Believe it or not, most of the songs on those Spotify playlists weren't even Belgian, and the ones that were, weren't very victorious. Besides, the songs some artists are presenting as their 'World Championship Anthem' sound like farts in a bottle. So, as happens quite often, I think I can do better than just throwing some Stromae, Blur and Psy into a list and name it "Belgian Red Devils Playlist". This list is 100% Belgian and 100% awesome. Go Devils!

Born in 1910, Django Reinhardt grew to become one of the most significant jazz guitarists in Europe. During his short but impressive career Django (born Jean) brought his gypsy jazz to all corners of the world and even today whole festivals are dedicated to him. Out of his huge catalogue I selected the uplifting song 'Shine' because that's what we all want the Red Devils to do in Russia, right?

Here in Belgium we have a rich tradition of folk music, named either 'Kleinkunst' of 'Levensliederen'. Zjef Vanuytsel is one of the most influential artists in Flemish folk history. His songs 'Het Dorp' or 'De Zotte Morgen' are (or should be) known by everyone who has ever attended a campfire. I selected his ode to this little weird country, in which he tells us it's better to live here than in some of our possible opponents' countries. 

The Belgian new beat scene has turned this country into a frenzy of beats and basslines. In the late eighties, new beat acts grew like mushrooms, only to soon fade away again. I selected a song by BX-8017 (Jack Mauer & Marc Neuttiens) because a. new beat rules and b. it's Russia related. Now dance!!!

Although very much alive in some local scenes, Belgian hip hop usually isn't very top of the bill. However, this French rapping act managed to score bigtime in Belgium and in France. With this track I'd like to raise the pressure on our Devils a bit, and perhaps publish something at least one of those Red Devils will actually like.

With Luc De Vos, kleinkunst gained a massive level of rock 'n roll. This tune represent Luc's love for the ball game. Heaps of football fans on this side of the language border know this song and let's face it, every time Gorki can appear on one of our lists, he should. This one goes out to the fans, sing it loud there in Russia. 

Look, we all know that chances of Belgium becoming world champion are rather slim but we can all dream, right? So for the next few weeks, this legendary song by The Wallace Collection will be about football, deal?

Ok, enough with the goodie goodie stuff, time to get serious and dominating. And what better way to be all powerful and scary than by throwing our extremists into the scene. This is what we want on the football field, fighting hordes, breaking limbs, tearing flesh. Let's fill that champions cup with the blood of our opponents...

The will, or desire, to win must obviously be present in our football gods, otherwise they will get absolutely nowhere. So this track by Marc Verhaeghen' industrial EBM act The Klinik fit quite well in this list. 

But then again, you can have all the will and desire in the world, you still need to get out there and kick that leather ball. So here is Antwerp breakcore legend Sickboy and his forward pushing track 'Time To Play'.

Natacha Atlas was born in Schaerbeek and is as multicultural as this country itself. That  ethnic versatility also appears in our national football team, which, as Natacha claims so beautifully in this cover, is also a man's world. 

Post rock also seems to thrive here in Belgium. I selected this piece by Motek because after all, those 23 dudes over in Russia are mostly just trying to get their hands on the cup. They are all tryers, just like all of us, I guess.

Indie rockers School Is Cool have a pretty neat idea. Let's finally put something in our national trophy wall. Fun thing is, these guys have some other nice tips too, like 'Run Run Run' and their Radja-inspired 'Bad Behaviour'. Well, I don't think that's really about Nainggolan but you know, I have to mention him at least once. 

Stoner rockers Hypnos 69 has been clearing the path since 1994. With piercing, fuzz-loaded riffs this tune will undoubtedly push the Red Devils forward. I mean, look at the press. Even the BBC is claiming that Belgium will become world champions. Talking about a burning ambition...

Also coming from the glorious nineties, Wizards Of Ooze delivered some butt shaking jazz funk. Now let's just hope that our millionaires in shorts bring back that championship cup, preferably in a big red balloon. That would be pretty cool, no?

And we finish this list with some booms, courtesy of trance pioneer Marco Bailey. It took me a while to find something football related but in the end my fantasy told me that the moment we win that world championship would certainly be a dreamday. So there you have it...

This holiday was started in 1972 by sisters Ellen Stanley and Mary Lynne Rave. According to Rave the purpose of National Pig Day is "to accord the pig its rightful, though generally unrecognized, place as one of man's most intellectual and domesticated animals."

Funny side note: It is an open question whether the holiday is a time to honor pigs by "giving them a break" or to appreciate their offerings (spare ribs, bacon and ham).

And of course we kick of with this hard rocking classic by comedy band Green Jelly. I actually wanted to start with a song by Mucky Pup which sounds very, very, very, very alike. Mucky Pup was a lot earlier with it than Green Jelly so the credit is theirs but still, this is a fun tune, right?

1970, most of our readers' parents still had to meet each other. But Ozzy and his band of jolly blues rockers was already creating thousands, if not millions, of metalheads. 'War Pigs' is undoubtedly one of their most famous songs. I know it's not actually about pigs but you know, it's Black Sabbath. 

Speaking about legendary musicians, here is Trent Reznor and his industrial project Nine Inch Nails. I suspect that Trent is talking about the same sort of pigs that Ozzy was in the previous video. Come to think of it, this entire list is getting quite political all of a sudden.

I mean, fellow industrial masterminds Ministry also deliver a guitars and electronics driven stomper to make your ears bleed. Al Jourgensen is well known for his outspoken political views. Some people even claim that Ministry made their best records when a Bush was president. Perhaps...

Well well, what do I find here in my ridiculously varied music collection? A track by illustrious noise act Nicole 12. Formed by Mikko Aspa, also known from harsh noise act Grunt, Nicole 12 delivers a controversial and somewhat shocking theme. Perhaps this track is not really suited for the sensitive ones among our readers. I promise, I'll select a fun tune next...

See, something more fun. This comes from The Simpsons Movie and was composed by Hans Zimmer. I wonder how he felt while writing this, certainly considering other musical masterpieces from this man. It must have been a lot of fun, that's for sure...

Time for drugged-out rappers Cypress Hill to be added to one of our weird lists. Blasted into superstardom with their 'Insane In the Brain' smash hit, this act is said to be one of hip hop last raw talents. Once again, I don't think they're rapping about the dirt crawling mammals in this song. I'm also not sure if the police appreciates this one.

This uplifted tune by the Beatles actually contains real pig sounds. The Fab Four used heaps of animal sounds throughout their career, sometimes real, sometimes imitated by one of the band members. 

Equally legendary and equally talented in creating innovative musical ideas, Pink Floyd also liked to work with or around animals.  This track comes from the album 'Animals', released in 1977. 

And in the category "what if we check the psytrance scene?", we selected this groovy tune by Nemrac. It's a psytrance tune and it's got the word "pig" in the title, so shut up and dance.

Ooh, I found some jazz, and what kind of jazz!!! Please sit down, relax and enjoy almost ten minutes of pure jazz bliss while we browse some other genres... 

Unexpectedly, we couldn't find any Rammstein song with "schwein" in the title. You would have expected these industrial metalers to use that awesome sounding word at least once, no? Oh well, on to the next best thing: German EBM. Here is Angstfabrikk and their mouthwatering industrial stomper.

I couldn't find this one on YouTube so for once we'll share a tune from bandcamp. This is one of the many brilliant tracks from ambient English duo O Yuki Conjugate. They recently started touring again after almost twenty years and I couldn't be happier. Well, I could but that would involve things outside of O Yuki Conjugate's control. Nevermind that. Enjoy....

This is probably one of Cocteau Twins' biggest hits. However, the band was dissatisfied with the results. Robin Guthrie described the EP as "shit" in a 1983 interview, claiming it was "a bad mixture—bad song, bad producer, bad band". Elizabeth Fraser simply described the material as "all we had at the time".

And we end with Belgian metal combo Fleddy Melculy. "Varken" means "pig", but after reading this list you should have already figured that out. This is a song about Belgian weekends, and the sweet and fun things we Belgians do during that short period of time: get pissed on booze. 

Today is Anosmia Awareness Day and I bet you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about. Anosmia is the loss of sense of smell. People with this condition will never "smell what the Rock is cooking", or anything else for that matter. 

Although it sounds rather funny, and certainly less inconvenient than being blind or deaf, people with Anosmia have no way to tell if their food is still fresh. They can't detect a gas leak or smoke. They have no idea about their own body odor, making them insecure and anti-social. 


And for us, it's a perfect opportunity to dig into our musical knowledge and pick out a few tunes about smelling. Enjoy.

Found out more about Anosmia on Wikipedia

American comedy-core band Mucky Pup delivered this tune as opener for their 'A Boy In A Man's World' album back in 1989. The album also contained some other brilliant tracks, such as the original version of 'Little Pigs'.

Back then, it was almost as if you could actually smell the sweat, smoke, beer and piss coming off this video. Popular music had never been this raunchy, gritty and vile before. Today, Nirvana is still the favorite band for girls who only care about the bandshirts...

The world of extreme metal is a festering cesspool of unholy smells and there is plenty of stink to choose from. Here is a band named Stech, doing something blackened with metal. I think this song is about morning breath or something...

English grind gods Carcass definitely know a thing or two about unpleasant odors. You could almost smell the vile stench of rotting meat coming off their album 'Reek Of Putrefaction'. They also showed that banning certain cover art really helps selling an album. Hah.

Hardcore legends Pro-Pain also know a thing or two about raunchy fluids and backdoor alleys where men pee freely after a few too many beers. 

Probably the most famous song ever coming from the sitcom Friends. This thing reeks of the nineties, not necessarily the good parts...

Industrial masterminds Die Krupps delivered this smelly tune in 1995. For me, that's reason enough to add these Germans to another fifteen songs playlist.

Time for some good old fashioned blues rock with Lynyrd Skynyrd and their songs about substance abuse. 

Hey look, it's goth's favorite troll, delivering an industrial stomper about witches. What is not to like about Mortiis? The ex-Emperor member has been creating illustrious sounds over the years, from dark ambient to industrial metal. This is probably one of his best known tracks.

Well, ok. I just wanted something non-metal but this is just too fucked up for words. Oh well, it got the word "smell" and it might be defined as music I guess. Anyway, Riskay released this in 2009 which probably makes this better than any hip hop track today, right?

Nah, then I'd prefer this dubby track from "mysteronics" act Enigma. Released in 2004, this track seems to build further one the well known sounds of "Mea Culpa" and "Sadness".

For most men, there will probably no better smell than the scent of a woman. Jim Morrison knew that and wrote this uplifting tune about one of the most pleasurable odors ever. 

Then I looked up the word "Aroma" and found this warm, sunlit tune by reggae kings Tribal Seeds. If you ever need some beautiful "island music", give these guys a go. 

It took us a while to find an electronic dance tune that had anything to do with smell. Eventually we found this punding tune by Marco Bailey. To be honest, "sniff" can also have something to do with cocaine but I have no idea. I just found this gem and gave up looking in that scene.

And our city-mates from Katastroof once again finish off a fifteen songs list. The entire world stinks, but people with Anosmia will never be affected by that, unless they suddenly die in a gas explosion or eat rotten meat. Oh well, smell you later...

We kick off with a track from from that 'No Comment' EP by genre pioneers Front 242. Their main influences were Throbbing Gristle and Kraftwerk, hence the heavy electronic sound. In 1984 'No Comment' was released. Since then, dark dancefloors all over the world embraced the pounding industrial sound of Front 242. International EBM Day is a tribute to this band, inspired by the 242 is their name. The front part of the name comes from the idea of an organized popular uprising; the number "242" was chosen because it's "just sort of a design work", like Therapy?'s question mark. 

As mentioned in the opening paragraph, Kraftwerk coined the term when they released 'The Man Machine'. This album, with megahits like 'Die Roboter' and 'Das Model' (or their English counterparts) is a classic and an absolute must-have in every EBM fan's collection. Although Kraftwerk invented the term, the genre quickly evolved into something harsh and intense, far away from the calm sound of these Germans. Yet, we have to respect the classics...

DAF, or Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft, is a German electropunk/Neue Deutsche Welle band from Düsseldorf. They formed in 1978 and became one of the main influences for later synthpop duos like Pet Shop Boys and Soft Cell. DAF's sound was meant to be as non-American as possible, far away from rock 'n roll which was popular in those days. They used the word 'Körpermusik" to describe their style.

Another easily recognizable sound comes from Die Krupps, who started out as an EBM act before adopting distorted guitars and joining the harsh word of industrial metal. Their name comes from the Krupp dynasty, one of Germany's main industrial families before and during World War II. Along with Einsturzende Neubauten, Die Krupps inspired heaps of acts that would eventually create this vast EBM scene. 

Quickly EBM began spreading over the rest of the world. In 1982, somewhere in Essex, England, Nitzer Ebb was born. Influenced by that early EBM sound, they released a heap of singles which seem to spark other genres. This one, 'Join In The Chant' ​became part of the Balearic scene that influenced the UK acid house scene. In recent years vocalist Douglas John McCarthy has released material in collaboration with DJ Terence Fixmer as Fixmer/McCarthy.

Of course, EBM also reached other continents. In Canada, also in 1982, Skinny Puppy formed, a band that immediately set the tone for a whole new range of EBM inspired music. With their theatrical, horror themed live shows and their energetic live performances, Skinny Puppy inspired everything from Ministry to Nine Inch Nails to Marilyn Manson to Linkin Park. Suddenly, EBM rocked again.

In 1986, Belgian duo A Split Second arrived on the scene. Their music was heavily influenced by Front 242 and colleagues but a typical Belgian mistake suddenly catapulted A Split Second into superstardom. DJ Marc Grouls played the single on 33 rpm instead of the usual 45 rpm, perhaps inspired by DJ Freddy Cousaer who years earlier had played soul and ska singles on 33 rpm, thus inventing the popcorn style. Grouls and legendary DJ Fat Ronnie invented the new beat style, which in its turn lead to countless of variations of electronic dance music.

Formed by Skinny Puppy's Bill Leeb Canadian act Front Line Assembly came to live in 1986. They quickly established themselves as one of the headliners in the scene. Their influences are as varied as the sea is deep, which sparked plenty of side projects too. Some of them include Conjure One (ambient), Decree (noise ambient) and Delirium (dance, techno, known best from their smash hit 'Silence').

German act Liaisons Dangereuses was founded by Beate Bartel and Chrislo Haas together with vocalist Krishna Goineau in 1981. They actually released only one album but that one has been immensely influential in the electronic dance music scene. According to many of the early Chicago and Detroit techno DJs, this single has been the number one reference to their entire scene.

Together with Front 242, Belgian innovators Neon Judgement have been seen as the inventors of EBM. Formed in Leuven in 1981, this duo has been incredibly popular with new wavers and goths all over the globe. They had numerous hit singles, including this classic 'TV Treated'.

Somewhere in the early to mid-eighties, Marc Verhaeghen formed The Klinik, inspired by the many EBM acts. Soon after, he started cooperating with Dirk Ivens and Eric Van Wonterghem (Absolute Body Control, Dive, Sonar, Insekt, Monolith) and Sandy Nys (The Maniacs). With EBM as their foundation, Verhaeghen and Ivens soon started expanding their sound, evolving into the dark industrial act which in its turn kickstarted a whole new underground scene. 

EBM quickly sparked spin-offs, like dark industrial, hellectro or aggrotech. In 1986, Johan Van Roy recorded a first cassette under the moniker Suicide Commando. With his heavy, pummeling EBM style, he in his turn influenced a whole generation of aggrotech acts. Suicide Commando is still going strong today, regularly being one of the headliners at so-called gothic festivals.

In the nineties EBM started to influence acts in every corner of the world. In 1993 Erk Aicrag (Erik Garcia - Vocals) and Racso Agroyam (Oscar Mayorga - programming) formed Hocico. The cousins had been experimenting with electronic music since they were fifteen years old but with Hocico their preferences towards heavy EBM and industrial became clear. 

American aggrotech band Combichrist formed in 2003 but as a relatively young band EBM and industrial fans immediately embraced them. The band was formed by Norwegian Andy LaPlegua, who also founded the bands Icon of Coil, Panzer AG, Scandinavian Cock and Scandy. Perhaps most remarkable, Combichrist is one of the first electronic acts that managed to play on metal festivals like Wacken Open Air. 

Whaaat? LA Style? Well, yeah. In the nineties, new beat literally became the precursor for hardcore techno. Since new beat is a direct derivative of EBM, hardcore, darkcore, gabbercore and breakcore have become its descendants. What started with Front 242, Neon Judgement and Kraftwerk gradually exploded into a massive range of dance music. The Prodigy claim to have been influenced by EBM. Human Resource have been influenced by EBM. Die Antwoord have been influenced by EBM. There is absolutely no denying that Electronic Body Music is directly responsible for many of your favorite dance songs...

But of course, this is just a short list and there is many more EBM related goodness  to enjoy. Now it's time for you to abuse our comment section and tell us your favorite EBM related tunes. 

I'm not sure about the rest of the world, but here in Belgium Tournée Minérale kicked off yesterday. Tournée Minérale is one of those awareness-months initiatives, such as 30 Days Without Meat, Music For Life and many more. It's organised by the foundation against cancer and challenges people to not drink alcohol for a whole month.

Many people join in on the fun so I thought that this would be an excellent opportunity to abuse the system and promote ourselves with another selection of applicable tunes. After all, that is what we do best. So go grab a glass of water, snort some cocaine or eat a handful of mushrooms, as long as you do not drink alcohol this month. Or better, get yourself a nice cup of coffee and chew some celery. 

I'm kidding, do whatever you want but always ensure safety for you and those around you. I just wanted to make a list with Tool's 'Sober' in it, that's all. 

There we go. Admit it, this is a brilliant piece of music by a tremendously talented band. This was the first song that came to mind when I heard about Tournée Minérale. The stop-motion animation still gives me the chills. 

Originally recorded in 1999 and re-recorded to close his latest album 'Alcohology', 'Erosion' handles "The thoughtful statements of the gain and dangers of the consumption of alcohol (),  the impact fluids have, not only on the human body but also on Mother Earth itself." 

Today, he's probably best known for his long-living stint as Clement Peerens Explosition but Hugo Matthysen has been playing sweet and funny rock tunes since the late seventies. On 'Alcohol' he gives a few examples about people's behaviour while drunk.

If there is any good reason not to get too drunk, it's this one. I mean, imagine: somehow after a wild party you end up in bed with a beautiful young blonde, willing to satisfy your every need. You get naked and you look down. There you see that your little friend is not cooperating. Your willie is already passed out cold. Not a fun evening if you ask me.

This song appeared on Lamb Of God's album 'As The Palaces Burn'. It is about the struggle of vocalist Randy Blythe with alcohol addiction. ​"Sweetly she draws me into her arms, a liquid embrace to chase the day away. Sedate numb deaf and dumb, stumbling into solitude".

During Underworld gigs, many fans would raise their beer while Karl Hyde sang the words 'Lager Lager Lager Lager'. Actually, this horrified him because this song is a cry for help. He wrote it after a night of heavy drinking in a Soho club during his battle with alcoholism.

Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy wrote his "Twelve-step Suite", a set of songs which represent the Twelve Step program used by Alcoholics Anonymous. The songs were spread across five albums and dedicated to Bill Wilson, the founder of AA.

One day while recording 'Born Again', then Black Sabbath vocalist Ian Gillan got wasted and decided to race a few laps on a nearby race track. Their management had bought them these cars to have a little fun in between recording sessions but Gillan's took the wrong one (Bill Ward's) and eventually flipped it over, totally thrashing the vehicle. 

Many people might see Blink 182 as a fun punk rock band but they do have some messages to spread. This song for example is about finally giving up on a friend with a severe alcohol problem. 

Metal has always been associated with alcohol abuse with many songs about the substance. This one by proto-doomers Saint Vitus describes the vicious cycle of heavy drinking, feeling horrible and getting drunk to ease the pain.

I wonder if that friend Blink 182 was talking about also strongly denied his alcohol addiction. Amy Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning in 2011. 'Rehab' is possible her greatest hit, dealing with denial. Apparently, she went into rehab for 15 minutes just to be able to tell her label that she went to rehab. Perhaps Amy Winehouse is today's perfect example about how not to deal with addiction.

Blues legend Muddy Waters was no stranger to the bottle. Then again, blues is usually rather whiskey soaked. "Whiskey you ain't no good I declare I'm thru with you. Whiskey you ain't no good I declare I'm thru with you. You have taken all my money. You have taken my baby too".

Dave Gahan has been battling alcoholism for years. This song deals with the idea one of "just one glass" before everything goes wrong again. 

In this skit from 1977, Waits imitates a drunkard, spouting nonsense phrases. ​The song was performed on the short-lived US television show, Fernwood 2 Night in 1977.

And we finish this list with a Nederhop tune by legendary rappers Osdorp Posse. This song handles the ups and down of alcohol consumption and addiction.

There you go, fifteen songs that should help you through this Tournée Minérale month. On March first, we might publish a list of drinking songs to help you celebrate a month of not-drinking but maybe by then I'd find that a little hypocritical. Anyway, whatever you do, take good care of yourself and remember to enjoy in moderation...


​Serge

Let's begin with the original. Ralph, Dag & Sebastien bring their version of the immensely popular 'Driekoningen' song.

In 2013 Mediaeval Baebes released an album of Christmas songs adaptations. This video was filmed with an octocopter with Roger Warman being the pilot. I don't know why I mention this. Just enjoy.

Power metal legends Kamelot also seem to know that song and obviously they turned it into an over-the-top power metal tune. No pilot was used in the making of this video.

And look who also made a version, nobody else than the heavy metal god himself, Rob Halford. That face singing that song seems like a weird combination but somehow he pulled if off.

Here are some people who know how to work with autotune and make typical modern day stuff with it. I don't care, let's talk about pilots a little more...

Or better, let's throw some ferocious death/black metal into the mix. I don't know the band but they made a song called 'Three Kings'. Tsss, the things people do to end up on Merchants Of Air.

Obviously, there are probably a bunch of 'Three Kings' tunes in the hip hop scene as well. We found a pretty neat one by someone named Ratatat. Isn't that a Pokémon?

But let's go way back to the seventies where we find this bass heavy dub version by Clive Hunt, Joe Aksumite & Mikey Lang. Their version was released in 1977.

Ok, we're tired of that song now so before we finish this list, let's hear one more version, simply because Ella Fitzgerald is a queen.

And of course, we all know that there is only one King Of Kings. Some people might know this one from being one of the entrance songs for WWE Superstar Triple H. Lemmy, we miss you!!!

But I've been doing some listening to music that has been released before 2017. For the first time in my life, for example, I listened to Pink Floyd's 'Dark side of the moon' while doing nothing else but reading the lyrics in a karaoke way or sitting with my eyes closed. Of course I had heard tons of songs by Pink Floyd before, mostly in our day-to-day playlist, and when I was a teenager I only knew their 'Wish you were here', which I must have played about a thousand times. I also listened to CHVE's 'Rhasa' in 2017, Mike Oldfield's 'Ommadawn' and one of my all-time favourites, 'Discovery'. Bonobo's 'Black Sands' and Tangerine Dream's Stratosfear'. And to the few albums that I reviewed. And there this tiny list already stops.

Maybe that is the reason why I haven't written write many reviews yet: I think it's your duty as a reviewer to focus all of your attention only on what comes out of your speakers or headphones. No checking out info on the band or trying to find an intro, no conversations or social media or reading or walking in and out of the room while doing chores, no daydreaming or worrying or contemplating, nothing: just stay where you are and consume the music. It is as simple as it is almost impossible. Yes, I can listen to albums in public transport or while walking, but even though I have very good headphones, I still partially focus on the road, the landscapes that pass by, the book I'm reading, what the other people are up to or what my mind is yapping about. That is not 100% attention, that is not listening in the right sense of the word. It took me more than two years of mindfulness practice to be able to listen to music.

And it pays off. I hear new aspects in songs that I already knew by heart. I transform into the feeling that the artist has put in there. I truly appreciate their hard work. I am in the moment. Maybe that's why I'll focus on concerts that I've seen in 2017 for the rest of this article, because at a concert it is much easier to focus on the music alone - if the audience would read and apply
Serge's guidelines for concerts, that is.

And do you know who is responsible for my new ears? Cecilia, the old soul in the body of a young lady, protagonist of Serge's debut 'Cecilia's World'. I'll insert a small break while you go and buy that book: 


​
There you go. I hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as I did editing it and re-reading it. Because I don't want to favour one of the headlights of 2017 above the others, I'll go through some mind-blowing concerts I went to in order of appearance. There have been concerts too with me in the audience but me not being there. I had a shitload of shit going on in my head and I had to invent a plunger. And I missed 2/3 of Dunk! festival due to illness, unfortunately.

In January we went to Mol. Opener of the evening was Sitka, and in October we saw Ben perform live again. Sitka brings us lovely drone ambient and we heard him evolve this year. Then came Stratosphere and the same goes for Ronald: we saw him multiple times and we were pleasantly surprised by the evolution his excellent ambient tunes have gone through. After Stratosphere the two metal bands just didn't do the trick for me and then came Ashtoreth. We saw Peter perform too in April, two times, and not two of his concerts are the same. Ashtoreth is the master of meditative drones for me. January also brought Primordial to Antwerp, together with some other bands I can't remember. Primordial, heroes of my confused adolescence, bringing pure pagan black power, what an awesome gig. And they brought a lot of early work too, a very pleasant surprise.

In April we saw a lot of Ashtoreth and Stratosphere, one time they did an improvisation session together which also was memorable. This was the first time we went to living room gigs and we enjoyed that concept very much. And there was Kuro. Kuro! They brought top shelf drone jazz and I liked it from the very first notes.

May is Dunk!Fest month. Due to circumstances mentioned above, Mooncake, CHVE and Barst are the concerts I remember best. Dunk!Fest is awesome. And so are these three bands. In June we saw Chelsea Wolfe and Moon Duo in Antwerp. Moon Duo kicks ass. Go see them when you can. July brought us a day of Gent Jazz festival with two top acts: Archive and Einstürzende Neubauten. Man, those were awesome concerts. Thanks to Belgian railways we had to leave after only a few songs by Einstürzende Neubauten but it was totally worth the trip.

In September we went to see Bohren & Der Club Of Gore in Antwerp. This was the most emotional musical evening for me, a bit of a catharsis. And were they good! A German father and his two sons (or so they claim), all multi-instrumentists, bringing the best dark jazz there is. 

And in October it was time for the first musical evening Serge had organized in years. Sitka, Stratosphere and Lord Kesseli and the Drums performed in Antwerp. It was a magical night, one to never forget. Check out Lord Kesseli and the Drums.

In November we went to Brussels for Bonobo. Awesome sound, awesome performance, awesome atmosphere. I loved every minute of it. A few days later there was another living room concert where debuting drone artist Urall convinced me of his capabilities, Stratosphere did the best gig of the year and Thisquietarmy did awesome things as we are used from him.

Closer of the year were Angels Die Hard, highly energetic psychedelic rock with synths, and O Yuki Conjugate who toured for the first time in a very long while. I was baffled by their set. Also extremely memorable. 

Thank you to all of these artists, all of the organizers and helpers, all of the Merchants Of Air readers. And all the best for 2018.



Eline

#1 Primitive Man - Caustic (Relapse)

Ok Heaviest, sickest, most ear destroying release of the last few years, so obviously it is the 2017 Champ!

#2 Obituary - Obituary (Relapse)

and yes it’s heavy as fuck. Best since “Cause Of Death”, saw them on the Decibel tour this year, still best sounding death metal band live ever…. Not open for debate…





#3 Iron Monkey - 9-13 (Relapse)

Man I needed this comeback…… It was more then I expected, my smile could destroy you.

#4 Godflesh - Post Self (Avalanche)

It’s exactly what I want from my Godflesh, The mood is sick, turn on, turn out the lights and go insane… been listening to it daily….

#5 Phobia – Lifeless God (WillowTip)

They matter! Should be on everyone’s top 10, it’s almost perfect, best Grindcore hooks you’ll hear, ever.  Buy it!

#6 Midnight - Sweet Death And Ecstasy (Hells Headbangers)

Ok so the production isn’t typical midnight, but I like it! Sleaziest metal band alive, so black and reminds me of the early evolution of metal… Dude it’s a classic!  

#7 Unsane - Sterilize (Southern Lord)

Prob best written album on the list, sonic pleasure… I continuously hit repeat on "We're Fucked”

#8 Municipal Waste - Slime And Punishment (Nuclear Blast)

Take it easy there, it’s a fountain of riffs, it’s fun, made me feel like the first time I heard Nuclear Assault’s “Survive”… Rise from the ashtray and rejoice….

#9 Full Of Hell - Trumpeting Ecstasy (Profound Lore)

The soundtrack of the end of the earth, it’s a masterpiece, 20 some minutes of destructive beauty. No filler!

#10 Lock Up – Demonization (Listenable).

All star band, pfffttt whatever…. I hate that title labeled on bands. Anyway it’s been out for months and months and I’m still jamming it, Grindy, catchy, brutal, entertainment value never ends…. It’s filled with beat downs and blasts….

11 through 20  can be in any order – love them all, so I labeled them all 11!

# 11 Necrot – Blood Offerings (Tankcrimes),

#11 Incantation -Profane Nexus (relapse),

#11 Dying Fetus - Wrong One To Fuck With (Relapse),

#11 Blood Feast – The Future State Of Wicked (Hells Headbangers),

#11 Body Count – Bloodlust  (Century Media),

#11 The Black Dalia Murder – Nightbringers (Metal Blade),

#11 KREATOR – Gods Of Violence (Nuclear Blast)  

#11 Bell Witch – Mirror Reaper (Profound Lore),

#11 Converge – The Dusk In Us (Epitaph),

#11 Pink Mass – Necrosexual (self Released)

​
Paul

Personally, for me and my family, 2017 was both a shitty year and a very good year. On the shitty side: we had to put our beloved dog Flor and our equally beloved chicken Wiske to sleep after a rapid decline in their health. May they find peace, wherever they are. On the very good side: we cemented some awesome friendships, made new friends and opened up our hearts to what we consider to be true love. You know who you are.


Musicwise, 2017 was pretty good. Some awesome releases, some good ones. I always find it hard to make lists. I will stick to what I did before. There is only one number one spot. All the rest is runner-up. And number one is:

Blanck Mass - World Eater

This is not an album. It's a force of nature. His previous work blew me away, but World Eater left me dumbfounded. The track 'Rhesus Negative' alone is worth the price of admission. It transcends genres. It's breathtaking, exhilarating and quite unlike anything you have ever heard before.


The runners up are:


Unreqvited - Disquiet

Yes, a blackgaze album in my yearlist. But what a brilliant blackgaze this is. The first ever album in this genre that genuinely moved me to tears.


Urall - Nothing but these bright edges

Amazing dark ambient/noise/industrial that I thought wasn't made anymore in this day and age. I was wrong. So wrong.


Project Nefast - Sex Money Power

Beauty in monotony. Raw, intense passion made into sound. Pure genius.


Also worth mentioning are the following:


Antzaat - The black hand of the father

Leyland Kirby - We, so tired of all the darkness in our lives

Wolves In the Throne Room - Thrice Woven


Concert of the year: Devin Townsend Project in 013, Tilburg


Thank you all for sticking with us in 2017. Stick with us for 2018. Please give love and kindness to animals. True peace starts with equality for all living beings. Strive for peace. Ahimsa.


Björn

The year 2017 is coming to an end. Magazines everywhere are coming up with the inevitable end-year lists and I somehow feel obliged to do something similar. I also asked the other Merchants Of Air members to send in a list or an article if they want to. That's the beauty of  working for Merchants Of Air: you don't have to. 
Personally, I'm not very fond of end-year lists. For starters, I don't even know all the albums that have been released in 2017. There are still hundreds, if not thousands, waiting to be reviewed. Many of them will not make it, unfortunately. We're severely understaffed you know.

Second, I think in 2017 my focus shifted from many different music reviews to one bmassive music review, because, quite frankly, that is what "Cecilia's World" really is. I spent the majority of the year writing it and then it had to be prepared for release, which was a frustrating and lengthy task. But when I could finally lay my hands of a copy of my own debut novel, I was proud and pleased. Writing a book has always been one of the major goals in my life and I wrote a good one. I did. Just ask the people who have read it. Just read the reactions. In fact, last night my most judgicial friend said "Cecilia's World is a damn good debut". This really meant a lot to me because this guy is brutally honest. So yes, 'Cecilia's World' is my biggest accolade this year.

So I have been browsing Merchants Of Air to refresh my musical memory. It actually gave me a headache. "Do I have to choose from all of these?", was my initial thought, followed by "this is impossible". However, if found something interesting. There seems to be a common ground for many of 2017's best albums. Just look at this list.

Bathsheba - Servus
Ashtoreth - Morana
AmenRa - Mass VI
Emptiness - Not For Music
All We Expected - Hatàr
Wiegedood - De Doden Hebben Het Goed II
Ilydaen - Veil
Monnik - Bedevaart
Marginal - Total Destruction
Marco Bailey - Temper

From doom metal to drone ambient and from black metal to post-rock and even techno, Belgium wins 2017. Bathsheba delivered the doom metal album of the year in January. AmenRa conquered the post-metal scene (again) and All We Expected managed to showcase the sound of the great ones. Our drone ambient scene has never been so alive, Ashtoreth and Monnik just being two examples of the brilliance our country possesses. Let's not forget about Dirk Serries and his massive influence on the ambient and jazz scenes 

In the extreme musical regions we find Marginal who delivered one of the best grind/crust albums I have ever heard and Wiegedood continue their path of blackened destruction. Furthermore, as we Belgians are known for our huge history of electronic dance music, Marco Bailey has once again shown the world how techno should sound. Our musicians do a way better job than our politicians, law enforcers and civil servants together. So I'll just go ahead and say that Belgium produced the best albums of 2017. There you have it.

That doesn't mean that the other countries suck, far from it. Our neighbours delivered some neat stuff too. In the Netherlands, Dead Neanderthals threw some awesome albums in our mailbox. They single handedly altered the future of jazz music. MNHM delivered an astonishing album with 'Of Empires Past' and Wrok's 'De Onheilsbode' is just pure evil. But awesome music came from everywhere, literally all over the planet. India turned out to have a huge underground metal scene with plenty of amazing albums coming through.

Oh well, let's just face it. From a musical standpoint 2017 was a fantastic year. Other remarkable albums came from Monophona, Bolt, Dale Cooper Quartet and the Dictaphones, Dictaphone, Samael, Moonspell, ... Just read our reviews....

Ok, my ego wants the first paragraph in this part of my overview. Like all people, I love being right. Like when I was right when I said that Meniscus would be one of the top gigs at Dunk! Festival for example. However, there is one person who definitely made my year as far as me being right about an artist. I have seen him bloom, evolve from a being decent mid-carter to delivering one of the best drone/ambient performances I have ever seen. Me and a handful of people witnessed Stratosphere rise above himself. For years I have known he had it in him and it finally came out. The future looks good for Ronald.

Besides, Thisquietarmy was highly impressive too that same evening. His was another top-10 gig. For once, let's make an actual list.

Stratosphere (Palazzo)
Spirit Valley (Desertfest)
Thisquietarmy (Palazzo)
Bohren Und Der Club Of Gore (Het Bos)
Bonobo (Brussels)
Bathsheba (Rodeofest)
O Yuki Conjugate (Ampère)
Lord Kesseli and the Drums (Antwerp Music City)
The Void Of Expansion (Dunk! Festival)
Meniscus (Dunk! Festival)
Yodok III / Barst / A-Sun Amissa (Consouling Night) | Trix

There, I think those have been the eleven most impressive gigs in 2017. Of course, there is more. I have also seen Drawn Into Descent evolve into a force to be reckoned with. I enjoyed many acts at Dunk!, Rodeo and Desertfest. Antwerp Music City and Het Bos have booked some amazing evenings. As you can see, most of these gigs happened in my hometown of Antwerp. You really don't need to go any further than Antwerp to witness some good concerts. 

That being said, unfortunately the good people behind Rodeofest recently decided to call it quits. One of the nicest festivals in Belgium is no more and I truly regret that. They were an inspiration, literally. So a word of thanks goes out to them. Let's hope someone else gets the brilliant idea of organising a festival in that beautiful fort.

I think for the majority, this website has been steadily flowing in 2017. Our number of visitors increased, even though fewer reviews have been published. We've been busy. 2017 was also the year where we finally decided that we cannot keep up with everything so we (or I) no longer stress over that aspect. However, Glauber joined in on the fun as the latest member of our crew. Like I always say, "the more the merrier". I'm sure that in the near future, he will take a lot of albums off my hands.

The absolute peak in article views of 2017 was the review for Amenra's 'Mass VI', followed by my Dutch column 'Kruishangerige Kuttenkovense Kerkkoe'. The latter certainly was a surprise. The rest of the top-10 is occupied by Brieviews, which is not a surprise since those contain several album reviews. Obviously more of these will come in the future. Over a hundred people watched the live stream of the Amenra release concert on our website. That was pretty cool too. 

Money talk. 2017 was the year in which Merchants Of Air finally became profitable. We've actually sold more t-shirts than ever before and some people have purchased our free compilation. With all expenses deducted, we made a profit of 20 euros, plus 2.61 more waiting on Amazon. Cool hé.

To be honest, there is not one album I'm specifically looking forward to. I know there are some interesting ones coming up but I'll just wait and see. I'll just let the music surprise me again. Same goes for Merchants Of Air. Maybe other writers will join, maybe not. Maybe more reviews will be published, maybe not.

On a personal standpoint, I'll try to continue what I'm doing now. I'll still publish heaps of reviews and articles and I'll try to combine that with a writing career. The first paragraphs of my next novel have been penned down. I can already promise you, it's going to be something very, very different from the sweet and joyous 'Cecilia's World'. 

We'll see.


Serge