Opening act was Anaphylactic Shock, from Tilburg. It featured the vocalist-to-be for my band Tankslapper, so I was curious to what they would sound like. A crusty, sludgy doom/stoner/hardcore mix was what this foursome spewed out, with some nice grooves to it and a real dirty sound. The vocals were performed in a convincing way, while the band had some small nerve problems. Overall a very good opening show for this evening. (DemonDust)

For me, it was the first time I saw The End live. I was very impressed with their latest effort, Elementary, so I was curious how that material would sound on the stage.

The End played a tight but short show; and I had the idea that they chose to play some of the more heavy work compared to some of the dynamic material (It was still way more dynamic than High On Fire..). Singer Aaron Wolff had a good stage presence banging on a big floor tom and using a megaphone; for a small guy he had quite some versatile ways of being the frontman. His clean vocals can use a bit more power, but that will probably come with more experience. In The End (hah, get it?) I had the idea that the stage might be a bit too small for these guys, so hopefully I can see them again soon with another own headlining tour which allows for more material. (Carn)

 

High On Fire, was fucking on fire!!! I swear I�ve seen some loud shows in �my time�, but this one enters the top five with ease. I was incredibly anxious to see these guys play again, and they completely destroyed everything there was to destroy. Another couple of frequencies lost in my ears for sure (yes, it was very wise to forget my earplugs at a show like this). The trio played the most impressing set I�ve  seen from them, and by the looks of Matt Pike he was enjoying himself tremendously. A lot of songs from the new album passed by, like the opener �Fury Whip�, �Waste Of Tiamat�, �Turk�, �Rumors Of War�, �Cyclopian Scape� and of course the title track to the new album; �Death Is This Communion�. Of course some golden oldies passed by, like �Speedwolf�, �Devilution�, �Eyes And Teeth�, �Cometh Down Hessian and just one of their debut record; �Baghdad�. Yes I was stoned and drunk, and yes I remember all the tracks they played, even a week later. (perhaps this is due the fact I could see the setlist, but whatever�) People actually left the venue because of the insane volume they were playing at. Especially Matt�s amazing solos really carved themselves in my ears, but it was all worth it. Now, a week later, I�m still singing the songs. Fuck everybody that felt this was a bad show and that it was too loud! MAXIMUM VOLUME YIELDS MAXIMUM RESULTS!!! WE KANE HARDER!!! (DemonDust)



Pictures by:
Wim Pletzers
Relapse Records/Pi Picture Improvement