Little by little my concert-season seems to be kicking off again, which probably is a good thing although my wallet seems to think otherwise. Then again, how often do you have the chance to see both Alkerdeel and Primordial on the same evening, plus get three other interesting bands as a bonus? With that in mind, I headed towards one of Belgium's finest venues, Het Bos, next to "the rabbit-pipe". Of course, De Lijn, our national public transport company, did not cooperate very well, eventually causing me to have a nice walk from the Groenplaats to Het Bos. As usual, my photos for this event suck but I will try to make up for that by writing a decent review. Apparently, I'm way better in photo-graphing tits and robins than bands on stage. Anyway, let's get on with it... |
A Thousand Sufferings

Nailed to Obscurity

Alkerdeel
Marche Funèbre
Primordial

owever, if you want an introductions, here is what Wikipedia says: Primordial is an extreme metal band from Skerries, County Dublin, Ireland. It was formed in 1987 by Pól MacAmhlaigh (bass) and Ciarán MacUiliam (guitars). Their sound blends black metal and doom metal with Celtic music.
Undoubtedly, this was the absolute highlight of the evening, making me wonder why they have to play awesome but small venues like Het Bos instead of headlining at large ones. Very early into their gig, I found myself thinking "why the hell aren't these guys the biggest thing in the black metal scene?". Their gig was simply breathtaking, almost perfect even. They also didn't seem to work on sheer volume like most of the other bands, but mainly on excellent sound quality, which is a very, very good thing. See, most bands want to play as loud as possible, which doesn't always result in something satisfying. So for that, my compliments to "Young Daniel", as frontman Nemtheanga called the soundman.
Speaking about Nemtheanga. I my opinion, he is one of the greatest frontman in extreme metal history, still perfectly capable of lifting both the band and the audience to the required level. Of course, he is back up by brilliant musicians but still, what a performer he is. He constantly pushed the crowd to scream harder, go wilder and back it up by becoming the best damn Primordial there is. So yep, this was an amazing concert, for me personally highlighting in a trance-inducing version of 'Gods To The Godless".
About an hour later, I was at home, eating chips with cheese dip and watching two o'clock turn into three o'clock. This was a great night, full of good music, nice people and tasty beers. By the way, I have to say that DJ Aldo has some obscure gems in his collection and isn't afraid to blast them through the speakers between the bands. Book that guy for your wedding, it will immediately be followed by an inheritance...(haha).
Serge