Amplifest Crowd
Amplifest crowd. Photo Credit: Colin Williams

"I Don't Want to Go Home": Amplifest Weekend One Unites the Full Spectrum of Metal


“Amplifest has always been special,” Amenra vocalist Colin H. van Eeckhout says. “André [Mendes, Amplifest organizer] gave us a chance that not every festival organizer gave us all those years ago.”

Tenue
Tenue.
Photo Credit: Colin Williams

Mendes is at the center of a festival that turns an iron market building at the center of Porto into a village of metaheads, hardcore kids and artisans for two weekends. From a hypnotizing Amenra acoustic set to Cult of Luna‘s triumphant presentation of much of The Long Road North, weekend one felt like a normal, pre-COVID concert.

For many of the bands, this was a return to the normal trappings of touring, both good and bad. In some cases, this meant last-minute changes, including Amenra’s decision to play an acoustic set after bassist Tim de Gieter was sidelined by surgery.

“We wanted to play a different acoustic show than we normally do. We put in the [Townes] van Zandt songs because that was kind of our COVID project,” van Eeckhout explains. He’s apologetic about the lack of heaviness but hopeful that festivalgoers still got something from the set.

While Amenra reached new heights with De Doorn and van Eeckhout used COVID to explore acoustic and industrial sounds, other bands were forced to put projects on hold.

Wolves in the Throne Room
Wolves in the Throne Room.
Photo credit: Colin Williams

“We weren’t sure if anything was gonna ever happen again,” Pallbearer‘s lead vocalist and guitarist Brett Campbell says. The band had planned to record an album in April of 2020. When COVID made that impossible, Pallbearer took a step back and began delving into their songwriting and recording processes. “We spent a lot of time working on self-engineering things, refining our demoing and pre-production process,” says Pallbearer bassist and vocalist Joseph Rowland. In addition to shelling out for home recording equipment, Campbell says the band is healthier on the road—he recently quit smoking and has been deploying more mid-ranged vocals to protect his voice.

The Hard Club. Photo credit: Colin Williams
The Hard Club.
Photo credit: Colin Williams

Pallbearer’s Arkansas doom and Amenra’s heavy acoustic set were just two highlights of the festival. In addition to experimentalists like British cellist Jo Quail, talks with artists and film screenings, the central corridor at Hard Club hosted artisans including Credo Quia Absurdum, Dead Flag Studios and Sovina brewery.

Part of Amplifest’s community vibe came from its inclusivity. Vile Creature made a point of asking everyone if they felt safe and comfortable in between unleashing ferocious songs off of their recent records. The Hamilton, Ontario-based doomers recently added drummer Adam, giving vocalist and erstwhile drummer Vic the chance to augment the band’s fury with synthesizers and samples. Vile Creature dedicated their set to professor and metal writer Dr. Laura Wiebe, whom the band says was among their earliest boosters and who passed away suddenly this year after a cancer diagnosis. Guitarist and co-vocalist KW says, “we miss Laura so fucking much.” The band invited Wiebe’s partner to join them in Porto, and KW says “that was the fuel for the whole set for me.”

Vile Creature
Vile Creature.
Photo credit: Colin Williams

Vile Creature wasn’t the only band leaving it all on the stage. Galician screamo band Tenue‘s live performance of Territorios fomented the fest’s rowdiest mosh pit. Tenue’s DIY approach stems from their roots in occupied houses and the Galician anarchist scene. “People [here] are warm,” says Tenue guitarist and vocalist Miguel. “And no sponsors. For us, that’s very important.”

I caught Cult of Luna’s Johannes Persson between his artist talk and a radio interview. Persson has had a busy year, releasing The Long Road North with Cult of Luna and Final Light’s self-titled debut while working on a film. For the Swedish post-metal veterans, this year’s Amplifest was redemptive—it’s a long trip, and their last visit was marred by a bout with food poisoning. “Porto is on the fringe of Europe,” Persson says. “I don’t know if it’s because of that, but the people are so welcoming.” Cult of Luna first passed through the city in 2005 thanks to an EU cultural grant. He credits Mendes and others with keeping the scene going locally in the 17 years since.

Cult of Luna
Cult of Luna.
Photo credit: Colin Williams

One of Amplifest’s greatest virtues was not its breathtaking setting, but the impeccable sound. This weekend’s bands, perhaps most notably Oranssi Pazuzu, Wolves in the Throne Room and Portugal’s own Process of Guilt, sounded flawless. However, the setting certainly didn’t hurt, nor did the hospitality of Mendes and Amplificasom’s staff.

Vic and KW of Vile Creature are similarly grateful to Mendes, festivalgoers and the city itself. “[Porto] is very beautiful and I don’t want to go home,” Vic says. “I’m just going to quit everything and move here.”

Oranssi Pazuzu
Oranssi Pazuzu.
Photo credit: Colin Williams