On September 9^th 2004 four Dutch bands played Tivoli ‘de Helling’ in Utrecht (NET). A real nice line-up with Try Drowning, Craven Screaming, Zone and Textures. Metalrage.com was there.

The first band that performed was Try Drowning. We didn’t manage to make it on time so unfortunately we missed them. Sorry guys. I heard some songs on their website which I think rocked. So it’s still worth giving them a listen at www.trydrowning.com.

Dutch band-on-the-rise Craven Screaming was second on the bill that night. These skilled musicians sure know what they are doing. Though the band only consists of a drummer, guitarist, bassist and singer they managed to really fill up the venue. The teamwork of guitarist Erik and bassist Rob results in lively songs. They both also do some of the clean singing parts and especially the singing together is awesome. Drummer Maurice excellently paved the way for the band to play a steady set. Judging from the two demos I heard, the screaming of singer Sander improved a lot. In their live set Craven Screaming reproduced the quality of those recorded songs very well. It was their first time in Utrecht and that may explain why only parts of the crowd were really into it. Overall Craven Screaming did a good job.

Third band up was Zone. For Zone this was a gig in their hometown. Obviously the crowd was really enthusiastic. Though I wasn’t really feeling their mix of trash- and nu-metal, I think they did a great job in playing upon their audience. There was a real interaction going on. The singer even managed to get a wall of death going on. A nice warming up for what was to come.

Finally it was time for Dutch crowd-pleaser Textures to rock the place. Textures is a six-piece that plays progressive metal, and let me tell you, this band lay it down with authority! The crowd went wild. This exceptionally skilled band made my senses tuned to the max. It was the sixth time in less than a year that I saw them and still they never get me bored. Whether it’s the mind-blowing technique of the drummer or the innovative song-arrangements, there’s always something to enjoy about Textures. Highlight of the show was ‘Young Man", which seemed to be substantially different. As if the foundations of the song were the same but the arrangements were altered. Either way, I liked it. Again Textures had made clear why they are the hottest thing in the Dutch metal-scene today. If you live in Holland be sure to check them out in a place near you soon, while you still can.

For more pictures of this gig, check the pictures section