Metalcon part III at Musicon The Hague, 23/24 May 2015
On the 23rd of May 2015 is the first day of Metalcon III, a great day for a Death Metal party in The Hague in the Netherlands. With the bands Variscythe, Grim Ordeal, Spartan, Cliteater, Ethereal, Dictated, the Monolith Deathcult and headliner the mighty Sinister.
At 2.00 pm sharp it's time to kick-off the Metalcon party with Variscythe from The Hague, with their mix of thrash- and death metal. It's not yet crowded in the Musicon at this early hour, but this band kick's ass enthusiasticly and energetic. On the 3rd song 'Origin Sacrifice' they invite Victor Weise onstage for helping with some grunts. In the small moshpit there are 2 inflatable crocodiles being smashed into some bodies and faces. Before we know it the band plays their last song of the day with 'Deluding Paradigm' playing a good show.
Up next are Grim Ordeal from Deventer with their thrash/ groove metal. They play an energetic set with songs like: -'Surrender', -'Drainage', -'the Shade of Black Water', -'Ghost of the Past' and to close their set with 'My Tragedy Unfolds'. The moshpit stayed a bit empty, maybe because the crowd didn't know this band that good. But Grim Ordeal played a great set and we will hear more from them. Horns Up guys.
Now it is time for Spartan from Haarlem with their Mythologic Power/Death Metal, with songs as called :- 'Helena', -'Immortal', -'Elysium' . So you know the are into the Greek mythology. Playing a song from Rotting Christ 'Athanati Este', you know where they have been influenced by. Vocalist Jeff is a great and charismatic entertainer/ storyteller. And knowing that their first full-length album 'the Fall of Olympus', we will be seeing and hearing much more from the band Spartan.
Then it was time for the band Cliteater from Helden, Limburg with their grindcore influenced death metal. Vocalist Joost ( with bruised ribs ) was , just as the rest of the guys in a great mood to party. With songtitles like 'Cock and Lov', 'Knob Gobbler', 'Glory Hole', 'Didgeridildo', 'Porn of the Dead' and 'Eat Clit or Die', you know it will be a party in the house. The moshpit was filled with moshing maniacs enjoying this great band in which they had first timer Jordy on bass. This show was a feast for eyes and ears and definitely on of the highlights of the first day. Cheers \m/
After this party from Cliteater, it got time for Ethereal. This melodic Deathmetal band from Zuid-Holland played a great gig, with the songs:- 'Relentless Revelations', - 'Where the Pain Resides', - 'Mandatory Pilgrim', -' the Tyrant', - 'Glorification of Idiocy',-'Origins',-'Symphony', -'Gaia' and 'Dopamine Conspiracy'. Ethereal is a real quality band with excellent musicians, who play their songs with lot's of enthusiasm and great energy. I guess we will be hearing much more of this high-quality band. And on day 2 of Metalcon we see keyboardplayer Uri Dijk with his solo-project the Ulex.
The crowd in the venue got bigger and was eager to welcome the men and women of Dictated to the stage, so at 19.25 started the Intro to start the gig but halfway the first song 'This is to All' there was a powerfailure on stage. During this powerless 15 minutes there was a bit rumor in the venue about what the problem could be. After this incident Dictated kicked back in with 'the Deceived' and they played harder. Vocalist Yorick invited the crowd to move closer to the stage, which received a positive answer. Because of the power failure Dictated played one song less than was planned, but that didn't break their enthusiasm. Drummer Frank Schilperoort couldn't get that smile of his face, during this great gig which ended with the song 'the Basher'. This gig was one of the best during the weekend, horns up ladies and gentlemen \m/
And now the 2 final bands of the first day, could it get any better then all we have seen and heard. The answer is yes, starting with the Monolith Deathcult with their Extreme Avant Garde Death Metal. Wath a massive sound, there was no escaping this heavy sound they produce on stage. Playing just six songs in almost one hour, they began with : -'Todesnacht von Stammheim' and played -'I Spew thee out of my Mouth', -'Master of the Bryansk Forest', -'Qashr Al-Nihaya', -'Wrath of the Ba'ath' to leave us with 'Human Wave Attack'. This was so heavy and massive, hell yeah.
22.05 o'clock was the time when the guys of Sinister came on the stage to play their headlining set on Metalcon. The biggest part of their set was coming from their latest albums 'the Carnage Ending' and 'the Post-Apocalyptic Servant'. The songs were played perfect, all of the instruments could be heard like it should be. Songs played were: 'my Casual Enemy','Transylvania','the Grey Massacre','the Macabre God','Blood Ecstacy','Afterburner','the Science of Prophecy' to end their set with their classics 'Sadistic Intent' from the Diabolical Summoning-album and 'Epoch of Denial' of Across the Styx. After a short break Sinister came back on stage to hit the crowd with a sledgehammer and ended the first day of Metalcon with 'Masquerade of an Angel' and 'the Carnage Ending' leaving the crowd with a fullfilled feeling of a great gig. Thanks Aad, Toep, Bas, Dennis and Mathijs HORNS UP \m/
So were back for the sunday, day 2 of the Metalcon III. With the bands :- By Demons be Driven, -the Ulex, -Teethgrinder, -Xanathos, -Divine Sins, -Magnacult, -Izegrim and Dew Scented. First I want to apoligize for missing By Demons be Driven, I missed their performance due to personal circumstances.
I arrived at the Musicon during the second song of the Ulex, the somewhat strange act on the bill. Because the Ulex is actually keyboardplayer Uri Dijk of Ethereal and he makes a mix of keyboardsounds with recorded drums, guitar and bass. This music was without vocals and was supported by a video projection. the Setlist only had 5 songs on it :- 'Beluga', -'Mezzazine', -'Brother', -'Ashes' and 'Terra'. But like I said it was the strange act on the bill, but it sounded good.
Now it was time for some grindcore from Teethgrinder, what a wall of sound came of the stage from these 4 guys promoting their 1st full-length album 'Misanthropy'. In this powerfull 40 minutes Teethgrinder played songs like : -'Rites of Sorrow', -'Hellbound', -'187', -'Purgatory', -'Desolation' and ending their powerfull performance with 'Vitriol'. Leaving the crowd in the moshpit breathing for air. Great show guys \m/
After the crushing set of Teethgrinder, Xanathos took the stage to give their best with their Blackened Death Metal. In the time they had, they played 5 songs :-'Adonai', -'Dawn of the Black Sun', -'Credo Servio Morior', -'Among the Dead' and 'Imperium Nekropolis'. This was the first time I saw Xanathos, they have a good performance with their atmospheric metal.
Now it was time for Divine Sins from Utrecht founded in 2005, they play here to promote their debut album 'Akuma'. It's noticable that these 5 guys are comfortable on a stage, they really enjoy playing their music live. the small crowd got a great set : -'Impending Prophecy', -'Kaiju', -'Awakening', -'Master of Me', -'Bushido', -'Oblivion', -'the Jaeger' and "Gate of Madness'. This band plays a somewhat groovy melodic extreme metal and the enthusiasm was really nice to see.
After Divine Sins it was time for MagnaCult to hit the stage, it shows that the have played in support of bands like DevilDriver, Ill Nino, Nile and Trivium. So they know how to interact with the crowd, playing songs from the 'Synoré'-release and from their 'insua EnVenom' album we got the songs 'Disorder', -'Past Defeat', -'Torment' and 'Kill Ignorant Humanity'. After 45 minutes of this great band they left the crowd with a new song called 'Thrash' which sounds as good as the rest of their other stuff. Well done guys
So now it was time for Izegrim from Zutphen, one of my most anticipated performances of the weekend. And Izegrim did not fail to impress the crowd, which was somewhat bigger then in the beginning of the day. Izegrim plays a mix of Death/ Thrash metal, playing songs of the 'Code of Consequences' and their latest 'Congress of the Insane' album. Izegrim started with 'Modern Day Freak' and from the first tones the moshpit was loose, with me also moshing along ( at one point almost ending upon the stage, because of an unexpected push in my back). Other songs played in this intense set were:-'Deathstrip', -'Relic of the Past', -'the Legion', -'Victim of Honor', -'Point of no Return', -'Celebratory Gunfire' and finishing their crushing performance with a song of the 'New World Order' EP 'World Power or Downfall'. One extra note about the vocalist Marloes, what a voice. Absolutely amazing. Looking forward seeing them on Stonehenge, if you have the chance check Izegrim out. \m/
So it now was time for the last band of the festival Dew Scented, but I must apoligize to them. I had to leave after the first 2 songs, to make it home with my transportion. So again my apologies to Dew Scented for not staying to watch their performance.
So after a weekend full of Death, Thrash and Grindcore I've seen great performances from new bands and from the older bands. Want to say to the organization of this Metalcon party, good job guys great bands and hope to see more Metalcon parties in the near future. Cheers \m/
Patrick Klos
https://www.metalcon.org
https://www.facebook.com/Metalconmusicon
https://www.facebook.com/dutchbrutaldeathmetalthrash