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Nighttown, Rotterdam, The NetherlandsJanuary 8th 2006
Epica, The Old Dead Tree, Morning
This group of bands is now four days into their gigs in The Netherlands. All the gigs sold out except this last show. When the doors open at four, it is soon very crowded: for all the bands this was a good reason to give their all one last time.
Morning
This Dutch gothmetal band were added to the line-up at the last minute. At first the Mexican band The Legion Of Hetheria were to be the support, but due to Simone being ill the dates were changed. With Morning they found a good replacement and it is their first official tour since ‘Hour Of Joy’ came out.
Music
The last time I saw this band was at the Summer Darkness festival. They played a lot of new material there, what sounded a bit full in the beginning. Now when I have seen them often in those four days, I start to understand what it is all about. Their music isn’t typically gothic and they have more influences that lie in heavy metal when you hear them on stage. The heavy guitars, complex melody lines from the keys and the voice of Saskia. The sound is for all the bands the best of the tour, but Morning really explodes on stage today. The fast drum sound mixed with the catchy riffs: the songs are more open. They start with ‘Hour of Joy’ and uptempo the shows goes on. Sometimes the sound is a bit too loud, but still Saskia is good to hear.
Music
The last time I saw this band was at the Summer Darkness festival. They played a lot of new material there, what sounded a bit full in the beginning. Now when I have seen them often in those four days, I start to understand what it is all about. Their music isn’t typically gothic and they have more influences that lie in heavy metal when you hear them on stage. The heavy guitars, complex melody lines from the keys and the voice of Saskia. The sound is for all the bands the best of the tour, but Morning really explodes on stage today. The fast drum sound mixed with the catchy riffs: the songs are more open. They start with ‘Hour of Joy’ and uptempo the shows goes on. Sometimes the sound is a bit too loud, but still Saskia is good to hear.
Performance
From the first second til the end of the gig Saskia creates a special atmosphere on stage. She moves naturally and is very secure. She convinces the audience, not only with her voice, but also with her attitude. She is open and gives her performance everything. In the beginning the audience is a little silent, but soon people are moving. Also the guitarist and bassist are posing and there is contact between them. Most of the time drummers are more hidden in the back, but sometimes I can see a bit of their drummer: focussed on his drum kit. The keybord is more hidden in the back and a bit static, but that means that Saskia had all the space she really needs. Her movements reminds me a bit of Vibeke from Tristania. Very strong and drifting away on the music. The band has really grown in that way.
From the first second til the end of the gig Saskia creates a special atmosphere on stage. She moves naturally and is very secure. She convinces the audience, not only with her voice, but also with her attitude. She is open and gives her performance everything. In the beginning the audience is a little silent, but soon people are moving. Also the guitarist and bassist are posing and there is contact between them. Most of the time drummers are more hidden in the back, but sometimes I can see a bit of their drummer: focussed on his drum kit. The keybord is more hidden in the back and a bit static, but that means that Saskia had all the space she really needs. Her movements reminds me a bit of Vibeke from Tristania. Very strong and drifting away on the music. The band has really grown in that way.
Setlist
00. Intro
01. Hour of Joy
02. Perception of Feelings
03. This Unreachable Mess
04. Captured..
05. When Shadows Dance in Light
06. Inside
Rating
Music 7
Performance 8
Light 7
Sound 7
Total 7 (7,3)
The Old Dead Tree
00. Intro
01. Hour of Joy
02. Perception of Feelings
03. This Unreachable Mess
04. Captured..
05. When Shadows Dance in Light
06. Inside
Rating
Music 7
Performance 8
Light 7
Sound 7
Total 7 (7,3)
The Old Dead Tree
The beakthrough for this French band came when ‘The Nameless Disease’ was released and after that everything happened very quickly: a tour with bands like Opeth and now they are back with a new record and a tour with Epica. They played more often together in France and it is a good combination. In March the band will return for a headlining tour with Penumbra.
Music
This weekend there were some experiments with the setlist. During the gig in Willemeen (Arnhem) the setlist was a bit too long and in Utrecht it was well balanced, because the strongest fanbase was there. Tonight they kick off with some older songs, but soon the first track from 'Perputial Motion' is played: Out of Breath. The voice of Manuel is one of the strongest trademarks of the band and also on stage he is an eye-catcher. Altough he has problems with his throat he easily changes from clean to grunge parts. Fragile and still strong, mixed with heavy guitarparts. The drums are more heavy than on the record and bring the vibe there. Their sound is suprisingly soft in comparison with Morning, but fits so well with this music. The setlist is different than at the Summer Darkness festival: they mix ‘We Cry As One’ with the uptempo song ‘My Friends.’ The backing vocals of Nicolas are sometimes a bit too far in the mix, but still dynamic. Again the drum parts are the most suprising part of the gig: heavy, technical and together with the others they give a better dimension to the new record.
Performance
Natural and still strong: Manuel knows what he wants and that is good to see during the gig. During the gig in Utrecht, he was more aggressive on stage. This night he is more focussed on the other emotions: sometimes closing his eyes and with a ‘dankje wel’ receiving an ovation from the audience. Nicolas is headbanging most of the time and Vincent the bassist is very active on stage. Those three men really show all their energy and with drummer Foued in the back it is a strong combination without getting boring. Manuel knows that he needs some real emotions to make the people understand his message. He doesn’t run, but stays behind the microphone, sometimes headbanging and talking to the audience. This is not a band who make a big show, but stay true to themselves.
Natural and still strong: Manuel knows what he wants and that is good to see during the gig. During the gig in Utrecht, he was more aggressive on stage. This night he is more focussed on the other emotions: sometimes closing his eyes and with a ‘dankje wel’ receiving an ovation from the audience. Nicolas is headbanging most of the time and Vincent the bassist is very active on stage. Those three men really show all their energy and with drummer Foued in the back it is a strong combination without getting boring. Manuel knows that he needs some real emotions to make the people understand his message. He doesn’t run, but stays behind the microphone, sometimes headbanging and talking to the audience. This is not a band who make a big show, but stay true to themselves.
Rating
Music 9
Performance 8
Light 8
Sound 8
Total 8 (8,4)
Epica
Music 9
Performance 8
Light 8
Sound 8
Total 8 (8,4)
Epica
The Dutch band is back in town after some months of silence. They are doing some ‘small’ club tours again. In all those years the audience has changed from real gothic orientated to the more ‘normal’ people and their fanbase is still growing.
Music
During these four days I discovered that their show is very straight and there are hardly any differences in the setlist or performance. Their sound is good, sometimes a bit too loud, but soon the balance is found. Simone's voice is on the same level the whole weekend: you could ardly separate it from the record. It is all a bit static when it comes to the sound. Not bad, but I miss that little bit more to create a special feeling. Songs from the new record 'Consign to Oblivion' are easily mixed with old ones and they close the show with ‘The Phantom Agony’ like we used to hear.
Performance
There are hardly any suprises during the gig: Simone's movements are professional and she easily makes contact with the audience. Mark grunts & screams the same, altough he is faster and more dynamic than on the record. Ad is still a great guitarist and he finally moves more in his catchy outfit. Coen is headbanging behind his keys: singing along and screaming to the audience. Jeroen is hidden behind his drum kit and Yves is making funny faces on stage. It is all so familiar to us and that is what Epica is: fans like it and the band is professional enough to be able to give this level of performance every time. The venue is packed, also in the back near the bar, and people are singing along.
They surprise the audience with a Death cover ‘Crystal Mountain’ and that is heavy when you imagine that Chuck is one of the icons of technical death metal. Ad is the one who impresses here with a lot of his clean riffs, but also Mark grunts very convincingly and altogether it sounds very catchy and acceptable even for the Epica fans. Maybe the real death metal fans are frowning now, but Epica can play some very technical parts too. When the band leaves the stage for the first time, Coen is soon back. He screams to the audience: Do you want more? And the reaction is amazing: people are screaming and clapping their hands and Epica return for the last time. During ‘The Phantom Agony’ suddenly the members from The Old Dead Tree come on stage with brooms, a brush and cloth to ‘clean’ the stage: a thank you for the nice tour. Then Simone gets a banner from a fan: she waves it and then the lights go down and the audience can be statisfied.
Rating
Music 7
Performance 8
Light 7
Sound 8
Total 8 (7,6)
Music 7
Performance 8
Light 7
Sound 8
Total 8 (7,6)
More photos on page 2
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