13-08-2016 Into The Grave

[schema type=”event” evtype=”Festival” name=”Into The Grave 2016″ sdate=”2016-08-13″ city=”Leeuwarden” country=”NL” ]
After Slayer on the first day it was also day 2 that had an impressive line up. Kreator would end it all, but many more acts were to see.

We start off with the Evil Invaders. The Belgian formation makes Thrash Metal and is touring a lot these days. The guys has released their latest album a year ago and with an EP this year they have quite some recent material ready. They also told us some new material is in the making to be out soon.
For today they had an energetic start. Going across the stage seeking some contact with the audience they are not wasting any time to bond with their audience. Although they play rather early the people that came to see them seem to be into them. When either of the members jumps in to some smokey ‘flames’ the create that little bit of mystery. Besides the show they put on they often surprise us with a creative twist in their sound. Yes, this was a good way to open the day!

The Swedish Tribulation is a bit of a surprise today. Progressive Death/Black in a combo is interesting enough, but the guys made a lot of effort in their presence there. Facepaint being elaborated, the drama of the music brought across in a very theatrical way. The both guitarists are drawing a lot of attention where the vocalist is putting more effort in bringing the words across which he does rather well. The Swedish have released an EP and single this year, having together with last year’s full length album “The Children of The Night” they have enough to draw from in their somewhat short set today.

In case you didn’t remember what band was next, they tell you three times in their backdrop: Unearth Unearth Unearth! They are from the US and their Metalcore is a bit more spicy that what we heard before, putting some extra vehemence into the festival area.

Seeing the band play is watching a team make a perfect score, the guys are going around freely and they make it work. Here and there they jump around and above all they know very well how to get them people moving. It has been a while since the guys had material out, but it seems like they have something coming anyway.

Even for people who don’t really like Metalcore, this band can reach you. Making a blend with other genres, taking it widely and simply do what they like best, rather than stick with a cliché is what makes this band worth watching!

The Black Dahlia Murder was one we looked forward to specifically but disappointed us a bit by being tamer than we hoped for. As The Melodic Death band came on stage they seem quite enthusiastic though.

Starting with the song “What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse”, a classic of the band, the guys seem to have the main focus on their newest material which may not be that known with the audience just yet. One thing that really jumped was the colourful guitar of guitarist Brandon Ellis, which is not only a beauty to look at (speaking about the guitar here… just to make that clear) but also adds a nice sound to the band.
This band was not the most popular one of the day but they did not do bad. Just not the right place for them perhaps.

Voivod was next. They also were one we looked forward to, but did not come out as we planned. The Progressive guys were a bit boring on the stage and it seems like a lot of people in the audience did not keep their attention with these guys for long as the queues at the bars and the foodstands expanded rapidly during their set.

The Canadians have a long history starting in 1981 and has an impressive discography. A whole lot of albums, but the guys never back away from smaller releases such as EP’s and splits either. The last ep “Post Society” came out just a few months ago. For us it was only half a set as other appointments were made. See more of that at Tempelores later.

And who would have guessed it was a Folk metal band that would get the crowdsurfers started? Well it was up to the honour of Korpiklaani to get that party started and they did that with grace! It seemed like everyone on the field was watching this band and the beer was flowing well. The Finns have been all over the world already and are a welcome live act at any event and it does not really matter if they pick a song in Finnish or in English as it is enjoyed equally.

We lost counting of the crowdsurfers, but we saw one guy running by that told us he was going for the tenth time. Respect for the catching security to keep up with that, because not only the male and female metalheads were surfing by, also we saw some wheelchairs passing by (and even a Tempelores crewmember). Safe to say that Korpiklaani sets the atmosphere right, people were enjoying this big time!

It is quite a changeover from Korpiklaani to Exodus and all bands that will come after but that good atmosphere has arrived and is not to leave, Exodus was having the crowdsurfers on their hands as well.

The Thrash formation had their last release in 2014 but is here to play a set that draws from their entire discography. From “And Then There Were None” to “Blood In, Blood Out” the band shows that they have been a stable factor throughout the years. What was most fun about their show was to see how they encourage the audience to keep it up, letting them go crazy and their pleasure of seeing it all work out.

Carcass is also not really releasing anything new, but the album “Surgical Steel” is what is still on their back drop. A good album to promote, it has been a favourite for many. But the band has also something to play from their earlier records. “Exhume to Consume” is a crowd pleaser and is welcomed with some cheering .

The band self is not really the most active, and have the focus on the playing mainly. They don’t really have to do so as the music itself fills all up and a little wave to the audience is enough to keep them going. Carcass is not an act that surprises, but an act that is stable and brings in a steady performance for the audience to enjoy. Have you seen them before, you know what to expect, nothing more and nothing less than that!

Today’s headliner was Kreator. Just as much of a name as Slayer and although Slayer was all we heard on forehand it seems like Kreator did put a little more effort in dressing up the show. Some fire, some confetti, paper strings flying through the air, the whole is complete! The show starts with “Enemy of God” and right from there you know they are giving it their all. Pyro’s here and there but never getting overdone.

Songs like “Endless Pain” and “Extreme Agression” are heating up the audience even more. In the darkness the band is to close the festival in style. They take a bit of a break, but the encore we are getting is lengthy. “Flag of Hate” and “Betrayer” are ending the show and with some more paper in the air we know the crew would have a lot of work to clean that up next day, but so to say: Kreator was the ending one could only hope for. Playing a strong show, complete with both the visuals and the music in balance and a worthy closer of Into The Grave 2016.

What a year it was! Two days of Into The Grave have done well for us and ask for another double edition next year. The first name is already announced. It is Arch Enemy that is first on the bill and we are curious to see who else will follow.

Links:
IntoThe Grave Website