Copenhell 2022: An Empire From Ashes

Impressive counterstrike from the best thing that ever happened to the Danish metal scene

Granted, it's been 5 years since I was here last time. And like I wrote in my review of this year's long-awaited request show by D-A-D – something else I haven't seen in a while – the world and I were both kinda different back then.

Apart from my personal life makeover, becoming self-employed, and moving abroad, the damn world also ended. Other festivals, like the French Hellfest, have returned with a vengeance, now spanning one week and featuring +350 artists.

And while lil' ol' Copenhell in lil' ol' Denmark could probably never pull that off (and I'm glad, to be honest!), let it be known right up front that 2022 was the best Copenhell ever!

Here's why:

First of all, the program was just short of insane. Not just for a festival of "only" +35,000 visitors, but also considering that both KISS, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden were supposed to have played those two years ago. And then the festival's booking department goes ahead and adds Metallica to the goddamn line-up...

I mean, shit... I remember the first two-day year in 2010 when there was just around 8,000 of us, and the headliners were Megadeth and Suicidal Tendencies.

Look at how you've grown, Copenhell. Look at how you've grown.

And all of this year's headliners were on the spectrum between good and great. You can say what you want about KISS' auto-karaoke show; there's still no arguing with the entertainment value, and especially not that star-studded setlist. And Metallica, random as their setlist was, and having seen better days in every way, is probably one of those bands that are still just incapable of putting on a bad show.

As for the others, it was especially Maiden and Priest that delivered the goods (pun totally intended). The latter, although Halford has had better days as well, showcased the superiority of their back catalogue by endowing us with a perfect blend of deep cuts and classics that are all as heavy metal today as they've been through the last +4 decades. And Maiden, well... Take it from someone who's seen them 18 times now: This was one of the better ones.

But there were, of course, also great experiences further down the roster. Devin Townsend was, as always, good for a mind-blowingly technical spectrum ranging from all-round extreme to extremely beautiful. Thunder gave a warm and relatable demonstration of how "dad rock" still dropkicks your derrière on a Saturday afternoon with a shamefully low attendance. Emperor proved that you don't need corpsepaint to sound like everything Dimmu Borgir ever wished they could be.

Ugly Kid Joe took an expected trip down memory lane with a bit too much unexpected new stuff. Conversely, Down somehow managed to play a bit too much of their OLD stuff. Opeth managed to find a better balance. And Gloryhammer – still an entirely new band in my book – proved that the age of one's material doesn't have to matter in the first place as long as you bring the party.

Death To All sounded as much as possible like the real deal without actually being it. Jinjer proved that that "deathcore" thingy doesn't have to be all bad or uninteresting, and that Ukranians are more badass than Putin probably expected.

In the local department, Artillery thrashed away because it's what they do better than anything else. Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, nostalgic with the Danish audience as they are, weren't afraid to give a thorough demonstration of their post-comeback material – and most of it is virtually as magical as ever. Mercyful Fate returned in an impressive peak condition. And my own aforementioned D-A-D finally gave that request concert that I never thought I'd get.

Apart from the program, the atmosphere's always been tremendous – especially if you're a native and a regular, of course. So many old friends everywhere – so many that I sadly didn't get to meet all of them. But that's a first world problem as far as I'm concerned. And apart from the still near-insane beer prices – near-insane for even a Dane – I would've still enjoyed this festival just as much if I visited from abroad.

While the weather has been a downright problem in earlier years, it was relatively merci(/y)ful on us this year, with only a few drops of rain on Friday (while I was recovering at my hostel anyway), and especially Saturday being a rarely seen mild, pretty, and sunshine-y day, not only for Copenhell, but for the entire country. More of the same next year, please.

What else? Ah yes, those aforementioned +35,000 sold tickets. Again: I haven't been here for 5 years, so I'm not sure how new that expansion of the festival area to include the Gehennah Stage is. That whole viking village looks pretty neat as well, although I didn't have time to hang around there, what with all those bands and friends and all. But the point is, it works. The area's still not too crowded, and it's wonderful that an event like this can keep on expanding and spread the good word to even more people without compromising on comfort.

All in all, the whole thing just fucking clapped, as we say in Denmark. Copenhell 2022 came together bigger than the sum of its parts, and it was much, much more than anyone could – and, indeed, dared – expect.

Thanks to the bands for kicking our collective asses; thanks to the festival's booking department for kicking ass in general; thanks to the management for the nice R.I.P. wristband, and thanks to everyone I hung out with, drank with, partied with, went to the shows with, and did a lot of other nice things with.

At the time of writing, my voice hasn't even fully recovered. But I'm so ready for next year.

Rating: 5.5 out of 6

Genre: Metal / hard rock
Dates: June 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th 2022
Location: Refshaleøen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Website: https://www.copenhell.dk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/copenhell/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/copenhell
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjjILflDhuj54AADluKwSLA