Festival report: Ieperfest 2012, day two

I've been slacking recently, but hey I guess it's not my fault that life is being annoying at the moment. I do however, have to mention one thing. This summer on "Cry Me A River" festival I met one of my readers, to whom I wasn't even introduced properly, who really admired the blog, but who also said to me that I shouldn't be feeling sorry for sporadic posts and that the blog is more interesting and unique that way. I keep remembering that advice/compliment, so dude if you are reading this now thank you so much for your words! It's really nice hearing things like that and they definitely keep the machine going.

Behold the timetable for the second day of "Ieperfest" 2012, trust me when I say that it was purely awesome:
- No Second Thought (T)
- Truth And Its Burden (M)
- Vaccine (T)
- StillxStrong (M)
- Whatever It Takes (T)
- Cornered (M)
- Pianos Become The Teeth (T)
- TRC (M)
- Hellbastard (T)
- Reign Supreme (M)
- MxPx Allstars (T)
- Your Demise (M)
- Grand Magus (T)
- Trapped Under Ice (M)
- Scraps (T)
- Unearth (M)
- Nasum (T)
- The Black Dahlia Murder (M)
- Eyehategod (T)
- Ignite (M)
- Pig Destroyer (T)
- Sick Of It All (M)

"Truth And Its Burden" was the band to open the main stage of the second festival day and it was a pleasant surprise. A metalcore quartet hailing from South Africa provided with a solid half an hour of intriguing tunes and some really nice speeches toward the audience. I'm not really that much into that particular genre of music, but this band definitely proved to be entertaining live. Nicely flowing melodies, great vocals and a really positive flow of energy. As I mentioned, the band took its time to talk to the crowd and I am usually bored when bands have too many monologues during festival performances since they are eating time, but on this occasion I enjoyed it. It was interesting to hear how the band is experiencing their visit to Europe and the things they bring from their home town, especially since they are from a place where not many projects are born and the underground scene seems to be nonexistent. Listening to that makes you appreciate the situation you have back at home a little bit more or at least it gets your drive for involvement run faster. Later during the day there was an interview with "Truth And Its Burden" in the "More Than Music" tent and I managed to grab some notes, so further down in this review I will try to transcribe my gibbering writing. All in all, interesting band and I definitely wish them all the luck for the future.

Next up was the very well remembered straight edge powerviolence band seen previously on "Fluff Fest", "Vaccine". Still angry and vigorous, the band took the stage and started beating the crowd into a pulp, not stopping until it was time to just walk away. No pauses, no talking, no breathers, just a lack of anger management and violence, no pun intended. There is really no better way at explaining their tunes other than saying that they are unbelievably pissed off and aggressive, yet being superb at what they do. Creating so much chaos and then taming it properly is really impressive, so I have to give praises to this band in all aspects. Me and the lovely woman got a chance to talk to Will and Matt from "Vaccine" later during the day and they are really awesome dudes. Lesson of the day, if this band is playing anywhere near you, or well even far away since I'm obviously neither from the Czech Republic nor Belgium, go and grab their show, this is something you don't want to miss out on. And if you don't like them...well, you should be taken to their show for punishment.

After "Vaccine" we spent some time in the "MTM" tent watching a documentary about a corporation named "Veracel" and their exploitation of South American forests. Soon enough, however, some really appealing tunes started blasting from the main stage and I was just tempted to go out and check out what was going on. In the end I stuck around for the entire performance of "StillxStrong" and the only thing I wrote in my booklet as a reminder was "FuckingxAwesome". With no remorse, this xvx hardcore punk quintet from Brazil came to show their views and attitude to the audience and they did so without stuttering for a single second. Extremely fast and turbulent hardcore, interesting melodies and violent outbursts of sound, all backed by incredible vocals I fell for instantly and of course an important message to spread around, this band has it all. In the whirlwind of sound they absolutely don't shy away at being viciously direct, for example having a simple yet effective song like "Why Can't You Be Vegan?". They aren't alien to topics concerning human rights too, addressing matters of homophobia in Brazil during one of their speeches. I didn't see the entire set of this band so I'll keep this short, but this is definitely a project worth the note. Absolutely check them out and give support, spread the word!

We were wandering around the festival and then ended up in the "MTM" tent yet again. This time a presentation about "Ethical Veganism" was about to be held, hosted by a friendly dude named Tim, or Timxvx if you please. I won't be talking about the said presentation now, but instead I have decided to ask Tim if he was willing to do an interview for "Natures With No Plagues". He agreed and I'm really excited to actually do an interview that is not related to music, so hopefully in the near future you will be able to read about our correspondence on the topic of (ethical) veganism.

Alright boys and girls, time to get downright pissed and dirty with good ol' trusty crust. Rising from the grim UK scenery of 1985, these lads are one of the legendary names of punk fused old school crust and they are as angry and energetic as ever. Yes, I'm talking about "Hellbastard". The guys just picked up their instruments, started beating and rending them, absolutely not giving any fucks whatsoever. They were energetic, pissed off, perfectly deploying that type of sound and atmosphere they are known for. Despite having a couple of issues with equipment, they provided a wild show which featured everything from crazy slashing at the gear, not caring about slight mistakes, many curses toward the system and even burning some money on stage. Although seemingly aggressive and bitter, the band vibrated with positive energy and it was cool to see that they arrived to simply have a good time and just have fun. Overall it was a great show and I'm glad I have them written down in my book. Old crusties make me happy and I want to be just like them when I grow up.

If I recall well, after "Hellbastard" finished their set, now was the time when the interview with "Truth And Its Burden" was scheduled in the "MTM" tent. As I mentioned above, I took some notes, good three pages of scribbles which I will now try to decipher and form a story or at least a fluent part of text. I have to say that I'm a really bad journalist, or well my note-grabbing skills are untrained enough.
The birth of the band occurred five years ago in Johannesburg, South Africa, starting out as a metalcore project highly inspired by acts such as "August Burns Red", "Parkway Drive", "I Killed The Prom Queen" and "Misery Signals", to name a few. Over time, as band members explored other genres, the project itself started taking influences from "Shai Hulud", "Incubus", "Sepultura", "Death" and even "La Dispute", grabbing all their positive aspects and messages, so the culmination of all those styles is what drives these four people.
Thus far the band shared its music on several South African tours and sharing stages at home with bands like "Have Heart" and "Shipwreck A.D.". 2010 saw a real breakthrough for the band, when they managed to step over to Europe and tour. Near the ending of the year they invited "The Ghost Inside" to come over and tour South Africa, a relationship which will open them a way toward signing for "Mediaskare Records". This year saw their second big European tour, recently playing on "Brutal Assault" festival in the Czech Republic.
DIY ethics have always been integrated into the band. With not a lot of following going around, the band took matters into its own hands regarding promotion, fliers, posters and everything else for that matter. "It becomes like a night job haha." "Be as much as DIY as you can. When there is limited support, you are on your own. Keep the spirit alive and don't have someone else rape you off of your efforts. It's a sense of pride." The vocalist especially addressed younger bands back home, who seem to only put effort into plainly releasing a record by themselves, saying that it is important to always go out and learn more, delegating tasks and improving.
"Hardcore is a message, despite the style." There is a lot of negative energy in South Africa, so the band decided to cling to all those positive ideals they could find. "We want people leaving our shows uplifted and not feeling down. It's like beating cancer. You can either stay positive and live off of that energy or you can dig a negative hole which will kill you."
So in the end, before I left at least, how did these four people decide to be a part of a small hardcore band in an even smaller scene? And the answer was simple and to the point. "It's all about feelings  and  a sense that we actually do something. Jobs feed your stomach, not your soul."

After a lunch break and some sleeping in the car, since we were completely exhausted for some reason, came an insane streak of bands which was absolutely stunning. "Unearth" was the first to set off the chain reaction and they did so with a blast. The metalcore five-piece from Massachusetts exploded on stage and managed to be thrilling from start to finish. I listened to this band ever since they hit the scene and, although I haven't been following their recent development, they stuck on my list to this very day. What always managed to make them differ from other bands of the genre is just a non-generic sound, lacking annoying breakdowns, all too common melodies and instead being constantly furious, direct and unstoppable. Live their sound was truly devastating while remaining really clean and discernible.  I remember "Eyes Of Black" and "This Lying World" being played, the latter one really bringing back some awesome memories. The band delivered a huge amount of energy and was extremely charismatic during their set, yet the majority of the crowd was being stiff and unmoved again, which is a real bummer since the entire band tried to inflame the atmosphere. All in all, excellent and perfect, just as I imagined!

When the sound died on the main stage, madness and chaos were heard from the tent, signalling that "Nasum" has begun. We were sadly late to grab a good spot and it was so full that we ended up being almost outside of the tent and looking from a really bad angle, which resulted in us viewing only two songs of the entire set before crawling away elsewhere. Needless to say the band killed it completely, ripping the air with an insane grindcore massacre. What little I saw of the stage signaled a score of movement and an excellent atmosphere inside, which somewhat made me sad that I didn't view it entirely. But I fear not, I will grab them on another occasion properly.

Well hello there, sir. The long awaited moment is here! I've been trying to grab this wretched band for a very long time and some of you might even remember my failed attempt to catch them in Croatia some time last year. "The Black Dahlia Murder" is just one of those bands which is completely out of the common boundaries of genres which I usually listen to, but I adore the project insanely. There is a special place which they hold in my book, with all their maddening riffs, evil settings and silly attitude, being a truly unique and fun band all the way. Even before they actually started to play they instantly managed to put a huge smile on my face, screaming stuff like "Your forefathers were thieves!" and "Oh my God!" into the microphones during the sound check. And then, in the moment when the sound from the tent ceased to exist and a flood of people spilled outside to the field, the five-piece possessed by outer-worldly entities began their ritual. Sing or yell or shriek the lyrics, put a smile on your face and swing your body in a trance, it's time to ride. Seriously, this band manages to inject such a great dose of madness and adrenaline into you, while being incredibly entertaining to listen and behold. Not to mention, on a personal note, that they played two of my favorite songs, those being "Moonlight Equilibrium" and "What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse", exactly one after the other and I was mind blown and completely slain at that point. The band was everywhere on stage, constantly moving and executing all sorts of maneuvers with the singer taking the role of conductor to the unholy masses in front of him. Of course, the sea of limbs and hair was not moved as much as the kapellmeister desired, thus he was not afraid of fingering everyone outright, for which I give utter praises. Luckily the band stayed pleased, exchanging glances with the few of us who were either dancing or screaming the lyrics.  Due to my thrill of reliving this show, I, of course, forgot to mention the fact that the sound was simply perfect and their entire set flawless, music-wise. All that is left to say here is that you should go to their show, whenever possible. And a message to the band, there is a distant and forsaken land called Serbia where legions of horrors crave your flesh! Come over on your next tour!

We were watching the band from a strategic point, so once they finished their act we were quick to move to the tent and, with a couple of maneuvers, able to grab a nice spot for the upcoming spectacle.  The dark swamps of Louisiana gave birth to an abomination in 1988, a misanthropic, nihilistic and thoroughly grim child named "Eyehategod". After 26 long years of tours and records, the legends of sludge crawled to "Ieperfest" to vomit forth their wicked tunes. The only thing that my shaky hands left  as remembrance in my notebook was "too good to be real". I seriously cannot express with words how remarkable this band is on stage. Shoved and piled up on the small tent stage, they exploded with a vile wave of sound, setting up the most unbelievable atmosphere with the very first chord and keeping it tense until the very end. The sound was so perfect, oozing with that dragging sludge groove and extreme heaviness, thoroughly depressive and tormenting. A wall of crackles, rending, pounding and distortion was uplifted, being excellently melded with the vocalist who aided the sound with coarse wailing, forming that amazing sound the band is known for. "Available soon in Vietnam", along with eerie distortion, were the words that kicked off the show in full gear, "Eyehategod" setting such a wonderful mood which seemed intimate, as if they were playing in either someone's living room or a run-down highway diner. "Jack Ass In The Will Of God", "Dixie Whiskey" and "$30 Bag" were just some of the songs that were played that evening, rippling through the cigarette smoke of the guitarist. For 45 minutes they held the audience in trance, those minutes seeming much shorter afterwards, which is quite strange for a sludge show. All in all, astounding performance and I feel truly honored that I have witnessed the legends from New Orleans.

Eh, what to say now? I have to say that I was fairly disappointed with "Ignite" on the festival, so I will keep this short and spare my time and blog space. Ages ago I used to love the band and even now they tend to spin in my music player from time to time. It was always enjoyable listening to their exceedingly melodic hardcore punk tunes backed with amazing clear vocals. What managed to make their set fail my expectations is the fact that the singing was nowhere as awesome as on the recordings. It was quite weak and not impacting at all, which made me walk away to the distro/merch tent in hopes of soothing my sadness, so to speak. And this is pretty much all that I'm going to say on the matter.

The closing act of the day was quite legendary, although my expectations weren't completely met. "Pig Destroyer", need I say more? The Virginia grindcore has been ripping out guts and throats for the last 15 years and there was no point at which they would turn back. I always loved this project and their ability of taking gore and aggression onto a whole new different level, thus the abnormal excitement about seeing them live. Although their playing was on par and exceeding the beast on recordings, playing technical and fast, the sound was horrible. It seemed either too loud or too muffled and unrecognizable. The only "song" which I was instantly able to recognize was "Jennifer", a deciphering which is obvious for those of you who know about this piece. Keep in mind that I do not blame the band for this mischief, but much rather the stage they were playing on. Additionally what made this set horrid were the lights. Dear mother nature, even if you weren't suffering from photosensitive epilepsy, this was enough to give you a full blown seizure. Not only when flashing on and off, but also it was simply too bright to look at the stage, so the majority of the time I would either hide behind a taller person which actually wasn't that hard or stare at my girlfriend and kiss her which of course I don't complain about. Despite the fact that one could really grasp the talent of the band, I feel as if it was severely crippled and not entirely enjoyable. Next time, hopefully.