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Dutch Metal Dag 2005 - F.R.E.U.D. + Isle Of Man + Zone + Sk;rl + Kutschurft + Brutus + Detonation
The Dutch venue Melkweg in Amsterdam organised the first Dutch Metal Dag (= Dutch Metal Day) with only Dutch metal bands; 7 in total to be exact. This is an initiative that is important for the Dutch music industry. If you can convince the Dutch audience they can promote you on the internet, which means worldwide promotion. Metalrage wants to contribute to this initiative as much as possible. That is why we were present on Saturday Noverber 5th.
 
When entering the venue we instantly notice almost every visitor present this day is on the guest list. And when I see the venue and bands are investing so much time and money to promote their own music it is great to see this is still possible. The venue was slowly gathering more and more people and when the first band of the night entered the stage to play their set their were somewhere around 75 people present in the venue.

 

F.R.E.U.D.
The first band of the night was F.R.E.U.D. and these guys live in the Dutch rock and metal capital Tilburg. The songs the band play sound good and the vocalist is an intense person. The music can be described as a mix between Rock and Nu-Metal and is well structured. Too bad he does not hit every note he's supposed to hit. Besides that, the other band mates try to jump around the stage but they aren’t build for such movements, this results in some strange jumps and movements. This band consists out of talented musicians but they need to work on their podium presentation.

Isle Of Man
A band with no problems concerning their podium presentation is Isle Of Man. The guys are influenced by Death Metal, Mathcore, Hardcore and noise and just are great to see on stage. The band capture you in their show and the frontman is constantly attracting the attention of the audience with his act. For example: The third song of the night was a ballad, if we had to believe Daan (lead vocalist) but the start of the song proves otherwise.
The music can be compared with bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan and Burst but the band gives their music a completely different twist and this is the first Dutch band I really like in this genre. This is a band I will surely visit more often if I get the chance and you just have to listen to these guys once to be convinced:
http://www.isleofman.nl/isleofman_pigroast.mp3
http://www.isleofman.nl/isleofman_daddy.mp3

Zone
Zone and Metalrage got a long history. One of the members of this band is familiar with several Metalrage editors in a good way and we even met him on this years Sziget festival. The last time we saw the band play we weren’t that convinced but before the show guitarist Ditmar told me the music has changed and the show has improved. This because there is one guitarist in the band now (the second one left the band earlier this year) and they are writing new music for an EP and album. They sure made me curious and when the band appeared on stage I could not wait to hear and see what they had to offer me.

Well, the fact that these guys have been evolving over the last couple of months can clearly be heard in their new songs. It has become more intense and aggressive and it seems the band is following their own path now in stead of tagging along on the success of other bands. Of course the vocals still got something like Jonathan Davis (Korn) every now and then and they still need to work on their presentation. The fact frontman Eko talks a lot to their solid fans and that is annoying for others. You already convinced them, you have to convince the rest of the audience.

Overall I just have to say there is almost a new band on stage with a new direction, new line up and a new atmosphere. They sure made me curious for their upcoming EP; the band is entering the studio this month!

 

Sk;rl
Up next was the band everybody was calling the future of Dutch alternative music and the band even won some kind of prize for their talent in the South of the Netherlands. Personally, I have seen them once before and the atmosphere they created on stage was magnificent but the show just wasn’t that good and I told myself I had to see them once more. It took some time but after two years I got the chance to see them and I did; for one song.

As you might notice the band did it all again. But this time no special things on stage, no telephone they used to sing. There was nothing but the band and it was once again not solid, not tight and the worst thing was that the extreme screams weren’t correct and false. You can screw up your set once for me but this time the band did it completely. I took the opportunity to get dinner while the band continued playing.

 

Kutschurft
Well, I am not going to translate in English what this band's name means but you can’t take it serious. And before I saw these guys I didn’t. When I returned from dinner I got the chance to witness half the show of these guys and I have to say I was quite impressed by the musicians. Like I said the band cannot be taken serious with stupid lyrics and a very awkward live performance but when you look at the musicians you see very talented people playing very good music. When I imaging these guys playing in a serious band with serious music they could become quite a hit.

But too bad these guys play in this band where they're making fools of the other bands playing on this small festival and shouting stupid things constantly. But on the other hand, the band got quite some fans and are really funny at what they do and that is what it is all about for these guys. And when you see these guys play you just have to laugh constantly because of the strange and bad jokes they are telling!

Brutus
And there is nothing you can do but it is hard to play after a band like Kutschurft. The guys from Brutus were brave enough to take up the challenge and descend upon the stage to do their thing. During the sound check we heard terrible off tone blast beats and double kicks so we were ready for some terrible noise.

When the band started I instantly realised this is a band some of our editors listen to. But I guess they didn’t have their night because the band didn’t play very tight and to me the double kicks were not played they way they should be. After some songs I decided this was not good in any way. I have never heard a single song of these guys before and maybe they are very good but this night they weren’t and I know this is not something I would support of growing bigger.

Detonation
Last but not least Dutch thrash metallers Detonation were preparing to give their best. Because Flesh Made Sin cancelled their performance these guys got the chance to play. And damn these guys rock, during the sound check the drummer goes completely crazy in a way I rarely see. It looked like this guy was a machine because of his tight drumming.

The show of Detonation can be called successful. The band has gotten international attention already and this has a reason. The musicians are very talented and know what to do on stage to make their performance solid. I had listened to some of their music before the festival and I was curious if they could do the same thing live but it is way better live. If you ever get the chance to see or hear these guys and you like thrash metal you have to grab that chance with both hands. A well deserved spot of closing this day.
 
Metalrage wants to thank Bow Evers and the Melkweg for arranging 2 tickets for Metalrage and 10 for our contest. We are looking forward to the Dutch Metal Dag 2006!
Details Written on Wednesday Nov 9th, 2005
Writer @Buzzin Hornet

Tags: #Dutch Metal Dag 2005