Mixtape: Grace
Bruised and exhausted, but happy. I'm back from Furnace Fest, whose organizers claim this will be the last one. The festival originally ran from 2000-2003, then again from 2021-2024. I go way back with its founder, Chad Johnson, who ran Slacker 66 — I spent a lot of time on its message board, not to mention its mailorder — which turned into Takehold Records, which was bought out by Tooth & Nail. Basically, iykyk a certain strain of Christian hardcore, but the festival's aim was always far broader.
In previous years, I indulged in nostalgia for Roadside Monument, Elliott, Braid and MxPx, while trying on newer bands like Gel, Zulu and Scowl. Furnace Fest is good at that balance. In 2024, for me, it was all about three defining bands of my teenage years: We stood right up front for Snapcase, whose frontman seemed genuinely surprised and overwhelmed that so many people showed up — of all the hardcore bands at the fest, Snapcase felt like a direct line to rock and roll's swaggering past. I was fully prepared to get trampled during Coalesce, but then I was quickly reminded just how alien its mathy metallic hardcore must be to a new generation — Sean Ingram's convulsing stage presence and Jes Steineger's sensually shamanistic guitar, a confounding combo.
Extol, however, was the main reason I went this year. (And last year, for that matter — visa issues kept them away then.) In 1999, Extol was the first real metal band I ever witnessed live, on a tour with P.O.D. and Blindside — its whiplash riffs, dextrous musicality and hair windmills bewildered 15-year-old me. Ever since, these Norwegians have been a pivotal point of reference in what I want out of metal music: curiosity for what's past, with an ear to the future. Now 25 years later, I was in a state of pure elation during Extol's career-spanning set, featuring Bruce Fitzhugh from Living Sacrifice filling in on vocals. Smiling, yelling, headbanging. It was also such a joy to connect with Christer, David, Ole and Tor before and after the set.
But perhaps the real reason I've returned year after year — and I believe this is the case for many others — are the friendships formed. I first went in 2022, not really knowing anybody, yet quickly found a group of folks who not only share a passion for limited edition 7"s but also yearn for fellowship. You can take that to mean a shared faith — and, in this case, it does — but moreover a shared punk culture that looks out for one another. Because, for as much as punks can frustrate the hell out of me, punk gives me a home to be weird, to uplift and to rage. That common language is community — it's communion.
Stream the Viking's Choice mixtape via BNDCMPR. Follow my Bandcamp collection. Tracklist below:
Nahawa Doumbia, "Demisen Kulu"
The Moment of Nightfall and Tony Jay, "koro no mori"
Pedro the Lion, "B (Lync cover)"
Witch's Mirror, "Cherry Moon"
Girlhood, "Can't Tell You to Stop"
Tashi Dorji, "begin from here"
The Rheingans Sisters, "Devils"
Damien Jurado, "Ralph A. Hughes"
Vicious Blade, "Death Blow"
Julie Beth Napolin, "Only the Void Stands Between Us"
Ex-Vöid, "Swansea"
Charlotte Jolly, "Winter Fields"
Fat Tony & Fatboi Sharif & steel tipped dove, "Brainstorming"
Shafrah, "Hagega"
Sun Ra & His Arkestra, "Tone Poem #9"
Merope (feat. Laraaji and Shahzad Ismaily), "Namopi"
Anne-Tina, "I Mit Efterår"
Extol, "Grace for Succession"
Helga Myhr & Tanja Orning, "Trilltrall"
Alexia Avina, "In the Morning"
SW Hedrick, "E Major"
Anno (feat. NAPPYNAPPA), "disco"
Wipers, "Up Front"
Groupe Derhane, "Imidrane - Tamiditin"
Psychic Temple, "When the Money Comes In (Tascam 246 Demo)"
Souled American, "Sorry State"
Limbo District, "À La Maison"
Elisenvara, "Один в океане"
Farewell Phoenix, "Weaving a Blanket to Warm Your Dreams"
Sam Smith + Beverly Glenn-Copeland - Ever New
Richard Skelton, "under glottal"
Ganavya (feat. Vijay Iyer & Immanuel Wilkins), "Om Supreme"