Grimposium Brings "The Norwegian Invasion" to Montreal for 2016 Event

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished May 20, 2016

International extreme metal festival and conference Grimposium is set to return to Montreal for a third straight year, and organizers have unveiled the programming lineup for one of this summer's events.

Over two days in July, "The Norwegian Invasion" will celebrate film and music with recognized members of Norway's extreme metal music scene. The first day on July 2 will feature the first-ever Canadian performance from Norwegian composer Ivar Bjørnson's (Enslaved) "electronic dark ambient-psych" project Bardspec at Katacombes. Bjørnson's music is set to be accompanied by live film manipulations and additional visuals, while Montreal-based drone artist Softcoresoft will provide opening support.

The second day on July 3 features the Canadian premiere screening of documentary Blekkmetal, centred on the one-off 2015 Norwegian black metal festival. Featuring an all-Canadian production team, the screening will be followed by a panel discussion with filmmakers and festival organizers. You can find an extended trailer for the film below.

"I am really proud and eager to present the Blekkmetal documentary to our friends in Montreal," director David Hall said in a statement. "I truly believe we have managed to capture the essence of the Bergen Black Metal scene via interviews, concert footage and fly-on-the-wall guerrilla filmmaking. The fact that our friend and collaborator Ivar Bjørnson has agreed to perform his mythical ambient psych project Bardspec as a prelude to the screening is a dream come true for us!"

Tickets for Bardspec's July 2 performance are available online and will be available at the doors on the day of the event for $15. The screening of Blekkmetal is free, with further information available here.

Blekkmetal extended trailer from Grimposium on Vimeo.

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