Scottish progressive metal force Dvne continue their ascent with the release of Live at Hellfest, a blistering document of their 2023 Hellfest Open Air performance and a timely statement of intent as the band prepares to tour Europe supporting Igorrr.
Drawn exclusively from their acclaimed Metal Blade release Etemen Ænka, Live at Hellfest captures Dvne at a pivotal moment, no longer cult outsiders, but a commanding live entity capable of levelling one of Europe’s largest metal festivals with crushing precision and cinematic depth.
From Edinburgh Origins to Festival Dominance
Formed in Edinburgh in 2013 by French guitarist and vocalist Victor Vicart and Scottish drummer Dudley Tait, Dvne built their early identity around sprawling, sci-fi-driven narratives and immense post-metal soundscapes. Originally named after Frank Herbert’s Dune, the band’s obsession with speculative fiction, dystopian worlds and grand mythology remains woven into their music and visual language.
Early full-length Asheran (2017) established the blueprint: long-form compositions that unfolded like chapters in an epic saga, blending sludge weight, progressive structures and atmospheric patience. It earned them underground reverence and set the stage for a much larger evolution.
That leap arrived with Etemen Ænka in 2021, their first album for Metal Blade Records. Dense, layered and emotionally polarised, the record balanced delicate ambience with devastating heaviness, expanding Dvne’s sonic palette through deeper use of synths and textural layering. Tracks like Towers, Omega Severer and Sì-XIV quickly became live centrepieces, propelling the band onto international stages including Hellfest, ArcTanGent, Desertfest, Damnation and Resurrection.
Voidkind and the Shift Toward the Live Sound
If Etemen Ænka was about expansion, Voidkind (2024) marked refinement. Written with the live environment firmly in mind, the album stripped away excess ornamentation in favour of sharper, more direct songwriting without sacrificing scale or atmosphere.
The addition of Maxime Keller on keyboards as a full-time member allowed synths and electronics to integrate more organically into Dvne’s sound, reinforcing their cinematic identity while tightening the impact. The result was an album that felt more immediate, more physical, and better suited to the chaos of festival stages.
Live at Hellfest Captures the Apex
Recorded in front of a massive Hellfest crowd in 2023, Live at Hellfest serves as both a celebration and a statement. Featuring a focused set drawn entirely from Etemen Ænka, the release bottles the band’s crushing low end, hypnotic builds and commanding presence at full force.
The setlist — including Court of the Matriarch, Towers and Omega Severer, underscores just how central the album remains to Dvne’s identity, even as Voidkind pushes them into new territory. It is less a retrospective and more a snapshot of a band standing confidently at the intersection of atmosphere and aggression.
The Road Ahead
The release arrives as Dvne prepare to hit the road across Europe in February 2026 supporting Igorrr, exposing their sound to broader audiences across genre boundaries. With Voidkind sharpening their attack and Live at Hellfest proving their festival-level firepower, Dvne appear firmly positioned as one of modern progressive metal’s most compelling live acts.
What began as dense, introspective world-building has evolved into something leaner, louder and unmistakably powerful. Live at Hellfest doesn’t just document where Dvne have been, it signals exactly where they are heading next.
Download via Bandcamp http://songs-of-arrakis.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-hellfest
