- Rodents in thy Holy Place -
feat. RATTENBURCHT, TEMPLE FANG and THOU
Seriously, dude? Wednesday morning, only a few minutes after the start of my annual pilgrimage to the south of the Netherlands, I suddenly had a car which was antisocially overtaking from the next village, first close in front, then luckily next to me. Since I just wanted to fill up anyway I had a moment to come down from the shock of the near-crash and approached the rest of the trip pretty relaxed. After all, the day - the whole weekend - could only get better from now on.
Fast forward to the evening - I had already checked in at a familiar place from previous visits comfortable fifteen minutes from my regular parking zone - I was alive and well and ready to lit The Spark, the entry-free pre-show on tzhe samller Next Stage of the 013 venue before four full days of breathtaking musical exploration of the kind only the Roadburn Festival provides.
If you're new to my Roadburn coverage and hopefully intend to also read the naturally much longer write-ups which will follow in the coming weeks, this is what you'll get: Proper reviews of all shows I watched long enough to confidently form an opinion, hopefully not too much useless banter before and in between, a couple of phone shots (probably most of the square title pictures), a lot of quirky live photography with my Digital Harinezumi 2.0 toy camera, and to give you a glimpse of the festival's ridiculous abundance of great options the occasional category CLASHBURN.
Even on this day zero one could actually open that box, since there already was a "raw, edgy" Jazz night in a café as part as the growing Offroad side programme in locations all over the city, which was also accessible without a ticket. However I kept it simple and just stayed for the traditional three performances on site.
Fast forward to the evening - I had already checked in at a familiar place from previous visits comfortable fifteen minutes from my regular parking zone - I was alive and well and ready to lit The Spark, the entry-free pre-show on tzhe samller Next Stage of the 013 venue before four full days of breathtaking musical exploration of the kind only the Roadburn Festival provides.
If you're new to my Roadburn coverage and hopefully intend to also read the naturally much longer write-ups which will follow in the coming weeks, this is what you'll get: Proper reviews of all shows I watched long enough to confidently form an opinion, hopefully not too much useless banter before and in between, a couple of phone shots (probably most of the square title pictures), a lot of quirky live photography with my Digital Harinezumi 2.0 toy camera, and to give you a glimpse of the festival's ridiculous abundance of great options the occasional category CLASHBURN.
Even on this day zero one could actually open that box, since there already was a "raw, edgy" Jazz night in a café as part as the growing Offroad side programme in locations all over the city, which was also accessible without a ticket. However I kept it simple and just stayed for the traditional three performances on site.
Speaking of traditions: Temple Fang have become Spark regulars, already playing their third show (one time they saved the day on short notice after another band's cancellation) on the pre-opening night. Besides that I have also seen them play a Saturday Roadburn show, lead their own festival in Nijmegen and be the highlight of last year's Lazy Bones Festival in Hamburg. So I'm of course sick and tired of their long-form proggy Psychedelic Hard Rock, right?
Ha, no way! This quartet is just too freaking amazing, Their tasteful musicianship, the dynamic interplay between epic guitars and restless drumming, the long buildups and surprising transitions... it all adds together to a huge live experience so perfectly. Having Temple Fang start the proceedings with music from their new album "Lifted From The Winds" couldn't have been a better decision for me.
Definitely a better decision than me pre-ordering the album (it hasn't arrived yet), when I also could have bought it right here at the merch table.
Ha, no way! This quartet is just too freaking amazing, Their tasteful musicianship, the dynamic interplay between epic guitars and restless drumming, the long buildups and surprising transitions... it all adds together to a huge live experience so perfectly. Having Temple Fang start the proceedings with music from their new album "Lifted From The Winds" couldn't have been a better decision for me.
Definitely a better decision than me pre-ordering the album (it hasn't arrived yet), when I also could have bought it right here at the merch table.
A certainly brave choice was to followup this level of high-class musical storytelling with one of the most primitive things I've ever seen at Roadburn.
There isn't really much to say about the Dutch trio Rattenburcht beyond Black Metal appearantly being not primal enough for them, so they just play it with intentionally hamfisted tools of Crust Punk. Maybe there was a hint of venomous Metal in there too, but one thing is for sure: Everything kind of sounded the same - and the band absolutely wants it that way.
The overall dose was almost too much for the shtick and only barely didn't overstay its welcome. The recognizable DIY look added to the Blackened Punk charme. The bassist, whose hilarious shrill shrieks are a main characteristic feature of Rattenburcht, gave the stage crew a little bit extra to tidy up, when she threw down herself and a candelabra with unlit candles. Was it just a fun exit (probably) or was she angry, because they weren't allowed to lit them for safety reasons?
[Please keep this rather insignificant question in mind until my review of day four, when I will return to the subject in a neat little full circle!]
The overall dose was almost too much for the shtick and only barely didn't overstay its welcome. The recognizable DIY look added to the Blackened Punk charme. The bassist, whose hilarious shrill shrieks are a main characteristic feature of Rattenburcht, gave the stage crew a little bit extra to tidy up, when she threw down herself and a candelabra with unlit candles. Was it just a fun exit (probably) or was she angry, because they weren't allowed to lit them for safety reasons?
[Please keep this rather insignificant question in mind until my review of day four, when I will return to the subject in a neat little full circle!]
Given how much Thou from Louisana have become an almost integral part of Roadburn and the source of memes and running gags with countless regular, collaborative and most famously secret shows, it's pretty remarkable, that this was only my first longer encounter with this collective after their show with Emma Ruth Rundle in 2019. It just very rarely happens that my plan allows a spontanous diversion for one of the many secret shows, which in this year would all take place in the Ladybird Skatepark.
It's a shame, because damn, Thou actually are a very impressive force of satisfyingly gnarly Sludge Metal with nice layers of beauty hidden in the oppressive weight of their massive guitar riffs. Their sound was monstrous. The show levelled the place - which was of course packed, including many familiar faces of the Roadburn first row club - and left the crowd happy with properly stretched and warmed up ears for the Redefining Heaviness extravaganza marathon laying ahead.
It's a shame, because damn, Thou actually are a very impressive force of satisfyingly gnarly Sludge Metal with nice layers of beauty hidden in the oppressive weight of their massive guitar riffs. Their sound was monstrous. The show levelled the place - which was of course packed, including many familiar faces of the Roadburn first row club - and left the crowd happy with properly stretched and warmed up ears for the Redefining Heaviness extravaganza marathon laying ahead.
reviews of the other festival days:
ROADBURN FESTIVAL 2025 • DAY ONE: Thursday, April 17th
- Isn't it funny how the Body Machine burns? -
ROADBURN FESTIVAL 2025 • DAY TWO: Friday, April 18th
- Please stay close to me nowWeave the orb, Spin the dress
Don't you ever leave
me undead undead anymore -
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen