Support for these bands came from the German black metallers of Ctulu, who preferred to speak to the audience in their native tongue. Formed in 2004, the band played straight forward black metal that didn’t really affect a lot of people present. Some major screw ups from the drummer didn’t make it much better, and halfway through their set I think there were more people at the bar than in front of their stage. They played a full 45 minute set which seemed to last forever, obviously I was glad when it was over.

 

The duo of Inquisition have played in the Baroeg numerous times, and tonight they were happy to have found a replacement for their cancellation. I was curious to find out what this corpse painted band was all about, and already during the soundcheck I was anxious to hear them play. A massive stonerish black metal sound with just one guitar, way to go! As soon as they kicked in, a massive dense sound took a hold of the Baroeg and it became quickly apparent that a lot of people had come down here to see these, originally Colombian, Americans play. Although their sound is really monotonous, it has a sort of overwhelming feel to it that hypnotizes you. I do have to say that as their set progressed it became mildly boring, yet this was definitely the nicest band of the evening for me. The band is set to release a new album this year of which we were treated to some new tracks, including the title track, originally entitled Hail Satan. Really, after over 20 years of making black metal, that is the title you come up with? Dude… Nevertheless I’d like to see these guys again someday.

 

Headliners Melechesh got to play their “hometown” tonight, and they did so in a convincing and powerful way. These Israeli, backed up by a Dutch drummer, brought the audience their mixture of black/death metal with some middle eastern influences. It seemed that a big part of the audience was happy to see these guys play, yet their music did not reach me at all. I’ve seen them perform before and I never really got into their sound, tonight unfortunately was no different. They did treat the audience to a new song that didn’t even have a title or lyrics yet, and to be honest I thought it was the best song of the set, with some Nile like middle eastern riffing. Maybe their new album will appeal to me a bit more than their older work. I also got the feeling that drummer Xul kind of bores himself playing with this band, he does everything so easily it looks like he could be doing it twice as fast and still not break a sweat. As their set progressed it became obvious that a lot of people didn’t really care too much about this band, for many of them decided to leave early. And after finishing my last beer coins, I decided to do the same. This band is just not for me.