Dark River Festival in Kotka is one of the annual highlights of our festival season, so naturally, we had to go back to Kotka for the 2024 edition, held from August 8th–10th. This year’s lineup featured an impressive array of bands such as WARMEN, MARIANAS REST, EXODUS, MNEMIC, BLOODRED HOURGLASS, and KATATONIA, creating a diverse and exciting musical experience. As always, the festival offers a perfect blend of intimate atmosphere and top-tier performances, making it a standout event in Finland’s summer festival circuit. The final day of Dark River Festival concluded with bands like I AM YOUR GOD, BRYMIR, BOB MALMSTRÖM, MUSHROOMHEAD, ATLASES, BEFORE THE DAWN, KAUNIS KUOLEMATON, MNEMIC, BLOODRED HOURGLASS, and KATATONIA.
Saturday evening started with I AM YOUR GOD delivering a fantastic set on the Inferno Stage. I’m a big fan of NORTHER and regret that I never got the chance to see them live–but I AM YOUR GOD reminded me of a modern-day NORTHER, with solid, chunky riffs, perfectly delivered growls, and nice clean vocals in the mix as well. I was very impressed with them, and they set the mood perfectly for BRYMIR to open the main stage with some more good solid death metal. They had some technical difficulty with a skipping backing track, but played it off well with the crowd in an amusing way. It’s always refreshing to see a band having fun and letting loose on stage, and BRYMIR certainly did, switching up the placement of their band members at one point, and throwing plush fish and nuggets into the mosh pit.
BOB MALMSTRÖM served as a good reminder to not judge a book by its cover–they delivered a much heavier set than I expected from their name, merch, and overall appearance. Black metal vocals aren’t always my cup of tea, but seeing an older guy in an all-white outfit screeching and roaring gutturals like a dinosaur was entertaining and enjoyable. They ended their set with a cheesy theme song, tossing euros and pouring glasses of champagne for the crowd, and I was highly amused.
Next on the main stage was MUSHROOMHEAD from the States, and they weren’t my cup of tea at all. Opening with the Spongebob Squarepants theme song, then coming onstage dressed like GHOST and playing a techno-sounding nu-metal set which at one point included a cover of BLACK SABBATH‘s “War Pigs” but trashing it and remarking “Who the hell sings this shit?” I found them more than a little distasteful. In fact, I feel that they soured my mood so much (combined with the onset of cold and rain that followed their set, which I was inadequately dressed for), that I didn’t have much else to remark about the bands that followed; ATLASES, BEFORE THE DAWN, and KAUNIS KUOLEMATON. In any other mood, I most likely would have enjoyed them, but the long weekend was starting to wear on me at this point.
This is the third time I’ve seen KATATONIA since their North American tour in November, 2022, at Metro in Chicago, IL; the second being November, 2023, at The Forge in Joliet, IL. I have noticed that in terms of sound quality, each gig has been progressively worse, and I felt this time the bass and drums just about drowned everything else out. But it was nice to see fill-in guitarists for Roger Ojersson and Anders Nyström instead of backing tracks, as when I saw them at The Forge, they played a backing track in Nyström‘s place. The presence of both guitarists was still sorely missed for me, as the fill-in guitarists just don’t quite play the songs the same way. Still, it was a good set overall, with a nice variety of songs both new and old, and all crushingly heavy.
Overall, Dark River Festival 2024 was a fantastic experience. Despite a few personal mood dips and technical issues, I thoroughly enjoyed the intimate yet high-quality atmosphere, discovered some new bands, and reconnected with old favorites. I left with great memories and a fair share of merch, and I’d love to return to Kotka for this festival someday.
Text and photo by Charlotte Varboncoeur
