12-01-2025 Autarkh

Supports:  Farer, Alkahest
Location: Patronaat, Haarlem (Netherlands)

A night of darkness was planned in Patronaat. Autarkh and two guests were populating the stage to bring the weekend to an end.

Alkahest

The first formation that would play this evening is Alkahest. The band considers themselves a alchemic post-metal band. The band recently added some new bandmembers, two guitarists, and seemed eager to show themselves in this setting. They aimed to play some material from the live album they recorded at Roadburn as well as some new material, giving the opportunity to the audience to see the older material morph into the way they see themselves in the near future. It worked well this night. The band holds a calm composure during their set, letting the music rain over their audience. A balanced energy level throughout and considering the fact the guitarists joined recently they impressed with the way the whole stands together. A good opener for this night.

Farer

Up next was Farer, which had a bit different approach. The band shows right from the start that they experiment a bit with the directions they are going. Sometimes it feels quite airy and free where in other moments they shift in a very coordinated sound where it looks every detail is taken care off. The band has released their latest album “Monad” in 2020, of which they took some material to this set as well as they have some unreleased material for their audience. Perhaps that explains the difference we noticed. It takes a bit of time to grow into it if you have not heard them before, but once in you find the highlights in the combination of screeching vocals combined with a brute riffage. An overwhelming live experience, that is not for the weak hearted.

Autarkh

Headlining today was Autarkh. The formation from Tilburg has been impressing the Dutch scene for quite a while and they have not limited themselves to the borders either. Having variations of what they are doing going on they also operate under names of Autarkh III and Autarkh collective, so it must be known that they like things to be one sided. The rather electronic sound that this formation had before gets a new dimension by the addition of a drummer, which gives it an even more vehement touch as we learned here tonight.

Autarkh came out with their album “Emergent” at the end of last year and the show was focused on that. They heavy sound was backed with the usual variation of electronics and when vocals got in you could see some dynamics added there too. A full house came out to witness this show and the band seems to impress the audience with ease. The whole set was watched with an intensive dedication and it makes sense, for the band brought a night that was well-thought and yet organically transformative throughout.