Beyond The Gates Festival, held annually in Bergen, Norway, featured a powerful lineup of black and extreme metal bands. This year’s festival was held from July 31st until August 3rd and some of the festival’s key performers included MAYHEM, BEHEMOTH, VENOM, WATAIN, SATYRICON, and many more.
The first day of Beyond The Gates Festival 2024 was a fierce celebration of black metal, setting a dark and intense tone for the event. Held at the USF Verftet venue in the heart of Bergen, the lineup promised a night of unrelenting energy, and it delivered beyond expectations.
I started the festival with the performance of the Polish black metal band MANBRYNE, for whom this was their first concert outside of their home country. Next up was WATAIN, who announced their concert by plastering bloody posters with the message “Beware! WATAIN is coming!” around town. WATAIN brought their signature theatricality to the stage. Their set was a masterclass in chaos, with flames, blood, and relentless riffs creating an atmosphere of pure violence. As the night progressed, MAYHEM took the stage, marking their more than 40-year history by displaying archival photos on screen, mostly from the band’s early days. With their iconic status in black metal, their setlist was a blend of classics and newer material, each song executed with precision and dark energy. Closing the night was the legendary TRELLDOM, with their first performance since their formation in the ’90s. Their sound, pitch black and avant-garde, was complemented by the artistic nature of the performance, enhanced by strange wooden figures placed at the back and sides of the stage.
All-in-all, Beyond The Gates‘ first day brought a perfect combination of black metal classics that we love to see and something new that we haven’t had the opportunity to experience in Bergen before. Check our photo gallery below…
MANBRYNE
WATAIN
MAYHEM
TRELLDOM
Photos by Aleksandra Majak
