Releasedate: 21.06.2024
Gallamesh is a new modern metal band from Amsterdam, and they just released their debut EP Conditioned Pt.1. We really liked their previously released singles, so we were excited to give the full EP a listen.
Category: Reviews
Releasedate 31.05.2024
Everything Decays started out under a different bandname, but have since released two singles and now, an EP. The EP with the forever-to-be-remembered impossibly long name ‘Requiem 1: The Serial Killer’s Symphony of Liberation, Deliverance and Relief, that is. Or, Requiem 1 for short. Let’s head into this serial killers tale and hear what we we thought of it.
Requiem 1
Requiem 1 is a concept album that tells the tale of a serial killer from beginnging to end. From the start of the tale with The Monster That You Made Of Me to the inevitable Suicide, and the Legacy he (or she) leaves, the tale is complete. Expect deep growls, powerful screams and at times, spoken word, and haunting female voices. Everything Decays classify themselves as groovy deathcore. With two vocalists to take on that role, expect heavy, groovy tracks with the occasional blastbeat and breakdown.
The Creation
The Creation: The Monster That You Made Of Me kicks off the album with groovy death metal right away. Everything Decays play groovy deathcore, so none of that grimy sounding guitars but instead, crisp and clear sound and groovy riffs. If you would have labeled it modern deathmetal, I would have bought it too. It’s fast until the break at the very end. The ‘No more hiding from me, anymore’ part and the groovy part right after leaves us wanting for more.
The Addiction
After the creation, we fall into The Addiction. We hear a whole different side of the female vocalist, and a different side of Everything Decays. Again we have the groovy repeating riffs, but we have to wait till the second part of the song for the blastbeats and the fast chugs. This song is very well thought-out, with the lyrics and the music complementing each other well. The gang vocals ‘there’s always something new’ seem haunting in light of the track. And because it’s a concept album, the vocal at the end ease us into the next track ‘The Collection’ with the lyrics: Welcome to my gallery.
The Collection
Not that there’s anything easy with The Collection. It is probably the most moshable track on the album right off the start. Everything Decays manages to combine the fast deathmetal parts with the groovy riffs well. It makes for an interesting listen where you want to bang your head and smash all the furniture around you. The vocalist shows again on this track that she is way more than a one-trick pony. Again the clean vocals, fitting the groove metal vibe well, shine throught at the final part of the track, which leads us to Suicide.
The Suicide
The Suicide kicks off with the blastbeats and a very poppy chordprogression for the heaviness of the subject. Besides the expected growls, there are almost rap-like spoken word parts on this track as well, adding to the story. The riffs on this track are interesting, becuase they consistently aren’t what you expect. From being just one note off of what you’d logically expect in the mainriff, to bringing groovy parts where you wouldn’t expect, or just the poppy chordprogression in the intro. Everything Decays manages to make this track interesting to listen too. And with the ending of the track after ‘ We became the monsters, lurking in the dark’, or just that whole part, it’s almost progressive metal.
The Legacy
The Legacy was a track that we’ve heard before. I remember talking about this track on our tiplijst, being surprised by the vocals and the riffs. Again, an almost progressive track with a lot of variation and interesting parts, groovier than some of the others.
Final thoughts
Requiem 1 is a super interesting album to listen too, cause there’s a lot of surprises, even though I spoil many of them in the review. If you’re into groove metal, definitely give this album a listen. There are deathcore references in the album, but that’s certainly not the mainvibe. The most interesting track to me is probaly The Suicide. However, I’’d recommend listening to this album as a whole, because you’d get the full story and the tracks make a lot more sense that way.
You can find Everything Decays on Facebook or in our database.
Tracklisting:
The Creation: The Monster That You Made Of Me
The Addiction: The Thrill Of The Hunt
The Collection: The Soulless Will Remain
The Suicide: A Last Act of Atonement
The Legacy:Transcended My Mortal Coil
Categories
Can Abyss – Dedication
Releasedate: 14.05.2024
Can Abyss was a new name on our radar when we heard of their album ‘Dedication’, but it’s a band that has been active since 1994. It just took them 30 years to release this album, so it was definitely worth the listen. Let’s dive in!
Dedication
First of all, dig the name. Can Abyss has released the five-song album ‘Dedication’ and it’s a great collection of songs. Fret not! Even though it’s only five songs, the shortest song is 5:33 long, so you’ll have plenty of time to listen.
That Lighthouse
The album starts with ‘That Lighthouse’ and what a beginning of this album. The song starts with a powerful riff that immediately has you banging your head to the song. Seven minutes may seem long but they definitely know how to keep you invested. The song is well-constructed and well-written. Towards the end of the song, you’ll be surprised with a jazzy mellow piece that may leave some people wondering what’s going on. But hold your horses and wait for it. You won’t be disappointed.
The Wolf You Feed The Most
‘The Wolf You Feed The Most’ starts off with an aggressive and heavy start with nice and dirty dissonant chords. It takes you through the song and also has a more mellow and chill bridge in the song. Whereas the melody is very pleasant to listen to, the lead that is played over it feels a bit simple and underwhelming. But that is honestly the only criticism I have for this song.
A Mötorhead Who Loved Death
‘A Mötorhead Who Loved Death’ is the longest song of the album, passing the eight-minute mark. The track is almost completely instrumental but it’s a work of art. A soothing start that leads into a prog-ish bit that lasts for a good while. Though it doesn’t change too much until the solo starts it doesn’t feel too long for some reason. The catchy riff keeps you invested (or at least kept me invested) and evolves into the final stage of the song, where they give you some words of goodbye.
Organized Mime
The fourth song is ‘Organized Mime’. These folks definitely have their wordplay on point. This song also consists of powerful guitar play but definitely allows the bass player to shine as well. With very cool bass licks that are accompanied by beautiful guitar melodies, this song is a witness to their ability in songwriting (where were those beautiful melodies in the second song?!). Followed by an enticing guitar solo and a great heavy outro that takes you back to the starting riff.
Death of a Star
Last but definitely not least is ‘Death of a Star’. This is a massive and strong song as well. They know how to construct their songs well, that much is also shown again in this last song. The song casually progresses from one part to the other and takes you on the final journey of the album. They chose to start more complex and mellow down a little towards the end which brings you to a nice ending to the song, as well as the album.
Final Words
All in all, ‘Dedication’ is a great album for anyone who likes heaviness with the influences of Death Metal and Black Metal. Can Abyss knows their stuff when it comes to songwriting and I’m definitely waiting for more of them to be released. Another very important thing I would like to point out is the mix. The natural feel in the production has been executed meticulously and wonderfully. What makes me really happy is that I can hear the bass guitar well because it’s definitely not the “simple following of the chords” but very interesting and well-executed bass lines.
Keep it up, Can Abyss. Great job!
Want to know more about Can Abyss? Find them on Facebook.
Categories
Or Not – Violence&Grace
Release date: 07.06.2024
Or Not is a special band in more than one way. One of the reasons is the fact that the band plays the pretty unique genre Symphonic Thrash Metal. Another one of those reasons is that they are ambassadors for Energy4All, a foundation that fights the battle against mitochondrial diseases. Who is this father-and-son duo that came out of nowhere with their album Violence&Grace?
Or Not
Or Not first saw the light just before the Corona crisis. Where most people around 40 fall in a midlife crisis, Or Not’s founder Dolf Blomhert decided to take things in a different direction. Having played in various metal bands before, Dolf decided it was time to put his name on some metal again. His son Daniel, who grew up to be a drummer, joined him in that project. Together they played and recorded all the parts for Violence&Grace, apart from some guest appearances from other musicians.
Symphonic Thrash Metal
I didn’t really know what I could expect from ‘symphonic thrash metal’. Turns out, if you’ve ever heard Powerwolf, it’s kinda in the same boathouse. Not quite similar, but more in the same direction. There are plenty of thrash metal riffs and really fast double bass drum parts. But there’s also more than enough room for head-banging, slower riffs, and shout-along parts in the chorus. All dosed with a hefty amount of strings and other orchestrations.
The symphonic parts on this album sound really epic. No wonder, if you learn (from their website, that is), that the main orchestrator for this record was Carsten Altena, who is one of the core members of The Monolith Deathcult. The same goes for the production of this album; the quality is as well as you would expect from a band with a really big, record-label-backed, budget. Hans Pieters was the master of that, and he is known to be the producer for After Forever, Gorefest, and Epica, to name a few. You can really hear Or Not spared no expense to get the best they had to offer on the record. And it certainly paid off.
Violence&Grace
Violence&Grace spans just over 1 hour and 30 minutes, totaling 16 tracks. That’s A LOT for a debut album, I have to say. So much even, that I’m not going to discuss every track in this review. There aren’t even any filler tracks on the album; the first track and the last track are a prelude and an outro for the album. Not that I’m complaining; the opposite, really.
Violence&Grace opens with the intro tunes of Cyberia, which really feels like the intro tape for a symphonic or progressive metal band. When Violence&Grace kicks in with the words ‘and then there was chaos, let all hell break loose’ we get the idea of what Or Not does with symphonic thrash metal. And if you hear the chorus for this track, you get why I mentioned Powerwolf as a reference. Plenty of fast solos in the style of Dragonforce are spread throughout the track as well. What I really like is that this track doesn’t get predictable, without getting too crowded or too chaotic (even though Dolf shouts ‘show me chaos’ towards the break). That’s just good songwriting. Violence&Grace is really great debut track, no wonder this band has gained 4000 monthly listeners on Spotify.
With Infradread, we get a bit of Rammstein-like influences. Groovy riffs, with a bit of Metallica inspired vocals. Again, very easy to scream along and party along with Or Not. And another great track follows with ‘The War Inside My Head’. The band decided to make a video for this track as well. Style-wise, it might be a little more toward, for instance, the fast riffs of Megadeth. I really have to comment Dolf for his vocal parts on the album here; it’s really powerful and clean. The vocal harmonies on this track bring that extra layer and attention to detail that takes this album to another level.
An album of this length usually has at least one ballad. In this case, Ceramic Skin fits that box. It’s also another moment for Dolf to display his impressive vocal skills. He has that 90’s sound, but strong and with good pitch, even though it’s not an easy track to sing. Ceramic Skin is a bit of a power-ballad, with clean melodies and even more room for the orchestral parts. The lyrics complement the melancholic feel of the music really well ‘Nobody can touch me, nobody can hurt my ceramic skin, but that’s not how I used to be, that’s not how I want to be’ gets your right in the feels.
Dolf had plenty of time to write the most epic parts for this album, and I’m already really curious to see what he comes up with for the next album. To just highlight one more of these tracks, How It Ends is a epic piece just over 8 minutes, consisting of some of the fasted riffs (and double bass parts), tapping solos, and many epic parts. It’s basically one long story, put to music. Samples, gang vocals, How It Ends has it all. If the album would have ended with this track, I would have been a happy camper. But it gets even better, ‘cause there are more tracks to come. For instance, just listen to the intro for Dark Wave. Man, that’s epic.
Final Thoughts
It’s really hard for me not to be really positive about this album, but it’s just really, really good. My maybe ONLY negative thing about the album is that in some of the parts the orchestral parts are a little too loud in the mix, and too much on the forefront. The whole album is just one big, happy celebration of heavy music, sounding epic like this band has been playing the giant stages of the world for ages. And when I say band, remember this is just a father and his son, recording and creating this whole thing. It’s hard for me to choose a favorite track, ‘cause there really are many of them. The title track Violence&Grace is certainly one of them, so if you only listen to one track, at least listen to that one!
Tracklisting
- Cyberia
- Violence&Grace
- Infradead
- The War Inside My Head
- Catastrophe Democracy
- H82H8
- Ceramic Skin
- Ballistic
- Someday
- Slicing The Waves
- How It Ends
- Hit The Ceiling
- Dark Wave
- Screaming To The Heavens
- The Apple & The Tree
- Someday – Acoustic
You can find Or Not on their website,on Facebook or in our database.
You can listen to the full album here
Or check out the video the band made for the track ‘The War Inside My Head’
Last Friday night the metalheads from Hilversum and far away gathered for the fifth edition of Metalcafe Live in The Vorstin. MetalFromNL was there once again to report on the recurring event. This time with pictures by Nicky van der Schaaf and a write-up by Ruben Baar.
The theme of tonight is folk metal, a personal favorite of mine. So I’m very excited to see what the Dutch scene has to offer in that regard. I walk in right as tonight’s host Niels bellows out his welcoming words. The room is already packed and the crowd is rearing to go. Good thing that the first band of the evening stands ready to deliver.
Mourning Wood
When you think of folk metal, you think of bagpipes, violins, and flutes. But the guys from Mourning Wood take a different approach. Dressed in Hawaiian shirts and leis, these guys are clearly taking a page out of Alestorm’s book and are profiling themselves as a party band perhaps best suited for later in the evening rather than an opening act. Their music is somewhat chaotic and the seven members don’t always mesh well together, but they are clearly having a lot of fun.
In front of the stage, there’s immediate audience participation, a moshpit breaks out as soon as the band starts playing and it only takes three songs into the set for the singer to don a pirate hat and tell the willing crowd to start rowing. His vocals and grunting are good and lend the band a heavier sound to offset the many cheerful notes being played on the keyboard and guitars. These come to the forefront after the pirate-themed song switches over to ‘Redneck Redemption’ which has to be a play on the videogame title ‘Red Dead Redemption’. There’s a thumping chiptune beat throughout this song that never shows up again.
It’s a whirlwind of different styles and themes made all the more apparent when the set continues without the bells and whistles and the band starts playing more traditional death metal. Only to kick it back to the more silly vibes with ‘Heathen Hoorah’ which features a classic circus medley. It’s quite a thing to behold as I’m still not sure what exactly it is that saw, but the audience is eating it up and happily dancing and moshing away. To close out with the band plays an English cover of a classic Flemish children’s song ‘Dwarven Dance’ which the millennials in the crowd can definitely appreciate. I couldn’t help enjoying it myself.
Alvader
After this whirlwind of a party starter, the stage gets set for Alvader. On paper these guys have the highest pedigree in the folk metal genre, having three former Heidevolk members in their ranks including their singer. Heidevolk has always had characteristic vocals and these are present in Alvader as well.
Unfortunately this band is so poorly mixed no one can make out a word he’s saying. The vocals get completely drowned out by the other instruments, especially the drums. Which is a shame because a track like ‘Midwinternacht’ starts off strong with such fast passed and heavy drums, you’d think it’s the start of a Motörhead song, but it just devolves into a barrage of noise due to the poor sound quality.
Guitars meant to bring the folk melodies completely disappear in even their self-titled song and with what’s left of the baritone vocals we end up listening to a droning wall of sound that’s more like blackened noise metal than anything else. The crowd, presumably still on an energy high from the previous band, do try to enjoy themselves. And in such a community, who couldn’t? But with every passing song, there’s less and less movement.
Our MC Niels does push for one more song at the end and they play a cover of ‘Ostara’, which is a Heidevolk song. So the gathered folk metal fans know how it goes, so they can fill in the missing words for themselves. It serves as a strong signal that Heidevolk is still clearly the better band and to add insult to injury, as soon as the band stops playing the house music kicks in with more of their music.
Alvenrad
To close out the evening Alvenrad takes the stage. Though it seems about half the people from the start of the evening have already left the venue at this point. Had they stayed, they’d have seen an impressive handlebar mustache on the bassist and felt some heavy blast beats.
The people that are left have no quit in them, they are determined to keep that pit going all night long. Even if it doesn’t always align with what’s being played on stage. The vocals are distinguishable again, but besides the lyrics there’s not a lot of folk in this band. It feels more like melodic death metal.
Every song is about The Netherlands most well-known woodland region and we get plenty of songs off their latest album ‘Veluws Ijzer’. As well as some of their latest singles like ‘De Verborgen Beek’. What’s left of the crowd does seem to enjoy it and after a disappointing second act, it is a step up.
Despite it not really having a folk tone, the band does work together really well and delivers some pounding melodies. It could be a nice prelude to the next edition of the event on October 4th. That night the theme for Metalcafe will be melodic death metal bands from The Netherlands. When the last notes are played the room rapidly drains of people, which leaves a DJ playing requests for only a handful of people. Barely half an hour later these final stragglers are being shown to the door. Start of the evening definitely being Mourning Wood for their sheer display of insanity and though it was too bad we didn’t get to see Alvader at their best, we had a strong finish. We’ll definitely be back here in October for more metal from the Netherlands.
Want to keep updated on the Metalcafe events? Follow them on Instagram.
Releasedate: 01.06.2024
Aum Zorion plays instrumental post-metal. That means dreamy riffs, droning, dragging guitar parts, and tracks that seem to consist of endless variations on the same riff. It’s the perfect music to get lost in, to close your eyes and drift away in a lucid dream. Hints of black- and progressive influences jolt you back to reality.
Aum Zorion
Aum Zorion is best enjoyed as a whole, with all the tracks forming one big story. With each track over 7 minutes, you know you’re in for drawn-out riffs and droney beats. The self-titled album starts with the track Hamburg, with the slow intro a perfect opener to this album. The dreamy parts don’t last though; it gets pretty heavy later on in the track. The track ends in an epic crescendo.
Animism picks up where Hamburg left off, with more heaviness and tempo. The tempo change after the first riff feels a bit disjointed to me, however. The second part of the track has some doom-inspired, droney riffs. The third part to the track goes on with a similar riff, but in a ¾th beat, changing the feel and building intensity again. And while this works really well as an instrumental track, I can hear the vocal melodies in my head and I wonder what it would sound like with a good vocalist. At the end of the track, we get a groovy riff, driven by the drums. The track again ends in an epic crescendo.
Zerura
Zerura starts of with a middle-eastern inspired riff and some samples. The main melody is one of the better ones on the album. The moment the drums kick in is quite unexpected, but don’t be fooled, this isn’t heavier than anything else on the album. Well, until you get to the end of the track, really. There are some pretty groovy parts leading up to it, but there is definitely some violence in this track.
Hauer starts with an almost alien guitar sound, bringing back the late 90’s vibe. The song starts off quieter than the rest of the tracks, feeling even more like a ballad. No need for vocals on this track, the guitar tells the story.
The album ends with Geoid. The guitarist’ pedalboard is filled with weird guitar effects it seems, since we start with yet another completely different guitar sound. More doom with this track again. It takes over 11 minutes, so that figures. Not my favorite track, because Doom really isn’t my thing. Too much drone, and even though there are some nice parts, it doesn’t move me as much as the previous tracks did.
Final Thoughts
Aum Zorion plays the type of music that I can listen to all day. It works as background music to drone out my thoughts. At the same time, it’s the type of music you listen to with your eyes closed, feeling all the feels. I got emotional during their live performance in de Flux, Zaandam, and I stil get emotional listening to the album. As we finished this review, we learned that Aum Zorion has parted ways with their bass player. If you dig this type of music and think you’re up for the task, reach out to the band and fill the void. We would love to see this band on stage again.
Tracklisting
Hamburg
Animism
Zerura
Hauer
Geoid
Releasedate: 22.05.2024
Another Now is a different player in the Dutch metalcore field and in the metalcore field in general. The band released their first album ‘OMNI’ in 2021, which landed them gigs with Asking Alexandria, Beartooth and Ice Nine Kills. Now, the band is back with their second full-length, ‘HEX’. Of course, we had to review it. Also this year, they are playing one of the biggest core festivals in the Benelux, Jera on Air, alongside Electric Callboy and Enter Shikari. And right before this review aird, we learned that they will be opening for Machine Head! Who is this band?
Another Now
Another Now is a metalcore band from Eindhoven. There must be something in the water in Eindhoven, ‘cause it seems every gem in the Dutch metal scene seems to emerge there. Another Now is definitely one of them. This band blends metalcore with electronic influences in the style of I Prevail and Crystal Lake. I’d rather label them electroniccore or trancecore because of that. They’ve been around since 2018 and released their first full-length in 2021. They have been teasing their latest release ‘HEX’ with the release of the singles Would it Kill You, Breathe, Smile and Doubt. The album, HEX, is 45 minutes of club-style metalcore, metal enough to get our heads banging, core enough to get in your crowdkills, and club enough to start jumping.
HEX
HEX feels like the soundtrack to a game, but Another Now really isn’t playing. The lyrics are dark, talking about daily struggles. There are a couple of interlude tracks in between a number of stand-alone songs, to tie them together. The album opens with _VISIONS which, like everything on the album, is heavy on electronic influences. After a soft intro, we get all the elements that are featured on the album, from heavy breakdowns, tight drumlines, deep grunts, melodic vocal lines, and heavy emotions to piggy squeals.
_VISIONS is the opening track, but it’s actually a prelude for DAYDREAMERS, the first real track of the album. After a short synth line, we dive headfirst into the heavy grunts and riffs. All the elements from _VISIONS are present in this track as well. The soft vocals in the pre-chorus parts fit the dream theme well, but the heavy breaks right after are a rude awakening.
DOUBT turns up the intensity to eleven right from the start. It’s also a more groovy track, with a really catchy pre-chorus. I can see some bouncing action during a live show happening there. This track is maybe a bit more mainstream metalcore, at least the chorus is. Another Now show off their versatility with deep grunts and melodic vocal parts really well on this track.
just BREATHE
BREATHE is my favorite track of the album, and it has been since its release earlier this year. BREATHE is heavy on the electronics, and the samples and synths really add to the heavy party feel on this track. The chorus on this track has one of the best hooks on the album, and the toned-down chorus after the break is a really nice change of pace and another example of Another Now’s qualities.
Onto the title track of the album, HEX. Another track that has been released prior to the album. After BREATHE, HEX feels a bit chaotic, and even a bit towards deathcore in some aspects. There are plenty of squeals, and the tempo goes through the roof on this track. The breakdown at the end is one of the best on this album as well.
WOULD IT KILL YOU starts off with a synth line that seems to have been borrowed from the Mass Effect soundtrack. It doesn’t take long for the song to kick in after that, though. Another heavy track, similar to HEX, but with a commercial chorus like BREATHE again. A track like this will do well in a club as well, I imagine. DRIP is similar in that aspect, and it has some hip-hop influences as well. The groove in the verse is hard, but the chorus lets us know we’re still listening to the same album. This is a quieter song, even though there are enough breakdowns, this track would qualify as the ‘ballad’ of the album.
And after a ballad, of course, is a happy song to lift us up again. SORRY definitely begins like that. This track has one of the strongest choruses of the album, and I imagine this being one of the favorite tracks for a lot of people because of it. For me personally, though it’s groovy, the verses feel a little too empty to me.
Smile Back
SMILE! is another hard track, which fits the lyrics. With lines like “Death smiles at us, all we can do is smile back” it makes you wonder about the inspiration for this track. THE DEATH OF EVERYTHING features almost Polyphia-like dreamy guitars in the soft break in the middle, only to kick right back into heavy metalcore again. Again, a very catchy chorus; it seems to be a standard on this album.
Just when you thought we’ve had the ballad with SORRY, we get to MIRAGE, which is even slower, more emotional, and has heavy lyrics like ‘we’re just a mirage of, what we used to be’. It’s more an electronic vibe than a metalcore song, however, the reprise of the track at the end still brings all the vibes. The perfect lead for the final track of the album, another banger, HORIZONS_. Even though I haven’t read all the lyrics for this album, it feels like HORIZIONS_ completes a story. Not just because of the closing underscore that _VISIONS opened with; the song itself feels like the completion of a story.
Final Thoughts
HEX is a solid and coherent album, that feels like one big trip. My favorite track of the album, and has been since its release, is BREATHE. But there are plenty of other bangers on this album. And even the two tracks that are a bit more on the softer side won’t let you down. It is, however, a very unique niche of metalcore, and probably not just in the Netherlands. It might speak to a broader audience, but the people who dislike the crossover genres will probably have a hard time getting into this album. However, Another Now might be a gateway metal band for people who still don’t know if metal is something they’d enjoy. Just listen to BREATHE, and you probably will for sure.
Tracklisting:
- _VISIONS
- DAYDREAMERS
- DOUBT
- leaving
- BREATHE.
- HEX
- we will be more careful next time
- WOULD IT KILL YOU?
- DRIP
- SORRY
- 290332
- SMILE!
- THE DEATH OF EVERYTHING
- MIRAGE
- HORIZONS_
You can find Another Now on their website.
Check out the full album here:
And be sure to check out the videos on Youtube!
Releasedate: 17.05.2024
The Eagle has landed! Literally, on May 17th, when the latest album from Resurrect Tomorrow took wings on Spotify. After the singles The Light of Treason and Absolution, the full album is finally online, and of course, we had to give it a listen.
Loyalty Ends Here has been working hard on the release of their debut EP. Since winning the Metal Battle last year, they have been playing all over the country. Meanwhile they still found time to record and complete their first release. It was officially launched during their EP Release party on May 18th with performances with friends from Crazed, None Shall Fall, Man As Plague and Changing Tides.
See all pictures below the text!
Crazed
The night opened with Crazed. This band from Utrecht plays groovy metal, bringing back the 90’s with their sound. It was still pretty early when they started because with 5 bands playing, there was a strict time-table the band had to comply with. Even without a massive moshpit in front of the stage (even though the band asked for it), they still gave it their all on stage. It was also the farewell gig with drummer Eddo. Even though he’s leaving the band, he did do the recordings for the bands upcoming EP, which will be released later this year. The band played some new tracks that EP as well. We’ve got to say, those new tracks sound good! It’s a bit heavier than what we were used too with this band, so stay tuned for that!
None Shall Fall
None Shall Fall are somewhat of a local hero in the region, and well known for their energetic and positive stage performance. Besides some of their well-known tracks (This is why we do it, Trapped Inside) they played some of their new tracks as well. This band is also releasing an EP soon, and with their latest releasing already being three years ago it’s due time. The crowd warmed up a bit more by now, so a mini-moshpit started during their performance. Some of the audience were also invited to scream along, and Man As Plague frontman Tim also joined the stage to add some vocals, so it was truely everyone’s party. Because of the strict time-schedule all the bands had to stick too, their final song, in true hardcore style, was cut short.
Man As Plague
No one stands still at as Man As Plague gig, and the people in the moshpit definately heard that message. This band has been playing in the area a lot lately, so they changed their setlist for this gig so we wouldn’t get bored. Of course they still played Portal and Dolus, but they also put in the less-played Sissyphus, which was a nice change. Man As Plague left a mic on stage for the audience to scream along, and a couple of people made sure their voices were heard. After a while, I think the soundguy turned the volume of that mic way down (or off), but the crowd didn’t mind and screamed in the mic none the less.
Changing Tides
After a quick change over, it was time for Changing Tides. It was the first time I’ve got to see this band play live. As one of the bigger names in the scene, a succesfull crowdfunding campaign and a victory at the Guts&Glory bandbattle, which earned them a spot at Jera On Air, this band was sure to be a great experience. Changing Tides didn’t dissapoint. Low breakdowns, mean and heavy music, it was a lot of fun to watch these guys on stage.
Loyalty Ends Here
Time for the main act of the evening; Loyalty Ends Here. The band had been preparing for this show for quite some time, and that shows in the performance. Their set opened with a video projected on a large cover, which of course dropped a few seconds into the first song, Sea of Harlots. The band performed with a click-track and a backing tape, which added a lot to their sound and made sure it was tight. It shows that vocalist Richie has been working on his vocals as well; there’s a lot more power and depth to his vocals now than a few performances ago.
The band made sure their EP release was quite the party. With risers, bouncing balls, lots (and lots!) of laser lights, and some well-timed streamers, the party was complete. Of course, they played all the songs from their latest EP, but they added some still-to-record tracks as well. If you liked the EP, make sure to check them out live to hear more from them. They made sure to thank everyone that helped organize the event, and of course all the other bands as well. In the end, they played the Backstreet Boys, which is very fitting for 5 good looking metalheads. Their music is pretty commercial, so they might indeed be the Dutch Backstreet Boys from the metalcore scene 😉
Check out Loyalty Ends Here EP ‘Darkest Red’ on Spotify.
Make sure to check the video for Deadweight on Youtube as well. And stay tuned for the aftermovie!
Pictures were taken by Abyssal Void.
Releasedate: 27-04-2024
Beyond The Pale has released their debut called ‘Monument In Time’ and it will definitely be a Monument in Time for this band. The album consists of 7 songs and definitely brings a lot to the table. Let us unpack and serve it to you.
Beyond the Pale
Beyond the Pale is a band with a history. Originally Jeroen was part of the band as a guitarist. Sadly, during a performance in DB’s on Kingsnight, Jeroen passed away while doing what he loved: making music. This of course was a very traumatic experience for everyone involved. Monument In Time was released on the anniversary of this night, and of course it was also fitting that Jeroen has his place on the cover. But enough about memories, his musical influences are heard throughout the EP. Let the EP be a happy memory of a great musician and person.
A strong start of the album
The album kicks off with the song ‘Liberation Of The Damned’. A very strong start of the album. The song takes you for a spin with juicy riffs and a clear stable layout. There is a bit of repetition in the song which could give you the idea you’ve accidentally replayed the song in the end.
The Age of Pariah is my favorite track of the album. The song is heavy and well written with great contrasting tempo switches. When the band moves from the slower riff to the blast beats, it leaves you wanting more. This is one I’ll add to my list for sure.
Walk The Plank is a slower song. It offers a bit of contrast with the previous two songs. It has a good melody and a few “shout-along” parts. While these would do well live, they don’t really pull you in while you listen this song with headphones or in your car. The backing vocals that back up the lines “Hoist the flag” and “walk the plank” could definitely use extra voices to make it more captivating and enticing.
Storm en Drift
Storm en Drift is a re-recording. The original song was recorded for the benefit album for DB’s, Utrecht, during the pandemic. I was surprised when I noticed that the song was sung in Dutch. This song is definitely stronger in the black metal vibes. The vocals definitely deserve some extra credits in this song. They seem to have more depth and are backed up by some really good screams. That is probably the influence of bassplayer Frank.
Facts and Figures also has a great contrast between slowing down and speeding up. The build-up to the breakdown which moves onto blast beats is great. The dissonant guitar licks that follow after the chugs feel a bit out of place and out of character when you hear the rest of the album.
Payback Is a Bitch is a killer of a track and is a good send-off at the end of the album. The more melodic guitar solo moves well over the heavy guitar riffs. The song makes you automatically bang your head to the beat and the blast beats keep you invested after the slower parts. The outro is slower and has a catchy tune to it. It would’ve been a great ending to the album.
The bonus track is a “remix” of Facts and Figures. In all honesty, I’m not sure what to think of this track. The idea is cool but the way the song is made doesn’t feel like a proper remix. It takes the strength of the song away with a bland beat and odd noises in the background. Once the song gets some “real” drums in the end it becomes better, however I wouldn’t have missed this track if it wasn’t on the album.
Final Thoughts
All in all, as with every album, it has strong and weak points. The songwriting is well done, the guitar and drums sound great, and the vocals have great contrast with clear black metal influences. The songs are interesting and catchy and will definitely move a crowd. ‘The Age of Pariah’ is the strongest track, followed up by ‘Liberation of the Damned’ which in turn is closely followed by ‘Storm en Drift’.
Tracklisting:
- Liberation for the damned
- The Age of the Pariah
- Walk the Plank
- Storm en Drift (re-recording)
- Facts and Figures
- Payback is a bitch
- Facts and Figures — Frost Rimix – Bonus Remix
You can find Beyond the Pale on their website . MetalFromNL did an interview with these guys about their debut EP and more. Check that out here.