Reflections of Darkness - Music Magazine - Stargazers Metal Meeting

Details: Written by: Joyce van den Borst; Published: 30 May 2005

Goudvishal, Arnhem, The Netherlands

May 21st 2005

Xystus, Morning and Nemesea

Finally the day had come! The first Official Stargazers Metal Meeting was held on May 21st, 2005 in the Goudvishal in Arnhem, the Netherlands. Meant for the members of the Dutch official Nightwish Fanclub Stargazers and for those who were interested. After a warm welcome of the treasurer of the fanclub, Willem Nijenhuis, I received my pass and I was set for a great day. The venue in particular was kind of small, yet big enough for the amount of visitors. The ambiance was immediately set.

At 18:00 hrs the time has come to kick off and the band Morning is up first!

Morning

Morning was founded in the summer of 2000 by Saskia van Heugten (vocals) and Mauro Pi (drums). In autumn 2000 the brothers Pol Bannier (bassguitar) and Stijn Bannier (synths) joined the band. The music they make can be described as Dreammetal... Imagine a mix from atmospheric pop, progressive rock and heavy fantasy metal.

Music
A good performance, they are very bombastic and during the set the balance remains with a few more mellow and maybe even more dramatic songs. Saskia has a great range with her voice, and she definitely convinces me with a pure voice. She even Grunts! The keys and guitars fight a bit during the first phase this performance, but overall the sound is good and it got better during the show. Of course during the performance a homage to Nightwish was made and Morning did it by the song ‘Slaying the Dreamer’ very well done, although I missed the second voice. Music wise this band has got it all fixed. The balance within the band is perfect and the arrangements are good. All of the songs have a good build up and know to reach the crowd. I most certainly enjoyed the sound.

Performance
At first the technique wouldn’t cooperate, but soon front lady Saskia van Heugten is going wild on stage after a very mysterious intro. On stage is a big Fan which made all the hair in its direct radius go all over stage. Even though the stage is very small for this particular moving band, with the songs ‘Circle of Power’, ‘Stop Drawing’ en ‘When Shadows Dance in Light’, they make an awesome start of this special gathering. Too bad they didn’t have the opportunity to create a big light show. There wasn’t that much light available. They used what they’ve had to give the show this little extra touch of ambiance. The crowd at first isn’t easy going and it took about three songs for them to get into the mood, but the band performs well and obviously had a lot of fun! They are energetic and you could almost feel the energy of them. It is always tough to go first, but they did well! After the draw of a few lottery tickets they gave the crowd two extra songs

Setlist
01. Intro
02. Hour of Joy
03. When Shadows Dance In Light
04. You're Setting Fire
05. Circle of Power
06. Perception of Feelings
07. The Unknown
08. Slaying The Dreamer (Nightwish cover)
09. This Unreachable Mess
10. Stop Drawing
11. Captured
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12. Show Must Go On - Queen
13. Inside

Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 7
Sound: 7
Light: 6
Total: 7 (6.8)

Nemesea

Nemesea was formed in September 2002 in Groningen, The Netherlands. In April 2003 the band had their first performance as support act for After Forever, with whom they have been touring for over a year, as their steady support act. Now, Nemesea is touring The Netherlands on their own. In November 2004 Nemesea released their debut album 'Mana' (meaning 'the magical power of things, given by the gods').

Music
Manda’s voice is awesome, such a tiny lady and such a strong voice. The sound of this band is incredible and I am blown away. Their music is absolutely fantastic, good arrangements, good balance and everything is synched out well! During this performance they play a revised version of ‘Angel in the Dark’ and through this song you can actually hear the range of Manda’s voice. They know how to play the crowd and the songs have a true and pure touch.

Performance
To set the vibe Nemesea starts after a very mysterious intro with the heavy and vibrant song ‘Threefold Law’. Singer Manda Ophuis, moves in mysterious ways to this song, graciously and deep into the music. The crowd is absolutely mesmerized by this performance and Manda reels them in. On stage the light settings start almost every song with a dark set; just two green spots from both sides left and right, to keep the mood mystical, but as soon as the rhythm changes their technician uses the available lights very well to create a great show. I do notice a big difference in appearance; Manda moves a lot and truly feels her music, which we all can see. She also uses the big fan and her long hair flies across the stage; adding just this bit extra. The mood is set and the crowd goes wild, with every song. The band is enjoying itself! After the set the crowd wants more and more, and the band returns to play one more song: ‘Strange Machines’ by the Gathering. Excellent!

Setlist
01. Intro
02. Threefold law
03. Empress
04. Bless the child (Nightwish cover)
05. Mortalitas
06. Disclosure
07. Violated lady
08. Angel in the Dark
09. Beyond Evil
10. Lucifer
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11. Strange machines (the Gathering cover)

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Sound:8
Light: 7
Total: 8 (7.8)

Xystus

Although Xystus is often labelled ‘progressive rock’, Ivo is eager to differentiate: “Endless guitar solos and changes of pace have always been less appealing to us than a catchy chorus and a great composition. I tend to think of Xystus as more of a symphonic power metal band.”

Music
The Music of Xystus is good, it is classic; lots of guitars and no bullshit. Even the build up of the songs is quite classical. The music was great! It is energetic and it remains this way with a few exceptions. For their Nightwish Tribute they chose the instrumental song ‘Crimson Tide / Deep Blue Sea’, and for them it was the perfect choice. It was awesome! This whole night I heard great bass lines and guitar riffs. And I do appreciate a good guitar solo. Singing is good! Bas has a good voice, a bit raw. What I did notice was that the sound engineer had to readjust the sound multiple times, but we are rewarded with a good drum solo for the wait. After the draw of the last lottery tickets the band played two extra songs: ‘Forgotten Years’ and ‘Damage Inc.’, the last with excellent bass work! It was a good ending of this fabulous day!

Performance
It is always hard to be closing a night like this. And the crowd slimmed before the started. To bad because they missed a great performance. At the start of their show they seemed a bit to cool but uneasy. It took a while before they loosened up a bit. What I like a lot is that by keeping their performance simple, not much talk yet more guitars, they wrap up the crowd. The show is great their light technician knows his way around on the switchboard! Bas Dolmans (vocals) is not yet a great speaker on stage, or he must have been influenced by the story of one of the members of the crowd. He/She told Bas that the song ‘A Tale of the Heart’ could’ve been written for a specific moment in their lives. Bas responded to that on stage by announcing this song to this person and shared with us that this song had the same meaning to them. The performance is good and to keep it humoristic they also played ‘Rainbow in the Sky’ (dj Paul Elstak cover) which the crowd loved!

Setlist
01. Journey
02. Resurrection of Chaos
03. Everlasting Burden
04. The Prophecy
05. A tale of the heart
06. Why me
07. Crimson Tide/Deep blue sea (Nightwish cover)
08. Rainbow in the sky (dj Paul Elstak cover)
09. A waste of compassion
10. Into the void
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11. Forgotten years
12. Damage Inc. (Metallica cover)

Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 7
Sound: 6
Light: 7
Total: 7 (6.8)