The Dutch polyrhythmic metal band Textures is a band we, as Metalrage, highly appreciate. The latest addition to the roster of Nuclear Blast Records announced they would only play two more club shows in The Netherlands this year, before focusing on festival appearances and some foreign gigs. They will also hit the studio in the beginning of 2010 to create the follow up to Silhouettes, so these shows would be the last chance to see them perform at a cozy venue for a long time. They also promised the shows would be special, so I definitely was looking forward to it. I went to their second show in Utrecht where the support came from country mates Chiraw.

When I entered the venue Chiraw just started to play and damn did they impress! I’ve seen them a couple of times live before, but this was their best gig I ever saw. They played with a huge amount of enthusiasm, the sound was great, the new guy behind the keyboards did well and the singer was magnificent. With his screams and growls is nothing wrong, but especially his clean vocals were flawless. Rusty Cage Records didn’t make a mistake by signing this band, ‘cause these guys have a lot of potential. The new song they played sounded great and I can’t wait for the follow up of their debut full-length Dark Frequencies.
 

Then it was time for Textures. We’ve reviewed a lot of Textures gigs already and we’ve been equally positive about them. This time I also can’t deny I loved their performance. The main difference with other gigs was the setlist. Normally they end their set with killer song ‘Regenesis’, but this time it was the second song of the night already. They also played ‘Messengers’, from their latest album Silhouettes, for the second time ever live. Besides the surprising setlist it was once again a show of Textures you’d expect of them. An energetic and very tight performance with polyrhythmic metal of the highest level.
 

Setlist:
One Eye For A Thousand
Regenesis
Storm Warning
Awake
Stream Of Consciousness
Messengers
Laments Of An Icarus
Ostensibly Impregnable
The Sun’s Architect
Swandive
To Erase A Lifetime