In the famed Amoranto Stadium, amidst the scorching heat of the summer sun, hard rock and heavy metal fans gathered for one last time as PULP Summer Slam said its goodbye with the loudest bang.

The longest-running metal festival in Southeast Asia, PULP Summer Slam, came to an end at the Amoranto Stadium last March 23 with its final show, PULP SUMMER SLAM XX WORLDS COLLIDE: THE END. The festival brought together nine internationally acclaimed bands for the most explosive gathering of fiery hard rock/heavy metal bands and fans.

This year’s The SLAM featured a stellar lineup. Worlds have collided, true to the festival’s name, with the likes of headliner and Australia’s PARKWAY DRIVE, Italy’s FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, Brazil’s CRYPTA, South Korea’s ROLLING QUARTZ, Japan’s PROMPTS, the US’s LA DISPUTE, FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY, OF VIRTUE, and co-headliner STORY OF THE YEAR gracing the Philippine concert stage and giving the festival the rightful end as the most legitimate metal festival for Filipino fans.

Opening and setting the PULP Summer Slam XX stage were Japan’s PROMPTS and South Korea’ ROLLING QUARTZ, followed by Michigan’s OF VIRTUE who kept the audience head banging with songs like “Cannibals” and “Sober”. FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE came out next, embodying their overall aura like an undead orchestra from a bygone era. Their music is a cohesion of classical opera mixed with chugging guitars and demonic growls—a soundtrack of your darkest nightmares.

Brash, harsh and brutal—like a bulldozer running over anything on its path, FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY added mayhem to the already frenzied crowd with tracks like “Hellion”, “A Higher Level of Hate”, and “The Sea of Tragic Beasts” keeping the mosh pit energy going. From the confines of Brazil came the all-female death metal group, CRYPTA, who unleashed their sonic fury for the very first time in Manila. Bassist and vocalist Fernanda Lira commanded the stage with intense wickedness and demonic growls, while guitarists Taina Bergamaschi and Jessica di Falchi and drummer Luana Dametto supplied the blistering guitar riffs and bone rattling blast beats.

Like a breath of fresh air, LA DISPUTE came to take on the Philippine concert stage next with vocalist Jordan Dreyer’s eclectic performance and spoken word poetry keeping the energy up and going and reflecting on their music of love, heartbreak, and the complexities of relationships in tracks like “Footsteps at the Pond”, “Andria”, and “King Park”.

PULP Summer Slam XX co-headliner STORY OF THE YEAR entered the stage with fiery as they jump and run around the stage like there’s no tomorrow, partnered by their high octane and passionately filled performances. Tracks like “Anthem of Dying Day” and “Until the Day I Die” got the crowd singing their lungs out with nostalgia filling the air.

As the stage lights goes dim, the crushing intro of “Glitch” reverberated in the air. The crowd went apesh*t as PARKWAY DRIVE, the festival’s headliner, entered the stage. Feeding off each other’s energy, the hungry crowd sang and jump along to every beat of their tracks like “Prey”, “Vice Grip”, and “Wild Eyes”, proving why they are considered a force to reckon with in the heavy music community.

Since its inception in 2000, the PULP Summer Slam has lived up to its promise of becoming the “annual mecca” for heavy metal fans from around the nation and the globe, where they come together to celebrate and support artists and one another in order to maintain the flame of the global heavy metal scene.

It is a privilege for The Philippine Concerts to have seen PULP Summer Slam grow to life throughout the years and to have shared in its path towards becoming Southeast Asia’s longest-running metal festival, as well as the gathering place for many Filipino heavy metal enthusiasts.

PULP SUMMER SLAM XX WORLDS COLLIDE: THE END is presented by PULP Live World and Vernon Go. Special thanks to PULP Live World for the invite.