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013, Tilburg, The Netherlands
September 2nd 2005
In Extremo and Heidevolk

On a hot summers day many had gathered in the even warmer 013 in Tilburg. When we arrived the first band had already started. The venue was filled although there was space between all people. During the evening someone even fainted due to the heat. Besides this we were all in for a great evening with great music and enthusiasm, it was definitely a night to remember.


 
Heidevolk

Heidevolk was founded in September 2002, originally under the name of Hymir. They create folk-metal with clean vocals as well as some grunts and screams. Their music is inspired by the nature, mythology and history of Northern-Europe in general, and of our Dutch province of Gelderland in particular. Heidevolk are: Sebas Bloeddorst (guitar), Joost Vellenknotscher (drums), Bomenbreker (guitar), Mark Splintervuyscht (vocals), Paul Braadvraat (bass) and Joris Boghtdrinker (vocals). On their website they emphasise that they are not a political band.

Music
Even now I can still remember the refrain of the first song I heard that evening “Wodan Heerst” (Wodan Rules). All through the evening the refrains were easy to catch on to, they stick. The rest of the lyrics might be understandable when you have heard them before but for me they were not. Some sung along though. During more than half the songs of the show the men of Heidevolk were reinforced by Stephanie who played the violin. This was a nice extra to the songs, it added some flair to them. At times the vocals were tuned in too soft, they were then smothered by the drums. Especially Joris was often hard to hear; so when Joris and Mark sung together often only Mark was heard.

Performance
The lights seemed to do a random light show but during “Winter Oorlog” (Winter War) the stage was filled with thin smoke and blue lights which gave just the right atmosphere for this song. This song was a great success with the audience, perhaps they all had their new album “De Strijdlust is Geboren” (The Lust to Fight is Born) at home which contains this song. The band is dressed in medieval like outfits, with a knife and horn on their belts and huge mugs on stage (from which they now drunk water instead of beer). In-between songs we were often treated to a “Skol” (cheers in Scandinavian) after which he drunk some water. Even though they were a relatively unknown band (compared to In Extremo) they had convinced the audience and the atmosphere was great.

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



In Extremo

With their new album out it was time for a tour and today the 013 in Tilburg had the honour of being visited by: Das Letzte Einhorn (Vocals), Dr. Pymonte (Bag pipe, harp, shwams), Flex der Biegsame (Bag pipe, shwams),Yellow Pfeiffer ( Bag pipe, shwams, nickel harp), Der lange (Guitar), Der Morgenstern (Drums) and Die Lutter (Bass).

Music
In Extremo brought a mixture of old, familiar songs and new songs with which not everybody was acquainted yet. Songs such as “Der Wind” and “Kuss Mich” were a great success. They were brought with a huge amount of energy. As for “Ave Maria”, this is the most passionate song of their show, you can hear that this is sung form the heart. “Nymphenzeit” from their album “7” is guaranteed to rock the venue, wherever they play, the upbeat flutes make it impossible for anyone to stand still. During “Mein Rasend Herz” Dr Pymonte plays an instrument which looks like a crossing between a harp and a catapult which provided the most heavenly tunes. “Horizont” was performed without the vocals of Marta from Die Happy joining in, I did miss them but I guess she can’t be touring with them all the time and when I asked ‘Das Letzte Einhorn’ (Micha) why they didn’t have her on tape he told me: “we play live”. The sound was well balanced, each instrument was tuned in right and so was Micha.

Performance
This band is not just entertaining the audience, they are entertaining themselves as well. When Dr Pymonte walked past Micha he was pinched in his belly, which is not all that small. But this does not seem to bother him, he even made it wobble to make his fellow band members laugh. Flex der Biegsame has a cat on his bag pipe which suits him, sneaking around the stage, appearing in front of a microphone to make someone laugh. All these small jokes on stage showed the band was having a good time as well. In Micha you can see his passion. He feels what he is singing and sometimes just crashes down to his knees during a song (which is why he has extra patches on his knees). The lights were tuned in to the music, especially strobe lights were reacting directly to the beats. At times there was a lot of smoke on stage but Micha was always a light in this darkness with a spotlight directed at him at all times. When the entire audience kept on singing the refrain of “Spielmansfluch” the band just watched and enjoyed. Micha made us give the entire crew a round of applause, this band appreciates all they get, and deserve.

Rating
Music 8
Performance 9
Light 8
Sound 8
Total 8 (8,4)


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