This year’s Brainstorm Festival was held 4 and 5 November in club Gigant in Apeldoorn (The Netherlands). With a great line-up with again allot of different kinds of metal. Besides international and national bands the festival again offers exposition, a small metal market and an alternative program in the theater of the club. It was the fourth year already for this festival and I attended every year.
Day 1
When we arrived Friday night the thrash-metal band from Holland named Portall was already playing. They sounded good but the songs didn’t keep me interested so I made a walk through the festival market. This year’s market was pretty big it was larger than the last years. Too bad I didn’t have a lot of money to spend.
After some nice talks it was already time for Sinbreed. I saw them at Metalfest some time ago before their debut cd was released. I loved the cd so I was eagerly waiting to see them again. So the time was now. They played a good set. Herbie’s voice was really good as always. They made some small mistakes but that is understandable not being a full-time band. Overall it was good performance.
Next to play the Nordic extreme metal band Drottnar. This band is always a great experience to watch and listen. They presented their new single from the forth coming album. The new songs sounded amazing and the show was really awesome!
The Wounded was next after Drottnar the difference couldn’t be bigger. Although I didn’t see the whole show they played a great set. I didn’t see the whole show because Frederik Ehmke from Sinbreed and Blind Guardian was giving a drumclinic in the Theater. He played some songs from different genres but at the end he played also some Sinbreed and Blind Guardian songs. Great clinic!
Right after the clinic Stream Of Passion began. Usually female fronted metal is not really my thing. But they were fun to watch. The sound was really good and they played really well. After them we went home. Burial Earth played the after party and I am sure they did a great job. But for us it was time to catch some sleep and make up for another festival day.
Day 2
The day started slow with doom metal band from Holland Akelei. They had a half hour to play which meant they only could play 3 songs. But they did a great job opening this day. Their atmospheric songs sung in Dutch where a great way to start this day.
Next band was Beyond The Dust. This djent influenced deathcore band from France was trying hard to get the party started. But it was early and their song material missed a little variation. But overall it was a decent and entertaining performance.
So after them Deadend in Venice was playing so after a couple of songs we decided to get some food. The songs I saw were decent but it couldn’t hold my interest and the female vocals weren’t that good.
Next the deathcore from In The Midst Of Lions. Their show was a lot of fun. Finally the moshpit came alive. Allot of people were screaming along and the band played really good and enjoyed it. They also played a cover from Seventh Star which had a good reception from the audience.
After a short break for an interview with War Of Ages, Darkwater played. The band performed pretty well. They made some small mistakes with the start of their last song. But singer Henrik Båth handled it well. Overall a really great set!
Immortal Souls came to promote their new cd IV: The Requiem for the Art of Death. They played a good set. Immortal Souls is always been a live band that plays their songs with no-nonsense but there was a little bit more interaction this time and the song where well executed. Good set!
When Becoming The Archetype started I was surprised with a different line-up. Singer and bassist Jason Wisdom was replaced and also a new drummer. (later I found out that it was Chris McCane who is the new permanent vocalist and the others were from The Overseer filling in) This really made a different feel for the band. At first I thought I was watching some kind of really good cover band. But later on I became more used to this fact and I enjoyed it more. Even through halfway the set the energy went a little bit down it was overall a decent set from this new era BtA.
Headliner War Of Ages was next and they did what was expected. They had the bassist from In the Midst Of Lions fill on bass. But he played really tight and it was not notable that he was filling in. They played a great set mostly focused on their last two albums. When they ended with All Consuming Fire the club exploded. The guitarists made a stage dive to crowdsurf and the pit was at his peak. It was a nice end of a great festival weekend! Until next year! The 5th Brainstorm Festival!
More pictures can be found HERE
