Arriving in Maastricht for Pelagic Fest much later than expected on the Friday night, we were welcomed into our decidedly swanky hostel (The Green Elephant) by the very friendly night warden and shown to our tiny but cosy bunk bed pod where we crashed pretty quickly. The next day, we were to head to the dedicated music and events venue Muziekgieterij, a former factory in the Sphinxquartier factory district of Maastricht. This is the biggest venue Pelagic Records have held their label festival in to date.
Pelagic Fest 2024
Muziekgieterij, Maastricht – 24/25 August 2024
Words: Marisa Adams
Photography: JacQue Photography
Pelagic Fest 2024 is Pelagic Records’ first festival since 2019 and celebrates 15 years of the label created by the guitarist, songwriter and founder of Progressive Post-Metal band The Ocean, Robin Staps. They will also be holding it there next year, which is great news.
This was a really excellent venue. Its brick walls and high ceilings make for a cool and airy interior, the lobby areas are light and furnished with plenty of seating and a well-stocked bar with a huge selection of beers. There were additional bars in each concert space, including an extra bar upstairs in the balcony of the main room, so there was no need to miss any music to get a drink.
There was also a hot food stand, waffles and proper coffee. Staff were relaxed and friendly and the place was well-cared for and clean, also. There is something to be said for characterful grungy venues, but I certainly was not complaining. The main room was air-conditioned at floor level and as a result was the most comfortable that I remember ever being at an indoor venue, even right inside the crowd – although for The Ocean’s headline sets (due to line-up changes, we were treated to one each evening) the cool air may have struggled to reach the centre of the room.
The smaller room got really packed for many of the bands and reached more average gig temperatures, but the high ceilings and coolness of the rest of the building helped a lot. The merch area was in the entrance lobby but never really got too busy, and it was possible to chat to the bands there. There was lots of seating, including a few sofas in a large interior lobby where one or two acts played late on each evening. Outside was a paved area and some grass which had the sun for much of the day.
The sound was absolutely fantastic for almost all bands – really clear and the levels were generally outstanding. Only once or twice, I found it was too loud for me, even with earplugs, but that was all as far as I could tell.
Lighting was imaginative and varied and each band had a huge choice of effects judging by the variation in stage design that we saw. Set times were mostly 45 mins or an hour, so each band had plenty of space to expand, and on Sunday, due to the line-up changes, 15 minutes was added to all sets.
In terms of the music itself, Pelagic Records are known for curating a hugely varied roster which probably caters for most Metal tastes, ranging from Post Metal, post rock, noise, punk, hardcore, math rock and Black Metal to Progressive and Heavy Metal.
They are also known for the very high quality of the bands that they sign, all of which have something special, so it was no surprise that pretty much every set that I saw was at least amazing. They were all powerfully immersive in different ways, and there were so many that were incredible that, overall, I have to say this was the best indoor festival I have ever been to.
The friend I was with agreed emphatically, and he has been gigging since he was a nipper – over 30 years. It was only after having a week or so to reflect that I fully realised what an incredible collection of performances we had seen. With no break between the bands, which alternated between the main and small rooms, and so many for me and I am sure everyone else being ones to definitely see, you had to kinda strap in and try and stay on for as much of the ride as you could.
This was not always possible after a particularly mind-blowing set, but this meant the organisers could pack in as much amazing music as possible which was such a treat, and they got plenty of love back from the bands themselves also for putting this on.
I have not reviewed all of the sets I saw at this festival, and I would like to mention in particular Lost In Kiev and Oh Hiroshima on Saturday and EF on Sunday, which were all excellent. I would also like to mention Karin Park, whose set I missed but which I have enjoyed many times since in the festival comedown due to Pelagic Records (thank you to them!!!) providing a live feed recorded by the venue of the entire festival for people who could not attend in person. It is still on YouTube as of today. Karin, I will absolutely be sure to catch next time.
Of the bands that played, there will be a chance to catch several of them in the UK on the Pelagic Records stage at Damnation Festival’s Night of Salvation, Friday 1 November 2024: LLNN, A Swarm Of The Sun and Hippotraktor will be there along with Sugar Horse and the gravity well that is Sweden’s Norna, and The Ocean will be performing Pelagial again in full.
The Ocean have also just announced that their upcoming shows in the EU between December and February will be their last with the current line-up. No further details have been released yet, but it looks as if a new chapter is being written for a collective that is continually evolving.
Just to say, also, thanks to Jasmine Siddhu from the Pelagic team/family for being so welcoming and making sure I had what I needed. And for the drinks tokens!
Full Saturday and Sunday coverage is to follow. You can read all about Pelagic Fest 2024 at MetalTalk.net/Pelagic-Fest.
Pelagic Fest have released early bird tickets for 2025. With a line-up that includes Ihsahn, Psychonaut, A Burial At Sea and Bear, a 25% discount is available at the Pelagic Records website.
