Eindhoven Metal Meeting (Nile, Deströyer 666, Satyricon)

[herrieman]

Eindhoven Metal Meeting, Dec.19th, Effenaar

What started as a little party with some bands called Arnhem Metal Meeting has been moved to Eindhoven. This year it's the first time in Effenaar, with both halls packed with all kinds of bands. Roman Hödl (of TMR Music Productions and Aardschok) cooked up a line up with nearly every metal genre present. Early bird tickets were purchased, as Arnhem Metal Meeting sold out quickly, with bands like Deströyer 666, Satyricon and Nile it would be sold out soon and I was correct. Maarten checked if he could get a ticket through e-Bay but there were only three offers and 22 requests for extra tickets... I would be joined by Tom, Mike and Daniel.

Daniel asked me if we could drive at 11 AM, he and Mike considered to go by train to see opening band Krisiun, but as Tom had to work I could not leave before 1 PM. Trains hardly combine with snow, so he decided to skip the band totally. We had coffee, one sanitary stop, driveable highways and we parked in front of Effenaar. Let the mayhem begin.

First band on the Large stage (yes, the festival was sponsored) was Grave. All we heard were the songs Soulless and Into the Grave, but they sounded heavy as can be and LOUD! Cool to see these guys again. Before Into the Grave was played one of the members of Nile was introduced as a special guest, but as I was at the bar I did not know who. Nile would play anyway...

We got our merch (EMM shirts, patches, back patches) and dumped that in a locker. Nice not to have to carry the coats all day! Strange thing was, half the merch stands were empty, or with signs 'Only available from 4-6 PM' or 'Pre-order possible, purchase now and pick up at 8 PM. We went back to the Large stage, I wanted to see Shining, but seeing them perform I honestly don't know who got me the tip to check them out. This was falser than a bunch of shrieking peacocks and some horrible cross between shrill black metal and slow blues? Two songs, that was all I could abide. We went to Jäger stage, just to see what was going on but were disappointed there too. Norwegian black metal band Posthum was on stage, first two songs the singer seemed to be playbacking, what followed was so shrill I could hardly stand it. All and all a weak interpretation of Vreid, so to speak. We went out for a bite, the hamburgers were so big you needed a third hand to eat it...

Fourth band we saw today was German band Equilibrium. The first couple of songs they did not sound too enthusiastic, but that improved after the sound got better. I thought of Kim seeing this band (she's deeply into folk metal), Tom texted her about the band, she replied; turns out they will return to Holland for the Paganfest next March. Pretty cool band. Back to Jäger stage for Hackneyed, remembering the blast we had in Slovenia this would be cool. The small hall was only half full, but everybody seemed to enjoy themselves with this überblunt and brutal death metal. Bassist Alex got me the setlist (THANK YOU! ) :
- Intro
- Axe Splatter
- Finger on the Trigger
- Home Meat Home
- Gut Candy
- Guantanamo Bay Holiday
- Last Man on Earth
- March of the Worms (encore)
This band is GOOODDDD! Check HACKNEYED on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads . Then, back to Large stage for Impaled Nazarene. I always regarded this band as mavericks, combining fierce black metal with loads of controversy and plenty of memorable things they do. But memorable doesn't always mean 'good'. This was a truck full of goo without brakes. Arrogant to the bone (especially the bass player was bored as fuck, trying hard to demolish anything that wasn't his own), shrill as an owl, not tight and way too loud. In Dutch: pleurisherrie. So. I have said it. Ending with 'We Are Impaled Nazarene And You Are Not. Fuck Off.' was the most memorable they did. Assholes.

Now for something completely different: Legion of the Damned. Finally some pitting, some crowd surfers, but sadly enough also a lot of technical problems (three times the guitar fell out) and Daniel lost my glasses! Not much he could do about it, but it was a bummer. At least the setlist made up for the 'problems':
- Death's Head March
- Sons of the Jackal
- Slaughtering the Pigs
- Cult of the Dead
- House of Possession
- Diabolist
- Sermon of Sacrilege/Pray and Suffer
- Werewolf Corpse
- Legion of the Damned
The band made the whole building shudder on it's foundations! They are a well oiled machine, even though the technical problems were there, the band kept playing. It was the last 2009 show of the band, during the coming break a DVD will be released. Having all the special editions (loaded with live material and clips; singer Maurice Swinkels has his own media company) I can assure you the DVD is gonna rock!!

I went back to the bar, sweating and stinking like a pig, I needed some time got catch breath again and most of all: WATER!!! Tom and me went to the merch area, found the members of Deströyer 666, got pictures and patches (Anathema, Hatebreed, Norway, Immolation, AC/DC and an awesome, two-wolf-Deströyer 666 one!) and went to Jäger stage to see Skyforger. I had had no time to download some stuff, but this seems not to be my band. All I heard was some power metal I was absolutely not in the mood for, but Mike and Daniel liked the band. Daniel bought me another Deströyer 666 patch to make up for the lost glasses. Nice! We hung around for a while, not really wanting to see Entombed (seen them too often, too often not too overwhelming gigs), but as we entered the large hall the band just announced their encore Left Hand Path. Even after all these years, this song kicks ass and I was happy to have heard it again. LG Petrov was in top shape, the volume was really bursting onto us and the mix was clear as a bell.

Mike and Daniel especially came to Eindhoven because of Nile. They had pre-ordered the shirts at the Nile merch table and picked them up just before the show. What occurred to me was the band has the fastest drummer in the universe, but the rest of the band was totally speedless. Tom could not stand it and left for a smoke. I joined him, as even the song Cast Down the Heretic could not satisfy me. The audience reacted numb. We decided to return to the big hall after seeing two songs by Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult. They called it tr00 black metal, we called it brainless concrete mixer noise. Ughh! Back to Nile for Black Seeds of Vengeance, but the damage was done. Band and audience had not improved. Strange, I have seen Nile tear up festivals and venues, but this was meh.

Another band I had not seen before, but did hear music before was scheduled in Jäger hall: Merauder. Tom was in for some pitting and that's exactly what happened. Their death metal influenced hardcore was sharp as a guillotine in mid 1792. The band appears jumpy but they play tight. The audience is like an ocean, keep moving up and down, from left to right. After a few songs the band thanked everybody they could think of, including Eindhoven city council for rebuilding Effenaar, tour mates Entombed and Devious, their own band members, roadies and so on. Best songs: Master Killer and Built On Blood (guest vocals by Devious). We decided to stay put, as my reason of going to Eindhoven was on last in the Jäger hall: Deströyer 666. I placed myself first rank, next to a tiny girl and a big man, but when the band begun both did nothing, they looked at me headbanging like they were watching a traffic accident, totally shocked (?). This is friggin'thrashing death metal, dudes! Shout! Bang! Fistbang! Mosh! Drink! But no, nothing. Nothing at all. The band did everything they could, but nothing happened. At least I kept shouting, banging, fistbanging but I wanted to stay near the stage so I no longer moshed or drank. After the show it suddenly got busy near the stage, everybody wanted a piece of the band but I got nothing. No set list (I asked three times), no guitar pick (they did not even hand them out) not even a hand shake. As far as I can remember, these songs (and more) were played:
- Stand Defiant
- Unchain the Wolves
- I Am The Wargod [pretty early in the set]
- I Am not Deceived
- Blood For Blood
- Sons of Perdition
- Australian and Antichrist [last song]
Not that I mind that I did not 'get' anything, but I was a bit disappointed. Not in the band, not in the sound, not in the set list, but in the audience. This band deserves a raging pit or at least two or three rows of rabid headbangers, maybe both. Nothing.

We emptied the locker and left. The road was still black and dry, so speed was available. I needed rest and a beer asap. Good that I had a spare set of glasses in my car. It took until Hoorn to see some fresh snow on the road, so I delivered the boys in Enkhuizen at 2.30 AM. Tom stayed for the last beers and it's over again. Conclusion: I have a severe double feeling. Seen some great bands (Hackneyed, Legion of the Damned, Deströyer 666) and some serious downers (Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult, Shining) and some bands screwing up (Impaled Nazarene, Nile) and a few interesting 'new' bands (Equilibrium, Merauder). The food could have been a bit more tasty, the beer was out of limits for me (luckily it was Dommelsch). Over the day the sound in both halls was acceptable to good. But what the hell is wrong with these Brabanders? Hardly any mosh pits, sometimes even catatonic reactions to shredding bands. Are they spoiled or hungover? Next year it will be on December 18th, I have to see if I go there or not. Tom believes me when I talk about Nile shredding the place up, so they get a rematch at Graspop. Equilibrium in March. I wonder what other media report about the festival or the bands we missed: Krisiun, Devious, Ulcerate, Elite, Satyricon, Thyrfing, The Devil's Blood and Hollenthon.

[X5452]

I bet Krisiun has definitely fucked up the place, they always do! I have no idea about the other bands though, I heard some people say Satyricon was amazing... But I absolutely dont like that band

I must disagree with your statement on Nile though, their music is really hard to mix live and this was a lot better then the show in Patronaat in 2008! I really enjoyed their show, and I love opening song: Kafir!!! (1st track on new album)

[Amok]

It's painful to love a band's material, only to be let down in a live setting. Good review. Amok approves.

[About2Crash]

There is nothing worse than people looking at you like an idiot for wanting to mosh. Cattle Decapitation at MDF was like that.

[herrieman]

@Daniel: ... Krisiun... seen them several times. Blunt but not surprising to me. The chance was yours if you took the train. Period. I did not mind.
@Amok: I think you wouldn't even have liked Nile here.
@Crash: Amen. I have experienced that several times. Last week even, with a 5 person pit during a Deathcore-show, the owner/caretaker cried to Maarten and Anne: 'What the fuck are you morons doing?', pointing at his own forehead. That Rob fellow is such a douche.
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a few atmospheric pictures:

[X5452]

Ive seen Krisiun before, i thought it was amazing!

and damn that picture of me is horrible!

[Amok]

I've seen Nile twice and both times, I had to leave early. Drumming was phenomenal, but the show was boring. Amazing on CD, not so much live, unless the band's physical energy matched the music. Cows listen to mooosic.

[Mikert]

haha daniel that picture is hilarious xD.. but anyway, it was a nice day indeed with some ups and downs, but if you look at the whole day, there were some terrible bands but on the other side, the bands who did played good were fucking awesome and deffinatly made it up for the terrible ones, and it was fun with the four of us hanging out that day chilling and such. i think we don't have a reason to complain, but that's my opinion

[herrieman]

and now... for something completely different... Mikert! Cold, wasn't it?

[Mikert]

whaha, no way xD it looks hilarious in you body warmer xD

[thrash_till_death]

I saw Nile, Krisiun, Grave, Hackneyed and some other band on the 16th, Krisiun stole the show for me, I left early (during Nile) because it just didn't seem too good, plus I lost a lot of respect for them the last time I saw them, so I went to the rock/metal pub down the road for a few beers before heading home.

[X5452]

First time i saw Nile they sucked, and the sound was bad too, this time it was both perfect!