Venue: Erp/Mariaheide (Netherlands)
By: Elvira Visser
Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, well according to me a city dweller, it was time for a festival. The festival has a history that dates back to 1992, this year they had chosen a new location because the number of visitors is still growing. Their choice for this year was a factory hall, where they make raspberry marmalade. The hall was very nice, where last year the hall smelled a little like cow shit there was nothing weird to smell this time. Also the floor was solid concrete and no construction of wood. The hall was dressed up with broken/trashed cars up in the air and there were also various things organised besides the bands that were playing. You could do a little fat test (how fat you are, this in a hilarious not serious way) after doing this test you would get a free drink. You could take a photo on the monsters toilet, which was painted in bright gold. What a nice throne.
But most people came to meet up with others, drink many beers and watch the bands.
When we arrived one band had already performed, The Smelly Cats who won their performance through a competition. The band that was playing was Boners Inc. which sounded okay from afar. We needed a stop at the toilets which were great for a festival, no stinking Dixies. We bought some coins, bought some beer and walked to the stage. Enjoyed the last two songs from Boners Inc.
| “Ratz” was the first band we saw from from the beginning until the end. They play rock and roll inspired by the 70s. What they do different is that the front man sings in Dutch. They played nice music, know how to interact with the audience. The sound was not perfect, as I could not hear the vocals at all times because it was softer than the instruments but what I did hear was a band that liked to play in front of people and know how to build a rock party even though there were not that many people. |
| When the “Textures” started to play more and more people seemed to find their way to Monsters 2009. I think the younger visitors stepped forward and the Ratz fans were going to drink some beers. This was not a problem because the Textures fans had some room to mosh and headbang to the tunes of the band. They band plays quite an original style, an aggressive mix of trash metal. Hardcore screams and some electronics but also softer melodic parts. I only heard about this band for many times and expected something harder, but they surprised me in a good way. I really liked it and could not stand still. The same for the people around me. |
| After the Textures it was time for some true dirty rock ‘n roll. “INFA” stands for Inharmonic Noises From Above. When hearing only the music you would guess there would be some older generation on stage but they were quite young. The band exists for four years and during those years they have found a true rock ‘n roll sound. Great guitar riffs and a tight rhythm section. Pure and raw sounds that came from the speakers inspired by Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Rory Gallagher, and Jon Spencer. A band ready to rock likeback in the old days. |
| Today was the third time for the Dutch band “BZB” (Band Zonder Banaan) to play at Monsters of Mariaheide. Tthey made sure they put down a special show. With seven members they play rocky music with all kinds of instruments like flute, hammond and a bagpipe (Irish folk instruments). It seems like a theatre show or like circus but it does entertain you in a good way. The lyrics are in Dutch, which makes many people shout along. There was a lot to see on stage and they gave away a good show. Somewhere in the middle they got some fuel barrels on stage and started drumming on them, accompanied by nice stroboscope lights. Which gives a nice show element. Nice show from these guys. |
| The band that was founded by Dutch guitarist Arjen Lucassen and the Mexican vocalist Marcela Bovio, “Stream of Passion”, was next. The two got to know each other when working for Ayreon. In 2008 the band had seen some line up changes. They play gothic female fronted metal, progressive with orchestral sounds. They use a lot of strings. Maybe a mix between Epica, Within Temptation and Lacuna Coil. I think there were less people watching this band than BZB or Peter Pan Speedrock because it is totally different music. Still they captured enough people in front of the stage to watch their gothic metal. |
| “Peter Pan Speedrock” was of course announced by Dikke Dennis, a figure that many Peter Pan Speedrock fans know. The guys from Peter Pan know how to rock and put a lot of energy in their show. The band is quite established in the Netherlands due to their great shows. They know how to get the audience moving whenever they want. Pits are built and beer is flowing through the air. One big happy rock party or as the guys themselves would say: Fat, loud, fast and proud! |
| The last band this evening was “RATcoM”, a Rage of the Machine tribute band founded in 2003. When you have a cover band they need to play the biggest hits from that band and RATcoM delivered a good job. The audience had not rocked that hard until “Killing in the Name of” was played but also other known songs were sung along. Who can stand still on this music, clearly needs to drink a lot more beer and go with the flow. Most of the people found a spot in front of the stage and were dancing. Too bad then the band had to leave the stage but the Rokobama Djs knew how to keep the dancing vibe alive. This years MOM was again a great one, and we are counting down already to next years edition. |
More pictures of this festival available at photographicretentions.nl
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