From Thursday 3 September through Sunday 6 September, Pumpehuset hosts Kill-Town Death Fest XI, four days of underground death metal spread across three stages. The large indoor programme carries the festival’s ticketed core, while Byhaven supplies a useful parallel route: daytime, open-air shows and DJs that make it possible to encounter the weekend’s atmosphere at ground level. The festival has operated in Copenhagen since 2010 and frames itself around international underground scenes, pairing newer acts with established names. This year’s Pumpehuset programme lists 38 international bands, alongside food, drinks, distros and the Heavy Thunder Metal Market.[1][2][3]

The Byhaven run begins on Thursday 3 September at 14:00 with Italy’s Shrieking Demons, followed by DJ Anform and DJ Pestijens. It is an early first look at the festival’s working rhythm: a live set surrounded by selectors, in the courtyard before the evening’s indoor rooms take over. Shrieking Demons also appears on the wider Kill-Town Death Fest bill, placing the afternoon slot within a programme built from visiting artists and a small number of Danish connections. For anyone deciding how deeply to enter the festival, Thursday offers a clear orientation point: arrive in daylight, hear one band, stay for the DJs, and take in the scale of Pumpehuset’s full-site transformation.[1][2][3]

Saturday’s new arrivals

Saturday 5 September is the most revealing Byhaven pairing. Death Pulsation and Filth play from 12:00, with DJ Avoid and DJ Pestijens on the decks. Pumpehuset’s festival listing describes Death Pulsation’s appearance as the group’s first show ever, a detail that gives this midday set particular weight within a bill already designed around rare appearances. Filth, from Sweden, adds a second live component, while the DJs keep the courtyard active around the concerts. The value here lies in the compact format: two bands, two selectors, and a chance to experience one of the festival’s debut moments without committing to the full indoor schedule.[1][2]

That public-facing Byhaven strand is also a useful expression of Kill-Town Death Fest’s local role. The organisers describe the event as a Copenhagen-based meeting point for active underground death-metal scenes, designed to bring bands across borders and give space to emerging artists alongside older favourites. In practice, the festival’s indoor bill remains dense and specialist, yet the courtyard programme creates intervals between the main stages and a place for casual attendance. Saturday’s afternoon therefore works as a concise slice of the larger event, with the additional context of a full Pumpehuset site moving around it.[1][3]

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A Sunday finish with Dead Void

The final Byhaven date arrives on Sunday 6 September at 12:00. Costa Rica’s Perishing joins Copenhagen’s Dead Void, with DJ Unapologetic and Neckslasher completing the programme. Pumpehuset lists Perishing as a first-ever European performance, while Dead Void supplies the local name in a line-up otherwise shaped by international travel. The contrast gives the final afternoon a particular texture: a rare visiting set beside a Danish band, bracketed by DJs instead of a conventional support-slot sequence. It is the most direct invitation for readers who want the festival’s closing-day mood in a daylight setting.[1][2]

Sunday also brings the Heavy Thunder Metal Market to Byhaven, extending the afternoon beyond the stage itself. That detail matters because Kill-Town Death Fest’s identity is built around a scene gathering as much as a concert series: the official festival overview includes distros, food, drinks, DJs and a metal market alongside the bands. Byhaven functions as the visible common area for that exchange, with a programme that can be approached in short visits or folded into a full festival day. It gives Pumpehuset’s four-day run a front door that feels social, physical and easy to navigate.[1][2][3]

Plan the courtyard visits

All three Byhaven events are at Pumpehuset, Studiestræde 52, Copenhagen V. Shrieking Demons begins Thursday at 14:00; Death Pulsation and Filth begin Saturday at 12:00; Perishing and Dead Void begin Sunday at 12:00. Pumpehuset states that Byhaven has free entry, while the indoor festival concerts require a Kill-Town Death Fest ticket. Arrive with enough time to move between the courtyard and the building, and recheck Pumpehuset and Kill-Town Death Fest’s official pages for set times, admission details and other changeable information.[1][2]

Sources

  1. Kill-Town Death Fest returns to Pumpehuset — Pumpehuset
  2. Kill-Town Death Fest 2026 — Kill-Town Death Fest
  3. About Kill-Town Death Fest — Kill-Town Death Fest