When Roadrunner Records asked me to come to the Zao show in Arnhem (Goudvishal) I couldn't say no. I had never been in that venue before and I love their new CD 'The Funeral of God'. So I jumped in the car on September 18th. Arriving at the venue we had to wait for a couple of minutes and when I entered the venue it wasn't quite what I expected. The name contains hall but it was a large living room. But according to my experience this can mean a hell of a party. Let's see what Arnhem got for us.

The evening started with Deadweight. To be honest I never heard of this band but the music they make was very interesting. According to their bio they make emotional metal with hard rocking and evil tunes. But I could clearly hear hardcore influences, which is logic if you are supporting Zao. The lead guitar player surprised me during the show, although he was the one that wasn't moving the sound he produced with his guitar was explosive and of great quality, after the show I had a short conversation with him and I hope to receive some material of this band.

After a short set change it was time for Daily Fire to enter the stage. This time it was punk rock that was breaking my ears (I forgot my ear plugs...). This time the sound wasn't good at all. From where I was standing I could not hear the vocals to good and the drums were way to loud. I recon the music isn't that bad but it sure wasn't a great night for this band.

Again there was a short change on the stage and this time it was a foreign band that entered the stage. The band Under Siege has got its roots in Germany and played since 1999. The style they produce is Hardcore and during the concert people were finally getting loose. There even was a small mix up between two dudes in the audience but there were people in the venue that stopped this before it would become a fistfight. After lead singer Henning calmed these dudes down again the show was going on. The sound was much better again and the show that was given on stage was very good, loud riffs and explosive drums completed the show.

After waiting 30 minutes Zao entered the stage. This Ferret band is with Roadrunner Records in Europe and the sound they produce can be described as Metalcore. The sound during their set wasn't that good. The drums were way to loud again and the vocals were different from the record. The vocals I know from the record is unique and sounds pretty good. Apparently this can't be done on stage. Luckily the sound improved a bit during the set and the people in front of the stage were very energetic and the venue that was filled up nicely started to get the feeling. When a employee of the venue told the band that there was time for only one more song the band played this with enormous power and left the stage.

For me this was a great night with for me new bands and satisfaction. I'm looking forward to the Ignite show in the Goudvishal next week already!

More pictures can be found in the pictures section.