The sleepy Portuguese town of Barroselas roared to life as the 25th edition of the SWR Barroselas Metalfest brought a thunderous celebration of extreme music to its historic grounds. Running from April 23 to 26, 2025, this year’s festival solidified its status as a cornerstone of European underground metal, proudly standing as one of the most respected gatherings for fans of death, black, and all things brutally loud.
The final day, Saturday April 26, was a no-holds-barred descent into the depths of the metal multiverse, with Sweden’s death metal powerhouse Unleashed delivering a crushing performance that closed the fest in pure glory.
Unleashed: Commanding the Pit with Fire and Fury
Few bands can command a stage the way Unleashed can. Veterans of the Swedish death metal scene, they’ve never lost their edge—and at SWR 2025, they unleashed a sonic assault that reminded everyone why they’re hailed among the genre’s elite. With tight rhythms, relentless riffing, and guttural roars that shook the ground beneath the crowd’s feet, their set was an epic blend of battle-hardened classics and the primal power that has fueled their decades-long reign. The pit swelled with movement, the atmosphere charged with reverence and raw adrenaline.
Their performance wasn’t just powerful—it was a demonstration of dominance, of what it means to truly lead the charge in the realm of death metal.
A Sonic Tapestry of Darkness and Speed
Unleashed may have closed the curtain, but the day was rich with unforgettable moments from across the metal spectrum:
- Ved Buens Ende from Norway wove an eerie, atmospheric spell over the audience with their avant-garde black metal sound—mysterious, textured, and immersive.
- Scotland’s Hellripper hit the accelerator with a venomous fusion of black and speed metal, whipping the crowd into a frenzy with their breakneck tempos and relentless energy.
- Avulsed, long-standing warriors of Spanish death metal, delivered a punishing set filled with grit and grim determination, proving that decades in the scene have only sharpened their bite.
- Totengott, the Spanish doom-death trio, took a more brooding path. Their set, drenched in haunting melancholy and crushing heaviness, spotlighted their latest album Beyond The Veil. While their sound drew listeners into a ghostly trance, some found their visual presentation a bit mismatched for the music’s immersive depth—leaving room for growth in stage cohesion.
A Milestone Edition for SWR Metalfest
Celebrating 25 years of underground legacy, SWR Barroselas Metalfest 2025 stood as a monument to the power and passion of metal’s global family. The lineup balanced iconic veterans and daring new acts, embracing the genre’s roots while welcoming its ever-evolving future.
More than just a music event, SWR has become a pilgrimage for metal devotees—a place where every riff, scream, and drum blast is a testament to resilience, rebellion, and raw expression.
As the amps powered down and the dust settled on Barroselas, one thing was clear: this was a finale worthy of legends, and metal’s fire still burns as fiercely as ever.
