fury’s Manifesto” drove their listeners like a steamroller in the setting bathed in crimson lights.

Next up was the power violence legend – American band Infest, who despite their angry, expressive vocalist, seemed quite static for this type of music, although musically there wasn’t much to fault with the band. The last band I caught a glimpse of was Malevolent Creation. It was known what to expect from them – fairly unrefined, direct death metal at mid-tempo, and fans of such music had a feast. However, I succumbed to fatigue and ended my concert adventure with their performance. We then had to gather in a state of complete exhaustion, order a taxi, and head to the town where we had our accommodation.

We started the next day with a hearty breakfast in human conditions and great company. We did some shopping earlier at a nearby shop, which allowed us to explore the charming town (Svoboda nad Upou), which serves as a nice base not only for Obscene Extreme, but also for trips to the Karkonosze Mountains. After breakfast and some rest, we headed to the train station, where we caught a train to Trutnov. Along the way, before heading to the festival grounds, we of course indulged in fried cheese and beer, enjoying the charms of Trutnov. After the intense previous day, we weren’t in a rush for the concerts, especially since the most interesting performances were scheduled for the afternoon. The concert marathon began with the performance of the Slovak brutal death metal band Craniotomy, with not too many people in attendance yet, but the performance itself was quite decent. The main attraction on stage was the husky vocalist, who didn’t spare his throat on gutturals and other typical vocal techniques for this genre. The music of Craniotomy stayed rather at mid-tempo, with many slowdowns. Unfortunately, the excessive sound of the bass drum somewhat disrupted the overall perception of the performance. I also felt a lack of more power and dynamism in the faster drum parts. Other than that, I didn’t have many complaints, although I wouldn’t describe their performance as sensational.

Next up were the old crust grindcore guys from Brazil, Social Chaos. It was a decent performance, but I must admit that I only saw a part of it, as I went to check out what was happening at the merchandise stands, where I ran into many Polish acquaintances. Later on, the excellent Czech representatives Gride swiftly launched into their fast, furious grindcore. The three of them caused quite a stir – it was clear that they were an experienced band with a long history. Good and interesting tempos, two vocals, a proper dose of aggression, and quite decent sound quality were definitely appealing. The next band to perform was Feastem from Finland, one of the bands I really wanted to see during this edition. Their great, energetic, and fiery grindcore in the vein of Nasum made a great impression live. Mainly fast tempos, specific guitar sounds, and the high screams of the vocalist clad in a red Apex Twin shirt thoroughly entertained the audience. The Finns also expressed their support for Ukraine fighting against the Russian occupier. Next up was the duo from P.L.F., who caused more chaos than many quartets or quintets. Old school crusty grindcore in its full glory and at full speed! The muscle-bound guitarist was particularly eye-catching, skillfully running his fingers at a dizzying pace along the fretboard of his guitar. Despite the high intensity of the performance and the nature of the music, it was surprisingly well-played with a great deal of brutality. One of the best performances of the festival in my opinion.

Following them were the German granddads from Mob47, who attacked with fast hardcore/punk with a frantic vocal style. Simple, straightforward playing, short tracks, and quite decent sound quality. I’m not a big fan of this type of music, but it was nice to see them. This performance helped recharge the batteries a bit before the main event of the evening, the recently reactivated legendary Dismember. I couldn’t wait for this performance, as I had never had the opportunity to hear their songs live, which have been with me since childhood. And what I saw and heard left me 100% satisfied! Firstly, the magnificent, clear, and juicy sound immediately caught my ear, allowing me to pick up on all the nuances in the music of the Swedes. The setlist was also very much to my liking – hit songs like „Override of the Overture,” „Reborn in Blasphemy,” „Skinfather,” „Skin Her Alive,” „Of Fire,” „Casket Garden,” „Collection by Blood,” or finally „Dreaming in Red” were like sonic Milka chocolate. The audience reacted just as energetically to these sounds as I did, making the concert a great experience. The band established a great chemistry with the audience, and it was impossible not to have a smile on your face while watching these guys on stage. The wonderful heavy metal solos, the beautifully accompanying bass, and the powerful riffs straight from the grave were simply epic.

After the Swedish masters, Midnight took the stage with their old-school speed metal. It was a great concert, with the audience also going all out – there were plenty of daredevils doing stage-dives to these very rock’n’roll sounds. A very good performance, although it was the last band I saw that day. Then it was the traditional gathering of people to catch a taxi and return to the accommodation of our group.

The last day of the festival, as the designated driver, I had to stay completely sober, as we planned to head back home directly after the Saturday concerts. We started the day with breakfast as usual, then caught the train to Trutnov again. We spent some time in the center of the old town, where we had lunch and picked up a friend who had only come for the final day of the event. We missed out on the first few bands, but we made it in time for Carnal Diafragma. The old-school goregrind band from the Czech city of Ostrava presented themselves very favorably – their characteristic tempos encouraged the fans to dance, who showed up in droves on and in front of the stage. We had the opportunity to watch a unique spectacle, where the audience played the main role. At every edition, there’s a band where the audience outshines the playing band – mainly happening with goregrind bands such as Last Days Of Humanity, Rompeprop, Gutalax, Spasm, and this time it was Carnal Diafragma accompanying people in various costumes, with swans, and beach balls. Next up was Beheaded from Malta. I had seen them several years earlier at Brutal Assault, but I remembered that concert as if through a fog. At Obscene Extreme, Beheaded performed very well – five men dressed in black uniforms attacked from the first second of the performance with brutal, well-sounding, and sophisticated death metal that was a pleasure to listen to. Excellent, precise tempos, solos, and material spread nicely across two guitars. I was even surprised that I enjoyed their performance so much, as I wasn’t particularly looking forward to it, but I needed such music.

Hellbastard then perhaps played with their metal crust, but it wasn’t a performance that particularly stuck in my memory. The bearded chaps from Bile put on a good show, delivering some good, heavy goregrind with gurgling vocals. But this was only a taste of what happened right after them. Gatecreeper was a name that had electrified me for a long time, and as it turned out, not without reason. I think I won’t be exaggerating if I say that it was the best-sounding concert I’ve witnessed at all editions of Obscene Extreme so far. The way the Americans sound engineered themselves was pure mastery. Their brilliant, grave death metal with a hardcore edge sounded even better and fuller than on their studio recordings. The amazing dirt on the guitars, precision, and filthy vocals simply crushed the listener into the ground. In addition, great compositions make them undoubtedly one of the most interesting contemporary bands of this genre. Even today, that concert is etched in my mind, and I absolutely can’t forget that sound. Especially the tracks from „Deserted” made a huge impression on me, as I know that album the best. When the guys slowed down, there was no mercy, total devastation, and subjectively the best concert of the festival.

After such a knockout, Avulsed couldn’t impress in the same way, although their death metal was quite enjoyable and could be pleasing. However, I wasn’t entirely fond of the vocal tone, although overall, it was quite decent. Tankard is completely outside my preferred style, but as background music for drinks and conversations with friends, they were quite enjoyable. However, I can’t say that I felt inclined to reach for their full albums. Their performance served as a way to recharge before Pig Destroyer, who with their twisted, turned-up-to-eleven intensity grindcore made quite an impression. They also presented themselves very dynamically on stage, with frenzied screams perfectly complementing top-notch riffs and dense tempo changes. Sonically, they were quite decent as well. While the concert performance itself was impeccable, the length of the performance, on the other hand, was not. The Americans played a very extensive set, which, given their intensity and relatively short compositions, was simply too long. But I managed to endure until the end.

The last band I saw during this edition was the Czech band Jig-Ai, who proved themselves to still be the best gore grind proposal that the Czech Republic has to offer. Great sound, very well thought-out compositions, and audience interaction made watching and listening to them a great pleasure. I regret missing the performance of Crypta, as there was an opportunity for that before all the participants of our trip were ready to departure. Then it was time for the difficult, nighttime return (over 600 km to drive home), but fortunately, we managed to return home without any incidents.

Another edition of this unique festival is behind us. Besides the great atmosphere full of good humor, we had the opportunity once again to have fun at the forefront of the extreme scene. Despite the passing years and an aging audience and bands, Obscene Extreme continues to give hope that the grind scene is still going strong and will survive for many more years, giving us plenty of joy in the process.