Copenhell Day Four: From Tech-Death Terror to Melodic Mastery
The fourth and final day of Copenhell delivered an eclectic mix of extreme metal brutality and genre-defying performances, showcasing the festival’s commitment to musical diversity. From the opening blast beats of technical death metal to the closing melodic anthems that had the entire crowd singing along, this day proved that heavy music comes in many forms, each with its power to captivate and inspire.
TERRORPY
Terrorpy opened the Gehenna stage on the fourth and final day of Copenhell, with a parade of fast-paced tech-death. Blast beats, distorted bass and raspy growls, and the nastiest lyrics you can think of.
They started the show with the song “Gorging on Pus”, and continued with selected tracks from their two albums “Stuffing Puke into the Sockets” and “The Bisection Collection”.
The band is honestly really good; although not many people showed up, they gave their all, and they’re very down-to-earth when addressing the crowd. They have the technical side down pat, and it doesn’t surprise me that they made it to last year’s finals of Wacken Metal Battle. If you like Nile or Immolation, or just enjoy the lyrics of Cannibal Corpse, this is a must-see for you!
HEAVEN SHALL BURN
Heaven Shall Burn is often categorised as metalcore, extreme metal, or melodic death, and these days they lean toward the extreme side. With lead singer Marcus Bischoff suffering from health problems, stand-in singer Britta Görtz took the stage on his behalf. And by all that is unholy, did she deliver! It’s honestly hard to say which of the two I prefer. She has the charisma, the energy and most importantly, a voice that could shatter rocks.
But she isn’t the only charismatic character on stage. Guitarist Maik Weichert addresses the crowd in a very plain and relatable way, and you get the feeling they’re happy to be there. The mood between songs is lighthearted and fun, which is instantly washed away by a wave of aggressive guttural vocals, blast beats, and brutal riffing, offset by rather catchy and melodic choruses.
They attracted a lot of people as well, and everyone seemed to enjoy this highlight of the festival as much as I did, seeing as no one left before the very end of the show, and for the rest of the day, I heard people talking about this particular show while walking around. Should you ever be so lucky as to see Heaven Shall Burn with Görtz filling in, I wholeheartedly recommend you jump at the chance!
ALIEN ANT FARM
Another outlier in a lineup of mostly metalheads is Californian rock band Alien Ant Farm. In Scandinavia, at least, they’re only known for their biggest hit, their cover of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal”. And a lot of people only showed up to see if they were more than a one-hit wonder. To be fair, the turnout was indeed big, but most people were sitting on the hills in the back, or taking refuge from the sun in the shade of the giant wolf of Copenhell, next to the stage.
It seems like this band has desperately been trying to escape the pitfall of their most popular song for the last 24 years, and honestly, there were a few good songs in their repertoire. The song “Last dAntz” especially stood out, and ironically, the one song that didn’t sound better live was “Smooth Criminal”.
The band is very well aware of their past too, and isn’t afraid to admit that and calls themselves out, stating ‘We did some shitty videos too’ with a smile. It’s not exactly my genre, but for what it is, they’re pretty decent and not without talent.
CASTLE RAT
The forest setting of Gehenna was the perfect choice for this medieval fantasy doom metal band. The musical style is epic doom; slow and heavy riffs, lots of atmosphere and stoner metal grooves. But the music kind of plays second fiddle to the theatrics and story that takes place on stage, and is narrated by lead singer Riley Pinkerton. That said, Pinkerton can hit the high notes, and there are some very decent guitar solos from ‘the count’ Henry Black in there as well.
The story is that of the hero’s journey to battle and defeat the Rat Reaperess, Death herself, played by Maddy Wright. During this, we not only have atmospheric Sabbath-esque musical numbers, but there are sword battles and engaging visuals and narration.
The whole thing is an experience in musical and visual storytelling, reminiscent of 80s Sword & Sorcery movies like Conan the Barbarian, Deathstalker and the like; Babes, Beasts and Battles. And it’s incredibly engaging; you could hear audible gasps in the crowd when it seemed like our hero died, only to come back and defeat the evil and make sure we all got a happy ending to the tale.
KIM DRACULA
I didn’t originally plan to write about Kim Dracula, but after hearing his live performance, which outshone the already impressive studio albums by a significant margin, it felt like this was an experience worth sharing. I’m a bit of a sucker for experimental music that defies genres, and it seems like that’s exactly what Kim Dracula set out to do. A seamless switch between speedy trap beats, sweet croons, brutal breakdowns, and rage-filled death metal screams, to name a few, the genre-bending was superb. And people weren’t ignorant of this guy either; the space was filled from the start, and passersby even stopped to listen in. A lot of people were dancing and having fun too.
The range of the vocals is the draw, but the band deserves credit too. It’s not easy to keep up with Dracula, especially on the saxophone.
IN FLAMES
This is by no means the first time I’ve heard Swedish melodic death metal band In Flames play. Hell, I wore their merchandise for a lot of my teen years, but even leaving behind my bias as an old fan, they were in rare form at this year’s Copenhell. A lot of us started out listening to In Flames. Their rhythmic melo-death is both easy to digest, and they still hold up after all these years. Their style has evolved throughout the years, and while the earlier albums hold a special place in my heart, their newest album “Foregone” isn’t to be trifled with either.
They didn’t save fan favourites like “Cloud Connected” and “Trigger” for the very end; they played them early on and switched to their newer stuff, confident that people would hang around. And they did.
The set didn’t have a lot of props either, except a hanging man with an owl head, dangling just above the stage. There were some blinking, manic text and hand-drawn pictures on the screen in the background. Their effects and props are simple, but effective. The focus was on the music and the crowd interaction. It doesn’t take long until lead singer Anders Fridén makes people form a giant circle pit either, and that energy stayed consistent for the rest of the show.
Conclusion
Day four of Copenhell proved that the festival’s strength lies not just in booking the biggest names but in curating a diverse lineup that challenges expectations and introduces audiences to new sounds. From Terrorpy’s technical brutality to Castle Rat’s theatrical storytelling, from Kim Dracula’s genre-defying experimentation to In Flames’ masterful blend of nostalgia and evolution, this final day encapsulated everything that makes the metal community special: openness to innovation, respect for craftsmanship, and an unwavering passion for the music that moves us. As the festival grounds emptied and the echoes of the final songs faded into the Danish night, it was clear that Copenhell 2024 had delivered yet another unforgettable experience for metalheads from around the world.
Photos (c) Morten Holmsgaard Kristensen
