Another day in 013’s summer of terrific bands has arrived. The Green Room is a modest sized venue, lending itself well to playing host to bands that bring atmospheric sounds, as well as being a bit more intimate than your regular main stage.

First off are Dutch locals Fehler, playing for a Green Room that is by now at least half full with more people trickling in by the minute. Playing songs from their recent album Dissona, Fehler brings a grimy sludge sound to the stage that works quite well for yours truly as a warm-up. vocalist/bassist Freek de Graaf manages to bring a good amount of variation in pitch in his growls, which is welcome, as it’s a common pitfall for many a grunter to just not have enough texture in the vocals. The band is clearly even warmer than the audience, which on the whole doesn’t seem to affect their performance too much.

Next up is USA-based Pelican. Not exactly a name that needs a whole lot of introduction, since the ten or so years they’ve been around they’ve been steadily building an audience in the underground music scene. I find their music hard to stick a label on. Not that such is required, ofcourse. If one were to try, post-metal with stoner and doom influences (with no vocals) would probably be about as accurate as you can make it. Known for often long tracks with well-layered riffs, Pelican pushes the boundaries of what can of sound you can produce with two guitars, a bass and a drumkit. Songs off of well known records such as the phenomenal Ataraxia/Taraxis are very well received by the audience, with many a head rocking in time with the music. The room is packed to the brim by now. It smells like sweat and beer, both liquids being spilled in copious amounts. Interestingly, the band plays a number of songs from a record they are currently recording, due out around october this year. It’s been titled Forever Becoming. Some of the tracks might have been a work in progress, it’s hard to know, but I for one certainly liked what I heard. It seems Pelican is moving towards a bit more direct a sound. It’s a bit of a departure from their earlier style, but that’s a good thing in my opinion. You can’t keep making the same music and still have it be any good a decade or more later. (I name no names, but I’m sure you can think of half a dozen or more examples…) After Pelican’s electric performance, it’s time for a small breather and half a gallon of water.

Up next is Torche, a much anticipated name going from the buzz around the room. Like Pelican, who played in Tilburg at Roadburn 2011, Torche has a history in this place, one of their earliest performances in Europe being at 2006’s Incubate. I’ll confess I was not terrible familiar with Torche before tonight. I’d heard a few tracks here and there, but I’d never really sat down and listened to their stuff. What better time to start doing that than at a live performance though! Torche is… explosive. If I had to stick one word on their sound, that’d be it. Explosive. Like a stick of dynamite straight to the cerebral cortex. They play loud enough to make Lemmy proud, though it’s almost a bit too much for me at this temperature. Uptempo, hypnotic riffs combine with clean and relatively high pitched vocals to make for a sweet stoner/rock experience. Another thing that really stood out for me was Torche’s drummer, Rick Smith. Boy, can this man bash some drums. His work stands out even more when contrasted against the more straightforward guitar and bass riffs. Speaking of bass, bassist Jonathan Nuñez also brings a ton of energy to the stage. The man jumps around a good deal center-stage, succeeding admirably at getting the crowd even more into the music. No mean feat at this temperature, certainly. All in all, it’s been an excellent musical evening. A few more reasons to go visit the local record store…

Fehler, Pelican & Torche
013 Green Room, Tilburg
July 18th, 2013
Rik Mertens
Photography: Susanne Maathuis

Fehler – Facebook
Pelican – Facebook
Torche – Facebook