2016 has been a good year for the Colombian metal scene with festivals that keep on going through thick and thin. Congregation Fest is happening once again. The promoters of the Congregation Fest have collected quite a set of bands from diverse musical backgrounds and performances. This year, in its eighth edition, it will have as main event Nervosa a thrash trio that comes from Brazil to give it all to the audience. With them, another twelve bands will give you all the blasting drums you can get for the rest of the semester.
Nervosa is one of the relative newcomers in metal that is making quite the impression. Founded in 2011 in São Paulo, Brazil, Nervosa members Fernanda Lira, Prika Amaral and Pitchu Ferraz started to develop their sound with deep roots in the thrash metal from the eighties. After releasing their first video ‘Masked Betrayer’ through YouTube, Nervosa reached a sudden notoriety, when this video reached 20,000 views in its first week, being recognized by YouTube. For those that do not believe in the power of a good video, this one reached the eyes of Napalm Records, and they decided to sign a barely year old band into their legendary ranks. After this, Nervosa fans have grown exponentially and this year, they have decided to take the world by assault by touring in the United States and South America. As part of Nervosa’s Tour, they will participate in the Congregation Fest for the first time to show what a female power trio can bring to the stage.
Poster
As the Colombian contribution for the festival, there are plenty to choose from. Kilcrops in one of the most classic bands of death metal in the country, with two full-length albums under their belt, many Colombian metalheads will remember ‘Infiel A Dos Mentiras’ and ‘Javhe Karma’. Another death metal representative is Tears Of Misery, a band that has forged their career based on the support of fans, which creates a very special relationship between the band and the audience in every gig they perform. The black metal hint is given by Luciferian, who blend with perfect execution all their influences to create a convincing performance that can gather more than the typical black metal enthusiast. As well as Nervosa, Perpetual Warfare will bring to you the feeling that thrash from the eighties hasn’t died, it has survived long enough to keep you moshing. Sobibor also belongs to that breed of thrash metal bands that keep giving excellent thrash metal sounds to feast your ears. On the other hand, Resistencia Al Olvido has a mixture of death metal and thrash that will make you headbang with enthusiasm. Random Revenge is a band we have followed mostly because they have had good rotation on the metal scene of Bogotá for the past seven years, they have us accustomed to powerful presentations with their Judas Priest vocal approach. For those really into the dark arts and the blackest than black metal, you will not be disappointed with the band Excomulgación, who ironically come from one of the cities that is worldwide known for its tropical vibe, Cartagena de Indias. G2 Evolution brings the melodic vibe into the line-up, but it comes in the shape of death metal, very similar to the Gothenburg sound.
Conference
As one may expect, to have the chance to interact closer with an international band is a rare occasion. This time, Congregation Fest is proud to give that opportunity to fans of Nervosa on April 14th, to be in direct contact with a meet & greet. Currently, Nervosa is going through some heavy touring in North America: first through the United States in February and through Mexico during this month. Since their formation, Nervosa have established a name for themselves, and they have become notorious for the interaction with their fans. During this meet & greet, those who attend this event will receive besides the ticket to the festival, a signed poster, a photograph with the band, and will have the opportunity to hear an unreleased song from the band played live. As you can see, it is a bargain. If you are interested in attending the meet & greet, and therefore be fascinated by the Brazilian Paulista accent and try your best Portuñol, you can go to Independent Rehearsal Studios and purchase your meet & greet ticket.
The Congregation Fest organization also wanted to include lesser known bands, so they opened auditions to get two more bands for the festival. In this occasion, the talented bands that made it are Full Knife Injection and Circus Gore, both bands giving their take of extreme metal. These two bands won a competition in which 208 registered to participate, and they went through to eliminatory processes before doing an open audition in February.
This festival will take place on Saturday, April 16th at the Parking Club. Besides the concert, there will be a meet and greet with Nervosa that will take place on the April 14th which will also include the first listening of an unreleased single and includes the ticket for the concert. Both meet and greet, and the festival itself are still on sale, and for each experience, the cost is $15.00 EUR.
