05-03-2016 Etropolis Festival

[schema type=”event” evtype=”Festival” name=”05-03-2016 Etropolis Festival” sdate=”2016-03-05″ street=”Turbinenhalle” city=”Oberhausen” country=”DE” ]
It is March again and Etropolis Festival in Oberhausen is opening its doors for this one Saturday. Electronic, industrial and EBM fans from all over Europe gathered to be part of this one day festival here in Germany.

One day only. Packed with more than a dozen bands on two stages, a merch area and of course a food area as well as many bars. So loads to do for everybody. Even during times when the band is not ones favorite. Here is what the bands had to offer at this year’s Etropolis Festival:

Orange Sector opened the second stage today. Orange Sector is an EBM band from Hannover, Germany. The musicians were both singing to the songs.

The music consisted of loud and hard industrial sounds and the lyrics of political topics. Playing for about twenty minutes, the duo entertained the audience on this early Saturday.

The Swedish synth pop duo Kite continued on the main stage. The melodic music got the audience to sway along. Each song was filled with lots of effects.

The two were busy playing their instruments and programming the sounds so they were not moving much on stage. The melodies were great to sway along to, and the audience did.

Etropolis continued with Harmjoy. Harmjoy is a German-American project. The singer was from San Francisco and he spoke some German. The audience appreciated that fact and the singer continued announcing and telling as much in German as his language skills would let him. Harmjoy played fast and thriving music that was very melodic and danceable. The lyrics were very thoughtful.

Each of the band members as well as the audience danced along. The catchy beats and melodies were accompanied by smooth vocals. Music videos played on the screen behind them, fascinating the audience. It was a brilliant show that lasted for a little longer than thirty minutes.

Back to the main stage where Assemblage 23 was up. Assemblage 23 is an electronic act from the United States, currently based in Seattle. The project was founded in 1988 by Tom Shear who writes the music and lyrics and does the recording himself.

Assemblage 23 came as a duo. The singer was walking back and forth on stage, animating the audience to move along. And they followed. The catchy EBM tunes got them dancing along big time. Some even sang along to the songs. The venue was pretty crowded during their performance. The singer marched back and forth on stage, singing to the fans in the front rows, pointing at them and getting them to sing along.

The heavy sounds moved the legs of every visitor in the venue, so in the end no one was standing still. Assemblage 23 put up a great performance and got their audience quite warmed up and moving around at this early hour.

The second stage now hosted Beborn Beton. Beborn Beton is a German synth pop band founded in 1989, with their first album release in 1993. The singer of Beborn Beton has a very low voice that is accompanied by catchy melodic music.

The trio was here as a replacement for Chrom. But the band brought their own fans who were in the front row cheering loud. The regular Etropolis visitors were not less entertained and so the venue filled up during their performance. Cheering and dancing along to the thirty minutes of music.

Back on the main stage, it was time for The Cassandra Complex to take over and entertain the audience. The Cassandra Complex are an electronic rock group formed by Rodney Orpheus and Paul Dillon in 1980 in Leeds, England, later expanding to a trio with the addition of Andy Booth.

The Cassandra Complex consisted of a full live band. And these guys played optimistic and joyful gothic rock. Including songs about being happy or stupid that just made you smile and laugh by simply listening to it. Lyrics and melodies were funny and joyful, spreading happiness.

The singer expressed his passion for music with funky dance moves. The rich sound and catchy choruses got everyone to move along. The singer was also telling stories in between the songs that made the audience laughed cheer even louder. What a passionate and energetic show.

Up next was Winterkälte. Winterkälte is a German Drum and Noise band. The music of the duo was loud intense, with no vocals. Only beats. You could feel it in your entire body. The performance of Winterkälte left behind a mixed audience between dazzled and amazed.

Welle: Erdball is a group from Germany often credited with being the pioneers of bitpop. The heavy use of the Commodore 64’s SID sound chip makes their sound instantly recognizable.

Their sound is reminiscent of electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk. The opening song of Welle:Erdball was performed by the female blonde singer that sang all by herself. During her solo performance she transformed into an angel.

After this opener, Welle:Erdball continued their amazing performance in an old school style by using lots of vintage elements and toys. The audience loved it, sang and danced along. The fans almost caused a riot by doing so. To get the fans even more involved, Welle:Erdball let the audience play with balls and bursted confetti into the venue.
For one songs both female band members were holding up signs that said “buy” and “consume” and on the backside “sleep on” and “reproduce”. Welle:Erdball even had a theremin on stage for their show. Always an experience to see these guys.

On the festival went with Legend. An Icelandic duo that love to create and experiment with electronic music. Legend is fronted by a singer that has a really strong voice and knows to use it well. The lyrics and melodies go deep.

One song of Legend was dedicated to those who committed suicide because of depression. Legend played a very emotional set that got everyone in the venue to go along and instantly fall in love with their music. As highlight for every other song, the singer shouted like we only know it from metal singers. And he did it well. Setting some accents to the lyrics and arrangements of the songs. It was a pity as Legend had to play their last song and then finished their set. Everyone would have enjoyed them much longer as well. Now, we can only hope to catch them again some time soon.

The festival was getting closer to an end and the audience was at full speed. Ready to dance the night away. So the next band on the main stage was the perfect match: Front Line Assembly.

Front Line Assembly is a Canadian electro-industrial band formed by Bill Leeb in 1986 after leaving Skinny Puppy. Front Line Assembly was on stage as a quartet with two guys hidden behind the keyboard racks. The singer wore a mask for the first song, but he then took it off. The singer was walking back and forth on stage, getting the audience to go along more and more. And they did. The audience sang along to each song.

With fast and thriving melodies, Front Line Assembly got the Turbinenhalle to go along to the music. Celebrating this night.

It was already time for almost the last band on the second stage for the night. Diorama finished their soundcheck just in time for the performance, just in time for all the fans and curious visitors to gather.

Diorama is a German electropop band. The name of the band is a metaphor which represents their notion of music as an artistic form of expression. Diorama reminds a little bit of the German electro band De/Vision, especially with the smooth melodies.

The catchy vocals of the singer were combined with even catchier melodies that got everyone in the audience to at least sway along. The singer danced, and so did audience. The video screen in the band reminded everyone of the new album, played music videos or snippets from tours and studio work. The audience loved the whole package of videos, music and performance an thanked the band with immense cheering after each song.

Now it was time to hurry back to the main stage. It was Hocico up next on that stage, a must see for all industrial fans. For those of you that don’t know Hocico: Hocico is a Mexican electro-industrial duo.

Two drummers dressed as devils performed the intro. The drums were lit and so where the drumsticks Everything else was darkened. As the vocals set in, all you could see was the singer on a big video screen, performing and singing the lyrics. Then he entered the stage. Welcomed by loud cheering and shouting. Everyone was excited to see them Mexicans perform.

The dim light and the fog stayed during the entire show, keeping the devilish image. The singer was jumping back and forth on stage, singing to everyone in the audience, infecting them with his energy. And it worked. The loud and intense music of Hocico got everyone to sweat. What a well spent hour.

Time to close the second stage. But not before one intense industrial band has wrecked it. And I am not talking about Combichrist. But Suicide Commando.

Suicide Commando is a Belgian electro-industrial act created by Johan van Roy in 1986. Suicide Commando came as trio tonight, ready to perform their loud industrial music and move the masses. And they succeeded. The venue was packed to the last inch and even though it had winterly temperatures outside, in the hall it was cozy and warm.

Nobody was able to stand still during the passionate and intense performance of our Belgian industrial heroes. The bandages of the singer could only let you figure about the pain he might have been in. But he did not put any less energy into his performance and danced the night away.

Thirty years of Suicide Commando were celebrated tonight at Etropolis Festival in Oberhausen with a whole lot of fans, friends and visitors. And everyone enjoyed the almost ninety minutes of madness.

The last band of the night now drew everyone in the Turbinenhalle towards the stage. The highlight of the night and also the last chance to celebrate, dance and have a good time. And One had the honor of ending the festival when it comes to band performances. The DJs would still continue for the afterparties and the last ones standing. But for now, it was And One’s time to shine.
And One is a German new wave, synthpop and EBM band founded by Steve Naghavi and Chris Ruiz in 1989. The guys have more than just some stage experience by now, and you could see that in every step they took and even every key the band pressed. Absolutely professional but not any less passionate, the band performed their beautiful songs.

The audience sang and danced along, moved and swayed, cheered and tried to reach the singer when he came forward. The band enjoyed the attention and the audience enjoyed the show. And One played for almost two hours, playing all their hits that everyone could sing along to. And of course, announced their upcoming tour and material. For everyone to check out. Even their backdrop had a show date for later this year on it.

And One did a great job in ending yet another amazing Etropolis Festival. It is always a pleasure to see that many great bands and people. We hope to see you at next year’s Etropolis. It will take place on March 18, 2017. Save the date!

Orange Sector
Kite
Harmjoy
Assemblage 23
Beborn Beton
Cassandra Complex
Winterkälte
Welle:Erdball
Legend
Frontline Assembly
Diorama
Hocico
Suicide Commando
And One