04-05-2014 Neurotic Deathfest

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

Day 3

The last day of Neurotic Deathfest was about to start and some great names were about to play. As a very first act it is up to the American Cephalic Carnage to start the day. And as some appreciation for those who came out early the band arranged some breakfast for their audience. While handing out some sandwiches the atmosphere is set before a single song has been played.

But when they start the whole gets energetic. The band comes with rather short songs, very direct and with a sharp edge. Here and there they play a bit with the genres, some jazzy sound may come into it but then again the guys don’t ever lose touch with the Grind core that lies in their basis. An interesting wakeup call from these guys, they get you sharp.

In the second hall Fleshless was playing, a band from Czech Republic. The guys formed in 1993 but have been playing under a different name before. During the years they have released 7 studio albums but the last one is dating back to 2011, so not too recent material has been out.

At their performance it is still relatively quiet compared to what we have seen earlier in this hall. Perhaps people are gathering for what comes next at the main stage as there is still some space to move around and the lack of a massive moshpit is something that does not go unnoticed. Though, it might just have been too early as the band is not doing that bad. A strong guitarist gives you plenty of reason to watch the show carefully and with vocals t come over that the whole is dynamic enough.

The mighty Grave might be the reason many gathered at the main stage early. The Swedish started their band in 1988 and with ten full length releases on the counter they have the right to be seen as one of the largest ones.

The band has it all going, they march on without anything to stop them, they even admit to be exhausted due to the travelling but that does never really show in their show so much. A band that plays with pleasure and playfulness and not having any trouble to involve the awaiting audience. When the guys start playing their song “Into The Grave” a roar goes through the hall from the audience, one of those classics people have been waiting for. A great show from the Swedish who came with enthusiasm and conquered today.

Where Grave was inspiring and enthusiast the Americans of Misery Index was quite the opposite. The band released their 5th album called “The Killing Gods” this year but based on this performance I would not bother to get my hands on it. The guys gave the impression they wanted to rush through their set and here and there they appeared a bit sloppy. Where you expected the guys to give some sort of performance the band remains with a quite plain show and that in combination with all these other elements that were not executed to the max the whole turns out a bit disappointing. Such a shame, we expected much more and have seen much more from them before.

In the small hall we were seeing the Dutch formation Severe Torture. The word of them has been out there to be a surprisingly interesting act and so come the place was packed again. Formed in 1997 the band never took much of a break though their latest release is dating back to 2010 now. However the guys said to be working on a brand new release, so who knows what to expect next.

On this show they showed themselves to be intense. The vocals are quite dominating but it does not leave out the massive sound the rest of the band produces. What is most fun to see is that these guys work together pretty well, and together with an energetic performance we certainly have seen a band that can set the show. Hopefully they won’t let us wait too long for a new release, because they certainly convinced us today.

The next giant on stage would be Pestilence. Started as a Thrash band in 1986 the band is nowadays known for their overwhelming Death Metal.

The band started with playing a couple of songs of their most recent release. “Obsideo” and “Displaced” came by but it seems like the older material is more what the audience was waiting for. Though the band does not dig the deepest into their discography they found their click with audience rather fast. It comes with the right dose of energy never goes overdone with that. Pestilence is always a joy to have at your festival and today they did not let us down either.

The story of Dark Angel is not the happiest one They have been on and off and an unfortunate accident forced the band to break up again in 2005. Last year the Thrashers decided to get back together and play some shows again. What is the most remarkable about their appearance is that although the band is playing on the main stage for a fully filled hall it almost looks like they are standing right in between the crowd. The interaction they make is interesting. And if the gap between the audience and the stage was smaller it would not have surprised me to see them jumping off.

A Thrashy end to this year’s Neurotic Deathfest makes we go out a little different than expected but with the great joy these guys play their songs and their crowd the show end memorable.

After these three days we eat, breathe and sleep Death and we totally love it. A whole year to wait before another edition of NDF is ahead though.

Photo’s by sabinevangameren.com

Day 2: click here
Day 1: click here

Links:
Neurotic Deathfest website