Thursday, July 28, 2022

Heavy Metal: Impressions From "Fire In The Mountains", Wyoming



  (Drivebycuriosity) - I am a connoisseur of heavy metal. I really enjoy atmospheric rock music with very heavy riffs. Fortunately my wife shares this taste. So we like to attend heavy metal fests. Last week we traveled to remote area in Wyoming to attend "Fire in the Mountain". Over 3 days played 22 performers on 2 stages.

 


 

The fest had 4 highlights for me: On Friday Mike Scheidt, the front man of YOB, performed solo and on Sunday he came back with his band (here my .review). On Saturday David Eugene Edwards, the head of Wovenhand, also gave a solo performance. On Sunday the festival ended with a furious show by Wolves in the Throne Room.

 

 


Wovenhand`s Edward delivered his idiosyncratic gospels with the help a mandolin and 2 more stringed instruments, enhanced by an electronic device. The "Wolves" created an intense & hypnotizing atmosphere which suddenly turned into fierce explosions and massive base riffs culminated into annihilating assaults. It seemed like the "Wolves" attacked the civilization and ripped it apart.

There also were some interesting discoveries for me: The Denver quartet Dbuk transformed their ballads with a set of peculiar instruments like scenes in an alternate Post-Western movie. Dreadnought´s cute front woman roared like Gozilla`s sister, thanks to the electronics, accompanied by violent head-banger rock guitars. The instrumental band Ghost of Glaciers combined melodies & massive power play and reminded me of similar bands like Red Sparrow & Pelican.

               


The festival happened on the remote ground of the Heart Six Ranch, a horse ranch catering tourists some miles east of the spectacular Teton Range, a mountain chain who has glaciers and peaks up to 13000 fest. The view of the saw of blue mountains on the horizon created a very special and unique setting.

  

    

 

The grassland, where the festival happened, is usually used for horses and plastered with horse shit, dried or not. Not really inviting to sit in the grass. The whole area is also mosquito infected. The beasts get really aggressive in the evening hours. The paths ways, which where used by cars & trucks, were covered with dust. Every moving vehicle created a kind of dust storm which covered everybody nearby.

   

  


Anyway the crowd had a good time.

 

 

   
   
  

Some were observing the spectacle, some were exercising and somewhere were just relaxing or enjoying the sunsets.

"Fire in the Mountains" was an unique experience. Thank you Yob, Edwards, Wolves and all other performers. Thanks also to the organizers and the many helpers and volunteers who made the fest pleasant, safe & very special.


  


To be continued

 



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