The sentence “mine goes up to eleven” was perfect for the set by local band Combined Fragments. This was the last show of this band in their current line-up, but they all seemed to enjoy it. Although the sound was too loud and wasn’t perfectly tuned, the band played decently and got the crowd going. They held a small contest: the hardest and best moshers would get a free t-shirt. Of course, some people stepped up and moved even more. It was quite a fun show and a good opener, but the sound could have been much better.

For the second time this year Heart Of A Coward came down to the Netherlands. After being a little sceptical the first time I’d seen them, the band absolutely nailed it today. The sound was fine-tuned now and therefore the experience was much better. The band has improved since their last performance here and showed that they aren’t boring at all. This English band is a good example of a great metalcore band. The grunts were pretty good, as well as the clean vocals. The band itself showed quite some energy and played pretty well, the people in the crowd sang along and the moshpit continued throughout the whole set. A very nice performance by this band, which set the bar quite high for Attila.

After a small break the tunes by Lil’ John started playing and Attila entered the stage a little later. Although this show was in the smallest concert room and sold out, which left many people disappointed that they couldn’t get a ticket, it didn’t feel as crowded. Starting with “Middle fingers up”, the crowd turned into a great chaos again. Throughout the set there were moshpits, hardcore moshers, stagedivers and crowdsurfers. The bar had been set quite high by Heart Of A Coward, but this swagcore band took the bar and lifted it even higher. It sounded like the deep vocals by Fronz had improved a lot and the band seemed like a well-oiled machine. Although their new record will come out in about a month, not a single song was played. Most of the set was filled with songs from “About That Life”, but some older songs were played as well. Songs like “Party With The Devil”, “Sex, Drugs & Violence”, “Rage”, and ”Shots For The Boys” were played. After the show had ended it was time for everybody to scream ‘We want more’. After cheering for a little while, the band came back to finish with a bang. “About That Life” was played and the band and the crowd gave it all. It was probably the best show I’ve seen by this band and although it was a pity for some people that they couldn’t be here, it was awesome to attend such an intimate show.

It was a great evening with many great people and great bands. It’s always nice to see such an intimate show and you should keep an eye out for these bands.