We are nearing the end of our live reports on Hell’s Heroes V – but we still have a few highlights. Today it’s the turn of Evgeny Gromovoy, drummer and songwriter for the great power metal band Adamantis. We also thank him for the great photo – you can’t get more Epic Metal Blog than that.
André: Where are you from? And how long did you travel to get to the festival location? Was it your first time there?
Evgeny: I traveled from Boston (Massachusetts), about 4 hours by plane from Houston. This was the first Hell’s Heroes for me, but most likely not the last!
André: Which bands were your highlights at this year’s Hell’s Heroes festival?
Evgeny: The lineup this year was sick, and many bands made a great impression on me. But if I must choose one band from each day (I am not counting the pre-party because I did not attend) I would say Hällas (Friday) and Pagan Altar (Saturday). Hällas played to a packed venue and sounded pure and magical and clean. I admit that I did not follow the band too much before the show – somehow, they always flew under my radar, but I became an instant convert after the first song. I think what impressed me most was the musicianship and the artistry of the band. In a festival packed with trad metal, their set, while very fitting, shone with a different, delicate light, and was a most welcomed contrast. As far as Pagan Altar, I had never seen them before, and thus their set was the one I was really looking forward on Saturday. They delivered some of my favorite songs of out of Volume 1 – “Pagan Altar“, “Judgement of the Dead“, “The Black Mass“, and transported me (and most of us) to a long lost time and space, contemplating the occult (even though the sun was high up in the sky and the temperature rose above 28C). Of course, I must also mention the performances of Gatekeeper, Riot City, Visigoth, and Tower. I had seen all of these bands before, and they keep holding the banner of being some of the best heavy metal bands in North America.
André: What do you think of the location? Please also tell us something about the atmosphere on the grounds.
Evgeny: This year the festival was held at two stages, a sizeable indoors venue and a large outdoors stage, and I think Christian made a great call expanding outdoors. It felt like a dream come true, sort of a mini-Wacken! The big stage collected a sizeable audience, the sound was phenomenal and there was even a very convenient hill across from the stage, crowned by the sound booth. Many of us used the slopes during the second day to see some of the bands comfortably while working through the hangover! The smaller venue still was big enough (I would say a ~500 cap venue) to be comfortable even when packed. The sound was pristine. The ceiling was quite high, and this made me feel like bands performed in a cathedral, a cathedral of heavy metal. And the vibe – most excellent! I met many old friends and made many new ones. I have not been to KIT, but based on what other folks told me, the atmosphere was quite similar. Most of us were there with only one thing in mind – Heavy Metal is the Law.
André: Which bands would you like to see next year?
Evgeny: I would love to see some of the European bands that we rarely (if ever) get to see here in the North America. Names such as Atlantean Kodex, RAM, Portrait, Wolf, Megaton Sword, Venator, Ambush, just to name a few. Christian, if you read this, you have heard the call!