Attending Frantic Fest 2024 around Pescara in the East of Italy was going to be this summer vacation’s absolute wildcard. I knew very few people going there, and I put all my chips in the middle to see Klimt 1918, one of my favorite bands that really plays live. It turned out to be a damn good experience for many reasons, and I’d highly recommend any metalhead to attend Frantic Fest 2025.
About me – deathdoom.com, music and more
- Stefan Nordström
- Musician, songwriter, content creator, digital freelancer
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Bands: Desolator, Soliloquium, Ending Quest, Ashes of Life, Trees of Daymare, The Ashen Tree
- Social: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
About Frantic Fest
Frantic Fest is a very small festival with around 1 000 people attending. It’s largely Italian people going there, and many of them keep returning. It gives the festival a strong community feeling, much like Gothoom Fest in Slovakia, where the people in the local scene are super tight-knit. I really dig this type of size and setup.
The area and transport
Frantic Fest is located around Francavilla al Mare, a small beach town close to the city of Pescara. Most people drive there, but I took the Flixbus from Rome (around two hours) and managed to find a local bus from Pescara. It was quite smooth, even with some confusion in Pescara (let’s Google the local transport when getting there like a total egghead, woho!).
As expected, the beach location is a big plus. We spent a half-day on the beach splashing around in the saltwater – a perfect break from the festival intensity. It’s also worth to mention that the camping area is so close to the stage that you can walk over there in one minute.
These type of things really make a smaller festival in a nice environment such an attractive option for me. I dislike practical issues a lot on a festival. I need flow, I need simplicity, I need a beer in my hand in 30 secs. Frantic delivers this 110 %. Organization overall was very good (from camping to showers, bars and other facilities), and the people working there were super-friendly.
The social experience
Frantic Fest 2024 was just my kind of festival experience. There were enough bands to see, but there was also plenty of time to roam around the camping and the surrounding area. The people were extremely welcoming and I quickly found many partners in crime in revolving constellations.
Half of it was partying as rowdy teengers on the camping or at Gutalax and Napalm Death, and the other half was deep, interesting conversations. It’s a fest where you’re certain to find new friends. Many musicians from the local music scene frequent the festival, also making it easy to discover new bands in the process.
The bands at Frantic Fest 2024
Sorry for barely having any pics from the bands, but a concert is a place when I try my best to be in the moment with no smartphone.
As I mentioned, I was 99 % there to see Klimt 1918. The gig was absolutely magic and I got the immersive experience I wanted, with the right setlist to match. It was a very emotional evening that was topped off by meeting the band, who proved to be absolutely lovely people.
Another Italian band I really dug was Ponte del Diavolo, a wild, witchy band mixing several genres. Totally worth seeing live if you get the chance. The frontwoman has a presence quite unlike anything else I’ve seen, but there’s also a pumping extreme metal energy to them.
The more famous international bands also performed well, especially Napalm Death who delivered a super-aggressive set. I was planning to chill and enjoy their gig at Frantic Fest, but I wound up stepping into the circle pit, headbanging my neck off and other fitting activities. It’s truly super-impressive to see a band that’s been around this long deliver such energetic performances every time.
Cynic was absolutely great too, especially when they played songs from the “Traced in Air” album. Hellripper was banging. Gutalax delivered their usual stupid fun, and I fittingly sweated my ass off in the circle pit for most of the concert. Out of the other Italian bands, I really enjoyed some of the local post rock-ish bands, as well as the aggressive AF Undertakers gig which was great fun. Around God is an Astronaut, I was rather blasted out of my mind, but I definitely remember enjoying it.
Marduk is a pretty so-so band for me, and I wasn’t particularly impressed by their set. They’re just not my kind of band, with the exception of some songs. At least the conga train incident delivered some quality memes and funny memories. Uada, Terrorizer, Author & Punisher and a few more bands I was planning to see got lost somewhere in the festival madness (shit happens).
Frantic Fest 2024 – summary, should you go there in 2025?
To wrap it up: I had a great experience at Frantic Fest and could totally see myself returning in 2025. A small, local festival with a community feeling has so much to offer me, to the point where I could choose it over Rockstadt, Brutal Assault and Tolminator.
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