02-05-2014 Neurotic Deathfest

Venue: 013, Tilburg (Netherlands)
By: Sabine van Gameren

Three days of Death Metal, Neurotic Deathfest organizes it for you. With the best names out of the scene, some you have not heard of for years and some that got big by their live reputation. A whole program for those who prefer some their metal to be extreme and Death.

Day 1

Deceased, the first band to play at the festival and surprisingly the venue is filled already. The audience would not like to miss out on any of the bands as it seems. About Deceased you could know that they are actually the first band that was signed on the famous Relapse Records, a label that gets praised on stage by several artists throughout the festival which indicates that with these guys on there first, they have set a strong company.

Even though the band has been around long, they have released six studio albums, the band has not really done any tour in Europe so with their performance here at Neurotic Deathfest they must surely found themselves happy. The band starts of strong and is quite active. What stands out are guitars, brought with a strong passionate feel.

Overall it is a bit of a pity that the band only has 30 minutes of stage time. Would have loved to see a bit more of the band as they got a good response of the audience as well.

At the second stage of the festival, Antropomorphia was ready to play. The smaller stage was deathly crowded. A lot of people were interested to see the acts playing there and sometimes it was hard to nearly impossible get in there.

This band has been formed in 1989 but broke up after the release of only one album. In 2009 the guys reformed the group and with their Doom/Death sound they are currently working on their third studio album. As a performance the band seemed quite calm, just playing the songs as is and not giving it much energy by living it live. The focus is obviously on the sound and that results in strong vocals accompanied by a heavy backing.

After a cover they played their own song “Crack The Casket” which seem to make the strongest impression on the crowd, perhaps its release in the EP “Necromantic Love Songs” was to cause that though the band played mainly songs of their latest album which dates back to 2012.

The Belgian band Aborted is one of those bands you could see at many of the greatest Metalfestivals in the lowlands. Formed in 1995 the band currently has eight full lengths released and the list is still counting. The last one released about a week before the festival so the audience was expecting to hear a lot of new material.

‘Raise The Dead’ and ‘Kill The Living’ it says on the stage and since that indicates a zombie state of mind the band seems to fit perfectly in an ideal Tempelores festival experience. It does not cost vocalist Sven any effort to make the audience live the music through. ‘Split the fuck up’ he says and within seconds his followers obey, to burst into a great pit whenever he gives the sign to do so. Aborted had the hearts of the audience today, obviously one of the strongest performances of the day yet with only 30 minutes again a bit on the short side.

Massacre has been existing on and off since 1984. The Americans have managed to release three albums since of which the latest on is coming from this year. “Back From Beyond” is its name and the guys start with playing some songs of that release. It is not their main focus as they gladly dig into their history to please the fans out there who have been following them longer with some older material.
However, the band does not always seem to be too motivated. Here and there it appears a bit sloppy and it is as if they try to rush through their set to get back to whatever business they had beyond. A bit of a disappointment here, we hoped to see them playing these songs with a little more enthusiasm especially when trying to push a brand new album for sales. Maybe it wasn’t their day, but they did not leave a great impression here.

In the small hall it was extremely crowded again for the Norwegian band Kraanium. The guys returned from hiatus in 2006 and came with a debut in 2008 which up to today the band followed up with two more full lengths.

The band has a focus on the technical side and that is exactly where they stand out in today. The techniques are paying off, Kraanium gives their full energy to bring out these songs very well and while the audience stirs up the whole with a massive pit the interaction between the band and the audience is optimal. A right atmosphere and a band that has the skills to turn the audience in a wild and energetic mass that lives the show as much as the band self. A great show from these Norwegian guys, a highlight.

Pungent Stench was announced as Shirenc plays Pungent Stench as there is a dispute going on with one of the band members considering the band name. No matter what is put on the bill, the visitors of Neurotic Deathfest were mainly speaking of Pungent Stench as is so there was nothing less to expect.
However the re-uniting did not go that smoothly as planned the band seemed determined to tour and while vocalist Martin introduces himself as Miley Cyrus as a joke they leave no time go to waste between each song. From “Just Let Me Rot” to “Viva la Muerte” the band raged on and when after 50 minutes their set is over the audience seem to be willing to hear some more. Yet a schedule is a schedule and we have to hope the band can settle their dispute to make sure we can get to see more of them again.

Terrorizer closes the Mainstage on this first Neurotic Death-day. The band around ex Morbid Angel drummer Pete Sandoval has been activated again in 2009 and with a celebration in the pocket the band would have enough reason to build a great show. Their album “World Downfall” celebrates it 25th anniversary and therefore the complete album would be played. A great idea for those who enjoyed that album greatly and the band seems fully enthusiastic on stage.

Besides the celebration of the album with playing it from begin to end, the band also throws in a Death cover. It comes to notice that Death is THE band to cover as several bands have played a cover of that band today and it is interesting enough to hear the different versions of these songs. It would be worth to put them all on one release perhaps, but that’s another thing.

Terrorizer gave the audience a few more songs from more recent releases and then left the stage. For the lucky ones who got themselves in the second stage in time there was Prostitude Disfigurement to end it all and otherwise two more days are ahead.