HUNTRESS & GOLD @ 013, Tilburg, THE NETHERLANDS 08/06/2013

Live Report & Photos by Erwin van Dijk

Huntress and Gold are two bands which qualify the describtion “Female Fronted Metal” but are worlds apart musicwise. The two bands did share the stage at the 013 venue in Netherlands on a hot saturday night. The 013 is one of the larger venues in the Netherlands. Bands like Therion, Kamelot and Dragonforce visited the venue in the past. In fact, Huntress was the opener for Dragonforce some time ago. The Stage1 is of course not as big as the main hall of the 013 (the Stage1 would fit on the stage of the main hall) but as Milton said it’s “Better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heaven” and a headliner gig is more fun than a couple of songs in front of an audience who are waiting for the headliner. It’s also the second gig for Gold at the 013. The band did a gig at the very prestigious Roadburn Festival.

Gold (from the city of Rotterdam) decribes themselves as a “comtemporary rock band that’s heavy because of the songs, not the sound”. The band has only time for 6 songs (see setlist) from the “Interbellum” album. Continue reading »

Tristania – “Darkest White” (2013)

Label : Napalm Records

Review by Tony Cannella

The Norwegian Gothic metal veterans Tristania returns with “Darkest White”, their seventh album and first since 2010’s “Rubicon”. “Darkest White” is also the second album to feature vocalist Mariangela Demurtas as she continues to fit in quite nicely and her further comfortability shows quite well throughout the 10-song, 48-minute playing time provided here.

The bombastic riffing leads us into the frenzied pacing of the opening track, “Number”. The main vocals on this track are from Anders Hoyvik Hidle who provides the brutal vocals as Mariangela joins in with her excellent vocals. Continue reading »

Delain – “Interlude” (2013)

Label : Napalm Records

Review by Tony Cannella

On their new release, the Dutch symphonic metal band Delain offers their fans a little bit of everything. “Interlude” is the title and it features new material, cover songs, alternate versions of well known songs and a bunch of songs recorded live at the metal female voices festival. In addition to all of that, the limited edition comes with a bonus DVD of the band performing live.

“Interlude” begins with two new songs. The first one is the sexy “Breathe On Me” and is (in my opinion) the better of the two. The symphonic opening to the next new one, “Collars and Suits” gives way to the heavy riff and the song maintains an up-tempo, energetic pace throughout most of the song. Continue reading »

Arkona – “Decade of Glory” LIVE (2013)

Label : Sound Age Productions/Napalm Records

Review by Vard Aman

Arkona (Аркона) have existed for only 10 years (well, 11 now), it feels like they have been around much longer given their achievements. 11 years ago, Masha Arkhipova and Alexander Korolyov, two members of a local Slavic Pagan society decided to form a band called Hyperborea, which a little later, and after gaining more members, changed their name to Arkona (named after the last Slavic fortress destroyed by the Christian invaders). They wasted no time; in late 2002, they recorded and released their first demo entitled “Русь” (“Rus”) and followed it up by their arrival on the Russian underground live scene, where they quickly gained popularity. After a a complete line up change around Masha in 2003 (the line up which has been together ever since), their debut album “Возрождение” (“Revival”) was released in 2004. Continue reading »

Visions of Atlantis – “Ethera” (2013)

Label : Napalm Records

Review by Tony Cannella

It’s been a long road for the Austrian Symphonic power metal band Visions of Atlantis. They are true survivors of the genre. They’ve survived numerous line-up changes and yet still they remain as strong as ever. As a testament to VoA’s lasting endurance and strength the band have just released their 5th full-length album “Ethera”.

“The Ark” starts things off with male vocalist Mario Plank beginning the song before Maxi Nil joins in. This is pure Visions of Atlantis and an excellent way to begin things. This is now the second album to feature Maxi Nil (not including the EP “Maria Magdalena”) and she continues to be a great fit for this band. Continue reading »