Every year, the Norwegian Beyond The Gates Festival brings metalheads from around the world to Bergen. This year, the festival was held from August 2nd to August 5th, 2023. Not unlike the other editions we attended, there are always a lot of familiar faces, many stages to cover, and events to attend. The festival hosted bands like KREATOR, DEICIDE, GORGOROTH, ALCEST, PERTUBATOR, and many more!
The second day started for me with (DOLCH), who performed in Kulturhuset. It was my first time seeing them live and admittedly, they sounded even better live than on their studio albums. (DOLCH)’s performance was followed by THE RUINS OF BEVERAST, technical death metal act BLOOD INCANTATION, and black metal sensations NEGATIVE PLANE, all in USF. After that, it was time for the true Norwegian black metal performance of GORGOROTH. Their performance started with fire and “Bergtrollets Hevn.” Both the sound and stage’s image brought back vibes of black metal concerts from the ’90s and the early ’00s. GORGOROTH’s concert was followed by MARDUK’s dark performance which included songs “Viktoria,” “Beyond the Grace of God,” and “Wolves.”
Last but not least, the festival’s second day ended with PERTURBATOR. Although PERTURBATOR’s sound doesn’t have much in common with black and death metal music, during his concert they filled USF to the brim, providing the audience with a perfect afterparty after metal concerts. Check out our gallery below…
(DOLCH)
GORGOROTH
MARDUK
PERTURBATOR
Photos by Aleksandra Majak
