SuffiX is a melodic hardrock/metal band, originating from Leiden and founded in 2003. Their debute album ‘Your Turn’ was released in 2011 followed-up by demo ‘Proof of Concept’ in 2014. In 2022 they released their EP ‘Cage of Infinity’
Day 3 of Jera On Air was going to be a challenge for us because Another Now and Changing Tides were scheduled to play at the same time. Fortunately, there was a shift in the time-table, allowing Another Now to play on the main stage half an hour later. This meant we could see both bands. The third day of this festival was all about Dutch metal bands, featuring Another Now, Changing Tides, and For I Am King.
Changing Tides had the honor of opening the festival today in the Buzzard tent. Playing as the first band at noon doesn’t always turn out well, but that was not the case here. It was very clear that this band has many fans; even at this hour, the tent was completely full. From the first moment, it was chaos with mosh pits, crowd surfers, and stage divers. The band made good use of the fact that it’s quite easy to get on stage in this tent.
Twice, other vocalists joined the stage, including Sten Govers (Deeproot, Colombian Necktie, Ecocide), who performed an entire track. It was evident that this band has strong support from fans and other bands in the Dutch core scene, and rightly so.
Their music is solid and powerful, like a bulldozer. Despite this, the relatively young band performed with huge smiles on their faces, and their joy was infectious. In my opinion, this show was one of the best of the festival.
As an extra treat for the fans, Changing Tides performed their new track “Louder Than Words” for the first time and shot a video for it on the spot. Unfortunately, two girls in front of me seemed more interested in seeking attention, but the audience embraced the words “create chaos,” with moshing, stage diving, and crowd surfing all around.
There was plenty of energy in this video, and I’m curious about the final result. Keep an eye on our channels for an interview with the band, where we discuss new music and more.
After Changing Tides’ set, we rushed to the main stage for one of the other Dutch bands of the day, Another Now. I was particularly excited because I really like their latest album “HEX.” You can find the review of “HEX” here. I had high expectations for this performance, and they were certainly met. However, because the crowd at Changing Tides was so lively and the large stage for Another Now felt a bit empty, Changing Tides’ performance remained the standout. It also didn’t help that the sound at the mainstage was disappointing. We mostly heard drums and vocals, while the guitars were almost inaudible.
It improved as we moved towards the center of the tent, but the sound was still not perfectly balanced. Fortunately, Another Now played hit after hit from “HEX,” with “Breathe” being my highlight. There was no lack of energy on stage. The crowd from Changing Tides eventually moved over to Another Now, making it feel busy and lively. Stay tuned for the interview I had with singer Stef.
Brand Of Sacrifice I don’t remember too much off, other than that I took two great pictures of the band’s vocalist, so I’ll leave it at that.
Erra was another band that performed both at Graspop and Jera. I didn’t know the band when I saw them at Graspop, but I was pleasantly surprised by their performance there. At Jera, Erra delivered a good set again, with a lot of drama in their music.
The electronics, which seem to be a staple in modern metal, were also prominent in Erra’s music. The sound balance was finally good during Erra’s performance, and we could actually hear the guitars. The clean vocals, however, could have been better balanced as they weren’t always on point.
Next up was a band I hadn’t heard of before: Guilt Trip. It turned out to be a super fun band with groovy riffs that got people moving. The tent was really crowded, and it didn’t help that it was still over 25 degrees outside. Guilt Trip didn’t play flawlessly, but their mistakes were forgiven because their squeals and harmonics were spot-on and enjoyable.
Then it was time for the last Dutch band of the day, For I Am King. It had been a long time since I had seen this band live, but they hadn’t changed a bit. Frontwoman Alma (shoutout to women in metal, whoohoo!) provided cheerful commentary on the crowd, the stage, and the festival, making for a great show.
Instead of rehearsed lines and speeches, Alma was just being herself, which was very entertaining. She’s also still a beast of a vocalist. The melodic metalcore of For I Am King was well received on the main stage, which was completely full.
When Alma asked the crowd to start running in circles (and actually waited until the circle pit started), they obediently followed her instructions. The entire show passed by like a speeding train. The highlight for me was “Liars,” because that track is just incredibly strong.
After For I Am King, I had an interview with Changing Tides, but then it was time for the much-needed beers of the day. Dead By April surprised us with EDM-inspired metalcore. The band had the misfortune of losing all their gear at the airport, but the Jera organization managed to arrange gear for them so they could still perform. It was impressive that the band, without their own gear, delivered a tight set. For someone like me, who doesn’t know the band, it wasn’t clear until they mentioned it themselves.
Time for some angry music from Biohazard. Unlike the negative energy from Body Count two days earlier, Biohazard was very appreciative of being there. They took a picture of the crowd with their own phone and talked about how happy they were to be playing there. Frontman Evan Seinfeld shared a touching story about a fan who supported the band during their first show in the Netherlands and was thrilled that this fan was there again today. They also thanked the entire crew, from drivers to security staff. This is how you should engage with your audience (learn from them, Body Count).
Time for some deathcore. We already had Changing Tides this morning, but The Black Dahlia Murder is a big name internationally, so it makes sense they were on the second stage. It took a while for the band to find their groove on stage. The guitarist looked quite grumpy during the first two songs, and when the sound cut out during the intro of the second song, I could only think that the setup didn’t go as planned. However, the atmosphere in the hall was great, and when a guy in an ape costume ran on stage, the chaos was complete. I could only think, ‘poor guy in his personal sauna,’ because it was already hot enough in a t-shirt. Towards the end of the set, there was some relief as it started raining heavily, which brought a lot of people inside to seek shelter. The singer’s response was, ‘It’s worse in here’ 🙂 I love that kind of humor.
The rain quickly created large puddles on the grounds, but it was dry again by the time Thy Art Is Murder performed. Fortunately, another band with good sound. This was great because their solos were super cool, and we could actually hear them well.
Next was Crosses, a band recommended to me. In my opinion, they were the surprise of the day; their dark, gloomy synthwave was a bit out of place but a welcome change. With only two ‘band members,’ the show was less visually interesting until the singer decided to go into the crowd. That’s fun if you have a wireless microphone, but now someone had to make sure his cable didn’t get pulled out. The tent was only half full, similar to Carpenter Brut last year, but those present really enjoyed the music.
If Changing Tides was the first highlight of the day, While She Sleeps was definitely the second. They opened with “Slave Society” and quickly moved through their hits, including “To The Flowers,” “Self Hell,” and “The Guilty Party.” The emotional clean lyrics hit harder live than on record, but my emotions might also be heightened by the amount of alcohol I had consumed. The singer created a spectacle by crowd surfing to one of the tent poles and then jumping back from about 5 meters high into the crowd below. I get vertigo just watching it, but it went well, so he probably does this sort of thing often.
Time for a band I didn’t know, but they turned out to be a party: Alpha Wolf. They played in the small tent, which could now be known as the party tent. Halfway through the set, they asked the audience to join them on stage. Not only did people immediately comply, but crowd surfing continued on stage. This was the biggest chaos I’ve seen at this festival, and it was super fun to experience. The band hardly had any room to play, but they continued with full energy.
Bury Tomorrow was the band I was most excited to see today, and since I didn’t have my camera with me, I ended up in the pit. The pit continued throughout the entire set, except when there was a brief pause to lift crowd surfers to the front.
The last band of the evening was Architects. Of course, their last track “Curse” was played, along with “Animals” and “Seeing Red.” They also played at Graspop, but here, in a smaller tent with fewer people, the show felt more intimate, and the music resonated better.
One more day to go. By the end of the day, the grounds had turned into one big mud puddle. But we were prepared for it, so it didn’t matter. Tomorrow, the last day!
At 11 o’clock, we were standing neatly in front of the gate waiting to be let in, along with, to be fair, not many other metalheads. Understandable, since the first band wouldn’t start until 12 o’clock.
However, we were invited to join RockPopRadio to talk about MetalFromNL and some Dutch bands, so we had to be somewhat on time. Fortunately, the gates to Jera finally opened at 11:15. After the radio show, it was finally time for the main event of this festival: the bands.
The first band of the day was Holding Absence. I wasn’t familiar with the band, but there wasn’t another band I was particularly interested in seeing. Plenty of people were already awake, as the tent was quite full. The guitarist made some mistakes in his enthusiasm to headbang, but nobody cared.
It was already packed for Thrown long before it started. Thrown is just awesome. All the guitars are tuned super low, and the bass tones resonate through your chest. It’s hard and intense, with headbanging all the way. The crowd loved it, and it was a party from the start.
Unfortunately, I had to leave Thrown early to be on time for Nephylim’s performance. During the soundcheck, the deep grunts of vocalist Tijn were already audible as more people streamed in. It’s a bit puzzling why this melodic death metal band was on this stage, but the Hawk stage had the most unique programming of the weekend, so in that sense, they fit right in.
There were also enough metalheads who could appreciate more than just metalcore and hardcore, as the room was quite full once the band started. This was one of the most enjoyable performances to watch, mainly because the guys had so much fun on stage. The constant smiles on their faces made for some not-so-flattering photos, but the atmosphere was great.
They played their probably best-known track, “Withered.” In the core scene, songs often last around 3-4 minutes, so Nephylim’s tracks felt extra long in this setting. They filled that time with interesting guitar riffs, and especially a lot of headbanging. They even managed to organize a small circle pit in this small tent. That pit mostly consisted of people known from the Dutch metal scene, so it’s clear Nephylim had many fans on the grounds.
Bleed From Within (say that again in your head, but with a Scottish accent) we had also seen at Graspop. But since this band is regularly on repeat, we couldn’t pass up the chance to see Bleed From Within again. The setlist was almost the same, maybe even entirely, but I listen to too much music to remember. “The End of All We Know,” “Levitate,” and “I Am Damnation” are naturally great sing-alongs, and the audience eagerly joined in. Where there was a small pit at Graspop, it quickly expanded here.
I only knew Brutus by name, and although it sounds Dutch, this band is actually from Belgium. They get bonus points for not only having a woman in the band but also a woman who can both sing very well and play drums. For me, Brutus was a bit of a festival surprise. Powerful, emotional vocals, and a sound comparable to the Dutch band Dool. Progressive, dark, and at times a bit doom-inspired. It’s a dreamy sound with dreamy vocals… until you are abruptly woken up. This contrast makes Brutus a very interesting interlude.
Ice Nine Kills isn’t entirely my thing. I’ve avoided them a bit so far, mainly because of the considerable hype around them. But, to be fair, it’s quite cool. If you like singer/songwriter music but with metal, then it’s great. Each song is a whole story, and everything is meticulously crafted. Even if the music doesn’t appeal to you as much, the whole show around it makes it definitely worth seeing live at least once.
Of Mice & Men were also at Graspop, but they are high on my list of most-played songs in the past year. As you probably know by now, I’m a sucker for good vocalists. And Of Mice & Men fit that description. They played all the expected hits again; “Obsolete,” “Would You Still Be There,” “Castaway” … all great sing-alongs. And the audience loved it.
Sum 41 is one of those bands you can’t avoid at a festival like this. As a teenager, I liked them but wasn’t a huge fan. And that feeling still prevails. These kinds of bands naturally appeal a lot to nostalgia. Sum 41 does this by playing their hits. They also play a lot of music I’m not directly familiar with, but because it’s all very cheerful sing-along music, it doesn’t matter. It’s a big party during Sum 41. It’s easy to score points by playing “We Will Rock You,” but it works.
There was also a surprise band on the schedule today. The hope was for a cool Dutch hardcore band, but instead, Lionheart played an extra set. Lionheart is scheduled for their own set tomorrow, but today they prepared a special set of covers. Mostly Limp Bizkit, but also Beastie Boys, Rage Against the Machine, and KORN. Speaking of nostalgia.
Thrasher We ended the evening in the party tent with Thrasher, partying until we couldn’t walk anymore. How we will survive tomorrow is still a bit unclear, but luckily the first band doesn’t start until 12 o’clock 🙂
Durden is back with new music! If you’ve heard the interview we did with them, you already know the story behind this one. And if you didn’t yet, check it out!
(See all the photos larger at the end of the post)
After a not too long journey, in better weather than expected, MetalFromNL arrived at the Jera campsite on Thursday afternoon. Fortunately, the weather forecasts were good, and it looked like we were in for a beautiful weekend. As you would expect on the first day, there was still plenty of space both at the campsite and on the grounds. After having a few beers at the tent, we slowly made our way to our second home for this weekend: the festival grounds.
The nice thing about Jera On Air is that the festival is very easy to navigate. A second advantage, whether in good or bad weather, is that all stages are covered. In the sun, you have shade, and if it starts to rain, you can still see your favorite band while staying dry (well, mostly).
We started our festival with Knosis. You know your day is off to a hard start with them. It’s mainly the bassist who steals the show, with jumping, headbanging, and a lot of energy on stage. The whole performance is super hard and intense, except for the last track, which is probably their hit. Personally, I found the tracks they played before that much more interesting; less poppy and predictable.
On to Shadow of Intent. We had unfortunately missed this band at Graspop, so it was time for a second chance. The sound for Shadow of Intent was a bit better than it was for Knosis, which is necessary with so many orchestral parts in their tracks. In that regard, Shadow of Intent’s music is also more sing-along friendly, and the crowd was really giving it their all.
It’s not completely full yet (even though the singer says it is), as many people probably still need to arrive. They also play several tracks from their latest album. The new tracks are even harder, angrier, but somehow also have more orchestral parts. Despite the awesome music, I honestly find the stage performance rather disappointing. It’s all a bit static, and there’s little interaction with the audience.
The audience doesn’t care at all; during “Heretic,” everyone goes wild, and they even manage to organize the first Wall of Death of the festival.
After Shadow of Intent, we took a break to get something to eat. The weather was supposed to stay nice all weekend (except for Sunday), but you never know with weather forecasts in the Netherlands. At least, it had been very warm and pleasant all day. However, during this break, there was some cooling off as the rain poured down (for a short while). Fortunately, it didn’t last long, and after some much-needed cooling off and some food, we were ready to continue.
Time for Hot Mulligan. I wasn’t familiar with the band, but several people recommended them to me. Hot Mulligan is popular—the venue was genuinely packed this time. And rightly so, Hot Mulligan plays cheerful pop-punk and enjoyable indie music. The crowd had really arrived by now, as we saw plenty of stage divers and crowd surfers. Jera is a festival where all of this is allowed, and people definitely took advantage of it. The emotional lyrics resonated well with the audience, who sang along to almost everything.
We also saw Bodycount at Graspop—and today, they did not disappoint either. Just like at Graspop, they started off today with their intro track (“Bodycount in the house!”) followed by “Raining Blood.” It’s one thing to start with that main riff, but Bodycount plays the entire track. It’s impressive when a thrash band does that, but to see a rap metal band nail this track so intensely is on a whole other level of awesome. Kudos again to the guitarist, who can outplay many guitarists at the festival this weekend.
Bodycount is tough and grim; their new track “Purge” proves that. That’s also a bit of the band’s caveat; it’s all very angry men’s music. Except for Ice-T’s son, who takes over the stage with a big smile and a lot of energy, often mimicking the lyrics on stage. He even goes as far as taking blood pills during “Psychopath” and pretending to die.
After Bodycount, I watched Bad Religion for about 5 minutes, but it quickly became clear that it’s not really my thing. However, most of the audience is here, so that certainly doesn’t reflect the opinion of the majority. The anticipation for today’s headliner, Eskimo Callboy, begins.
Eskimo Callboy not only plays their latest album “TEKKNO,” but because they have so much time (an hour and a half, hooray!), they also include old hits like “The Scene.” Of course, in such a long set, we’re treated to musical interludes as well. Like the epic drum version of Darude’s “Sandstorm.” And the vocalists (and the audience) get into it with “Let it Go” and The Backstreet Boys. Ultimately, we’re here for all the hits, and they play them all. Naturally, with plenty of fire and fireworks elements. It’s a wonder the tent hasn’t burned down yet, but we’re used to these displays at Jera by now.
After this epic show, everyone heads towards the campsite or the parking lot. At the campsite, the party continues with a silent disco. No disco for us anymore; tomorrow is another long day 🙂
Sledeon is back with new music! Last friday, this modern symphonic metal band released their latest track, ‘Superhuman’, including a video! This is symphonic metal done well, in a modern way. Check it out on Spotify or Youtube.
nn
nn
[if 48 not_like=””]
[/if 118]nnn
![\"\"](\"https://www.metalfrom.nl/wp-content/uploads/formidable/4/core-meltdown-red-150x150.png\")
\n\n
nn
[/if 118]nnn