Festival report: Rockmaraton 2019, day three

I'm back, this time not in black, but with some black! This previous weekend I've attended a, for me predominantly black, metal festival in Hungary and have decided to finally sit myself down and write something on here. The bands which I saw on this occasion are listed below and I'll let you try and figure out which group made me want to pull the trigger and travel so desperately into the deep clutches of Hungary:

- Perihelion

- Carach Angren

- Mgła

You guessed it...

To kick this review off, let's talk a little bit about the fest itself. Rockmaraton is an annual festival in Hungary which brings together a huge list of performers from every corner of the world of metal and an even bigger score of dedicated fans. The range of bands goes from US-based hardcore "Terror" to the legendary "Paradise Lost", the progressive hit of "Jinjer", the good ol' classic "Soulfly" and all the way from Russia the "Siberian Meat Grinder" powerhouse and many, many more. This impressive list of artists was arranged over a 5-day long festival, although yours truly cherry-picked only a single day to visit.
This year the festival was located on the Szalki-Sziget island in Dunaújváros, some 70km southeast from Budapest. To be completely honest, it was a real endeavor to locate and travel there since the trip involved a 6 hour van ride, an hour and a half train ride, taking a local bus to... well, somewhere and then walking a few kilometers. Despite the "hardships", I was insanely excited about this trip, since I missed the get down and dirty way of travelling where you have everything packed on your back, when you're on the road for 7+ hours, when you sleep (if at all) on painfully hard ground cause you didn't bring a soft enough mat... but fuck it, you're doing it cause you want to sacrifice 2 days of your life just to see that one band you love.

At the end of the long journey you are greeted by a wonderful little island housing the festival. Four stages, several tents with various other activities (among which was one where you could get corpse paint done!), numerous food and drink stands, an official band merch shop, several wide camping areas and even a large swimming area in the surrounding Danube river, all of these are situated around the spacious grounds of the island. Getting from where we set up camp close to the entrance of the festival towards the farthest stage is a rather nice, long walk.

"Perihelion" was the first band of the day that I managed to dedicate my full attention to. This Hungarian post metal quartet caught my ear with loud, piercing, semi-clean vocals which stood out in the midst of a massive, rolling avalanche of sound produced by the instrumental section. I was instantly hooked by this strong vocal/instrumental contrast which persisted during their entire set, the divergence growing into high impact crescendos at the end of each song. There are moments where the singer would break free from the gentle, droning melody and burst out screaming his lungs out (ah!) and you, as the listener, just get completely swept away. I did a bit of research on them after the festival and have stumbled on their bandcamp page (which you can visit here) on a description of their album "Örvény" (meaning "Maelstrom" in Hungarian) and it is absolutely accurate: "[album] is to be interpreted as a single journey with its seven songs seamlessly woven into each other... [lyrics] revolve around dreamlike passages towards the subconscious." Couldn't have said it better myself. Definitely check them out!

"Carach Angren" was next in line and this band was hyped by my travelling companion, who saw them live on a previous occasion. "Trust me, they are fun," was all I've been told and it's hard to imagine a black metal act being "fun", in a literal sense of the word. Needless to say I was utterly surprised in the most pleasant way possible! The symphonic black metal trio (a quartet on this occasion) from the Netherlands put up an amazing performance which is certainly memorable. Maybe some of my readers remember how mind blown I was by the stunning "Cattle Decapitation" show which I covered here and pretty much the same amount of exploding brain matter can be applied here. My, oh my, where to begin? It is hard to decide what to write about first, since both the instruments and the vocals are amazing on their own and are absolutely worth the praise, but the sheer beauty and brutality when the two are mixed together is astonishing! It has been a long while since I saw the two sections compliment each other so much, both in an audio and in a visual respect. Audibly, this band is a cacophony of pure black metal savagery wrapped in veil of symphonic insanity, yet precisely cut by maddening technical start-stop rhythms. Visually, they are a rush of blood to the head caused by flickering lights and a plethora of nonstop movement which your eyes are trying to soak up. The band as a whole are a sight to behold, but the singer absolutely takes the cake. An insanely talented showman holding the crowd in the palm of his hand, mesmerizing with constant movements which were somehow precisely in tune with the sounds coming from the instruments, something that it is truly impossible to explain without you actually seeing it for yourself.

Important to note is that the band had some technical difficulties during their show (which was in no way on their part), yet despite that they still managed to keep the crowd standing on the top of their toes, hungry for more. The band would simply continue blasting away after those small breaks, not losing a single drop of momentum. If you haven't figured out the bottom of the line, it's simply "just go and see them live, if you can." Maybe they are not your cup of tea, but even then you're in for a performance worth remembering! They have a load of material on their repertoire, so check them out and support them on their website found here.

"Mgła". "Fog" in Polish and rightfully named so, as it managed to cloud a score of other bands that I've been listening to for years before discovering them. They were evading my radar for an extended period of time since their formation in the early 2000's (well, that is if you count the demos or the first EP in 2006; 2012 if you count when they actually started to perform live), but once I heard their "Exercises in Futility" album back in 2015 I was swallowed whole. This was THE band, that one act that you discover once in some years which immediately sticks and it's there to stay. The evocation of misanthropic feelings borne out of human negligence and greed, wrapped in the tones of desperate soundscapes, the nihilism and the poetry, the noises of untamed rage and the painful ache of silence ending it all. All the while adorned in visual aesthetics which would make Tolkien's Nazgul envious. "Mgła" was a beast and I was spreading my arms towards it, prepared and willing to be devoured. 
The wish to see them perform live was instantly born, yet I've been unlucky with that endeavor ever since 2015. On one occasion, my trip got postponed and I wasn't in town for the gig. On another, the concert I targeted was sold out in a matter of days. So when I saw Rockmaraton adding their name to the lineup I knew that this was it, now or never.

In the end, it was now and the moment was staggering. Darkness crept on stage that faithful night on the 11th of July and four hooded figures emerged from its depths. "Exercises in Futility I" exploded through the venue and there was simply no way to escape the audio/visual onslaught which ensued. "Mgła" were vicious and relentless in their attack on all the senses of the crowd. "Exercises in Futility IV", "Mdłości II", "With Hearts Toward None I", "Exercises in Futility II", "Groza III", they all lined up and melded into one huge unstoppable wave which continuously crashed down on us. It was superbly chaotic and powerful, yet at the same time remarkable how much I could simply feel all the qualities and sensations which I loved and respected on their recordings. At the same time, it was visually pleasing to see them in the flesh at last, black figures staring back at you with nothing but abysmal darkness underneath their hoods, an almost nietzschean perspective. It proves a good point, in fact, that none of this is about them, it doesn't matter who the people behind the hoods are, it doesn't matter who you and me are, it's purely about the music and the words screamed towards you and the message and meaning which they convey. This blissful chaos lasted for an exciting long hour and the ending of "Exercises in Futility VI" brought their set to a close, a perfect conclusion to a mind bending experience which left me thoroughly trembling when the final tone died.

"...As if all this was something more than another footnote on a postcard from nowhere, 

another chapter in the handbook for exercises in futility..."

Similarly to what I commented on "Carach Angren", the band had difficulty setting up prior to the set and it was apparent that they had a hard time to get their instruments in tune with the venue, which definitely left a mark on their "quality" during the show. From my experience, I'd fault the event space and not the band on this. Regardless of the issues, I still consider this "Mgła" show to be one of the highlights of this year's concert list, but it definitely left me hungry for more, since I believe that hearing them on their own solo concert would be a much more spectacular event. Patiently I shall wait for another opportunity. Until then, you can get in touch and support them here.

That is it for now, hope you enjoyed this brief festival report. I'm in the mood where I'm rather starved for writing more and there's so much to write about, so hopefully I'll update the blog again sooner rather than later. Until then, blessed be.

Festival report: Ieperfest 2012, day three

Once again I was lucky enough to grab a chance and be by the side of my lovely woman, so I kinda took some time off when it comes to writing and life in general. Well actually, that is a lie, I've been doing, or at least trying to do, some writing for several other projects I have in mind. If all goes well and I manage to beat a major writer's block I have, you will no doubt be reading about those other things I've been working on. Everything is just going extremely slow due to a number of things I'm trying to beat in my life, but I'm trying to take it step by step.

"Nemea" opened the final festival day. A local band hailing from the city Ostend woke up the audience with a brooding form of post metal. I didn't see the entire performance, but from what I witnessed, the band is really interesting. The have a rather compelling sound, in the form of flow and structure, although I somehow feel like they need more consistency. It is really hard to describe, but it seemed to me that specific song sections are way too flowing and at times lack a certain dose of heaviness. This is just a personal opinion however and the band is by no means bad. Absolutely check them out, they are still a very young band and I expect a long road ahead of them.

"The Death Of Anna Karina" was one of the bands that made my jaw drop to the floor when I saw it on the schedule for the festival. Do I really need to explain why? Cult Italian screamo, going strong ever since 1999. Although the band went through different stages of metamorphosis it always managed to hold its ground and stand out with its superb and unique sound. Each record they put out is better than the previous one and it seems as thought the band is on a constant path of growth and advancement. It is funny how I, for some reason, never thought I'd be seeing them perform live, yet there they were in hand-reach in front of me. A mix of older and newer songs was performed, so the crowd got to hear songs like "Castration" and "Dissoluzione", which I have to say was pretty awesome. The girl and me managed to acquire the setlist on paper from the lovely guitar player, but sadly I don't have it with me at the moment. If anyone is interested in the entire list of songs, just leave me a comment and I'll post it for you. In any case, the show was thrilling and had so much energy crackling all over the stage, lots of moving around, singing along and even the singer dropping to the floor and convulsing to the beat of the given song. Sadly, the set saw a flaw which definitely crippled my opinion about the overall show, but luckily I know it's not the band's fault. The vocals were abnormally low, which is obviously rather negative when it comes to a screamo band. You could barely hear the vocalist, although it was apparent that there was barely any air in his lungs from screaming his guts out. The moments when he was discernible were those when the rest of the band would grab a much lower tone or be far slower than usual. The person who was responsible for the sound truly failed, which is a sad fact for this band, since the vocals always played a key part of everything, especially on the last record where I find them quite powerful. Despite this, "The Death Of Anna Karina" impressed me and has sealed my love for their work entirely. 

After a reasonable break it was time to get blown into oblivion by "Toxic Holocaust". Oh. Yes. This devastating Portland-based trio has been ripping ears with its crust, thrash, speed metal crossover ever since 1999. They have been unstoppable with releasing the finest outputs of the genre in all these years and they just keep getting stronger. The band was quick to unleash a true audio assault on the crowd, initially coming in the form of "In the Name of Science" which sounded amazing. I was definitely prepared for a brutal concert, but an impact of this caliber I wasn't expecting. The attack continued with "War Is Hell", "Wild Dogs", "Nuke the Cross" and "Endless Armageddon" among the score of  other tracks performed, finally ending with the song "Bitch". This was such a fast and fiendish ride, you literally had no time to think and I barely managed to successfully scrabble some notes into my booklet. The sound was clear and powerful with a little bit of that thrashy crackling, everything ending up being completely as it should. Later during the day, while standing in the food line, I grabbed a chance to talk a bit to two members of the band who ended up being extremely nice and friendly, making the band that much more awesome. Can't say that you need to check them out, since by now you should have already done that a long time ago. If you haven't... don't make me come over there!

Once "Toxic Holocaust" finished their wild set, it was time for a bomb made out of positive energy called "7 Seconds" to explode on the main stage. There is probably no person out there in the hardcore/punk/whatever scene that doesn't know about this band. Legends of hardcore punk, these guys have been focused on shining out the most positive aspects of the genre, and ideals in general, for a remarkable thirty two year period. After countless records and tours, the band is still growing and being stronger than ever. Initially I heard about this band thanks to my cousin somewhere way back in 1999 I think, a time when I was just getting into music, and since then they never stopped spinning in my player. I absolutely adore "7 Seconds" now as much as I did back then and it was such a mind-blowing experience to finally get the privilege to see them live after all these years. That time has definitely been a huge catalyst, as far as emotions and expectations go, and the band completely delivered. The smile on my face and silly dancing lasted for the entirety of their set, the music and amazing amount of positive energy simply driving you forward. I don't think there was a single person in the crowd that was left unmoved or without a grin on their face. "One Big Guessing Game", "If The Kids Are United", "99 Red Balloons", "Here We Go Again Kids" and "Red and Black" are just some of the songs which incited everyone to just relax and enjoy themselves, making the festival into one enormous party. People continually climbed up on stage and had fun with the members of the band, the singer honestly being mind blown and constantly saying thanks to everyone. Of course, there was enough time to talk and bring out those positive ideals of music while bashing those stupid macho principles and asshole right-wing ideologies. (guess who?) The sound, of course, was absolutely flawless and like everything I imagined, which made the entire experience wonderful. This also falls as a runner-up for my top gigs of 2012 and I see that I will have a really hard time making that list in the end. All in all, a legendary band sculpting a legendary performance, no more words need to be written. 

"Cattle Decapitation". I have to be honest, I never heard about this band before, which is really wrong of me, since they seem to have a fair bit of history, ranging from the distant year of 1996.  The scariest thing for me is that most probably I would completely miss to see them on the festival, if it wasn't for a random encounter beforehand. Namely, my girlfriend's friend said that we should definitely catch them since they are "insane live", so thanks to him we gave these guys a go. Well now, let me tell you that his definition of the band was a serious understatement. This band adds a whole new meaning to insanity, not being just plain crazy or nuts, but seriously mentally deranged with a little touch of being demonically possessed. And all of this I mean in the most awesome and brilliant way possible, the project ending up as being one of the greatest discoveries for me on the entire festival. Without reading any further, I just urge you all to check these guys out, lurk up their music online, go to their shows like your life depends on it and simply support them in any way possible. So what exactly happened on the gig that it made me be so flabbergasted? First of all, the music was absolutely stunning, the band instantly lashing out with an aggressive fusion of black/death metal and grind, knitted into impressively complex and mind bending tracks. The melodies range between extremely exploding, technical, rending and beating to the brain, while at times sounding really epic and sophisticated. In the most schizophrenic whirlwind of instrumental sound stood the vocalist of the band... and I have no idea where to begin with explaining his performance. Remember that demonic possession thing I mentioned earlier? Well, this guy is the ground zero of a massive infestation from otherworldly beings. The score of sounds the man produced during the set was astounding, going from screaming, squealing and growling, all the way to having a funny humor-imbued voice during breaks. All of these were executed in so many different pitches and with a vast array of intensity, so you are left standing there and marveling at what is going on around you. Of course, the devils didn't nest just in the vocal chords, but in fact they started raping the entire band. "Cattle Decapitation" is one of those bands that is just a thrill to watch on stage and you can't look away. My eyes have never been so glued and focused, the state lasting for the entirety of the show. Crazy headbanging, making various deformed faces, the speed and style of the playing, the singer continuously pouring gallons of water on himself and dripping everywhere. And of course, the most marvelous of his maneuvers, launching a ball of spit above his head and then either re-swallowing it in midair or catching it with his hand and sniffing it back into his skull. Yes, everything is truly tense and constantly hanging on the peak of climax when it comes to this band. If all of this is not enough for you to check them out, then I don't know what is. On a side note, the band managed to grab even more of my love once I checked them out after the festival when I got back home. Apparently, the lyrics of "Cattle Decapitation" portray the horrible way humans treat the environment and nature, as well as continuously putting humans into slaughter and abuse scenarios , the same as those which are brought down upon non-human animals daily in real life, or even plainly speaking about genocide. I don't know about my readers, but this gets major thumbs up from yours truly.

Here we come to a whole new level of misanthropy, apathy and depression. And this is the part of the review where things get downright serious. What follows is probably one of the top three performances of the festival and most likely rushing to be in the top for the entire year. Today I was riding in the public transport and briefly remembered how "Crowbar" executed their set on "Ieperfest" and I wanted to rip the gripping pole, beat people up and then smash my own face into a pulp... that's how perfectly beyond this world and words they sounded. I guess that I need to seem more coherent in order for the readers to understand my thoughts, so I'll try to verbalize the experiences I brought from that gig. Anyone who is remotely into hardcore, and its darker incarnations like sludge, knows about "Crowbar". And if you don't, you should go back and do your homework properly. This twisted and apocalyptic apparition has crawled out of the swamps of Louisiana way back in 1989, sowing despair and creating dystopian landscapes wherever it goes. The little town of Ieper was about to be desecrated and the band was determined to do it thoroughly. "We are here to kick your asses", were the mild words of the singer, not exposing the nihilistic monstrosity which was about to be let loose upon everyone until it was too late to run away. I stood there in utter awe, rattled by shivers when the silence was shattered on stage. "Conquering", "New Dawn", "Burn Your World" and "High Rate Extinction" were some of the songs which made the gigantic, slime covered citadel known as "Crowbar". "The Lasting Dose" and "Planets Collide", a pair of my personal favorites, were executed on stage making me completely stunned in the overall gray and desolate landscape the band weaved around the audience. The sound was so powerful and perfectly clear, giving the listener an ability to thoroughly revel in every performed tone. Recalling this show makes me feel really speechless, which shows me just how much a band can make an impression on you and leave you stunned. It was a powerful experience where "Crowbar" excelled at what they do and swiftly managed to live up to their name and reputation. This gig planted its roots deep into my heart and it surely won't be forgotten. My only hope is that, one day, I will get the chance to see them again.

For the past year or so, I've managed to be so lucky to be able to grab numerous bands I love. Anyone who is reading this blog on a regular basis could really see how much gigs I went to and the amount of infatuation I had for a large number of bands hosted here. To be extremely honest, the list of bands which I have seen live drew me to the point where I had no idea which projects I'd crave to see next. Well, among the really few bands that are left for which I would give anything to see was "Converge", so "Ieperfest" gave me the desired opportunity. Aside of personally being quite excited about seeing them in concert, it seemed that almost everyone on the festival was stoked to see the legendary mathcore quartet. Wherever your eyes would wander you would see "Converge" T-shirts and tattoos, leading me to believe that a really spectacular show and insane atmosphere will ensue, probably resulting in a number of deaths from crowd surfing and moshing. Overall I was beyond thrilled to witness the following spectacle and the expectations just kept boiling. And then, the long awaited moment came... and dear mother was I disappointed. It is really bitter for me to recall that gig and I don't even know where to begin with remembering. The choice of the performed songs was really not impressive to begin with, since in my opinion it wasn't as violent as it should be. Too many songs were slow and somehow dragging, which made the set dull, at least for me since I expected complete mayhem and destruction. Everyone can easily look up the setlist on the internet, so you can be the judge of my statement above. Also, following the steps of the chosen songs, the band members didn't seem so enthusiastic and energetic about the fact that they are playing. The singer had some inspiring moments, but it all seemed so bleak in comparison to what I imagined. Additionally, we all know that one of the biggest merits of "Converge" is just the most crushing and powerful, yet insanely melodic and driving, sound, but live they simply didn't cut it right. My impressions were that the volume could have been way more higher and impacting, but what did happen was the crowd getting just your average hardcore show. Having so many trashy thoughts about such a legendary band is not really aiding the popularity of this blog, and it's definitely not the first time I talked bad about a ridiculously famous project, but hey. Bad things happen, those also including bad gigs and this is by no means my final judgement of the band. I will hopefully see this band again in December and I will give them a second chance. Somehow I feel that they will sound much better on a gig which they are headlining, in comparison to a festival performance. We'll see, you never know.

Following the event that seemed like I was robbed off of my childhood memories, I decided to drown the sadness in food, completely forgetting that seeing "Bolt Thrower" would do me good. Although I was far away from the stage and barely paying attention, I guess I could say that I went through their entire performance and they sounded awesome. I was still pissed off by the previous show, so I devoured a meal of french fries, but this band managed to subtly make me forget about the disappointment. It is really sad that I didn't focus too much on stage and because of that I won't be writing much here. All I'll say is that for a "heard live" band they pretty much ruled. 

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.

Festival report: Ieperfest 2012, day one

I've managed to hit a speed-bump of sorts when it comes to life, so my inspiration levels have decreased significantly, which equals less posts on here. Lucky for me, I had my trusty booklet on the festival and I kept notes about my thoughts, so writing will come easier than usual. This event marked the ending of the summer festival season for me and there are tons of things I need to share, some positive some negative. As I already mentioned, after this I will start posting release reviews, which I presume will be a good thing due to the fact that you boys and girls are probably bored by only reading my gig and festival write-ups.

The year 2012 saw a grand twentieth birthday of "Ieperfest", a huge hardcore happening stretched over three days in Ieper, Belgium. What started out as a modest 2-day festival in 1992 today stands as a force to be reckoned with and has become the underground event with the longest tradition. "Genet Records" and "Republyk Vort'n Vis" have been working together all these years, the fruits of their labor manifesting as a really amazing and long list of bands which they hosted. I have to be completely honest and say that in all those 20 years, this is the first time I have heard of the festival and it makes me sad, and ashamed, since I obviously missed out on a lot of amazing bands. When I saw the schedule for the twentieth edition of the event I was instantly mesmerized, to say the least.
Getting into a little bit more detail regarding the festival itself. As I mentioned above, it is located in Ieper, a small town in Belgium, just 15 kilometers from the French border. The site is located next to the road and is fairly easy to be found. There is a really big area for parking and an equally huge camping spot. The field where the camp is settled was kinda hard to maneuver, since the grass was somewhat tall and the very ground is wavy, but in the end it turned out to be manageable. Two things really surprised me when it comes to the lodging area and those are extremely clean, and nice smelling, toilets and a spot with showers. Although my woman and me were true hardcore/punk/crust and so we didn't shower during the festival, it is very neat to know that you can if you need to.
Another awesome thing was the food, though it comes with a flaw of sorts. 100% vegan dishes featuring seitan stew, scrambled tofu, pasta with minced soy, fries, vegan ice cream, fruit and many other things on the menu kept everyone filled with energy and also being extremely tasty in the process. However, the downside was the fact that you had to buy tokens in order to get food and drinks. Not only are the plastic coins entirely environmentally unfriendly, which goes against the policies of the festival, but most of the times they are hard to get since the lines are huge. The same goes for actually getting the food, since the waiting time tends to be quite long. At one occasion we actually measured the time we waited in the que, ending up being locked in the line for more than 30 minutes. My suggestion would be to make the meal distribution like on "Fluff Fest", one really big tent and multiple stands. And definitely lose the plastic coins, for reasons obvious.
One other thing worth mentioning, despite the fact that it will get its share of words throughout the review, is the "More Than Music" tent. Filled with info-desks, a small zine library and a podium for presentations, documentary movies and interviews with bands, this tent served as an extreme example of the festival's desire to educate people. I spent a fine amount of time in the "MTM" tent, but the sad thing is that every time I went there I realized that not a lot of people are present or they are just there to relax in the library. In general, I felt really alienated from the majority of the crowd because it was a completely different scene than the one I usually am a part of, so I guess it is just a different mindset of the audience. Despite that I give utter praise to the festival for trying to have an educative aspect and putting a huge accent on supporting the vegan lifestyle and the anti-fascist, ALF/ELF movements.

Now I will present to you the entire list of bands for the first festival days. I just now remembered one awesome thing about "Ieperfest", a thing that events like "Fluff Fest" and "New Noise" should really take note of. Although the timetables were extremely tightly knit, there would be only one band playing at a certain time. Even though there might have been a delay in the tent, for instance, the band on the main stage would not begin playing until the tent band was done. This way you can see everything and you don't have to stab yourself in the face and shoot people because you have to sacrifice one band in order to see another one. So festivals, watch and learn. Anyway, here is the schedule for day one:
- Sydney Ducks (T)
- Midnight Souls (M)
- Dukatalon (T)
- Take Offense (M)
- Coke Bust (T)
- The Mongoloids (M)
- Dean Dirg (T)
- Death By Stereo (M)
- For The Glory (T)
- Kylesa (M)
- Skarhead (T)
- Norma Jean (M)
- Homer (T)
- Knuckledust (M)
- The Chariot (T)
- Corrosion of Conformity (M)
- Mucky Pup (T)
- Crown of Thornz (M)
- Aborted (T)
- Funeral For A Friend (M)
- Congress (T)
- Agnostic Front (M)

The band which kicked off the festival for me was "Dukatalon" and it was a truly pleasant surprise. Not only was it really cool to see a band hailing from Israel, but the output they presented was excellent. This three-piece project mixed tones of sludge and post metal, creating a heavy and eerie sound wall of sound. They excel at making truly enormous and perfectly flowing soundscapes, a trait which is quite impressive since we are dealing with a trio here. The band just swept away everything, no special effects or makeup, just straightforward stomping, overtly grim and mood-bending atmospherics. This was definitely the surprise of the day and I recommend that you all check them out. I'm yet to take a listen to their recordings, but I'm pretty sure that they will grasp my liking even at home.

"Coke Bust", strike two. And I have to say that I was somewhat disappointed. The band was equally energetic as on "Fluff Fest", but back there they just sounded better. In the Czech Republic, the songs were much more discernible and, at the same time, far more aggressive, while on "Ieperfest" they ended up being too noisy and just not that violent. I still like the band though and it was a pleasure to hear "Fumigation", "No Authority" and all of their other tracks they performed on tour. Once again, definitely take a listen to these guys and keep an eye open for them.

My initial plan was to go and see "Dean Dirg", but as it turns out they cancelled. And not only that, but the band actually broke up, which really made me bummed out since I basically could have seen one of their last ever shows. So instead I kinda hanged out with my girlfriend and our friend until it was time for "Death By Stereo". I have to say, this ended up as being a sort of black sheep of day one due to the fact that the band managed to piss me off with just one of their live statements. The band started out fairly well, providing a great amount of energy and being instantly entertaining. At that point I really regretted the fact that I missed their show in my hometown some time ago, since I imagined a smaller show being even more energetic. Then, however, came a couple of sentences from the singer where he noted that "there are not a lot of emo kids in the crowd". "Good, they are hurting our scene." Okay. First of all, and this is coming from someone who is mainly going to punk festivals and gigs and I am sure that a lot of my readers will concur, I really disapprove of any sort of verbal oppression, intolerance or insults, unless the said statements are against the system because that's what this is all about basically. Even if I wasn't a punk and an anarchist, it's safe to say that my dear mom and dad did a fairly good job at raising someone who is not an intolerant douche. Second, those words sounded like they came out from 2006, when people mistook a movement of teenagers wearing eyeliner and checkered bracelets for "emo kids" and went around to beat them up. Even if you're gonna bash something, at least learn your damned terminology. I might fall into the category which you might call an emo since I listen to emo obviously. You know, bands like "Rites of Spring" and the tightly connected screamo like "Saetia" and yeah I'd go and cry my eyes out on their show, or I'd go and listen to "Orchid" and smash your brains out. Those words on stage, coming from someone who started out in 1998 when emo and screamo were truly strong, are really disgraceful and just stupid. Maybe I'm being too judgmental and I take my music seriously, but I'll leave that to the readers to decide. All in all, total disappointment.

Ages ago I was dying to see "Kylesa" live, yet there I was on "Ieperfest" being ready to see them a second time. Previously I saw them in Nijmegen, a show about which you can read here, and I was really curious how they will sound like on this occasion. And it is safe to say that I definitely enjoyed their performance on the festival far more than in "Doornroosje". "Said And Done", "Don't Look Back", "Unknown Awareness" and "Scapegoat" are just some of the songs which were performed and which sounded far more awesome than on the previous show. The sound was much more gigantic and even more clear and impacting than before, so it really seems that the band can do no wrong. Additionally, I have to say that the female vocals were excellent this time, since previously I had some complaints. On this occasion everything was definitely like on recordings, nicely executed singing and screaming which was on par with the album material, a strong and heavy instrumental section and a truly massive sound overall, something that "Kylesa" is well known for. Overall, this was a superb performance, way better than I hoped for. 

"Norma Jean" was up next on the main stage and I was fairly excited, since I heard that they are really entertaining live. I honestly didn't listen to them before, but their tunes ended up being extremely catchy and interesting, so I enjoyed their set quite a lot. The band was also really cool to look at, bursting with quite a lot of energy and providing a fine dose of wild maneuvers on stage. What did leave a murky experience is the fact that the crowd was really stiff and unmoved, this actually happening on most of the shows on the festival, and you could somewhat sense that the band was slightly irritated by it. Or well, at least I found it quite weird to see a band jump around and swing their instruments while the crowd is just existing there. The vocalist addressed the crowd numerous of times, but to no avail. Still, the band did their part really efficiently and I definitely don't have any complaints. One of the last songs, or maybe even the last one I can't really recall, featured the singer of "The Chariot" as a guest vocalist and that was a really climactic point where everything went insane. I have to say that I would really love to grab a chance and see them in a smaller venue on their own gig, which I presume would be a totally insane experience.

Here we come to something that never happened to me while writing a review and that is the fact that two bands in a row get almost identical critique. Prior to the festival I was told that whatever I do I just have to go and see "The Chariot" so, voila, I did just that. Like with "Norma Jean", I was so pumped up with words regarding their live performances, since I only heard praises, but after the show I had no idea what to write in my booklet due to the fact that the set didn't leave any sort of impression on me. But hey, maybe that is a good thing sometimes? The sound was really fast and powerful with really peculiar melodies. Additionally in correlation with the previous band, "The Chariot" radiated with energy and they could have done a lot more, but the crowd just didn't respond properly and I think that the lack of a response really reflected on the band. Nevertheless, they provided a lot of crazy movement on the small stage, which I failed to completely see since I was standing at the left side of the entrance, so my vision was somewhat flawed. And again similarly to "Norma Jean", I hope to see them live on a gig which they are headlining, so maybe one day I get my chance.

Now was the time for a band that is probably one of the most unexpected names to get an invitation to the festival. "Funeral For A Friend", the famous post hardcore hailing from Wales, might have seemed to be completely out of place on this event, but they managed to put on a fantastic performance and end up being one of the most positive bands of the entire "Ieperfest". Ages ago I used to listen to them and, although I stopped somewhere along the way, they succeeded to bring back some truly nice memories. Aside of the fact that they sounded excellent, it was just their great attitude and energy that made me love their set. The band simply came on stage and had fun, enjoying every second of it, making it almost impossible for people around not to like them. They addressed the audience on numerous occasions, excusing themselves and saying that they know they aren't really hardcore, which I found  quite friendly in a way and, if I may say so, cute. That entire "we are all different, let's just have a fun time" attitude definitely crowned their set and it made me enjoy every second of it and with a huge smile on my face. I really haven't listened to the band in a long long while, so I forgot most of their song names and whatnot, but I do remember that they played "Bullet Theory" and "Roses For The Dead". I took a listen to them at home while writing this review and I have to say that I am extremely happy that I had the pleasure to see them live. Maybe I'm not a real fan or whatever, you might not be one as well, but I definitely recommend anyone to go to their show, you will go home full of energy.

The closing act of the day was the legendary hardcore band from New York, "Agnostic Front". No matter how well known and famous, I didn't really enjoy them live and I ended up walking away after a few songs. I have no idea what was going on, but their sound seemed extremely weak and somehow "empty" for a five-piece. I could barely notice any sort of melody, or anything else for that matter, and even the vocalist was weirdly heard. At first I thought that it was just the place where I was standing, but the sound remained obscure even when I moved through and out of the stage area. Not a really glorious end of the day, but I knew that the next one will be insane.

Festival report: Fluff Fest 2012, day three

I took a little break from writing these days, since I had to take my time to address some other writing, and otherwise, projects I have going on or hope to have in the near future. Additionally, yesterday was the date of my birth, so I just gave my brain a rest from everything. There is still a ton of writing to be done for the blog, so I have to keep my game up and you can definitely expect this page to run in the same pace as it has been doing this entire month.

A day like any other, filled with a long list of bands, though I managed to see only a handful of names for various reasons. As a result, this review will definitely be shorter than usual or at least I will try to keep it as such. Here is the list of bands for the third and final day of "Fluff Fest" 2012:

Main Stage:

2:05 PM: Brat Pack

2:45 PM: The Tidal Sleep

3:30 PM: Ritual

4:15 PM: Landscapes

5:05 PM: Soul Control

6:00 PM: Pianos Become The Teeth

7:00 PM: Tangled Lines

8:00 PM: Trapped Under Ice

9:00 PM: Verse

Tent Stage:

2:35 PM: Boiling Point

3:20 PM: Sin Of Lilith

4:05 PM: Landverraad

4:55 PM: Sen Deni

5:45 PM: Mobius

6:45 PM: Tupak Amaru

7:45 PM: Sloth

8:50 PM: AYS

10:00 PM: Unveil

"Brat Pack" was the first band to kick it off that day and what a marvelous choice it was. I presume that everyone knows about this Dutch hardcore/punk outfit, so there really isn't any need for any special introductions. It really was just the perfect band to start the day, making the crowd's tiredness run for cover. If I remember well, this band has played previously in Serbia, maybe even more than once though I am not sure, and on "Fluff Fest" I realize what a mistake it was to miss their show in my country. The band is extremely energetic and enjoyable with their awesome melodies and a specific attitude radiating from the stage. Their songs definitely have a certain special something that makes you want to move around and dance even if you would happen to hear their songs for the very first time. Add to that the fact that there were no real breaks and the band just came and played their way through a really speedy setlist, and you end up having a superbly charged performance. Excellent band, really glad I finally got to see them live. 

"The Tidal Sleep" came next and I have to say that I was very excited about hearing them live, since on "New Noise" I heard them from a distance and they seemed rather appealing. The German quartet took the stage and presented their interesting combination of post metal/hardcore and screamo to the audience. If you haven't listened to them before, like I haven't, this can be a hard bite to swallow. The heavy riffs, eerie transitions and depressive atmospherics are excellent, but on first listen you realize that the vocals really stand out from the instrumental section. Maybe it was just my impression, but I have a feeling the singer has a too clear voice for this type of thing. It took me a song or two to realize that this, in fact, is a really appealing trait of the band. The weird mix of highly contrasted sounds is rather cool and I ended up liking the band a lot. Bet you didn't expect that sharp turn, what a twist! Either way, it did take me some time to get into them live, but it was definitely worth it. 

Now comes the time for a really neat surprise hailing from the Czech Republic. "The Sin Of Lilith" is a quintet playing that nice amalgam of emo and screamo and not knowing anything about the band prior to the performance made everything that much enjoyable. The band created some truly appealing sounds and melodies, at times reminding me of bands like "Optimus Prime" and "La Quiete" although much more tender. At several instances they make good use of that "building up" moment in songs, going from slow and gentle to becoming quite chaotic and choking. The vocals also range from plain talking to top-of-your-lungs screaming, which additionally contributes to variety in a specific song. Also, the band was visually very interesting with lots of movement and I think the singer is the only one on "Fluff Fest" who decided to walk around amid the crowd and perform his band duties. Overall, a very entertaining band with a lot of potential, so be sure to check them out.

"Pianos Become The Teeth" was the next band I managed to grab. To be honest, if it was 2010 I would have been thrilled about seeing them, since back then I was loving their "Old Pride" album and I'd go berserk if I got to attend their show. After those recordings I kinda feel apart from the project and all their other material passed by me unnoticed, so now I went to the gig just because. Needless to say, the band managed to resurrect a big portion of that love I had for them and I'm really happy they did. They sounded exceedingly powerful in concert with impacting melodies and vocals which really stand out and leave you impressed. Although I didn't hear their newer material and I wasn't able to recognize songs, the performance was very entertaining and it definitely keeps your senses busy and focused. I managed to see them on "Ieperfest" as well, though I have to say that they had a much more massive sound of "Fluff Fest". More about that is yet to come, but until then I just have to say that their show was fun and I'm glad I saw them live. 

Now we come to the closing act of the main stage and it is a really tough nut to crack. "Verse", USA modern hardcore which achieved a sort of cult status with its recognizable sound and scores of video footage of their insane shows. Personally, I never gave them much attention so hearing them live and experiencing the flamed up atmosphere was a really interesting thing. The crowd really did go crazy almost instantly and you could see scores of movement on stage and in front of it. Backed with a really clear, yet powerful sound, the performance seemed like it will be a really amazing one. There is a huge "but" looming on the horizon of this review. All would be fine and well if it weren't for the singer and his need to take time and talk between songs. Don't get me wrong, I really love it when a band is doing the best it can to interact with the audience. When it is, of course, done subtly and, most of all, naturally. It started off good when it comes to "Verse", the first speech that is. And I didn't mind the fact that it lasted for a good couple of minutes. But then came another one. And another one. And, I think, another one after that. Aside of actually wasting time that could have been used for playing, since the monologues ate probably a couple of songs, the horrible thing were the very words spoken. Too many sentences defending "Defeater", endlessly promising how "Verse" put their heart and soul into the new record and how they don't have money and don't have jobs, for instance how the singer "fucked off his boss to be able to tour". As a wise person said after the gig, "he is just a good marketing person" and I fully agree. Dude, I don't have a proper job for well over a year now and still I'm able to scrap some money and travel for bands and support them, betting that I'm not the only one in such a situation.  So instead just say once "hey we have a new record, buy it please", don't wrap it in emotional words and most of all just be quiet and play. I'll probably lose readers with this review due to the band's fame, but I was extremely annoyed by their entire performance because of these bad sides I mentioned. If it wasn't for the babbling, this would be a really cool gig.
So there it is, the last festival day ending in not such a glorious fashion. The whole day ended up being crappy because of my uncanny ability to ruin stuff, so maybe that is the reason this review is somewhat bitter. Either way it was a great fest yet again and I will be sure to attend next year as well! See you all there in 2013!

Festival report: Fluff Fest 2012, day two

Ever since the schedule for the second day surfaced on the festival's website, I knew that I would be killed by it. The list of bands was insane and it was definite that I'll have to sacrifice some bands in order to see others. Lots of tough decisions and maneuvering, but in the end it resulted in a fantastic day. Only thing that did suck was the stubborn heavy rain which greeted us from the early morning hours.  

Schedule for day two of the festival is as follows:

Main Stage:

1:25 PM: Beton

2:05 PM: Bokanovsky

2:45 PM: True Nature

3:30 PM: Run With The Hunted

4:15 PM: Titan

5:05 PM: Wolf Down

6:00 PM: Masakari

7:00 PM: Suis La Lune

8:00 PM: No Turning Back

9:00 PM: Anchor

Tent Stage:

12:30 PM: Controlled Existence

1:15 PM: Vendetta

1:55 PM: Ralph Macchio

2:35 PM: Kung-Fu Girlz

3:20 PM: Child Meadow

4:05 PM: Osawatomie

4:55 PM: Planks

5:45 PM: Boredom

6:45 PM: Aussitot Mort

7:45 PM: Vaccine

8:50 PM: Light Bearer

10:00 PM: Alpinist

While the rain was pouring down like there was no tomorrow and everyone was covering at the merch desk, "Beton" marked the beginning of the day on the main stage. A quintet from Slovakia playing some superb crust, the band unleashed a series of devastatingly fast d-beat tunes across the soaked festival field. Prior to the festival I found myself craving some more bands of this genre in my book and this act came with all the ingredients that I love, nonstop beating to the senses with speedy playing and that good old dirty crust sound. Sadly I was too far away from the stage and at one point I had to run to my tent to grab a hoodie, so I didn't enjoy the band to the fullest, but I definitely praise the very discovery of their work. Will keep an eye out on this project, attention is most deserved.

Moments later it was time to crawl from under the covers and step into the rain to see "Bokanovsky" from a closer point. Right away I have to say that this band definitely jumps up to be in my personal top five performances of this year's "Fluff Fest", no doubts about it. I know about these guys for several years now, though I kinda neglected listening to them in recent periods of time. After this performance, there is no way to ever forget about them again. The band was so powerful and emotionally impacting that they immediately resurrected the passionate love I had for them back in the day. Seeing that unbelievably well-crafted combination of beauty and serenity wrapped in heavy and unpredictable sounds oozing with emotions and passion was magnificent. This is, without any second thoughts, the first band on this festival that managed to thoroughly impress me and shake me to the core. My readers probably know how much I adore screamo hailing from France and this band is a perfect example of why I feel so much infatuation for their music scene. But wait, there is one more band from this country leaving its mark on this review, just coming up next.

Right after "Bokanovsky" finished their set, two of their string players went on into the tent to form "Child Meadow", only this time one of them was on drums and the other remained on the guitar. This band has to be the most pleasant surprise of the festival, without a doubt. These two guys managed to fill the entire tent and the audience with so much positive energy with their smiles, jokes, insanely catchy melodies and extremely pleasant attitude. There was interaction with the crowd, silly playing mistakes which created even more smiles on peoples faces and just make everyone feel like they are attending a house show. Aside of their own songs, the band did a cover of "Remek" which was actually assisted by the singer of the said band. The same happened with a "Paper Plane Crash" cover song. When you put everything together, you get a really thrilling show and a true bomb made out of positive emotions. I seriously don't recall a gig when a band managed to make me smile during the entire set. France, you should be proud.

After some hanging out around distros it was time for "Wolf Down". For various reasons I saw the band perform only briefly, but the tiny spectacle was amazing. If I remember well, I came just in time to hear "Rot" and it blew me away at how perfect it sounded. Also, I was kinda far away from the stage so I had a really nice view on what is going on there and the band really managed to move the crowd with its insane amount of energy. Jumping on stage, crowd surfing, rampage on the ground, the band itself being wild and constantly moving, just total mayhem everywhere. The sound they succeeded in creating was far more aggressive and brutal than that on the recordings, so it was quite a sight seeing them live. Definitely a band worth the note. I also did an interview with them some time ago, found here, so you should also check that out if you already haven't.

Next up, "Boredom". Maybe it is quite cheezy to say, but they instantly annihilated any possible presence of actual boredom in the tent. Precisely as on their recordings, the amusing clash between raspy, thrashy crust and almost rock and roll type melodies managed to impress me beyond measure, changing my mood from calm to nigh hyperactive. Ever since I first heard their split with "Rivers Run Dry", courtesy of good friend Botond from "Itai Itai Records", I've found their sound so unique and intriguing, thus this being an absolute honor to attend their show. Similarly to when I listened to them at home for the first time, they just swept me off my feet when they started playing on stage and my mind blown state was present until their sound died. "Lap Dance of Rats" and "The Poverty Lawyer" punched me in the gut so hard that I really don't know how I restrained myself from killing someone in the dancing area in front of the stage. What this band can do to you with their music is insane, that's for sure. They have less than 500 listeners on last.fm and that is something that is not tolerable at all. Seriously people, what's wrong with you? Check this band out, I promise you won't regret it!

It is sad to say that this is the point where the schedule became extremely tight and squeezed for me, with too many good bands entwined with one another. I really wish that "Fluff Fest" starts doing what "Ieperfest" does with its schedule, although this will have to wait until I write the review of my stay in Belgium. Until then I'll stick to what happened in Rokycany. "Masakari" was next and due to seeing "Boredom" I couldn't attend to their whole set. Although I only witnessed a part of the gig it was definitely enough to stomp me entirely. Approaching the show I realized how enormous their sound is, not only because of the fact that they were on the main stage, but also because it was, plainly put, the sound of "Masakari". There was just so much anger and energy hurling from the stage, so much that I felt completely battered, in a positive way of course, despite the fact that I was rather far from the source of sound. If I recall well, I arrived just in time to hear "X. Pain Conceived As A Tool", the song which is featured on the benefit split with "Tempest", and the band just killed everything with the sheer massiveness of their music. I've always been in love with "Masakari", but I never imagined them being that good in concert, just stunning. I feel insanely sorry that I didn't see their whole act, so I hope they come back to Europe one day to wreck havoc on everything. 

One more occasion to see "Aussitot Mort" and yet again I wasn't able to view their entire set, because I needed to catch another band. Sigh. "Fluff" you are killing me. Anyway, if I remember well the band once again opened their act with "La Ride Du Lion" which is just a superb opener and mood-setter. The band simply excels at lashing out their amazing atmospheric sound in a single swipe and it definitely doesn't leave you unshaken. I only saw that first song being played and I already had to run to the main stage, but it was absolutely worth it. I still hate myself due to the fact I missed their show with "Heaven In Her Arms", especially now since I have a chance to see them properly but always fail to see the entire set. The band hates me probably, that's why. I due love them, however. 

Rushing to the main stage earlier I managed to secure a first row place for the next act. "Suis La Lune",  legendary screamo band from Sweden and a long time favorite band of yours truly, was getting ready and just about to start. I was quite anxious about this performance due to the fact that, prior to the festival, I heard that they weren't really entertaining live and I honestly had some level of fear about what was going to happen. Additionally, for various reasons, they kind of drifted away from my liking and this show was definitely a sort of a test for the band in my eyes. Saying it right away, the band swept me off my feet entirely. And they would sweep me even easier if I wasn't stupid enough to neglect listening to their newest album called "Riala". The majority of the performed songs were from that album and, although I watched with awe and utter pleasure, it just isn't the same when you actually know the songs, if you know what I mean. Needless to say, "Cornea", "Remorse", "All That Meant Something" and all other new pieces managed to resurrect the old love I had for the band. Mixed with those were "With Wings Of Feathers And Glue" and "September Gave Us...", while the ending came in a beautiful combination of "Utter Silence Is Fragile" and "A Letter A Void". In all the years that I followed this band fervently, I always imagined that they would be so blissful and wonderfully gentle and there they were, proving and justifying all my previous thoughts. I have always dreaded about writing things concerning my favorite bands, among which is definitely this one, and this amount of text is enough to make me shudder, thus I will stop here. Astonishing performance, worth the wait all these years. 

After soothing melodies and emotions, it was time for pissed off straight edge powerviolence. That sounds gnarly, wouldn't you say? "Vaccine", a band hailing from Massachusetts and featuring members of acts such as "Orchid", "Ampere", "Glue", "Failures" and "Think I Care", just got on stage and basically kicked everyone in the face, over and over again. This came as an enormous shock to the senses after the previous band, but damn, it was worth it. Their entire set was just a violent ball of rending, heavy guitar riffs, choking drums, harsh bass and angry to the core vocals to top it off. I was simply flabbergasted at how awesome this band is, especially since I never heard about them before. I did, however, get a second chance at seeing them on "Ieperfest" where I managed to pay more attention to what is going on amid the chaos they created. Seeing this band twice shows that I'm really lucky that I didn't get a heart-attack. This day just didn't fail to continuously impress.

Once the truly maddening set was over, I had just enough time to go to my tent and put on my "Vestiges" shirt for the next band, just for fun. By the time I got back, the tent stage was overcrowded and bursting with expectations for "Light Bearer". I managed somehow to squeeze inside, despite my initial wishes to be in the very front row. The band opened with their newest song, that from the split with "Northless", called "Celestium Apocrypha: Book Of Watchers", which I have to say surprised me a bit. Although it is a truly astounding piece, I think it is a really bad choice for a short festival performance due to its length and slowness. Needless to say, the band somehow pulled it off and mesmerized the crowd with their great sound and ambiance. After a sluggish start came "Prelapsus", which literally exploded inside the tent, the mass of people erupting into a conjoined choir of screams at the cataclysmic ending of the song. From then on it was continual stage diving and dancing on the part of the audience, while the band continued with "Lapsus" and, if memory serves well, "Primum Movens". The strength of the sounds radiating from the small stage kept being increased to unbelievable levels, completely justifying the epic concept the band is enveloped in. I had my doubts about how the performance will come out in the tent stage, but so much energy and power packed in such a tight spot proved to be magnificent. My only complaint would be the pick of the opening song, since I presume that "Armoury Choir" would be a far better decision, but this stays in the boundaries of personal choice. Additionally, for a score of reasons, I really didn't approve of words spoken by the band during breaks, some of them addressing the whole situation with "Defeater". I just find it a lot better when people mind their own business and think about what they are saying before they actually say it. Otherwise, a great performance.

"Alpinist" gets one word as an opener. Wow. I wasn't pleased at all with their performance on "Cry Me A River" and I came to this gig to give them a second chance. Wow, again. The very first millisecond the band started playing, the crowd erupted like an eons old volcano. Instant stage diving, jumping, crowd surfing, screaming, pushing, everyone became so squeezed together from the sheer amount of people which hurled into the tent to participate in the sea of limbs and sore throats. The band seemed to play in such a violent fashion, when compared to the last time I saw them, and it doesn't come as a surprise that the audience replied in such a fashion. Their sound became exceedingly heavy, pounding and fast, so much that even though you were trying to stay alive in the whirlwind of bodies your mind was well aware of the sounds rushing towards the ears. There was minimal time for pauses or speeches, although they were present, and it was just nonstop insanity until the end of their set. The band just didn't stop beating their instruments until the crowd started feeling fatigue approaching. The only downside to the entire thing was that a girl got seriously injured, if the information is correct she got a fractured skull, during the set. Although it was really fun and adrenaline rushing, people should be a little bit more careful with really hurting someone, especially since at the beginning of the show a lot of tinier people were in front. I got separated from my girlfriend during the course of a couple of songs and I can't say that I wasn't worried for her. Also a similarly lame thing happened to me on "Light Bearer" while I was crowd surfing and was dropped to the ground at one point, without people actually trying to get me up but going along with their business. Just a little bit more concert etiquette is needed I presume. But aside of that, this is by far the wildest and most intense concert I've attended in a long, long while. "Alpinist", I applaud you, this was a show to remember. 

Festival report: Fluff Fest 2012, day one

 "Ieperfest" and my trip to Belgium is long over, thus I am home once again. At this point I have no further travelling plans, which really bums me out since it means that I won't be seeing my better half any time soon. I do, however, have some local gigs coming up and definitely expect to read about  those in the near future, as well as an "Ieperfest" review of course. There are also some changes and upgrades which I am currently planing for the blog, so stay tuned about that. Additionally, I have a lot of unanswered e-mails and releases waiting to be written about, so thanks to everyone who provided continual attention and patience for my feedback. Until I get back to all of you, here are my thoughts concerning this year's "Fluff Fest".

Celebrating its twelfth edition, this year "Fluff Fest" was held from 20th to 22nd July 2012 at the well known Rokycany Airfield, the Czech Republic. This was my second consecutive year on the event and I already wrote briefly about the happening in my previous festival report regarding it. Even despite my words about it on this blog, the festival has become all too known and has definitely grabbed an almost cult following over the years. With a lengthy list of bands that have played and a solid message and ethics, "Fluff Fest" is a synonym for both good entertaining times, friendship and education of its attendants.

Without further ado, here is the timetable for the main and tent stages on the first festival day, 20 July 2012:

Main Stage:

2:45 PM - Wojczech

3:30 PM - Weekend Nachos

4:15 PM - Reign Supreme

5:05 PM - Coke Bust

6:00 PM - End Of A Year aka Self Defense Family

7:00 PM - Graf Orlock

8:00 PM - Loma Prieta

9:00 PM - Defeater

Tent Stage:

3:20 PM - My Turn

4:05 PM - Sick Fix

4:55 PM - Comfort Woman

5:45 PM - Grieved

6:45 PM - Nine Eleven

7:45 PM - Code Orange Kids

8:50 PM - No Omega

10:00 PM - Former Thieves

Since we arrived deep into the night on the 19th July, we had enough time during the following day to make sure that "Wojczech" was grabbed first. I never heard about this band before, but I was quickly noted that it has a fair bit of history behind itself. And when I say a "bit" I actually mean sixteen years, so that particular fact left me quite flabbergasted. Either way, the band's performance was nothing short of brutal. Extremely heavy and maniacal hardcore grind mixture with a lot of precise melody shifts and amazing vocals. The vocals were the thing that definitely grabbed the most of my attention. Vocal duties were bouncing between two band members and their outlet was simply awesome. Although it was just the two of them, they managed to produce a score of various vocal sounds, providing a really interesting diversity to the songs. All in all, this was a real surprise for me and the band definitely made me want to check them out properly at home and keep an eye out for them.

“Weekend Nachos” arrived next and it was one hell of a punch to the senses. Throw a massive batch of hardcore, powerviolence and grind into the mixing pot and there you have it, a deadly concoction for a weekend meal of aggression. I have to say that I don't remember bits and pieces of their set, thus I'll keep this short, but I recall being utterly mesmerized with the amount of violence and chaos they unleashed. Despite all the madness and short songs, the band manages to implement a lot of interesting twists and turns regarding melodies in their tunes, which makes it a not so typical chaotic band. I seriously feel like their performance lasted only a couple of minutes, since the whirlwind under their name just rushed past everything. In short, just check them out and stop missing out.

“Coke Bust”. Straight edge, angry and insanely fast. A band hailing from Washington, DC, they attacked with short spasm-like songs and an "in your face" attitude. Their entire set was a true beating to the ears and it just kept coming, over and over again. "Fumigation", "No Authority", "Pain And Suffering", all were thrown at the audience in a maddening rush. The sound was presented with an amazing quality and flawless execution which is a huge plus for a band of this caliber. At that point in time I knew that there was a small, but possible, chance that I get to see "Coke Bust" again on "Ieperfest" and seeing them once more would be awesome. Since you'll be reading about the band twice, I'll stop here and save some material for later. Until then, definitely check them out, this band is a must.

It was time to go catch “Grieved”, a Swedish quintet which actually teamed up with "No Omega" for a  European tour and made "Fluff Fest" one of their stops along the way. Although I find the band to be a rather typical incarnation of dark hardcore, which I do enjoy at home I might add, they proved to be entertaining live. The sound was massive and pounding, which always spells out chaos when such a band is placed on the tent stage. I didn't stick around for the entire set, but even the part that I did witness was enough for me to be completely satisfied. The band and its members are still young, so I presume there is a lot more to come from them and it should be kept under a watchful eye.

“Graf Orlock” strike two. And what to say more other than the fact that this was the first band this  year which made "Fluff Fest" go absolutely nuts. Immediate stage diving, crowd surfing, screaming and just total mayhem ensued while the band lashed out with their movie samples and choking melodies. The band had a fairly similar setlist like last time I saw them, which was on "Cry Me A River" and you can read about it here, but here the sound was much more powerful and heavier. As chaotic as their songs are, their sound was unbelievably clear and technical now, so their performance was stunning in every way possible. As the show kept getting more intense and crazy, the band members seemed more and more amazed by the crowd and their reception, so they went wild themselves. The singer kept stage diving and interacting with the audience, which made the entire gig that much more awesome. Once again "The Dream Left Behind" was played last, but this time the entire band crowd surfed away, marking the end of the show with style.

“Loma Prieta” strike four. Aside of meeting the guys from the band once again, since I got to know them a little bit thanks to my girlfriend, it was amazing to see them play one last time on their European tour. This was by far their loudest and most gigantic sounding performance I saw and heard, although as nearly chaotic as the show in Munster. They swallowed the entire audience with the mayhem they brewed, backed up by interesting visual entertainment, since I always found it interesting to gaze at the insane speed with which they play. The band itself was equally alive, so much in fact that the closure of their set almost ended up in their equipment being thrashed. Part of the drum kit ended up being dismantled, a guitar flew into the set, the bass dropped to the ground. After four reviews there really isn't much left to say, other than that you should try to grab a gig and keep this band under your radar for the future. It was really nice meeting them in person, so if you can go and talk to them at a show just do so, they are truly awesome people.

As soon as the quartet from the US finished their set, it was time for “No Omega”. I have seen this band last year on the Pre-Fluff gig in Prague, about which you can read here, and after that performance I completely fell for the project. Recently a new outlet from the band came in the form of an album named "Metropolis", which I took a really long and good listen to, and I have to say that they kept my liking firmly. As a result, I was extremely excited about seeing the new material being performed live. Songs like "Breathe" and "Heavy Rain" were played, along with my old time favorite "Raven's Fair", and once again they managed to blow me away live. Their sound remained to be very heavy and dark, although the band implemented more melodic and faster parts on the new recordings which made their set that much wilder. The crowd responded respectively, displaying a lot of dancing, kinda annoying karate kid moshing and jumping on stage. I did a tiny bit of dancing, more focusing on singing along and just enjoying the overall scene. I also briefly saw the band once more on the "After Fluff Matinee", which I won't do a write-up on, and they remain to be entertaining time and time again.

Skipping "Defeater" for reasons that are obvious and staying at the tent, “Former Thieves” were up next. I won't spend that much time writing this section of the review, simply because I didn't really enjoy the band. Aside of the huge attention they mustered in recent time, they just failed to grasp my attention and I ended up staying at their show due to the fact that one of my friends wanted to see them. If it was up to me, I'd much rather go and eat or loom over distros. Still, I realized that the project really has a crowd that is enjoying their tunes, so cheers to the band in that regard.
The first day was over after a really nice batch of bands and for me it was calling it quits for the night, since I was insanely tired, so I drifted away into slumber whilst disco was blasting in the party tent. Stay tuned for more!