Obituary - Zoetermeer 2006

Written by Roos Glastra Thursday, 12 January 2006 01:39

Boerderij, Zoetermeer, The Netherlands
January 7th 2006
Obituary, Samael and Maroon

Freezing in line outside the audience was waiting to get inside the Boerderij. It was not that busy yet. Many came in later because they only came to see Obituary but there were others keen on seeing both Maroon and Samael as well. For the others this was the time to get drunk and warm up for their favourite band.

Maroon

This German straightedge hardcore band was founded in 1998. Their first album ‘Antagonist’ became a huge success ad brought them as a headliner to Europe and even to festivals in Japan and South-America. Their new album ‘Endorsed By Hate’ will hopefully get them even further. Even though they are supposed to have a lot of fans, they weren’t here tonight.

Music
These drums keep on pounding form start to finish. The lyrics are inaudible and you can hardly even understand their vocalist when he is speaking. He is very aggressive in his singing which fits their music; it is full of energy and aggression.

Performance
They play full of passion, both guitarists are constantly moving and banging their heads. There is a lot of smoke and white light on stage which does fit their music but in the meantime makes it seem as if there is a border/distance between the audience and the band. Their singer pretends to have lost his wits, telling us it is a Monday evening. There is no contact with or response from the audience. Everybody just stands there and watches them, waiting for the next band.

Set list
01. Intro/Endorsed
02. At The Gates
03. Shadow
04. Intro/Worlds Havoc
05. Without A Face
06. If I Loose
07. Watch It
08. Intro/Götterd

Rating
Music 6
Performance 6
Light 6
Sound 7
Total 6 (6,2)

Samael

Samael was founded in the early nineties. They have earned their place in the metal scene. All their 5 albums turned out to be a success. Form their first album ‘Worship Him’ until their most recent ‘Reign of Light’ (October 2004) they have proven to be a great band. Today we had the honour to see their second gig in the Netherlands of this New Year.

Music
Vorph has a raw voice, there is always a bit of a grunt in there; he talks in the same way he sings. Xy played not only the keyboard but also electric drum pads and behind his keyboard there were drums set up as well. There are dark and heavy beats, provided mostly by the guitars, those are lightened up by the high tunes of the keyboard, which make the music very danceable. The dark and threatening sound makes it sound as if a huge army is coming. Their songs all stop abruptly, people would still be half way through banging their head and the song stopped. Even though they played a great show, the music did not reach the audience. The sound mix was not right this evening.

Performance
Samael had their own audience; there was a row of people in front of the stage wearing Samael shirts. The rest seemed to enjoy the music but they were mostly waiting for Obituary. Almost unnoticeable the show started. Softly the intro filled the venue, green lights lit the stage. It almost seemed as if some ancient ritual was about to take place. Then from the start of the first song both guitarists were full of energy and power. Behind the drums and keys xy was moving around and enjoying what he was doing. During each song the stage was lit in another colour. The tunes of their last song kept sounding as they left the stage one by one, thanking the audience and shaking hands. Once they are gone the music transitions into the music of the dj filling the space between the two bands.

Set list

01. Heliopolis
02. Inch'allah
03. Reign Of Light
04. The Cross
05. Telepath
06. Oriental Dawn
07. Baphomet's Throne
08. Rain
09. Jupiterian Vibe
10. Nautilus & Zeppelin
11. On Earth
12. Moongate
13. Chosen Race
14. My Saviour

Rating
Music 8
Performance 7
Light 6
Sound 5
Total 7 (6,9)

Obituary

They started out as Xecutioner but then went on as Obituary. Obituary turned out to be one of the most influential and important bands of the death metal scéne. From their first to their recent albums John Tardy has given his voice a hard time grunting and singing all those lyrics. But they are still here and strong as ever. Most of the audience had come to see them and the venue seemed to fill up more and more before they started. As of the start they went crazy!

Music
John Tardy announces each song grunting, it is hard to understand him but the fans do not care. All songs are full of power and energy. There are a lot of breaks in-between the songs though, the band went of stage a few times, each time returning for more loudness and aggression. During ‘Slow Death’ John Tardy joined Donald Tardy on his drums, creating extra drum power, when he had to go back to sing someone else took over. For the grand finale they played ‘Slowly We Rot’ from their first album, it was a great success. Although there seemed to be some trouble in the sound mix with the low tunes.

Performance
During the intro there immediately was a mosh pit in the crowd and it only grew bigger and bigger. Everybody on stage was moving, banging their heads and walking around, accept for one guitarist who could easily have been playing in some jazz combo, even when he was playing the most incredible solo’s he hardly moved a muscle (besides those in his fingers). John Tardy was constantly moving, shouting his lyrics at the audience, often hidden behind his large bush of hair. He left the stage at times to give the others space for the instrumental parts. At the end of the show the audience got so wild, some climbed the stage and stage dived, they were removed by the security.
The light did not seem to be especially linked to the music; it was a bit at random though at times it did create the right atmosphere.

Set list

01. Intro: Redneck Stomp
02. On The Floor
03. Insane
04. Chopped In Half
05. Turned Inside Out
06. Back Inside
07. Threatening skies
08. By The Light
09. Dying
10. Intro: Kill For Me
11. Solid State
12. Stand Alone
13. Drum Solo: Lockjaw
14. Till Death
15. Slow Death
16. Slowly We Rot

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