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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
