Willemeen, Arnhem, The Netherlands9th of March 2007
Delain, Novact
On a chilly evening in March it was time to heat things up and squeeze ourselves in to the Willemeen with way too many people and enjoy the shows of both Delain and Novact.
Novact
For this band it was a home game tonight. They are from Arnhem. Especially for this evening they put a discount on their merchandise. The venue was very full even at this time of the evening. I had never seen Novact before but heard many good things so I was very curious to see them live finally.
Music
The sound mix was not that great at the beginning of the show, the drums were very present. It was adjusted later on though. The voice of Eddy is ok but it doesn’t stand out. It was nice to hear more of his vocal qualities during ‘Eternal Life’ though. There is more to his voice then you hear during a concert. They play a cover of the song ‘She’s a Maniac’ of the movie Flashdance, it is a great song but in this cover all the power is lost, which is a pity. In other songs they have their own power such as ‘Two Thousand Dead’ which has a very powerful start.
Performance
It is clear Novact loves their own music. Eddy is playing air guitar and has a smile on his face. Too bad he doesn’t share it with the audience, he looks at the audience but there is no real contact. The guitarists have fun amongst each other, making faces and playing side by side. There was a good light show. It definitely added to the atmosphere of the show, the light was in one colour when the music was soft and when the rhythm started to go faster more colours and movement joined in. It was a shame though that both drummer and keyboard player remained in darkness.
Rating
Music: 6
Performance: 6
Sound: 6
Light: 8
Total: 6 (6.3)
Music
The sound mix was not that great at the beginning of the show, the drums were very present. It was adjusted later on though. The voice of Eddy is ok but it doesn’t stand out. It was nice to hear more of his vocal qualities during ‘Eternal Life’ though. There is more to his voice then you hear during a concert. They play a cover of the song ‘She’s a Maniac’ of the movie Flashdance, it is a great song but in this cover all the power is lost, which is a pity. In other songs they have their own power such as ‘Two Thousand Dead’ which has a very powerful start.
Performance
It is clear Novact loves their own music. Eddy is playing air guitar and has a smile on his face. Too bad he doesn’t share it with the audience, he looks at the audience but there is no real contact. The guitarists have fun amongst each other, making faces and playing side by side. There was a good light show. It definitely added to the atmosphere of the show, the light was in one colour when the music was soft and when the rhythm started to go faster more colours and movement joined in. It was a shame though that both drummer and keyboard player remained in darkness.
Rating
Music: 6
Performance: 6
Sound: 6
Light: 8
Total: 6 (6.3)
Delain
What a great kick-off. To be able to have such great artists to work with when you are just starting. Some of the most famous names in (often female fronted) metal are cooperating on the first Delain album. Sharon den Adel, Liv Kristine, Marco Hietala… They have made it in to the top 40 now, which is of course great news for both the band and their fans.
Music
The first thing that stood out was that Charlottes voice was far too soft in the mix. You could hardly hear her sing. Fortunately this was adjusted later on. During ‘Deep Frozen’ you could hear the voice of Charlotte really well. During the performances she sings the parts of Liv and Sharon. She has learned from them and that is to be heard in these parts, she does a wonderful job at them. Ronald sings a few of the male parts such as sung by Marco. His voice is no match for the talent of Marco though, and even if not compared with Marco it is not a great sound. His vocals are somewhere between singing and grunting it is a crackling and squeezed voice. Musically the performance is fine but it will never be like the album which is a pity.
Performance
Charlotte has grown as a performer. She was much shyer in the beginning. She can definitely grow more, it would be nice to see her make bigger movements on stage, and lose a little more of that shyness (which is charming but she can do without). Their guitarists all have fun together, making funny faces and laughing a lot. That is great to see. The entire band makes contact with the audience and they are part of the show. The light show was ok, it was a pity though that the moving heads which were used totally missed the beat. As with Novact the back of the stage was in darkness so Martijn and Sander were hidden in the shadows. When Charlotte joined them on their platform to sing ‘See Me In Shadows’ she was in the shadows as well, such a pity.
Setlist
01. Silhouette Of A Dancer
02. Shattered
03. Deep Frozen
04. No Compliance
05. See Me In Shadows
06. The Gathering
07. A Day For Ghosts
08. Daylight Lucidity
09. Sleepwalkers Dream
10. Sever
11. Pristine
---Music
The first thing that stood out was that Charlottes voice was far too soft in the mix. You could hardly hear her sing. Fortunately this was adjusted later on. During ‘Deep Frozen’ you could hear the voice of Charlotte really well. During the performances she sings the parts of Liv and Sharon. She has learned from them and that is to be heard in these parts, she does a wonderful job at them. Ronald sings a few of the male parts such as sung by Marco. His voice is no match for the talent of Marco though, and even if not compared with Marco it is not a great sound. His vocals are somewhere between singing and grunting it is a crackling and squeezed voice. Musically the performance is fine but it will never be like the album which is a pity.
Performance
Charlotte has grown as a performer. She was much shyer in the beginning. She can definitely grow more, it would be nice to see her make bigger movements on stage, and lose a little more of that shyness (which is charming but she can do without). Their guitarists all have fun together, making funny faces and laughing a lot. That is great to see. The entire band makes contact with the audience and they are part of the show. The light show was ok, it was a pity though that the moving heads which were used totally missed the beat. As with Novact the back of the stage was in darkness so Martijn and Sander were hidden in the shadows. When Charlotte joined them on their platform to sing ‘See Me In Shadows’ she was in the shadows as well, such a pity.
Setlist
01. Silhouette Of A Dancer
02. Shattered
03. Deep Frozen
04. No Compliance
05. See Me In Shadows
06. The Gathering
07. A Day For Ghosts
08. Daylight Lucidity
09. Sleepwalkers Dream
10. Sever
11. Pristine
12. Frozen
13. The Gathering
Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 7
Sound: 6
Light: 5
Total: 7 (6.6)
{jos_sb_discuss:17}
13. The Gathering
Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 7
Sound: 6
Light: 5
Total: 7 (6.6)
{jos_sb_discuss:17}
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