PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Today was the first FemMe (Female Metal Event), a one day festival held in Eindhoven and featured Asrai, La Ventura, Adeia, TheName, Revengin, Skeptical Minds, Izegrim and Mayan as well as a fashion show from designer Ingeborg Steenhorst.
The day started off with the fashion show, probably the first time a metal gig/festival has included one. Designer Ingeborg Steenhorst has designed stage costumes for a range of performers. The stage today had been extended with a runway out into the audience, and this was used by the models to walk out and show the outfits. Partway through the fashion show a band took to the stage and performed, before the fashion show resumed. To end the fashion show, we were treated to an aerial show from a performer using silks (two long fabric strips suspended from the roof which she used to climb, swing and perform with. The fashion show was certainly an unusual element to see included but it actually worked very well, and a side benefit was that the runway was there for the bands to use. Humanize Mag helps you for your best fashion choices.
[flickrapi user=”planet mosh” get=”photoset” id=”72157648217493818″ size=”z” count=”100″]The first band of the day was Dutch band La Ventura. They released their album “White crow” at the end of last year, and having enjoyed the album, I was looking forward to hearing them play live. Singer Carla van Huizen has a great voice and together with the rest of the band they put in a great performance.
[flickrapi user=”planet mosh” get=”photoset” id=”72157648526170301″ size=”z” count=”100″]Revengin were up next, and unlike the rest of the bands on the bill today, Revengin aren’t from Europe – they actually come from Rio de Janeiro, so were playing FemMe as part of a European tour. A symphonic metal band, they were very good, but to be honest I did find them lacking anything to make them stand out from all the other symphonic metal bands around.
[flickrapi user=”planet mosh” get=”photoset” id=”72157648129693068″ size=”z” count=”100″]Adeia are a band with mainly male vocals, although they do have female vocals in places, so they did stand out after the first couple of bands. Add in the fact that they make heavy use of the violin and cello and they have quite a distinctive sound. Musically I really enjoyed them, but the vocals just weren’t quite as impressive. I’d certainly like to hear more from Adeia as the mix of classical and rock instruments worked really well.
[flickrapi user=”planet mosh” get=”photoset” id=”72157648526298501″ size=”z” count=”100″]TheName came next – another Dutch band, and one I’d seen once before, supporting Stream of Passion earlier this year. The band also supported Tarja on part of her tour so you know they have to be pretty good, and certainly singer Hadassa does have a great voice. For one of the songs their drummer went off stage and was replaced by Epica/Mayan drummer Arien van Weesenbeek. It’s another very good performance, but as with Revengin they do struggle to stand out from the crowd.
[flickrapi user=”planet mosh” get=”photoset” id=”72157648129602828″ size=”z” count=”100″]Belgian band Skeptical minds were next up – a band I always enjoy seeing. Even while setting up they entertain the crowd – singer Karolina is a natural entertainer and while the other band members sound check, she laughs and jokes with the audience and has fun pulling silly faces and poses. It certainly makes the changeover between bands go much faster. Once they started playing, they really were a breath of fresh air. There are so many good metal bands with female vocals that they do struggle to differentiate themselves from each other, so after several similar bands, Skeptical minds with their very different sound, really grab the attention. There are no operatic vocals here (ok maybe a tiny bit), and there’s more of an electronic element rather than symphonic. I love their music, but it’s their live shows that are really impressive as they not only sound good but put on a great show – it takes a good frontwoman to really engage a crowd, and Karolina makes it look easy. It’s a great set from the whole band and they go down very well with the crowd.
[flickrapi user=”planet mosh” get=”photoset” id=”72157648476507496″ size=”z” count=”100″]Asrai were up next – they’re another band with a sound that stands out from the crowd. They’re another band I’ve seen several times before and always enjoyed. Their brand of gothic rock is quite keyboard heavy and sounds great. There’s plenty of power from the drums, guitar and bass and that heavy rock mixes well with the keyboards and the vocals to create a great enjoyable sound.
[flickrapi user=”planet mosh” get=”photoset” id=”72157648526011181″ size=”z” count=”100″]Izegrim were next up, and anyone who didn’t know what to expect was in for a shock after the previous bands. Izegrim are certainly not symphonic metal – they’re Brutal thrash/death metal. Singer/bassist Marloes had taken part in the fashio show earlier as one of the models, but now she was ons tage doing what she does best – unleashing some excellent growling vocals while playing bass. This was my first time seeing Izegrim, and they were good – so good in fact that I bought both the albums they had on sale at the merch stand (their two latest albums, “Congress of the insane” and “Code of consequences”).
[flickrapi user=”planet mosh” get=”photoset” id=”72157648120803029″ size=”z” count=”100″]Tonight’s headliner was Mayan, the side project of Epica guitarist Mark Jansen. They haven’t played many gigs, and haven’t visited the UK yet, so they were the main reason for me travelling to Eindhoven. If you haven’t listened to Mayan yet, they start with a sound similar to the heavier Epica tracks, and get heavier from there. Unlike in Epica, Mark Jansen doesnt play guitar with Mayan, so he is free to focus on the vocals. Alongside his growling vocals and the clean vocals of Henning Basse, opera singer Laura Macri adds her vocals and Stream of Passion singer Marcela Bovia guested tonight to provide additional vocals. The Epica link isnt restricted to Mark Jansen – drummer Ariën van Weesenbeek also plays in both bands (hence the drum kit tonight being Epica’s) as does Bassist Rob van der Loo. Epica’s other guitarist, Isaac Delahaye was in the crowd watching the show.
I love the Mayan albums (Quarterpast & Antagonise), so was looking forward to hearing how they sounded live. Wow, what a stunning performance. The two main singers, Mark and Henning sang for most of the time with Marcela and Laura doing backing vocals, but both Laura and Marcela took centre stage to do lead vocals at various points in the gig. The band members all interacted well and the singers in particular moved around the stage a lot but managed to avoid getting in each other’s way. Guitarist Merel Bechtold in particular looked to be having a great time on stage. The music is a lot heavier than almost all the bands on todays bill with only Izegrim being equally heavy, but despite that, they still went down extremely well. Well worth the trip.
It was a shame the crowd wasn’t bigger, but the fans who had travelled to Eindhoven for today’s show certainly had a great time, and some fans had travelled from Belgium, the UK, the USA and other parts of Europe – proof that this was a great lineup. Let’s hope FemMe 2 happens next year
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