Aah, Desertfest, one of Belgium's most exhausting weekends of the year, an orgy of fuzz, distortion and psychedelic jams, expanding our minds while at the same time demolishing our eardrums. 

I've been to the first and second edition of Desertfest so I expected nothing less than an absolute blast. In that, I'm undoubtedly not the only one. Everyone has high expectations for this festival, certainly since they recently expanded to Athens. 

​About that, perhaps it's time to add a fourth skull to their logo?

As you might be used by now, we don't have many high quality photos to go with this review. There are a few reasons for that, each one eventually leading to me taking pictures with my smartphone and hoping they would turn out ok. For starters, my camera is perfectly suited to make pictures of robins and tits (the birds, but it'll probably work just as well on the body parts), but fails when it has to focus on a musician on stage. Second, on a festival like Desertfest it's annoying to walk around with cameras, backpacks or anything that makes me wider than I already am. It's crowded enough in there and I can do without people accidentally getting stuck to the camera bag. 

Which actually takes me to a first point of criticism. Weren't there a bit too many people at Desertfest? It was crowded as hell, lacking pretty much every possibility to get away from people and things for a while. I usually don't mind being jampacked into a crowd at a brilliant concert but I also like to be able to sit down, enjoy a little breather and have a conversation with someone at a reasonable volume level. 

And since I'm writing about a little breather once in awhile. Personally, I wouldn't mind adding a few drone or ambient acts to the line up. They fit quite well with the already massive amount of musical styles and I'm sure they could be a welcome little getaway from the harshness of the multitude of performances. So, how about adding acts like Stratosphere, Ashtoreth, Dirk Serries or Aidan Baker to the line-up next year?

Oh well, perhaps I'm just becoming an old man who can't handle the youthful energy anymore. Although, I have to say, I definitely wasn't the oldest person in attendance. That one could have been Bobby Liebling who at 62 still knows very well how to bewitch a huge audience. That Pentagram gig sure was something to remember. It was as if we all witnessed the birth of doom metal again, with riffs we all can remember and we all love so much.

​Desertfest are slowly shedding off their "stoner-rock" skin, and that's a good thing. With the addition of thrash and black metal inspired bands, the line-up already gained a little more variation. Strangely enough, it were those bands that eventually stole the show. Alkerdeel, Wolvennest and Black Swarm were simply stunning, and all definitely deserving a spot in my best-of-Desertfest list. 

I enjoyed the majority of the concerts, and you, dear reader, are here to read about those, aren't you? Well, you're lucky because there were only five bands I didn't see. I admit, I've seen very few concerts in their entirety because of my journalistic duties and because I wanted to check out as much as possible. Yet, I think I managed to see enough to get a decent impression of the bands. The ones I missed were Josefin Örhn & The Liberation (I'll complain about that with De Lijn, the Belgian public transport screw-ups), Mother's Cake, The Atomic Bitchwax and the last two bands on the bill, Toxic Shock & Vodun (simply because of pure and utter exhaustion - old man, remember?).

It was a cold, rainy day. Gray clouds dominated over a landscape of traffic jams. I took the bus to a park not far from the Trix venue and decided to have a little stroll in the green before I was about to embark on my noise-filled mission. After all, I wasn't feeling to well, as I mentioned on facebook. I carried several painkillers with me and promised myself not to be crushed by a hangover on day two of the festival. After arriving and being checked for explosives and weaponry, I entered the venue to the fuzz-fueled sounds of Black Wizard, who were already playing at the Vulture stage. I liked what I heard, but I don't think I was ready to party yet. Several people were, and the band too looked in a good mood and ready to kick off this festival in style. We had lift-off, that was for damn sure.

Upstairs, the festival would really blast off with a stunning performance by Belgian horde Alkerdeel. They simply bashed the Canyon stage with their vigorous and intense black metal induced filth. For a moment, I felt sorry for the drummer who continuously accompagnied the grinding noise of his bandmates with ferocious blastbeats. He had quite a painful look on his face when he reached top speed. Still, bloody impressive performance if you ask me. 

In the big hall, aptly named the Desert Stage, Torche was about to kick off. For a while, I really enjoyed their glorious blend of alternative rock and sludge and I could see I wasn't the only one. In fact, a lot people came early and seemed to enjoy the first shows. So yes, Torche played in front of an almost full venue, damn well deserved too. They simply delivered the goods and the audience was definitely pleased about that.

Yet, I've always been more interested in the smaller bands, so I quickly walked towards the Vulture stage where SubRosa was about to start. I really liked their album 'For This We Fought The Battle Of Ages' (read review) and I was curious about their mysterious doom being played live. At first the gig couldn't please me, something wasn't right. Perhaps it was the sound but the band didn't convince me. Eventually, I walked back upstairs where Your Highness would make us Belgians proud. They did. This was solid, for as long as I saw them. Shortly after they started, I had to go downstairs again for journalistic duties. Waiting there, I was able to check out some more of what Subrosa delivered and by now it sounded convincing, making me enjoy what was left of the show.

Back at the Desert Stage, the doomers from Yob would once again roll over an astonished audience, like they already did earlier and pretty much like they always do. Yob is Yob, and their performances are simply intense and captivating. These guys are always worth the effort and on this edition of Desertfest that wasn't very different. Yet, I was being dragged into the Vulture stage again, to see the first band I had to interview on this festival.

That band was Black Rainbows who kicked off with the infectious 'Electrify' and continued raging that fire throughout their entire set. Suddenly, the Vulture Stage felt too small for these guys and I felt sorry for them. This quality should have at least been booked on the Canyon Stage, upstairs. In my opinion, this was one of the highlights in a Desertfest packed with heavy psychedelic music, even though not that much people showed up for this one. I guess those people were still enjoying Yob or some nice food. Their bad, Black Rainbows was bloody awesome.

In fact, they were so awesome that I left Coogan's Bluff's & Joy's performance after a few minutes. I felt like I had experienced enough intensity for a while so I went outside for a drink, some food and a nice chat with Black Rainbows. Besides, I still wasn't feeling so well. From what I heard, both bands delivered a decent to excellent performance, so that seems ok. By the way, I would also miss most of Black Cobra because I really, really, really didn't feel like listening to hardcore induced sludge metal anymore, at least not for a while.

I did catch some Red Fang and I must say that I underestimated these guys. To be honest, I wondered why they headlined instead of Yob, but now I understand. Goddammit these guys are good, delivering a massive set in front of an ecstatic crowd. The Desert stage looked packed to capacity, and with good reason too. This was a party, and definitely one that the majority of visitors bought a ticket for.

Top 3

1. Alkerdeel
2. Black Rainbows
​3. Red Fang

The weather improved, and so did my overall mood. I felt a bit better than the day before. Black Mirrors seemed to help a little as well, making me realize that day two had kicked off and throwing a smile on my face. While listening to the music from outside, I had a chat with some friends, colleagues and merch people. Perhaps I should have payed a bit more attention to the band, but I'll make up for that somewhere in the near future.

Upstairs, again a Belgian band would blast itself into my top-3 and again one with blackened influences. Their name is Wolvennest and they delivered one of the strongest performances I've seen at Desertfest ànd in 2016. A blend of doom, dark ambient, krautrock and black metal filled the room, which was soaked in utter darkness. Many people were entranced by this performance. Afterwards, I heard several witnesses claim that this was so intense and immersive that it was indeed one of the best concerts at this festival.

In fact, Wolvennest was so good that Purson had the utmost difficulty to come close, and in the end they never did. Not that this was a bad concert, on the very contrary. The band seemed in a good mood, a decent part of the audience danced and the guy running the accompanying projection had loads of fun. I guess I just wasn't into it that much. Same counts for Giobia by the way. Again, decent to excellent performance but hey, I still had one and a half day of this stuff to go through and I was already sure I'd seen more bands than most people. Hell, I can say the exact same thing about the Elder gig, which I enjoyed for a while. It was good but not memorable enough at this point, not for me.

For memorable moments you had to be upstairs, where 1000Mods crushed the Canyon stage. Their album is a blast (read review) and seeing them perform these awesome songs live was stunning. These guys know what they're doing, that's for sure. They have been doing this for quite some time now and it looked like they. Finally I felt in the mood to party a little and I started a little headbanging session. They gig was short but certainly intense enough.

One of the biggest surprises on this festival, were Arabrot. Oh man, I really digged the theatrical approach to whatever music it is these people make. This was a great performance, perhaps on a stage that is a bit too small for bands with this charisma. Still, hell of a gig, and that also counts for Cough, who bulldozed their thick sludge over an audience that willingly took the abuse. It was great to see those heads nodding to the rhythm of the music, as if Cough brought an army of bobble-heads with them. 

Colour Haze was announced as the replacement for Graveyard, who suddenly split-up. Personally, I don't think that was a very good choice. To me, it felt like the trio was playing on automatic pilot, without really being interested what anyone thought about their performance. Maybe during the concert things got better but I never witnessed that. I went for a bite, a smoke and an excellent gig by Hangman's Chair. Their melodic stoner doom is something I can enjoy pretty much every day, and certainly when played live. 

Interview duties made me miss the apparently amazing performance by The Atomic Bitchwax and a big part of Weedeater. I did see a little of the latter and what I saw was pretty damn nice. Same counts for the masked bards of Salem's Pot but I needed to rest. So I went upstairs, where at that moment very few people were strolling around or sitting, having a little break, just like me. At this point, I also realized that three days of Desertfest might be a bit too much, and that the festival could definitely do with a few drone/ambient acts (yeah, I'm trying to push this). 

That was until Ahab climbed on the stage. In a way, their somewhat gothic funeral doom sounded a bit off at this festival but I loved every second of it. My fatigue was over, my attention was back and I was ready to sprint to the finish of this second day. The Germans certainly delivered the goods and the energy I needed to get me through the rest of the day. Obviously, the one profiting the most from that were doom legends Pentagram. Of course Pentagram was amazing, of course we all heard these riffs before, of course this was a worthy headliner for another great day. Hell, they even blew away all memory I have of the concert by Electric Citizen. Sorry.

The evening ended with Monkey3 who had a new album to present. Here I could aso throw in a lot of 'of courses'. If you know Monkey3, you will be aware that these guys always come up with quality.  Whether it's the music, the visual aspect of their performances or recently added vocals, Monkey3 always makes things fit together. On Desertfest that was no different, a typical Monkey3 concert, excellence from a band that does not know how to disappoint their audience.

Top 3

-Wolvennest
-Pentagram
-1000 Mods

This day started out a bit different from the other two, including a visit from my in laws and a bus that never showed up. So I arrived quite late at Trix. Too late to see ​Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation but just early enough to throw myself into the drones and noise of a band named Dorre. The guys from Leuven sounded pretty damn solid and I'm anxious to see an entire set from them soon.

Then, a number of bands would fall into something I like to call 'the fatigue trap'. Moaning Cities were ok but not as immersive and emotive as I've seen them before. Komatsu could have been a lot better if there would have been a bit more variation on the line-up. I liked their performance, but you know, it was stoner rock, again. In that aspect, the gig from Earth Ship completely passed me by and I started to wonder if it was me. It was. The crowdedness and intensity of the past few days (along with a headstrong cold) were taking their toll. Even My Sleeping Karma, a band I secretly adore, couldn't do the trick. For a moment, I thought "perhaps it's best if I just go home and sleep for a few weeks in a row".

Instead, I headed to the Vulture stage where Black Swarm would soon climb on stage. Before I realized it, I was fiercely banging my head to this massive blend of thrash metal and hardcore. Maybe this was the kind of variation I was so eagerly looking for, but these guys rocked  & thrashed themselves into becoming one of the absolute highlights of this festival. This felt so underground, so genuine that I could easily imagine undergoing this gig at Antwerp Music City. Black Swarm have just announced their split and a final performance at Rodeo Winter Fest. All of you have to come over and witness this. 

From Black Swarm to Duel seemed like going back to the whole stoner rock thing again but eventually these acts caused me to SMS 'it's getting better and better' and 'Duelicious' to my wife. Oh man, that Duel gig was electric. From start to finish the vintage heavy metal blasted through the speakers. These guys are made of sheer energy, and I'm damn happy I could have a chat with one of them (you'll read that soon on this website). Duel delivered exactly what I expected from this festival, a brilliant performance, rising to absolute genius.

A much welcome piece of variation, came from the shamanic duo of Tau. With their festive and celebratory music, made by vocals, an acoustic guitar and a drum, this duo invited all in attendance to a moment of meditation and dance. I've seen these guys before (at Incubate) and I welcomed their music for a while until interview duties dragged me back upstairs. I had a few minutes left to check out Belgian legend La Muerte, and much to my delight,  I walked in when they started playing a stunning, quite industrial sounding track. I don't know the name of that song, but I'm sure I'll be searching through their releases to find this awesome piece of work.
​
During the set of Lonely Camel, I had a nice chat with Jeff & Shaun from Duel (you can read about that soon). So I missed most of Lonely Camel's gig but from what I could hear, it sounded like a band to see again pretty soon. Back downstairs, Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats kicked off their set in front of a packed Desert stage. They started with the iconic 'Mt. Abraxas', a song I'll probably love until the end of days so I was immediately in the right mindset for this performance. Of course, the stunning shows by Black Swarm and Duel had already given me wings and the necessary energy to see a few more bands. Uncle Acid was amazing. I loved every single second of it.

But then, the man with the hammer appeared, chasing me throughout the venue and the food corner. Castle sounded alright, but too heavy at that time, which could also be said from Scorpion Child. So I ordered one final drink and walked back to the Desert stage where Goat were about to begin. For a second I thought it would be funny to simply put an actual goat on the stage as a piece of performance act or something. The enigmatic Swedish act opened in a beautiful and highly immersive way, making me forget about that man with the hammer for a while. I let myself float along with the psychedelic beauty of Goat for about half an hour before I finally decided that it had been enough for me. The edition of Desertfest was over. Another day, another time and I would have loved to see Toxic Shock and the strange act Vodun but for now, it was time to say goodbye to the massive crowd, the friendly security and that amazing yearly gathering that Desertfest Belgium has become.

Top 3

-Duel
-Black Swarm
-Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats

This was another amazing edition of Desertfest, which obviously is no longer merely a travelling stoner circus. The addition of thrash metal bands like Toxic Shock and Black Swarm, plus the celebratory music of Tau definitely added a welcome  touch of variation to the line-up. I hope they continue that trend in the future.  Oh well, there are so many bands I still want to see and would therefore recommend to this festival, Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, Master Musicians Of Bukkake, Winter, Dale Cooper... The list goes on and on. 

I'm sure Desertfest 2017 (13-15 October) will be another blast with a solid line-up and loads of delicious stuff to be discovered. Speaking about delicious, I love those food trucks, but it could do with one more, one that does something Italian. That would definitely add a bit of variation to our Desertfest-diet. 

See you next year, you sweaty, bearded and beer soaked men & women...


​Serge

My neck hurts, my shoulders hurt, my legs hurt and I got a glooming headache. The worst thing is, I'm sure it's going to be worse tomorrow since I'm going to play squash again tonight. It's been years since I've done anything sportive so yeah, it'll hurt. Why everything hurts now already? Well, after an exhausting day at Rocktoberfest last Saturday, I headed to Antwerp Music City last night, right after a day of shopping (I needed squash-shoes). I need to rest a little more...

Belgian sludge trio Angakok drove from Liége to Antwerp for half an hour of fuzzed-out fun. I really wanted to see these guys since I quite enjoyed their album (read review). The venue was already filling up quite nicely and when Angakok's massive riffs and methodical drums filled the room, the first headbangers carefully commenced their hobby. It looked like the audience could very well appreciate the wall-of-sound, created by this trio, and it looked like everyone was surprised that their gig ended so soon. This was a short but fierce blast of brutal sludge, brought with plenty of aggression. The vocalist, who afterwards proved to be a nice and friendly guy, looked so intensely mean behind the microphone. Both other members seemed to be in a state of fuzzed-out trance. This simply was a highly convincing set, and I don't think I'm the only one who'd like to see these guys perform a longer one soon.

The evening continued with another blasting set, this time from Lithuanian horde Au-Dessus. This was another band I was looking forward to, and again because I really like their album (read review). With their blend of doom, post-whatever and black metal, these hooded madmen delivered bigtime. Many audience members seemed stunned by the intense and immersive music. The set was completed with a quite fitting scenery, including an awesome welded microphone stand and those hooded cowls. Usually, I'm quite cautious about stage-scenery and imaginary but when the music is played to perfection, a band is allowed to do anything. With Au-Dessus, everything perfectly fell into place, making them rise above being merely a band. Au-Dessus became an entity, probably one of the most interesting ones in the world of dark extremes today. 

From the very beginning of their set, it was absolutely clear that everybody in attendance was there to see Polish doom masters Sunnata. Or better, to undergo the dark ritual, performed on deep and heavy frequencies. I haven't been in Antwerp Music City a lot yet, and I'm sure that will change in the near future, but I've never seen the audience this ecstatic during a performance. Of course, it was the second time these guys played here, which somehow always gives a band an advantage. People were screaming along, raising their horned fists, banging their heads or being utterly mesmerized by the droning wall-of-sound coming from the speakers. Sunnata destroyed the venue, rolled over it like a slow but massive freight train, much to the delight of a by now packed Antwerp Music City. This was perfection in stoner doom, that's for damn sure.

Shortly after the last drones of Sunnata oozed from the speakers, I headed home, hoping I wouldn't be delayed by another bomb threat (read about that here). Luckily, nothing happened, and I could put my tired ass down in my comfortable sofa sooner than I expected. Once again, this was an awesome evening at an awesome venue (facebook Antwerp Music City), provided by an awesome promoter (facebook Ondergronds). We'll be back soon, undoubtedly...


​Serge

First things first: since my task at Rocktoberfest consisted of selling Metal Decks at the merchandise booth in the "Into The Pit" stage, this will be pretty much half-a-review. I was pretty much confined to one stage, apart from the occasional smoking break. I know, you could say "well, go see the other bands instead of smoking" and you could be right but to be brutally honest, I prefer tobacco over hard- & metalcore. It's just a matter of personal opinion. That being said, I was quite happy to be stuck in the 'Into The Pit' hall, that was my kind of shizzle.

Another thing: it's remarkably easy to get from Berchem to Lier by bus. It's about seventeen kilometers apart but I only had to walk 360 meters, according to my walk-logging thing. I know, for most of you this is completely useless information but for me, it's good to know, I can go to gigs in Lier more often. My range-of-action just expanded, hurray...

So I left the calm and relaxed Merchants Of Air headquarters around noon. At the bus stop an ancient lady was firmly holding onto her purse to keep it from being stolen by absolutely nobody. Like many of the artifacts on that street, she was scared of anything and anyone. Oh, and she was pissed at me because I took her favorite seat, close to the driver. To my defense, I had to sit there because the driver was going to tell me when I had to get off the bus. Makes sense, no? Anyway, after forty minutes, I joyfully walked over the parking lot to the venue. I quickly spotted Robrecht who showed me my spot for the day. It was a nice spot, until the lights went off and never on again, making me move to another spot, which was a nice spot as well. Everything was nice.

While setting up my market stand and during the cigarette break afterwards, I had the chance to listen to what Muddler came up with. In my preview (read) I was completely right about them. Their combination of modern heavy music and Dutch lyrics works quite well. I think people in Flanders should start paying attention to these guys, they might become one of the most interesting things in Flemish music. I think I'll soon get the chance to see them live again.

Kicking-off at the 'Into The Pit' stage was Antwerp quartet Dead End Path. Moving somewhere between death metal, deathcore and thrash, they came up with a technical and aggressive set, which was a perfect opener for this day of metallic brutality. They certainly got extra points for the song 'Death To The Selfie-Stick'. I know, it sounds funny but these dudes are pretty damn serious about it, so you better hide those things when Dead End Path crosses your path. After the show, they handed out free ep's, which gives them another extra point. You can find a little review about that in our upcoming edition of 'Brieviews'. Anyway, these guys did a tremendous job trying to get the audience moving. The audience itself was still waking up, something that took them quite a lot of time actually.

There is a highly interesting thrash revival going on in Belgium. It has been going on for a while now, lead by bands like Evil Invaderz, Bliksem and this trio from Antwerp. Frankly, I feel like Incinerate should have been higher on the bill because what they deliver is sheer energy and sheer speed. Besides, they have the necessary technical abilities to make captivating and raunchy thrash metal. I really enjoyed their set although it was a bit static and not really loud enough (compared to the bands that followed). Halfway through, they introduced the guys from Straathonden, a Flemish rap act. Both bands have been working together on a 'Walk This Way' / 'Judgement Night' tribute and performed together on several festivals. Together, both acts are unstoppable. This is pure fun, the nineties way. 

Another thing we Belgians are good at, is death metal, but audiences don't always seem to cooperate very well. I guess we're spoiled. Anyway, just like on their most recent album 'Man Made Hell', Fractured Insanity delivered a decent set of brutal death metal in front of a handful of people. Again, this was quite a static performance, but you can't run around and jump like a madman when you have to showcase those technical riffs, can you? I know I can't. Nonetheless, Fractured Insanity did their very best and they're very good at what they do as well. Keep an eye out for them if you're a death metal fan, and buy their album.

They're not from Antwerp, like I wrongfully mentioned in my preview, but from Ghent. Strangely, that also makes sense to me. Antwerp has a thrash & death metal scene like Ghent has a sludge/black/post metal scene and Witch Trail definitely fits in better with the second one. With a mix of black metal and post-metal, they were pretty much the outsiders on this stage. I like their stubbornness, their urge to make something unique. However, they do need a second chance because something was wrong on this gig. I still can't put my finger on it but it didn't feel right. Perhaps it was the somewhat tame audience reaction, or simply the fact that their music wasn't all about speed and brutality but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Witch Trail works better in another environment, I'm quite sure of that and I'm sure I'll get to see that pretty soon.

They may deny it, but Devastation sounded a lot louder than the previous bands. Accompanied with a dynamic and energetic live performance, this definitely resulted in a blast.  You could feel the music, which can only be explained by the volume of course. All gigs should have been like this. Nonetheless, kudos for Devastation for delivering the goods and being the first real highlight of the festival.

Dutch thrashers Distillator did even better, even if their music contained basically the same elements as their predecessor. With fierce, hyper speed thrash metal, some brilliant solos and one of the best vocals in today's thrash scene, these guys definitely convinced me. Their performance reminded me of some of the concerts I've seen on the bigger stages on metal festivals. Running from side to side, jumping, headbanging, inciting the audience... Everything was there to make this another absolute highlight. The audience itself seemed finally awake and in the mood for a night of heavy thrashing and heavy drinking.

Stoner metallers Deepshow had the unfortunate task to play between the fiercest and the most anticipated act on this festival. Of course, their stoner rock (sometimes with some growls and pig squeals) was another outsider on this festival but nonetheless, they delivered bigtime. I know these guys are from another part of Belgium (the one that speaks French) but they really deserve all the attention they can get. Why? Well, because of their tremendous groove-capacity. Someone take these guys on a European tour with King Hiss please?
(sorry, no photo because I relocated to the back of the venue and my phone can't handle that distance)

Then things started to get exciting, because the battle for complete domination on this festival would commence. Judging from the many fans suddenly turning up, we were about to see the two of the most liked female fronted bands in the Belgian and Dutch underground.

For me, it was the first time I got to see Bliksem live. I knew the songs since I think their latest album 'Gruesome Masterpiece' is a stunning piece of work, especially the title track. Needless to say that I was thrilled when they played it, also because it provided a little breather. I've been facing so much thrash this day that I really needed it. Besides, it's such a great song that it should be on every metalhead's playlist.
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Bliksem delivered an awesome performance, which shouldn't really be a surprise. They are excellent musicians, fronted by a woman who has a massive heavy metal charisma and a voice to match. Plus, for them it was a gig in front of friends, family and fans, what could possibly go wrong? Nothing, and nothing did.

Speaking about "excellent musicians, fronted by a woman who has a massive heavy metal charisma and a voice to match.", that description fits Izegrim as well. This Dutch quartet to delivered a solid set, loaded with thrash metal and often ra(n)ging into the realm of black and death metal. They too captured the audience and turned the event into one big, headbanging party. Ok, at one point Marloes had to enkindle the audience a bit but from then on, Izegrim conquered Lier. This was a metal gig like they should be: loud, fun, harsh and epic. I enjoyed every single second of it and I could easily see that I wasn't the only one. Peggy from Bliksem quickly joined the audience, firing it up even more. 

There seems to be a gap between the old generation of metalheads and the younger generation, and that gap was clearly visible when English combo Oceans Ate Alaska climbed on stage. The youngsters seemed to enjoy their progressive metalcore a lot but I (and some people I talked to) didn't really understand why these guys were headliners. I know, very few thirty-five plus year olds aren't into metalcore and feel like it's simply dubstep with guitars (hahaha) but hey, when we were sixteen, our parents didn't understand our lust for thrashy guitars, death growls and sheer musical evil either. Besides, by now I was developing a tremendous headache and Erik, my colleague from Snoozecontrol, offered me a ride home, which I could not refuse. Seventeen kilometers is walkable but not with a suitcase filled with Metal Decks and money, mostly change. 

Well, who won the battle for domination at Rocktoberfest? It's was a pretty even match between Bliksem and Izegrim. Both acts played towards absolute victory, as did some others, but I have to go with (drumroll....) Bliksem. And that has nothing to do with the fact that Peggy told me that her wrestler boyfriend can easily find my address to beat me up. It also wasn't the home advantage. It wasn't even the level of variation that gained Bliksem the victory. It were the goosebumps. The goosebumps that help me compose my best-gigs-of-the-year list. They appeared a few times already in 2016. At Rocktoberfest they made themselves known during the Distillator performance and rose massively when Bliksem and Izegrim played. After counting them, I could only go for the Belgians. How the goosebumps-counting works? I don't know, I'm a writer, not a scientist...

But in the end, I can only conclude that everybody won on this edition of Rocktoberfest. Everybody seemed to have a blast. The few times I looked into the Dungeon, where the hard- & metalcore bands played, I could see the audience having a great time, jumping up and down to the music. Like I said, I'm not a fan of those particular genres but that doesn't keep me from being happy for the people who are, happy that they had a smashing time as well.

Of course, there are a few people I'd like to thank. First off, I'd like to send my regards to Robrecht for inviting me and the entire Rocktoberfest team for making this thing happen. The organization seemed spotless, even though the food truck could have stayed a bit longer. Yes, that's the only remark I have, isn't that great? 
I also like to thank Erik, not only for the ride home but also for keeping an eye on my Metal Decks when I needed some food or nicotine or a urinal. He's a good guy, and all of you should buy him a drink when you see him. 
Of course, I'd like to thank the people who purchased the Metal Decks. Thank you for making sure Merchants Of Air will stay what it is, independent. I hope you have a great time playing games and listening to the two free downloads we included. 

My final remark is this: people, please, turn up early at shows. Give the young, beginning bands a chance. They work just as hard as your favorite ones and frankly, some of them deserve just as much success and attention. It's sad to see people giving it all on stage in front of eight people, including the sound engineer. You pay the same amount of money, so why not go see six bands instead of three? You don't need to go shopping before, you can purchase awesome band merch inside. There's no decent reason not to show up early, unless you have a shitty job.

Thank you and have a good weekend...



​Serge