11-06-2023 Into The Grave

Spirit Adrift is a Heavy metal formation and they are opening the mainstage at this last lay of Into The Grave 2023. The band formed in 2015 and they are about to release their fifth studio album “ Ghost At The Gallows”. The band did play a short set here but was prepared to give it their all. Vocalist Nate Garrett draws a lot of attention with his performance. He effortlessly claims the spotlight. Yet, it is not like the rest of the band is not there. They are however a bit more modestly present in the sound.

For a band on day three it is not easy to get everyone hyped early morning but Spirit Adrift is doing quite well with it.

Xenos A.D was doing the first round at the Reaper stage. An advantage as many people were seeking shadows there so they had a decent audience in front of them. The band is based in Italy and  plays Thrash Metal. They formed in 2019 and have two albums out. 
The sound they have was not unique, the band has a recognizable sound. After the first three songs you realize it is not really bringing much new.

Performance wise we also did not see much going on, so we did not continue to watch the rest of the set. It just could not captivate us enough.

Born of Osiris brings a bit of contrast into the day. They came all the way from the US to bring us some Progressive Metalcore/Deathcore. A catchy sound and an energetic performance were ahead of us. It was interesting to see the interaction between the band members. A very playful show.

Sometimes you wonder if they could go a bit heavier even, as those elements are sounding well, but then they decide to take a more melodic path. Sometimes works as well, sometimes the longing remains.

It brings to notice that the guys could take all they do up a bit more, but they rather stay with what feels familiar with them. A set with a luring potential. Let’s see what they bring next.

Chemicide was the band that had my interest through the whole festival. I have spotted a lot of people wearing their merch so it is clear that people were looking forward to seeing them at this festival. The band is a long way from home, they have their homebase in Costa Rica.

They make some Thrash Metal since 2008 and have four full length albums on their name. It was no surprise to see the audience giving some good response during their set. Some moshing, some crowd surfing but above all it seems that the guys are giving us rather solid sound. Enough of their own to make it interesting and brought alive with a passion the guys are the highlight of the day for many visitors.

Another American Thrash formation was getting ready to play at Into The Grave. Municipal Waste it is and when the band with the shiny glasses enters the stage it becomes apparent that they were one that was much awaited. The guys have an interesting sense of humor and they are aware of their surroundings. Mentioning the crooked tower that is décor to the Into The Grave festival terrain and converse with the audience. As much as the audience let them, as it seems like they rather have the band play on so some energy can be released into moshing.

From all the Thrash we have seen at the festival these guys stand out, charismatic band members with a clear joy in performing here today, some tight set that derived from the entire discography and the sun on the field makes that they are probably one of the favorites of the day.

Death metal from Undeath was awaiting us after that. Quite a difference performance wise. Although the guys is putting a lot of stress on their live appearance, releasing multiple live albums in the 5 years of existence, the show here at Into The Grave was not as remarkable as what we saw before. It is not a bad show by all means, but that charismatic show we just saw before simply stands out a bit more than these guys. After half a set we decided it was time for dinner.

The giants of Monster Magnet are bringing their Stonerrock to Leeuwarden. Front man Dave is greeted with a lot of cheering today. The band is ready to give is some classics but somewhats forget about their latest album “ A Better Dystopia” that has been released in 2021. After this many year of existence it may not be surprising to hear the guys know what they are doing. A relaxed attitude and a focus on simply playing the tracks without too much upsmuck serves them well. The classics are scoring well here today and it is not just “ Space Lord” that gets people going. Luckily, as the guys end their set with it. 50 minutes of pure enjoyment for everyone who likes Stoner. The kings have ruled here today.

Earthless was up next. The American formation makes Psychedelic Rock and have been around for quite some years. The guys are giving a rather relaxed impression from the moment they enter the stage and indeed they are not the wildest band on stage here today.
Essentially the band performed two long tracks here on stage tonight, a long lasting piece that may be a bit tough to swallow for those not into their sound.
Personally I like a bit more dynamic sound when listening to Psychedelic Rock so Earthless could not captivate me much. After the first half I left them to it.

The American Clutch bring some joy to the field. A charismatic front man that has it in them to paint a smile on everyone’s faces. Last year the rockers released “Sunrise on Slaughter Beach”, the band’s thirteenth full length studio release. Quite a discography to pull from we would say.

It does not cost them any effort to go from some of the oldest material towards newer tracks, Clutch have always remained close to their initial sound. “The Mob Goes Wild” they sing and so does Into The Grave. It seems like the guys have some good following around here.

It is a joy to see that with only a slight mimic, Neil gets them where he wants to. Even those who do not like their sound, will still enjoy seeing this band doing a energetic performance. Lovely!

Angelus Apatrida is the band that maybe has the wildest following at The Reaper stage. The Spanish Thrash formation does not need much to get the crowd surfers going. And understandable. The band is playing a tight set where the guitarist impress by effortlessly throwing these riffs around. A good base for the vocals to leave a heavy imprint. It comes to notice the guys have a good balance in their sound, which makes it easy to grasp the whole sound of it even when getting energetic.

The Into The Grave catching crew may have had a relatively easy edition when it comes to crowdsurfers, but now the sun is slowly hiding between the crooked tower, the temperatures dropping and the growing insight that soon the festival weekend will be over surely roused the audience to give it them all. Definitely one of the highlights of the day.

Jinjer can not really be an unknown name anymore by now, the Ukraine formation has set themselves a name by intensive touring even before the war started. Remember the set the band did some years ago on the smaller stage? Well, they prove today they have outgrown that and are bringing their message across right on the main stage. With some modest words in between, but what a power when they are bringing their songs.
The fire is burning fierce and Jinjer is showing that. At some point a loud cheering came by and one look around learned us about a crowdsurfing visitor in a wheelchair. It’s all happening here at Jinjer’s set here tonight.