No Mercy 2006 - A very heavy metal day
Metalrage reporters Mat-Core and DemonDust felt it was a good idea to visit the annual No Mercy festival, which always has its last show in Holland. A good opportunity to see a lot of ultra heavy bands push out their last bits of energy. We decided to give both our opinions about the entire day, so you can get two impressions of what was to see at this metal event.DemonDust:
Okay, of we went to check out the first band of this long day of extreme metal. It was Mystica, and I have never heard of them. I recall them playing some quite grooving metal, but since we had just gotten there, we needed to get beer and roll us a joint (something that would be done a lot more this day).
So we headed for the big stage and waited for Ajatarra to begin. They played a sort of stoner-black metal which had some very appealing passages in it. Too bad I still hate black metal keyboards, otherwise this might end up in my record collection. A very cool band for the mellower (and stoned) Satanworshippers.
We left a bit early to witness the almighty Prostitute Disfigurement, the first of the three Dutch acts here today. Brutal death metal played very tight and intense blew out of the speakers, and after the first tone was struck a moshpit came out of nowhere thrashing everything. That’s the spirit! A great show by a band with great potential.
Now it was time for Sinister, but since Rachel has left this band already we decided to sit this one out in the hallway, where we could still hear the music, but also roll another joint! We did hear some nice passages every now and then, but nothing that convinced us to run towards th show.
Then we visited the Psycroptic show (I think, there was a hassle with two bands changing spots on the small stage). Very tight, ultra complex death metal that surprised me a lot. I think I need to listen to this some time soon, because this time I wanted to leave early for one of the bands why I was here.
And that band is Legion of the Damned! Formerly known as Occult, but since they decided to be a kick ass brutal thrash metal band they changed their name. A nice set of their thrash songs were played and they were received quite well by the audience. I banged my head of and threw my devilhorns in the air! I noticed that Harold (Inhume, Charlie*Adler, Mangled) had now taken over the bass duties, which resulted in a tight and convincing show. Maurice’s voice sounded a bit sore, but then again, the Dutch show is always the last one in a long row of dates. I still enjoyed it very much, but I feel like they should add a second guitarist to be able to do some cool solo’s. Now there are some parts that last for to long without anything exiting happening.
So it should be Grimfist I watched after that (still not sure) but to be honest I can’t recall anything at this moment. I believe I watched it with a joint in my mouth though…
It didn’t matter, because the band up next was the one to break the day. No black, death, grind or other fast noise, but some true tough guy hardcore! It was the second time I saw Pro-Pain at the No Mercy fest and I think they are a good choice for a main stage act in the middle of the day. Just like last time they had a monstrous sound and played a very convincing set which I enjoyed fully. They themselves seemed to appreciate this tour a lot too, they emphasized that several times. Although it was a very loud show I watched the entire thing with a lot of pleasure. Great shit, I think I need to buy some of their stuff some time. Make war not love!
I supposed to have witnessed like one track of Norther, you know, that Children of Bodom rip-off act, but again my memory fails to locate that data. Probably went up in smoke. I do have the feeling like we ate something at this point though.
Up next was legendary Mayhem. I knew it was an old-skool black metal act with a high status in the underground, so I felt obligated to see this. I was completely mesmerized, after recovering from the fact that it sounded dirtier than Satan farting after consuming expired chicken wings. I had seen vocalist Attila perform with Sunn 0))) before, but didn’t know what to expect from him here. He made noises I even haven’t seen Mike Patton do. He grunted, screamed, screeched and peeped, in- and exhaling too! I was beyond impressed!
But that isn’t everything! Behind the kit, on his unholy throne, there was mister Hellhammer, giving his name some more credit. Tight, fast, gruesome. Like three minute constant blast-beats with tremendous power and more tricks that makes the average drummer burn his kit with a smile on his face knowing that he made the right decision. The bassist and guitarist just played fast black metal riffs that sounded dirtier than any black metal band I have ever seen before. I think I’ve discovered the first black metal band I actually like!
So for some reason we left a little bit early, and again ‘supposed’ to have witnessed Belphegor, which probably didn’t exceed what I saw Mayhem do a bit earlier. Fuck it.
A band that is interesting to watch live as well is Kataklysm, Canadian hyperblast! RRRRRRRRRRRR goes the snare drum, with only one stick striking it. I could see the dude’s hand moving faster that I could see, sick man! And he made sure it was loud as hell too!
The grooving parts were nice to witness, as well as the fast parts, but after a while it just becomes boring to me, this type of brutal death. Luckily I could watch the drummer do that magic trick the entire show, so it wasn’t that bad.
I tried to see something of 1349, whom have that former Nile drummer behind their kit now of whom I can remember his name at the moment. But it was so crowded, I only saw the fire-spitting and half of the first song. You couldn’t even enter the room anymore (not that I wanted to…)
Then came the o so original headliner Cannibal Corpse, who were received with a lot of love by most metalheads. I have no personal relationship with this band, so I didn’t see too much. I needed to see that bassist strike his strings with all four fingers, which is amazing, and I needed to see that ugly buttfuck they call a vocalist headbang. Seriously, if that guy headbutts you, you can kiss your ass goodbye. The neck on that fucker man!
Still, they proved to be the justified headliner of this evening, with their ponderous death metal so I guess everybody when home pretty satisfied. Another No Mercy survived, and I hope that there are much more to come. Metaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!!!
Mat-Core:
Mat-Core:
Kleine Zaal:
I did not know this band that was due to open the No Mercy festival. I wasn’t expecting rubbish and when I entered the hall, I was greeting by some decent thrash metal. I remained a few songs, drank a beer, smoked a joint and went out. It wasn’t really that interesting after all, but not bad for a first band!
Yes! I was really needing this for my headbang muscles. Prostitute Disfigurement have never disappointed me with a bad show and today was another victory on their side. The only bad thing that happened then, was my good friend Leonie breaking her leg severely in the moshpit. Luckily, she’s quite well now and I want to wish her a good recovery! Back to Prostitute, the only song I really remember them playing was She’s Not Coming Home Tonight. I don’t remember titles, but I heard several songs from both albums I know best, which are Embalmed Madness and Deeds Of Derangement. They also played a few tracks of the new record Left In Grisly Fashion, but I haven’t listened to that album well enough to recognize the songs. The moshpit started right on with the first few measures and didn’t really stop until Prostitute Disfigurement ended their show.
There was a little line up change made in the “Kleine zaal” Grimfist and Psycroptic were switched, so I found myself looking at those Czech techdeath metallers. The first reaction I had when they started was: Holy Fuck! The sound was goddamn brutal and the interesting riffs were backed by a drummer with hyperactivity disorder, which made the entire sound very nice to listen to. The stage performance wasn’t really interesting, but the music made up to that. My colleague Demondust was leaving to watch Legion Of The Damned. I stayed a little while longer but did not watch the entire show, nothing to comment on this one, it was fucking brutal!
I was positively surprised by the sounds of this band. The music was something like Death metal mixed with very cool metalcore riffs that were sounding well. I recall that I went for a quick peek, but stayed several songs. Nevertheless, I wasn’t entangled for long and left quickly for a look at Pro-Pain
Alright, from this point, I only went to the kleine zaal for quick peeks, but didn’t stayed any longer than necessary. I have seen Norther perform in the past, and wasn’t really overjoyed with this band, that in my humble opinion tries to walk behind Children of Bodom. A quick peek in the “Kleine zaal” made my suspicions come true, they haven’t changed a thing. This is really not my cup of tea, more for people with tight leather pants and stuff…
This band really interest me, but had the unfortunate spot on the bill, they were playing during Kataklysm. I decided to stay for 2 songs, but the “Kleine zaal” was so crowded I couldn’t see much of the band. The sound was good though but I did not hear any familiar songs being played. I decided to go quickly, because I really did not want to miss Kataklysm.
Again! Again a band that I really wanted to see, but were playing during Cannibal Corpse. Another quick peek learned me they were playing a very raw and brutal style of black metal with great vocals, but I could not stay any longer because I was dying to see Cannibal Corpse again.
The Choice:
This band I had to see, simply because I really love the stoner black metal they play. This band from Finland were really sounding well, but there wasn’t much crowd present. Nevertheless, they really enjoyed their performance, and left The Choice in a trance-like stage. I was gripped by the interesting compositions while smoking a big joint. Man, I really enjoyed this one!
I totally missed Sinister because of Prostitute Disfigurement and Psycroptic, but I went into “The Choice” for a quick look. The sound was cool and the old school death metal was really enjoyed. I must confess I was too stoned to do anything but sit on a bench for awhile, so I haven’t seen much more than that.
Legion Of The Damned, Occult, Whatever! Why change your name into Legion of the Damned and not just continue with Occult. Anyways, the name doesn’t matter, it’s the music that matters! The music hasn’t changed and the kick ass death/thrash metal was blasting through “The Choice” The effect was devastating, headbanging everywhere (including me and demondust…) and a moshpit. Hell yeah, this was a energetic performance!
We moved a few steps higher and rolled a joint. The timing couldn’t be more perfect, I smoked a joint while Pro-Pain were blasting Fuck It, through the speakers. I don’t remember much of this show, only that they played several tracks I knew like Kill Or Be Killed, Fuck It and Justice Must Be Done. Three bald guys enjoying their time there on stage and even making comments in Dutch ( a few words though, but he knew enough) Perfect show, perfect weed, nice combination and a whole lot of fun!
I was really looking forward to Mayhem, I heard different stories about this band so I wanted to see it for myself. When Mayhem started, it took me 3 minutes to know they actually started, and this vague impression did not leave my head. The sound was fucked, cranked up high-pitched, which really hurt the ear. One may love it, one may hate it. I was really bothered by it but at the same time intrigued by the strange vocal effects of Atilla and the impossible drumming of Hellhammer. This made me stay a little while longer than I initially expected, but I could not bring to watch the entire show.
With a new album out, it was expected that this show would be one hell of a promotional stunt for it. There is a videoclip being made by Maurice (Legion Of The Damned, Lowlife Media) for the track To Reign Again, which was of course played, while Maurice recorded several snapshots of the band and the crowd. Other tracks they played were Crippled & Broken, Open Scars, In Words Of Desperation, Ambassador Of Pain, Illuminati, Shadows & Dust and several more that I can’t remember right now. I just remember a very nice show with astonishing sound and a great atmosphere. Next to me stood 2 dudes screaming they wanted Cannibal Corpse and that Kataklysm should quit right now. I guess they found themselves a little outnumbered, although I could see their point, because I was ready for Cannibal Corpse too!
Cannibal Corpse:
The show I was waiting to see for almost 1 year was finally going to start. I found back my band members so eventually we were united for Cannibal Corpse. About the show I can be quite quick. Cannibal Corpse started, headbanging started. Cannibal Corpse ended, headbanging ended. Not quite true, but true for the most part. They played all their killer tracks and I was treated to songs like ‘Blowtorch Slaughter’, ‘I Cum Blood’, ‘I Will Kill You’, ‘Gallery Of Suicide’ and ‘Devoured By Vermin’. George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher performed like always and even the announcements of the songs were the same as always. ‘Fucked With A Knife’ was dedicated to all the women as always and certainly not forgotten. They also played tracks from the later records like ‘Dormant Bodies Bursting’, ‘Pit Of Zombies’ and ‘The Wretched Spawn’. They also played several tracks of the new record Kill, like the first track ‘The Time To Kill Is Now’ and ‘Five Nails Through The Neck’ More than 90 minutes of total chaos and pure fucking death metal, this was certainly something you did not want to miss. This No Mercy festival has succeeded and the bill was fenomenal, with the best dessert a death metal head can wish for.
The show I was waiting to see for almost 1 year was finally going to start. I found back my band members so eventually we were united for Cannibal Corpse. About the show I can be quite quick. Cannibal Corpse started, headbanging started. Cannibal Corpse ended, headbanging ended. Not quite true, but true for the most part. They played all their killer tracks and I was treated to songs like ‘Blowtorch Slaughter’, ‘I Cum Blood’, ‘I Will Kill You’, ‘Gallery Of Suicide’ and ‘Devoured By Vermin’. George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher performed like always and even the announcements of the songs were the same as always. ‘Fucked With A Knife’ was dedicated to all the women as always and certainly not forgotten. They also played tracks from the later records like ‘Dormant Bodies Bursting’, ‘Pit Of Zombies’ and ‘The Wretched Spawn’. They also played several tracks of the new record Kill, like the first track ‘The Time To Kill Is Now’ and ‘Five Nails Through The Neck’ More than 90 minutes of total chaos and pure fucking death metal, this was certainly something you did not want to miss. This No Mercy festival has succeeded and the bill was fenomenal, with the best dessert a death metal head can wish for.