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| Euroblast Festival | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Progressive metal, avant-garde metal |
| Location(s) | Cologne, Germany |
| Years active | 10 |
| Website | euroblast |
The Euroblast Festival is a heavy metal music festival taking place in Cologne, Germany since 2008. The festival was initiated by close friends John Giulio Sprich and Daniel Schneider.
The Euroblast Festival, alongside the UK-Tech-Fest, is a festival of the Modern Progressive Metal scene. So far, musicians and spectators from 45 countries have taken part.[ citation needed ]
Towards the end of 2007 long-time friends John Giulio Sprich and Daniel Schneider decided – since there had not been a festival of this kind – to create their very own platform for innovative bands of the modern Rock and Metal genre. The two founders could rely on their experience as drummers in various bands when it came to the organisation of the first Euroblast Festival. As time passed, a committed team assembled around Sprich and Schneider and they also invited an increasing number of bands leading to a wide variety of musical styles on the following festivals. For instance, TesseracT, a non-famous and unsigned band at that time, played at the fourth holding of the festival in May 2009; it was their first concert outside Great Britain. Since music labels had started to notice the festival, several bands could sign record contracts in the course of their participation.
After the fifth issue of the festival in August 2009 it was determined to hold the festival in an annual rhythm from then on. In October 2010 the sixth holding took place in the Underground club in Cologne. When it came to the choice of bands, the organisers for the first time concentrated mainly on the innovative Djent movement, a recent form of progressive Rock and Metal.
Ever since the seventh issue of the festival in October 2011, which was the first one to last three day, the promoters have set up a yearly band contest in cooperation with the Internet platform got-djent.com. The winning band is then scheduled to play on the following festival.
The eighth Euroblast holding took place in October 2012 and had been designed to last four days. The first two of which took place in the Cologne Underground and the remaining two in the Live Music Hall. After these four days, the bands Monuments, Vildhjarta, Jeff Loomis and Stealing Axion also went on a tour threw the whole of Europe organised by the festival promoters.
Ever since its ninth edition in 2013, the festival has been held in the Essigfabrik in Cologne. Amongst others, German band The Ocean and the Dutch group Textures had been confirmed as headliners. Furthermore, Swedish band Meshuggah had surprisingly also been announced as another headliner towards the end of July.
Shortly after the end of the ninth holding, however, the festival organisers announced that a new edition of the festival was hanging in the balance due to financial straits. It was vainly tried to receive monetary aids from the city of Cologne, the state of Rheinland-Pfalz or the European Union. Eventually, a crowdfunding campaign was initiated and provided the needed money for the Euroblast Festival in 2014.
In 2015 at Euroblast 11, headliners such as Between the Buried and Me and Leprous were on stage alongside newcomers.
Headliner at Euroblast 12 in 2017 were Animals as Leaders, Born of Osiris, Veil of Maya and Ensalved. Because the unique band selection and loyalty of the fans worldwide and after the successful edition 13 in 2017 – with headliners like Devin Townsend, Textures and Twelve Food Ninja – the Euroblast is complete established as the most important Event in the Progressive Music Movement.
Some Bands at the 14th edition of the Euroblast Festival on 5–10 October 2018 Monuments, Vola, Humanity's Last Breath, Hypno5e, The dali Thundering Concept, Vildhjarta, Destiny Potato and Vitalism.
The 15th edition of the Euroblast, which took place from 27 to 29 September 2019, was again able to present well-known bands from the scene. Headliners were for example Between the Buried and Me, Voyager, The Hirsch Effekt and Uneven Structure. Interesting new discoveries like Azure, Sunless Dawn, Sleep Token and Votum gave their festival debut.[ citation needed ]
The date for the Euroblast Vol.16 has already been announced. It will take place from 1 to 3 October 2020.
| Datum | Ort | Line-Up |
|---|---|---|
| Euroblast Vol. 1 24 May 2008 | Bogen 2 | Ad Astra, Bardoc, Begging for Incest, By Brutal Force, Debt of Nature, Demise Empire, Deus.Exe, Evidence of Fear, Neraia, Sayn, Thorn, Warfield Within |
| Euroblast Vol. 2 21 June 2008 | Fabrik | A-Rise, Bloodwork, Devilsick, Indicator, Nektra, Skum |
| Euroblast Vol. 3 24 January 2009 | Bogen 2 | Abendland, Bloodattack, Damage Source, Decision to Defy, Devine Zero, Dew-Scented, Disörder, Findish Gloom, Lot, Obscura, Worldescape |
| Euroblast Vol. 4 – French Edition 23 May 2009 | Bogen 2 | Apron, Dagoba, Deus.Exe, Hacride, Kohatred, Nightshade, Nolentia, Project 13-5, Scorches of Dusk, Sideblast, TesseracT, Textures |
| Euroblast Vol. 5 – Grind Night 22 August 2009 | Bogen 2 | Act of Worship, Badoc, Begging for Incest, Centaurus-A, Decree of Hate, Fat Mans War Face, Guerilla, Hordak, Ichor, Jack Slater, Karras, We Butter the Bread with Butter |
| Euroblast Vol. 6 – Got-Djent Edition 23 October 2010 | Bogen 2 | Aliases, Chimp Spanner, Divine Temptation, Eryn Non Dae, Monuments, Nightshade, Syranic, Uneven Structure, Vildhjarta |
| Euroblast Vol. 7 21–22 October 2011 | Underground | Afekth, The Algorithm, Aliases, Chimp Spanner, Cruentus, Destiny Potato, Devastating Enemy, Disconcrete, Disperse, Illucinoma, Kryn, Mnemic, Monuments, Panzerballett, Proghma-C, Shattered Skies, Subversion, Sybreed, Syranic, TesseracT, Textures, Uneven Structure, Vildhjarta, Visions, Xerath |
| Euroblast Vol. 8 – The Sound of Infinity 18–21 October 2012 | 18.–19.: Underground 20.–21.: Live Music Hall | After the Burial, Agent Fresco, Akeldama, The Algorithm, The Amentia, Animals as Leaders, Bear, Betraeus, C.B. Murdoc, Chimp Spanner, CiLiCe, Circle of Contempt, Destiny Potato, Destrage, Deus.Exe, Eleonore, Exivious, Hacktivist, Halo in Pause, Humanity's Last Breath, In-Quest, The Interbeing, Jeff Loomis, Joncofy, Long Distance Calling, Means End, Modern Day Babylon, Monophonist, Monuments, Neosis, Nexus, Nightshade, No Consequence, Panzerballett, Red Seas Fire, Scar Symmetry, Shattered Skies, Skyharbor, Stealing Axion, Sybreed, TesseracT, Uneven Structure, V3ctors, Vildhjarta, War from a Harlots Mouth |
| Euroblast Vol. 9 – The Ninth Coming 11–13 October 2013 | Essigfabrik | The Agonist, The Algorithm, Aliases, Arecibo, Bear, Benea Reach, Cambion, Circles, Cyclamen, Dawn Heist, Deathember, Der Weg einer Freiheit, Disperse, Empathea, Ever Forthright, Feared, Fuck You and Die, GrandExit, Hacride, Hans Nieswandt, Heights, Hord, Humanity's Last Breath, Hypno5e, Invocation, Jcut, Kartikeya, Lifeforms, Meshuggah, Monuments, Mors Principium Est, Nexilva, No Consequence, The Ocean, The Omega Experiment, Overdown, Skyharbor, Tardive Dyskinesia, Textures, Third Ear, Threat Signal, Torrential Downpour, Twelve Foot Ninja, The Ulex, Uneven Structure, Vitja, Xerath |
| Euroblast Vol. 10 – X 2–4 October 2014 | Essigfabrik | Agent Fresco, The Algorithm, Animals as Leaders, Astral Display, Ayahuasca, Benevolent, Brutai, Carcer City, Chaosbay, Chimp Spanner, Cosmiterra, Defrakt, Destiny Potato, Dioramic, Drewif Stalin's Musical Endeavors, Driven by Entropy, Exivious, Felix Martin, Fuck You and Die, Galaxy Space Man, Geist, Heart of a Coward, The Heavy Metal Ninjas, Hollow My Eyes, Hypno5e, Inkarna, Kryn, Leprous, The Mars Chronicles, Modern Day Babylon, Monuments, Novelists, Now, Voyager, Ophelias Great Day, Placenta, Red Seas Fire, The Safety Fire, Secret Act, Shattered Skies, SikTh, Suasion, TesseracT, Time Has Come, Under the Pledge of Secrecy, Uneven Structure, Vildhjarta, Voyager |
| Euroblast Vol. 11 1–3 October 2015 | Essigfabrik | Between the Buried and Me, Cynic, Monuments, Leprous, Haken, Soen, The Algorithm, Uneven Structure, Igorrr, The Intersphere, Hypno5se, Devil Sold His Soul, Aeolist, Alaya, Aliases, Atmospheres, Beyond the Dust, Bilo – David Maxim Micic, Cyclamen, Defrakt, Destiny Potato, Destrage, DispersE, Eden Circus, Genuine Aspect, Heavy Metal Ninjas, Juggernaut, Kadinja, Klone, Koroded, Lights of Utopia, Modern Day Babylon, No Consequence, Obsydians, Onward with Love, Persefone, Pigeon Toe, Port Noir, Proghma-C, Pryapisme, Rendezvous Point, Sphere, Stömb, Tardive Dyskinesia, The Hirsch Effekt, The Sun Explodes, Third Ear, Tides from Nebula, Trepalium, Vola |
| Euroblast Vol. 12 30 September – 2 October 2016 | Essigfabrik | A Dark Orbit, Aliases, All Tomorrows, Amber Sea, Anima Tempo, Animals as Leaders, Ayahuasca, Black Crown Initiate, Born of Osiris, Carcer City, Clawerfield, Cold night for alligators, Dead Letter Circus, Deadly circus fire, Disperse, Enslaved, Exist immortal, Ghost Iris, Grim van Doom, Heart of a Coward, Hibakusha, Humanity's Last Breath, Intronaut, Invivo, Jinjer, Masuria, Materia, Modern Day Babylon, Ne Obliviscaris, No Consequence, No Sin Evades His Gaze, Novelists, Obsidian Kingdom, Oceans Ate Alaska, Oceans of Slumber, Omega Diatribe, Port Noir, Promethee, Shining, Sithu Aye, Skyharbor, Soon, Strains, The Interbeing, Verderver, Veil of Maya, Vola |
| Euroblast Vol. 13 29 September – 1 October 2017 | Essigfabrik | A Kew's Tag, Andy James, Angel Vivaldi, Atlantis Chronicles, Atlin, Bear, Call The Mothership, Car Bomb, Circut Of Suns, Colone Petrov's Good Judgement, Controversial, Deity's Muse, Devin Townsend Project, Driven By Entropy, Dukatalon, Eschar, Exivious, Frontierer, Galaxy Space Man, Ghost Iris, Harbinger, Hemina, Hieroglyph, Isaac Vacuum, Lo!, Make Me A Donut, Metapshere, Nameless Day Ritual, Neoslave, Riviere, Rémi Gallego (DJ Set), Second Horizon, Sleepmakeswaves, Textures, The Algorithm, The Hirsch Effekt, The Interbeing, The Sleeper, Their Dogs Were Astronauts, Twelve Foot Ninja, Uneven Structure, Voices From The Fuselage, Voyager |
| Euroblast Vol. 14 5–7 October 2018 | Essigfabrik | Adimiron, Aiming For Enrike, Ayahuasca, Cabal, Caligula's Horse, Circles, Conjurer, Copia, Crippled Black Phoenix, Dhark, Heart Of A Coward, Hibakusha, Heptaedium, Humanity's Last Breath, I Built The Sky, Kadinja, Kill Wolfhead, Lake Cisco, Long Distance Calling, Letters From The Colony, Masuria, Monuments, Organized Chaos, Rolo Tomassi, Schiermann, Soen, Sordid Pink, Sümer, Syndemic, Temples On Mars, Terminal Function, The Dali Thundering Concept, The Five Hundred, Theia, Unprocessed, Valis Ablaze, Vildhjarta, Vola, Votum, White Walls |
| Euroblast Vol. 15 27–29 September 2019 | Essigfabrik | 22, Svynx, Ghost Iris, Soulsplitter, Azure, Mobius, Siamese, Toundra, Kadinja, Cold Night For Alligators, Sleep Token, Shokran, Sunless Dawn, Odd Palace, Aphyxion, Hypophora, Votum, Anima Tempo, Wheel, Port Noir, VOLA, Frostbitt, The Haarp Machine, Special Providence, Valis Ablaze, Head With Wings, Shrezzers, Between The Buried and Me, The Hirsch Effekt, Thrailkill, Controversial, Wings Denied, Dead Letter Circus, Betraying The Martyrs, Klone, Uneven Structure, Atlas, Kadinja, The Algorithm, Vola, Tides Of Man, Tides From Nebula |
Progressive metal is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral or "pseudo-classical" compositions of the latter.
Wacken Open Air is a heavy metal music festival, held annually since 1989 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all styles and subgenres of hard rock and metal are represented and hosted. It is now one of the largest heavy metal festivals in the world and one of the largest open-air festivals in Germany. Between 2011 and 2018, the number of attendees was around 85,000, 75,000 of whom were paying visitors. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no 2020 and 2021 editions of Wacken Open Air.
Textures were a Dutch progressive metalcore band, formed in 2001. Textures' lineup revolved around founding members Jochem Jacobs, Stef Broks, Bart Hennephof, and bassist Remko Tielemans who joined in 2007. Since 2010, vocalist Daniël de Jongh and keyboardist Uri Dijk have been with the band.
Animals as Leaders is an American instrumental progressive metal band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of guitarists Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes, and drummer Matt Garstka, having been formed by Abasi in 2007. They are a prominent band within the djent scene. Prosthetic Records released the band's eponymous debut album in 2009. They have since released the albums Weightless (2011), The Joy of Motion (2014), The Madness of Many (2016), and Parrhesia (2022).
After the Burial is an American progressive metal band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are currently signed to Sumerian Records and have released five of their six full-length albums through the label. Since their inception in 2004, the band has gone through two vocalist changes, two drummer changes, the departure and death of founding rhythm guitarist Justin Lowe, and the departure of bassist Lerichard Foral. Lead guitarist Trent Hafdahl remains the sole remaining founding member. They are considered key contributors to the development of subgenres such as djent and progressive metalcore.
Twelve Foot Ninja are an Australian heavy metal band from Melbourne, Victoria. They released their debut album Silent Machine in 2012. The band consists of Kin (vocals), Russ (drums), Stevic, and Rohan. They won Best New Talent at the 2014 Revolver Golden Gods Awards as well as two listener-voted awards from SiriusXM's Liquid Metal the year before. The band broke a world record for the most amount crowdfunded for a music video. Their first headline tour of Europe in April 2017 sold out five of the seven UK shows. In mid 2022, the band announced an "indefinite hiatus". Although, they are working on an acoustic album of Twelve Foot Ninja material. The release date is yet to be announced.
Djent is a subgenre of progressive metal characterized by its use of complex and heavily syncopated rhythm patterns. Its distinctive sound is that of high-gain, distorted, palm-muted, down-tuned strings. The name "djent" is an onomatopoeia of this sound.
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Skyharbor is an Indian/American progressive metal band with members from New Delhi and Mumbai, India; and Cleveland, Ohio, US.
The Algorithm is the musical project of French musician Rémi Gallego from Perpignan. His style is characterised by an unusual combination of electronic music with progressive metal. Gallego chose the name The Algorithm to highlight the music's complex and electronic nature.
The Myponga Pop Festival was a music festival which took place on a farm near Myponga, South Australia from 30 January to 1 February 1971. Myponga Pop Festival drew approximately 15,000 people, the biggest event in Adelaide since the Beatles drew a 300,000 strong crowd in 1964. The main funder and figure in the festival organising company, Music Power, was Hamish Henry. The festival has been described as a "tribute to Henry's entrepreneurial genius". As well as organising the Myponga festival, Henry managed several of the headlining local bands, War Machine and two other Adelaide groups, Headband and Fraternity. Hamish had brought rock band Fraternity to Adelaide, South Australia and soon had them headline his Woodstock inspired festival alongside Black Sabbath.
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Means End was a Swedish progressive metal band from Stockholm whose sound is spearheaded by SATB choirs, operatic vocals, eight-string guitars, and jazz-fusion compositions. Their music is likened to an amalgamation of artists such as Eric Whitacre, Devin Townsend, Meshuggah, and Yellowjackets. They are notable for bridging the gap between classical composition and contemporary instrumentalism.
Estéreo Picnic is a music festival that takes place annually in Bogotá, Colombia. It began in 2010 as a one-day festival showcasing mainly Colombian artists, but low turnout and financial losses during its first three years resulted in a strategic change of direction in 2013, becoming a multi-day festival on a bigger site and inviting major international bands to play alongside artists from Colombia and other Latin American countries. As a result, attendance increased markedly and Estéreo Picnic is now Colombia's biggest alternative music festival and one of the most important music festivals in South America. The musical style of the festival is similar to that of Lollapalooza and European festivals such as Glastonbury, focusing on alternative rock, indie music, punk rock, reggae, electronica and hip hop. Among the acts to have played at Estéreo Picnic since 2013 are American artists The Killers, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pixies, Nine Inch Nails, Kings of Leon, Jack White, and Snoop Dogg, British groups Gorillaz, New Order, Foals, Kasabian, Mumford & Sons, and Florence and the Machine, and Australian bands Empire of the Sun and Tame Impala. The festival has also featured many of the major groups of the Latin American alternative music scene, including Calle 13, Babasónicos, Café Tacuba, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, and Aterciopelados, as well as sets from high-profile DJs and dance acts such as Deadmau5, Tiësto, Skrillex, Major Lazer, and Calvin Harris.
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