Comendatio Festival - Day 2 - Metal Junkbox

On Day 2 of the festival, the day started early for us, and after our morning toilet, we went to the cafés in the village of Paço da Comenda, some of which already had "metallers". We could hear the first soundchecks of the bands from afar before the doors opened at 3.30 p.m. We were able to hear Above the Ocean's soundcheck, and their lead singer José Saruga, singing Anjos and inviting the campers to come and watch the first band, which was precisely them.

Above the Ocean

At 4pm, the Above the OceanWhat if the singer's appeal worked? It seemed to! Although the festival wasn't full, it was already well packed and we could see several people paying attention to the metalcore band from Alentejo.

If José Saruga sang Angels, as I mentioned earlier in the soundcheck, these were transformed into demons unleashed during a 30-minute performance, spread over 6 songs, which featured the already released singles "Therapy" and "Love Song" by Above the Ocean.

They got the first mosh pits, crowd surfs and there were even fans of the band that won the Comendatio Music Fest band competition singing along with the lead singer, who climbed down the bars close to the audience to sing the chorus of "Love Song".

André Vicente, guitarist of Above the Ocean, who MetalJunkBox recently interviewed, promised a performance that would show that they had a lot to give and they delivered, and certainly gained more fans to accompany them in their next work.

Phase Transition

At around 5pm, the Phase Transition, a progressive metal band from Porto.

The Phase Transition, took advantage of the Comendatio Music Fest to showcase their first album entitled "In Search of Being", released on June 6, and among the compositions that combine a lot of more technical riffs with the melodic voice of Sofia Beco, who was the only female voice at this Comendatio Music Fest 2025 to be on stage, she also stood out when she played the violin, giving this band a more symphonic touch. A performance that clearly deserved the long round of applause given by those present. This is an up-and-coming band on the Portuguese progressive music scene, which certainly has a bright future and we'll be hearing about it for some time to come.

Lysergic

The third performance on the second day of the Comendatio Music Fest was by LysergicJoão Corceiro, a Lisbon band that emerged from a solo project by guitarist and vocalist João Corceiro. With stints in bands such as W.A.K.O, Okkultist and Allamedah, they presented the album "Black and Blue", which the band released on January 27, and once again brought aggression to the Comendatio stage with their progressive Death Metal, where there are no clean vocals. The band appeared on stage with three members and no bassist, but that didn't stop them from giving a solid performance, which got those present moving and bringing out the mosh pit and headbanging once again, a sign that the audience was in tune with the band. If João Corceiro didn't talk much to the audience, it certainly wasn't an impediment to feeling that this same audience wasn't hooked and enjoying themselves, and they also deserved a big round of applause.

The Broken Horizon

The The Broken HorizonThe Spanish band, which originated in Pamplona in 2017, came to Comendatio Music Fest to present their Metalcore, with elements of Deathcore and Djent. If what characterizes these genres are heavy riffs, breakdowns, aggressive gutturals and clean, melodic vocals, as well as a lot of energy, these elements were not left out, and fans of the genre were certainly delighted and salivating for more, with a performance that was as good as it was surprising, at least for the part of us that didn't know.

It was a fantastic performance, with the audience feeling the energy given off by these Spaniards, and with a vocalist who you can tell is very comfortable on stage and knows how to pull people in. Proof of this was the Wall of Death, also very characteristic of the metal that was performed. Simply excellent!

AVKRVST

The gentlemen who followed were AVKRVST which, as vocalist and guitarist Simon Bergseth mentioned, is pronounced "AUKRUST". Hailing from Norway, they made their debut in Portugal at Paço da Comenda, and if this debut was almost not to happen, as the band arrived just 20 minutes before they were due to perform at the Comendatio Music Fest, the truth is that at 8.20pm they were there, and in a set that lasted around 40 minutes, they presented their progressive rock/metal, which clearly has influences from bands such as Opeth and Porcupine Tree.

This Norwegian quintent enchanted the audience, focused on the ambient sound that AVKRVST brought to Portugal, presenting songs from the two albums released so far, including the most recent work "Waving at the Sky", released on June 13, 2025.

Humanity's Last Breath

The Humanity's Last Breath were the penultimate band of the day and of the festival, and they entered the stage at 9:30 p.m., and with them a dark energy was felt. The Swedish deathcore band Djent brought one of the best shows of this Comendatio Music Fest: the colorful lights on stage contrasted with the dark atmosphere that was felt in the Paço da Comenda. They were one of the bands I personally wanted to see at this edition, and the nine songs they played made me feel that there were too few of them! I was completely in tune with the band, as I'm sure most of those present felt the "magic" they did on stage.

Filip Danielsson's gutturals echoed through the village, and the heavy, polyrhythmic guitars of Buster Odeholm, who is the only original member and also plays the role of the band's songwriter and producer, bewitched everyone and everything. How do you say it in good Portuguese? Concertão! I still don't have the words to describe what we saw here, and because better than talking is watching, the next time they come to Portugal, for Deathcore fans, it will certainly be a concert not to be missed, and for others to be repeated.

Commendatio Headliner: Vola

The last concert of this edition of Comendatio Music Fest 2025 was that of the headlining band, VOLA. The Danish band, formed in Copenhagen, took the stage at 10pm and gave the best concert of the festival, in our opinion.

If Humanity's Last Breath enchanted with their heavy sound, VOLA were not far behind and even managed to do better. The sound of this band, which combines progressive metal, alternative rock, djent and a lot of electronica, with melodic vocals, got those present in tune with them, and even singing along with the vocalist and guitarist, Asger Mygind.

A completely different concert from its predecessors, which brought much more joy and a wide range of positive emotions.

They played 15 songs in all, including Cannibal, who brought Filip Danielson from Humanity's Last Breath back to the stage for a special appearance, which surprisingly went so well together.

They ended with "Straight Lines", and many of those present sang along and the audible clapping echoed through the village.

A memorable concert, which mixed a fantastic light show with an excellent performance by the band members, rounded off this edition of Comendatio Music Fest 2025.

After this edition of the festival was over, I was personally impressed, as it was the first time I'd been to it. The whole organization was fantastic, the feeling of connection between bands and spectators, and the affordable food and drink prices, in contrast to other festivals. Let's wait impatiently for the 2026 edition, and see what this festival, which I recommend everyone goes to, brings.

Comendatio Music Fest may be a smaller festival, but it's guaranteed to be as big or bigger than others in Portugal and Europe. Congratulations!