With a name reminding me of AC/DC, Café The Jack in Eindhoven, where I arrived despite the exhaustion, the traffic, and the two-hour drive, would host not only me but also the legendary band The Accüsed.
I became aware of these guys reading Alexandros Anesiadis book, Crossover: The Edge – Where Hardcore, Punk & Metal Collide some years ago, although their history is rooted back in the crossover era of the 80’s. So I was thrilled to see them playing their so called splattercore and setting images along with their memories that their songs had created.
Velozza
A small, but cozy venue, a great crowd wearing T-shirts that anyone would envy (Cryptic Slaughter and the like), and the band Velozza on stage as a starter, playing their Bay Area-style thrash metal, though with a bit more of a crossover edge.
With two albums under their belt, the quartet from Roermond more than satisfies fans of Exodus, Testament, and Kreator, with confident playing, blistering tempos, devastatingly technical solos, and a rock-solid drummer whose face alone tells you just how many kilometers he’s logged on the scene.
The three frontmen occasionally switched positions on the small stage, creating extra movement, while the two guitarists filled in the choruses with backing vocals, giving their exceptional frontman, who was simultaneously playing a V-guitar, a few moments to catch his breath.
Forty minutes of pure, old-school thrash that is perfect for headbanging, and the sound was excellent for such a small venue, and a lighting technician positioned among the bartenders (one could mistakenly order a beer and get some LED lights).
The Accüsed
texAfter Velozza finished, the stage was completely dismantled. A new drum kit was set up for the Americans, and we’re waiting for them to tear it apart. By now, whatever space that existed up front had vanished, so Paul Verhagen (an excellent photographer— check him out) and I shared 2 square meters so we could get enough shots, of which, unfortunately, very few (for me the rookie, at least) ultimately made the cut.
The Accüsed came out with a bang, led by one of the band’s founders, Tommy Niemeyer on guitar, tearing through our eardrums with his supersonic riffs. On vocals was Brad Mowen, whose voice graced *The Curse of Martha Splatterhead* (2005), playful and excessively inventive in his expressions and movements, won us over with his performance and proved that The Accused’s splattercore is alive and kicking.t
His dreadlocks constantly sliced through the air at Café The Jack, while with his growls and various vocal tricks, he filled the gaps between songs as the rest of the band tuned up.
The set was mostly old school (as were most of the audience) and centered primarily on the legendary The Return of… Martha Splatterhead, which marks its 40th anniversary this year and was represented by seven songs. None of their other albums were left out either, and tracks like “W.C.A.L.T.,” “Psychomania,” “Take the Time,” “Halo of Flies,” “Corpse Walks,” “Stomped to Death,” and many others satisfied our cravings.
On drums, Josh Sinder kept up the frenzied rhythms, while his daughter Brookelle on bass in front of him, had her fingers race across the fretboard, proving that she’s a very talented musician who can handle lightning-fast tempos.
The set flew by like Martha Splatterhead’s last breath before her resurrection, with hard and fast melodies, a satisfying length, and a dynamic performance, leaving behind an addictive “stink.” Tommy seemed to be enjoying every moment, Brad with a twinkle of madness in his eye, led the stage presence, while the Sinder family handled the rhythm section, and The Accüsed’s old and new material roared through, making history and etching new memories deep within our skulls.
It was almost a 4-hour drive (to and from Den Haag), but it was worth every minute, and I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again if it meant experiencing more moments like this.
My goal now is to buy a jacket so I can sew the patch I bought from their merch stand on the back and cruise the streets with pride.
“I have returned from the dead
And there is nothing I cannot do
I bare a halo of flies around my head
You tremble and run scared you fools”