Opeth & Voivod - Sala Tejo Attice Arena, Lisboa 26 November 2022

Opeth celebrating 30 Years of existence and touring their whole discography. Online fans had the chance to vote for one song from each album and the most voted songs would be played on this short tour.  Last weekend they played a double in Utrecht but I was in Portugal and opted for Lisboa.

Before I start about the concert a small rant as the performance of the combi Attice Arena / FNAC was far under par. No worries as when I get to the musical part things did and will improve dramatically. A few weeks ago I decided I would attend this show and tried to get a ticket online directly froom the venue. Well that worked until hitting the payment bottom. Than I realized that FNAC also sells tickets for events and shows in Attice Arena are among them. So I bought my ticket and got my email with two attachments and the explanation I needed to either print the attachment or show it on my phone. On the day itself the time schedule was never shared with us by the venue. So by phone we were informed through a ticket seller that the doors would open at 20:00 and show starting at 21:00. I told Josie I doubted that and asked Attice Arena by email for a time schedule, also looking at last metros home. So I went early and arrived around 19:35 at the veue. A queue was formed and people were already entering the venue. When it was my turn it turned out I printed an invoice. I showed on my phone the email with the two attachements and instructions, but guards were not impressed with me coming over from Holland to see this and told me it was an invoice I had, not a ticket. So I received two invoices. One being called Final Invoice and the other one invoice and ticket holding a QR code. Why would I need two invoices and one with a QR code FFS. So I was told to pass by the FNAC store in the shopping mall next to the venue and sort my ticket. Arriving at FNAC I told my story as friendly as I could, since I knew Voivod would start before 21:00. The girl at the desk however told me that I bought online and the store could not help. I should ask for help by email. I told her she worked for the same foking shop, so they should sort it and fast. Well I spoke over the phone with FNAC helpdesk and found your IQ should be below 80 to get a job there. I was getting slightly pissed off with everything Portugal and asked Josie to call the same guy as she was less emotional on the topic. Nothing sorted I returned to the venue, just giving it another shot after wasting far too much time at shithole FNAC. Suddenly the queue got really long as apparently most people were not bothered with the support band. I never get that attitude and when the support is Voivod I even think people should look for help when snobbing the support. Then again, maybe these people  only followed the official timing and matters were supposed to start at 21:00 hrs. Now being close to nine it was my turn and again I could not get in. Turned out that meanwhile I was not the only one with this problem, so I was direcetd to a guy from the venue who would call FNAC with my order number. End good all good, well not really. In Portugal they still seem to think  that metal fans are violent, so the police were hired to check all at security. Losing some more minutes I finally got into the venue, knowing I missed most of the Voivod show.  

Voivod 

Can I write something of a show that I missed for the bigger part? Well what I saw sounded and looked great. Planet Eaters came first and only Fix My Heart and Astronomy Domine would follow. I felt sorry for myself and downed a few beers to get into the mood. Seeing Voivod end on a high before an enthusiastic participating audience did help me feeling better. Beers at 3.00 Euros were pricy for Portugal and the second one costing  3,50 made me frown. Turns out cups are returnable and cost 50 cents, while the first guy probably did not feel like expalining that to a gringo. Meanwhile Magchiel sent me an app that Messi was playing with a save the planet armband while playing in an airconditioned stadium. The band should read fok Qatar 2022,but I'm drifting off while just getting more positive.

Opeth

After an intermezzo filled with calm music and no metal Opeth came on at 21:45 in an almost sold out (my guess) Sala Tejo. This hall is part of Attice Arena where the main hall can hold some 12.000, the smaller Sala Tejo holds 4.000 people. Those who came were in the mood tonight as the Opeth chant between songs came back often and also the whole career seemed to be appreciated. Opeth would play one song of all their albums and just the start with Ghost of Perdition made all realize we would be in for a treat. Sound, Light, dry humored intermezzos and the setlist were a joy from start to finish, making this one of the best shows I attended this year. As a highlight you can not pass the epic twenty minute Black Rose Immortal. It almost made me buy the White Morningrise T-shirt, but my size was sold out on the last date of the tour. I was somewhat surprised that from their classic Blackwater Park the song Harest was played, but my favorite Still Life was represented by The Moor in superb style. The mix of Blackish Death starts to progrock current times worked wonderful and it showed how Opeth changed over time., but manages to stay at top levels. Even the disappointing album Hertiga passed the test as The Devil's Orchard was played. This was one fine evening of everything Opeth indeed and I hope Mikale Akerfeldt soon catches up with Steven Wilson again. Tell him how to make a setlist, as where Porcupie Tree were Beautiful but a bit cold, Opeth did touch on emotions for everyone in, no matter your favorite period in their career. They even found time fo rtwo covers on this long night. Napalm Death's You Suffer twice gave us an extra 20 seconds. Opeth even managed to make me forget the amateuristic start of the evening and I will go see them again on the next tour. Voivod I definitely want to see soon again as well, so two out of two make up for one fine evening.

Porcupine Tree - Ziggo Dome Amsterdam, 7 November 2022

Porcupine Tree are back, announcing a tour and a new album. When that news hit us over a year ago I was excited. After all Porcupine Tree was always a guarantee for class and in the end I did not see them playing live that often. To set the ballpark here's my history with the band. I heard of them very early and even tipped friends to not miss them at Vlietpop 1994, when I was at Roskilde. The first album I bought was either Coma Divine or the Sky Moves Sideways. Then my personal best phase of their career started with Stupid Dream, Lightbulb Sun and In Absentia. Hereafter they turned slowly a bit heavier but I had other bands to cover that corner. Even so, all albums remained very good. By this time the band also got more popular and their shows would sell out. Now I was travelling unpredictably for work those days, which made me stop buying tickets way in advance. Result I missed out on their later tours. Maybe their last show I attended was the Ligtbulb Sun tour at Bospop 2001. So yes I wanted   to see Porcupine Tree live on stage once more. As a final reference I did a ranking on Porcupine Tree as well last year (the only rankings that do matter and help you to be properly introduced to a band) My top three was at the time 1. Stupid Dream 2. The Sky Moves Sideways 3. In Absentia

So when 7 November came I was pleased to go to Amsterdam's Ziggo Dome for the very first time. After all which bands that I love can fill a hall this size? Porcupine Tree can and in a way that is weird. They could not so before they went on hiatus. Steven Wilson mentioned this fact and I guess he counts his blessings that the band got cult and grew bigger in absentia. Already at entering the Ziggo Dome I bumped into the first ProgPower regulars, who turned out to be in by large numbers this evening. So my smalltalks before the show and at the break were covered. Now while waiting the Ziggo Dome slowly got busier and I found in the end it all being a bit too much. Not that with my height I have sight issues of the stage, but walking around freely was impossible and during both sets I saw a fainted person being dragged out. I realized again why I like small venues so much better.  

In the end I was here for the music, so what about that? Starting with a positive the band had asked to not film or photograph anything during the show. Being the law abiding citizen myself the picture above shows what I shot. Interested in pictures? go buy yourself the DVD that was shot this evening. I noticed it was a relief to see a band opening a set, without the annoying lights of hundreds of telephones filming. Pity I did not take lots of pictures as the stage and movies were astonishing throughout. The band itself was in topform as well. I forgot the names of the new band members, but they did a fine job and the old trio were as if they never stopped playing together. So yes I do understand the general comments on how awesome this show was throughout the tour and Porcupine Tree are defintely back at their peak.

But I can't stop here as I am from The Hague the capitol of complaining. The setlist was (very) disappointing to me. I do understand that when you play for 3 hours your latest album of 48 minutes will be fully included. Problem is that it holds some songs that are just not all that good. For me Harridan, Dignity and Herd Culling were valuable additions to the live set, with great movies to accompany them. The other four songs not so much and Walk the Plank on CD is bad, live it did not get much better with all the electronics. The only thing to do during that song really was watching and listening to Gavin Harrison on drums, a joy in itself as what a beast/machine he is. The remainder of the set was basically build around In Absentia and Fear of a Blank Planet. my number 3 and 4 of the already mentioned ranking, but there is more to the band than those two albums. When Steven Wilson at a certain moment said that they would play a really old song as they came for years to Holland I was hoping for a Dislocated Day or Radioactive Toy for instance. They played Last chance from Lightbulb Sun. On a discography of now 11 albums, your sixth album is not very old Mr. Wilson. So the psychedelic years were fully snubbed and my beloved Stupid Dream only had Evenless played. Well at least that meant they played their best song ever. A further note was that when the mood went up by a heavier song a ballad like calm song would always follow. Best example hear was Fear of a Blank Planet, which was amazing. Why not make it a run of four upbeat songs in a row?

So maybe it seems I was disappointed in the evening, which I was not. Fact is that I would have loved it when Porcupine Tree would have done an Opeth, meaning playing at least one song of all your albums. Now being back after so many years they ignored a large chunk of their own discography which I love too. Well that is for next time and if in Ziggo Dome again I take a seat said the old man.

Brainstorm Festival - Gigant Apeldoorn, 4&5 November 2022

Brainstorm Festival celebrated this year 15 years of existence. I only had been twice before for one day (Fleshkiller day plus In Mourning/Darkwater day), but the line-up for 2022 showed on both days two bands I definitely wanted to see, so a weekend ticket with hotel was booked.Now Brainstorm is different from most festivals as the binding factor is not a specific musical genre.  A a result of this factor, it is not likely that you like all bands very much, but as mentioned before for me there were plenty of reasons to attend both days.This meant that I was not walking around Holland Heavy Festival, with old skool Dutch HM bands, nor in Baroeg for some Dutch Doom Days. Gigant it was and after struggling with the complicated garderobe system for some 28 minutes I was ready for the first bands, IPA in hand.

Vetrar Daugurinn had the honour to open the festival. This band plays doom, with female vocals. The latter not always being my thing this mix worked OK. I saw them before and if around I would go see them again in two weeks time in Musicon. Just for a good night out meeting some friends and having decent music to join you. Not shocking for me, but a welcome opener, but why such a hard to remember band name?

Next on were Wytch Hazel the first band that made me take a train to Apeldoorn. Now I had some personal issues as when the show started I got a message from Josie informing that all who we met for lunch a week before and herself were suffering from Covid. So I was worried about spreading the disease, did not shout along and left after they finished soon to find myself a self-test at AH and call Josie. She only had a cold, not positive and my test was negative as well. So resuming not ideal circumstances to get into the mood and I watched from a distance. I have one of their albums on CD and pretty much like their Thin Lizzy inspired seventies hardrock. Live these men in medieval white lacked some balls for me, but maybe also due to distance issues. They might like balls, they did not lack religion as lyrics, crosses and open hands were pretty much around. Now I am a strong believer in science, but for me music is always about the music itself. So nothing offputting here. I mean noone takes the dragons in Powermetal, or the devils in black metal very serious either (I hope). Resuming I need to give Wytch Hazel another fair chance when timing is better.

After my rush to supermarket, selftest, negative in hotel room and return I arrived just in time to pick up the early songs of Signum Regis, from Slovakia this time. They play Power Metal and trying to stay away from cliches in Power Metal is a near impossible task. Signum Regis showed some classical poses, but headed by a masterful guitar they gave us a good set, which I pretty much enjoyed. Not so much that I rushed out getting their CD's, but entertaining they were and rather popular as well with the crowd. Talking about the crowd, there was something different from most metal shows I attend, but hard to put your finger on. Maybe the God's Squad patches were part of it, but overall this festival shows that metal is for all and everyone.

Than the Friday came to an end with the first total highlight of the weekend Scar Symmetry. The band with the two vocalists, two guitarists, one drummer and no bassist gave us a show to remember. Even if you are not into their melodic death metal, you must love the enthusiasm and top quality of their show. I do like their music as well and managed to miss them so far live at PPE or Patronaat. So I was blown away by the lively presentation, where the clean vocals seemd to be coming from Jeff Scott Soto's twin brother. As hectic as both vocalists might be, the true star of the band is Per Nilsson. Why is ths man not often quoted among the world's guitar heroes? Actually second guitars by Ben Ellis were almost as good. This band made the day, if not the festival and were a joy from start to finish. After they finished I shared some beers with Jean Paul and his friend (whose name I never asked, shame on me) until the bar closed at 01:00 and a very good Friday evening came to an end. 

Saturday morning meant waking up in Hotel de Paris. I could not get a very late check-out as a certain Ron and Astrid were on their way to Apeldoorn, taking over my room. They would come for the Saturday only, like many people I know based upon two bands. Iotunn and Swallow the Sun. Before these two would prove us right, first other bands would come. Sáwol from Finland being the first. They only got some 30 minutes, but their doom/death was welcome to my ears. The vocalist proved the clichee that Fins are more at ease playing music than talking, but they were pleased to play for us. And I was pleased to hear them. So one fine start of the Saturday.

Next on were Fallen Sanctuary an Italian/Austrian band with Georg Neuhauser from Serenity fame on vocals. Now I am not Serenity's biggest fan and it turned out nor will I be Fallen Sanctuary's one. Their Power Metal was to me formualic and did not do much for me. A plus was that  they lived by the rule that God does not approve of cheating, so backing vocals were actually sung and not from tape (unlike several other bands this weekend). Result was that it was not always pure, but it was honest.  Now that I found that I was not so impressed with Fallen Sanctuary I realized gaps in the program appeared  as Fallen Sanctuary would be back for an interview first ad later an acoustic slot in the Theater.

While the theater was discussing 15 years of Brainstorm the hall was starting to buzz. After all Iotunn would be on next and those who saw them at ProgPower this year knew we would be in for a treat. And so we were! Moving most upfront for the weekend I found my spot close to the stage and let Iotunn blow me off my socks. As they had a slightly shorter slot than PPE, they played their full album minus one song this time. And yes they did keep the high level of performance we now seem to be getting from them always. If you like their album, you simply must love their show. I can only hope the world sees what I see and Iotunn will keep on rising to great heights. Their music is for many and their performance is ace, so bring on that new album and conquer continents. This time I also was so smart  picking up my XXL tee upon arrival, going for the longsleeve in the end, as by now the weather turned shitty in Holland. I just saw a picture of the band with the crowd after their set. I turned into avatar/smurf on that one beautifully covered in blue stage light. 

Next on would be an unknown band to me in Sleeping Romance. So with Willem, Ron and Astrid we decided on a proper dinner break outside, since we were not in for elephant burgers. This meant I only saw the last two songs of the band with the weird name. Some words describing the band: Power Metal, Italian, Female vocals. This meant they would be fighting an uphill battle to win me over. I did see an enthusiastic hall, but this style of music is not for me to go wild on. 

My closing band for the weekend would be on next and a guarantee for success: Swallow the Sun. Their latest album Moonflowers is another masterclass in melancholy and several songs would pass by tonight. Swallow the Sun are not here to go wild on stage, but to present us dark and moody metal of teh highest class. Almost all of them hooded on stage their doom ruled over de Gigant. Obviously a band of topclass it was impossible not to be impressed by their performance. For me a great way to end one fine weekend in Apeldoorn. Firewind woud still be coming on, but as I saw them a few monmonths ago at Dynamo and the train home would be long I called it a weekend. Meeting several friends over the days, enjoying many good shows and one fine atmosphere throughout the weekend proved that my choice for Brainstorm this weekend was the right one. After a short scare even the Duvel got back on tap to make Ron happy, while I liked my Brand double bockies. So beer and metal and for some a bit of religion were a fine combination indeed.