European Summer Metal Festivals are both a ritual and a necessity for me, working in the metal world! I spent 2 months this summer working with our clients and meeting new ones at various metal festivals each weekend! Based out of Basel, Switzerland with my best friend, Lucie, I was able to travel to 10 different countries and see so many of our bands rock Kylla Custom Rock Wear on huge stages, as well as some amazing scenery!
We started off by catching King Diamond at Barcelona Rockfest- we made a new look for the band to match the new set and imagery for the new album! The show was incredible and it was great to see them in such a beautiful city! Got to visit some Gaudi masterpieces on the day off! Our friends and clients Arch Enemy, Cradle of Filth, and Children of Bodom were also in attendance so it was killer to catch their sets and catch up in what time we had! I also very much enjoyed seeing Venom, Saxon, and Def Leppard!
For the next 2 weeks I returned to the mountain paradise of Switzerland to my sewing studio there, and prepared to play a gig with one of my bands, Stahlsarg (UK) at Forest Fest in the French part of the country! It was cool to be on the other side of the stage at least once this summer! Then we took a road trip through the beautiful Italian Alps to Metaldays in Slovenia (we stopped at stunning Lake Como)! This festival is situated in Soca Valley, where the water is the color of emeralds! Our clients and friends Arch Enemy, Hypocrisy, and Necrophobic rocked the festival and it was great to see them at one of my favorite festivals! We went to Lake Bled on our day off for more views of the water!
After Slovenia, I hopped on a flight back across the Atlantic to Montreal, to meet the 70000 Tons of Metal team for a special promotional event for our Survivors attending Heavy Montreal! We had to make a custom wardrobe for our Pool Girls promotional model team, and of course rented hot tubs for the VIP area! I also interviewed a bunch of bands that had played the cruise and were at Heavy MTL for 70000Tons.TV!
The first European festival that I ever ventured across the pond for was Wacken Open Air in Germany, which I have been attending for 14 years now. This year, the organization invited me to be one of the industry guests in the "Metal Battle Lounge" where bands from around the world can talk to various industry professionals to help get advice on their career! We donated a Kylla Custom Rock Wear Ready-to-Wear jacket as a prize for the Metal Battle winner! It was really an honor to be involved with this, and I hope to return next year! Our clients and friends Necrophobic and Cradle of Filth rocked their new stage wardrobe we made them despite some weather issues, and it was killer to finally see death metal supergroup Vlitmas live in their Kylla gear! The crowd at Wacken always amazes me. Special thanks also to our European Emissary Heavy-D for the production camp hospitality! I spent a week in Germany and Switzerland after Wacken and also saw our clients Naglfar at PartySan Open Air the following weekend, which had a great lineup!
The last stop on the Kylla Euro tour, was one of my favorite countries- Norway! My sewing assistant Mal joined me for a week in the north to attend the Midgardsblot festival! I had never been to this festival, but she is very into Viking era reenactment, so I must say it was a great experience! Our clients Enslaved and Einherjer were playing the festival, and what a beautiful atmosphere to watch them live, amongst the burial mounds at Borre and next to a viking hall drinking mead! Heilung and Ivar Bjornson and Einar Selvik put on great shows as well, and it was so good to see friends from Tormentor and Gaahl's Wyrd! We have been invited back next year to give a lecture on our costume work with metal bands in Norway and beyond, so honored to return! Before leaving we ventured back to Oslo and delivered some stage gear to the mighty Necrobutcher of Mayhem, Gerlioz of Dimmu Borgir, and Anders Odden and Benjamin Ash of Satyricon! Norway is a true home for metal, and a home turf for us as well!
It was an epic summer, and I am so grateful for all of the new clients, connections, and opportunities we made! Back home for the fall to get our Ready-to-Wear collection launched, which has just returned from the factory!
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