After years of no gigs, many festivals moved, or revamped. Into the Void has been around a while, but this year is the first time it is held in Eindhoven, Just one day we have 11 bands to get through in the Effenaar, with a nice mix of genres that the Club Void shows also share. Given the rather solid line-up for those who love Stoner, Doom Metal, Psych, and even some post-Metal, Ghost Cult went to have a look.
First to get on stage at 2 in the afternoon are local band Black Capricorn. They chug along slow as molasses, slowly crushing everything beneath them. Vocalist has a solid voice that carries well and works with the fuzzed-out slow vibes very well. He also does some slick wahwahs solos, though stage presence wise the band is a wee bit bland even during these. Props for having the drummer central though. It’s sludgy stoner as you would like it, and while not very unique, it sure scratches that itch.
Opening the mainstage are Amunah, a heavy blues-rock band with a badass lass on vocals. Reminiscent of early Blues Pills, but with less complex solos, and more heavy chug the band are excellent at what they do. Singer has a very strong presence which carries the presence of the band a bit. She has incredibly high notes at times. The pity is while they play quite well, it would just be nice to hear the guitarist get a little more into the jam of things. The bassist feels his groove though and has a lot of excellent and interesting little lines at times even taking that lead.
Wandering back to the smaller room, it was surprisingly quiet at the fest so far. It’s early so maybe the crowd will pick up as the day continues. Shemer are delightfully old school Goth, with sad melancholic guitars over a slow pulsing electronic backing, and a hypnotic vocalist who dances and sings very reminiscent of Siouxie and the banshees, and even boy harsher at times. Delightful to see some of this old school goth stiff resurface, and done so well.
Next on the main stage Belgian post-metallers Psychonaut give one hell of a show, with their more complex and modern guitar pasterns and maths structures with both bassist and guitarist have excellent screams and clean vocals, and thunderous drums of a very active and charismatic drummer, the show is everything but boring as post sometimes does. Definitely the most unique band so far on the bill and worth watching in full. Even the quieter more contemplative parts are interesting and engaging, and while the sound mix is still a bit bass-heavy it’s actually a lot less bothersome with these guys.
Back to the small room again, to see Deville from Norway. The band plays very well but in general sound quite… boring? It’s what you expect from stoner rock metal, the bombastic yarly type. But I can’t shake thinking they emulate bands who did this better a little hard. On top of that the stage presence is somewhat confusing, being a lot more reminiscent of Metalcore.
On the main stage are Stake, who swapped places with the Vintage Caravan at the last minute due to travel logistics. They do a textbook example of Sludge with some post-metal influences, think Amenra’s vein of things. Surprisingly good clean vocals as well, which is always hit or miss with these bands. An interesting and excellent performance though after a while it does become a little bit more of the same thing.
Kal El are an interesting stoner band from Norway, but the drums are so sharp in the mix, they kind of overrule everything. While the riffs are great, the vocals are… not my thing and get quite samey. The intense strain the vocalist used to force the notes out can’t be healthy for his blood pressure either. The band has a solid stage presence though, and while the lack of light sucks for me as a photographer it does give a dynamic visual show live. The guitar solos and bass groove are exactly the fuzzy juicy thing you want from a band like this though.
Finally, we approach the main event, Orange Goblin. Where before it was a little quiet at the fest now it’s filled up to a cosy, but not cramped level. What to say about Orange Goblin except that when you see masters at their craft you recognise this right away. Up until now, we had seen some bands that covered the hallmarks of their sub-genres very well but watching a band who set those standards perform with such ease and enjoyment is something different. This while they also suffer from the quite bass-heavy mix which, speaking to regular viewers, is not usual for them. Orange goblin do that Orange goblin do very very well and that’s why after so many years they are still on top of the pile in their genre. The band clearly enjoys themselves and throws in a Motorhead cover of the song “Renegade.” It makes for an excellent rendition, with its own Orange Goblin flavor. The singer has an imposing presence and barking vocals, with both guitarist and bassist virtuosos in their own way. What else can I say but Orange fucking Goblin!
I pop in to see a little of Kamchatka in the small room. These guys do some great solos and play straight blues as they admit themselves. With both guitarists taking turns to on vocals, this is clearly musicians’ music. They do lean on the heavy groove-driven side of said blues, it is excellently done, and a band that’s clearly enjoying themselves. Very enjoyable to catch with a drink in hand.
Next, we have Witchcraft on the main stage. I want to like them and they have all the elements I should like. The vocals are nice and expressive, there is a nice groovy bass, some wahwah heavy fuzzed guitar, and solid drum backing. But somehow a lot of it seems disjointed and a bit simplistic as if the band just started playing together yesterday. Their stage presence is almost boring, and while the light show is impeccable, not a lot of changes in the band. I also feel like I’ve seen this stuff better by doing other bands. Which is a pity because of all the individual elements I quite enjoy. Maybe after not covering doom and stoner for such a long time I’m just a bit battered after a full day of it. But there is just something missing.
Finally, we get to the Vintage Caravan, the final band of the day. originally planned to play the afternoon on the large stage, flight issues saw them moved to the final slot on the smaller stage. A band with an extremely strong live reputation, the three Icelanders definitely know their stuff. While admitting they had a sleepless night somehow they found the most energy of any band of the day in reserve somewhere. The audience clearly knows the song, as they happily sing and dance along matching the band’s energy. The banter between tunes is also excellent, announcing the song “Crazy Horses” as ‘these horses, they have issues” and other such fun little jokes. An energetic show full of psychrock bangers from a repetoir of nearly exclusive hits, definitely worth taking a late train home for.
After that final boost of energy by Vintage Carvan, I’d say my favourites of the day were them, Psychonaut, orange goblin, and maybe Shemer simply for the appreciation of old-school goth revivals. Biggest disappointment sadly was Witchcraft, but in general the entire day gave me early-era Roadburn vibes, before they expanded into Black Metal and more experimental things. Discovering something new in the small room now and again while you mostly got a day of excellent riffs in all different flavors.
WORDS AND PHOTOS BY SUSANNE A. MAATHUIS