Autumn - Haarlem 2007

Patronaat, Haarlem, The Netherlands
21 September 2007
Autumn, theNAME

In the nice city of Haarlem the Patronaat has been one of the venues in the Netherlands that still offers smaller metal bands a chance to present themselves. Today it's Autumn and theNAME that should have filled up the small hall. Unfortunately, even though it was Friday, the audience wasn't really filling up the venue. Those people out there we however looking forward to a concert of both bands and looking at the band shirts in the audience both bands had fans with them.

Playing a home concert today theNAME had a nice chance to show the audience their music that is only remotely related to the gothic metal. So far they've already released three CD's/EP's so a total of 22 tracks are on the shelves to choose from. A groovy kind of metal/rock is what they claim to play at their site, let's check that out then!

Indeed the band plays quite groovy and the poppy influence of their singer Hadassa gives them a special place in the metal scene. Of course female vocals and metal are easily listed as gothic metal but this for one is no gothic metal, actually it's really hard to push them into any of the known scenes. But let's put that aside and focus on how they did, after all that's more important. The band plays really tight and focussed, conditional for a really groovy sound, which made this an energy loaded concert that only lasted 30 minutes. Not because the band didn't want to play any longer, but because they ran out of time. Therefore they had only time for 7 songs and had to skip the totally hilarious but cool Britney cover ‘Baby Hit Me One More Time’, instead they played a cross section of their songs. The vocals by Hadassa were nice, clear, poppy and sometimes naughty. In the mean time Salvador (drums) and Mike (bass) provided a steady groove which was filled in by some deep melody lines and riffs by Silas. The sound in the venue was far from loud giving the audience a chance to really enjoy the well balanced mix.

So imagine you have to be yet another one of those metal bands hosting a pretty lady on vocals, what to do to stand out? Well first of all make music that is way different from what the others make, and then play your asses off on stage. People want to see enthusiasm, passion and energy and that was just what they got looking at theNAME. With Mike and Silas teaming up on several occasions and Hadassa seductively grabbing and pushing away the guys even this small stage was big enough for them to give a real enthusiastic show. Maybe because the stage was so small you could even see Salvador smiling behind his drum kit, enjoying the show in his own limited world. Of course when you have a lady like Hadassa on stage a lot of attention goes out to her. But it's not just beauty that draws the attention, her seductive moves and facial expressions grab the audience by the balls. Very red lips, a nice pair of eyes and a sexy outfit and powerbabe Hadassa shows she's got what it takes. Maybe on a bigger stage she should find a way to get this across over a bigger distance but judging this show she did great. The lights were good enough for the crowd to see the show on stage while still providing enough atmosphere to the show.

01. Recognition
02. Delightful Assault
03. Endless Remorse
04. the Moment
05. Hurt
06. Lies
07. Mirror

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 9
Sound: 8
Light: 8
Total: 8.5

Founded way back in 1995 the band has changed a lot and all of the founding members have left the band leaving the second generation at work. Marking the release of their 2007 album ‘My New Time’ they are touring the Netherlands and beyond to promote their new sound. Of course the band still consists of experienced members like Nienke de Jong and drummer Jan Grijpstra, but for Jerome Vrielink and Jan Munnick it's all new to meet the enthusiastic and loyal fans of Autumn. Unfortunately Jan had to call in sick and was replaced for this concert.

With a singer like Nienke de Jong you won't get the soprano voice of the gothic metal bands but a real rock voice. Although they started out as a gothic metal/rock band most of the gothic elements seem to have disappeared with the release of their new album. But the same goes for the metal part of the music made by Nienke de Jong (vocals), Mats and Jens van de Valk (guitar and vocals), Jan Grijpstra (drums), Jerome Vrielink (bass) and Jan Munnick (keys). For some reason the double bass has gone and it has been replaced by a normal steady rock beat. The guitar parts of the band are powerful yet they seem to be unable to match the intensity of their support act. With their keyboard player ill they found a temporary replacement who played a pretty decent set. As for the bass, it seems to be way more in the background than before. The vocals today were in the back of the mix as well, only at the balcony the voice of Nienke could be heard well over the music, while the vocals of Mats and Jens were a lot clearer in the mix. The new sound of Autumn is something that has shifted a lot with the line-up change and it misses the intensity that set them apart in the gothic metal world in the past. Just another heavy rock band it seems right now, not bad but certainly not as special as they used to be.

Of course Nienke draws a lot of attention of the audience but the question is why? Is it because of her looks that somehow don't seem to fit the music nor the rest fo the band. It might also be her dancing in ways that are at least unfamiliar in the gothic metal scene they used to belong to. But most definitely the boots, they were ... different to keep it mild. For some reason this band seems to try to hard to be a real rock band with all it's wild moves. They somehow miss the true enthusiasm or maybe they are acting too much instead of living the music. Many seemingly obligatory moves and poses somehow can't keep the attention drawn towards the stage where lights a flickering wild. Of course the band is professional enough to please their long-term friends and fans but it will be hard for them to win new people like this. It's too bad to come to the conclusion that the support act has blown away the headliner. Autumn should consider their options and see what they can do to improve their appeal to the audience or they might just be lost to oblivion when time goes by.

Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 6
Sound: 6
Light: 7
Total: 6.5