- I Drifted On Alpine Oceans
With The Taste Of The Moon On My Tongue -
feat. BORIS, HEAVEN IN HER ARMS, OATHBREAKER, OTAY:ONII, RÓIS, SLIFT, STEAMBOAT SWITZERLAND and TAUPE
They had already been receding through the years, but 2026 actually was the first time I didn't go on any touristic / photographic excursions before driving to Tilburg during the whole duration of Roadburn. Just showering, breakfast, relaxing, a lunch snack... and saying hello to cats.
While I hope I can do at least a little more again next time, the good thing about it is that I have one less distraction from writing these reviews now, since I'm not scanning negatives - and that there's less to ramble about here, so I can immediately jump into the important stuff, like Saturday's first show in the Engine Room at thirteen o'clock:
Heaven In Her Arms from Japan were just the right kick of energy and emotion to immediately get me into full Roadburn mode again - if that was even needed. With fantastic original lead guitar work, powerful riffs and haunted screams in the style of Envy, they brought all the good Post Somethings, from Post Hardcore to Post Rock and Post Metal rolled into one delicious course of great songs, with flavours from blackened chills to epochal expanse and surprising Pop moments.
Not that I had done much homework about this only show to attend at this time, but the band easily exceeded whatever expectation I had.
Not that I had done much homework about this only show to attend at this time, but the band easily exceeded whatever expectation I had.
CLASHBURN:
My original plan told me to leave early and watch Blackwater Holylight in The Terminal next, but after sleeping in with a cramp in my leg the previous night, I was determined not to overpace myself again and thus to keep the day as stress-free as possible, so I scrapped their show completely. With a long break right now I could ensure to really get my prefered spot at what I considered my personal main event of the whole shebang this year.
As for the rest of the day, there were many strong performances I already knew I would miss, like the return of Roadburn's first Hip Hop act Dälek, the "Future" show of Acid Mothers Temple or once again Ragnarök Trio, this time extended to a sextet for the traditional Heavy Jam in the Paradox.
The "secret" programme with shortly announced shows by not only Terzij De Horde and Heath in the Ladybird Skatepark, but also Agriculture in the Hall of Fame was very tempting, but just didn't fit into the schedule I was already content with.
As for the rest of the day, there were many strong performances I already knew I would miss, like the return of Roadburn's first Hip Hop act Dälek, the "Future" show of Acid Mothers Temple or once again Ragnarök Trio, this time extended to a sextet for the traditional Heavy Jam in the Paradox.
The "secret" programme with shortly announced shows by not only Terzij De Horde and Heath in the Ladybird Skatepark, but also Agriculture in the Hall of Fame was very tempting, but just didn't fit into the schedule I was already content with.
After one of my most unforgettably intense Roadburn experiences in the Hall of Fame 2023 and the mesmerizing grand piano performance of her album "True Faith Ain't Blind" last year Triennium Artist in Residence Otay:onii brought a full band onto the Main Stage for an ambitious commissioned show called "Moonstruck Old Tales", in which she reimagined six Chinese lullabies in a wild creative firestorm of muscial extremes and breathtaking vocal performances.
With one guy on computer, guitar player and drummer, who I both recognized from a crushing performance of their Berlin-based Metal band Aptera at Esbjerg Fuzztival in Denmark and herself also on keytar and the hulusi, a Chinese cucurbit flute, the show went from moments of Folk and sweet childhood memories to existential horror, from mr.bunglishly overacted happiness to Electronics and raging Extreme Metal furor.
And then there was of course that oustanding otherworldly occurrence, which in re-narration sounds like the ultimate yes-sure-that-happened-at-Roadburn moment, when Lane Shi hovered towards the ceiling of the huge stage and brought down the moon, which waited there for her. Back down again she splintered it into thousand pieces with a knife and then went down to the audience to give them away.
Since I had only briefly overflown the show's programme, which had been handed out earlier and described the concept and all songs, I wasn't spoilered and only then realized that this moon was actually made out of candy! So while the music turned from dark and eery to playful and light I was eating a sweet chunk of celestial body and it was all part of the experience, elevating it to new blissful heights!
If this wasn't art - then what even is? I already can't wait to see what Otay:onii will have in store for us next year as the final performance of her three-year residency! The bar - once again - is set incredibly high.
With one guy on computer, guitar player and drummer, who I both recognized from a crushing performance of their Berlin-based Metal band Aptera at Esbjerg Fuzztival in Denmark and herself also on keytar and the hulusi, a Chinese cucurbit flute, the show went from moments of Folk and sweet childhood memories to existential horror, from mr.bunglishly overacted happiness to Electronics and raging Extreme Metal furor.
And then there was of course that oustanding otherworldly occurrence, which in re-narration sounds like the ultimate yes-sure-that-happened-at-Roadburn moment, when Lane Shi hovered towards the ceiling of the huge stage and brought down the moon, which waited there for her. Back down again she splintered it into thousand pieces with a knife and then went down to the audience to give them away.
Since I had only briefly overflown the show's programme, which had been handed out earlier and described the concept and all songs, I wasn't spoilered and only then realized that this moon was actually made out of candy! So while the music turned from dark and eery to playful and light I was eating a sweet chunk of celestial body and it was all part of the experience, elevating it to new blissful heights!
If this wasn't art - then what even is? I already can't wait to see what Otay:onii will have in store for us next year as the final performance of her three-year residency! The bar - once again - is set incredibly high.
After the Main Stage spectacle Róis on the Next Stage was a good choice to continue without a too radical shift, because the Irish singer also had a remarkable gift of heartfelt and passionately interpreting Folk music, even though it came from a completely different cultural context and was embedded in a different electro-acoustic musical setting. The primal emotional core however seemed very related, as if there was a common ground that holds all sincere artistic expression together - which also is kind of a Roadburn-in-a-nushell thought.
Accompanied only by herself on keys and a drummer, Róis performed droning and sparsely arranged laments and dirges, but also surpringly danceable tracks. A strangely wonderful collison of Irish tradition and Alternative Electronic modernity.
Accompanied only by herself on keys and a drummer, Róis performed droning and sparsely arranged laments and dirges, but also surpringly danceable tracks. A strangely wonderful collison of Irish tradition and Alternative Electronic modernity.
Ever since Roadburn ditched the Cul de Sac as official stage and split into the two main hubs around the 013 and Koepelhal the "Weirdo Canyon", as the smal pub street Korte Heuvel was dubbed, has become less swarmed with festival-goers, who are mostly gathering at other places now.
Roadburn was still present in several Offroad activities though - and the show of Taupe on the tiny stage of the cozy little Kafee 't Buitenbeentje was one I didn't want to miss.
Three guys from Glasgow on saxophone, drums and guitar delivered an awesome, metrically completely mad mixture of improvised Heavy Jazz and totally not improvised Math Rock and Noise - but you never really knew when one was turning into the other.
When I had looked up Taupe shortly before the festival I knew that this was the kind of shit I needed to witness in a small room, blown directly into my face. And yes, that was so much the case. After only half an hour the fun was already over, but hey, some things are best delivered short and sweet!
Later I met people who weren't even aware of the whole official inoffical Offroad programme existing at all, and I'm so glad I was in the know, because if we're talking about leaving Roadburn with a bag of new favorite bands, Taupe definitely were in there.
Roadburn was still present in several Offroad activities though - and the show of Taupe on the tiny stage of the cozy little Kafee 't Buitenbeentje was one I didn't want to miss.
Three guys from Glasgow on saxophone, drums and guitar delivered an awesome, metrically completely mad mixture of improvised Heavy Jazz and totally not improvised Math Rock and Noise - but you never really knew when one was turning into the other.
When I had looked up Taupe shortly before the festival I knew that this was the kind of shit I needed to witness in a small room, blown directly into my face. And yes, that was so much the case. After only half an hour the fun was already over, but hey, some things are best delivered short and sweet!
Later I met people who weren't even aware of the whole official inoffical Offroad programme existing at all, and I'm so glad I was in the know, because if we're talking about leaving Roadburn with a bag of new favorite bands, Taupe definitely were in there.
From the tiny bar back to the Main Stage!
I have a luxury problem with Boris and it's called A Colossal Weekend 2023. Because that Heavy Rocks show in Copenhagen - as a quartet with drummer Atsuo as charismatic frontman and that special spark of magical electricity in the air - was so out of this world, one of the most transcendent Rock'n'Roll trips I have ever seen, that well... I'm just not confident any other show of them could possible excite me as much - unless it would explore a different side of them, like full-on Drone or Shoegaze.
But this was definitely a Rock / Metal show. As a trio and more of the Noise, Garage and Sludge kind that informed the era around their twenty years old classic "Pink", which was officially in focus here. Similarly heavy Rock'n'Roll stuff, but in a different flavour. So I automatically had to compare it to my previous experience and yes, it was pretty cool, but just far from Colossal cool.
Consequently, while I still would have loved to stay until the end, I also didn't have the hardest time cutting Boris' show short. Because next up I had an appointment at the Paradox and this time I was going to be early enough to get a front seat...
I have a luxury problem with Boris and it's called A Colossal Weekend 2023. Because that Heavy Rocks show in Copenhagen - as a quartet with drummer Atsuo as charismatic frontman and that special spark of magical electricity in the air - was so out of this world, one of the most transcendent Rock'n'Roll trips I have ever seen, that well... I'm just not confident any other show of them could possible excite me as much - unless it would explore a different side of them, like full-on Drone or Shoegaze.
But this was definitely a Rock / Metal show. As a trio and more of the Noise, Garage and Sludge kind that informed the era around their twenty years old classic "Pink", which was officially in focus here. Similarly heavy Rock'n'Roll stuff, but in a different flavour. So I automatically had to compare it to my previous experience and yes, it was pretty cool, but just far from Colossal cool.
Consequently, while I still would have loved to stay until the end, I also didn't have the hardest time cutting Boris' show short. Because next up I had an appointment at the Paradox and this time I was going to be early enough to get a front seat...
... It worked! I probably could have arrived at the Jazz club twenty minutes later and it still would have been ok. But you'll never know - and I really didn't want to stand for two and a half hours (including waiting) again, like I did for Zu the other day.
So of course the pendulum had to swing to the other extreme tonight, with me getting a bit too comfortable in my chair. But at least that's actually not a bad thing, because slightly drifting in and out of sleep while being bombarded with musical insanity can have quite an intensifying effect on the perception of a performance. I've had experienced this phenomenon before in previous years (thinking of Zaäar or Martina Verhoeven Quintet) and I actually welcome it.
The rotory speaker Hammond organ / electric bass and drums trio Steamboat Switzerland - please don't ask from which country they come! - undoubtly delivered the ideal amount of absolute craziness to meet my level of exhaustion at the right spot. Similar to Zu they played one of the longest shows of the festival, but it was like one mammoth composition, full of unpredictable turns between weirdest Prog Rock, noisy Experimental shenanigans, Jazz, Metal and who knows what other kinds of genre-bending sonic circus. On some occasions organ player Dominik Blum also sang, either growling or belting in classic Heavy Metal style. What exactly all this was - or why it was... I don't think anyone's even supposed to know that. I absolutely loved it, that's all that matters. I only was a little bit confused when the thing was suddenly over, because at that point I had completely lost any track of time.
So of course the pendulum had to swing to the other extreme tonight, with me getting a bit too comfortable in my chair. But at least that's actually not a bad thing, because slightly drifting in and out of sleep while being bombarded with musical insanity can have quite an intensifying effect on the perception of a performance. I've had experienced this phenomenon before in previous years (thinking of Zaäar or Martina Verhoeven Quintet) and I actually welcome it.
The rotory speaker Hammond organ / electric bass and drums trio Steamboat Switzerland - please don't ask from which country they come! - undoubtly delivered the ideal amount of absolute craziness to meet my level of exhaustion at the right spot. Similar to Zu they played one of the longest shows of the festival, but it was like one mammoth composition, full of unpredictable turns between weirdest Prog Rock, noisy Experimental shenanigans, Jazz, Metal and who knows what other kinds of genre-bending sonic circus. On some occasions organ player Dominik Blum also sang, either growling or belting in classic Heavy Metal style. What exactly all this was - or why it was... I don't think anyone's even supposed to know that. I absolutely loved it, that's all that matters. I only was a little bit confused when the thing was suddenly over, because at that point I had completely lost any track of time.
Ha! Got you! Clickbait achieved. Because how could I have seen Oathbreaker when Steamboat Switzerland were performing at the same time?
I surely didn't plan to see the full performance of "Rheia", because it felt somehow backwards and too nostalgic to watch an album show that I'd already been to ten years ago. But I actually felt pretty rested and refreshed after the Paradox show and must have moved quickly, so I arrived at the 013 so early that I unexpectedly saw the last act of Oathbreaker's performance with the atmospheric finale "Begeerte" - and maybe also a bit of "Where I Leave" before that... I cannot completely recall.
It probably wasn't by far enough to seriously review the show, but it sufficed to hear that both the reunited band's Post Black Metal sound and the incredible emotional power in singer Caro Tanghe's voice seemed to just have skipped the last decade. This performance surely must have been at least as mesmerizing as back then.
I surely didn't plan to see the full performance of "Rheia", because it felt somehow backwards and too nostalgic to watch an album show that I'd already been to ten years ago. But I actually felt pretty rested and refreshed after the Paradox show and must have moved quickly, so I arrived at the 013 so early that I unexpectedly saw the last act of Oathbreaker's performance with the atmospheric finale "Begeerte" - and maybe also a bit of "Where I Leave" before that... I cannot completely recall.
It probably wasn't by far enough to seriously review the show, but it sufficed to hear that both the reunited band's Post Black Metal sound and the incredible emotional power in singer Caro Tanghe's voice seemed to just have skipped the last decade. This performance surely must have been at least as mesmerizing as back then.
My last show of the night was Slift being Slift. If you're sensitive to flashing lights and immune to the allure of rabid Heavy Psychedelic Rock at permanent full throttle, then the French trio isn't for you.
For everyone else their warp eleven space flight through deadly asteroid fields and treacherous nebulas, in pursuit of comet tails and surfing on the edge of the event horizon must have been a hyper-energetic blast. Well, at least it absolutely was for me! These guys just always deliver a supernova of groove, noisy Kraut excess and hypnotic overdrive. The perfect way to end a fantastic day with a capitalized BANG!
For everyone else their warp eleven space flight through deadly asteroid fields and treacherous nebulas, in pursuit of comet tails and surfing on the edge of the event horizon must have been a hyper-energetic blast. Well, at least it absolutely was for me! These guys just always deliver a supernova of groove, noisy Kraut excess and hypnotic overdrive. The perfect way to end a fantastic day with a capitalized BANG!
reviews of the other festival days:
ROADBURN FESTIVAL 2026 • THE SPARK: Wednesday, April 15th
- The Bad Bird Catches The Spark -
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