There were two support acts this evening with the German guys called President Evil being the first one. Although the venue was hardly filled, the band tried to come up with a nice show. Especially the singer tried to make some contact with the audience, using his positive attitude. But unfortunately, the band failed to be interesting. Almost every song was based on a very simplistic guitar riff that was lasting too long, mostly during the whole song. And although some of these riffs were quite ok, knocking my head for four minutes on the same riff is too much for me. But then, just as it should be, the band enjoyed their appearance, despite the small audience and did what they’re supposed to do; playing their songs with the right kind of enthusiasm, leaving the really strong effort for the main act. In the end, a good job.

 

Next was Koroded which is a also a German band. Even more than the previous act, they seemed to understand that the only way to entertain a small audience is by using some humoristic elements. The songs were actually pretty good and the singer turned out to be one of those few guys who’s able to combine heavy grunting with clean singing in a positive way. It got them some headbanging people in front of the stage, getting the mic pushed towards them and it resulted into a nice vibe among all people being present. And although the music isn’t really my thing, the metalcorish breakdowns made me feel great and a smile was coming across my face. However, the absolute highlight of the show was the fact that the singer mentioned that it bothered him that he as a German noticed that Dutch people seemed to understand his language whereas he couldn’t speak mine, except for the really important one such as ‘Godverdomme’ and ‘Neuken in de keuken, straks betalen’.

 

And then it was time, as the previous act already announced, for ‘The Almighty Betzefer’. I got a bit nervous, ‘cause I’d consider myself a bit as a fan and I was wondering whether my expectations weren’t too high. ‘Will the singer be able to perform in the same way as he uses his tremendously strong voice on the album?’ I asked myself. Well, my dear friends, just when the first song was played, all these feelings vanished. My god, my good god, although there still weren’t that much people inside ‘De Bosuil’, the band did an incredible job and indeed, Avital managed to do the same thing on stage, bringing this rolling grunts in both the high and the low range through the speakers. The set contained mainly songs from the ‘Down Low’ album with my personal favorite ‘Under’ as the fourth song. Other songs on the list were ‘Running Against’, the special song for the ladies ‘Black Inside’ with the most brutality-promising intro ever, title-track ‘Down Low’ and even some new songs with the amazing ‘Doomsday’ as my personal settled favorite. All the energy, the massive sound that Betzefer is able to some up with even on stage, it was overwhelming. And for me personal, it was nice to see that my heroes were nice guys on stage, without using that many dirty words but using positive vibes. They said that before coming to Holland, they played the UK with their crappy toilets and showers so they were glad to be here. And when asking whom of the people in the crowd also witnessed their appearance as the support act for Fear Factory in the same venue, most of the spectators confirmed so.

Of course this interaction wasn’t the main thing of the evening. No, it was all about the songs, the really heavy songs. And when the set was almost over, I knew it was time for the Betzefer anthem, namely ‘Fucking Rock & Roll’!!! It was incredible, it was really incredible and it was nice to see that even with a small crowd, the band came back for another song after leaving the stage. Unfortunately, that song wasn’t ‘Split’ making me realize that there is still something to look forward to, namely the next show. And the show after that and the one after that. Because if there’s one thing clear for me, it’s the fact that I don’t want to miss another single Betzefer show in Holland anymore.

After got back home, I realized I had witnessed an amazing gig of a band that is working to accomplish their goals. The day I was looking for for a few months had come and it turned out to be everything I longed for. The band I was listening to so many times did not disappoint me and I thank them for that.