Festival report: New Noise 2012

As you have figured out by now, most of these reviews were written way before they got to be posted, so the dates might not match with certain show times. This here, for instance, will be a review of the “New Noise” festival which I’m writing in the train that is rushing through Hungary to get to the Czech Republic. Yes, I am again going to visit “Fluff Fest”, though this review will probably end up being posted quite some time after the said festival. I’m spending a lot of time with my girlfriend and my writing and internet time is rather scarce, so that is why the posts are so late and mixed up. All in all, this is a really epic summer trip and the number of shows I need to write about is constantly increasing. I just want to take this opportunity to say how sorry I am to all the bands that have sent me their material and everyone who is waiting to be hosted on “Natures With No Plagues”. Thank you for both the interest and the patience, I will surely dedicate my time and words to all of you. But until then, it’s time to drop by to Karlsruhe!

Here we are with yet another European music festival with a lot of tradition behind it, spanning for seven years now. Although it has a rather long life span, I have to admit that this is the first time I hear about the event. Got to say that I was really impressed by the lineup and the overall idea of the entire happening. "New Noise" took place at Ostauepark, located in the eastern section of Karlsruhe, on 7 July 2012. My woman and me were nested in a youth hostel, located a good half an hour walk from the fest, so we grabbed a chance to get to know the city a bit. Karlsruhe definitely seems like a wonderful place to live, especially thanks to that one enormous park-botanical garden located in the center. Reaching the festival was rather easy due to the signs posted by the organizers, which really made things go smooth at a certain point. "New Noise" itself consisted of two big tents where stages were set up, numerous distros and food and drink stands circling around the entire perimeter. There was also a sitting area with benches, located in the center of everything, and also a rather big grass field for laying around. Overall, it seemed really cozy and there was always room for everyone everywhere, so big thumbs up for the organizers of the event.

The timetable for this awesome day looked like this:

First Tent
13:00-13:25 The Tidal Sleep
13:40-14:05 Nine Eleven
14:20-14:45 Tempest
15:00-15:25 Run With The Hunted
15:40-16:05 Aussitot Mort
16:20-16:45 Code Orange Kids
17:00-17:30 Sailing On
17:45-18:15 Midnight Souls
18:30-19:00 Loma Prieta
19:15-19:45 Adorno
20:00-20:30 No Turning Back
20:45-21:15 Defeater
21:45-23:00 Church of Ra Showcase

Second Tent
13:25-13:50 Unveil
14:05-14:30 June Paik
14:45-15:10 Titan
15:25-15:50 Man Vs. Humanity
16:05-16:30 Vestiges
16:45-17:10 Downfall of Gaia
17:30-18:00 Birds In Row
18:15-18:45 Former Thieves
19:00-19:30 Anchor
19:45-20:15 Brutality Will Prevail
20:30-21:00 Graf Orlock
21:15-21:45 Celeste
23:00-23:30 Raein

First band in line which we managed to see was none other than “June Paik”. I barely managed to brace myself after their previous performance and here they were again, ready to devastate me once more. To make things even crazier, their sound was far better here than on "Cry Me A River", so you can just imagine how powerful their set was this time. Their scheduled playtime was much shorter than on the previous fest however, but the strength of the impact hit they made on the audience was not crippled by time in the slightest. "I" was played again and it is wondrous what the band manages to do with that song. A true work of art, especially when created live, just a perfect composition leaving you breathless and in a very specific mood. And I will leave it at this in hopes that I don't end up sounding like a fan boy, especially after my previous review of their gig on "Cry Me A River".

The first band I watched had a little bit of a delay due to some issues regarding setting up, so I was kinda late to see the full set of “Tempest”. Of course, what I did witness was enough to show how many asses the band can kick. Attending their show for the third time now and the band keeps showing that it is always so pumped with amazing vibes and energy, so much passion and creativity. I came just on time to hear  my favorite song again, "Death Rattle", and it was absolutely enough for me. We stuck around for another number and then it was time to raid the distros. As I said before, keep an eye out for "Tempest" and try to attend a show, you'll leave with your jaw on the floor.

It was time for “Run With The Hunted”, so we were forced to somehow make our hands unglued from the awesome records present at the festival. Seriously, if my wallet was big enough I would probably spend the entire day just swimming in a sea of vinyl. Anyway, the hardcore outfit from Phoenix, Arizona delivered a really fast punch with their set. A very lively performance with excellent sound, the band quickly managed to intrigue and move the audience. I was present for only two songs on their gig, so my impressions are rather limited, but from the start they showed that they will give all they've got and that it's bound to be a fun ride. I also failed to see them on "Fluff Fest", but as much as I saw people were walking away after their gigs quite happy.

After failing to see “Aussitot Mort” when they were touring Europe with "Heaven In Her Arms", cursed be my life, I finally had the privilege to do so. The French quartet opened with "La Ride Du Lion", the first song off of their newest outlet, and those very first tones instantly blew me away. The power and intensity of their recordings were perfectly transferred to the audience live in concert and even increased beyond anything I previously imagined. With the help of the "venue" and its excellent sound, "Aussitot Mort" managed to create an amazing atmosphere and connection with the crowd, making their set really intriguing for watching and listening. They showed how and why they are one of the most important bands in that astounding post rock rock screamo crossover and that they are a project you definitely need in your book. Sadly, due to the timetables being a little messed up, I was only on a tiny bit of their performance and it was already time for another band to be grabbed.

Rushing to the second stage and grabbing a perfect first row place for “Vestiges”. Thus far, I think my readers have a great understanding of my thoughts about the band and how much attention this blog showed for the whole project. From the initial moment I heard their music and up to this point in time, my love for their work has been rapidly growing and I was happy beyond reason when I realized that I will see them live this summer. The time finally came and the band naturally opened their set in the same fashion as their record begins. My excitement was at a boiling point, but once "I" exploded their set proved to be really crippled due to insanely stubborn problems with the singer's microphone. Despite screaming and growling from the top of his lungs, Alex just couldn't be heard at all. It was really unpleasant standing there and seeing the man give his best, but get sabotaged by the equipment. I just have to give a negative shout out to the organizers for this, since they made a really tight schedule, basically forcing the bands to play, without making sure that everything technical is okay. Instead of providing stupid, worthless red lights during the day on the stage, a little more attention and care should have been paid to whether or not the equipment is working, since "Vestiges" are not the only band that had issues. Needless to say, the band managed to provide an astounding show despite the difficulties they faced, especially the singer who didn't stop for a single second, just proving that they are a true force to be reckoned with. Their music was exceedingly powerful live, giving absolute justification to their recordings and the entire concept of the project. "V" was also played and it was such a breathtaking, passionate finisher of their set, since seeing one of their guitar players putting a maximum of his heart and soul into the performance was quite a sight. I will stop here with my thoughts, since you'll be reading more about them in an upcoming review of their show with "Downfall of Gaia" in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, so stay tuned!

Once the quintet from the States ended their act, it was time for “Downfall of Gaia”. In case you follow my blog for a longer period of time then you are aware that I did a little bit of travelling with this band last year. So not only is my love for their music strong and endless, but I also consider them really good friends and it was utmost pleasure to see them again. As expected, they managed to knock me off my feet in a second. For a while now it has been known that the band is recording new material for an upcoming double LP, so this was a grand occasion to hear some of their new songs. If memory serves me well, two new songs have been performed and they left me speechless. Ever since the band formed, "Downfall of Gaia" has been in a constant cycle of evolution and their newborn is not without such a merit. Further expanding their music and putting an even higher accent on black metal and those gloomy atmospheric sections, the band hinted what they have been creating for us behind closed doors. Everything that was remarkable about "Epos" has been kind of upgraded and put on a new level with their new material, which definitely made me even more thrilled about hearing the entire album. Aside of those songs, "These Wet Feathers..." was also played, which is one of my personal favorites. Overall, an amazing performance and a wonderful preview of what is yet to come from this project. 

Short break and then coming back to the same tent to view “Birds In Row”. To be honest I haven't listened to them in a long time, the pinnacle of my attention for them being drawn way before the band got signed to "Deathwish Inc.", after which I almost forgot about them. Either way, the band swiftly brought back the memory of why I liked them in the first place. Their songs were always impacting and strong, but I never imagined the band sounding as powerful as it did live. Completely exceeded my expectations. "Among the Ashes" and "Colossus" were enough to set everyone who was present into the right mood, although the band kept beating their instruments without remorse. Definitely a wild and entertaining performance.

“Loma Prieta”, strike three. Much like "June Paik", they had far better sound quality on "New Noise" than on the previous festival and it resulted in a really intriguing performance. Continuously energetic and fierce, the San Francisco four-piece dropped a chaos bomb into the venue yet again. In contrast to their past gigs that I attended, vocals had a really high volume and it was both a surprise and a pleasure to hear them under the spotlight. The crowd was also quite responsive to their tunes with dancing and even some stage diving. Their performance went wild and boiling until the last song, that being "Trilogy 6 "Forgetting"", when Michele from "Raein" sat behind the drum kit while Val was picked up by the audience along with other parts of the set and so he played like that in mid air. Definitely a really epic and crazy finisher which no one could expect!

Once the chaos from the previous band went silent, it was time for “Adorno” to take the stage. This would be my second time watching them live, since previously I saw them way back in 2010, an experience about which you can read here. As much as the previous show made me smile and enjoy, so did this one leave a purely positive impression on me. Their melodies have an uncanny ability to instantly put a smile on your face and just wash you over with so much nice energy. Songs from "Said And Unsaid" were played, as well as from their split with "The Black Heart Rebellion", making their setlist a really amazing one. The band also kept their friendly ways of talking to the audience, so overall this looked more like a house show than a festival gig, which is a huge plus in my head. Extremely happy I got to see them live again and I am definitely hoping that they will have more activity in the future.

Okay, this is where things get downright serious. Thus far this review was really easy to write down, but now I'm sitting here with absolutely no knowledge where to start. “Celeste”, the well known four-piece from France, has a special place in my heart. They bear members from "Mihai Edrisch", a band which I love inexplicably and hold dear beyond this world, and that alone was always enough for me to  be infatuated with them. Their music is, without a doubt, a story for itself. Numerous times I found myself trying to somehow properly categorize their sound in a specific genre and always failed. The unstoppable and devastating impulse going under the name of "Celeste" has been a thing so unique that it can't be placed or tamed into a tag. But without further ado, let me get back to writing about the show. Darkness fell into the tent and only four red dim lights were hovering on stage, illuminating from tiny lamps placed on the heads of the band members. Smoke crawled around the stage and the audience, mystifying the setting for what is yet to come. And when the beast came, it couldn't be tamed until it was killed by lack of time. I won't even say which songs were played, because their set was simply an unstoppable, violent behemoth with only second long breaks for a single breath. I have never in my life witnessed four people creating such a destructive wall of sound, so powerful that I thought the ground will break under our feet. Everything seemed to crash down onto the audience, the crowd also deciding to give its violent outburst in response to the band's apocalyptic rhythms. I was simply stunned beyond words. All I can say is that this is absolutely one of the best shows I attended this year. The repertoire of bands I saw in 2012 seemed like it will be hard to pick out my favorites, but "Celeste" made their place as number one without a doubt. I am sure they won't be taken down from the throne in the upcoming months, this is something that you experience once in a lifetime. My entire experience was definitely sealed and made complete with talking and shaking hands with Johan, singer of both "Celeste" and "Mihai Edrisch" and a man I consider truly as a one of a kind artist. I will stop my review of their set here and just say that if you can go to their show, just go. If you haven't heard about them, take a listen and stop missing out.

“Church Of Ra” was the name that closed the day for me. The act with the longest scheduled playtime, a band consisted of members from "AmenRa", "Oathbreaker", "Hessian" and "Syndrome", picked as something that can bring an epic ending to this year's "New Noise" festival. I am probably playing with fire here, but I have to keep my honesty on a high level and just say that I was sincerely bored. Maybe it was due to the fact that there was and is so much talk and hype about this collective that I pumped up my expectations to high. The band members on stage kept switching during the set and each time that would happen I was hoping for something intriguing to happen, but it never did. At times all members would be on stage, I can't really recall was it eight or nine of them, and they would play at the same time which would create a truly massive sound. Even that failed to actually impress me. My personal opinion is that any band making that much noise after "Celeste" is doing just that, making noise. Definitely a lot of factors played their part so that I ended up not liking the band, though I absolutely saw that they had a massive crowd, so I am probably just a drop bouncing off from the ocean. To each his own, though I do feel real regret that my sacrifice of seeing "Raein" in the other tent was in vain. Pity.

As you can see, this has been a fantastic day. Lots of amazing bands, great distros and a really interesting place to hold a festival. Like I already mentioned, my only complaint goes out to issues regarding equipment, since that managed to mess up the timetable a fair bit. Otherwise, "New Noise" proved to be a really intriguing festival and I hope that its tradition will be kept alive in many years to come. Special praise goes to my girlfriend, who managed to keep up the game with me despite me being really dumb at times. That's love for you!

Festival report: Cry Me A River 2012, day one

Writing these reviews has really outstretched across a number of days and it’s rather intriguing that the places they are written on are insanely amusing. As this is being put on digital paper, my girlfriend and I are currently riding in the van of “Vestiges” on route from “New Noise" festival to their show with “Downfall of Gaia” in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The dudes from the band were awesome enough to take us in and offer us their two free seats in the vehicle, everything being quite friendly and nice. I’ll be writing more about that in the upcoming festival and show reviews, so stick around if you are interested.

Once the warm-up show was finished and the venue was clean, it was finally time to grab some much desired sleep. Although I was sleeping on the floor and there were a lot of people still awake and talking in the room, I fell into deep slumber almost instantly and didn’t wake up until morning. I was one of the first to wake up that day and Vuk was quick to follow, so soon we were up and getting ready. The plan was to meet up with my tumblr friend Ina who was supposed to guide us to our ride. But until then, a hunt for a supermarket ensued, which we managed to find all the way back from where we arrived in Munster. Yes, apparently food stores are not so common in the city, or we were just blind and retarded, so the only place to grab supplies was at the train station. After a longish walk, killing some time and getting to the meeting place on time, we were settled in the car and on our way.

To put it shortly, the ride to Versmold was extremely fun and entertaining, but in the end we were late, so much in fact that we ended up missing the first two bands. At one point we were lost on the road, since we couldn’t find the correct turn and it costed us almost an hour of lost time. Once we got there we were all kind of drained and frustrated, so we took a little breather before setting up our tents. The second we arrived I (love you, added by my better half sitting next to me, review contributor) saw dear friend Stephan, the dude behind the “Automatic Suicide Machine” blog, so a big hello to him!

Seeing as how this was my first time at the festival, I guess that some venue descriptions are in order. Located in the beautiful countryside in Versmold, Germany, the entire “venue” is surrounded by blissful fields, huge trees and an overall lack of human intrusion in the land. I say “venue”, since this isn’t exactly a gig venue per se, because it is placed inside a restaurant/hotel/motel. The entire event occured on the ground floor of the building, which is composed of a huge stage room, a kitchen where people could go and grab their breakfast, a nice section dedicated to distros and band merch and also a back way out. “Out” is the above mentioned countryside, which was occupied by tents during the festival. It was absolutely awesome to spend the time between bands outside and just enjoy the greenery and the nature around the venue. The stage room was just a plain big room with no special design or layout, which actually turned out as perfect for such an event since it manages to house all the people attending the fest and give enough space for dancing and one more big table in the back that was occupied with merch.

For those of you who don’t know, the first day of “Cry Me A River” consisted of the following bands:

17:15 Crocus

18:00 Mio

18:45 Lentic Waters

19:30 Resurrectionists

20:15 Tempest

21:00 Lich

21:45 Titan

22:30 Alpinist

23:15 La Quiete

When I was finally inside the venue, I realized that we didn‘t miss seeing “Crocus”, but that the band actually cancelled the performance for some reason. “Mio”, however, already finished their set, so my entrance was followed by the sound of “Lentic Waters” who were already somewhere in the middle of their act. Honestly, I haven’t listened to this band prior to the festival, but the bit that I saw live was quite amusing. Their sound was very unique, something that could be freely described as a weird amalgam of screamo and blackened hardcore. Massive, heavy riffs were abundant, everything being quite chaotic, but at the same time really technical. Somehow, amid the mayhem they created, the band succeeded in executing outstandingly precise melodies and that managed to leave the biggest impression on me. Sadly I was still quite disoriented from the car ride, so I wasn’t concentrated enough to pay much more attention to the performance. Needless to say, this is a band you should definitely check out and you can do so on their bandcamp page found here.

One other sad fact of festival day one was that I missed “Resurrectionists”, purely because I just needed a break to regain my strenght. Thus, I spent my time with Vuk outside, if I remember well, drinking an energy drink and just chilling out. Lucky for me that I already saw “Resurrectionists” twice thus far... which doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t like to see them again. Some other day.

“Tempest” was next and I went to see them just so that I could respect Vuk’s flabbergasted state of mind concerning the band. I have to say that I am really happy that I got to see this band more than once. This performance definitely proved to me that the band can be unique and awesome on each of their sets. Much like on the warm-up show, they were radiating energy and passion, backed once again by insanely driving tunes. Each step of the way they were more and more intriguing, especially since this venue seemed to be far more capable of sustaining the enormous sound “Tempest” managed to create. I’m kind of pissed off at myself since I forgot to write down their set list and a lot of time passed now so I can’t remember it, but if memory serves me well they changed the list of songs they played when compared to the previous show. This little feature I really find cool, since most touring bands just stick to one setlist for the entire tour, which can prove to be a bit dull if you end up seeing a band more than once. So again I have to say, this is a project that always manages to impress and if my previous reviews about "Tempest" didn’t make you want to check them out, then this review definitely should.

Next band in line was highly expected by yours truly. Not only does “Lich” share members with “Battle Of Wolf 359“, but their recordings have been impressing me day after day ever since I heard about them. They managed to utterly live up to my expectations in concert and even successfully surpassing the quality of the recorded material. The entire set was just a wild unleashed beast, stomping and grinding everything in its path. A lot of people try to compare the two projects mentioned above and thus find flaws in “Lich”, but I seriously have to disagree. This band has an overtly different style when it comes to both its music construction and the flavor of energy and mood which is oozed during their performance. If people would just stop linking the two bands they would find out how both of them are truly amazing in their own regards. Overall, their set was highly entertaining and driving, which definitely signals a really awesome future ahead of “Lich”, seeing as how they have to offer a lot at the moment and also showing enough space for an inevitable growth.

Then came “Titan”, one of my personal black sheeps of the festival so to speak. I didn’t listen to them a lot prior to the fest and thus I went to see them live without an opinion, but from the very first tones they made I just couldn’t find enjoyment. It’s not that they sounded bad, but it just seemed I couldn’t find anything special in their performance and it ended up not being my cup of tea. Something similar happened to me with “Alpinist", despite the fact that I really love them on recordings at home. Maybe it was me being tired or distracted, but after a couple of songs I was tempted to go out of the venue. Luckily, both bands play on the upcoming “Fluff Fest”, so I’ll give them another chance to amaze me live.

The end of the evening was definitely reserved for the most, personally, expected and loved band. None other than “La Quiete”, screamo legends from Italy were planned as the closing act of the first day of the festival and just seeing their name on the timetable made me become completely assured that it will be a gig to remember. And to be completely honest, I find myself at a total lack of words to express my thoughts about their performance simply because it was truly mind-blowing. Witnessing songs such as “La Fine Non è La Fine”, “Raid Aereo Sul Paese Delle Farfalle” and “Metempsicosi Del Fine Ultimo: Nevrastenica Oscillazione Fra Poli Estremi”, yeah the guys love long song names, was an experience beyond perfection for my ears. One thing definitely has to be mentioned here and that is the fact that the band had some serious technical difficulties during their set. As much as I remember, there were occasional troubles with one of the guitars and with the microphone. But despite those mishaps, “La Quiete” endured and provided an absolutely astounding performance. It was amazing to see how the band stood strong against the unexpected obstacles, lashing out their very best at the audience and not losing an ounce of quality or amount of radiated passion in the process. My mind was just blown away. All those songs that I really love and which manage to make me shiver when I listen to them at home succeeded in doing the same thing live in concert, although increased a thousandfold. And there is really not much else I can say, other than show my endless thanks to the band for doing what they are doing all these years and for traveling from Italy to Germany to give us such a spectacle.

And in the end, regarding the “La Quiete” show, I have to give a truly negative shout toward certain members of the crowd, who proved to be the only bad thing that happened during the mentioned band’s set. Just standing randomly on the stage in front of the singer and following him around is not cool. At all.

Once the venue went quiet, Vuk and me hanged out a bit outside in hopes of sparking some kind of conversation with other people. Since we failed miserably, it was soon decided to just hit the tent and sleep. It was an awesome day and more was yet to come. Hope you enjoyed this write-up and stay tuned for my review of the second day on “Cry Me A River” fest!

Gig review: Cry Me A River Warm-up Show

Whoever visited this blog in the last week or so saw that I have attended the mandatory screamo festival in Germany, “Cry Me A River”, and that a review of the event was bound to happen. As I am writing these words and leaving a mark of that happening on the blog, I am riding the German railway yet again and currently watching a nuclear powerplant with my girlfriend through the window. This time I’ll be attending the “New Noise” in Karlsruhe, the epic one-day monster festival, featuring bands such as “Celeste”, “Vestiges”, “Downfall of Gaia”, “Church of Ra”  and many more. I have no idea when this review will be posted however, since I don't have regular internet access, but just sit back and relax, I have a lot of things to share with you all. 

To make it clear from the start, this will be more of a weekend-tour diary than just a plain gig review and thus the entire write-up regarding my weekend in Germany will be split in, probably, three reviews. I haven’t written anything proper in a while, so I’ll definitely explain various random things that happened along the way, which I hope the readers don’t mind and will find fun.

So, my journey started in the early morning hours of 28th June, somewhere around 3AM, when I met with my already mentioned tour companion Vuk. Our trek started rather smoothly, grabbing a ride to the “Nikola Tesla" airport in Belgrade, checking in and boarding the plane successfully despite my genious friend having both a sleeping bag and a regular backpack along, which is actually a big no-no for low-cost flying. Everything was fine and dandy until we were about to take off... because we couldn’t. Apparently there was some technical difficulty which the “engineers are trying to fix as soon as possible” and our flight was delayed for almost an hour. While the passangers were praying to their deities that the metal bird doesn’t crash and burn in mid air, the two Serbian passangers mentioned at the beginning of this write-up took a nap. Soon enough the mechanical issues were removed, but then we couldn’t take off because the Dortmund airport was busy and we wouldn’t be clear for landing. After numerous trials and errors, we somehow arrived to Dortmund almost two hours later. What followed was a rather fast map consultation at the airport and a desperate attempt to find an exit in the weirdly built complex. Once outside, our possible problems and torment with getting to Munster were eased by a random girl which Vuk asked for assistance. Thanks to her we were able to grab a bus, then ride a tram and then hop on the train for a couple of stations, all for a price of only a couple of euros. At that point, we decided to fill our lives with suffering and continue our road along the railroad tracks on foot. What ensued was almost two hours of scorching sunbeams, sharp rocks, thorns, nettles, sweat and fatigue, until we finally came to our senses and got back into the damned train.

At long last, we were in Munster. After briefly regaining our strength in a wonderful park near the train station, we continued down our path and soon we got to the “x” on our map. Before we actually approached the venue, we spent some time laying on the grass and being completely mesmerized next to the mind blowing lake, or was it a river I’m not sure, found close to “Baracke”. At this point I was dead tired and barely kept myself from slipping into a coma, since in the previous 48 hours or more I slept for three hours in total. My travel buddy was also drained, so we decided to keep our minds occupied with something and go to the venue. Until the first band started, a time which I can’t exactly remember, we were hanging in the courtyard, drinking “Club Mate” and anxiously expecting the vegan barbeque which was awesome by the way.

Okay, so it’s finally time to share some thoughts about the actual gig. It was held in the above mentioned venue named “Baracke”, located in Munster. After a nice fifteen minute walk through the city, you are greeted by a tiny building that houses the place. The exterior is darkly colored and decorated with numerous posters, but what definitely makes this place enjoyable is the fact that the lake/river is so near that it always drags your attention towards it and keeps you calm. Inside you will discover a rather plain layout of rooms, with a small greeting corridor leading toward the gig room, a bar and toilets. The small stage is fitted in the right corner and the rest of the place is big enough to receive a really impressive amount of people. Also, the entire space looks like a living room, since it has numerous couches lined up the left side and is brightly lit thanks to both the left and right wall being covered with huge windows.

First in row that night was the local band, “Resurrectionists”. As you all know, in case you read my review of their previous show in Essen found here, I have already seen them play albeit the band was lacking two members at the time. On this occasion however, they were prepared with a full lineup and ready to impress. I was definitely expecting them to be more aggressive and energetic now that they are accompanied by an additional female vocalist and another guitar player, but the way they sculpted their preformance in Munster was beyond my imagination. An enormously destructive wall of sound was created, continually beating your senses into a pulp. The way the band managed to instantly build a massive soundscape and keep it strong during the entire perfromance was really amazing to see and hear. No matter how chaotic they got to be, they kept the flow of their set steady and it really leaves you without a chance to breathe. Without any doubts it was an insane ride and with the full lineup their act was violent and fast enough to make you feel like you’ve been standing there for no more than ten minutes. Absolute enjoyment to watch.

After a small break the quartet from Florida called “Autarkeia” was up next. Described as “epic emo” on last.fm, their sound justifies the tag exceptionally well. Initially, I took a short listen to their recordings prior to this trip and liked what I heard, but I never fathomed that they would be able to surpass that amount of liking live in concert. Not only did they manage to beat my expactations, but they additionally took them that much higher beyond limits and utterly stun me. My utmost attention was grabbed the second their perfromance began, namely when the singer explained that their first song, “Saving Seeds”, is about the corporation known as “Monsanto”. In case some of my readers don’t read my tumblr page, my collage thesis is about this genocide-spreading, GMO producing corporation and I guess it is easy to understand why I was additionally intrigued by this band. Plainly put, “Autarkeia” throws everything at you when it comes to their performance. Slow and gentle buildups accompanied by humming, unexpected outbursts of violence, energetic and passionate screaming, complex and precise melodies with shattering crescendoes, this four-piece is able to make it all happen. Truth be told, their recordings seem mild and somewhat peacefull at moments, but live they are an unstoppable force to be reckoned with and definitely succeed in bringing up that “epic” tag into the spotlight. Songs “Never Quite Content” and “Cold Wooden” were also played, as well as a new song that came as a finisher and I remember that it was quite intense. All in all, this is a somewhat unknown band that you all should definitely check out, I promise it will be worth your time.

My mood was somehow turned upside down and ending up being not so good during the break that followed after “Autarkeia”, half due to exhaustion and half by some other factors, so the end result was both Vuk and me missing out on “Panzram”. Sorry guys, nothing personal, certain things are just out of control. Instead, the only two Serbian dudes present at the venue took their time to eat some lovely veggie burgers, one of them ending up whining and not eating the entire meal due to the food being too spicy. Relaxed and with full bellies, it was time to go inside and watch “Tempest”. After the quartet from Florida finished their set, I thought that there won’t be any more surprises of that caliber on the warm-up show, but “Tempest” flew in and swept me off my feet the moment I got up from the previous knock out. Rushing, aggressive sound backed by a truly energetic performance, the band definitely justifies its name. Before the festival, I listened to them and actually wrote a review of their benefit split with “Masakari”, which you can check out here, and I really loved their work. The first tones created that evening managed to instantly push that love onto an entirely new level. Not only is the core of their performance, the actual sound, extremely solid and strong, but everything gets shaken up by the insane amount of energy bursting from the band by visual means. The singer is a spectacle in his own right, not stopping for a single moment and always jumping around, headbanging, running into the audience and just radiating with all sorts of inspiring vibes that make the crowd either follow in a similar manner or just stand there smiling. I ended up seeing “Tempest” three times and not once was I bored or disappointed. Keep a close eye on this band, I predict that this tempest has no intention on passing any time soon.

Still barely breathing after the previous act, it was time for another heartstopping performance. “Battle Of Wolf 359“. Need I say more? I had the pleasure to see this band play last year on “Fluff Fest” when they made me become stunned beyond belief. Unlike their festival appearance, this was a show with limited attendance and thus had a more personal and intimate feel. Add to that the fact that the band announced that this and the “Cry Me A River” gig will be their two last ever shows and you have one intensly emotional happening. So in essence, to put it simply, this was an astounding performance. “Cyberdine”, “Survellier”, “We Can’t Go On Like This”, “End Times” and many more amazing songs were shaking the venue to its core with absolutely perfect execution and sound quality. The band always seems to have an uncanny ability to move the audience, since in total I saw them three times and not once did the crowd end up unmoved. Still, it seemed to me that the band didn’t really give all it got on this performance and that a massive amount of energy was saved for their last show. Curiously enough, they managed to impress even without going at it in full gear. Much like they spared actions, I’ll spare words and will write more about “Battle Of Wolf 359“ in the “Cry Me A River” review. Believe me, that was an absolute blast, to say the least.

After witnessing the previous two bands I felt absolutely drained of energy. There was still one band coming up and the only thing I was capable of doing was going to the front row and just blessing the band with my presence, since doing anything remotely concerned as dancing would be way too much for me at that point. Last, but absolutely not least, “Loma Prieta”. To be completely honest, I wasn’t entirely into their set both due to the aformentioned fatigue and the fact that I think “Baracke” wasn’t fully capable of supporting the massivness of their sound. Their recordings are extremely violent and noisy in their own right and you could just imagine how monstrous their sound is when performed live. There was just too much crackles and explosions that managed to entirely drown their melodic song sections, which in essence left me just staring at the band in a sea of noise. Luckily, I knew that I will be seeing “Loma Prieta” for four times in total this summer and I was assured that this wasn’t anywhere near their full potential.  And I wasn’t wrong at all.

The “Cry Me A River Warm-up” show ended with the last bits of distortion and chaos dying when “Loma Prieta” finished their set. Throughout the entire day I had millions of things I needed to sort out regarding this trip, some concerning the way Vuk and me will actually get to Versmold the day later, so moments after the show started being somewhat frustrating. By insane luck, good memory and my eyes being good enough even without glasses, I managed to recognize a person I briefly met in Prague last year and who ultimately paved a way toward cascading successes. Thus thanks to her I met one of my tumblr friends (small world is small), who ended up providing both rides to the fest, there and back to Munster, and one of her other friends even providing an entire tent for us. So many thanks to Theresa for hooking me up with the people she knows. Additionally, I’d like to thank the people involved with “Baracke” for allowing us to sleep at the venue and for generally being extremely friendly and involved with helping out the weary travellers. There is more to come, so stay tuned!

Masakari & Tempest (2012)

Replenish Records bandcamp

This review was supposed to appear a few days ago, but I sadly got sidetracked by listening to some random music on youtube. Quite shameful yes, especially since this release is a really important one and should be payed much attention. 

The split about which you will read below has been floating around the internet for a couple of days now, thus most of you are probably familiar with it. Although people are massively downloading it, I noticed that not everyone is aware of the whole story and the actual cause of the split, so this really needs to be corrected, especially since that is the thing that immediately made a wish in me to have the release posted on my blog. The fact of the matter is that this record is the only material in more than a year's time that I handpicked to post, a release which was not previously requested by a band to be reviewed, so I guess that that alone is enough to say how much I was thrilled with this.

Back in December 2011 I did an interview with "Masakari", which you can read here in case you missed it, and one particular question was addressing the band's love for dogs and pit bulls in particular. This record comes as a further explanation and materialization of their, and that of the band "Tempest", infatuation with these wonderful creatures, the split being a benefit for two organizations fighting for and supporting a truly noble cause. All of the money, a complete 100%, collected through this split will be donated to "HugAbull Advocacy & Rescue Society" from Vancouver, BC and "Wiggle Butts Bully Rescue" of Cleveland, Ohio. The wish of both the bands and the record label is to not only support the people associated with these organizations, but to also increase awareness about breed specific legislation and general awareness regarding animal cruelty and ways of how we, as humans, should treat our non-human friends. This is the kind of action through music that definitely deserves full attention and admiration, thus I would appreciate if my readers would check out this split and help the cause if they can. Even if you are not fond of these bands and this label, pay heed to what they are trying to do, since it is truly applause worthy. Also, please visit the websites of the above mentioned organizations for any further information or ways to get involved and help. You can do so on the following addresses:

- "HugAbull Advocacy & Rescue Society"

- "Wiggle Butts Bully Rescue"

Concerning some technical information about the split, it comes in the form of a 7'' EP and is limited to 500 copies with a double-sided fold-over jacket. You can grab it on the website of "Replenish Records" found here or you can just take a listen and download it for free on the above posted bandcamp page.

First in line on the split is "Masakari", the band deciding to contribute with a song called "X. Pain Conceived As A Tool". Press play and get pulverized in an instant, the Ohio quintet opening with full aggression and no remorse for your ears. The song lasts less than two minutes, but it is absolutely enough to set you in the mood perfectly and blow your mind away in the process, continuing with the speed and energy for which this band is well-known for. Ripping out a perfect mixture of hardcore and d-beat/crust, this song definitely heats up the excitement about the upcoming "Masakari" summer tour in Europe. This split also shows what kind of mayhem and chaos one can expect at their show, since the two tracks on their side are actually the same song, one as an "unreleased" and the other as a "live" version. So the live version, track two, comes with a very neat explanation of the song and what this split is about basically. Add to that the fact that the band literally slayed with the way they performed the song and the overall excellent quality of the recording and you get a real time-bomb of a record side.

"Tempest" holds the second half of this split and they hold it firmly. To be honest, I have never listened to this band before, since they are hanging out on my rather long "to-listen" list due to the fact that I'll see them live a couple of times this summer. I saw that people are really saying amazing things about the band on the internet and this split showed me why. Formed in 2007 in British Columbia, Canada, this five piece band charges and tramples over you with a superb combination of dark hardcore and screamo, reminding me of an amalgam consisting of "June Paik", "Danse Macabre" and "Zann". So far I have just listened to this split, thus I don't know what their previous material sounds like, but I can definitely hear a lot of tones influenced by the famous German wave of chaotic screamo. The song on this split, called "Death Rattle", is a purely excellent piece, being overtly aggressive while bearing an amazing atmospheric trait. It paints a rather complex image in the head of the listener with a lot of various shifts in melody, interesting bridges and an omnipresent wave of massive sound crashing on you. Similarly to "Masakari", "Tempest" brought two versions of a single song on this split, one being a remaster and one a live recording. And again they have devastated the audience with the second track much in the same fashion as their split mates. A clean recording where the bass playing really comes as being fantastic, a tidbit I found quite amusing. 

Overall, this is a fantastic split, both because of the bands and their performance, but also because of the action they took with the label to help the lives of others who can't fight for their rights. I myself will definitely be buying this release and I respect anyone else who will do the same, be it for the love of the bands or for the love of our furry (or otherwise) friends. Check it out and thank you.