Day 1: 18 October, 2002
We always have to face some troubles when we go on tour. It happened this time, too. Just before the trip we decided to do a short rehearsal but first we went to buy some beer, wine, food and other important tour necessities. When we were driving back to the rehearsal room we saw a car following us but we didn't care. Shortly after we arrived, a group of policemen surrounded the car and they suspected us of a crime. They were very mysterious regarding the crime but finally they revealed that someone had seen us stealing cigarettes from the area where we were shopping. We said, "what the fuck?????" The policemen started checking our luggage. Then came the owner of the store and she realized that we were not the people they were looking for. However, Csaba was very suspicious to her because of his black hooded shirt. But finally they allowed us to start our rehearsal.
We started our long-awaited journey at 4 AM. Because we did not find any tour bus that would be financially suitable for us, nothing was left to us but to travel by a car. It was a really hard job to pack the instruments into the trunk, but we managed to put all but the bass guitar in. The solution was that the person who sat on the front passenger seat had to hold it for his greatest pleasure. But these were only the instruments. There was the luggage of five persons as well. We were prudent enough to minimalize them as much as possible. One of us (his name should remain a mystery) did not even bring a toothbrush or a T-shirt to say nothing of a shower gel. All in all, there was luggage under our feet and in our lap. At the beginning, it was easy to handle the problem with beer, but later on there was kind of a battle for the driving seat. Fortunately, we only had to wait one hour at the border, and we could start the 1000-kilometre journey to Elterlein. After 12 hours of driving we arrived at the Hagalaz Club. We can never find the clubs on the first occasion, so it was kind of a wonder for us to find our way there. The club itself is in a building that might have been a factory in the "ancient times". When we entered the place it was a surprise - in the positive sense of the word. The club, run by the members of Dunkelgrafen, is very well designed and well stocked. The decor of the club is total black metal! It looks great. The backstage part consists of three rooms that seemed to be enough for the nearly 30 people who took part in the tour. We were the first to arrive (the other bands and the organizers came with a common bus), so we decided to choose the inner room. As the first step, we tasted the beer and soon after we got our dinners, which was really delicious. To our biggest surprise, a girl who served our meal knew some Hungarian words, mainly such important ones as unleaded petrol. When we finished our dinner the other bands arrived to the club: Grief of Emerald and Bestial Mockery from Sweden, Skyforger from Latvia and Obtest from Lithuania. We greeted each other and started the soundcheck. We played as the last but one. We had several gigs in this region, so we had a really good concert in the full-house club. We had to give an encore as well, so we played our usual concert-ending song, "1100 Years Ago". Fortunately, our new record, entitled "Forsaken Symphony", also sold very well. So we had a reason for a great party after the gig. It lasted till 6 AM.

Day 2: 19 October, 2002
After some hours of sleeping we said goodbye to the crew of the Hagalaz Club and continued the tour. We had to drive only 150 kilometres, which was spent in a really good mood because Sömi (drums) was still drunk. He kept on joking on our way to Bitterfeld and in a petrol station where we stopped as well. It was quite a hard quest for him to get out of the car. His efforts were witnessed by a German family, who enjoyed his show very much. In finding the club we were not so fortunate as previously. We were seeking the Festung Club for an hour. We passed it several times, but did not see it, until we miraculously caught sight of the other bus being parked in front of the club. This time we were first to play, but, still, the feedback of the audience was above the expectations. We had to give an encore here as well, and we were very glad when we were told that it is really rare that a first band has to come back to play a bonus song. After our gig we could observe the shows of the other bands. Bestial Mockery has one of the extremist images I have ever seen. Besides the multitudes of cartridge-belts and gas-masks, the most unusual was the musical instrument of the singer. He "played" the chainsaw. The headliner this day was Skyforger. The audience really enjoyed their music that contains some folk elements as well. There was a special element in their show although they did not plan it. During one of their songs Bestial Mockery appeared on the stage - totally drunk and naked. After the gigs, we started the usual party till early morning. This evening István (guitars) was the "showman". He found two trays made of aluminium and he made himself special metal boots. He was very proud of his work.

Day 3: 20 October, 2002
After some hours of sleeping we drew the conclusion that we slept too long and would probably be late. It became harder and harder to travel in these circumstances but we managed to complete our 600-kilometre journey to the Netherlands, Arnhem. As soon as we arrived at the city, the car seemed to have enough of the whole trip and there was smoke coming out of the hood. "That's the last straw," we thought and started to search for the cause of the problem. Even though Csaba (guitars) is a car mechanic, we could not find anything. We took part in a two-hour sightseeing tour, because we - as usual - could not find the club. As we turned onto the street where Goudvishal Club is located, we caught sight of the other bus. We arrived together this time as well. This must be more than luck. We were not the only ones who were late. It was 7 PM, the gigs should have started at 5 PM. What is really special about this club is the stairs one has to climb to reach the backstage. It is the steepest one I have ever seen, but we could easily get used to it. This time Skyforger was the first band, who could only play four songs due to the shortness of time. They did not even have time to put on their stage clothes, which are based on the Lithuanian national dress. We were the fourth band to play that day. The audience was really amazing this time as well. Unfortunately, we had only three CDs left, so some people could not buy it. (We promise to bring some more next time.) This was our last night on the tour, so we started a great party, but the Swedish guys managed to surpass us. There were two Dutch guys as well, who joined us. Later on they performed a special S/M show for us. When one of them fell asleep, the other one threw a glass of mineral water at his head. His second trial met with complete success, the other guy's eyebrow started bleeding heavily. To us the whole thing was sorrowful rather than funny. After saying goodbye, the others continued their way to Slovenia and we fell asleep.

Day 4: 21 October, 2002
The morning arrived sooner than we wanted. After having our breakfast and reading our reviews in the local rock magazines (unfortunately, we did not understand a single word), we said farewell to the crew of the club and started our 1300-kilometre journey home. Fortunately, the car got bored with smoking and there was a high price to be paid. We could not turn on the heating, so there was kind of a Nordic climate in the car. We were not bored on the way back home: there was rain, cloudburst, accident, traffic jam. Above all, near the Hungarian border, we bumped into a deer that had already been hit by someone and was lying on the road. We did not see it at all, we only heard a strike. After observing the car we concluded that everything is all right, we can go on. The car was not damaged, but there was a terrible smell. The customs officer also had a strange look on his face as he looked at us, but he did not say or ask anything. There was some light at the border, so we could look at the chassis. As we thought, some parts of the deer's carcass stuck to it. But by that time we could only laugh at it. We could only think of one thing: get out of the stinking car and go to bed.
All in all, I think this was one of the best, most adventurous and most exhausting trips.

Thanks to the organizers, the bands and, above all, the audience.

Check out this review of our Holland gig (it contains photos too)