22-02-2014 Etropolis

Venue: Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen (Germany)
By: Nina Mende

Turbinenhalle is an old venue with many rooms. Two of them quite huge which today ended up being the place to be for the main stage and the second stage. Another quite big room was used for the after parties later on. The entrance hall had little stands for drinks and food. Another smaller room was used for merchandise and as Gothic market.

On the whole festival ground the organizer decided to use their own currency. So before you can buy food or drinks you had to exchange money into pink paper coupons. One was worth a Euro.

Doors opened at 1pm and as the first band went on stage the place was crowded already.

X-RX As X-RX came on stage the audience was already warmed up and cheered out loud. X-RX consists of two German guys that just did samples and sang while jumping around and animating the crowd to go along. The guys used quite some fog on stage. The two took turns with singing at times. With their thriving and harsh electro music they got everyone to dance along to the music which was quite impressive considering the early hour. The music as well as the show itself had nothing extraordinary to it though, no special effects or outstanding performance. The audience did not care about that fact as they were here to have a good time. And so they did.

Up next on the main stage was the German electro project Faderhead. Along with three guys on samples – one of them also doing backing vocals – Faderhead got the crowd to go insane. Playing songs off the latest album as well as some old hits they turned the place into a huge party. Catchy music caused every visitor to dance their minds out. The guys on stage jumped around big time, never standing still for a second they kept going until the very last second – and so did the audience.

On the screen in the back of the stage you could see either videos to the song or the lyrics to sing along. The singer explained what was on the screen almost between each song. Faderhead played unite some songs off their latest album which is a lot more diverse than they used to be. Nice to see that they have evolved a little and the songs start to have character. The guys on the turntables and samples jumped around as if it was a rave party, trying to animate the audience more and more. Some songs sounded like rave as well but it didn’t matter to the audience. They still loved it big time. Faderhead played for about forty minutes.

Aesthetic Perfection
The American electro band Aesthetic Perfection was up next. With a lot of energy and fun the trio entertained the audience in Oberhausen. The singer was dancing around on stage, while the drummer was going insane behind his drums and the keyboarder was climbing around on his stand.

The boys played old and new songs including all their hits that got the audience go along big time. The audience could sing along to all of them, even the brand new songs off their latest album “ ’Til Death” which was great to see. Aesthetic Perfection spread a whole lot of positive vibes and fun with their catchy songs that definitely get you go along when listening. Time flew by and the guys were done already. Too bad because they have come to be one of the best live bands. That’s for sure.

Agonoize
The German Aggrotech band Agonoize was up next. As preparation the festival crew has covered the speakers with sheets. Some of the centered people in the audience wore rain coats already. The backdrop of Agonoize looked like the inside of a big cathedral. The singer came on stage with a big muzzle which he wore for the first song.

For the third song the singer had a butcher knife in his hand and pretended to cut his wrists. To the surprise of quite some people in the audience a whole lot of blood-like fluid came out sprinkling the audience. With a big puddle of blood the duo continued with their fast and thriving songs and got the audience to go along. Closer to the end of the show they sprayed blood again as well as something that the singer made look like sperm. Even though the vocals of Agonoize are distorted the melodies are absolutely catchy and thriving. Agonoize is a fun live band but you might think twice about your position during the show.

Hocico
Hocico is a Mexican duo making industrial music with quite distorted vocals. As these two came on stage the cheering was immense. Hocico had a screen on stage playing videos to the songs in the background.

Starting right off the singer was bouncing around on stage. Never standing still for even a second, always jumping around to the aggressive music. Neither did the audience. The quite harsh sound made the audience go wild. One fan even had a Mexican fan along which the singer wanted to have. And he got it. He played with the audience and talked to them. The audience highly appreciated it and cheered loud after each song. It sure was a very energetic show by a very energetic band. Hocico played for a little over an hour.

Apoptygma Berzerk
The festival was getting closer to an end and it was time for Apoptygma Berzerk to hit the stage. The synth pop band from Norway was highly awaited by the audience since they have not been playing many shows lately. Not to say any at all. The guys were back on stage playing their show as if they had never been gone. The catchy synth pop music was taking you away from here and now off to its own little world far off all worries.

The old songs such as “Shine On” or “Non Stop Violence” had memories come back into every bodies mind, so you could see the faces of each one turn into nostalgic smiles. A beautiful and impressive sight. Apoptygma Berzerk played all their hits off all albums as well as some covers. The audience could sing along to all songs and danced along to them as well. For almost ninety minutes the Norwegian musicians performed on stage. You could see they were having a great time. So did everybody else. Apoptygma Berzerk will play quite some more festival shows this year. Maybe there will be a new album any time soon as well. So keep your eyes an ears open for what is set to come

Etropolis festival is always a great festival to attend with wonderful bands and a great crowd. See you next year!

Links:
Etropolis Official
X-RX Facebook
Faderhead Official
Aesthetic Perfection Official
Agonoize Official
Hocico Official
Apoptygma Berzerk Official