Comendatio Festival - Day 1 - Metal Junkbox

On June 21 and 22, the Paço da Comenda, in Tomar, hosted the Comendatio Music Festival Fest 2025, a festival dedicated to Progressive and Modern music.

MetalJunkBox couldn't miss this event and we were there to cover the 5th edition of this festival, which has already had names like TesseracT, Haken (both making their debut in Portugal at the Comendatio Music Fest), as well as Leprous, Textures, among other big-name bands in the music genre that the Comendatio Music Fest is known for.

If for the 2025 edition we had big names like Ihsahn (solo band of the lead singer of Emperor) and Vola, both headliners, joining the likes of Oceans to Alaska and Humanity's Last Breath, the latter making their debut in the country of the language of Camões, and as icing on the cake, The Cost, who, for those who don't know who the band is, have certainly heard of El Stepario Siberiano, a drummer who is an influencer on Youtube and Instagram and who was going to play his first concert ever, precisely in our country.

If in previous editions Comendatio Music Fest has opened its doors to other bands from our country, this year was no exception. This attitude of Comendatio Music Fest is to be applauded, making the festival ever more exciting and capable of bringing even more people to the village of Paço da Comenda, about 10 minutes' drive from Tomar.

This report of ours was done in Diary tones, because we want people to get a taste of what it was like to be at this festival.

Well, MetalJunkBox moved to Tomar on June 21, in the morning, on a quick trip from Lisbon to Tomar (about an hour and a half), and then to the ACDSS in Paço da Comenda, the festival site, where I immediately went to change my wristband, and to the camping area, which is literally next to the festival.

At 3:30 p.m. the festival doors opened and I went to explore the place where I would be for two days. My first stop was the Merchandise and we bought a festival t-shirt as a souvenir. I checked out the food and drink and was quite surprised by the variety and the prices, which were quite affordable for a festival, there was no need to "sell a kidney" to eat or drink, something surprising when it comes to festivals.

Crimson Bridge

At 4pm, the first band started, the Crimson BridgeThe four-piece band was one of the two winners of the Comendatio Music Fest band contest, and soon had the responsibility of opening the festival. The four-piece band didn't feel the pressure and showed themselves to be quite at home in a "house" that was still half full. Metalcore, clearly influenced by bands such as Trivium, Bullet for My Valentine, Avenged Sevenfold and Crimson Bridge, lasted around 30 minutes, with a setlist of 5 songs. Clearly, they are a band to follow within the national metal scene, with a very bright future. I say this a lot because of their songwriting and their attitude on stage, which, if they continue to grow, will certainly reach other stages as big or bigger as the Comendatio.

Yokovich

The second performance of the day was given by Yokovichfrom Lisbon. They brought Industrial Metal, and with a fuller house, due to people who were still setting up their tents, or even arriving on the first day, that livened up the afternoon, which was boiling hot. We could also feel the audience warming up, as they are a band clearly more used to these stages than the previous one, they showed how to move the first heads, and the already growing enthusiasm increased when the red Power Ranger appeared to liven up the party. This appearance, which was quite effusive on his part, earned the first smiles from those present at the concert, and not only did he wear a suit, but he also wore one of the band's T-shirts.

Equaleft

At 5.45pm, we saw the third performance of the day, the EqualeftEqualeft, from Porto and led by their vocalist Miguel Inglês, brought with them the energy that distinguishes them, and it was very noticeable in the audience, which was increasingly present at the Comendatio Music Fest. With a set that took almost 50 minutes, Equaleft rocked the crowd with their groove metal and no one remained indifferent. The first circle of pit of the festival, something you can't miss at a metal concert, took place at this gig, which even Miguel Inglês himself couldn't miss, joining in with those present. An energetic and excellent performance, which I'm sure the many fans present, wearing the band's t-shirts, were proud to see. At the end, I even heard reports of some people being presented with Hungarian cookies.

Killus

The KillusThe band, from Spain, started playing around 7 p.m., and for those present, if their characterizations already anticipated a very good show, no one was certainly disappointed. The industrial metal of this Spanish quartet, with clear influences from Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails, brought energy, smiles and mosh pits to Praça da Comenda. The band's 9-song setlist, which ended with an Abba cover of "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!", clearly left those present yearning for more. If this band has already played in Portugal, such as at the now defunct VOA, and now at the Comendatio Music Fest, after their performance at the latter, they will clearly be a band to always consider. What a party!

The Cost

We were very close to one of the most eagerly awaited moments of the day and certainly of the festival, the world premiere of the band The Costled by Siberian Estepariothe famous social media drummer, who has collaborated with Jack Black, Tommy Lee and Mike Portnoy. If this drummer had already been spotted in the area reserved for artists, when he entered at 8:10 p.m., the crowd went wild. The Cost, who come from Valencia in Spain, are made up not only of the famous drummer, but also of Peter Connolly (Guitar and Vocals) and Chris Attwell (Bass and programming), played a setlist of 8 songs from their only album to date, including the singles "Into the Drone", which was the very first song, "Her Eyes", "Not for Me", in which lead singer Peter asked the audience to collaborate, and just before that "Floods", a song dedicated by the artists to the floods that inundated Valencia a few months ago. Overall, it was a very solid performance. There was a bit of initial nervousness, which was natural as it was the band's first performance, and on a stage like the Comendatio, but this was greatly rewarded by the people present, who simply watched the band's progressive rock with metal elements with rapt attention. If the attention was focused on El Estepario, yes, it was worth noting the calmness with which this drummer played, always with his cigarette and with a super relaxed and concentrated air. One of the bands to watch out for in the coming years for fans of the genre.

Oceans Ate Alaska

After a 40-minute break, after the end of the The CostAfter the sun went down at 9.30pm, the Oceans to AlaskaThe band is a progressive metalcore band, or as many prefer to call it, Djent. The band from Birmingham in England, formed in 2010, with the only original member of the current line-up being drummer Chris Turner, played a 10-song setlist that included songs such as "Metamorph", "Hansha" and "Onsra", a concert full of color, polyrhythms, powerful gutturals and melodic clean vocals. The passages between songs, with very danceable sounds, brought smiles to the Comendatio audience, and we still had time for vocalist Joel Heywood to sing along with those in the front row. An excellent performance by this band, who returned to Portugal seven years after their 2018 tour of the RCA Club in Lisbon and the Hard Club in Porto to promote their album Hikari.

It's also worth noting that this headlining band was completely relaxed, watching practically all the performances of the bands before them, in the area reserved for artists, and was also in full conviviality, in the Comendatio Music Fest food and drink area, which highlights the relaxed and respectful atmosphere that this festival has between artists and spectators.

Headliner: Ihsahn

After the Oceans to AlaskaThe show ended around 10.10 p.m. and there was a wait to see the headliner, IhsahnEmperor, the mythical vocalist and frontman of the black metal band, performed his solo project, which has released eight albums, with a sound that mixes progressive black metal with elements of avant-garde and electronic music. With the night already well underway and the audience eagerly awaiting this concert, the intro was heard at 10.50 p.m., 10 minutes earlier than announced, which didn't disturb anything and I admit may have made those present happier. Ihsahn had a four-piece line-up, including himself on guitar and vocals.

This concert was fabulous for the 75 minutes that the band played, noting that Ihsahn has been on stage for many years, and that even though he doesn't speak much, he was able to hold the audience for a completely mesmerizing concert, which featured songs from Ihsahn's latest self-entitled album, such as "Pilgrimage to Oblivion", "The Distance Between Us" and "A Taste of the Ambrosia". If the black metal elements are present, you can see that Ihsanh's music has a lot of influence on Nordic culture, but as he mentioned at the concert, on Lenny Kravitz and Iron Maiden, playing "Rock n' Roll Is Dead" and "Wrathchild", respectively. A concert also marked by a small "technical glitch", which he himself helped to solve, with the same "ease" and coolness with which he continued the concert moments later, and which in no way affects our opinion that this was one of the best shows this edition of 2025 has had.

The first day of the Comendatio Music Fest came to an end in style, with seven bands and some of the more worn-out people, including us, heading back to their dormitories and others to the campsite.