Categories
News Interviews

Changing Tides – “Niemand gaat er om heen kunnen” 

Het gaat lekker met Changing Tides. Door het winnen van de Guts&Glory bandbattle had Changing Tides de kans om op Jera On Air te spelen. De band heeft ook net een succesvolle crowdfund actie afgerond, om hun nieuwe album op te kunnen gaan nemen. Reden genoeg om even in gesprek te gaan met deze mannen uit Brabant. We spraken ze op Jera On Air. 

Liever kijken? Onder de tekst vind je de Youtube video!

Voorstelrondje!

Wesley – Wij zijn Chaning Tides, uit Brabant. En wij hebben zojuist op Jera on Air gespeeld, voor de eerste keer. En ik denk dat ik voor ons allemaal wel spreek dat we het echt fucking vet vonden. 

Kaspar– De eerste keer op Jera, het voelt nog steeds onwerkelijk dat we hier mogen spelen. 

Hadden jullie uberhaupt verwacht dat jullie die wedstrijd zouden winnen?

(Changing Tides had de Guts&Glory bandbattle gewonnen om hier te mogen spelen).

Kaspar – Nee haha. Je bent natuurlijk al wel langer bezig met je band, dus je hebt misschien wel wat voordeel tegenover andere bands. Maar die bands die op die battle hebben gespeeld waren ook echt goed. 

Timmy – Ja die bands staan daar met een reden. Iedereen die daar die avond gespeeld heeft had het net zo hard verdiend om hier te staan. Ik ben superblij dat wij het zijn geworden, maar iedereen had het net zo hard verdiend. 

Als ik zie hoeveel mensen er bij jullie in de tent stonden, dan was dat ook wel terrecht. 

Kaspar – ja het was echt super vet, ik had me geen beter optreden kunnen voorstellen hier ook. 

Timmy – op een zaterdagmiddag als eerste act staan om 12 uur en gewoon een volle tent hebben, ja dat is echt niet werkelijk ofzo. 

Was dit dan ook meteen jullie grootste show?

Kaspar – Ik denk niet de grootste, de een na grootste sowieso.

Timmy – Ja ik twijfel, Dynamo Metalfest was ook wel echt heel groot. 

In eerste instantie stonden jullie tegelijk met Another Now op de planning. Wat vond je ervan dat de organisatie dat zo gepland had?

Kaspar – Ja we dachten als mensen nu bij Another Now gaan kijken dan hoeft het voor ons niet meer hahaha. Nee grapje hahaha. Another Now is ook een fucking vette band! Maar het is gewoon jammer, er waren twee lokale Nederlandse acts op dezelfde tijd en dat is gewoon jammer. Heel veel van onze fanbase overlapt waarschijnlijk, wij vonden het ook heel vet om bij Another Now nog even te kunnen kijken achteraf. 

Timmy – Dat was ook echt de eerste reactie van heel veel mensen. Ze zagen dat we tegelijk moesten spelen en iedereen had zoiets van ‘come on man’. 

Kaspar – Maar dit was echt perfect. Another Now heeft echt een fucking dikke set neergezet, wij hebben nog backstage kunnen kijken. En bij ons stond het ook lekker goed vol, dus best of both worlds. 

Wesley – Iedereen z’n verdiende publiek. 

Jullie speelden ook een nieuwe track en hebben beelden gemaakt voor een live-video. Denk je dat je leuke beelden hebt kunnen maken? 

Kaspar – Nee. Nee grapje, is echt oprecht goed.

Bas – De camera’s stonden uit. We gaan volgende week nog een keer haha. 

Timmy – De beelden zijn wel gewoon goed gelukt denk ik, het publiek ging helemaal uit z’n dak. Het kan niet tegenvallen denk ik. 

Kaspar – Als het geen leuke clip wordt ligt het echt aan de camera mensen, dan moeten we echt eens gaan kijken naar wie we hebben ingehuurd haha. 

Is die nieuwe track ook al opgenomen?

Kaspar – Die is al opgenomen. De eerste single van ons nieuwe album komt waarschijnlijk in Augustus. 

Timmy – Voor het album moeten we misschien nog een of twee dingen checken, maar voor de rest is alles klaar 

Bas – Voor het album is alles opgenomen, er zijn een paar kleine vocal dingetjes die nog opnieuw moeten. Daarna gaat alles naar de producer toe en dan is met een maand waarschijnlijk alles helemaal af. 

Wat is de planning dan, wanneer komt het nieuwe album uit? 

Timmy – De single die we vandaag hebben gespeeld en de videoclip die komen uit mn hoofd in Augustus.  En dan zijn we van plan om elke drie weken een nieuwe single te droppen. En in November moet het complete album klaar zijn. 

Hoe is de crowfunding actie verlopen? 

Timmy – Die is behaald. 

Daan – Ja dat was eigenlijk een beetje tegen verwachting in. In het begin ging het heel snel. En toen liep het een beetje spaak. En ik had zelf ook zo iets van, oh jee, stel je voor dat het niet gaat lukken. Wat dan? Maar richting het einde van de crowdfunding ging het ineens heel snel. En ineens zaten we ver boven de grens. En dat stelt ons gewoon gerust, het zorgt ervoor dat we heel relaxte dat album kunnen uitbrengen.

Timmy – Het voelt gewoon zo bijzonder dat er zoveel mensen zijn die ons willen supporten. 

Derk – En als mensen die gedoneerd hebben dit lezen, echt dank je wel uit de grond van mijn hart. Zonder jullie hadden we niet eens een nieuw nummer gespeeld. 

De Nederlandse corescene is echt super hecht, iedereen support elkaar en er zijn heel veel samenwerkingen. Horen we ook features op de nieuwe plaat?

Timmy – (heel politiek correct) Er zijn features. Hahaha 🙂

Wat staat er op de planning voor de komende periode?

Timmy – Volgend jaar maart gaan we voor de eerste keer een tour doen in de UK, van vijf dagen. Dat wordt de eerste keer dat we langdurig het buitenland in gaan. We hopen dat we dat uit kunnen breiden en meer Europse landen erbij kunnen trekken. Dus dat is wel de kant die het opgaat. 

Het gaat natuurlijk nu heel lekker met Changing Tides. 2025 wordt het jaar van Chaning Tides denk ik?

Timmy – Niemand gaat er om heen kunnen. 

Derk – Het wordt wel heel moeilijk om dit jaar te overtreffen moet ik zeggen hoor. We hebben echt een goed jaar gehad, afgelopen jaar. 

Je vindt Changing Tides op hun eigen site, of in onze database.

Categories
News

MetalFromNL Tiplijst #19

9 nieuwe tracks deze week voor jullie. Nou ja, nieuw… Sommige tracks waren al een maand uit, maar had ik gewoon niet gezien dus staan ze nu pas in de lijst. Dat maakt ze niet minder vet though! Vooral veel Death Metal in het lijstje vandaag. En over Death Metal gesproken, aankomende zaterdag op Stonehenge spelen ook weer een aantal hele vette bands! See you there! 

Tracklist deze week:

Galg – Hemeltergend
Written in Blood – Flesh of the Dying
Durden, Unnerve – Stumped
Trust us we’re liars – Take Me To The Grave
Cult of Carnage – Enslaved
Unnerve – Hasselhoff
Behind Closed Doors – A Canvas Full Of Bile
Simone Simons (feat Ayreon) – R.E.D.
Chaos Unleashed – I Am Chaos

Youtube:

Mixcloud

Categories
News

Burial Remains – Soulreaper

Burial Remains, Old School Deathmetal from the Netherlands, has been working on their 3rd album. … will be released later this year, but the band just released the first single “Soulreaper” with a video to accompany the track.

This third album of Burial Remains is everything an OSDM fan could want; influences from the classic Swedish death metal scene mixed with the thrashier side of US death metal and topped off with a production that just screams OLD SCHOOL and captures the energy of their live shows. No compromises! Stay tuned for more!

Spotify

Youtube video will premiere at 12.15 on July 24th

Categories
News Reviews

Jera On Air – Sunday June 30

See more pictures below the post

Day 4 of Jera is a weird surprise. In the past few years, Jear On Air only had three days. And when this year’s edition was announced, it only had three days. However, since it was the festival’s 30th anniversary, and the ticket sale had already started, the organization announced the 4th day. Some people were happy; it was another day of festival! Other people not so much, because they had been planning for three days. 

Judging from the number of people that are still left on the festival grounds today, I’m not so sure the 4th day was a success. I think at least half, if not more, of the people was gone today. In a way that was nice – very easy to navigate the festival and no lines at the toilets at all. But it felt a little empty for the bands on the main stage. 

After another load of woodchips on the now very muddy festival grounds, it was time for Deez Nuts. Even though most people already went home, there were plenty of people to get the party going. 

Bongloard was actually a Dutch band, but since it really isn’t metal, we didn’t do a full review of their performance. However, they had a lot of energy on stage and it was a fun break in the day. The Hawk stage never disappoints in that regard. One point of feedback though. The bass player was headbanging so much, that I really don’t know what he looks like, ‘cause all we saw was hair. Talking about dedication lol. 

Time for some solid core with The Acacia Strain. That’s a positive side to the lack of people at the festival today; plenty of room for two-stepping, mosh pits and crowd killing. Plenty of people making good use of the space, and enjoying themselves dancing. 

I’ll say it again: I love good vocals. Make Them Suffer has those, and a female keyboard player to add not just a layer of synths and vocals, but a layer of badasserie on stage as well. While the guitarist likes to show his perfectly carved body, she is just banging her head and being a total badass on stage.

The guitarist is fun to watch, though. I would love to see his step count at the end of the gig, ‘cause it seems he’s running a marathon during their performance going from left to right. And just when the party is going at multiple places in the main tent, and moshpits breaking out everywhere, the keyboard badass takes out a keytar to crank it up a notch. 

Another band that’s bringing the energy is Death Before Dishonor. Again, lots of energy, and a really cool band to watch. It helps that their music is energetic and fun as well. It’s mainly the bass player and the vocalist bringing the energy though. 

The band I was most excited for today was obviously Distant. I saw them at Jera last year, and since then, I’ve been following their releases closely. These guys are growing so fast. With a number of awesome gigs under their belt, touring with Born of Osiris and Whitechapel this year, this band has really grown out of the small stage on Jera. Just listening to one of their releases will show you why.

Before the first tunes even start, the band hands out security vests with their Distant MoshPit Warrior logo on it. The party is on even before they start. And once the music kicks in, people go, hard. Of course, they play their latest release Loveless Suffering. A great number of tracks from Heritage are on the setlist as well.

Their show at Jera is a perfectly produced piece as well. So well, that at the moment both the guitarist and the bass player switch out on stage, no one really notices at first. Why would they switch? Well, if you’re on the small stage, there is no pyro. So of course, you bring your own!

After the kickass Distant show, we manage to see a small part of the Caskets set. I didn’t know this band, and when you don’t know the music and the vocals are off-key, there’s not much reason to stay. The vocalist has a really nasal tone of voice, and it’s turning me off. Maybe more people thought the same, ‘cause there aren’t many people in the tent at this point. 

After seeing Zulu at Graspop, we went to check them on Jera as well. In my memory, Zulu was pretty hard and pretty fun. However, I might have had a beer or two too much at Graspop, ‘cause seeing them at Jera was a totally different experience. The crowd seems to love it though. Lots of stagediving and moshing again, and the energy on stage is good. It might be because I’m tired, but it just doesn’t really grasp me. It’s a bit boring, too much of the same. 

Decking to go watch Atreyu was the best decision today. We entered while they played Euphoria, probably one of the few tracks I know from this band, and it couldn’t be better. My mood changed in an instant. Artreyu is very fun to watch. This band obviously has a very good time on stage. All of them were continuously smiling, and there was great interaction between the band members on stage. They were shaking butts, doing weird stuff, and just having fun.

It’s refreshing to see a band with so many great vocalists, as all of these guys take turns in singing. Of course, me being a sucker for good vocals and vocal harmonies couldn’t be happier. The guitarist is having his birthday today, and the band surprises him with a cake (and of course, we all get to sing Happy Birthday to him). Just great vibes all around. 

I wasn’t too sure if I wanted to see Lionheart. However, after hearing the great stories of their performance yesterday, and not much else to see really, we went for Lionheart. That was a good choice; their music is as straightforward as their name, and the happy vibes from Artreyu continued for a bit during their set. 

Tesseract maybe shouldn’t have been in the line-up, and the main stage probably wasn’t the place for them, either. Even less so on this last day, the 4th day that was added later on as a surprise. As most people already went home that morning, and Tesseract didn’t really fit the ‘core’ vibe, that showed in the number of people in the tent. While it was somewhat crowded when they started their set, at the end, there were probably just 4 rows of people left in front of the stage. Maybe 50 people at most. While there were still groups of people scattered, I actually felt sorry for the band. 

It didn’t help that the band started out with pretty technical and challenging music. Not the groovy, head-banging tunes we’ve been hearing all weekend. It’s technically really good, but it might be a bit to intellectual for this festival. Tesseract is listening music, not party music. 

And with the tunes of Enter Shikari in our ears, we sadly have to miss them this time, ‘cause it’s a long drive back home. We were lucky enough to get our car out without the help of the tractor (of course the parking turned into one, big mud pit). See you next time, Jera!

Distant

Other bands

Categories
Interviews News

Nephylim – “Dit is de stilte voor de storm van volgend jaar”

Nephylim speelde tijdens Jera On Air op de Hawk stage. Een beetje een vreemde eend in de bijt, want Nephylim speelt geen core, maar melodische death metal. Maar, een beetje vreemd is best wel lekker op zo’n zomer festival. We proberen al een tijdje deze band te interviewen, maar we hebben het eindelijk voor elkaar!

Categories
News

MetalFromNL Tiplijst #18

Hele nieuwe muziek die vorige week vrijdag uitkwam, wat minder nieuwe muziek die twee weken geleden uitkwam, en muziek die al in juni uitkwam maar die we óf vergeten waren, of uberhaupt niet wisten dat het er was. Dat is wat je te wachten staat in deze extra editie van de tiplijst. 


Wat vinden jullie van het idee om de tiplijst gewoon elke week te doen? Maar dan misschien met wat minder tracks, als er niet 10 nieuwe tracks zijn om te delen? Laat het ons weten! 

Tracklist deze week:

Serve – Spectre (20 juni)
The Shiva Hypothesis – The perilous journey of the soul (28 juni)
Reality Spill – Remedy (5 juli)
3rd Machine – 21st Century Man (5 juli)
Sledeon – Superhuman (5 juli)
Vidarr – Fields of Decay (14 juni)
Odd Obsessions – Let the Fire burn (11 juli)
Out Of The Blue – House of Worms(11 juli)
Charlotte Wessels – Dopamine(11 juli)

Categories
News

Jera On Air – Saturday June 29th

More pictures? Scroll down to below the post!

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!

Pictures of Changing Tides

Pictures of Another Now

Pictures of For I Am King

Categories
News Reviews

Jera On Air – Friday 28th of June

(see all pictures (and more) fullsize below)

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 🙂

Categories
News

Durden (feat. Unnerve)- Stumped

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!

https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/3kWmIlG2RMPVHgcgtxHwZI?utm_source=generator&theme=0
Categories
Reviews News

Jera On Air – Thursday june 27th

(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 🙂