Supports: Hollenthon, Endstille and Onheil; Venue: Mezz, Breda (The Netherlands)
By: Elvira Visser
A quiet Sunday evening in the Netherlands and four bands that were playing. I was a little late and arrived at the venue when the first bands was already playing. I noticed that there were not many people, just a few hands full. The first band that was already playing is a band that comes from my town and it was good to see them on that stage.
| Onheil is a fusion between two older bands. The old Onheil and some members from Martyr. With the new line up they have quite some people on stage, not to mention three guitarist and two vocalist. With this combination they try to bring their own sound. It was the first band I saw this year and when comparing the gigs I am not sure which was better. The stage act was a lot better today but still a bit dull and boring, but it seemed they were really really focusing on their playing. It sounded good, but I was missing some variation form the second or third guitar, to stand out a little more. Although I wonder if that was more due to the sound technician. Well overall they played a good gig, Onheil is definitely getting there, as they released their debut album and getting more gigs, but their performance was not jet perfect. |
| Second up was Endstille A German band that according to them, bring you the most ugliest black metal you can think off. And well, it was not really that good. Mannevond had toured with the band this summer as the vocalist but now for the European tour Lugubrem took over. Enstill plays some war themed metal, and when you listen you should be able to hear artillery. There was a pounding double base who gave you that idea but personally, it sounded a bit chaotic, not as a whole. The lyrics refer to personal experiences and opinions of the band members and to well-known German weapons from the time of World War II. It is not really my cup of tea what they played and I went to get another beer, it sounded all the same with little variation those artillery were there but I cound not notice when they were using another type. The stage presence of Lugubrem was not that great either, I found him quite boring to watch. |
| The Austrian band Hollenthon was up next. They had some difficulties with the equipment when they were ready to kick off. Their samples to accompany the tracks had a harsh crack in it. At first I thought that is was kinda cool, something new…but soon we noticed that this was not the way it should have been. After another try with the same result, some people were getting a little frustrated, they wanted the band to perform. Well I guess the band members too, and when it finally worked they played with full power. I have seen better performances by this band, more action on stage, more walking but the sound was good and they played really tight. The fans also heard some of the newer material from their released EP, something they wanted to release before a new album. Those tracks sounded good, a little less symphonic but still very rhythmical, and with hearing that I think we can expect an interesting album to come. |
| Headlining this evening was the Dutch band God Dethroned and in the early minutes of their set the floor in front of the stage was pretty empty, while Hollenthon gathered a lot of people. I guess people needed to smoke or order some more beers because after a couple of tracks the floor was filled again and the party that started with Hollenthon continued with cheering people and a few men that were sort of pit-ish dancing around. God Dethroned a melodic trash metal band have released their latest album Passiondale last may. They started out in 1992 and since then they have been on quite some tours. I expected more people to show up and watch this Dutch band. I had never seen this band and I was quite amazed how fast and still slick they play. The guitar solos were great to hear and the band enjoyed playing. The audience wanted more when they stopped and were treated with a two track encore, but after that the lights stayed out. |
More pictures of this gig available at photographicretentions.nl
Links:
Onheil MySpace
Onheil Official
Endstille MySpace
Endstille Official
Hollenthon MySpace
Hollenthon Official
God Dethroned MySpace
God Dethroned Official
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