The seventeenth edition of the Castle Party festival, organized in part by residents of Bolesławiec, ran from July 29 to August 1. Fans of dark music had no reason to complain about boredom. This year, artists who are not necessarily associated with broadly defined Gothic music were once again invited to Bolków. The event featured, among others: the brilliant post-industrial group Job Karma; outstanding electronic-music figure Alec Empire (toward the end of his performance, the iconic Atari Teenage Riot’s “No Remorse” rang out!); English poet and vocalist Anne Clark; and folk-metal band Żywiołak.
One of the biggest stars of this year’s festival was Gothic-music legend Clan of Xymox. The Dutch-German group gave an excellent concert. Among other songs, the band performed “Heroes” from David Bowie’s repertoire.
The audience also warmly welcomed the Germans from And One, who are clearly inspired by the work of Depeche Mode. “This group is very popular in our country,” says Bolesławiec resident Krzysztof Rakowski, the festival’s main organizer. “In fact, at almost every Depeche Mode fans’ gathering, people listen to songs by this trio.”
The star of the event was death metal band Behemoth. Nergal and company played their best-known songs. The set included “Ov Fire and the Void,” “As Above So Below,” “Slaves Shall Serve,” “At the Left Hand ov God,” and “Decade of Therion,” popularized in part thanks to its alternative version.
Although the group differed stylistically from the other invited artists, it was clear that some of the audience had come specifically for Behemoth. What is more, at one point Nergal indulged in a joke: he announced a song from the repertoire of The Sisters of Mercy, one of the most famous Gothic bands, and immediately afterward Behemoth performed... its own song, “Conquer All.” For the encore, the band played the monumental song “Lucifer,” with lyrics by Young Poland poet Tadeusz Miciński.
