02-01-2008 Hail of Bullets

Supports: Onheil, Dictated; Venue: Bibelot, Dordrecht (Netherlands)
By: Elvira Visser

The second day of 2009 and it was time for a metal start of the year. Tonight being the second one of the year also made me worry a little, I mean would there be enough people or would everyone still be at home. Lucky all bands attracted some people to the venue. Even though it was not crowded there was a nice atmosphere and enough guys around to form a pit.

The first band tonight was Onheil, formed by the fusion of the remaining band members of Onheil and Martyr. Actually I thought this band did not exist any more, but they proved me wrong. Funny enough they did seem like a bunch of corpses on stage. With saying that I mean they were not really moving, except for an occasional head swing. I guess this band still suffered from New Year’s eve, because the music was good but it just lacked that kind of energy. They did surprise me with their music, knowing it could be brutal black metal but they now also had interwoven some melodic parts and in a good way. Hopefully they will have the energetic spirit for their next gig, as this was not bad but I really missed a stage act as they were almost only standing still.

Second band up this night was Dictated, a surprise to me. First of all, there were two girls on stage and second their performance was great. The band has not been around for a long time but are ready to show the world their music. The girls were moving, and there was finally some action on stage. Sven, their vocalist was standing still and more focusing on his growls, which is not a bad thing of course but it looked like he was a bit tensed/uptight. The growls are very deep ones but for me there could have been a bit more power/strength in them. They do know how to build up the tempo in their tracks and with their fast pounding drums they got the audience ready to pit and mosh around.

Headliner tonight was Hail of Bullets and the third Dutch band on this evening, showing that they can play some good metal. Hail of Bullets brings tracks about the Second World War and the bass and fast pounding drums do remind you of some fired bullets finding their way on the battlefield. When Hail of Bullets started the guys in the audience were warmed up and ready to pit some more, sweaty bodies and head banging heads is what the audience was giving the band. The band was giving the audience a very nice gig to start off the year. The singer was talking about coughing and puking on stage, think he was a little ill or just some leftovers from the start of the New Year. The band members of Hail of Bullets come from respected bands such as Thanatos and Gorefest, and formed this band because they share a love for old school death metal. And that is what they brought on stage accompanied with a good light show. The band seemed to have a lot of fun, I surely did enjoy their powerful metal with nice extreme guitar riffs and a lot of energy from the guys themselves.

More pictures of this gig available at photographicretentions.nl

Links:
Onheil MySpace
Onheil Official
Dictated MySpace
Dictated Official
Hail of Bullets MySpace
Hail of Bullets Official