LIVE REPORT: QFest – Day V [2 October 2026]

For those in Bucharest, as well as for people travelling from other parts of Romania and from abroad, autumn has meant QFest for quite some time now. Organised by Quantic, and reaching its 11th edition this year, the event has continued its tradition of bringing together national and international artists from the rock, metal, punk and alternative scenes.

QFest kicked off on 28 September and closes its doors today, 4 October.

Although every day of the festival had at least one artist I would have liked to catch, given personal circumstances, I decided to make it to the fifth day [2 October 2026] and later share a few thoughts on what it had to offer.

Five Acts, Five Ways of Making QFest Their Own

Day V began with the blackened death metal of the members of Serement. Relatively new to the scene, having formed the band in 2022, but certainly new to the Quantic stage, the Greeks tore through songs from their first full-length, “Abhorrent Invocations”, released in 2024.

I particularly liked the way the vocals moved between a death metal register and those sharp screams that pushed things towards black metal territory, without the transition between the two ever feeling artificial. Instrumentally, things were just as strong: the riffs had enough force to underpin the aggressive side of the compositions, while the more elaborate passages added just the right amount of variety to keep the performance from turning into one continuous avalanche of sound. To be honest, it was a good show.

I would have liked them to have had a larger audience in front of them, because their set certainly deserved more attention. But of course, on a Friday, getting people to the venue from the very start of the event can sometimes be difficult. The brighter side of things was that those who were already in the hall were clearly taken by their sound. If anything, while exchanging impressions with a good friend, I found out that, for him, the surprise of the evening had been the material of Serement.

Next came Wormgod, the only Romanian band on that day’s bill. I had recently seen the members of the atmospheric black metal group at Hidden as well, and the impression I had then was reinforced at Quantic: they continue to evolve with every show. Wormgod have gone through several changes since 2009, and it was good to see how well the current line-up worked together.

They brought songs from “Where Old Curses Rest” [2022] to our ears, including “În vale”, their composition in Romanian, which found its place in the set very naturally. They also slipped in a song from the forthcoming album [indeed, something in their camp is brewing], while another highlight came in the form of a cover of “Where Dead Angels Lie” by Dissection, dedicated to Cronos [R.I.P.] and performed impeccably.

Visual projections accompanied the set without distracting attention from the stage, while the lighting complemented the dark atmosphere of the songs very well.

After a short break to exchange impressions and wander around the merchandise stands, we returned to the hall for Khepra. For many of us, this was our first encounter with their symphonic death metal intertwined with folk metal influences.

We found both the members who formed the band in 2009 [initially under the name Gürz] and those who joined along the way in excellent form. With two albums behind them, “Cosmology Divine”, issued in 2016, and “Anatomy of Sin”, released in 2025, the Turks had plenty of material to draw from, and they used it to show just how naturally their different influences can coexist. The symphonic passages gave the songs a wider scope, the death metal brought weight and bite, while the folk elements added details that made their sound recognisable.

The visual projections completed this picture, reinforcing the mythological and occult imagery running through the music.

Now, I am only curious to hear what a new Khepra release will sound like, both on stage and in digital form. Until then, we’ll have to settle for listening to Khepra at home.

And since I am talking about music I listen to at home, this inevitably brings us to  Sear Bliss from Hungary. Their songs have been a constant presence in my headphones, and I have also seen the members of the band live whenever they have crossed our path.

Of course, when we speak about Sear Bliss, we are speaking about atmospheric black metal of a high calibre, and, I would dare say, something quite unique. We are also talking about a group formed in 1990, a rich discography, with nine albums, as well as live performances that are meant to make you feel their music.

Their trombone is an essential part of that equation. It is not there for the sake of making the music look unusual, but has been incorporated so naturally into their compositions that it has become inseparable from their identity. In a live setting, its contribution becomes even more apparent.

As “Phantoms” turns 30 this year, András Nagy, the vocalist, bassist and keyboardist, and his fellow band members chose to delight us with several songs from this album, including “Far Above the Trees”, “1100 Years Ago” and “As the Bliss Is Burning”. Imagine how remarkable it is for an album released by teenagers to still evoke so many emotions when performed live all these years later!

Naturally, the set did not focus only on their first full-length, with the members of the band also including songs from “Heavenly Down”, released in 2024, such as “Chasm” and the title track. The title track was a particular highlight for me, especially because of how genuinely it was delivered.

Although the set was substantial, I had the same feeling as in previous years: their performance came to an end far too soon. Somehow, though, that is also a good thing, because it leaves me wanting to make sure I am there for their next gig.

And then came the headliners of the night, the Norwegians focused on progressive metal, Vulture Industries. No strangers to the atmosphere at Quantic [after all, they came to us a year ago, when they celebrated the anniversary of “The Tower”, released in 2013], with enough vision and a touch of madness, they took us through their discography and showed us once again what they are capable of.

“The Vultures”, as we like to call them now, started with “New Lords of Light” from “Ghosts from the Past”, released in 2023, which sounded really good and gave vocalist Bjørnar Nilsen enough moments to show off his talent. They continued with “Saturn Devouring His Young” from the same album and “Tales of Woe”, an older song from “Stranger Times”, released in 2017. The repertoire also included “The Hound” and “Lost Among Liars” from “The Tower”, two of the songs I have always found to be representative of the album.

The show was energetic from start to finish, leaving little room for standing still, but what truly stood out was Nilsen’s ability to turn that energy into a proper spectacle. He is clearly made for performing live, with every gesture, dance move and prop seeming to have its place. He knows how to keep the attention of the masses and, more importantly, how to make the groups of people feel involved in what is happening, constantly moving between the role of frontman and that of a showman.

At QFest, that meant coming down from the stage several times, getting among the audience, interacting with them and inviting people to dance. The boundaries between stage and crowd seemed almost irrelevant, with Nilsen making the entire venue part of the show whenever the moment called for it. He also made an effort to speak Romanian, which was met with plenty of enthusiasm from the room, and kept things light with jokes and small spontaneous moments throughout the set.

Nothing felt forced, and his willingness to engage with the audience added another layer to an already lively performance. By the end, it was difficult to see Nilsen simply as a vocalist leading a band: he is a complete live artist, equally comfortable with the music, the theatrics and the unpredictable moments that can make a concert memorable.

Behind the fifth day of QFest was the desire of both the organisers and the bands to turn an otherwise ordinary Friday into something special. The work put in by everyone involved was easy to feel, from the stage to the smallest details around the venue, all contributing to the sense that we were not simply watching a series of concerts, but becoming part of the story ourselves.

And QFest is by no means over. The festival returned yesterday and continues today, with Swedish black metal from Marduk and the Norwegian black metal of Mayhem. So, do you think you still have it in you for one more night? You’ll have to.