Iotunn, In Vain and Nephylim - De Helling Utrecht, 24 April 2026

Iotunn on their first headliner tour and I knew I needed to be there. Iotunn ruled over ProgPower and Brainstorm in the past. Last year they opened for Dark Tranquility/Soen and were amazing again, but their 30 minute slot was way too short. So now they were headlining and I was pleasantly surprised to see they sold out de Helling. On paper that was nice in reality a bit too packed, so de Helling should reduce their sold out numbers. If they than also sell expensive beers, have uncomfortable toilets with strange queues and what's worse not a perfect sound it is clear that de Helling did not move up in my favourite venue list. Well it was not all that bad, the company was nice and the sun shone along Utrecht's canals on our way to the venue. In the end it is all about the music and we got a treat tonight.

Openers were from Holland with Brabant's Nephylim, winners of the Dutch Metal Battle. Well from Den Bosch they might be on bass a guy I knew from The Hague's Defazer and Celesterre was the first thing I noticed. The band were great and especially the guitars sounded tasty. They play Melodic Death Metal with a vocalist going for brutal grunt most of the time. Some good songs and a nice opener for what was to come thereafter.

In Vain from Norway came next. I only hold one of their albums Currents and wondered why afterwards. Probably because I never saw them playing live before. This was one great set with various styles visited along the journey. The Norwegian sung song about the sea almost turned folky, while in general they were more extreme with a fair amount of good clean vocals blended in. The album I did know was represented by two great songs Seekers of Truth and Blood We Shed. During the last song the band almost went Eurovision with the waving arms, but an extreme outburst saved us from that feeling. The overall show made me fan of the band an any next album by them I shall pick up on CD. 

And than it was up to Iotunn to close this Friday (not Saturday) evening. Not a miserabe 30 minutes like last time in Utrecht, but a full 90 minute show. 90 minutes in their case meant nine songs, so those in a rush for short poppy songs were not in the right place. The base was around their second album Kinship, but luckily Access All Worlds was not forgotten either. They did play my favourite song of both albums. Kinship Elegiac is probably the most dramatic heavy break-up song of the last decade and The Tower of Cosmic Nihility always remains in their setlist I guess. Overall I had no complaints about the choice of songs anyway. The only downer of the set was that the sound was not very well balanced, with the drums too loud on the foreground. A pity when the two guitars are throwing amazing  solos at you all the time. It did not reach the point where it spoiled my evening, but it could have been even better.  I was surprised to see this package sold out in the first place, so maybe there is still hope for good music. The tour ends this weekend, but if you have the chance still go and see them, all three bands worthwhile of your trip.

Hardline & Sevi - Boerderij Zoetermeer, 18 April 2026

Tonight the choice was between some top class melodic hard rock or djenty progmetal during Stichting Huaaargh's second show. After some listening to both options I decided that Hardline would be more up my alley musically and I supported Huaaaargh by buying a ticket, but my physical presence surely was sorely missed. Hardline is among those bands that I know, but where I have to think: Do I own any CD by them? Turned out I do not (well corrected that last night). In 1992 the band released their debut album Double Eclipse. Vocalist Johnny Gioeli was joined by his brother Joey on guitars and Tod Jensen on bass. What made the band famous was the Journey duo Neal Schon and Deen Castranova also joining the band. Their music was a heavier version of Journey with some nods too hair metal. Even not owning that CD I did recognize several songs of that album, especially their "hit" Hot Cherie. Nowadays only Johnny is still in the band, and they are Italian, being it American or Italian born.

Before Hardline would come on, we were warmed up by Sevi from Bulgaria. Now I had never heard of that band before, but they are called after vocalist Svetlana Sevi Bliznakova. When they played it seemed logical the band was called after her, as she was very present all over the stage. A very good voice she has and the music was ok. Maybe the songs lacked a bit of character for me. The guitarist was a hired hand as he met the band only two days before with no time to rehearse. Well to me not knowing the band it sounded like he was a long time member. On Keyboards they were not so lucky, They were at times prominent in the mix, but on stage the keyboads were there, but nooone behind them. All together a nice warm-up show it was.

Discussing KIT and why I could not go this year at the break it was 21:45 when Hardline hit the stage. If anything was clear from the first seconds it must have been that Johnny Gioeli is a great frontman. Totally at ease he ruled the stage and his voice was outstanding. The whole band were in top form and when guitars do get emotional during ballad solos, these same ballads get a lot better. In general the tempo was more on the up and the setlist was build mainly around Double Eclipse with some new songs from recent album Shout blended in plus a few. I did get Shout after the show, but should get Double Eclipse too one day, as it is a classic. The band were enjoying themselves on stage and so was the audience. A decent turnout by te way, with even the balcony opened for the band. Somewhere halfway the set Johnny said that tonight was about having a good time with rock and roll and forget all the craziness outside these walls. That was exactly the feeling we had. Such an uplifting set they played the mood was accordingly. One of 2026's highlights for sure. So my choice of gig tonight was right, as you don't get these kind of presentation during a prog affair. Go see Hardline if you can, today they play het Bolwerk in Sneek.

Year of the Goat & Firmament - Musicon The Hague, 6 April 2026

An afternoon of retro occult hard rcok, what's not to like? Well obviously most people preferred this sunny afternoon a visit to the beach or seeing ADO Den Haag becoming champion as it was far from packed in Musicon. I did not know either band in advance, but agreed to reopen our HM B&B for the headliners. Looking at their next show being in München today I was prepared for a 05:30 alarm to send the band off latest 6:30. Well apparently also the band studied the map, so they annouced upon arrival no longer needing a place to sleep. No issues as bread and cheese stay ok for a while and beds can be unmade. So now I just headed for an afternoon of rock to Musicon. Almost I did not make it as while passing the cemetery en route a car  turned right, without paying attention to me. I could not get angry as you have to feel sorry for those heading to cemeteries at easter under the motto "who knows he or she comes back, it won't be the first time". Anyway I arrived in an empty Musicon on time and would spend a pleasant afternoon in the company of Frank (Festerfest survived) and Laurie.

First band on were Firmament from Germany. They looked like a seventies rock band and did honour their looks. Actually they were a very pleasant surprise. Their hard rock was played energetically and the performances by all were solid. Good enough for me to buy a CD later on in appreciation.

Headliners Year of the Goat are from Sweden. The band were founded already 20 years ago and released four albums so far. This tour was in support of their last album Trivia Goddess. That one received positive critics in magazines, but did not result in many people being aware of them and showing up. Well as so often happens, those staying at home lost out as we got a very nice show by this big band. Big as in seven people on Musicon stage makes you think the new Baroeg is more comfortable stagewise. Still not fully crammed on stage there was space to move and three guitars always promise walls of guitar. As I did not know the band I was surprised to see inbetween song banter and vocals coming most from the man at the back behiind the keyboards. In reality only the bassist and drummer were not allowed to sing, all other five members at times sung along.  If you than add the songs being varied and good and we had one fine afternoon show. Also for me reason to pick up their latest album and Triva Goddess playing now sounds nice enough.  So in the end we got two good bands this afternoon and those who were in loudly showed their appreciation. My next show in Musicon is probably The Hague Death Fest, when more people are supposed to find their way back home. Jag pratar inter svenska, but I learned from Mikael afterwards that my Tröjan T-shirt to them did not mean an English metal band, but actually the shirt. And the breakfast table: it stayed empty.

Festerfest - Baroeg Rotterdam, 5 April 2026

Festerfest in Baroeg. That means two good reasons for heading to Rotterdam today. Festerfest celebrating it's 10th and final version.  As if that is not enough Baroeg holding it's first try-out open to general public, which includes me. Two years after starting the demolishing and rebuilding Baroeg officially re-opens 25 April. I was very curious to see live what the new Baroeg looks like, instead of short movies on FB. Well I can say it looked all fine to me. Two bars, also one inside the hall is an improvement. The hall itself looks big and the stage is high and huge. Today the balcony remained closed, but new capacity is 500 people, which allows them to book bigger bands too. As it was a try-out comments are still welcome I guess. Well the beers in hard plastic cups were somewhat unfortunate when looking at size versus price. Further the price of 400 ml being the same as two times 200 ml is not how it is supposed to work. The garderobe is free and open, which I guess can be less comfortable when people buy vinyl and other merch. Cash is out, like many venues, but I don't like that. Enough complaints as both the building and  hall look very fine

Festerfest is the festival where genres mix and blend. This was edition 10 and over the years the festival travelled between Baroeg, Delft and Musicon. Last year was my first one as it was in Musicon. I loved the open-minded blending of styles and the number of bands I would not play that quick at home, but were live very nice. This year it turned out to be not very different.

Arriving around 16:15 I saw a part of the final song by a singer/songwriter. The entrance had DJ's inbetween, but I did not pass much time there. When I did a duo took experimenting very serious and send most people out for food. The first band I saw on the main stage were Headless Hunter. I saw them before and their Thrash Metal is closest to my comfort zone today. A nice show even if I thought drum and bass a bit loud compared with vocals and guitars.Next band Dutch doom band Akelei. They sing in Dutch and while they were with six and the stage was huge, their music was better than their static presentation. Day Drinker play punkrock in the vein of Dropkick Murphys. Typically one of them nice surprises on stage, while I don't need to get their CD. It was than when I started to feel an irritated ear, possibly also by putting earplugs in and out a lot. Those plugs needed to be in during Ontaard. The prize for vocalist that ruled the stage today went to them. The female vocalist spoke, shrieked and screamed to us. I liked the energy of this band as well as their show. Probably my surprise of the day. My final band of the day was a bit of Samavayo. These Germans play stoner rock and with good vocals to match. My ears told me I better got an earlier train, also as tomorrow Musicon awaits. So thanks to Frank for putting Festerfest together and congrats to all involved in Baroeg as it seems they will give us many nice evenings in years to come in this improved venue.

Triumpher & Scavenger - Sound Dog Breda, 29 March 2026

With the enormous amount of great bands around nowadays, I do miss many of them. So I only found out about Triumpher when they were announced for this afternoon. It took me one checking out on Youtube to realize that I would love to see this life. When I tipped Hans and Magchiel about this band, they went through the same process, so Sound Dog it was today. 

Arriving early I realized that the second time at Sound Dog for me, it turned out to be that venue where people going to KIT hang out. Well the bands had to do with that of course. Scavenger from Belgium opened this matinee show. I saw them some years ago at Little Devil, when they opened another MMM event. At the time I picked up their 1985 CD Battlefields. They play heavy metal rooted in the eighties. With their second coming they have Tine as vocalist who stays far from operatic screams luckily. The songs are mainly short and going down easy with some heads banging along. Nice opener they were.

Headliners Triumpher are from Greece and play Epic Heavy Metal. I decided to be one of their first reviews not mentioning that other band they sound alike a lot. Well the heavier faster version, where as I understood in the past even some black metal was blended in. At the merch stand only their last album was available on CD (well short as I bought the one but last) upon arrival). This meant that I have to shop online if I want to complete their discography. Straight from the start I could see and hear we were in for a great show. The vocals convinced from the start and the band were all great at their instruments. The songs bulldozered on steadily, even if the vocalist went back to his corner often.  A very good band who confirmed for me, that not only on album they are one of the hopes for Heavy Metal's future. And than it was suddenly over. A bit faster than most of us expected. But for me a nice first introduction to Triumpher with the happy bandname hymn: hate, fire, death, war, we are Triumpher.

Hyena & Neck Cemetery - Sound Dog Breda, 24 March 2026

Hyena opened last year the second day at Keep It True and that was one of the pleasant surprises to me. They play old skool Heavy Metal and they are from Peru. After that festival they already passed by in Breda, but I already left the country by then. So now they were back in Sound Dog and my chance to finally get to know this venue where many MMM shows take place lately. Well that was a nice introduction as I understood the stage had just been increased to higher levels and the venue looks very nice indeed in a half circle around the stage. Later it turned out that I would not only see Hyena again since KIT, also several people I met at KIT showed up, so it was a good evening on many levels.

The first band on the nicely decorated stage were Neck Cemetery from Germany making their debut on Dutch soil. They are from Köln, formed in 2018 and released two albums so far. Well the stage looked nice indeed and it turned out that Neck Cemetary took a lot of care about attributes and gimmicks. So we had a laugh when the vocalist was singing to the bloody head of a doll, or reading out some scrolls. Musically they were very eighties and of the straight forward kind. Nice enough to warm us up for Hyena, but for me no reason to run to the merch after their set. 

When Hyena came on matters would go to another level. I thought they were now even better than when I saw them last year. Still with only one full lenght under their belt most of About Rock and Roll was played.Difference was that I now knew the album. Halfway they treated us on Heavy Metal Mania, which was very nice. During the last ProgPower after party with metal Karaoke I asked for this song to give my special version, but it was not around. Enough reason to shout along this time. When all was over and I took out my earplugs, the band gave us another encore with Breaking the Law. I loved this evening of going back to the eighties, the company was nice, the beer was much fairer priced than last week in Paard and Sunday I'll be back for Triumpher. Thanks to Mario and all involved for this nostalgic metal night and those going to see Ellefson tonight enjoy.

Cryptic Shift - Exxul - Leatherhead - Mega Colossus - Ponte Del Diavolo - Primaluce - Vreid

Here are some of the highlights of 2026 so far. Well at least to me and I suggest you check them out.

Cryptic Shift - Overspace & Supertime

If there ever was an album that needs your full attention throughout to appreciate it, this must be the one. Almost 80 Minutes of technical death metal. And if the music was not tough enough, the lyrics while in English are very hard to follow too. Cryogenically Frozen and Stratocumulus Evergaol are only the first two songs and it doesn't get easier thereafter. While saying all that if you take your time preferably with headphones on you shall be rewarded. I was fully blown away after first listen and immediately ordered their first full length too. So many solo's make this album a joy and even theremin  is used. Definteliy not for always and everywhere, but if you have a spare 80 minutes, listening to this album is a nice way to spend them.

Exxûl - Sealed Into None

Exxûl are from Canada and they play epic doom metal, that reminds you more of Scandinavia. However, their songs are longer than your typical Swedish doomsters ranging from 8 till 14 minutes apart from a short instrumental opener. Vocals are important to me on this style of music and that is all fine with Stargazer taking care of the Chants of Foretold Doom. Some might know him better as Thomas Karam from the mighty Noor. Coming back to the album it is a highlight in this style of doom metal. Pity I can't read along with the purple on black printed lyrics in the booklet, which meant it took longer to grasp the full album. Now several spins further it is definitely one to go back to and hoping they come over one day (or play Montreal as a sort of pre-Progstorm party).

Leatherhead - Violent Horror Stories

Anyone missing the late eigties when speedmetal ruled? Here is your remedy Leatherhead from Greece. I already loved their self-titled debut album from 2024, but did not pick it up due to poor timing being abroad. This one might even be a notch better. Speed metal albums should not last forever and with 37.39 Leatherhead do it just right. This is an intense ride and many times Agent Steel springs to mind. Eight songs fly by and your neck hurts at the end, since not banging along is not an option. Another band I would love to see live on stage and I guess Sounddog would be the most obvious place for that.

Mega Colossus - Watch Out!

I posted quite a bit about Mega Colossus recently so a short recap only. Discovered them with their previous album Showdown, which became my album of the year 2024. Now they are back and toured this album around it's release. During their Musicon show the CD was not yet available but it arrived soon thereafter. And yes Mega Colossus did it again. This album is as good as Showdown. Seven very catchy melodic heavy metal songs of uplifting spirits. The perfect remedy for those suffering from current tough times. I so wish more people discover this band as they are great, on stage too as we saw in Musicon. Not the most renewing or challenging album, but for sure one I shall play most this year.

Ponte Del Diavolo - De Venom Natura

How nice is it to encounter bands that do not sound like a million others before them. Ponte Del Diavolo is named under black, doom, post-punk in reviews and probably there is a bit of all of it here. Even the seven songs itself on this album sound pretty diverse. Sung in Italian, English or both. The band has a female vocalist, who matches this diversity. I knew their debut in 2024 but did not pick it up. The band played The Netherlands already several times, but I never made it. Now I bought this album I also hope to attend Into the Void in September where this band together with Anciients justify the trip up north. A change of styles works well on the appetite, also in music.

Primaluce - Way of Perfection

Primaluce is a band/project based in Paris, build around Italian Stefano Primaluce. The number of releaes over the past few years is endless, but this is the frst full lenght I picked up. Well on bandcamp only, as I have not seen any physical releases. Primaluce play melodic progmetal and do so very well. What stands out is the extremely clear sound. Even on speakers of my phone the songs sound very good and what a voice. The first name as comparisson that came up with me is Enchant. That is the level of heaviness and musicality on display. A very well written album with as only flaw to me that it is too long. Not that any song sounds like a left-over but this style for me works best around 45 minutes and over 70 is somewhat long. Hope they become a touring band.

Vreid - The Skies Turn Black

Vreid play Blackmetal or Sognametal from their region. Now this might scare some people off, but that is not necessary as it is much more than that. There is lot to discover here and several styles are blended in with progressive parts and plain heavy metal. They even wrote music for Norwegian movie Kraken and that song is completely different. Not unlike the Loving the Dead where a female vocalist from Djerv guests. So variation is key and I wonder why I did not bump into them before as I love Borknagar. On King's Night Vreid play Leiden. I would not be surprised if Abbath and Hypocrisy suffer to top them. Well King's Night shall tell.