They don’t have far to go, just hop across the Baltic Sea – today we welcome four representatives of Finland’s excellent metal scene to the lineup of next year’s festival. It’s Apocalyptica, Beherit, Oranssi Pazuzui and Archgoat.
Those of you who have been to the sold out Apocalyptica shows in Kraków and Warsaw earlier this week already know the news, as the Finns have announced their return from the stage – to Gdańsk, Mystic Festival. You also know how great shape the band is in, having just returned to its roots, to Metallica, with the album Plays Metallica, Vol. 2, featuring guest appearances by James Hetfield, Robert Trujillo and Dave Lombardo.
And it all started in 1993, when students of the prestigious Sibelius Academy in Helsinki wanted to play repertoire quite different from what they were taught at school. This is how Eicca Toppinnen, the band’s leader, remembers it: “We just loved Metallica and we wanted to play it with the instruments we were able to play, which just happened to be cellos. We played a metal club in Helsinki, and then we were asked to do an album and we thought the guy must be kidding. Like, who listens to this shit on record? And then like five months after it was released, we were opening for Metallica”.
A spaceship running on sulphur, mushrooms and moonlight. One of the most original bands to grace the metal scene in this century. Oranssi Pazuzu are, on the one hand, the archetypical sons of darkness, yet, on the other hand, they’ve fed on the milk of psychedelic rock and krautrock of the 90s. They also venture into the forbidden territories ruled by Death Grips and My Bloody Valentine, flirting with the electronic, going full speed ahead at the bends. Though the year is still far from over, we can already confidently count Muuntautuja among the best albums released in 2024. If this is still black metal – for what else we could call this? – then it means that black metal is limitless.
The cult will ooze from the speakers… The legendary Beherit will perform for the first time in Poland at Mystic Festival! The Finns have been writing the history of the extreme underground since the beginning of the 90s, first with the vile and chaotic ink of black metal, then with the cold, inhuman electronic edge. They’ve always swum against the current, always stood on their own, always a step ahead of the pack. From the infamous The Oath of Black Blood record, through the official, superb debut album Drawing Down the Moon, to the last remains of the apocalypse – Bardo Exist and WBRRR. For over 30 years they did not play live at all, only to unexpectedly return to the stage in 2024. They don’t perform often though, each gig a momentous occasion – which is why we are all the prouder to announce that in June 2025 they will come to Gdańsk.
Another serving of good news for the fans of evil incarnate – Archgoat will wreak havoc from the Mystic Festival stage. This extreme underground legend was born over 30 years ago, cementing itself into history with the cult EP Angelcunt (Tales of Desecration), released in 1993. For a full-length album, Lord Angelslayer and Ritual Butcherer had us waiting for over a decade, but since then, Archgoat has been steadfast in their campaign to institute hell on earth.