Roadburn Festival Part II – Various Venues, Tilburg

Posted on April 22, 2015 by News Team

Saturday, April 11^th

My impression of Acid Witch is that Heavy Metal has found an answer to drugs, and that answer is “Hell Yes!” This band is majestic mayhem on a stage, and their horror film inspired songs are a true pleasure to behold. Referencing Paul Verhoeven’s Robocop (set in their hometown of Detroit) for Metal Movie Marijuhana Massacre Meltdown, the bass player cheerfully yells out all of the song titles and their meanings. He also dedicates ‘Rabid Werewitch’ to all the ugly ladies. Besides the heavy grunting, the vocalist also has the best manic cackle I have ever heard. Despite having some technical difficulties leaving them occasionally unable to hear each other play, they really rocked their set and seemed to enjoy every moment of their performance. The audience sure enjoyed it, as the Patronaat was filled to the brim with head banging and swaying people.

Fields of the Nephilim, by Susanne A. Maathuis

Saturday saw the return of Fields of the Nephilim to the main stage of the 013, and the hall was almost as crowded as it was at their first set on Friday. With charismatic frontman Carl McCoy, this band is possibly the purest embodiment of Goth in existence. With a career of an astounding thirty years, they had no problem filling out two long sets with their soothing tones and hard edges.

Roadburn Audience, by Susanne A. Maathuis.

Taking the slot of a band who regretfully had to cancel their performance at Roadburn this year, Urfaust were perfectly suitable for Roadburn. Having performed at this festival before, it was no wonder they had the audience trying to cram themselves into the Green Room to witness their spectacular music. Comprised of only a drummer and guitarist/vocalist, Urfaust manage to make a spectacular amount of noise. As usual, you only miss the absence of a bass for about half a song, until you find the bass sound in the guitar. I have heard the vocals described as the cries of a baby seal in the process of being clubbed, and I must admit that this seems, at times, an apt description of the exclamations heard. It was such a shame that the show was cut just a little short by the unfortunate breaking of a guitar string. Since they were close to time anyway, there was no chance to restring the bugger and finish the show in style, and as much as the audience regretted it, the musicians themselves seemed devastated to have to leave us in such a way. Alas, such things do happen, and even the mighty Roadburn is not impervious to technical issues. The upside of the problems is that we have seen truly passionate people work their way around every obstacle, both from the bands dealing with the hurdles as the amazing crew bending over backwards to solve every problem as quickly and effectively as possible.

Sunday, April 12^th, the Afterburner.

The afterburner is the final day of Roadburn, and it always has a unique atmosphere due to the composition of the audience, which is either completely mellowed out by the onslaught of the previous three days, or fresh-faced and new looking for a taste of the festival. It is a great day for people who have never been to the festival and want to sample the atmosphere before committing to the entire thing. The only open venues are the Main Stage, Green Room, and Cul de Sac.

While White Hills heated up the Main Stage, I headed over to the Green Room to get my socks rocked thoroughly off by Argus. They play Heavy Power Metal with a touch of Doom, and this blend has a very smooth sound. Their bass player has stunning stage presence, and plays superfast fingered bass that was almost as impressive to watch as it was to hear. The music is heavy and catchy as hell, and is performed with enough power to illuminate a small country. There were a lot of fans and enthusiasts in the audience, happily banging away.

Anathema, by Susanne A. Maathuis.

Possibly the most anticipated show of the Afterburner was the one performed by Anathema, who performed the “Resonance” set that they are currently touring. Resonance is a show that spans their entire oeuvre, named after the compilation albums that appeared in 2001 and 2002. With their ten albums, their music embodies a diverse reach of genres, and has had a number of changes in band composition. Two of the former band members, Darren White and Duncan Patterson, join the current iteration of Anathema on stage tonight in their respective eras.

The show is divided into three sections, and the songs are played in reverse chronological order. This means that it started off with the atmospheric and melodious style that we know today, and ended with the Doom that they started with, fronted by Darren White. In between sets there were a few minutes break to give the band the chance to prepare and make the necessary line-up changes.

It was great to hear so many of their heavier songs performed live, and I really do hope they will play a few of them on their regular shows from now on, as they have an amazing amount of energy.

There is so much to see and discover at Roadburn, that there are likely to have been people at the festival who have seen none of the bands I saw or described here. You have to make hard choices between awesome bands, but no matter what you choose, in the end it is always going to have been worth it, because Roadburn is a festival that gets into your blood.

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WORDS BY LORRAINE LYSEN

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SUSANNE A. MAATHUIS

Roadburn Festival – 013 and Various Venues, Tilburg

Posted on April 21, 2015 by News Team

From April 9^th to the 12^th it was time for the festival of Stoner, Doom, and all things Alternative: Roadburn. This was the twentieth edition of the festival, and it was, as always, a spectacle. Music lovers from all over the world congregate in Tilburg and fill the streets with black shirts and beards. One of the streets is even re-dubbed “Weirdo Canyon” in honour of all the lovely and strange people who gather here in between shows to eat and drink. This year saw the return of the Weirdo Canyon Dispatch, a daily leaflet detailing the previous day’s highlights, shows recommended by members of the organisation, and other interesting titbits of information.

While it is of course impossible to convey the Roadburn experience in mere words, I will share some of the highlights from the main stages of this year’s festival to explain what makes this festival so special. The pictures are by Susanne Maathuis, who managed to shoot a mindboggling 62 acts this year.

Thursday

Solstafir, by Susanne A. Maathuis

The first day of Roadburn, and what a day it was! Opening on the main stage was Solstafír, who celebrated the thirty year anniversary of cult-classic Viking movie Hrafninn Flýgur (When The Raven Flies). Solstafír played the instrumental film score while the film itself was projected onto the screen. Unfortunately the balance in the music was just a little off, as the bass was too soft. This show did make me really curious to watch the entire film, which was hard to follow here since the subtitles were at the bottom of the projection, and thus hidden behind the lovely musicians themselves.

Diagonally opposite the 013 sits restaurant Dudok with the club above it, Het Patronaat. This venue holds about 500 people and really brings people together – much in the same way as sardines are very close to each other. This is just another part of the Roadburn experience, as is either leaving another show early to catch a show in this venue, or waiting outside in an orderly queue in the hope that enough people leave so that you can experience the show. One of the bands that filled Het Patronaat to the brim on this first day was SubRosa, an experimental Sludge-Doom band from Salt Lake City. With three female vocalists and two electric violins, this band has a really distinctive sound which is truly delightful to witness live. Their overwhelming stage presence combined with the quality of the music made this show one of my favourites of the festival.

Subrosa, by Susanne A. Maathuis

What I love most about Roadburn is the amazing diversity in musical styles. It doesn’t matter what your favourite style is, you’re bound to encounter it somewhere. This was highlighted by the show that followed SubRosa in Het Patronaat: Spidergawd. This Norwegian Heavy Rock extravaganza encouraged us all to dance to our hearts’ delight with their ‘Post Boogie’ style, characterised by a rumbling saxophone, hard rock vocals, booming basslines, and especially the drumming. Oh gawd, the drumming. Kenneth Kapstad owns his space at the front and centre of the stage, and he gives those drums such a beating that they need to be tightened every few songs or they’ll fall apart.

Another spectacular and genre-bending band to wow the audience in the main stage was Wovenhand, who were as close to a headliner as you can get with a line-up like this Monday. This magnificent dark folk band fronted by David Eugene Edwards sounds as if someone managed to convert the American Gothic painting to music. After their stunning performance in 2011, we didn’t think they could do any better – we have never been quite so happy to be proven wrong. Playing mostly from their latest and heavier albums, the band performed with more energy than ever before, but with the same humility that brings them even closer to our hearts. Edwards may say that they “are out of [their] league,” but we know that there are few bands that can rival the show that Wovenhand gave us.

Wovenhand, by Susanne A. Maathuis

Friday, April 10^th

Every year Roadburn has a curator, one person who gets the chance to handpick the Green Room and Stage01 bands for a day, as well as headlining the main stage. The choice of curator is important, because this person always gives a unique flavour to the festival by highlighting a genre. Last year Mikael Åkerfeldt bought the keywords of Swedish and Prog to life, as well as headlining with Opeth, but this year saw a veritable Viking invasion with its double curators: Ivar Bjørnson of Enslaved and Wardruna‘s Einar ‘Kvitrafn’ Selvik. Together they programmed Houses of the Holistic, an incredibly diverse program of bands in wildly varying genres, they all had one thing in common: this was pure and unadulterated music. From the eccentric but oh-so-amazing blues from Pekko Käppi to the onslaught of sound from Black Metal Svartidauði, the intensity and passion burst forth from every single musician and made this day an unforgettable experience for the audience. And these weren’t even the headliners!

For the first time since 2007, Roadburn sold one-day tickets alongside the 3 and 4-day passes and afterburner tickets. And the first day to sell out was Friday. The reason for this is quite clear: headlining the Main Stage were not just Wardruna and Enslaved, but also the amazing combination of the two that is Skuggsjá.

Wardruna, by Susanne A. Maathuis

Wardruna’s unique modern take on old instruments and chants is mind-blowing no matter how you hear it, but there are few bands that can rival the intensity of their live performance. Although Gaahl has decided no longer to perform live, the vocals were not lacking in any way. And how could they, when there are up to 9 musicians singing at once! With such a range of percussion, vocals, and traditional instruments on stage, this was an almost otherworldly experience, and the audience, in so far as I was capable of observing it at that point, was completely entranced.

What a contrast, then, was formed by the black metal attack of Enslaved. This is a whole different brand of Viking, but it is no less effective. Despite their heaviness, there was a certain serenity about the music when performed live that I had not anticipated, but that I very much appreciated. During this show I did have a good vantage over the crowd, and the Main Stage was packed with happy music lovers, all the way up to the furthest reaches of the balcony.

Enslaved, by Susanne A. Maathuis

Then it was finally time for Skuggsjá, the collaboration of Enslaved and Wardruna, and in this they seem to have found an amazing combination. The balance of which band’s style has the overhand shifts with each song, but the sound always comes together in a meaningful way. The chanting just works so well with the metal. Written by Selvik and Bjørnson for the 200^th anniversary of the Norwegian Constitution, this truly is the best reflection of the diversity of Norwegian musical heritage. It was an absolute honour to witness this performed live at the 20^th edition of Roadburn.

Fans partying at Roadburn 2015, by Susanne A. Maathuis

WORDS BY LORRAINE LYSEN

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SUSANNE A. MAATHUIS

Lancer – Second Storm

Posted on April 10, 2015 by Steve Tovey

The artwork for Second Storm (Despotz) is so metal that it really raises expectations of balls-to-the-wall metal, and Lancer deliver. This Swedish Power Metal band takes inspiration from bands like Iron Maiden, Hammerfall, and Helloween, and this is apparent from the very first notes of ‘Running From The Tyrant’ onwards. Despite their classic substance, they have a pretty modern sound, with a number of breaks that are straight up hard rock. The solos may not be the most innovative ever, but they are solid, and similarly most of the melodies are not hugely original, but are certainly very catchy.

Isak Stenvall sings much of the album in the classic high and reedy power metal voice. He also uses his lower range, but this does not always pay off. It mostly works well when the rest of the music is softer, as in the excellent build-up in ‘Running From The Tyrant’. However, the vocals are a little uncontrolled at time, and this type of voice in particular sticks out when it is not 100% perfect.

One of the highlights of this album is the chorus of ‘Iwo Jima’, which is not only catchy, but has a very symphonic sound to it and especially good rhythmic drumming by Sebastian Pedernera. Another is the power provided by guitarists Fredrik Kelemen and Per-Owe Solvelius in ‘Steelbreaker’. Similarly pleasing is Emil Öberg’s excellent bass solo in ‘Fools Marches On’. ‘Eyes of the Liar’ is just quality sing-along metal.

My favourite song off this album is ‘Aton’. This nearly-10-minute song is slower than the others on this album, but incredibly good! It has a little less Power Metal in style, and a little more Classic Metal. I love the way the vocals have a higher pace than the music, because it makes the lines very energetic and catchy. Stenvall also shows that he really can pull off clarity in those lower ranges, holding his own even in the soft. There’s even a very bluesy solo, and I only wish the rest of the band had powered though in the second part of that solo.

All in all, Second Storm is a very solid Power Metal album that makes up for what it lacks in originality with enthusiasm and melodies that has the listener bouncing up and down in their seat.

7.0/10

Lancer on Facebook

LORRAINE LYSEN

Wino And Conny Ochs – Freedom Conspiracy

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Steve Tovey

Robert Scott “Wino” Weinrich is the front man for the Doom Metal bands The Obsessed and Saint Vitus, Conny Ochs is a Dark Folk musician, and together they make minimalist bluesy folk. In 2012 they released Heavy Kingdom, and now they came together once again to produce Freedom Conspiracy (both Exile On Mainstream).

While Heavy Kingdom was really raw and unpolished, which had its charms but also lacked in places, Freedom Conspiracy is much more polished. This does not mean they have lost their feeling though. The songs are still simple and effective despite being more complex musically. Many songs on this album combine electric guitar with an acoustic, and the electric sound is sometimes really sludgy. In the title track ‘Freedom Conspiracy’ the electric guitar plays almost the same lines as the acoustic, which creates a very deep sound. Interestingly, the guitar in the verse sounds a lot like ‘The Mirror Song’ by Live.

The vocals also have a layer of distortion over them at times, which lends some power to the melancholic lyrics and melodies. I really enjoy the bluesy aspects of this album, such as the slide guitar in ‘Shards’. A real highlight is ‘Foundation Chaos’, which is a blues in 7/8ths in the verses and 4/4ths in the chorus, and as such it has such an unusual groove. ‘Invisible Bullets’ is also a very interesting song, the chords and melodies go in places that you don’t expect, and the chords and solo on electric coupled with primarily high vocals really sets this song apart from the rest from the album. It sounds a little bit messy in places, like they had not played it through a lot before recording it, but it is definitely one of my favourites. The album ends with another melancholic yet sweet song, ‘The Great Destroyer’. It is a great closer for this album about love, loss, and dealing with being human, and leaves you with a kind of quiet happiness, as if you grew just a little as a person by listening.

7.5/10

“Wino” on Facebook

Conny Ochs on Facebook

LORRAINE LYSEN

Nightwish – Endless Forms Most Beautiful

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Steve Tovey

Nightwish, the rulers of symphonic metal have returned and are ready to take over the world with their new album Endless Forms Most Beautiful (Nuclear Blast). This much anticipated album is the first studio album with not only Metal queen Floor Jansen on vocals, but also Wintersun drummer Kai Hahto, who took over when long-time drummer Jukka Nevalainen had to drop out due to health issues.

Composed primarily by Tuomas Holopainen, the sound on this new album hearkens back to the old Nightwish but one major difference is the vocal performance given by Floor. While she is fully capable of the high operatic capers we know from former Nightwish vocalist Tarja Turunen, there is little of that on this album. Instead, we get to enjoy her full range of power and emotions, from very small and sweet vocals on ‘Élan’ and ‘Our Decades in the Sun’, to the intense and distorted power in ‘Yours is an Empty Hope’. In fact, this album shows an even greater range than her own projects (After Forever, ReVamp) have done.

The album also contrasts with previous Nightwish works in subject matter; while Imaginaerum (Nuclear Blast) dealt with the world of the imagination, this album describes the beauty of the natural world. In fact, the album title is a quote from Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species.

‘Élan’ is the first single and video for the album, even though it is one of the softest songs on the album; Troy Donockley’s whistles give the son a Celtic vibe, and Floor’s vocals are sweet at first, however, this sweetness does not last the whole song, since towards the end a very pleasing modulation brings more powerful vocals. It might not be the song most representative of the album, but it is beautiful and driven. On the album ‘Élan’ is followed by ‘Yours is an Empty Hope’, a song that brings all the bombast one can hope to find in a Nightwish song. The heavy guitar riffs are supplemented with an excellent orchestra and choir, and it is the heaviest song on the album. Floor totally rips on these vocals, and it a very intense song to experience. Tuomas’ genius as a composer is demonstrated by the contrast between this and the next song, ‘Our Decades in the Sun’. Despite the gentility of this song, with ethereal choir song and such sweet vocals by Floor, the song still doesn’t fall flat, has an astounding energy for a song so serene, and is definitely one of my favourites from this album.

‘Weak Fantasy’ is epic, the title track is very catchy, and ‘Edemah Ruh’ is very smooth. However, there is one song that stands apart from anything Nightwish has ever produced, namely ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’. This is the last song on the album, and lasts a staggering 23 minutes 58. There is no real good way to describe this song, other than as varied as nature itself; it has operatics, power vocals, narration, and instrumental sections and varies from intense piano to orchestral masterpieces, to heavy metal.

Trying to pick out highlights form this album is like trying to pick needles out of a stack of predominantly needles. There may be an occasional pin, depending on your personal tastes, but there is not a strand of hay in sight.

9.5/10

Nightwish on Facebook

LORRAINE LYSEN

Heidevolk – Velua

Posted on March 24, 2015 by Steve Tovey

Velua (Napalm) is the fifth full-length album by the Dutch Pagan Metal band Heidevolk. Since their conception in 2002 this band has made music that shows their passion for nature, Germanic mythology, and the Veluwe; the beautiful nature in their native province of Gelderland. Heidevolk combine heavy riffs in dirty distortion with mellifluous string and violin arrangements, add the occasional power solo, and ground it all with solid drum and bass.

Their vocals, however, are what truly set them apart. The vocals of Mark Splintervuyscht and Lars Nachtbraecker combine to chants with a low voice moving over a limited range and a high voice adding counter melodies and definition. They rarely have two notes to a syllable, and you will not find many drawn out words, but a near spoken vibe which I have not encountered in any other band, but which works well with the Dutch language. Lyrically they paint scenes or recreate stories and since most Dutch rhyme is inherently clichéd, I am pleased that they rarely force rhyme into their lyrics.

The opening song, ‘Winter Woede’ (Winter Rage), sets the tone for the album: heavy and melodious intertwined with a catchiness that means you can hum along to the chorus before the song is out. The next song, ‘Herboren in Vlammen’ (Reborn in Flames), is more in the direction of Power Metal than pagan, with parallel guitars, fast drums, and a strong guitar solo. ‘The Vervloekte Jacht’ (The Cursed Hunt) initially reminded me of In Extremo in its riffs and vocals, but soon regained its individuality. ‘Het Dwalende Licht’ (The Wandering Light) was one of my favourite songs of this album, because it has an excellent balance between ethereal string arrangements and solid power metal, and with the addition of the vocals evokes a scene where the will-o’-the-wisp lures someone to their watery grave. The title track ‘Velua’ praises the hardy people who inhabited the Veluwe with dreamy guitar licks and chanting. Another favourite on this album is ‘Richting the Wieven Belter’ (Towards the Wieven Belter). It opens with very high female vocals, and they remain present in some form throughout the song, and tie the music to the lyrics about the mythological White Women.

All in all this is a very solid album which alternates between a Pagan feel and a more Metal feel. While not all the songs really catch the ear like these mentioned here, the remaining songs are far from bad, and I gladly recommend it to lovers of Pagan metal.

8.0/10

Heidevolk on Facebook

LORRAINE LYSEN

Anathema – Mother’s Cake: Live at 013, Tilburg NL

Posted on October 28, 2014 by News Team

The Austrian band Mother’s Cake seem to enjoy disregarding genre boundaries. While on the one hand they have a very funky sound due to the bass, which is often played with slapping and popping, they guitar tends to have a more punk-rock style. The vocals are pretty high in pitch with that classic hard rock squeeze, but the drummer seems to prefer playing progressive music. Then again, they also incorporate unexpected reggae or ska breaks, and play a very good Hendrix-style blues. The dissonance between the various musical instruments and the vocals as well as the occasional very high pace means this band does not qualify for easy listening. Sometimes it seems as if we are witnessing three separate musicians rather than a band.

However, the band attack their instruments with great enthusiasm, and in those sections of songs where the diverse elements fall into place they are actually really, really good. Because of the diversity of sound they remind of a number of different bands, The Music being one of the first that popped into my mind. The end of their set was really strong, with vocals similar to those of Robert Plant and on the whole an almost Led Zeppelin quality to the music.

While I personally didn’t enjoy all of their musical experiments, I liked their skill in various fields and the risks they take in playing so many different genres. I think if they can move towards a greater coherency in their music they will be a band to keep an eye on.

Anathema, the masters of dramatic tension have once again returned to Tilburg, and judging by the size of the crowd the venue is very nearly sold out. This year saw the release of the band’s tenth studio album, Distant Satellites (KScope). Distant Satellites is much closer to heavy progressive than Weather Systems, which was rather ambient in sound, and these new songs provide a very strong opening to the show. Anathema do not play only their new works, however, and it is very interesting to hear ‘Untouchable part I and II’ played with the intensity of Distant Satellites. Other older songs include ‘A Natural Disaster,’ ‘Fragile Dreams,’ and ‘Universal.’

I was glad to see backing vocalist Lee Douglas present on stage from the very start, and especially to see how much her stage performance has improved. She is really starting to take her space in the spotlight, which is well deserved considering her strength as a solo singer as well as the beautiful harmonies she provides that match both Vincent and Daniel Cavanagh’s voices. Vincent’s vocals, while not flawless, have a very intense and emotional quality about them, and it is truly impressive how he manages to sing in a completely different rhythm from what he plays on his guitar. Daniel’s voice is softer and is usually only present when he is playing keyboards instead of guitar.

Although Daniel Cardoso is capable of great subtlety it’s great to have John Douglas present on percussions as well. John is also quite adept at the keyboards, which he proved during ‘The Beginning of the End.’ When they played ‘Storm Before the Calm,’ we saw Vincent behind yet another keyboard backlit like some kind of dark lord. Eventually, Daniel Cavanagh started playing his guitar with a violin bow.

The band has a wonderful stage presence, and certainly great audience interaction, since Danny can speak a few words of Dutch, Vinnie a few phrases, and Jamie lives in the Netherlands so he can hold entire conversations with the spectators.

The band announced that they were going to play a very special festival in the 013, which means that we are likely to see them perform at Roadburn 2015.

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Anathema on Facebook

Mother’s Cake on Facebook

WORDS: LORRAINE LYSEN

PHOTOS: SUSANNE A. MAATHUIS PHOTOGRAPHY

Knight Area – The Silent Wedding: Live at Extase, Tilburg, NL

Posted on October 17, 2014 by News Team

On the 30^th of September the Extase in Tilburg was host to the pre-release party of Knight Area’s new album Hyperdrive, with opening act The Silent Wedding.

The Silent Wedding is a band from Athens, Greece, who play symphonic powermetal. Their lyrics are inspired by films, games and literature: ‘I Am You,’ for example, tells the story of the Phantom of the Opera from the phantom’s perspective, and ‘The Return (to Ithaca)’ is about The Odyssey. The band members are each very skilled, and drummer Renos, who occasionally resembles the Muppet Animal in his enthusiastic playing style sets a solid base for the rest of the band to build on. Vocalist Marios has a powerful clear voice whith a lot of vibrato, which lends his singing a classical air. Despite the rather small crowd, The Silent Wedding performed a very solid set.

Knight Area play a mixture of neo- and retro-prog that could also be characterised as sing-along-prog, due to its very catchy melodies and vocals. The bass features very prominently in the music, and Peter Vink plays every lick as if it were a bass solo. His style is very funky, and the bass often plays licks while the guitar and synths play chords, which gives and air of vivacity to the music. The guitar and synths take turns playing solos, and the quadruple stacked synths often tastefully cover the changes in meter.

Mark Smit provides good, clear vocals that are sweet and soft with the occasional hard rock edge that reminds me of Doogie White of Cornerstone. He has a lot of stage presence, as well as an awesome bodysuit that matches the album’s artwork, and plays additional keyboards in the ballad ‘Songs from the Past.’ The drumming is excellent and very varied.

One of the songs on the new album, ‘Bubble,’ was previously released on the Between Two Steps EP (2013). Some other songs that made a very good impression were ‘Avenue of Broken Dreams’ which is about 60s ideals; ‘Stepping Out’ which was written by their youngest band member, Mark Boogert, and features some excellent guitar work. They kept a good pace in the show, with generally not much wait in between the songs. They build their own party on stage and infect the audience with their enthusiasm. This was the first time that Knight Area played their new album live in its entirety. Hyperdrive was released on the 14^th of October, and the band has another show planned for the 7^th of November in Helmond.

Knight Area on Facebook

The Silent Wedding on Facebook

LORRAINE LYSEN

Incubate 2014: Re-Revisited

Posted on October 8, 2014 by News Team

The Tenth edition of the Incubate Festival, festival celebrated by tens of thousands in Tilburg, closed this weekend after their biggest fest ever. The Ghost Cult Team in Tilburg was at the festival and our reviews are live here on the website. We wanted to to take one more look at this ground breaking, week -long event via the lens of our photographer Susanne A. Maathuis and some of the terrific images she captured. Thanks again also goes to our correspondent Lorraine Lysen for her excellent account of the artists that mattered. Enjoy!

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Incubate Review Part I

Incubate Review Part II

Incubate Review Part III

Incubate Festival on Facebook

Susanne A. Maathuis Photography on Facebook

Incubate Festival- Part III: Live at Tilburg, NL

Posted on October 3, 2014 by News Team

Saturday

It’s early evening and The Midi is host to Spindrift, a band who play what can only be called ‘Psychedelic Western Cinematic Rock ‘n Roll.’ Most members of the band are, in fact, wearing cowboy hats, and the audience is having a ball dancing along to these tunes. The vocals are often used as an instrument, creating haunting melodies largely without lyrics. Kirkpatrick Thomas’ vocals are strong, and he sings very well in his falsetto range. The drums are very percussive and are occasionally supported by tambourines and some very intensely played maracas.

Projections are a very important part of Spindrift’s shows: the band is currently touring Spindrift – Ghost of the West, where they play the album that serves as the score to the film. Spindrift have done something like this before, with the 2007 film The Legend of God’s Gun, which was based on their 2002 album by the same name. One big difference between the two film projects is the substance of the films, with The Legend of God’s Gun being a homage to the band’s favourite spaghetti westerns, while Ghost of the West focuses on the past, present, and future of the west.

They played a great new song called ‘Kama Sutra Tiger Attack’.

A good 20 minutes before the show and it is already getting difficult to actually enter the venue; it seems most of Incubate has come to see Wovenhand play. They start off very heavily, and the sound is close to stoner and dark psychedelic. The music is accented by percussive drumming, and features David Eugene Edwards’ characteristic vocals through a condenser microphone. After a couple of songs Edwards’ takes out his banjo for a few songs with a more country feel, before going back to his guitar.

Naturally, the focus of this show is Wovenhand’s latest album, Refractory Obdurate, which was released in April of this year. This album is much heavier in sound than the previous few, and while this means the bearded rhythm section of the band can showcase their excellence, it also meant that a few members of the audience were taken aback by the ferocity of the music.

As usual, Edwards puts his heart and soul into his performance, and the show is filled with a tranquil sort of energy which is quite unique to this band.

If I had to summarise a show GOAT in one word it would probably be spellbinding. Luckily, I am allowed to expand upon that, and try to explain just how magical this show is to someone who was not there.

The bare bones of it are as follows:

The band consists of drums, bass, guitar, and singers, and everyone is masked and dressed in an odd assortment of robes. The two singers wear African gowns and masks with feathers, and they dance around the stage with bells, bangles, ribbons, and sticks with feathers.

There is much more to the show however, as the music is an intoxicating blend of all sorts of tribal and folk music with a much heavier psychedelic rock and stoner base. The beats inspire to move and to completely lose yourself in the music, urged on by the shamanistic outfits of the singer and the ritualistic dancing on stage. There is no better time to witness GOAT than late at night, when they fill the darkness with chanting and haunting melodies, and the audience and the singers dance until they drop, or until their ritual is completed, and their spell is released.

GOAT’s new album, Commune, has just come out this September, and is filled with this wondrous spiritual and cultural mixture.

Sunday:

Sol Invictus (De NWE Vorst) are a British neofolk band who have been playing in a variety of settings since the band’s conception in 1987 by Tony Wakeford. They play good strong emotional songs, laced with a kind of melancholy that only the British can achieve. The bass, percussion, and electric guitar are very good at lending emphasis to the lyrics. The vocals are in a small range but have a great deal of expression. They sometimes seem closer to spoken word recitation than conventional singing. The violin and flute provide the melody that the vocals lack, and the drums lend a very dramatic air to the songs.

Sol Invuctus also play a few songs form their new album for the first time. This new album, called Once Upon a Time, is out as of 26^th of September, and is in the 70s progressive and dark folk genres.

As we settle down into our seats in the theatre of Tilburg we are welcomed by Marinke, one of the curators for Incubate, who is proud to present Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra. This is one of many incarnations of the project usually called Silver Mt. Zion, whose official band name changes every time someone joins or leaves the band.

This orchestra, which consists of two violins, a bass, a guitar, and a drummer who also plays the organ, plays a mixture of any and all genres of music, including classical, reggae, blues, and stoner. The rhythm section sets the foundation, and the guitar and violins build on it, often with a drone played by guitar or violin and melodies played on top of that with the remaining instruments. The bass does not play the drone, but is in fact very melodic and weaves through the rest of the music. The vocals are often in duets, but this band can also sing five vocal lines at once. Sometimes the female vocals are below the male vocals and this creates a pleasant kind of tension.

Silver Mt. Zion pretty much played the entire 2014 album: Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light on Everything, and the loud applauding of the audience’s standing ovation called the band back on stage for an encore, for which we were very grateful.

God is an Astronaut is the last band playing at Incubate 2014, and their show is a great end to the week. They manage to transition seamlessly between soft and heavy sounds, have a good balance in the guitar sound, very tasteful bass licks, and a drummer capable of great subtlety in his playing. Many of the songs are framed by keyboards, and the vocals, whether clear and delicate or synthesised, are ethereal in sound and remind a lot of the vocals by Alcest’s Neige. The music very atmospheric, but occasionally has sharper edges to the riffs and a slightly more aggressive sound, which make it very danceable.

The stage presence and audience interaction are both pretty good, they don’t shy away from speaking to the crowd and the new keyboard player / guitarist Jamie Dean jumped off stage into the audience a few times to headbang and borrow someone’s sunglasses. While drumming on the live shows is usually done by Stephan Whelan, due to an infection in his leg he had to leave for home. Luckily for the band, they write and record their albums with Lloyd Hanney, who flew in to finish the rest of the tour.

GIAA also played a new song, and it is much heavier in sound, more in the post-metal and even post-black direction. The new album is planned for spring next year.

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WORDS: LORRAINE LYSEN

PHOTOS: SUSANNE A. MAATHUIS PHOTOGRAPHY

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Tag Archives: Lorraine Lysen

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