The Final Show of Mystic Festival Was A Little Bittersweet, But Left Us More Than Estatic Overall
The day I was dreading had arrived, the last day of Mystic Festival 2025. Several rainy days throughout the event were expected and unavoidable.
However, my first band on my must-see list to begin indoors was going to be Death Angel, tearing into Mistress of Pain from their debut album, The Ultra Violence. This surprised me since I'd rarely seen them play material from their early releases. The second song turned out to be Voracious Souls, which left my mind blown a welcome comeback for the band Bravo!
Next up was Vader, Polish death metal legends starting twenty minutes after Death Angels set began. Despite trying to stay at the halfway point of Voracious Souls only to exit due to heavy rain and crowded conditions, I managed to arrive during Vader's first song. The performance promise of intense pyrotechnics during their opening track had drawn me in from afar and their massive crowd ensured that my entry could not be ignored as well as the requirement to wait until later for the photo pit.
This Vader set was going to be special; they were about to play the iconic whole Litany album. The album, initially released in 2000, and recorded in Gdansk, garnered widespread acclaim within metal circles as a result. This crowd gathered around the Park Stage area packed tightly between food trucks along circular pathways that often spilt over into the pathway during stageside events, which was further compounded by rain seemed to fill out an asphalt road leading up to main pathway walkways on stage and other areas of festival layout.
Crowd dynamics were wild with pyrotechnic effects that ignited flames towards clouded sky during key sections as every fan could tell the band needed all energy they could muster. They had a large crowd but despite having no barriers in between the fanbase, this still felt like war zone that Nikos experienced firsthand and even I was underwhelmed by trying to navigate close up to these high intensity individuals with cameras. This made sense as fans across the festival grounds shared little space for themselves when compared to performers.
The band would soon be joined in on two guest appearances with legendary vocalist Erik Danielsson of Watain fame singing during Enter the Eternal Fire, causing fire bombs blasting throughout crowd one that set both a mood and created chaos that also made things more intense given its presence within an area heavily covered by clouds, yet still enjoyed every single bit.
Pentagram was next. Taking nothing but rain showers to their first song from legendary doom band frontman Bobby Liebling's epic rendition of Ride the Lightning, it had a strong impact on many in attendance as I stood only for three of its six minute lengthed songs due to the relentless weather and other factors like having a considerable distance ahead before even being close enough for decent picture taking near where bands were playing as well making this performance all the more enticing, even more given their legendary legacy.
Legendary doom frontman Liebling still captivated the crowd with his unique persona which is an understatement. Even if his appearance in recent years was that of a geriatric lion amidst viral internet sensations for his trademark and his death stare, and a biopic from 2011 showed struggles with addiction earlier still. More recently in 2023 he found himself imprisoned but released again; this caused massive resurgence back into awareness surrounding doom legend throughout interwebs as even now, fans cant get enough of him including yours truly at this music event that served more than one experience and made every second so engaging.
Following the melancholy introspective doomer vibes from Pentagram, I was soon excited because my final must-see set for that day included a legendary super-group Blood Fire Death, playing in reverence for the departed Quorthon. This all star band featured former members of Mayhem and Watain, who would perform several iconic songs by the late legend.
Their stage, beautifully decorated with intricate details that paid homage to the music of Bathory the band Quorthon founded; this drew a sea-like crowd as all die-hard fans showed their passion. This included an incredible atmosphere filled with excitement even when Erik Danielsson took over for vocals during Enter The Eternal Fire showcasing the skill and raw energy that these metalheads held true to, especially given his voice and skills that complemented band's music so well in my opinion one of this bands' strengths being their skillfulness in blending together seemingly disparate vocalists for each unique section on stage - with it even including a surprise guest appearance from Mayhems Attila Cshair as an addition to Nergal from Behemoth, showcasing a true bond between super-group members across various musical genres, creating something special both vocally and in terms of its emotional impact.
Lastly for this writer came the final show at Mystic Festival 2025 of Sepultura. The band took one final swan song tour on stage before closing down their chapter in Poland due to a new lineup with guitarist having less than ten years experience an era I had been watching unfold through news and would be sad to not witness live once again given how much the music scene meant for me as Nikos; Sepultura brought 100% energy into one final show and set stage alight during their epic performance that left many feeling full, leaving a sense of what's coming next being far beyond a mere goodbye to band member as these metal musicians know how powerful their bond could be through performances they gave fans on stage and after.
And with the end came an exhausted writer who'd had long four-day stretch covering bands yet battling rain, finishing every segment in my allocated photography schedule due for tired reasons. Looking toward a new upcoming Mystic Festival will make this all worthwhile and will come back soon with hope that my fingers stay unscarred and continue on doing the work that I love most, to serve high quality reviews to our audience who know me personally as Nikos; you can secure early bird tickets for next festival event
Metal isnt just about making music, its a lifestyle for writer Nikos Mixas who contributes to popular metal publications and is almost certain to be at any summer-fest where one could possibly find their own self when not working for others or contributing with well written reviews like these.