The 2025 edition of When Copenhell Freezes Over found Guttural Disgorge, 802, Gradience, Kōya, Vulvatorious, and LIVLØS sharing the stage at Store Vega in Copenhagen. This is an impressively organised event in an iconic venue that allows specially selected bands to play in front of exclusively invited festival top guns, record label honchos, and a proper dyed-in-the-wool Metal crowd.
As Jeppe Nissen, Director of Copenhell, told MetalTalk, When Copenhell Freezes Over “is a diverse mix of acts that we feel have an international potential. Maybe not on day one, but down the road. Then we try to select as many different genres as we can under the heavy umbrella.”
It was delightfully punchy to see the balance of extreme variety in the artistic metal chaos. Along with their A-game, everyone brought something very different to the table. No note was missing, no growl too deep, and no slam was misplaced.
When Copenhell Freezes Over – The Bands
For the bands, it was their one and only time playing at When Copenhell Freezes Over. Certain situations require a bloody, steady hand and nerves of steel. On this particular night, the stakes were mountainously high for the trailblazers and Hellraisers on stage.
Knowing that some of the eyes staring back at you in the darkness belonged to music industry movers and shakers, were they all cool as ice or did anxiety’s clammy hand come a-knocking on the door? Let’s ask the six bands – All photography Peter Kirkeskov Rasmussen.
LIVLØS
LIVLØS say they play Death Metal but are keen to point out that subgenres and their respective labels are always highly subjective and can be divisive. “We don’t emphasise those as much as we did in the past. Originally, the Gothenburg sound influenced us sonically, but over the years, we’ve embraced more elements from various other subgenres, many of which are highlighted in recent reviews of our latest release, The Crescent King.”
“Anxiety in the face of a show is always a fine balance, right,” LIVLØS told us. “Some nerves prior to a show is a good thing as it helps you stay sharp and fuels adrenaline. As long as it doesn’t stun you completely, we see it as something to celebrate and overcome together as a band. The day you feel nothing as you walk on stage – is your heart fully in it?”
“We consider our sound as raw and organic,” LIVLØS says, “in the sense that we don’t perform with a click, nor do we utilise any additional ‘tricks’ in our live performance. Some may consider us old-school, which is completely fine by us.”
For When Copenhell Freezes Over, the band say it was an amazing event both on and off stage. “We’re grateful for the invitation and hope that our performance will create some ripples in the right ponds.
“We’re currently touring Denmark as part of our album-release tour, and the premises of a shorter showcase gig required us to consider the setlist even more carefully than otherwise. It was a real challenge and a lot of fun to see how much energy we could be able to pack into such a short show.
“From our side of the stage, it looked like success.”
Vulvatorious
Vulvatorious say their sound is diverse, full, and unrestricted and “a fusion of our different personalities, backgrounds, and musical tastes. From the start, we knew that our contrasting influences would not only shape but also challenge our music.
“Overall, we categorise ourselves under the broader umbrella of Extreme Metal. Each song explores different subgenres, blending elements of black, death, punk, and crust. The result is a sound that is both dark and sombre yet storytelling and aggressive. We try to always keep pushing boundaries and refuse to be confined to a single definition.”
The music of Vulvatorious is raw, unapologetic, and deeply rooted in resistance against oppression and injustice. “Lyrically, we tackle themes such as feminism, femicide, witch hunts, incels, and the fight against patriarchy,” the band said.
Their focus for When Copenhell Freezes Over was to bring a good show for both fans and industry alike, as everyone is important. “It was a long and intense day,” they told us, “marking the culmination of a long wait for this incredible event. We had been looking forward to playing at the amazing VEGA, a place that holds deep personal meaning for all of us.
“Beyond that, we are incredibly proud to have been invited to this event, and we have so many people to thank for making it possible.”
Gradience
Gradience brought their Blackened Rap Metal to the VEGA stage, and for vocalist and lyricist Gavin Mistry, any stress of the day did not affect him. “I was determined to have fun,” he told us. “Performing, I mentally strive to get into the right headspace, so external stuff hardly affects me. It’s a new tactic of mine, and that’s what works for me right now. It was after the show that I remembered lots of press would be there.”
For musician and visual artist Jakob Harris, it was slightly different. “I had a feeling of having a brick stone in my gut all day,” he says, “but once we took the stage, the adrenaline kicked in, and all I felt was just joy to finally be on stage. I kind of forgot who we were playing for and just enjoyed the energy of the crowd.
“We went into it more of us wanting to win over everyone as just fans of live music, no matter their status or position in the industry. We feel that paid off.”
For Gradience, this was their biggest show so far. “It was awesome to play such a venue, and the crowd was amazing. It’s also cool to share the stages with so many amazing bands as well. We got some feedback from friends and industry folks, different minor things we will focus on improving. But all in all, we enjoyed it and had a blast.”
Guttural Disgorge
“Brutal, groovy, and young” is how Guttural Disgorge describe their sound. “Right before going on stage, we were all very nervous, but we had all decided that we were not there to impress the press but to just put on a show and have a good time.”
“Playing at When Copenhell Freezes Over was our third-ever concert,’ the band said. “It was a huge experience. A bit overwhelming with so many people, but we kept cool and played the best we could.”
802
With a smile on their face, 802 says they are “floating stardust” in style. “Jokes aside, I think we, in general, try not to [fit in a genre], as we don’t really have a good way of describing it. We have an ultra-wide spectrum.” You can read more about the band in a recent MetalTalk interview here.
As for their time at VEGA, “I think we all felt it,” 802 says. “The most important thing is always playing for the crowd, so the show
itself wasn’t that different from others. However, there was a little pressure to not mess up, like this show just had to go well.”
The band certainly had a blast. “It’s a really cool event,” the says. “Besides playing at the sold-out legendary venue VEGA, it’s no secret that the event presents a great opportunity to broaden your musical network and partnerships. We also teamed up with a sound technician we have not worked with before, and that really went beyond our expectations.”
Kōya
Kōya say they take the raw energy from Hardcore, drench it in bleak, sludgy tones, and then crank it up until it feels like the walls are closing in. “Basically, if you like your music loud, mean and slightly unhinged, you’ve come to the right place. We have really put thought into how we could best get that feeling of grey bleakness into our music. It turns out the answer is down-tuning and a lot of cranked-up distortion and fuzz. Like… a LOT!”
“Ever since we started, we have approached live shows, showcase or not, with a mantra along the lines of ‘let’s just do what we do best – burn the fucking place down and take no prisoners.’ Although there was a lot more at stake at VEGA than your typical club show, we aim to take a professional approach towards playing live and enjoy it as much as we always do.
“If we do exactly that, we know that it will be a good and enjoyable show for everybody – band and audience, regardless of who is staring back at us. The thing is, regardless of what show or venue you are playing as an upcoming artist, there is always at least a handful of people in the
audience, who can help you climb the ladder to world domination.”
“In the end, a Kōya show is less about who is standing in the crowd and more about how close to the boiling point we, the band and the audience, can bring the venue. Nothing is choreographed or scripted – everything happens in the moment. Only the set list and who plays what instrument is a (somewhat) sure thing. We are dealing with pure, raw and unfiltered energy. Either you take part in the madness, or you get swallowed up by the pit.
As for the evening, “It was absolutely amazing to play in front of such a hungry crowd,” Kōya said. “There are really several layers to it. We have all seen concerts with big international names at the historical Vega during the years. Being able to take the stage ourselves and showcase our music at an event like When Copenhell Freezes Over is, simply put, a lifelong dream.
“Another thing is being able to connect with other bands and a very well-represented international music industry, which is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we are truly grateful for. We had some very good talks with a lot of familiar faces and fans, as well as being introduced to some very interesting people and organisations.
“The amount of effort put into this showcase by Copenhell and MXD is insane! On top of that, we have teamed up with the amazing wonder woman Trine Ulrich – we couldn’t have wished for a better ambassador.”
Copenhell – Welcome to Heavenly Hell
While I was hanging on to dear life as the bands, one after the other, hosed us down and drowned us in their epic noise blasting out of the massive speakers, something was clearly manifesting amongst the crowd. The air was fuelled by a sense of unity and raw emotion.
That unspoken common denominator. In a packed to the rafters VEGA, the crowd suddenly transformed into one alive patchwork quilt of dark silhouettes, long hair, veins popping, boots stomping, necks breaking and chests under greyish over-washed t-shirts bursting with craze and excitement.
Death by Riff. Definitely death by stereo. We had arrived. Welcome to Heavenly Hell.
