BAEST, which means “beast” or “brute” in Danish, is a project that appeared in Aarhus (Denmark) and that surprised from the beginning by the unique combination of styles and genres: explosive death metal played on thrash rhythms, enriched by the well-known “buzzaw guitar tones” specific to those from Entombed or Bloodbath and supplemented by a live show full of virulent energy, which never ceases to explore new territories of death metal.
Although established in 2015, the band played no less than 40 shows in the first year of existence and ensured its appearance on stages of well-known festivals such as Summer Breeze, Ruhrpott Metal Meeting, Copenhell, Roskilde, Royal Metal Fest or Eurosonic, also alongside names such as Hatebreed, Decapitated, Dying Fetus, Entombed AD or Illdisposed.
To these successes, it is added that BAEST was a support band for Phil Anselmo & The Illegals and that last year the band received two Gaffa awards, for “Best Metal Album” and “Best Newcomer” (Gaffa awards are some of the most important of the Danish music industry, being awarded by the best known and tradition of the country’s music magazine – GAFFA stores). The distinctions complement the “Upcoming Band of the Year” award, granted by Heavy-Metal.dk in 2017 (one of the most popular Danish online publications dedicated to extreme genres.
BAEST’s first full-length album, entitled “Danse Macabre” (2018), became shortly after its release Denmark’s best-selling vinyl, followed last year by “Venenum”, well received by specialty critics. The second material is thought of as a continuation of “Danse Macabre”, where the listener was dragged into the personal hell of life just like the characters in Dante Alighieri’s “Divine Commedia”. “Each track on the new album introduces the audience to a circle of hell, each song being partly dominated by a distinct idea and atmosphere, which combines musicality with fierce, brutal energy,” according to BAEST members.