15-07-2017 Dynamo Metalfest

[schema type=”event” evtype=”Festival” name=”15-07-2017 Dynamo Metalfest ” sdate=”2017-07-15″ edate=”2017-07-15″ street=”IJssportcentrum” city=”Eindhoven” country=”NL” ]Dynamo Metalfest is up for year three and with names like Testament, Gojira and Devin Townsend on the bill it is no surprise they manage to sell it out!

But, starting the day is White Boy Wasted. They won the contest earlier this year which made that they were here opening the festival. I must confess, I wondered a bit during the contest whether these guys would do great on a large stage, but the guys managed to have me convinced.

The songs they played have somehow stuck in mind from the first time I saw them and I managed to surprise myself how well I remembered it. Good, the guys have no problem playing the crowd either, talking to them and point out their vinylsingle they have for sale. So yes, they turned out to be a good opener, setting the mood for the festival!

Anneke van Giersbergen’s Vuur was next. Two weeks ago we saw them at Tuska, playing their first festivalshow and not all went well, some critical notes had to be made even though it seemed due to a technical error.. So we were hoping that today would be better and yes, we can say: Nailed it!

The charming Anneke has no problem getting the audience on her hand, that we already know but with the whole now as it should be the show was exactly as expected. Vocally, Anneke shows what she is up to and the doomy heavyness of the music surrounding it giving people the perfect feel to it. From a song with some more guitar to a calmer song and a cover of The Gathering… Vuur is giving plenty of diversity and at the end of the show she surely won some hearts. The album, well that will have to wait till autumn, but it is on the way and we bet many who have got their introduction to Vuur today will buy it!

The American band Toxik has been up in the 80’s but have been disbanded for quite some years before in 2013 they decided to restart again. So just a few active years from the band’s recent past, but nevertheless a lot of visitors seem to know the songs quite well, singing along even and it was even the younger generation who seem to have likings to this band.

A few early crowdsurfers passed by and some proper moshing was going on. The band had not even done too much to activate the people and so it seems the band is surprising us here today. The music itself seem to have a strong link to the past, keeping that as it was, not modernizing it too much. Altogether, a nice performance from these guys.

Prong was there to wake people up a bit. The trio makes Thrash, but in a style of their own, with an own face. Earlier this year the guys have released a new album that’s called “Zero Days” but the band starts with a Prong classic called “Disbelief”.

When they play a song called “Beg To Differ” you hear a catchiness that makes people shout along with them, the words and all that comes along with it. It seems like they don’t care too much for playing something of their latest, but rather dig deeper in the Prong discography to have Dynamo enjoy that.

Eventually we hear “Divide and Conquer” which comes from their latest, but the older albums are more popular today. They audience does not seem to mind, they are enjoying every second of it. Prong does deliver, a solid factor that proven themselves once again.

Entombed A.D is always welcome at a metal festival, the band has so much history that besides their endless discography they also have a rich live reputation.

So yes, they simply walk in and play their songs and the audience will like it, easy job? Yes maybe, but what is so favorable of these guys is that they never cease to put in the energy. They never make themselves of easy and also not today. Pointing people out, talking a bit and then keep on playing a strong set. A winning factor that never changes. No question, well done once again.

Fair enough, Exodus did not really release anything recently, but the band keeps touring anyway. Are we given anything new today then? No, not really. But instead the guys have put together a strong set of songs from throughout their carreer. Starting it off with “Piranha”, coming from their “Bonded in Blood” album the guys have pretty much all albums covered. And that shows us one thing, the band has never strayed too far fro what they started with. Of course, the years keep coming and with more years on the counter the guys have more to dig from, but seeing how eager they are to be playing here today at Dynamo, makes us feel like it could have been from the most nostalgic years just as well.

Devin Townsend, somewhat odd between the bands playing here before him, but a band that has a large group of fans following him. Only two weeks ago we have seen a large audience going wild for them at Tuska festival, but today they seem to be a bit of a stranger.

The audience seems so tame and basically just observing it, rather than enjoying it to the fullest, of course some fans are there, but the bigger audience did not seem to get it so much. Not even bringing in Anneke on vocals seem to do the trick. Ok, fair enough the sound may not have been highlighting this band at his best, if you re a bit further away it easily turned into a big mess of sound coming towards you. Also Devin talks a lot in between the songs, but he hardly get response. The connection was not there today, not what we are used to from seeing the Devin Townsend Project.

Testament… well well. Somehow not too surprised they are late AGAIN due to ‘technical issues’. We hear that a bit too often with them. And sure no hurry seem to be made at the changeover either… everything just slowly… no rush… Instead, some other rumours about why the band is late are going round, but for the sake of not knowing what is true of that, we will spare you that.

So, half a set only for they started playing half an hour late. Of course we get a “sorry… blablabla” again but instead of being sorry all the time you may think the guys should bother to check what is the cause of AGAIN them having technical issues. We could think of some options:

a. Build your show with stuff that is less likely to error.

b. stop being too overly diva.

c. Hire people who could solve technical issues a bit faster

And so on.. and so on.

But then the half of the show we saw. That was good. The guys are playing it well, giving their best and talk to the audience. Hype it up, being energetic. Playing some oldies like “Into The Pit” and “Signs of Chaos”. Really, the show self does not give us much to bitch about. So, a pity that we again get to see a short set only. Dutch festivalgoers deserve a bit more for their ever patience. Time for Testament to make up to the Dutch festivalgoer! Next time, better be on time and get your stuff working! (and don’t bother blaming it on the festival… we re not buying it anymore).

Then it is time for the actual headliner of the day: Gojira! The guys from France have been going strong the past years, with their album “Magma” selling big and getting Grammy nominations, their shows are growing endless and with these they have set themselves a reputation.

We are up for a show and the press is warned in advance. Don’t come too close, these guys will blast you off your feet. And they did, starting it with “Only Pain” the guys are giving a powerful start to their set. Then the guys are bringing to more to “Magma’. Some flames are going into the air, sparks are flying around. The band did bring some show along. But it is not the pyro’s who are to cause that ‘blasting us our feet’. It is the intensity of these guys. The music is rolling over you like a blanket. Powerful and hugging around you.

The words of Joe Duplantier are telling you something ‘You are the problem’ and often referring to what humans are doing to mother earth, the band seem to make people aware of worldly issues. The audience is soaking it in, and far into the field people are enjoying themselves deeply. Until the end, an encore is given and with some final humble words the guys leave the stage. Gojira shows themselves a worthy headliner!

And when we watch people moving towards the exit, the bar for a last drink or the booth to exchange leftover driningtokens, it feels like we are watching ‘Great Migrations’ by NGC and we are thinking back to the previous years of Dynamo. More people than before were here today. Never before have we seen so many people at this festival being there already that early and never before have we seen so many people stay till the end. Shows us one thing, this years edition was killer! And with Annihilator being announced for next year’s edition we are sure that this trend will continue!

Links:
Dynamo Metalfest