For about seven years Lowlands is one of the last weekends of my summer holiday, which means that after Lowlands another year of hard labour starts again. This year I had some bad luck considering my boss had planned a meeting on the Friday morning of Lowlands. This meant that under normal circumstances I would be there around 4 PM. Unluckily due to traffic jams on my way to Lowlands I arrived there two an half hour later then planned. 'Grabbing my first beer around 7 PM' my Lowlands 2007 finally started. Lowlands a festival that has always had a great atmosphere and plenty of different music styles to satisfy every one. Especially if you're a Britpop lover, this years Lowlands was probably a wet dream. (Niamen)

Friday

Rodrigo Y Gabriella
What a way to kick off a festival. In the overkill over monotone Brittish indie bands, Rodrigo Y Gabriella surprised everyone with their simple set-up: two guitars played with flaming flamengo passion. In the midst of it all the Grolsch-tent was served some Metallica, Deep Purple and Pink Floyd in between the guitar virtuosity. Suddenly Lowlands woke up. Nice headnodding concert one should consume alongside a cappuchino and an honest smile. (Napalm Lex)

The Killers
Probably the most trendy band on the planet after Arctic Monkeys, it would be easy to slag The Killers. But I won't. Just like I won't talk about it too much since most metalheads think they suck. Suffice it to say The Killers combine the best of many 80's rockbands with a nice amount of showmanship with very clever rock/pop hits. And on top of that they look cool. Admit it: it matters. And psst: 'Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine' is a brilliant song. Don't say it out loud, but The Killers secretly rule. Shh! (Napalm Lex)

The Saturday started with Games In Concert which is probably one of the most remarkable Lowlands acts I've ever seen. Imagine the Metropole Orchestra combined with an entire choir performing the soundtrack of well known games like Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy and Burn Out. To me an experience that I won't forget easily, not only did it make a great impression on me but musically it was also superb. Especially when a small group of people played the theme song of Mario Bros which of course the entire alpha tent recognized and sang along. (Niamen)

After the bombastic sounds of Games In Concert I hasted myself to the India tent to get my much needed doses of metal vitamins. I knew these moments would be scarce so I had to see Malkovich. Starting their set with the question if there finally would be a moshpit on Lowlands, they immediately kicked ass. Completely overwhelmed by the mix of mathcore, punk and metal I was nailed to the ground. Finally a band that could'give me my much needed vitamins. As the performance continued the crowd got more and more into the music which resulted in a little party on and off stage. (Niamen)

To be honest I'm not completely into gothic metal but considering there was a lack of metal on this Lowlands edition I decided to see After Forever. From the beginning of the show till the end it is one big party in the Alpha tent despite the fact the tent is half empty. With George from Orphanage on some guest vocals, Sander Gommans is recovering from a burnout, After Forever does what they do best. Entertaining the audience!! (Niamen)

Turbo Negro
As Turbo Negro states: Turbo Negro must be destroyed. Somehow I'd find it sad to see them go. Especially if they were truly the odd bunch of rockers among the electro hipsters and the indie cloners. But for a brief hour Lowlands got a taste of real rock, with classics such as 'Everybody Sell Your Body' and 'Fuck The World'. It makes one forget that the Turbo's haven't really recorded a decent album since Scandanavian Leather. (Napalm Lex)

The View

After Turbo Negro, which I watched together with Napalm Lex and a couple of beers, their was a huge hole with to me not so interesting bands. So that's how it happened I found myself listening to The View in the India tent. With poppy melodies they entertained the audience that was dancing all over the place. To me nothing special but to the British girls next to me one of the better performances of Lowlands. (Niamen)

Anyone who never heard of Chris Cornell before should be ashamed. The vocalist of Soundgarden and Audioslave is conquering the world with his solo work and today Lowlands is on his list. With a great set that has both old and new material of himself and of course Soundgarden and Audioslave he shows what rock means. Halfway through the set the band left the stage and Chris remains on stage doing some acoustic songs. After this he puts the icing on the cake which results in one of the better performances of Lowlands. Veni Vidi Vici. (Niamen)

 

Funeral For A Friend
Once again a band your kidbrother loves. And well, I can't really blame him. The Welsh emorockers love their middle of the road clich, but do what they're supposed to do: throw guitars in rediculous fashion and drown cool hardcore type songs in melodic crap. But it's all so sugar-sweet. And as we all know: a spoon full of sugar makes the crap go down. Digestible as fuck. Nothing wrong with that I guess. (Napalm Lex)

The Answer
I'm not sure what the fuss is with The Answer. These Irish have it all when it comes to making 70's hardrock: the outfits, the hair, the amps, the instruments and obviously the sound. All that's lacking is the fact they're not copying Led Zeppelin note for note. Where Wolfmother takes the best of past decades and makes it their own just enough to write amazing songs, The Answer should just cover Zeppelin and stop being so goddamn boring. Overrated and quite forgettable. (Napalm Lex)

Nine Inch Nails
With the immense visual bombast served by Trent and his friends at the Sziget festival, it was a slight comedown adjusting oneselves to the (and I quote) 'afternoon entertainment' by the godfuckers of industrial. Thank god for crystal clear sound and for 'happy Trent', the new version of the once chronically suicidal mister Reznor. Some people bitch that he's losing his edge. Well, some people like Arcade Fire too. Some people suck. NIN never sucks, not even in bright daylight with a happy-pappy Trent. (Napalm Lex)

The hype from Britain got me curious about this band and considering the crowded India tent I wasn't the only one. From the first tones the hardcore fanbase in front of the stage went berserk which had some positive effects on the band itself. Although I had to get used to the mixture of trance, hardcore and metal I enjoyed a show that was quite special. The band was average but the fans pushed themselves to the limit, which resulted in a human pyramid, a giant moshpit and of course the wall of death. (Niamen)

Hi we're Motõrhead and we play motherfucking loud music. The fact that Motörhead wasn't known by a large group of people and Lemmy Killmister needed an introduction said enough about the crowd that was present on Lowlands. I found myself surrounded by people who've never seen Motörhead before and questioned themselves why people like me where screaming words like 'Overkill' and 'Ace Of Spades'. Motörhead couldn't care less and did what they do best; play motherfucking loud music. (Niamen)

The fact that most of the merchandise Tool brought with them was sold out the first day of the festival says enough about the fans of this band. Luckily enough I managed to conquer a spot about 15 metres from the stage where Tool released its music upon me. Tool, being Tool above all, played a great mixture of their albums combined with giant video walls and lasers during the show. Pushing themselves and the fans to the limit and being the headlining act of Lowlands left a permanent mark'in my list of greatest festival shows next to their performance on Pinkpop 2001. Sadly enough everything has its end and this show was no exception to this. A great headliner of a festival that has become a little to much mainstream now that the Lowlands ribbon has become a fashion item. (Niamen)