The First Full Day Of Mystic Festival Was Fire!

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The First Full Day Of Mystic Festival Was Fire! (Some Of It Courtesy Of Machine Head)

You couldn’t have asked for better weather on the first full day of this year’s Mystic Festival. The forecast called for zero chance of rain and the temperature was in the middle 60’s Fahrenheit. There was a noticeable increase in the number of attendees at the festival today and there was a reason for it. Today’s lineup was stacked from top to bottom. I had already penciled in eight bands to catch today and there could have been more. There were other bands I wanted to check out, but due to conflicts, the schedule made it all but impossible to do so.

Mystic Festival’s Entrance

I’ve been wanting to see Gutalax ever since I missed them at their infamous Brutal Assault set in 2019. Just do a search on YouTube for that specific show and you’ll be enlightened., Although there was no Toi Toi crowd surfing (the festival organizers moved the portable toilets farther away from the stages this year, a smart move on their part I must say…), today’s show at Mystic Festival did not disappoint. There were plenty of rolls of toilet paper, inflatable pool toys and balloons flying all over the place throughout their set.

Gutalax

Gutalax’s sound may not be everyone’s jam, but the atmosphere at their shows can be likened to a circus on crack. I haven’t laughed so much at a concert in years. My wife and I brought some blow-up pool toys from home for the show, and at one point, our giant pink donut with sprinkles ended up on stage with the band. They had some fun with it for a minute before “singer” Martin Matoušek threw it back into the crowd. Gutalax took a crowd photo at the end of their set and you can see our donut clearly within the elated crowd. That donut did us proud.

Can you find the donut???

The next band Nakkeknaekker is so young that I’m pretty sure they’re still in high school. There’s not a lot of information available online about this teenaged Death Metal band, but I can tell you that they’re going to be a force to be reckoned with in the near future. They play brutal, old school death metal similar to the early Earache Records roster (think Entombed/Morbid Angel) of Death Metal bands. Their energy level was off the charts and they played like they had a chip on their shoulder. If they stick together, they’ll be destined for remarkable things. Check them out.

NAKKEKNAEKKER

The next band on my list was a last minute, fill in the gap type band before my actual next penciled in band. Black Gold is a Nu Metal band that wasn’t as popular as their contemporaries during the height of the genre’s popularity. I’ll be honest here. I can’t stand Nu Metal and Black Gold didn’t change anything in that regard, but I thought the costuming and their stage look was cool. At least it made for some great photos.

Black Gold

Sodom was next on the list and even though I’ve seen them three times within a year’s span not including today’s set, I’m still not burned out on them. They played a different set-list for Mystic Festival from the last time I saw them on 70,000 Tons Of Metal, a deeper dig into their forty years’ worth of thrash classics.

What else can I say about Tom Angelripper and Frank “Blackfire” Gosdzik? These two have been keeping Sodom afloat for over forty years. Sodom are at the pinnacle of the German Big Four and only Destruction can rival them in my opinion. If you’ve never seen them live, need I write more to convince you to catch them before it’s too late and they call it a day?

Tom Angelripper and Frank “Blackfire” Gosdzik of Sodom

The next band, LIK, was slated to play at the smallest indoor venue at the festival (Sabbath Stage) and by the time I arrived, I had to shove my way through the already packed venue towards the photo pit. When this happens, it’s usually a good sign that the band is going to be good. Like Nakkeknaekker, LIK play an old school Death Metal style. LIK are several years older, so there was a certain “battle hardened” feel to them.

This was my first time seeing LIK and I have to say I was impressed. They have a very Swedish Death Metal sound to them and that should come as no surprise due to the fact they’re actually from there. I’ve been listening to Death Metal since its inception, so the fact that I’m impressed by any “newish” band within the genre, is a rarity. I immediately downloaded a couple of their albums after their set.

LIK

I didn’t have much hope that Bruce Dickinson would include any Iron Maiden in his solo set at Mystic Festival, but you never know. Me writing that also shows you I’m clueless in regard to any of his solo material. This was my first time seeing him solo, and me being a huge Iron Maiden fan, I would say the experience was just…ok. Bruce is an impressive frontman and vocalist, but his solo material sounded like generic and sterile heavy metal. His supporting band are all excellent musicians, but they’re basically hired guns utilized for live shows. It was a cool experience, but I’ll just stick to Iron Maiden from here on out.

Bruce Dickinson

After taking a couple of hours to eat, check out some merch and rest a bit, it was time to see High on Fire. This longstanding “psychedelic rock from California” (this description was fondly conveyed by a couple of Italian fans in the front row) band is led by the legendary Matt Pike. Having High on Fire play at the smallish outdoor Desert Stage at Mystic Festival was not the best move on the festival’s organizers’ part. The amount of people crammed into that area before their show even began made if quite a challenge to find a spot to watch them. It was my first time seeing High on Fire since Coady Willis of Big Business fame had joined them on the skins, so I couldn’t wait to see him tear it up in his new gig.

When the band got on stage, I immediately noticed that Matt Pike looked healthier and happier than he has for a while. His health had been a concern throughout the metal circles during the past decade, but this latest version of him will put those concerns to bed for the time being. The band began their set with “Burning Down,” one of my favorite tracks on their latest album, Cometh The Storm. I can honestly say that High on Fire looks reborn in this current version. They played with a ton of spitfire and the crowd really appreciated the effort. After I left the photo pit, there was so many people crammed near the stage area, it took me at least five minutes to shove my way through the crowd towards tonight’s headliner, Machine Head.

High on Fire

I wasn’t thrilled with tonight’s headliner choice, but Machine Head are a big draw in Europe, so I understand the festival’s choice. I’ve never been a fan of Machine Head although both of the original Vio-Lence guitarists founded the band. Like Kreator, Machine Head brandished copious sums of pyro throughout their set, but that couldn’t change the fact that I didn’t want to stick around any longer for the duration of their set after I had my shots. Tomorrow was going to be another full day of bands, so I preferred getting some decent sleep over watching Machine Head. For those of you who wanted to read more about their show, you’ll just have to see them for yourself.

Rob Flynn of Machine Head

If you want to see the full photo gallery from Day One of Mystic Festival, click here!

Metal isn’t just a type of music, it’s a lifestyle for Nikos Mixas. In addition to playing guitar for the Phoenix’s own Mosara, he’s a contributing writer for V13 and The Sludgelord. And when he’s taking a break from it all and on vacation, you can almost be certain he’s banging his head at a metal festival somewhere interesting.