Jag Panzer, Riot City, Hellripper - Junkyard Dortmund, 30 July 2023

Summer is upon us (even if you would not tell). So for me that means looking for possibilities to create a Pedal to the Metal trip, where I cycle to a few metal shows in a row. After two succesfull years cycling through Brabant I was now interested in crossing borders. The show that I was most interested in was the Riot city & Hellripper package, but I could not find a second gig within cycling distance. Than suddenly Jag Panzer got added and I dare to say this was the best package of 2023 for anyone into eightes metal. Something for everyone with two young and upcoming soon to be headliners and one good ol ' US metal band. Than Ton got interested as well and unfortunatley Marko could not join due to family holidays. So pedal to the metal became a road trip and for reasons I do not know recall I decided to drive back home after the show.

Arriving early in Dortmund we could park the car close to the venue and have  alook around. Well that had all the looks of one great place for metal. Outside a bar, palmtrees, foodtruck and some tables with chairs. An outdoor stage was also available, so I guess they do festivals sometimes. That is no problem as there are no direct neighbours to complain about the sound. As we entered early we were friendly told the venue had not opened yet, so walking towards town for a bite and drink was the plan. Returning close to opening hours we saw many fans had arrived already and in Holland you don't find crowd this true and old skool in large numbers. Over the evening the place would fill almost completely and I guess some 300/400 people were in, but that is always impossible to guess right. This on a Sunday night, so thumbs up for Junkyard and German metal fans. Upon entering the venue the merch stands were immediately there. When the man selling (US band) Jag Panzer merch in Germany recognized both Ton and I independently we are making waves in Europe. Well not that much really as he also is Dutch, remembered Ton from Jag Panzer's Musicon gig a few years ago and I spoke with Paul in Lisbon when he toured around with Wilderun. 

Hellripper would open the party and did so with an overdoes of energy coming off the stage. I am late to the Hellripper party as only this year after reading positive reviews on their latest album and gig at Welcome to Hell I bought Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags. That album is among the ones I played most over the last months, but Hellripper has two more full lenghts and lots of splits/EP's/singles.  So I only recognized Goat Vomit Nightmare and the Nuckelavee (possibly the best speed metal song of 2023). That did not matter as the way Hellripper brought their blackened speedmetal to us was contagious resulting in an enthusiastic crowd and Hellripper chants inbetween songs. I loved every second of the set. Obviously James McBain 's German is not fluent yet. In spite of the signs on posts near the bar asking for no pogo, mosh pits or violent dancing he asked for a pit and got one. During the last song he played his guitar solo while crowdsurfing through the hall. Such a great gig to open the evenng this was and I expect Hellripper going a long way in metal's underground. On the merch side I was hoping to get the two CD's  I miss by Hellripper or the awesome white Tee. As all  these were not available I just ordered both the CD's online. This to be even better prepared 2 September when Hellripper play Roosendaal Open Air (do I even need to say highly recommended?). All Hail the Goat.

As if Hellripper was not enough of a party next band on where Riot City. Now here I was not all that late at the party but fate (covid) got in the way. March 2020 I was in Athens for my first Up The Hammers festival, when all got cancelled on the day due to Covid breaking out. Riot City were one of the (many) reasons I flew over and I did get Burn the Night at the No Remorse shop. Next chance was 2022 when I had my train, hotel and ticket booked for Riot City and Seven Sisters in Antwerp. One week before I got Covid myself, so even if feeling OK I could not risk transfering the virus to one of the bands and had to stay home. So Junkyard was for me a sort of finally I get to see them show and man were they awesome. If you don't like your high screams in your metal, forget about Riot City. If you do realize that high pitched screams and fast high singing are part of a good old metal show you won't find any better than Riot City in 2023. So the band were tight, fast and awesome but what Jordan Jacobs showed on vocals I have not seen for a long time. When during the first song the crowd was already singing along I realized I needed to have played their two CD's more often while reading along with lyrics. I now recognized all songs, but apart from Tyrant (one of my favorites) singing along was not for me. Well I could join in on the Maiden like whoo-hoo-whoooas. Live I did see bits of Priest and Maiden on speed and man would we love to see Maiden release some songs this fast and to the point on a next album. Actually Riot City do have an epic to close their set as well, since In the Dark starts slow and beautiful. Live this was sung by guitarist Cale, who did sing on the first album. So they have double vocal options within the band. Riot City have for me all to become the next big thing, but than again this kind of speed metal and vocals is not for all. As I had both their albums already, now proudly wearing my Electric Elite T-shirt. Now the only thing still to be resolved is get Riot City to The Netherlands. No exposure means no growth and they deserve crowds singing along over here too.

And than it was up to Jag Panzer to close the evening. Could they follow up on two such high energy young bands before them? Well I saw them earlier this year during their Metal Melts The Ice tour in Baroeg and they were in top form. Turned out they still are and they gave us one fine show. The setlist was build around new album Hallowed. As I bought it this evening, many new songs for me. No real problem as Jag Panzer's metal goes down well at first hearing. The Tyrant was strong by voice, showing you don't need to be all that young to fill your show with high screams. Generally Hostile was also in the set and still one of my favorites by them. Apart from some technical issues Jag Panzer also suffered by the clock. While we were informed the event would end at 22:45 it did go on till 23:30  (where is German pünktlichkeit when you need it?). So slowly people started leaving and I once again got confirmed that on a Sunday a matinee show (like Baroeg does) is not bad at all. So after two more than brilliant warm-up shows Jag Panzer could not bring the same surprise, but yes they delivered. When they said farewell we did have one evening of fine metal to remember.

Unfortunately the drive home was shite as it was pissing down and before leaving Dortmind we already stood still for some 20 minutes due to an accident. German highroads having no decent lightning and aquaplanning making control over the car a thing resulted in a three oçlock homecoming. With that being the only downside I can not recommend Junkyard enough. A very nice venue, good sound and filled with people who love their good old Heavy Metal. Next time I would look for a Saturday and book one night hotel or Airbnb. With the rain falling down still today, it was good I did not come by bicycle. Also heavy metal in Germany made me realize I should look more seriously into attending HOA one day, just like Esther recommended the day before. For my friends who like to make trips for metal, do like me, like the junkyard page and keep an eye on their agenda.

Space Vacation, Thorium & Hidden Intent - Little Devil Tilburg, 22 July 2023

Summer means festival season. I do not tend to visit many as I prefer the smaller indoor festivals. Visiting some of the free festivals in the area is nice as I meet people I don't see all that often. This day it was Waterpop near The Hague, but this year the plague of promoters ignoring metal alltogether is huge. So my reaction is not going to all. Today it was made easier as Little Devil offered a package with something for everyone. Thrash Metal from Down Under, Heavy Metal from Belgium and US Metal from well the US. So Hans joined me as he coull do with another indoor gig of metal as well. Even if not being huge names maybe, the Little Devil had a very decent turnout again. My only limitation was a train back at 23:09 as Josie worked her first evening shift at the hospital (proud of her) and with that train I could pick her up just after her shift had finished. So I was ready for metal and let the party begin.

Hidden Intent

Well making a party you could leave to thesse thrashing aussies. I only knew their name in advance, but they turned out to be well at ease on stage. This trio brought their thrash with a smile on their face and at times in their lyrics too (Drop Bears Are Real). They played for some 45 minutes and won over some new fans. At the merch table I skipped  T-shirts or CD's but went for the beer can holder. If ever drinking slow on the beach, my beers shall  stay cold. A great opening of the evening for us.

Thorium

This Belgian Heavy Metal with Dutch vocals I did see a few times before. I even saw their first show at a festival in Belgium some years ago (thanks for reminding me Theo). Their metal has some more to the point Maiden vibes and goes down easy. The Blackie Lawless lookalike on bass has left the band, but the new bassist was still the wildest man on stage. Maybe not the same charisma as Hidden Intent before them, but Thorium do not disappoint and their music goes down fine. The cover in their set still was the Hall of the Mountain King, next time a new surprise please. 

Space Vacation

Coming all the way from San Francisco this band never got much exposure over here. I do not recall any reviews in Dutch magazines or websites while they already released five full lenghts since 2009. I listened to some of their music at bandcamp before and knew I would like their show. Well that got confimred big time. What a great band they are and why are they so unknown? Or is that just me as Rick informed they played Heavy Metal Maniacs some years ago. Well I miss that festival often due to autumn holidays. I won't miss Space Vacation when they come back to The Netherlands as they were great and a worthy closer of a very nice evening in Little Devil. My only issue was that they would sell merch only after the show and we had to leave fast as our train was already at the station when we rushed in. Next time I correct that. So thanks to Mario and Little Devil for confirming once again, why I prefer these kind of intimate clubshows over huge summer festivals.

Ray Alder - Bell Witch - Crown Compass - Fifth Angel

Some CD tips. I was going for the first six letters of the alphabet, but did not (yet?) buy The Defiants and Extreme. So here are A,B,C and F.

Ray Alder - II

When my favorite vocalist releases an album I can buy same in the blind. Last year both A-Z and Figure of Speechless made it to my top five (1 and 4 respectively). So when joining forces with the same team as his first solo album I bought II. Playing the album I got what I expected and liked it. I tend to set the bar very high with Ray Alder and compare. So my first thougts? A good album as always. The start to me sounds better than the end and the crazy high level of A-Z is not reached songwise. Still it might turn out that by the end of the year Ray did it again for me. Just check out the clips on Youtube if you don't know the album. Interesting enough a recent poll at Metalfan had Ray Alder coming out as best album of the month June, so there is still hope for good taste in metal land.

Bell Witch - Future's Shadow Part1: The Clandestine Gate

Patience the key necessity for appreciating Bell Witch. I discovered them with their 2017 album Mirror Reaper. One song of almost 84 minutes divided over two Cd's. Later I saw them live in Patronaat and the full album being played at Into the Void that year as well. Even if also testing my patience levels I loved the show. I picked up their Stygian Bough collaboration in 2020, but now Bell Witch are back with another one song 83 minute album. To make matters better or worse this is only Part 1 of a trilogy. So the question rises if we ever are going to get a full show of all three albums being played. And if so do I need to be there? I guess just like the album it all depends on mood and circumstaces. After a day at the beach I don't need to be put down by 83 minutes of Bell Witch. Still on a dark and moody day this might be the best soundtrack. Impressive again, but my favourite duo nowadays are Crown Lands who also do long but then in 70's Rush style so still easy to sit through.

Crown Compass - The Drought

This one is over a year old already, but I only bought it now. Reasons or excuses a plenty. First I missed the Little Devil release show. Than when looking at shows I only could see them live at Complexity, That was a great show, but I missed them at the merch stand. Earlier this month  the same story at Werfpop, so I ordered through bandcamp. The draught is great and in one album catapults Crown Compass to the top of Dutch Progmetal. Somehow that is no surprise when you see the background of the four band members. Three passing through Textures, but also Cynic, Exivious, OneGodLess and Pestilence appear on their collective CV. Thiis is progmetal mixing the clean with the extreme and the short and sweet wth the long epics. Strange how they are not huge in Holland yet, highly recommended.

Fifth Angel: When Angels Kill

Fifth Angel with their first three albums followed a very similar path to Heir Apperent (1986, 1989 and 2018). Now there is a fourth album so there is a job for Terry to finish. Both bands playing US metal, with Fifth Angel being a bit more direct and power related. When Angels Killl is a long one with 69 minutes and a concept album too. At first I had some issues with the many spoken word/soundbyte intros. Later on when reading along with the story it stopped bothering me. Actually this album gets stronger each time I play it. Fifth Angel are now a six-piece as Ken Mary brought Steve Conley from Flotsam and Jetsam along. He cowrote some of the heavier bangers on this album. Within anything powermetal related you won't get a better album this  year I am sure. I still need to see Fifth Angel live. They cancelled HOA and I am not able to go to Alcatraz this year either. So also here patience is needed, but of a different kind. Still Angels do kill in beautiful fashion.

Werfpop Leiden & Westerpop Delft - Saturday 8 July 2023

The Hague is the centre of my world. Some 15 km to the northeast you enter Leiden. Some 12 km to the south east you enter Delft. Both University cities are holding their annual pop festival in a park on the same day this year. Apparently not bothered to attract people from outside city borders the overlap was scheduled. Now I have friends and family livig in greater Delft, so I new I would not be alone there. Still over the two festivals combined there was only one great band scheduled for me and that was Crown Compass playing Werfpop. So when I saw the timeschedules and an early slot for Crown Compass was reserved the plan rose to attend both festivals in a day. Unfortunately my good bicycle for this trip  is still in Portugal so I trained back and forth. In advance I was expecting to attend two very similar festivals. Well, I could not be more wrong. Everything was different apart from some minor overlaps.

Werfpop

The festival I visited for the music. A fifteen minute walk from the station you arrive at Leidse Hout a nice florest next to a nice neighbourhood. Entering was smooth and the entrance was in the middle with towards both ends a main stage. The area was so large that two bands were scheduled palying at the same time. The first two points standing out were on my left hand a silent disco, which is always a weird sight. The crowd looked young and lots of students walking around. On the right hand a wrestling ring was placed, with some prowrestling bouts going on. It was the hottest day of the year so far, thus this looked sweaty indeed. Before being able to enter you had to pay a ticket though. Still the 7,50 Euros would not stop anyone. It included also a coin for a hard plastic cup and toilets were free as was drinking water from taps. During the time I was there I also saw a lot of events for children, which was good for the young families walking around. Still most people stayed at the two sides, looking for shade, did I mention it was hot?

My reason to attend were Crown Compass, a band of Dutch progmetal royalty who for to me unknown reasons are not yet huge in Holland. Their debut CD was released last year and titled The Drought whch was fitting the day. I did not own it yet, but more on that later. Crown Compass would play stage 2, which meant they were facing the sun and I needed to turn my cap backwards for neck protection. I saw them earlier this year at Complexity and then they opened calm like the CD with Send Your Words. This time they kicked off heavy and let loose their metal from the first second. The sound suffered from some festival issues, but I got confirmed they are one of the very best bands around in Holland nowadays. Strange enough that is not generally known yet, as even most faces I know from Leiden's Nobel or Lazarus metal events were not walking around. Well I loved their set and the water pistol was welcome. Towards the end Daniel told us they would be at the merch stand for merch, a talk and a beer. At Complexity I missed them at the merch stand and this time it was even worse. Werfpop had a sign mentioning Merchandise, but that area was closed. Asking some volunteers of student age where to buy CD's of bands was met with a blank stare. Old fashioned me looking for CD's to buy. There was no music on sale at all at the festival area, which struck me weird at a music festival anyway. So before writing this I ordered The Drought on bandcamp as I can not wait forever at a live opportunity. Maybe the band walked around the festiival area later on, but I had a double bill, so after almost two hours in hot and steamy Leiden I headed back for a train to Delft. 

Westerpop

Upon entering the festival area in Delft after another 15 minute walk from the station everything was different. It was clouded and pleasant. Buy coins to order food and drinks and old-fashioned plastic cups. Really? Not all that woke myself, I though that this really was a thing from the past. Well it gave children something to do, as there were not many activities for them apart from collecting empty cups. Further Toilets were charging,  The average age at Westerpop compared with Werfpop must have been some twenty years higher. This was a crowd of older music lovers, with not many students in sight.  Amazing that given the high percentage of metal shirts, no metal band was booked. Well I just read that a Norwegian stoner band played after I had left already. Musically I think Ramkot from Belgium were OK and British blues guitarist Danny (Dijkie) Bryant and band were very good, even if not overly sober. Against that we were tortured by a French rap trio (France and rap, double wrong) and a British combo with a vocalist whose unhealthy looks mixed Johnny Rotten and Frankie Goes to Hollywood They were succesful, but for me not a band. I mean when no instruments are being played, you are watching what? the drummer, was no real drummer either. I stood firm as the company was good and laughs plus beers were had, but when alternative dance act My Baby started I finally broke. Computers for the music haters, so I felt like leaving being even more pleased that at least Crown Compass gave me one gig to love throughout the day. Again no music on sale, so that seems to be a thing from the past. Music is never a competition, unless you are a shit TV show, but for me today Leiden beat Delft.