Napalm Death certainly was in top condition this afternoon. The tight rhythm section Embury / Herrera, did a hell of a job but also the almost black-metal background vocals of Mitch Harris were enjoyable. Barney was a mad as ever jumping across the stage and “Nazi Punks Fuck Off” (Dead Kennedy’s) was also on the setlist.
Certainly a nice gig for the fans of Napalms older work but a strange happening for hundreds of skaters and young nu –metal heads who kept on asking themselves what kind of crazy band this is. No, a perfect show from a band that can clearly take the coming few years.

(Review: Teun Jans).

Moonspell
Oh, this was such an gorgeous sight! Five dark angels, fallen from above, dressed in long coats, entered the stage like a beautiful nightmare. They made me feel sorry that I didn’t come in my long black velvet dress to dance along with death.

For just a moment they made me forget that I was actually at a Metal festival until some enthusiastic really drunk people screwed up my little Gothic dream. It seemed like they were only looking for a little guitar riff, so that they could smash their sweaty body against other people in a not too friendly way.

In a word, I had a funny feeling that some visitors didn’t really dig Moonspell a lot. Not very strange if you realize that they were the replacement for cancelled bands like Static-X (industrial metal) and Pantera (straight forward metal). The show however was exactly what you can expect from a band like Moonspell. Impressive, heavy with a dark an somehow romantic atmosphere.

The sound was well balanced and Fernando (singer) had no difficulties at all to combine deep grunts with the melodic pieces. Moonspell only played about 45 minutes, but showed a good mixture of old and new material. Songs from Wolfheart (“Vampira”), Irreligious (“Ruin & Misery”), Butterfly FX (the title track) and of course some new stuff from their latest album “Darkness and Hope”. I had the feeling that most people liked the old songs (taken from “Wolfheart” and “Irreligious”) best. Not that strange when you know that these songs are more Metal orientated.

It’s not hard to understand that Moonspell wasn’t the right band to play Tattoo the Planet. But after the show I heard a lot of positive reactions about their show. For me personally Moonspell (and Cradle of Filth) was the main (and only) reason to visit Tattoo the Planet. Yes, I realize that I’m stepping on some toes now.

(Review: Cyn Nederpel)

Biohazard
7 pm!!! Time for some honest ‘old school hardcore’ with who else than…..Biohazard. The mood is there and the crowd is willing to work themselves into sweat.

When our NYC –boys move themselves onto the stage, the crowd is drawn towards them immediately. Some nice words before the set were said and a party on stage developes.

They asked for a bit of silence out of respect for what has happened 11.09.2001. (For the people who were silent; respect!)

The audience, on a natural high (or maybe not??), still are impressed with the previous bands that have played, can’t wait for this one to begin. They played a set which contained old material e.g. ‘Black and White and Red all Over’ and new material e.g. ‘H.F.F.K’. Enough ingredients for an explosive, energetic, bouncy show. Actually all left to said is; great fuckin’ set.

The message they try to give the audience is quite simple, but powerfull. If you are a die-hard Biohazard fan you’d know the message would be; don’t be blinded by what you see and hear, think for yourself. Indoctrination is a big thing nowadays, turn on your telly and witness it first hand. We just see a quarter of what’s going on for real.

(Review: Caroline Huizen)

Cradle of Filth
‘Greetings…We are the scum also referred to as Cradle of Filth’. At a quarter past 9 the infamous British black-metal act enters the stage. After Pantera’s cancellation Cradle of Filth are now one of the headliners of the festival and it’s nice to hear that the band still hasn’t lost their somewhat cynical sense of humor.

Even though they signed a deal with a major label this year it’s obvious that they haven’t forgotten the dark, underground cradles of filth they emerged from. As a consequence tonight’s set consists of a lot of older material.

Recently having released the ‘Bitter Suites to Succubi’ album it’s of course no real coincidence as the mini-album contains a couple of re-recorded old songs. But the band kicks off with the one of the best songs of their latest full-length album ‘Midian’, the opening track ‘Cthulhu Dawn’.

It is shame that the blurry sound kinda spoils the effect of the highly addictive and sometimes even (excusez-le mot! MK) groovy riffs. Dani’s high pitched screams are nearly in audible and the guitar melodies are very hard to distinguish. Fortunately this mishap is quickly adjusted and the overall sound is pretty acceptable in the end.

Despite the many changes in line-up, it appears that this hasn’t really affected the band. Tonight Cradle of Filth display a great deal of professionalism and put down a very solid show. Songs like ‘Cruelty brought Thee Orchids’ , ‘From the Cradle to Enslave’ and ‘Ebony dressed for Sunset’ are brought with hateful ferocity and Dani’s vocal acrobatics are again impressive.

But, as always, classics like ‘The Principle of Evil Made Flesh’, ‘Malice Through the Looking Glass’ and ‘the Forest Whispers my Name’ invoke the biggest applause from the mixed crowd.

Although the additional dancers and stilt-walkers seemed a bit out of place as they didn’t add anything to the show (even I preferred the half-naked vampirettes that accompanied the band on their previous tours), the band’s performance tonight was convincing and enthusiast but it seems as if they have lost some of the initial fire.

(Review: Maura Kampstra)

Slayer
Here they are, the headlining act from this day: Slayer.
As soon as the intro "Darkness Of Christ" is finished, these four men hit us right in our faces with the killer opening track from their new album "Disciple".

Yes, this is what thrashmetal is all about. It`s fast, tight and very intense. The sound is good, the lights look beautiful and so we`re in for a real treat.

This show turns out to be a sort of greatest hits gig with some new material here and there. Right after the furious start, Slayer presents "War Ensemble", "Postmortem", "Raining Blood", "Hell Awaits" and "Die By The Sword" to us.

Well, can a set from this band be any better? Don`t think so. Within these first 25 minutes, Slayer proves to be the true headliner from this festival.

There`s just no band alike (today or any other day, JG) to create such a sinister and aggressive atmosphere, playing the most tight riffs combined with furious-as-ever vocals. The `in your face` atmosphere is very much there throughout the entire set. "Dittohead", "Stain Of Mind", the new tracks "Bloodline" & "God Send Death" and "Dead Skin Mask" are the next songs.

Especially the last one is introduced very cool (sung with clean vocals) by frontman Tom Araya. By the way, the riffs from Kerry King (this man embodies the word `cool`, JG) and Jeff Hanneman are as tight as ever and the solo`s as chaotic as we`re used to. Paul Bostaph, timekeeper for almost half of Slayer`s career, again proves to be one of the finest drummers in the thrash scene.

Forbidden rules (his previous band, JG)! Let other bands break-up, try to `find their sound` or record albums with symphonies. In the fickle, ever-changing world of music, Slayer remains a sure thing. With "Seasons In The Abyss", "Captor Of Sin", "Mandatory Suicide", "Altar Of Sacrifice/Jesus Saves", the classic "Chemical Warfare", "South Of Heaven" and the mighty "Angel Of Death", Slayer finishes their show from tonight.

Yep, they`ve proven it again. Slayer is just the best band within their genre. Thanks guys, for keeping the metal spirit alive!



Watch out for a cool interview with frontman Tom Araya soon and please check our "Male pin-up calendar"…

(Review: Johan Godschalk
Pics: Josje Klouwens)