IMBOLC
This gig was a special one in various ways. First of all, the ever charming bass player Digna couldn`t be on stage because she was on vacation. Luckily Imbolc found a skilled replacement in ex-Phlebotomised bass player Ivar, who had learnt the tracks in a few days and was able to play along quite adequately. Secondly, tonight`s performance was the last one for drummer Ronald, because he`ll be moving to another town and won`t be able to play in Imbolc anymore.
With that in mind it was a special night for Imbolc and, as always, the performance was way above par. Helped by the good sound Imbolc crunched out tracks from the new demo ( "Berserker Furies", "Maelduin", "Compulsive Dissection") as well as tracks from their first one ("Flesh Made Frenzy" and "Symphony Of Pain"). The death/black combination with some added various metal influences still does the trick and there was never a dull moment.

Because of their affinity with cheese (don`t ask), some guys in the crowd found it suitable to throw some cheese-slices on stage (thanks Thijs!), all aptly avoided by the band members. The apotheosis of the gig was of course the inevitable "Kaaskraker" (Dutch for "Cheesecruncher") and then it was time to salute Ronald. Let`s hope Imbolc will find a suitable replacement for the drum stool

SIX FEET UNDER
Six Feet Under are always good for an hour and a half of no-nonsense death metal. Again, a good sound helped a lot to bring the slow, heavy death metal to bloom, and singer Chris Barnes was as good as ever. He even seemed to have a good time on stage as he prophesised that someday we, the Dutch would learn to smoke our weed the proper way; pure, without tobacco.

It seems that he spent the greater part of day hiding in his tour bus smoking away blunt after blunt. Luckily it didn`t affect his voice in a bad way because he sounded as brutal as ever. Tracks like "Lycanthropy", "War Is Coming", "No Warning Shot" and my personal favourite "Revenge Of The Zombie" were played with utmost brutality and intensity.

Although there was only one guitar the sound was heavy and full, the interaction with the crowd was a lot better than the previous time I saw them so it was quite a pleasant experience.

It seems that from now one The Cameleon will program metal bands at least one time a month in the future. Tonight`s visitors sure proved that it is possible to program a successful metal-night. (In the time between writing and publishing this review it became clear that the Bussum city counsel decided not to fund The Cameleon, so there will be no money to organise concerts anymore, which is a fucking shame.)

(Review: Roy van den Brink)