Dark Funeral

Copenhell - 2016

Text: Tobias Nilsson Photo: Lunah Lauridsen

So far, our day had seen rap metal, party music, and rock. It was time to even things out, with a band most suited for this festival. At least going by name alone.
Yes, Copenhell had finally reached Dark Funeral!

“Denmark god damnit, how are you doing?!”
- Andreas ‘Heljarmadr’ Vingbäck (vocals)


We knew from the start that our time with Dark Funeral was limited. The great ending in the form of Black Sabbath loomed around the corner, something we didn’t any intention of missing, but likewise, we didn’t have any intention of missing this, or at least as little as possible.
We weren’t the only ones either, we could see as we arrived at the Pandæmonium stage. The place wasn’t completely packed, but it wasn’t too far from it. And that Dark Funeral was awaited by the crowd, well, that there was no question about – already before they entered the stage, the crowd was shouting enthusiastically!

It was the brooding, melodic intro for Unchain My Soul that got to open the show, but of course it didn’t take long for the band to up the speed and aggression. There wasn’t much movement in the band members, except possibly for Heljarmadr, but this isn’t the kind of music that calls for it either. There was plenty of headbanging, and the show gave off just the right amount of dark and evil atmosphere that you’d want from this type of thing.
The show was blasting furiously by in much the same way as the songs themselves were, and most of the music was presented back to back, with very little time spent on speaking or interacting with the crowd, but even so, Dark Funeral had a good grasp of its audience, as they ploughed through the set.

Obviously it worked, because the already enthusiastic crowd now headbanged wildly, and there was a furious moshpit taking up a lot of the ground in front of the stage. It was as though there was a general consensus that this was the concert, at which all excess energy was to be burned off!
Of course, some had already reached their limit, and further back, people were taking the music in, in a calmer manner. Then again, it was the last day of the festival, and midnight was approaching quickly, quicker than anyone hoped for.
Now, just because this we were dealing with a notorious black metal band, and the fact that their time, as well as ours, was limited, it didn’t mean that we went completely without crowd interaction. For one thing, Heljarmadr had the audience help him shout Hail Murder into action, where he would shout Hail, and we then answered Murder! It’s a small thing, but it works.

As indicated above, we couldn’t stick around for the entire show, but in a way I would actually have liked to do it, just to see what else Dark Funeral might have in store for us. They were definitely present, and delivering the goods.

Setlist:

Unchain My Soul
The Arrival Of Satan’s Empire
The Secrets Of The Black Arts
Hail Murder
As I Ascend
Nail Them To The Cross
My Funeral
Where Shadows Forever Reign

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