Again it strikes me how many people have already found their way to the 013 as the small hall is filled to the max already. And rightfully so: this is a great young band.

Prejudice
This is true brutal death metal. Fast and thunderous like an earthquake or a landslide. Maybe a little monotone after a while, but very well played. But somehow they don’t grab me; I can’t say exactly what it is. Maybe it’s lack of experience. I think if they would get the chance to tour as a support act and do a lot of shows in a row they’d get better. Musically they’re ok; but the show isn’t really convincing.

Aborted
Now here’s a band with an attitude. The singer is up front all the time and his enthusiasm is contagious. From the start he’s just there if you know what I mean. The rest of the band easily match him. Besides fast and brutal, they play pretty interesting stuff as well. I haven’t heard from this Belgian band before but I’m glad to spread the word: these guys kick ass!

Darkane
Bands like Entombed are said to play death ‘n’ roll but Darkane play true death metal with a rock ‘n’ roll feel that aforementioned Swedes don’t have in my humble opinion. Darkane plays death metal as it was meant to be: fast, hard and aggressive; but they somehow get a positive vibe across, unmatched within the genre. These guys love to play and it shows. Somehow I never got the chance to see them before, but now I’m sure I’ll check them out again.

God Dethroned
On the program the organization apologizes for having had to put some of the bigger bands in the small hall. God Dethroned clearly is one of those as a lot of people can’t get in because it’s full. Smart people, like me ;-), make sure they’re in on time…

Anyway, it’s the first time I see them with the new drummer … and I’ve really been looking forward to this as I think he’s their best drummer so far. On Into The Lungs Of Hell, their latest studio effort, he really impressed me. His style of playing fits the band better than that of his predecessors. Live he’s as good as on record. Of course he’s fast and tight but he plays interesting fills and breaks as well. He doesn’t show off and he plays what the song needs; yet he doesn’t play too functional either; well balanced.

God Dethroned are yet to disappoint me live. Again they kick ass all over the festival. Honestly I think they were the best by far. Coming from a Nuclear Assault fan this is a big thing to say. They’re tight, they’re fast, they’re varied, professional and they know how to put on a show without forcing or overdoing it. The new material has some more slower and mid tempo parts and although the new album is somewhat different from the earlier records the songs fit in with the older stuff. The set list is a good cross section of the better material from all the albums. Time is too short to play all of the crowd’s favorites. All the more reason to see them again in the near future.

Malevolent Creation
Metal fans are loyal. At four o’clock in the afternoon there are enough people to fill the main hall of 013. It’s not a capacity crowd but it’s pretty full. Malevolent Creation have been around for quite some time now and it shows. They’re a well oiled machine and have a professional show; good sound, skilled musicians and well written songs. Still I think there’s something missing. After a couple of songs I think to myself ‘They’re reliable as ever’ and that’s just the problem. There’s no surprise. It seems like the real drive is gone. The quality is still there but a band needs more to stand out from the crowd.

Die Apokalyptischen Reiter
Due to logistical problems (!) I unfortunately missed the start of Die Apokalytischen Reiter from Germany. A remarkable quintet who showered the audience with an eclectic sound. Polka beats, blast beats, loud metal, serenades, thrash metal, you name it. The band gave their best with the lead singer ranting on stage a little like Henry Rollins or Ray Cappo from hardcore act Shelter. Lifting legs up high, twisting and turning around on the enclosed stage. All in all a nice warm up for the rest of the evening. Nothing more and nothing less.

Pro-Pain
Unfortunately I am not an expert on Dutch traditional singers. ‘Cause if I was I could tell you who sang the song played by the DJ, just before Pro-Pain’s show hit off. The band seemed to like it as frontman Gary Meskil shaked his hips in a un-Pro-Pain-like manner. Anyway, forget about this. Not important. This very hard-working band felt like giving us a smack in the face. Damn, Meskil sounds furious tonight. A little too much emphasis on the bass in the mix, but hey I’m just bickering here. Their hardcore-influenced metal (a little of both) did the job just right. Looking at the bill I felt Pro-Pain would not fit in all the way. Fortunately I was wrong and the audience agreed. Enough pit action to call this a successful and sympathetic Pro-Pain show.

Nuclear Assault
Man it’s been a long time! And how good it is to have them back. Apart from a couple of bigger bellies and shorter, thinner hair not much has changed. Singer/guitarist John Connelly still has that weird nasal voice, full of emotion. Bass player Dan Lilker’s bass sound still kicks ass and drummer Glenn Evans plays with more of a rock ‘n’ roll feel than any other drummer tonight.

The biggest change however is new guitarist James. He plays rhythm only while his predecessor Anthony Bramante back in the days played most of the solos. Tonight Connolly had to play all those. He is more a from-the-gut kind of player while Bramante used to play pretty technical solos. A little bit of a pity but the riffing of the newcomer does fit in and he doesn’t just stand there like a hired gun. He really goes for it.

The sound and songs remain intact. In fact the sound is a lot better than all the times I’ve seen them before. The set list is a true greatest hits fest. Just songs from the first four albums (that includes the mini The Plague) and everybody loves it. Both the crowd and the band. The fact that the band have kept their distinctive sound and seem to have fun together make me curious for new studio material.

Death Angel
A quick bite to eat and back just in time to watch Death Angel fill the 013 with their playful, catchy thrash metal. The second time in one year I get to see the band. Not bad. The overall sound a little on the soft side (or was I too distant?). If one band has had name changes in abundance it has to be Death Angel. However, especially the songs from their Death Angel years filtered out the crowd’s response the most. Old school thrash is what the doctor prescribed.

Singer Mark Osegueda obviously didn’t age at all. He’s still as active as ever, thanking the audience, the crew and all the bands on the tour. This being the last show on their two week tour the band felt like inviting a few friends on stage, turning the end of the show into a real rock and roll party. You know, everyone gathered around one microphone singing and shouting. It’s good to see a band like Death Angel on the road again. For us old fucks a nice rendezvous. For all the young metal fans a great introduction to the roots of thrash metal. Kinda goes for the entire evening. Nuclear Assault, Testament, Death Angel. Too bad Anthrax, Exodus, Dark Angel and Metallica couldn’t join in tonight. We old fucks would have liked that, yes.

Marduk
One band that did fit on tonight’s line-up is Marduk, the black metal monster from Sweden. Probably more out of place on the bill than Pro-Pain. I’ve seen the band a few times before. Never disappointing, although at times a bit too familiar. For as far as the adjective can be used when we are dealing with black metal, this is a very sympathetic band. Legion´s stage performance is friendly and courteous….until a song starts and the cold polar winds rage from the speakers. When these guys blast, they really blast. Fantastic musicianship with the drummer keeping the band perfectly on track. Always fun to see a band like this squeeze their breath to the ultimate. Too bad this shit is too fast to bang your head to.

Testament
I’ve been going to concerts since, well, the mid eighties. In this period of time I’ve seen so many bands, just thinking about it makes me dizzy. Testament and I kinda grew up together. Lost each other during the early nineties. But like old friends are supposed to, we reunited tonight. First of all it’s great to know and see Chuck Billy is healthy again. Although from the original line-up only guitarist Erik Peterson is left, it is Chuck Billy who did the vocals on the classic debut The Legacy; the blue print for a lot of great music made since.

`Trial By Fire`, `Low`, and especially `Over The Wall` struck hard. All those phenomenal riffs came raging. No words can do justice to the intensity Testament’s music still has, after all these years. Chuck’s overwhelming stage presence, Steve Digiorgio´s bass playing, making it seem as if the bass lines are ridiculously difficult and the great leads (although enthusiasm brought a few glitches) made for a great performance.

Checking out the strength of 013´s security force, Chuck Billy invited everyone to join him on stage during `Over The Wall`. Boy, did the audience respond. The rest of band had to climb on to the drum riser to play the song while Chuck Billy surrounded himself with dozens of headbanging and stage-diving fans. Hell, this is metal.

It felt great to listen to all those magnificent songs again, even if the sound mix was somewhat disappointing (read: very loud) and Testaments performance perhaps a little short for a headliner. All in all a truly worthy final to a very fine No Mercy festival.

(Review: Marc Lochs
Pics: Josje Klouwens)