A historic Diada for Catalan metal

Barcelona"What a joy this is, damn. This is history," said Eloi Boucherie, singer and guitarist of Vidres en la Sang, mid-concert. The band from Terrassa was one of six bands participating in the first edition of the Catalunya Triunfant festival, held on Thursday at Barcelona's Paral·lel 62 venue, with over a thousand tickets sold, enthusiastic audiences, and a top-notch artistic performance. All of this serves to elevate Catalan metal, and in Catalan; or rather, the excellent form of the most extreme variations of the metal genre in our country, represented by groups such as Assot, Siroll!, Bocc, Udol, Cristales en la Sangre, and Ósserp, responsible for the overwhelming success of the festival organized by the promoters Blood Fire Death, led by Pau Navarra, and Pau Navarra, and Pablo Navarra. Some of these bands had already performed together in 2019. Metal Cat Fest that took place at Razzmatazz 2In fact, some share the bill at some concerts, but what happened on Thursday at Paral·lel 62 has a special resonance.

At 5:30 p.m., the death metal of the Selvatan band Assot was supposed to serve as a welcome addition to the first audience, but the audience response was already noticeable. Bands like Vidres a la Sang have previously demonstrated their power to attract crowds, as happened in February at a concert at La Nau, after which Meya and Navarra shared the idea of organizing the festival. However, it remained to be seen whether the audience would respond from the very beginning, which is exactly what happened. After Assot, the venue was practically full to welcome Siroll! The Cardona band operates at a stylistic crossroads where thrash and a vindictive attitude come together, and this is quite evident on the album. To the point! (2024) and in songs like Right and dutySiroll's concert! demonstrated the wisdom of organizing the festival at Paral·lel 62. The magnificent conditions of the venue were a great ally for the six bands to be able to show their full potential. Also worth mentioning was the impeccable production, with good sound system and quick transitions between concerts. Equally commendable was the generosity of the bands, who were busy to avoid delays. Also in their favor was the fact that the staging was intentionally austere, with no extra-musical stage resources other than the light and each band's logo projected on the wall.

In a day of great concerts, there was one extraordinary one: Bocc's. The Barcelona group, converted into a trio with guitarist Emilio on lead vocals, received the ovation that can only be dedicated to how admirable they are, leaving you breathless. The overwhelming steamroller of doom and death that they deploy on albums like Saint Eulalia (2021), Sweet death in the slimes of the Rec Comtal (2022) and The forging of skulls (2024) is even more devastating live. "Bands like High on Fire would have a problem if they came out to play after Bocc," said Royuela, placing the trio's performances in an international context where they wouldn't be out of place alongside other metal legends like the Americans Midnight. The patience in sustaining the rhythm and the insidious intention of the guitar catapult a proposal that stirs themes rooted in wounded landscapes of urban geography. Pay attention, then, to Bocc's calendar, which includes a performance at the Day of the Dead festival (on November 1 in the Barcelona neighborhood of Sant Andreu, next to the Trinitat Vella), where they share the bill with other extreme bands like Reus' Neguit.

After Bocc's haircut, it was time for Udol, the duo from Caldes de Montbui: drums and guitar, as the canons of doom minimalism dictate, and the demonstration that "there's quite a bit of teak in Catalan metal," as drummer-singer Adrià Boluda said. Less extreme, in the sense that the way they sing does make the lyrics intelligible (for example, those of the songs on the notable album The kingdom), Udol know how to create deep rhythmic transitions and at the same time build epic melodies, as in Execution, the song they closed their performance with and gave way to Vidres a la Sangre.

Vidrios en la Sangre has been stirring the metal bowl for over twenty years. The legacy of black metal lives on in some of the guitars and the drum kit, but time has led them to evolve into other stylistic territories. Of course, always with an enviable combination of forcefulness and precision in their execution. Just like in the successful album presentation. Virtue of disenchantment (2024) At La Nau, the performance at Paral·lel 62 certified the status of Cristales en la Sangre as an essential group of Catalan metal, also due to the connection with an audience that enthusiastically celebrates both the painful epic of The Elegy of the Innocents like the passages of rhythmic ferocity, and that accompanies the plethoric crescendo from the end of the concert. The Terrassa natives are masters at finishing off their performances.

At eleven thirty, the festival's final Pandora's box was opened: the one bearing the seal of the Barcelona quartet Ósserp. Their live performance amplifies by a thousand the ferocity displayed on albums like The new songs of the Sibyl (2023): It's death metal with a grindcore attitude, intimidating tunings, a commitment to rhythmic precision, and two guitars that are like deep fryers operating at steel-like temperatures. Ósserp is a band that gives meaning to the concept of an extreme metal concert executed with rigor.

Today, we must celebrate this first edition of the Catalunya Triomfant festival. Its success invites us to think about repeating the year of the festival, which would mean making the Diada metal festival a tradition. In any case, it's worth remembering that these six bands, and many more, often play here (and some also on European stages), and that they participate in their own circuit. Perhaps they don't need any recognition outside the metal world, but it's good to spread the news of the power of Catalan metal far and wide.