Bosphorus Metal Fest 2026.
First trip to Istanbul, and it was for a festival too. The announced bands were impressive and catered to all tastes: Satyricon, Moonspell, Kataklysm, I Am Morbid, Tankard, Kampfar, and others. We left Serbia a day earlier so we could make it to the scheduled conference, which I think is unique for a festival of this kind. The conference guests included local and international musicians, promoters, and organizers of metal music festivals. The long journey and several border crossings delayed us a bit, so we arrived at the conference just in time to hear the main guests.
A very insightful story about metal in Turkey. There was a lot of discussion about the challenges of organizing festivals worldwide, like Inferno, Beyond the Gates, Brutal Assault, and Prophecy Fest. They also talked about ways to attract younger audiences and how to design the entire festival experience along with everything surrounding the festival.
The first day of the festival started off well. At the entrance, we got wristbands and entered half an hour before the first show. The merch was just being set up. The prices were quite reasonable. Short-sleeved T-shirts around €15, hoodies €35. Visitors could buy CDs and vinyl editions at acceptable prices. The food was varied – burgers, pizza, fries, donuts… Now, about the beer prices. The biggest draft glass is 0.4 liters and costs around €5. Not taking that too much into account, let’s move on to the music.
First up were 3000AD. The trio from New Zealand with bass, guitar, and drums performed in front of the most hardcore fans who were waiting in the front row, right by the barrier. They left a solid impression on me. All three members take part in singing and put a lot of energy into their performance, so the small audience already got a dose of energy for the rest of the festival. After 3000AD, Khepra performed. Turkish metal mixed with oriental sounds.The crowd slowly started to show up, and the atmosphere began to heat up. Honestly, as a local band, I expected more people to show up to see this band. They’re worth listening to, and live they really come across as serious, from their style of dressing to the performance they delivered.
Then it was time for some heavier rhythms with two bands, death-grind veterans from the Czech Republic. Cutterred Flesh and Fleshless performed. Cutterred Flesh, death metal with nonstop blast beats, which isn’t really my thing, but hats off for a top-notch performance. Fleshless went on next. I won’t go into too much detail, anyone who knows what it’s about knows the kind of show this pro four-piece can put on. We had the chance to watch them in Serbia recently, and it’s always a nice meet-up and great hangout.
After Fleshless, Eleine performed. Symphonic gothic metal with good choreography and epic vocals. What’s there is a mix that can shake up genres a bit and reach gothic audiences across Turkey. What’s immediately noticeable is that the band is serious about becoming one of the main players in this genre. The stage presence, style, and song delivery are all commendable. The songs are well-composed and performed, with a touch of theatricality from the musicians themselves, which leaves an extra impression on the audience. After Eleine, Kampfar took the stage.
I had been waiting 27 years to see this band live, and I’m writing these lines just before the concert. I must admit, Kampfar is in the top 3 concerts I’ve ever seen in my life. They justified three decades of existence and showed that they’ve been unfairly sidelined. They have the experience and quality that even the biggest names in the Norwegian black metal scene could envy. Even though the Kampfar concert, at least for me, was short, right after them Exumer flew onto the stage straight from New York. Uncompromising thrash metal from Germany. The sounds of their long-standing work were accompanied by the screams of the toughest core of Istanbul fans. The energy is carried by the singer, who gave his all to hype up the crowd and make this a true metal party. Next up was Moonspell.
Already during the soundcheck, it was clear this was the headliner because the sound was 50% louder than the other bands, and from the very first notes, it was obvious this was the headliner in the full sense of the word. The energy this band exudes is unique. The sound is clear, and everyone is in their range. After Moonspell, I Am Morbid took the stage. I’ve never been a fan of Morbid Angel, but I believe those who are fans enjoyed the performance of MA songs by the somewhat aging Vincent and Pete Sandoval, who are in great shape.
The second day of the festival started with the band Yarsu. We were a little late due to transportation issues, so I didn’t catch them, but we got in just before Nahum. A quick setup, and the technical death metal this five-piece plays kicked off in a great way. Honestly, it’s ‘not my pint of beer,’ but I enjoyed every beat. Even David Vincent showed up at some point to check out these guys. After them, Atrox Trauma took the stage… death metal from Hungary that didn’t quite click with me, but it’s a treat for death metal fans. Next up were Moribund Oblivion.
Bahadir, one of the festival organizers, is the frontman of this band. The band sounds world-class, and it’s a real shame that such black metal wasn’t backed by a larger crowd from the fifteen-million-strong city. Next up on stage were Terrorizer. That’s when the atmosphere really started heating up. The only problem was that the security didn’t really understand the whole mosh-pit and crowd-surfing thing, so they would jump in unnecessarily to break up the action. Then came Tankard. It was my first time hearing them. Top-notch thrash metal. The singer apologized on behalf of the guitarist because the guitarist was sitting on a chair on stage due to a broken shoulder, which you couldn’t even notice during the performance. The show was perfect, and the crowd really got into it, getting ready for Kataklysm.
Kataklysm started devastatingly with their precise tempo and exact riffs. If there must be a benchmark for excellent live sound with just one guitar and a bass guitar, then it has to be Kataklysm. I’ve seen them multiple times and I think it’s the only band where the madness starts from the very first beat, no matter where they play. Around 11:00 PM, Satyricon took the stage. The headliner of the second evening, whom I had also been waiting a long time to hear again. They based the concert on their newer work, which is a bit less musically demanding, but they played ‘Walk the Path of Sorrow’. It’s simply incredible that the creators of the black metal anthem ‘Mother North’ based almost the entire concert on down-tempo playing. However, the climax of the evening and the whole atmosphere right before ‘Mother North’ was ruined by a scuffle and a slightly sloppy fight in the mosh pit, as if someone had pressed a switch to turn off the atmosphere. That event marked the end of the fun even though Satyricon was only halfway through the song. K.I.N.G. fixed things here and there, but the shitty feeling remained, identical to a ruined orgasm.
As for the festival itself, the atmosphere was for 10, the food and drink prices were high, but that’s typical for big festivals. The main issues from my perspective were communication and transportation to and from the festival. A shuttle bus was announced, which I think I saw on the second night, but the route was unclear from the short post on Instagram. Taxi drivers speak and understand foreign languages only when it suits them. Of course, this isn’t really a festival problem, but a bit more information for people coming from other countries would definitely be something to work on. After all, it’s a huge city that’s not easy to get around.
The audience is interesting. They are very open to conversation and meeting new people. Turkey has always been a crossroads of civilizations, so you can encounter various visitors here, from the Far East, Europe, Russia, and other parts of the world. Mustaches and cigarettes are one of the key elements of visual identity, so I’ll consider that looking for the next visit. The youth were very active in front of the stages. Of course, no one was hurt, and it’s all part of one big, fun party that we all enjoyed. In the end, there was a warm farewell with a promise to see each other next year.
Driving a car around the city feels like F1 and Moto GP races through narrow streets where cars and motorcycles lurk on both sides. Still, as someone said, take advantage of this festival to come a day or two before and after it so you can explore everything this city has to offer, and its history and tradition are truly impressive. You can quickly get to different parts of the city by metro, and once you get familiar with that mode of transportation, everything becomes much easier.
I hope we get to visit the festival again next year. A 5-year experience has seasoned this team in organizing a good festival, and we can’t wait for the next edition.
Review by: Dragan Mirković
Photos: Igor Dešić
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