Monday the 12th of March wasn't only great because of the sunny weather and the rising temperature. No, it was also the day that the Carving Europe's Epitaph Vol. II-tour would hit Holland for the third and last time, in the W2 in Den Bosch that was. Metalrage was present with a shitload of reporters (in random order: Carn, Sledghammer Messiah, Mindsaver and DemonDust), and even the DJ (Bad Astronaut) was a Metalrage crewmember! Here are the live views, each band reviewed by someone else.

I was at the bar ordering some more beer when I heard the well known sound of a DJ turning the volume down when a band enters the stage. As soon as I got my drink I ran forward to gain a nice spot close to the stage cause I didn’t want to miss anything from the first act of tonight; Diskreet. Most of the times it’s a tough job to open up for big names such as Necrophagist and Misery Index but Diskreet didn’t suffer from that fact at all. Technical brutal death/grind was thrown upon the audience and aided by the perfect sound in the venue, they did a great job. Notable were the immense fast feet of drummer Taylor during the breakdowns, they went about sixteen times faster than his handwork. The thirty minutes they had went by pretty fast, but they were just the openers ofcourse. (Mindsaver)

Origin was the most brutal and fastest band of the evening and one could wonder whether death metal can possibly get any extremer than this. Really constantly the audience was harassed with a lethal dose of aggression; these guys blew everything away on their path with their ultra fast and furious drum rhythms. Unfortunately the guitar was so badly mixed that often couldn’t be heard what was actually played. It did sound very brutal and all, but when riffs can’t be distinct from each other, the music gets a bit one-sided, which detracts the aggression. Only by the short riffs that exist out of short, high notes I could recognize a few songs like ‘Reciprocal’ and ‘Staring from the Abyss’. The amazing bass playing capabilities of Mike Flores sure added a great spectacle to the show, cause man he could play! He did everything with his bare hands from slapping and plucking to assaulting his bass with three or more fingers, which was really astonishing, but after this relentless show of uncompromising ultra brutal and technical death metal we were in for something with a little bit more variation. (Sledgehammer Messiah)

Misery Index powerfully opened their show of death and grind on a way too high volume level. Nice! From track one the tone was set for destruction, and I was in for that! I banged my head until it almost fell off! I even tried to get a moshpit started, but suddenly everyone disappeared after this action. I did get some beer in my eye though! The guys nevertheless appreciated my action and kept on hammering their stuff out of the speakers. The setlist was about the same as in Rotterdam some time earlier on the tour, so if you want to know more about that check that review. This was surely the best show I’ve seen from them so far, and I can’t wait for their return. It was loud, fast, tight and most of all; brutal-as-fuck! Luckily I forgot my earplugs so I could still enjoy this performance the day after. GRIND! (DemonDust)

After being blown away by Misery Index, it was time for the (in my opinion) reigning kings of technical death metal, Necrophagist. The band around guitarist/vocalist Muhammed Suiçmez is known for its technical capabilities, bringing back memories from old bands like Cynic, Atheist and of course Death.

I was curious if the music would actually be "music" when played on a stage. After getting my ears grinded by Origin I feared for the worst, but Necrophagist sounded like a coherent smooth metalmachine playing some damn good death metal songs, with a fair share of shredding flair! And I love how that rhymes. Drummer Hannes has a key role in the band's live performance, and his playing really made the older material shine (Suiçmez used a drumcomputer on the first album). Too bad the guy is leaving the band, I wish them luck finding a suitable replacement. Where the band might sound clinical on CD, they do manage to bring a real good live experience on the stage, anyone who thinks that they are "one of those studio-freaks" should catch them live a.s.a.p.! (Carn)