First gig on a floating iceberg

British "industrial metal" band The Defiled braved sub-zero temperatures and dangerous terrain to perform a 30-minute gig to locals on a floating iceberg in the middle of the Greenland Sea, near the settlement of Kulusuk, Kulusuk Island, Greenland, on 15 October 2014. The latest challenge in the Jägermeister's Ice Cold Gig series, Defiled band members "Stitch D", Vincent Hyde, "The AvD" and "Needles" explored the hostile environment for two days before locating an iceberg large and thick enough to host the performance, which featured tracks from the band's 2013 studio album Daggers.

The Defiled flew from London to Iceland and then on to Kulusuk Island, before trekking over land and sea to their base on the neighbouring island of Tasiilaq.

The four-piece band spent two days finding an iceberg for their gig and meeting locals, some of whom helped the band transport their instruments and equipment on to the iceberg. They were rewarded when The Defiled donated a drum kit and guitar amp to Kulusuk's community hall, which had been destroyed by a storm.

Stitch D: "This has to be one of the most insane gigs we've ever played! You see these things on TV documentaries but it's not until you get to see them in real life that you realise just how big and amazing icebergs are. Although it was cold, I don't think any of us noticed once we got started as the stage location literally takes your breath away... Proper grandkids story. Ah, that one time we went and played on an iceberg. It feels utterly ridiculous. I mean, we're a band from London. We've toured the world. I think this is the closest we've ever felt as a band together, to be the first band to play on a moving iceberg ever is unbelievable."

Tom Carson, Jägermeister music manager, said: "As far as stage backdrops go, I don't think you'll find anything more impressive than this. We're used to staging events at music venues and summer festivals, so it made for an interesting change to be checking 'berg suitability' as part of the pre-event checks as opposed to the typical band riders and sound systems... We've worked with The Defiled for a number of years now as part of our Jägermusic programme and we're extremely grateful to them for accepting the Jägermeister Ice Cold Gig challenge and staging one of the most unique sets we've witnessed. We hope the locals of Kulusuk enjoyed it as much as we did."

The event was organized by Jägermeister in partnership with the expedition team Secret Compass, led by former Marine Tom McShane.

The Jägermeister Ice Cold Gig series challenges musicians to perform in unconventional locations and in freezing conditions. Previously, Charlie Simpson (Busted/Fightstar) was awarded a Guinness World Record for performing the coldest gig, in Oymyakon, Russia, on 24 November 2012.

Other notable sub-zero gigs include Metallica's 8 December 2013 appearance at Antarctica's Carlini Station, when they set a Guinness World Record for becoming the first musical act to perform a concert on every continent.

London's Defiled, described by Kerrang! magazine as the "saviours of UK metal", are: Stitch D (vocals), Paul "Needles" White (the band's 12th drummer!), Alex "The AvD" Avdis (keyboards) and Vincent Hyde (bass). They've released two studio albums to date, Grave Times (2011) and Daggers (2013), as well as the "1888" EP (2009).