This annual festival held in Drachten’s Iduna I have attended for several years in a row now. The line-up is always just interesting enough to warrant the long drive.This year also had a couple of cool bands to watch live.

The day started early at 14.30 sharp with the Dutch band From the Crypt. It is a fairly new band with some members that have been in the scene for quite some time though. They have released their debut album last year. It is low-tuned death metal that they play, with a swampy guitar sound, and mostly rather mid-paced. It’s decent but nothing really special or great.

The playing order of today was a bit odd, as the second band of the day was already the French veterans of Mercyless. They don’t seem to play live much and I had seen them only once before so one of the reasons to attend this festival. Founded in 1987, they were one of the small group of thrashy death metal from France. They focused mostly on their latest album which I hadn’t heard yet. Then again the never changed style much and their newer songs are just as strong as their Abject Offerings. It is mostly fast, riff-centered with some chaotic solos. Pretty cool gig for starters.

Another old school band followed, namely the Dutch Acrostichon. Also a band that doesn’t play live much. Their debut album is small genre classic. And obviously most songs came from that album. And live it just shows immediately how strong the material really was. Great riffs and varied song writing, solid drumming and some cool fast solos and to top it off Corinne’s brutal vocals. And they pulled it off live nicely too. Pretty cool gig.

In the lytse seal (small hall) the first band to play was Condolence. Also a relatively new Dutch band, who play doom death. Also a band that brings nothing new to the table. Everything about this band is pretty bland and mediocre. It isn’t bad, but has been done many times before and much better. They brought a guest singer who sang two songs and he was actually better than their actual singer.

Back in the grutte seal (main hall) it was the Swedes from Birdflesh that took the stage. I had seen them before many years ago and I don’t remember much more than that they wore silly bird outfits. This time they were silly gung-ho masks. They play some grind core like early Napalm Death with some weird stuff thrown in the mix. And weird seems to be their middle name. Weird titles – Milkshake is Nice – weird spoken texts in between songs. Yet they played surprisingly tight. And it was quite fun to watch for the relatively short 40 minute set that they got time for. It was way better than I remembered.

After dinner time I watched the last bit of My Mind’s Mine again in the lytse seal. These Dutch grinders play fast. Then again everything turns in to a blur of songs and there are little memorable bits. It’s blast beats and rapid power chords all over the place. The vocals are a bit distinct, as in not the usual low-end rumble. Not really my thing but fun to watch for a bit.

Baest cancelled last years appearance at this festival and these Danish lads had to make up for that this year. I hadn’t really heard their stuff yet, so I was curious to check them out. They started out as a death metal band and some of the songs sounded a bit like progressive death metal. But the more newer material sounded way more classic heavy metal. The band Tribulation comes to mind that made a similar move, but did it much better. Although the band obviously has the musical chops to play this kind of music, it isn’t all that interesting.

Another old school Dutch band played in the lytse seal, namely Pentacle. Somehow I never followed this band.Their singer has also been in Asphyx and released some good albums with them. It is fairly old style death metal that they play with heavy Celtic Frost inspired riffs. Never all that fast but rarely all that slow either. Pretty cool gig never the less. Maybe I ought to check them out some time.

The main reason for me to go was another band that doesn’t play live much and I hadn’t seen live before. One of the oldest death metal bands still around. The Swiss Messiah were celebrating the 35 year anniversary of their third album. Even though their debut is 40 years old this year. So they kicked off with a bunch of songs from the Choirs of Horrors – actually they played the first 5 songs in order. And it was actually very good. Choirs maybe their best album. It’s quite authentic with particular riffs. The second half of the set was a mix of older songs from the debut and the newer Christus Hybercubus. They closed the set with the title track of their second album, Extreme Cold Weather. Hopefully these guys come back some day for a full set.

I skipped Massgrav as I it didn’t interest me much and I could use a little rest. The grutty seal was no left for more veterans, namely Unleashed. Somehow this band has failed to impress me over and over again. Their debut album has two good songs Into Glory Ride and Before the Creation of Time, which they played both. Most of their other songs are just not too interesting. And sot it was live. What is surprising is that it is still pretty much the same line-up as it has been since their debut. Anyway, yeah they played tightly and all that. But they need some better songs.

The last band to play was a German cover band For Victory who play Bolt Thrower covers. I’d normally skip cover songs, but for Bolt Thrower I just couldn’t. They brought BC Rich guitars, played most songs quite decently and their guitarist even employed a three-finger technique. Then again it sounds nothing like Bolt Thrower. It wasn’t a massive wall of sound, but rather thin guitar and bass tones. Lots of sections were played incorrectly, which especially heard For Victory and No Guts No Glory. And the vocalist was not too good. Maybe a cool band after a beer or ten, but it doesn’t really do justice to the originals. Yet it only confirms how great Bolt Thrower actually were and how difficult it is to actually reproduce even though the songs aren’t all that difficult. Seems there is another German Bolt Thrower cover band around. pfffffff