One evening in April brought a Scandinavian metal avalanche down on Stuttgart’s LKA Longhorn, delivered by VOMITORY, VREID, ABBATH and HYPOCRISY. Their combined force filled more than four hours of heavy death black metal music.

VOMITORY opened the night with a solid performance, synchronized headbanging, and an otherwise static stage presence. The dark atmosphere set the tone for the rest of the evening.

VREID followed after a short changeover in the tightly scheduled program. With more movement, a predominantly red light show and the first waves of fog, they delivered the first real highlight. Short crowd interactions and a more dynamic stage presence helped Vreid win over the audience.

The KISS reminiscence in ABBATH frontman Olve Eikemo’s appearance is impossible to miss. Makeup, moves and outfit clearly point to Gene Simmons as inspiration. The rest of the band presented themselves with more individuality. Musically, with their Norwegian Black‑Death‑Metal sound, and visually, ABBATH delivered the first major highlight of the night. The fog machine was also put to heavy use for the first time.

Once the fog machines were running at full power, it was time for HYPOCRISY. Mastermind Peter Tägtgren, Mikael Hedlund, Tomas Elofsson and drummer Henrik Axelsson showed the crowd why they are considered masters of alien‑themed Death Metal. The audience was immediately drawn in by the sound and Peter’s hypnotic voice. Fog cannons pushed to their limits, LED screens displayed fitting graphics and animations. It became a true spectacle of mystique. Excellent. It was, indeed, Mass Hallucination.