THE EUROPEAN METAL FESTIVAL ALLIANCE VIRTUAL EVENT BEGINS TODAY AT 11 AM GMT!

Posted on by Oran


Today sees the launch of EMFA (European Metal Festival Alliance) online streaming event, so put some beers in the fridge and get ready for a fun weekend of metal. 

The event begins today, Friday 7th August at 12 pm CET (that’s 11 am UK time) and continues on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th.

Tickets are on sale (for €6.66) over at www.MetalFestivalAlliance.com, so get your access now in time for tomorrow’s kick-off. Camping outdoors is optional!

Making your own event of it? Be sure to share your party pics with the EMFA and other metalheads on social media using the hashtag, #EMFA2020.

Across the weekend, you’ll be able to watch ‘never broadcast before’ sets of SABATON (their 2019 BLOODSTOCK headline show) and AVATAR (their 2019 headline Alcatraz Festival show), as well as shows from TESSERACT (at BLOODSTOCK 2019), THY ART IS MURDER, NAPALM DEATH, GRAND MAGUS, and BATTLE BEAST (all from Summer Breeze 2019) plus HARAKIRI FOR THE SKY (from Party.San 2015).

DEE SNIDER also makes an appearance via two previously unreleased live tracks (from BLOODSTOCK 2019) and neo-folk heroes HEILUNG have recorded an exclusive video especially for the event.

Check out the ‘stage times’ below, noting that they’re listed in Central European Time. Ireland / UK time is 1hr earlier, so tune in online from 11 am UK time each day.

There’s a wide array of brand new live sets recorded in lockdown, exclusively for the EMFA weekend.

Those sets come from ROTTING CHRIST, BUTCHER BABIES, ORANGE GOBLIN, PRIMORDIAL, KING 810, AMENRA, PARASITE INC., ALIEN WEAPONRY, VENOM PRISON, HEIDEVOLK, MASS HYSTERIA, ANGELUS APATRIDA, EVERGREY, KAMPFAR, VENOM INC., UNLEASH THE ARCHERS, LEGION OF THE DAMNED, DIRTY SHIRT, GUTALAX, KISSIN’ DYNAMITE, EVIL INVADERS, iPENDEJO!, DER WEG EINER FREIHEIT, CULT OF FIRE, LÈPOKA, SPOIL ENGINE, SVART CROWN, DESERTED FEAR, DEAD LORD, ROADKILLSODA, NYTT LAND, WHITE WALLS, and SKYEYE.

If you’re unable to watch a band at their ‘stage time’, don’t worry, as you’ll be able to replay all sets for up to 48 hours afterwards.

Besides live material, there will be a string of brand new video interviews with our festival regulars past and present, recorded especially for the event.

Find out what your favourites have been doing to occupy themselves while they’ve been home and learn if there’s brand new music on the horizon.

How do DEE SNIDER, BIFF BYFORD, JAMEY JASTA, DEVIN TOWNSEND, WINSTON MCCALL, CRISTINA SCABBIA, WEDNESDAY 13, PHIL RIND and various others feel about this summer without festivals and how did they keep themselves busy during the lockdown? All the answers and more will be revealed online over the EMFA weekend.

The EMFA event is a fundraiser for the beleaguered independent metal festival sector, who don’t have the backing of big corporate money for their ongoing survival, so €6.66 (just under 6 quid) buys you that ‘full weekend festival pass.’

In return, you can enjoy three days of exclusive entertainment from 35+ metal bands from various locations around the world, plus other special content, from the comfort of your own sofa. Get yourself amped up by watching a trailer here.

No festival is without its festival merch either, so grab your exclusive ‘Rebooting for 2021‘ event t-shirt at the EMFA merch store. Items are available now, so grab yours before they sell out via this link.

If you’re pining for your annual festival beer cup, BLOODSTOCK has made a limited run of 2020 Lockdown cups, which you can grab over on their merch page.

The European Metal Festival Alliance is a joint venture between BLOODSTOCK and Alcatraz (Belgium), Art Mania (Romania), Brutal Assault (Czech Republic), Dynamo (Netherlands), Into The Grave (Netherlands), Leyendas De Rock (Spain), Metal Days (Slovenia), Midgardsblot (Norway), Motorcultor (France), Party.San (Germany), Resurrection (Spain), and Summer Breeze (Germany).

Oran O’Beirne

www.overdrive.ie 2020