Because of major train issues it took me four hours instead of one and a half to get to the venue. Therefore I completely missed Capsize and  No Bragging Rights. Two bands I was really curious about, and still am…

So I had to start my evening with the band that seemed to not really fit in this line-up, More Than A Thousand. This metalcore band from Portugal was formed in 2000 already and they show on stage that they have a lot of experience as well. They got some heads banging and got the attention of the crowd really good. Even when the lead vocalist asked for people to jump along, which he asked quite often, the crowd listened and kept jumping and clapping. It was a great start of this edition for me because the band played really tight and sounded pretty good.

The next band was playing at NSD 2012 also. Obey The Brave was founded in that same year and showed that, although most members had a lot of experience, the band needed to play more together. Today they really showed that they really have way more experience because they kicked the bar way higher that was set by the previous band. They brought some fans along and from the very first note the moshpit was exploding. The band played pretty good and got the crowd really going. A great support for the last three bands.

This edition of Never Say Die! had three headliners when you look at the bill and that was also noticeable in the crowd. Because when Stick To Your Guns started their sent, a lot of people went insane and the energy level was incredibly high. The band played a brand new song in the middle of the set called ‘Nobody’. This was the point where a little part of the crowd took one song time to rest. This was needed for some people since the band furthermore played more well-known songs as ‘Amber’, ‘Empty Heads’, ‘Diamond’, ‘Bringing You Down’ and the band ended with the song ‘Against Them All’. It was a short, energetic and quite good set, although it was a huge pity that the band didn’t play any songs from the first two records.

After this good set it was time for a Canadian band. Comeback Kid played songs as ‘GM, Vincent & I’, ‘Do Yourself A Favor’, ‘Because Of All’ which were massive sing-a-long material. Another band that always gives it all live and no matter what happens, they will keep on going. So was the moshpit and of course the stagedivers which were active at every band. I thought I even saw lead vocalist Jesse of STYG doing a few stagedives. Lead vocalist Andrew mentioned that his throat was really soar and that he needed the help of the crowd which happily replied to that question. The room seemed to be a little emptier compared to the last band, but it didn’t really matter because the band blew the crowd away once again. One little notice need to be said about this performance. Andrew kept thanking everything that came in his mind. Think of the security because they didn’t stop the fans from moshing and stagediving, the crowd because they kept coming to every show, the Dutch hardcore bands such as No Turning Back because they keep hardcore alive, the crowd again for being there early and return energy to all bands and of course all other bands they could tour with. Why do I want to mention this? Because this was straight from the heart! It was really awesome to see so hereby I say: Thank you Comeback Kid for playing so much in our country and give it all every time!

Last but certainly not least was the almighty Terror. Although people had to leave before or during this set because of their last train was going, the moshpit and the amount of stagedivers were amazing. It seemed like this was the first band of the evening and nobody was tired at all! The reason was quite obvious, it was because this band gave it all once again. Songs as ‘Spit My Rage’, ‘Overcome’, ‘Stick Tight’, ‘Live By The Code’ and ‘Always The Hard Way’ followed each other up in a way only Terror can do. Hard, fast, clean and very tight. Lead vocalist Scott took any chance to keep asking all the people to do a few steps forward and dive off the stage. A lot of people took their chances and throughout the whole set it seemed like one big chaos. Unfortunately their set ended way too fast, but of course they had something special in mind to end their set. Lead vocalist Jesse from Stick To Your guns joined the stage to perform ‘Keepers Of The Faith’ together with the band. Can you imagine? Both Jesse and Scott singing both together, but also singing line after line switching vocals. It was an amazing ending of this tour and they really showed a few things. Hardcore still lives, the Never Say Die! Tour still can arrange a very good line-up and a lot of people come in early and stay till the bitter end!