Location: Råhuset, Copenhagen (Denmark)
After some years of absence we decided to head towards Copenhagen for this year’s edition of Dark Mental Festival
Pink Plague
The first band of the evening was Pink Plague. The Danish formation has their name iconized throughout their appearance. A lot of pink, bubbles, glitter and glam surrounding the performance. Musically, a showcase of fun emerges. An electronic, industrial sound comes by with the party vibe of early Fear of Domination mixed with a pop sound. A cover of Kesha’s “Tiktok” signifies the highlight of that marriage here today. The venue was filled early for this formation, a full house that seeks an entertaining start of the festival was present to witness the whole. Some dancing some just cheering along. To summarize we could say: Baptized in pink.
Systemfejl
The event has two buildings in which the venues are located, the second band played in a different hall. Their name is Systemfejl and they are local to the city. You can see them playing Punk in here tonight and with an eager attitude they start their set. A quite straightforward sound from the guys, songs often sound familiar. Here and there we would have liked them to see them bring a bit more personality into it, something of their own. Something they can work on. They did bring enough variation into the set which kept us watching from the beginning to the end.
Genfaerd
Genfaerd is a Black Metal formation from Copenhagen. The formation has been around for over a decade and two albums have been released. The last one dates back to 2020. During their set we have seen how they skillfully place their songs in line. The band however sometimes has song structures that leave a lot open to interpretation. You don’t see a clear direction where it is heading which could be utterly disturbing or adventurous depending on what kind of listener you are. If you need a clear opening, middle and ending these guys are probably not your thing, but if you are able to surrender and let yourself be guided through a cloud of darkness this band has been a joy to watch.
Slyndel
The next act was Slyngel, a Dracula inspired Black/Speed formation. Now the looks and gimmick were a highlight of the performance, but the band is not going without a decent musical surrounding. They are quite young as a group as they started in 2022. Last year an EP called “Dracula” came out which they highlighted in their set. The guys had a good interaction with their audience, often seeking them up close. An interesting act that has a potential to be an entertaining act. How long the Dracula theme will be the main thing is yet to see, at some point all shall be said we can imagine.
Nightlight
Up next we were watching the band Nightlight. A formation that has a lot of fans as we see the audience flocking towards the stage early. The band has not played a show since 2010 so tonight we could see them being a comeback kid with their Goth Rock. Surely, they are not the most stereotypical Goth in look as in sound, but you can surely see what lays behind that. They have one album on their name. “Funeral of Love” came out in 2009, and for us it is unknown whether they have plans to come up with something new. The band knows how to build their set, bringing a variety of songs that are vibrant and catchy. Nightlight has seasoned musicians that perform with enthusiasm and brought a lot of joy to the festival.
Abglanz
The German band Abglanz made their way to Copenhagen. They filled their stage with candles to set the atmosphere and started their set vividly. They formed in 2020 and last year the band has released their first full length album called “Dawn of Eternal Existence” of which they played quite a bunch here tonight. What stood out with these guys is the way they have found a balance in their sound. It is all there, all has a place of their own, but also comes together in a way that it sounds like a complete sound. The band seeks contact with their audience and lets their sound do the rest to take over their audience. Certainly, a highlight this evening.
Udånde
Udånde was closing the evening this day. It is a one-man project from Denmark, based in Slovakia. A one-man project that brought a band along for this night so the audience was up for a more dynamic set than one might expect from a one-man formation. About half a year ago an EP called “Worried I – Futurism” came out following up two full length releases. An atmospheric sound was filling the main hall here tonight and with a decent tempo the set went through. We heard a sound that is much in line through the set with not too much of peaks in the tensions. A confident sound that rages on but does not let you stray too far from the core. A confident performance leaving the audiencing lurking for more. Luckily a new day of Dark Mental would follow up this night.
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