Starting off the night was the Dutch State Of Mind, which was a quite poppy hardcore band. More than once I had the feeling I was listening to a more straight-forward rock version of Rage Against The Machine or something, there was little hardcore to be found in their music except for the occasional chord strumming. The band did perform with enthusiasm and conviction though, but after a number of songs the vocalist got on my nerves with both his voice and his stage presence so I lost interest in the end. Too bad.

 

Iron Age is a very a-typical hardcore band, mostly caused by their vocalist. This guy looks like Axl Rose with his bandana, but sounds like a grim Norwegian black metal vocalist. The music accompanying his voice is a sludgy, nasty type of hardcore that is played with a monolithic sound and volume. After the first two songs, I was sold. This mixture of styles appealed a great deal to my interest, something that couldn’t be said for a large portion of the audience that didn’t real seem to understand or like what was going on. I for one was drawn more and more into their occult realm of misanthropy, I think I’ll need to check out their records real soon! Definitely a band to keep an eye on if you like non-conventional hardcore (and a bit of black metal of course).

 

Headliners Rise And Fall have never let me down, and tonight it was no different. Their overwhelming sound took a hold of the audience within seconds and didn’t let go until the very end. The incredible volume and power blasting from the stage is hard to deny, and judging by the enthusiastic crowd response this is well recognised by the scene. A charismatic and energetic vocalist completes the package by barking his lyrics with conviction and dedication while rampaging the stage like a caged tiger. All in all it’s everything you’d expect from a Rise And Fall show once you’ve seen them live, no more no less. Already looking forward to the next time!