Devilstone Open Air (aka "Velnio Akmuo" in Lithuanian) is a summer open air rock and

metal A metal (from ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, e ...

music festival. It takes place annually since 2009 in the town of

Anykščiai Anykščiai (; see other names) is a ski resort town in Lithuania, west of Utena. The Roman Catholic Church of St. Matthias in Anykščiai is the tallest church in Lithuania, with spires measuring in height. Anykščiai has a resort status i ...

, in

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. Devilstone Open Air has included performers playing

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an em ...

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, fe ...

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

sludge metal Sludge metal (also known as sludge or sludge doom) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated through combining elements of doom metal and hardcore punk. It is typically harsh and abrasive, often featuring shouted vocals, heavil ...

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

, post rock,

stoner rock Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sleep ...

, and

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. I ...

music genres. Music bands from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

and

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

America, and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

have performed in the festival. Devilstone Open Air is usually held in the mid-

summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...

, around the third weekend of July.

Other activities

Next to live music performances, Devilstone Open Air has workshops, masterclasses, a club night called Rocktheque, sports tournaments, and other activities. The festival owns the rights to a one-of-a-kind growling/screaming/grunting competition ''MC Growl''.

Controversy

In 2009 Lithuanian Association of Exorcist labeled the band

Sepultura Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera,Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. the band was a major force in the groove metal, thra ...

, who were announced to play at the festival, as ‘satanic’ based on their lyrics. Local church spoke against the festival’s choice of title. In 2010

Mayhem Mayhem most commonly refers to: * Mayhem (crime), a type of crime Mayhem may also refer to: People * Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress * Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter * Mayhem Miller (dr ...

performed at the festival. After their performance, the local priest collected photographic evidence and went to the Ministry of Justice with a request to investigate the band's performance. The priest supported by a group of believers claimed that “Norwegian band

, that took part in the festival, incited

religious Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

hatred.” In 2011 the band

Ondskapt Ondskapt (Swedish for "created of evil") are a Swedish black metal band. They have previously shared members with other Swedish metal projects such as IXXI and Shining. History Ondskapt were formed in Stockholm in 2000 by vocalist Acerbus an ...

performed at the festival. During the performance the band member Kim stepped out naked onto the stage creating a resonance within the society. In 2012 six Lithuanian towns held religious adorations for the festival’s audience and a faithful congregation prayed next to the festival gates.

Line-up history

In 2009-2013 festival also had a very small stage titled MetalClinic dedicated for music improvisations, competitions, surprise performances, Masterclasses, workshops, MC Growl fights. Anyone capable and willing to play a music instrument can use this stage for performance.

Picture gallery

File:Keep of Kalessin at Devilstone festival (09-07-17)01.jpg,

Keep of Kalessin Keep of Kalessin is an extreme metal band from Trondheim, Norway formed in 1993. The group's early lineup consisted of Ghash on vocals, Obsidian C. (the group founder) on guitars and keyboards, Warach on bass, and Vyl on drums. They released two ...

performing at Devilstone Open Air 2009 File:People at Devilstone Open Air 2013.jpg, Devilstone Open Air 2013 people File:Devilstone Open Air people 2013.jpg, Devilstone Open Air 2013 people File:Ondskapt performing at Devivilstone Open Air 2011.jpg,

performing at Devilstone Open Air 2011 File:Devilstone Open Air audience 2013.jpg, Devilstone Open Air 2013 people File:Devilstone Open Air musicians.jpg,

Code In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communicati ...

performing at Devilstone Open Air File:Devilstone Open Air people.jpg, Devilstone Open Air people File:Devilstone Open Air crowd.jpg, Devilstone Open Air crowd File:Mayhem.jpg,

performing at Devilstone Open Air File:Obtest.JPG, Obtest performing at Devilstone Open Air

References

External links

*
Official website
{{Rock festival Music festivals in Lithuania 2009 establishments in Lithuania Rock festivals in Lithuania Heavy metal festivals in Lithuania Anykščiai Summer events in Lithuania