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013, Tilburg, The Netherlands
February 18th 2005
Kreator, Dark Tranquility, Ektomorph, Hatesphere


Finally the long expected record of Kreator came out and again they do a long promotion tour. The record “Enemy Of God” is well received an the venues are almost everywhere sold out. Also they are booked for some big summer festivals. A good sign that the band is still growing after all those years. When the fans were not convinced: the tour package was so strong that you couldn’t hesitate.


Call it ‘luck’ but almost at the same time colleagues of the ‘old generation’ came up with a new album. Dark Tranquilities record “Character “ is a strong release on the right moment.  Than, when it’s not enough all ready, there are ‘new’ bands like Hatesphere. They are brand new in the metal scene but I never saw a band that soon growing as they do. Now they are on the road with Morbid Angel: also the top of the metal scene. That proves a lot in the future although their sound is new and not tradition as the other bands.
To be short: the visitor could expect some strong bands and a lot of diversity!

The kick-off is for HATESPHERE. I must admit that I don’t know them very well and after their gig I knew why: too much a mix of hardcore and metal. Well that’s personal, but the bands sounds a bit chaotic when you hear them for the first time.  To be honest I haven’t seen that much of them. The front man tries to do his best, but his voice gets boring after a while. The guitar player is very good and there are moments that the drummer is very heavy. Only for some short moments they can impress the ‘metal fan’ because you recognize elements from bands like Morbid Angel. In general I can say that the songs are very catchy (after one choirs you can sing along with them).

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Unfortunately I had  no chance to see EKTOMORF because I lost my way backstage. Well I heard a bit from these Hungarian guys and I must say that it was heavy and good for the ears. I saw only the last minutes from their show and they stood energetic and relaxed on stage. It seems that they’ve had problems to convince the audience, because they were a bit impatient, but that’s the hard life of the support act.

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Dark Tranquility
More interesting is Dark Tranquility. I was very curious to see them live on stage, because I was impressed by their new record. Maybe I had too high expectations, but the shows wasn’t very good either.

Music
The band exist for more than 15 years and it’s for the first time that I see a complete gig of them. The kick of with some well known songs and the reaction is good to see in the audience: many people in the front are moving and for the first time that evening there is a big “mosh” pit.
The sound is not bad, but a bit too loud. You only hear the guitars very well. Sometimes it’s hard to discover some bass in the songs. When they play songs like “White Noise” I miss the impact because of the keyboard arrangements: they are hard to hear and they are so important for this band. For me the live sound was totally different than from the record and this time in a bad way. A shame because I have a lot of respect for this band, but they couldn’t convince me. 
 
Performance
The show of the band was better than the sound. The front man is a very charismatic person with his red curly hair. He knows that he has the power to play with the audience and that is what he shows. He let them scream and he’s almost a modern Jesus with his movements, but it’s a bit fake. He shows no real emotion although his voice was very strong. Sometimes the band reminds me a bit of In Flames, but that’s more musically. The other members are very focussed on their instruments, which is best because the singer moves that much that you only have an eye for him.

Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 7
Sound: 4
Light: 6
Total: 6


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Kreator

Than finally the band we are waiting for; KREATOR doesn’t need any big introduction. They are more trash than Slayer can be and are really the top of the scene. They managed to impress record after record and they are still growing. They still fight back and that also reflects in their shows: they give more than 100 percent. I allready was in the mood because I had a lot of fun with those guys before the gig. Front man Mille told me that he was still recovering from a flue, but that was not a bad sign: he gave everything.

Music
The trash metal gods start with the title track of the new record ”Enemy Of God” and it’s a good choice: the atmosphere is immediately there: rough, energetic and full force the band goes up tempo. The fans are exited and it’s very crowded, although the gig is not sold out.
I never have seen such a intensity in the setlist: every song seems to be a better one then the other, step by step the band brings it all on a higher level. Faster and faster that’s the credo of the band.

Performance
Where shall I start? There was so much to see that I really don’t know how to describe it all for you. First of all the whole band just stood there and played. That sounds boring but it isn’t. There are not many bands who can impress just by standing there and do what they have to do. This band knows itself so good that you see the chemistry: you see the sweaty faces, the fast fingers from bass player Christian, the concentration on the face of Sami when he plays a solo, the hard work from drummer Jurgen and of course you see a lot of Mille. He doesn’t move a lot but he shows the emotion in his lyrics: he really is angry when he screams and you feel that it comes from deep inside. You can hear in the end that his voice is broken, but it doesn’t matter they gave you a special feeling: the feeling that it was something unique.

Set list
Enemy Of God
Impossible Brutality
Pleasure To Kill
Phobia
Patriarch /Viol. Revolution
World Anarchy
Renewal
Suicide Terrorist
Extreme Aggressions
People Of The Lie
Voices Of The Death
All Of The Same Blood
Riot Of Violence
Terrible Certainty
Reconquering The Throne
Betrayer
Ripping Corpse
Love Us Or Hate Us
Flag Or Hate/ Tormentor

Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 9
Sound: 8
Light: 8
Total: 9

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We want to thank Marcel Eijsten and Rachel Rijsdijk for using their photos.

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