Last Saturday the Veghel Blackfest took place in de Willemeen in Arnhem. A sold out edition with a heavy package of metal that is. Among other bands Carach Angren and Rotting Christ were present. These acts however were the headliners that evening. When I arrived there was quite a long row of people already. Luckily I was just in time to not miss out on anything. The guys from Noctambulist had the task of getting the party started. Of course I was present to report back to you about Veghel Blackfest. This time I wasn’t there the entire day, so I decided to write just a short review.
With a short delay Veghel Blackfest was opened by Noctambulist. A four-headed formation from somewhere around Tilburg. Noctambulist is a brand new project that came about by a group of friends. Stef and Mitchell from Treurwilg, J.D. Kaye from Purest of Pain, Sam (ex-member from Discreator) got together to form this group. Today we were present once more to experience a gig of theirs. One more time the guys showed what they could do in between writing records. Their was never a dull moment during the gig and the crowd was enthusiastic as well. The guys brought with them a dark ambiance, with which they warmed up the crowd.
The men of Ceremony took over the baton, with a solid dose of death metal the audience was cherished once again. A bit later I whirled myself into the hall where Ceremony was busy busting out a solid set. These gentlemen took the next half hour to play some classics. This act was well received by the attendees as well.
Between acts I sniffed around on the metal market, which was also to be found at this festival. There wasn’t much to buy, yet there was something for everyone. At the metal market there were - among other things - second hand records of various metal bands and second hand band merchandise. An ideal opportunity for festival visitors to browse around for cool stuff. The market was a good oppurtiny for attendees to get a time-out in between acts. The metal market was at the the bottom floor of the Willemeen. Outside the metal market, the festival visitors could snack and fill their stomach with delicious bratwurst and hamburgers. Because nobody wants to head-bang with an empty stomach.
Meanwhile, the guys from Dystopia were preparing the stage for their show. In the meantime, the room also became more and more crowded, around a quarter to four Dystopia was ready to level the room. All the lights on the stage went out during this performance because the gentlemen had brought their own lights. This brought a cosier and warmer atmosphere to the room. The smoke machines were red hot on the stage, which provided an extra nice effect. The band members had chosen 2 songs for this moment to perform live for the audience, 2 songs that filled up the time on stage in an energetic way.
After Dystopia it was time for Yaotzin to enter the stage. The band members poured a heavy dose of black metal over the audience. With heavy guitars, drum parts and raw razor-sharp roaring vocals that were very popular with the audience. Yaotzin had brought in a substitute for this performance. The band members also received help from Hans Bijland, who is also known as the guitarist of Dauthuz. He played some sweet guitar riffs, which he had to memorise in a very short time. It was solid performance for sure.
The time that I was at the festival went by quick and after Yaotzin I left.
Review by Dirk Kremers | Dutch Brutal/Death/Metal/Thrash NL