Autumn
To simply classify Autumn as just another gothic metal act or even as a new After Forever or Within Temptation wouldn’t do the band justice. As displayed convincing today, they have their very own sound in which the main focus lies on Nienke’s vocals. It’s refreshing to hear female vocals that are inspired by classic heavy metal rather that the classical arias. This way the metal side of their music is much more emphasized. It also makes Autumn sound heavier than many of their counterparts. Add to this the musicianship of the other bandmembers (among them Jens van der Valk of God Dethroned) and it’s easy to understand the great response they received today.

Cathedral
After Madder Mortem’s gig the ‘older’ generation of metalfans prepare for the first of the four main acts of the evening; UK doom and stoner icons Cathedral. It’s clear that they have anticipated well to the fans’ expectations and thus the band kicks of with ‘Ride’ from their second album The Ethereal Mirror.

Alternating material from their latest offering The VIIth Coming (‘Resisting the Ghost’, ‘Skullflower’) with classics like ‘Midnight Mountain’ and ‘Utopian Blaster’, Cathedral’s sole purpose is to get the 013 grooving. And it’s difficult not to get drawn into Lee Dorian’s hypnotizing performance as he again looked as if he was hunted by the Witchfinder General himself. Tonight’s highlights were the inevitable encore ‘Hopkins’ and the unexpected ‘Ebony Tears’ of their classic debut album.

Samael
It is not often that a stool is placed in the middle of the stage right before a metal act is to enter that same stage. Tonight Swiss metallers Samael granted us the privilege. Unfortunately Samael’s frontman broke his leg and was condemned to his stool during the gig. But this did not prevent them from delivering the goods.

With the visual accompaniment provided by projected images the band presented the crowd an intense audio-visual spectacle. The blackmetal days of this illustrious group are long gone and although it has taken the fans some time to adjust, it seems as if their following has only grown bigger. The 013 audience is certainly captivated by the combination of hypnotizing riffs and drum samples supported by the visual imagery. An enthusiastic crowd is their share at the end of the day.

Opeth
As later became (painfully) obvious, today’s true headliner was certainly not the band that topped the bill. This festival’s leading part was played by Opeth. The Swedish cult deathmetal act, who recently released their 6th studio album ‘Deliverance’, has gradually transformed into a force to be reckoned within the current metal scene.

Although this foursome has never failed to impress me, it is always a bit of a shame when they are part of some sort of festival line-up. This because it implies a severely reduced set of a mere four or perhaps five songs. Tonight the crowd gets lucky as Opeth managed to squeeze six songs in their 60 minutes’ set.

Kicking in with ‘Godhead’s Lament’, it becomes apparent that the sound needs some adjusting. Whereas the previous band had an overwhelming and clear sound, Opeth’s guitars are not so well defined. Fortunately the sound engineer realized in time that the guitarsound is essential in Opeth’s music and succeeded in fixing this slight mishap.

Meanwhile the band’s set becomes a bit predictable as this again features ‘Advent’, ‘The Drapery Falls’ and ‘Demon Of The Fall’. It’s completed by two tracks of the new album in the form of ‘Deliverance’ and ‘A Fair Judgement’. But no one in the audience is complaining. Quite the contrary, all songs are greeted with great enthusiasm and loud cheering. And even though Mikeal should be getting used to ecstatic reactions by now, he remains modest as ever. It seems as if the victory march of the Swedes has only just begun and as long as they keep on striving for utter perfection in both their songwriting and performance the end is nowhere near in sight.

Paradise Lost
The once legendary gothic metal act Paradise Lost had the (ungrateful?) task of closing the festival. Normally the headlining gig forms the apotheosis of the evening and a festival evolves around the tension, being built up towards this high point. Tonight’s atmosphere is one of reserved anticipation. It’s clear that the crowd expects Paradise Lost to prove that they are the true headliner of the evening but on the other hand they know that the magic this band once possessed is probably gone.

It’s very likely that the band felt the audience’s reserve as well and unfortunately the band seemed to be unable to turn this into their advantage. Instead of trying to give that bit extra they appeared to resign themselves to the fact that the crowd was not really willing to get into the material from their newer albums Symbol Of Life and Believe Of Nothing.

As a consequence the older songs, which are normally the crowd favorites, did not have the desired impact on the audience. A song like ‘Hallowed Land’ was certainly not responded to as one would except. The uninspired look on Nick Holmes’ face did not really help to invert the downward spiral either. But perhaps there is still hope, as in the last two songs of the show a shimmer of Paradise Lost’s magic finally shone through.

All and all Metalfest 2003 proved to be a worthy alternative for the Dutch carnaval! Rockezine is already looking forward to the 2004 edition!

(Review: Maura Kampstra
Pics: Marcia Gransbergen)