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Escape, Veenendaal, The Netherlands
12th November 2005
Autumn, The Legion of Hetheria, Auracle

A round building is the centre for some goth metal fans on this dark Saturday night. Outside the Escape there is already a meeting: some familiar faces are waiting for the doors to open. Soon there is a good atmosphere. Some people are disappointed that they can’t smoke inside, but still the excitement is there. Auracle will play their second gig and many people are curious to see them. A good package, nice people: for sure it will be a nice evening.


Auracle

There is a new young fresh band in the Dutch gothic scene. Although the scene is very full, there are still bands who try to be unique. The new demo from Auracle is just released and they are ready to take a step further in the scene. According to the bio on their website they mix Arabic influences with some heavy metal. Reason enough to be curious and the first gig made that they already have a good reputation.

Music
Keyboard player Joris van de Kerkhof (ex- Xystus member) is the former of Auracle. So this band has a lot of melodic keyboard parts and arrangements. Sometimes there are parts which remind me of some Celtic songs: some light melody lines and an almost classical sound, that mixed with some very heavy drums and guitars make it really catchy to listen too. Although front woman Amelie Mangelschots has the flue, her voice is clear and technically very professional. Her sound has a bit of the power of Floor Jansen (After Forever) and her voice is outstanding enough to be unique. She can easily change from high, to more heavy parts. Then there is Bryan Ketelaars with impressive clean vocals. He gives an extra dimension to the sound of the band. A strong combination which makes Auracle more then just one of those normal gothmetal bands. The sound of the band is clear and not overdone. Sometimes the vocal lines of Amelie are hard to hear because of the heavy drum sound, but that is more a problem of the sound engenier then for the band. They have the best light of the evening and takes makes it easier to see the interaction between the members.



Performance

This band really stands there when they enter the stage. No insecurity, but strong and full of energy. With this attitude it is easy to win the audience from the first seconds on: what is so important for every new band in the scene. Auracle succeeded in doing that very well. The open attitude of Amelie makes it interesting, but it is Bryan who has the most interaction with the audience. With his black gloves, his piercing can?? and movements, he really is the eye catcher. Shame that Joris is too much hidden behind his keyboard, because he is head banging; he shows a lot of emotions. A good thing is that the guitar players leave the centre of the stage in the hands of the singing couple: that brings more rest in the show and gets the audience focussed on what happens on stage. A little negative point is the clothes of the front woman: careful with that, because otherwise people only talk about that and not about her vocal qualities. After all a very dynamic and unexpected interesting gig. Auracle totally convinced the audience.

Setlist
01. Overture
02. Land of the Gods
03. The Last Avatar
04. Cries in the Wind
05. Crystal Lies
06. Confessions of a Demigod

Rating
Music 7
Performance 8
Light 8
Sound 7
Total 8 (7,5)




The Legion of Hetheria

The Mexican gothmetal band is back in the Netherlands. After the Metal Female Voices Fest they have some more new fans and when they enter the stage in Escape, many people are standing in the front to support them.

Music
The keyword is messy. The is because of technical problems with the monitoring and that does not only confused the band, but also the audience. The drum player was too loud in the mix which made it hard to hear the voice of Marivi now and then. It is sad that when such a band comes to the Netherlands the sound fails. Their sound is in general more complex then with other gothmetal bands from here, because they have a lot of melody lines, instruments and vocal lines. Then it is hard to follow when it isn’t crystal clear in the mix. After all they technical played very well. Many songs of their last record ‘Choices’ were played and people were singing along.
There are the fans who have seen them before, so they have a better context. The young kids in the front can get wrong impression of the band. The Legion of Hetheria is so much more than they showed this evening. Marivi shows her strongest side on stage: Singing one of the most famous arias from Mozart with a flue.  Sometimes she needs to cough, but she goes on. You can only have respect for that attitude.



Performance

Marivi, the front woman, is without any doubt very ill. From the first seconds she really has a hard time on stage. She couldn’t hear the others, has the flue, and also there was so much smoke. The local crew from Escape didn’t realise that smoke has some really bad influences on the voice, even more because Marivi has such a fragile voice at the moment. Still she is head banging and making movements with her arms. Also she makes a lot of contact with the audience. There is no doubt that she gives more then two hundred percent. She tries so hard that it is sad to see that it almost has no reflection on the audience. Male vocalist Rigardo assists her with his clean vocals. Also he has some grunt parts, but they are not that outstanding today. All members are moving a lot but that also makes it more chaotic on the small stage of the Escape.

Rating
Music 6
Performance 7
Light 3
Sound 4
Total 6 (5,7)




Autumn

Reviewing gigs is not as easy as people think: the writer needs to give arguments for the rating and also needs to keep in mind that there are previous gigs of the band and also compare those. It is a long time ago that I saw Autumn headlining a gig in this formation so time for a new blanc page.

Music
The backline is already there, because the previous bands used a part of it (the drum kit). Many familiar faces are there to support Autumn, so it promises to be a dynamic night. In the beginning of the gig there are some little problems with the microphones, but that is soon solved. With the new keyboard player the band is more stable in their total sound: there is a good balance between all the instruments. On full power the band plays a heavy set list and there is sometimes a small break between the songs when front woman Nienke talks to the audience. Drum player Jan (on socks) plays like it’s coming out of nothing, smoothly and totally focussed on the show. The same goes for the other members and they all found a balance between the performance and bringing a live feeling into the music. Nienke dares to experiment with the vocal lines, which makes the show even more unique. She knows how to control her voice and they are all ready to take a step further in their growth process.



Performance

In all her movements Nienke shows that she is self secure on stage. In a simple Ramones shirt she is searching for interaction with the audience. Sometimes focussed on one person, sometimes making jokes with the entire audience between the songs. It seems that she calms down when she talks with the audience or loads up her battery for the next song. Also she is the key figure between the members. There is Jens who needs to reflect on that, but also the keyboard player. Most memorable is the moment when Nienke comes to his piano, during the last tones of ‘Vision Red.’ She really makes him a part of the gig. Mats can handle the performance himself. With his emotional face and movements he brings the adrenaline back. Shame that there is no more space for him on stage to show that. Not only Nienke is communicating with the audience, also Meindert with his deep grunt blows away everyone in the front. Serious, but enjoying it. That all together: those poses, movements and interaction proves that every member has his own part in the show and that makes it more professional.
The Legion of Hetheria is not the only one who had problems with the light and the smoke. It is really disapointing that the movements of the band are hard to see sometimes. This band needs to have some better light then the emotions are better to see. Nienke even asked the lightguy to calm down with the smoke.



Setlist
00. Intro
01. The Coven
02. Silent Madness
03. Gospels in Dusk
04. The Witch in Me
05. The Green Angel
06. Whispering Secrets
07. Gallery of Reality
08. Vision Red
09. Premeditated Dying
10. Mirrors Magic Sight
11. This Night
12. Summers End
---
13. Who Has Seen Her Wave Her Hand
14. Crown Of Toughts



Rating
Music 8
Performance 8
Light  6
Sound 6
Total 8 (7,5)





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