Open-Minded: Dimitri Vossen of Desertfest Antwerp

Posted on October 14, 2016 by News Team

YOB Susanne A. Maathuis Photography

Desertfest Antwerp takes place this weekend in Belgium, at the legendary Trix Club. Named for the distinct cult style of California’s Palm Desert style of rock, doom, and psychedelic influences, pioneered in the 90s by bands like Kyuss, Acid King, Fu Manchu, Goatsnake, Monster Magnet, 60 Watt Shaman and more. The fest itself and its related other events represent the best in underground culture, with music ranging from stoner rock, doom, indie bands, and other styles to please fans of discerning taste. Ghost Cult’s Susanne A. Maathuis, who is covering the fest this weekend for us had some questions for Dimitri Vossen – one of the organizers of the fest. Continue reading →

Desertfest Antwerp 2016 Preview

Posted on October 13, 2016 by News Team

The Desertfest franchise is a well-known concept throughout the heavy stoner scene in Europe, having started in London and spread to other major cities like Berlin, Athens, and the last two years to Antwerp in Belgium as well. This year the line-up is incredible, and even the sad loss of Graveyard as a headliner can’t stop the momentum this fest will have. Continue reading →

Incubate Festival Part II: Tilburg, NL

Posted on October 8, 2015 by News Team

We’re five days into Incubate Festival and still shivering from the impressive performances of The Melvins, Girl Band and Shining. Ready to watch some more of our favorite bands and discover another handful of new ones, we once again throw ourselves into the lively heart of the city of Tilburg.

Lumerians, photo by Susanne A. Maathuis

Lumerians opens our Friday night in one of the smaller rooms of the immense theatre of Tilburg. The audience has taken a comfortable seat on the wooden tribune that opposes the stage while the band plays a hypnotizing, spacey post-punk with a light 60’s sound to it. They are dressed up as monks in robes of a shimmering, glittery material and behind them play such fantastic psychedelic visuals that we’re too mesmerized to even think about dancing along.

Grave Pleasures, photo by Susanne A. Maathuis

One big bonus point that comes with having a festival bang in city center is the abundance of good food. Overpriced hamburgers and soggy fries don’t make it on to our menu during Incubate. On our way to Hall of Fame to see Grave Pleasures, we find out that, what previously had been an abandoned industrial park crossed by rusty old train tracks, suddenly houses an atmospherically lit and freely accessible food truck festival. Dinner this weekend: sorted.

When we manage to tear ourselves away from the smell of freshly ground coffee and char-grilled hamburgers, Grave Pleasures, risen from the ashes of Beastmilk, give us a theatrical and captivating performance. Their sound is edgier than before but still has that recognizable apocalyptic feel to it. For a complete change of sound, we head off to Little Devil, where Belgian Associality shows us the fun side of punk with songs about punk granddads and a man who only drinks Jupiler beer.

Converge, photo by Susanne A. Maathuis

We’re still singing along to the chorus of the beer song when we arrive at the biggest name of the day: Converge. In a relentlessly loud performance, the hardcore punk legends live up to their name and put down one of the best shows of the week. A few hundred people are stage-diving and dancing in the pit as if their punk credentials depend on it. Frontman Jacob Bannon radiates a contagious energy as he belts out hit after hit. Sweaty and exhausted, we call it a night.

Saturday brings about a problem of an entirely different caliber. With so many different venues with each their own selection of beers on tap, we have a bit of a heavy head on our way to the first name on our list. Finnish K-X-P’s melodic, electronic sound with a definite hint of krautrock wouldn’t feel misplaced in the vaults of an abandoned Berlin power plant. However, the wooden beams, high ceilings and stained glass windows in Dudok, create a beautiful contrast to the industrial noises and ghostly sounds of the band. They put on a captivating show that calms our heads and prepares us well for the rest of the night.

Extase’s small stage and low ceiling sets the perfect vibe for a loud, no nonsense punk band and this is exactly what we get from Priests. Frontwoman Katie Alice Greer has an incredible stage presence. She parades on stage, screaming, singing and roaring in a skintight, giraffe-patterned suit and manages to give the audience a permanent death stare that would make Courtney Love green with envy. Priests gives us precisely what we go to Incubate for: seeing a relatively unknown act for the first time, who absolutely blows the patches off our jackets.

On the final day of the festival we finally have a sunny day and immediately take advantage of it to watch a show in the Muzentuin, a courtyard of the town’s art academy. We watch Surfer Blood play alternative rock with a lovely summer feel to it, before we decide it’s time to dive back into the loudness and head to Hall of Fame where the hardcore punkers from Jesus Police are tearing the stage to shreds. With so many bands playing at the same time, it’s sometimes tough to decide which ones to go and see and we may have been slightly favorable towards Jesus Police because of their name (it was a tough decision to skip Cocaine Piss later on).

Black Heart Rebellion, photo by Susanne A. Maathuis

Melodic post-rockers The Black Heart Rebellion whip us up into a Seventies progressive rock infused dream as they close the night in a ram packed Little Devil. With the imprint of the happy, sweaty faces of the crowd still in the back of our minds, we dash back to Midi to catch the second half of Wire, who have called upon about twenty guitarists from other bands at the festival to join them on stage. In a haze of perfectly orchestrated noise, they temporarily form The Pink Flag Orchestra and perform their 1977 debut album song ‘Pink Flag’ in a playful and legendary conclusion of the festival.

We cool off outside, still a little high from Wire’s brilliant performance, and convince ourselves that, yes, we still have enough spirit and adrenaline to make it to the after party in Extase. Chief Developer of Incubate Joost Heijthuijsen is one of the DJ’s, so within an hour of arrival we are part of a long conga line and attempt to dance to German schlager music. What a way to end a festival! The next day we hear that Neneh Cherry, who closed the festival in the Muzentuin on Sunday, was apparently part of that conga line and had a great time at the after party. She’s 51 years old and we had to agree she definitely beat us all at being the coolest person at the festival that night.

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WORDS BY CÉLINE HUIZER

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SUSANNE A. MAATHUIS

Incubate Festival Part I: Tilburg, NL

Posted on October 5, 2015 by News Team

The first rainy, windy days of September blow in independent music festival Incubate. But you won’t catch us trotting through muddy fields while drinking beer from plastic cups, because this art, music and theatre festival takes place in the lively heart of Tilburg city. Notoriously home to Roadburn Festival, Tilburg proves there’s more to it than just its large music venue 013. Amongst the venues used during Incubate are a church, an old cinema, a theatre and a skate park, alongside a range of bars scattered throughout the town. Each of the bars stick to their own theme; for instance Paradox has mainly jazz and avant-garde artists while Extase is the place to be for rock and psychedelic. Our home base for the week was Little Devil, the infamous metal and punk den of Tilburg.

Art work at Incubate Festival. Photo by Susanne A. Maathuis

Being a seven-day-long marathon of a festival, Incubate offers an impressive program. Every day you can pick from an incredible range of things to do: you can participate in the music quiz, watch a theatre performance, visit an art exhibition, see a film, do a beer brewing masterclass and hopefully you’ll still have time to watch your favorite bands perform. During the week, the music program doesn’t start until six so there’s plenty of time to explore the town and the entire culture Incubate brings with it.

The Melvins, by Susanne A. Mathuis

But in the end, music is what we came here for and we didn’t have to wait long for the first excitement to creep in. Punk legends The Melvins played two exclusive shows this week, the first one rolling in on Tuesday. Big Business members Jared Warren and Coady Willis once more joined Dale Crover and King Buzzo for a loud and mesmerizing show at Midi, a former cinema where the comfy red seats are still visible stacked up behind the bar. We wish we could’ve been floating over the stage just so we could constantly watch the drummers captivatingly mirroring each other on a fused double drum set. As Jared Warren leaves the room after ending the last song with a hypnotizing “So long, we’ll never see you again”, Dale Crover pipes up to the microphone, singing “Until tomorrow, tomorrow, there’s another show, tomorrow, it’s only a day-,” Yeah, we were all guilty of singing along.

Trying to ignore the lingering realization it is a Tuesday, we pay a late night visit to Dudok and stumble right into Irish post-punk/noise act Girl Band. On the top floor of a former Catholic school, holy figures watch down on us from the stained glass windows as we try to catch a glimpse of singer Dara Kiely through the haze of legs kicking through the air. He’s suffering from a torn ligament and is determined to make up for his lack of running around, which means we mostly has view of an erratically shaking head of blond hair. Despite the religious feel to the location, Girl Band brings about an almost demonic amount of noise. Had it been up to Kiely, he would’ve crowd-surfed right with us in his wheelchair.

The best things at Incubate always happen when you get sidetracked from your plans because you accidentally run into something else. On our way into town to see Dead Neanderthals, we pass the Hall of Fame. This venue is set in a large old building next to abandoned train tracks, which nowadays houses the town’s indoor skate park. After dragging ourselves away from watching the skaters go on with their day as if Incubate is a film playing in the background, we end up in a backroom where Belgian hardcore punkers Daggers are creating the musical equivalent of a Molotov cocktail. In an explosion of noise and distortion, they took our after-dinner apathy and kicked it right up our ass.

Still experiencing aftershocks from the deafening volume in the Hall of Fame, we ended up at the old cinema again, where Dead Neanderthals were tasked with curating the Thursday. They had invited UK noise rockers Three Trapped Tigers to open the night and Norwegian blackjazzers (is that even a word?) Shining to end with a bang. Their own show is nothing less than a wall of sound. Just layer over layer of noise. We hear dark jazz, some metal, some industrial, and all of it blends neatly into a ball of pure awesomeness. When their set is finished, we overhear a guy saying: “Wow, now there’s noise and there is noise.” Sums it up, really.

Shining, by Susanne A. Mathuis

Shining shows us exactly how sexy metal can be. Frontman Jørgen Munkeby almost makes you forget there’s an entire band behind him. The rawness in Shining is by now far gone and their music is so rhythmic it’s nearly impossible to stand still and look cool. From the hairstyles and matching black outfits to the technical precision with which all the instruments collide, everything is razor sharp and ever so slick. They put up a theatrical and energetic performance in which Munkeby and his saxophone often take the spotlight. Loud and in your face but, man, so super, super smooth.

Shining, by Susanne A. Mathuis

In a haze of sweat and with our hearts still beating in Shining tunes, we stumble outside, only to land in the middle of a gathering. An unplanned gathering, that is. It happens a lot at Incubate. In front of every venue, people meet in the streets. Not only is the entire Tilburg music scene present at the festival, so are a lot of people who only see each other every year at Incubate (and maybe Roadburn). Meeting new people is easy, as “wow, what a show” seems to elicit reactions from pretty much everyone present outside, regardless of the show. It’s hard to think it’s only Thursday and the main part of the festival hasn’t even begun yet. But sleep is for the weak, and the Little Devil doesn’t plan on closing at midnight.

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WORDS BY CÉLINE HUIZER

PHOTOS BY SUSANNE A. MAATHUIS

Yellowstock, Geel, BE

Posted on August 27, 2015 by News Team

There are many festivals naming themselves –stock, all of them trying to refer to the legendary summer festival Woodstock. Yellowstock keeps true to the vein of that legendary inspiration, with a line up filled with jazzy psych, 70s and 60s rock and trippy space projects. She is thankfully blessed with better weather than her famous inspiration though, and the sun stays on the grounds and playground of the youthcenter the fest is held at.

Crowd at Yellowstock 2015, photo by Susanne A. Maathuis

Yellowstock is a small-scale labor of love, and this is felt in nearly everything, the no-nonsense food trucks, the hard plastic cups that can be turned in for more drinks, and the poster beautiful art. There is however a small hitch getting in, as the first band already takes the stage it takes a surprisingly long time to scan everyone inside. It turns out people not printing their tickets but keeping them on their smartphones was the culprit, slowing the line down. This sadly meant that we missed almost the full set of Coogans Bluff, as we only heard them from the distance, and managed to catch their last two songs.

Crowd at Yellowstock 2015, photo by Joep Koks

Crowd at Yellowstock 2015, photo by Susanne A. Maathuis

This minor hitch isn’t too bad though. Good beer and surprisingly decent white wine flows freely, and while wasps are a real nuisance, no-one is really bothered to the point of not enjoying the day. In true spirit of the hippies this festival caters to, many people are dancing barefoot or letting out their inner child on one of the many. Especially during Black Flower, a jazzy Belgian troupe, with flute and saxophone, and a vitriolic drummer that carries much of the show, people let their minds and limbs flow free to the music. The band members themselves have shunned shoes as well, as the connection to the earth is clearly sought by this jazzy ensemble.

Black Flower, by Susanne A. Maathuis

Because the weather is so lovely and the second stage inside rather small, we decide to take it easy and enjoy the company of some new made friends between bands on the outside stage, instead of trying to press into a small room that will undoubtedly be hot and sweaty. This meant we missed a number of interesting acts, some of which I have seen before and know give excellent live shows, including the final band on the fest, Radarmen From The Moon. Another band known for excellent live shows, are Yama, with their sludgy stoner-rock. Both I’ve seen many times before and decided to pass up for the rare enjoyment of sunshine and wine.

Terra Craft, by Susanne A. Maathuis

We’re taken to even hotter climes by the most diverse band on the billing, Terra Craft, whose middle psychy music make our lovely warm summer evening seem like a blessed relief. The mirage like effects layered into their music really managed to make you drift along on a journey to far away lands with them, and together with their vocalists impressive stage garb, world music is excellently represented.

Hawkwind, Susanne A. Maathuis

Hawkwind, by Susanne A Maathuis.

Expected and completely deserved highlight of the night for everyone present had to be Hawkwind, who played an incredibly strong set aided by visuals and lights, as the sun finally sank beneath the horizon. After this spectacular show we leave the find the buses to the campground, Radarmen From The Moon thumping hypnotically as a wine addled world flows by and the bus drives to the quiet of the campground. Quiet now, but in the deep of the night the party continues here, and many keep dancing until daybreak.

Crowd at Yellowstock, by Joep Koks

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WORDS AND PHOTOS BY SUSANNE A. MAATHUIS

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS BY JOEP KOKS

Festival Preview: Yellowstock

Posted on August 6, 2015 by News Team

Sometimes small festivals catch big fish, and Yellowstock in Geel, BE seems to have caught a very big one indeed. The summer edition of this twice a year intimate festival of everything psychadelic and 70’s this year is headlined by none other than Hawkwind. This in itself is enough reason to have a look at the cosy country of Belgium, where the fest is held, and see for ourselves.

Apart from the esteemed Hawkwind who are one of the founding groups of the psychrock scene, bands of interest at this 5th edition are the expansively instrumental My Sleeping Karma, the hypnotic three-piece Radarmen From The Moon who played the Roadburn – party last year, and the exotic Terakraft, who will bring us to the musical equivalent of the 1001 nights tales!

So for all lover of psych, space, the summer of love or some general summer mind expansion, and able to make it to Geel Belgium this Saturday, August 8th, there is 400 of 1000 tickets reserved for door sale only, and with a line-up like this they’re bound to sell fast! Maybe we will see you there, and otherwise there is always next year!

SUSANNE A. MAATHUIS

Fortarock: Part I Live at Nijmegen, NL

Posted on June 11, 2015 by News Team

On a warm sunny day, with just enough breeze to make it a perfect festival day, we headed to Fortarock, a festival in Nijmegen that has gathered critical acclaim for good vibes and excellent acts. This years billing wasn’t as sweet as some they had before, which led to the organization lowering the entrance price, a credit to them. That didn’t mean it wasn’t worth the trip to the Netherland’s most eastern metal town.

Leprous, by Susanne A. Maathuis Photography

At midday the festival terrain is slowly getting busy as Leprous and Carach Angren take the two side stages. It was a coin toss which of the two to go see, as they started at the exact same time and both bands, while excellent in their own setting, aren’t really middle of the day outside in the bright sunshine bands. We opted to go see Leprous, who indeed suffer from less than optimal sound, and bright sunlight. Somehow for me they also suffered of a distinct lack of Ihsahn this day and just weren’t as excellent as I remembered them from Roadburn.

Opening on the main stage are Swedish heavy metal band Enforcer. These guys know how to start a party and the fact they’re the first band to play this stage doesn’t phase them at all. The showmanship is incredible, even if the sound is a bit bass and kick drum heavy even at the sound booth. They seem to know you rarely have optimal sound at an outdoor-fest and step it up a few in show, finally waking the milling crowd up.

Sylosis, by Susanne A. Maathuis Photography

Next we opt to go see Sylosis, a British modern trash outfit that turned out to be the surprise of the day. I’d not heard of them before or heard their music and the booklet description wasn’t something that tickled me, but opted to go see them over Converge. I’m glad I did, as they were excellent, with a progressive sense of timing and minor core influences, yet a straightforward honest brutality to it all that kept it well grounded.

Godsmack, by Susanne A. Maathuis Photography

Next on the mainstage are Godsmack, mostly known for their one hit ‘I Stand Alone’ used for the Scorpion king movie, their sound is pretty much a repeat of that one song, rehashed and reworked endlessly to the point of brittle weakness. A rather bored stage presence in the full sun doesn’t help the band and distinct feeling of has-been creeps up on me, even though musically they’re pretty solid.

Flotsam And Jetsam, by Susanne A. Maathuis Photography

Over on stage three, which seems to be my favorite this day, thrashers Flotsam And Jetsam are starting. The band so far have the best sound balance of the day and pull a pretty big crowd, as singer Eric AK’s almost flawless vocals fly over the solid and clear trash music. The show is slick and smooth, but not without heart. Like a well oiled machine the band effortlessly win over the crowd, aided by some clever banter between songs.

Papa Roach, by Susanne A. Maathuis Photography

After some initial confusion on the program, it appears a few weeks ago Papa Roach and Parkway Drive switched spots, but the booklets had already been printed. So instead we have Paparoach on the main stage. While they are clearly festival veterans and know exactly what they’re doing, this isn’t the best I’ve seen them. The show is captivating and every person in the crowd sings the hits along full swing. Sadly, their energetic and excellent front man Jacoby Shaddix couldn’t carry a stage this large today.

Crowd at Fortarock 2015, by Susanne A. Maathuis Photography

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WORDS AND PHOTO BY SUSANNE A. MAATHUIS

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

Marduk – Belphegor: Live at Effenaar, Eindhoven NL

Posted on March 18, 2015 by News Team

On a rainy Friday evening, Febuary 20^th 2015 we head to the Effenaar’s small hall in Eindhoven. We’re in for a night that will hopefully make the rain outside seem cheerful, as Belphegor and Marduk, presented by Eindhoven Metal Meeting, chilled us to the bone while pummeling us with blast-beats. Joining them today are Bliss of Flesh, a French black/death outfit and the Dutch melodic death band Spartan, who’re a bit of the odd ones out and have the challenge of opening.

Sadly Friday night is also the one evening the stores are open in Eindhoven and this added to the rain create a bit more traffic than expected, meaning Spartan are just launching into their last tune when we enter the partially filled room. The band’s happy and merry stage presence and party atmosphere with which they deliver what they call power deathmetal is admirable, but definitely not fir the crowd that has come to see Marduk, and while they come across as sympathetic their sound is a little confused and definitely not hitting the spot for the current audience.

After a brief changeover and a few more arrivals, the French Bliss of Flesh take the stage. They’re a lot more in line with the rest of the lineup in atmosphere they try to create. Unfortunately there seems to be something disjointed about the band. The singer has clearly studied Gaahl’s stage presence and attitude extensively, but doesn’t pull off the calm overbearing threat that man manages to present himself with. Instead it feels more like a trick. Added to this is the fact that two of the band members seem to be inclined to a more Deathcore or even nu-metal side of musicianship, with many scale running solos and posturing, while the drummer, other guitarist (who has his own solos, and adds to the somewhat messy sound in that way) and vocalist seem more black metal inclined. Added to this are near constant hi-hats and a almost complete lack of low regions in the mix and even the elaborate mic stand and growls don’t come across as particularly menacing. The drums being slightly sloppy and a near constant rumble add to the general feeling of not quite it, and I’m left with a particular sense of “nothing special”.

The room is now nicely filled, but no where near capacity, as two stands covered by black tarp are carried on stage. The Austrian Belphegor sets up their stage while the room socializes and the beer flows. When the first intro music starts everyone moves forward and looks up. Clearly Marduk aren’t the only reason people have come and in anticipation the audience waits for the band to appear. One intro tune passes, and the band doesn’t appear, the stands at the front of the stage stay shrouded in their black veil, and we wonder what the wait is. After a second intro starts and a roar from the audience a crew member quickly walks onto the stage and unveils two impressive bone and skull totems flanking the gasmask encased mic-stand. Shortly after an artificial fog rolls onto the stage and figures appear in it. The band is in a completely different league to the previous two from the first notes. The mix is suddenly clear and balanced and vocalist/guitarist Helmuth is a man who looks almost possessed while on stage. Though the glances at his hands while growling distract focus a bit, the general atmosphere the band creates is incredible. The more Deathmetal inspired song structures and differences in tempo and dynamics allow for breathing space in between the onslaughts of blastbeats to enjoy the more melodic layers under the onslaught. The layered nature of the compositions also gives the effect of a ghostly extra melody behind the vocals, even when the second set is yelled in by guitarist Impaler and drums fill the background. A thoroughly enjoyable performance finally warms the room up for the main attraction of the evening.

The Swedish quartet Marduk have a long history in their mix of black and death metal, and are currently touring their lastest album Frontschwein, released this year on Century Media. The wall of sound hitting you is utterly breathtaking, but unlike many bands Marduk know how to change the pace now and again, allowing for short periods to gasp for breath before the next wave of blastbeats and growling hit you. The utterly impressive and repulsing vision of front man Mortuus set the tone while changes in tempo and utterly catchy bass lines and tom rolls keep the music from forming an impenetrable wall and instead feels like being pelted rhythmically by different sized rocks. The sound in the venue is crisp, clear and heavy, but easily endured without any ear plugs. The minute Marduk take the stage a relentless moshpit is formed, which only subsides to throw horns of appreciation at appropriate times, but whirls and pummels all the way through the well over an hour set, peppered with both work from their latest album, and many classics judging by the ecstatic crowd’s reaction. Never does the pace let up, except for a brief moment in which a piece of intro music is played, after which the onslaught continues. The only minor errors I could detect were the switches in tempo not always being as tight on the drums as would have been preferable, but the impressive and almost offhand drum solos thrown into several other tunes well make up for that minor chink in the armor. In short Marduk live is the musical equivalent of being water boarded. The constant rush water taking your breath away let up for brief moments as you get pulled back only to be shoved straight back into that pummeling experience all over again. An excellent end to a slightly divided line-up, and more than worth the money.

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WORDS AND PHOTOS BY SUSANNE MAATHUIS

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