CANDELABRUM METAL FESTIVAL celebrated its fourth edition this year, establishing itself as a young festival with a well-respected name in the Latin American extreme metal scene. Held at the Velaria de la Feria in León, Guanajuato, Central Mexico, the event is situated outside the radar of major Mexican cities. This somewhat ambiguous location has helped shape CANDELABRUM’s identity as an emerging festival that doesn’t rely on large crowds to create a haven for extreme metal.
Taking place in an open-air arena covered by a circus-like dome, the Velaria de la Feria (or simply Velaria) was carefully chosen as the festival site for several reasons: it is small enough to walk around easily, gets plenty of sunlight, provides extensive shade from the harsh Mexican sun, features a simple yet inviting terrace in front of the stage, and, most importantly, it hosts only one stage (thank goodness!). So, no need to run from one stage to the other to catch your favorite bands.
This year’s CANDELABRUM METAL FESTIVAL featured a strong collection of big names, including OBITUARY, THE KOVENANT, AGALLOCH, PRIMORDIAL, HÄLLAS, PYOGENESIS, ONSLAUGHT, THE THIRD AND THE MORTAL, SHAPE OF DESPAIR, THE CROWN, ABSU, ANCIENT RITES, and REPULSION. The festival was also packed with some interesting local bands, letting attendees enjoy their favorite international acts while discovering emerging Mexican talent from all over the country.
Since we were arranging our accreditation and heading to the press area on the festival’s first day, we missed the opening performances by ANTICOLOR and UNHOLIER. Still, the crowd seemed to be gearing up for the rest of the day as we could hear them putting on a great show. During this period, we participated in the festival’s inaugural press conference. The festival’s manager, Kezhia Quintero, formally welcomed the media and provided an overview of the festival’s development, noting that each year the event fosters a collegial atmosphere among attendees, performers, and staff. At the same conference, we met Mexican visual artist Néstor Avalos, who had a solo exhibition on the festival grounds. In his work, he theatrically displays life, death, and the occult arts. His album art commissions include bands like SEPTICFLESH, DARK FUNERAL, BLOODBATH, KREATOR, BATUSHKA/PATRIARKH, and CANDELABRUM itself. The exhibition was a pleasure to visit, and we highly recommend you check out his works, some of which can be purchased on his website.
Two local NGOs partnering with the festival also attended the conference to attract donors and promote their good causes. The first one, ALUCCA, aimed to raise hair donations for cancer patients by installing a hair salon on-site. By the looks of some metalheads in the salon, we could see they were both enthusiastic and frightened to donate their long-haired tails. The second one, BRIGADA CANINA LEON GTO, was an organization aiming to collect donations in the form of packaged food and necessary supplies for street dogs, and in return, attendees could get a commemorative festival glass. Their stand was so worth visiting because, well, who doesn’t want to hug a puppy before entering a festival? This kind of collaboration with a host city is unprecedented for a metal festival, so we applaud CANDELABRUM for encouraging it.
Afterwards, we attended our first show, featuring the Mexican band FUMES. We had heard them on Bandcamp and enjoyed their energetic blend of heavy and black metal, which made for an impressive set. FOSSILIZATION and ZEMIAL came next, two bands that we got to see briefly but still enjoyed. FOSSILIZATION from Brazil delivered a death/doom metal set that created a somber atmosphere, ideal for relaxing between performances. ZEMIAL followed with energetic black/thrash metal, continuing the lively vibe. To top off their performance, Proscriptor McGovern, ABSU’s singer, came to the stage to perform a few songs with this band. We experienced Proscriptor McGovern’s royalty the following night with ABSU, but more on that can be found on our second-day live report.
After hours of black metal spinning, the festival needed a more melodic shift, and ECLIPSE was ready to deliver. Hailing from Sweden, ECLIPSE carried a typical hard rock sound, with beats and blasts emerging as Erik Mårtensson’s soft voice played. They lifted our spirits with their energy and enthusiasm for being in Mexico for the first time.
After the joyful and smiling vibes left by ECLIPSE, it was time to switch to the opposite mood with SHAPE OF DESPAIR, coming all the way from Finland. The atmosphere of the venue became gentle as the band performed, presenting a solemn stage presence in all-black attire. Their performance featured a slow tempo that combined guitar riffs with both deep growls and melodic vocals, a perfect representation of “The Beauty and the Beast” movie, but with a Gothic twist. As one of the most iconic bands in the funeral doom genre using this formula, we expected to see SHAPE OF DESPAIR at a more prominent time. Nonetheless, they delivered a magnificent show despite the sunlight and heat. After this melancholic set, it was time for the Belgian black metal band ANCIENT RITES. The band’s vocalist, Gunther Theys, was unfortunately unable to perform due to recent kidney problems and was replaced by backing vocals. Although their gig felt a bit odd without a frontman, they performed professionally nonetheless.
Next up was MORBID SAINT, a major influence in blackened thrash and death metal. Despite just three albums over 30 years, their energetic show secured their place as a standout band in the genre. MORBID SAINT gave the audience the necessary boost of stamina they needed, as the festival was halfway through the first day. The band that followed was a highly anticipated one for us, the Swedish progressive rock band HÄLLAS. Being quite different from the overall extreme genres of this festival’s lineup, HÄLLAS came on stage at sundown, exactly the right time for a slow show of darkness and light. They started with the old-school-like “Birth/Into Darkness,” a whirlwind of guitar solos and pleasing vocals by Tommy Alexandersson. HÄLLAS reminded us of those ’60s rock bands with flower power energy; their music is infectious, and they deliver a well-curated show where colorful lights intertwine with the darkness of the night (and their attire), all while the music plays a soft sound that feels like a sweet treat. They finished greatly with “The Astral Seer.”
Continuing the “not that extreme” type of bands, THE THIRD AND THE MORTAL came next. How can we describe these legendary Norwegians in concert? Honestly, we do not know; we can only say that seeing a band that has left a remarkable trace in metal music felt almost like a lifetime achievement. So, naturally, we had to keep ourselves calm and enjoy this otherworldly gig. They began with “Grevinnens bønn,” a ballad that set a fairytale tone as colorful lights filled the venue. THE THIRD AND THE MORTAL played their mystical album “Tears Laid in Earth” from 1994 (alongside the EP “Sorrow”) in its entirety, a work that has touched many bands within the Gothic/doom spectrum. May we also mention that Kari Rueslåtten (lead singer) is such a sweetheart? Not only did she get us with her ethereal presence on stage, but she is charismatic beyond words. She repeatedly said in Spanish, “México, son un público maravilloso” [Mexico, you are a marvelous audience] and thanked the crowd for sticking around with them for so many years. The concert went on with classics like “Why so Lonely,” “Salva Me,” “Vandring,” just to name a few. They concluded their set elegantly with the atmospheric “Oceana,” a soundscape that evoked the sound of slow sea waves in our minds. If you ask us, they were the highlight of this first day.
After THE THIRD AND THE MORTAL, REPULSION came to the stage. As a grindcore band, they were just full on that brutal attitude that only death metal audiences know. We wish we could have had the energy to get into the moshpit, but alas, we were already wrecked, and there was still one more band to go. It was now time to close off the festival’s first night, and what a magnificent way to do so than with THE KOVENANT right at midnight? It really felt like a nightmare came true. The group appeared on stage under blue lighting and referred to the “Nexus Polaris” (1998) album cover, which represented the setlist scheduled for their performance. We quickly embarked on a sonic treat that combined Stian “Nagash” Hinderson’s deep growls, industrial blasts, and the goddess Sarah Jezebel Deva’s sweet operatic vocals. “The Sulphur Feast” presented attendees with an immersive environment characterized by dim lighting.
The event promptly engaged the audience, who responded enthusiastically by dancing as the lighting effects moved throughout the venue. The whole concert felt like a nightclub, where each person showed their best moves, but this time in a more somber mood. After all the brutality throughout the day, and yet a peaceful early night, it felt like fresh air to have a festive ending to the first day, just as the celebration of togetherness that festivals are. We were completely exhausted at this point, but that didn’t matter while THE KOVENANT were playing; their show was so enigmatic that we danced the night away. They concluded with “Towards the Crown of Nights,” a piece that symphonically ended this first night.
Text and photos by Hector Sanchez
Edit by Laureline Tilkin
