Female Metal 2 at The Effenaar, Eindhoven, NL 16-17th Oct 2015
Fri 16th Oct
I haven't been to the Female Metal Voices Fest before or the previous Female Metal event, but have been to numerous similar (but smaller) events in England. I went along with a couple of friends. We flew from Stansted to Eindhoven on the Friday morning, got a bus into town from the airport and found our hotel is both right in the centre of town and very close to the venue - great organising Cecile! We had time to have a bit of a rest, get ready for the evening and then go out for some Thai food before headed to the venue: The Effenaar.
The format is that there are two stages, one in a large upstairs room and one in a smaller downstairs room. When one band finishes the next starts on the other stage, and so on, so if you are willing to rush up and down the stairs then there are no breaks. Oddly the small stage finishes after the main stage, and thus the headline band is not the last to play!
This evening, full of energy and with loads of bands to see we rushed up and down and tried to see pretty much everything!
Whyzdom - 6pm ish - 6:45pm ish
6 piece + 3 female backing vocalists (2 guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, female vocalist)
I have seen these guys at various female metal events in the UK, and as usual for me, these French power metallers are ok, but just don't really do it for me. Somehow more discordant than harmonious for me. A shame given I seem to see them quite often.
Autumn - 6:47pm-7:25pm
7 piece (3 guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, female vocals)
I don't think I have seen them before, but enjoy their slightly more mellow brand of female fronted proggish metal. It took a couple of mins to get the sound together, but then they were good to sway and rock along to. Vocals melodic and hints of various older bands creeping in there, and one song reminded me of Alanis Morissette (which is a good thing for me). Somehow not super memorable, but just nicely enjoyable, and their set went quickly.
Visions of Atlantis - 7:15pm ish - 7:55pm
5 piece (guitar, bass, drums, male vocals, female vocals, keyboards recorded)
I have seen them before (but now they have a new front lady) and enjoy their music, so they were one of the attractions for me. Sadly we missed the start of their set, but got straight into them, and rocked out. Very good melodic male and female vocalled epic rock. Great stuff, though they finished early so we didn't see very much of them sadly.
Aevarium - 8:01pm - 8:42pm
6 piece (guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, female vocals, male growled and clean
vocals)
In many ways very similar to VoA, but heavier and sometimes with nu-metal style male vocals. A band I investigated just prior to this festival and they impressed me greatly, so I was very much lookng forward to seeing them live to see if they were as good... Yes, indeed they were excellent, and exactly my sort of thing, and better than VoA on this occasion, for me - that heavier edge pushing them ahead. A great find from this festival. Wonderful.
Draconian - 8:35pm ish - 9:25pm isg
6 piece (2 guitars, bass, drums, female vocals, harsh male vocals)
A band I only know a little and hadn't seen before, so was interested to experience them. Dark doomy near death metal but with clean female vocals which shine out a ray of light from the depths of darkness. Very much music to be poetic too, have deep thoughts and feel the world's gloominess. They aren't my usual fayre, but I appreciated what I saw of them and felt their sadness deep within. I went to the back and sat on the floor for a bit and listened and rested my now sore feet for a little bit while they played.
Kingfisher Sky - 9:25pm - 10pm ish
7 piece (2 guitars, bass + male vocals, cello, drums, keyboards, female vocals)
I knew nothing of these guys prior to seeing them, and my feet still wanted a rest... But I am always interested to see another band here. Their music is rather mellow almost folk, at times gentle, but also quite heavy very melodic proggy rock. A bit different to anything else here so far, and a pleasant change of pace. Interesting, and perhaps a hint of Stream of Passion, but without any Spanish feel. I left and headed upstairs in good time for..
Lacuna Coil - 10:10pm-11:26pm
5 piece (bass, guitar, drums, male vocals, female vocals, keyboards and some guitar recorded)
LC were probably the biggest draw to come to this festival for me, and this was an excellent set which I enjoyed greatly. However, for me their earlier albums are their best work (up to and including Karmacode) and I remember going to their gigs then and I can't help thinking that I have been to what will prove to be their best gigs ever for me... I guess I'm getting old. Anyway today's set was good and I rocked out plenty, but my theory is validated, as I did enjoy their older stuff best...
Aria Flame - 11:30pm - 12:15ish
5 piece (guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, female vocals)
Sort of Anna Aliena does operatic circus power metal, and rather well, with humour and tongue definitely in cheek, with some circus flare in there too. Cool, and an excellent bonus after what would normally be the end of the evening. Rather good, I will investigate them further. I was dragged away a little before the end of the set...
It has to be said I was utterly shattered, somewhat dehydrated and somewhat out of it by the end of the evening. After being revived by a kebab and lemonade I realised that I won't be able to cope with trying to see everything tomorrow, so will have to pick and choose and take breaks properly.
Sat 17th Oct
We had a lazy morning - lots of sleep, and a bit of a wander around town for me, followed by brunch at Bagels and Beans - a tapas bagel selection, which was tasty and different. We then headed to the Effenaar...
Unshine 1:20pm ish - 1:57pm
5 piece (2 guitars, bass, drums, female vocals, keyboards horns etc recorded)
Finnish slightly folkish metal which I have liked for a while, and so was very happy to see them live. A little doomy and straight forward, but very much my thing, and I really enjoyed them live, except for the long recorded monologue in Finnish... Very tight sound. They wandered perhaps a little too deep into their Finnish forests at times, but otherwise very good, and definitely a very good start to the day for me, and one of my top 'first time seen' bands of the weekend.
Karmaflow: 1:50pm ish - 2:50pm ish
7 piece (2 guitars, bass, drums, 3 male and 1 female 'actor' / singer, keyboards recorded)
I came in a bit late after seeing Unshine, and was surprised to see what I can only describe as a power prog opera in progress, with the three-four actors / vocalists dressed up for some lost Wagnerian opera... Definitely different! Absolutely no idea what was going on. They also had Tristania's front woman join them for a bit. The music was ok, a bit poundy without enough melody for me really, and many of the male vocals a bit unrelentingly harsh with insufficient counterbalancing melody. So sadly they did little for me despite being quite a spectacle. Dutch prog madness gone overboard. My title for their work was: 'Birdman defeats Pharoah and the Wolf to rescue the Druid Princess'. Rather over progged, I had to retire...
Sin7Sins: 2:56pm - 3:20pm ish
5 piece (2 guitars (& harsh male vocals), bass, drums, female vocals)
Utterly unrelenting drums, roaring guitars, harsh male vocals. Just lots of noise, which the female vocals couldn't really reprieve. Sorry, clearly not for me. I stepped out after just a few songs
I had a break and bought an Unshine T-shirt I liked, and said hello to the band, and then sat down for a bit. Since I didn't really like the festival t-shirt, the Unshine one is my take home momento of the weekend!
It should have been Stream of Passion next, who I enjoy, but it wasn't... Instead it was a power / death metal band with very harsh male only vocals, which did nothing for me. A shame, as I had been looking forward to SoP :-(
Nymeria: 3:20pm - 4pm ish
6 piece (2 guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, harsh male vocals)
Not for me as explained above. Sorry...
Effloresce: 4:05pm - 4:45pm ish
5 piece (2 guitars, bass, drums, female vocals)
Power metal with clean female vocals. Some good bits, but sometimes just very poundy. Quite enjoyable, but not special unfortunately. I stayed until I needed to head upstairs for the next major band.
So it turns out Xandria can't play and Stream of Passion have been promoted to their place. Very sad Xandria had to drop out though, as I enjoy them, but at least I saw them last year.
Stream of Passion: 4:33pm - 5:20pm
6 piece (2 guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, female vocals and violin)
Having seen them before several times I knew what to expect and hoped they could justify stepping into Xandria's shoes. They did a good, though shorter set than I am used to, and there was only about 20 secs of violin which was a shame. The sound wasn't perfect, but good enough and the crowd enthused which always helps. That said it was very enjoyable, with only their heavier material being played, no accoustic or violin based sections. They did well for a band that really needs more time to show off their versatility. I liked them of course, and was pleased the friends I was with liked SoP too, since I had enthused about them!
Scarlet Stories: 5:20pm ish - 5:56pm
5 piece (2 guitars, bass, drums, female vocals)
I knew nothing of these guys before seeing them. Ethereal rock, with haunting female vocals. Jangly, subtle guitars. Mellow and enchanting, but with heavier and louder moments as well. I enjoyed their set, though moved to the back to enjoy it while resting my feet for a bit. Not bad at all.
Luciferian Light Orchestra: 5:50pm ish - 6:30pm ish
5 piece (2 guitars, bass, drums, female vocals)
Heavy female fronted metal with a slightly occult theme, but not really special for me, just somewhat bland, some growly male vocals, and recorded keyboards too. I stayed for a while, but then decided to head out for a break and get some food.
I headed out to dinner and so missed Dionysis, but I have seen them several times, and they aren't really my thing and I gather their sound wasn't very good, which is a real shame for them.
I went back to the hotel to freshen up and had lots of water to drink (which doesn't cost €2 for a tiny bottle), and then went to an Indonesian buffet and had some food with a glass of wine (the food was quite tasty but not really special unlike last night's Thai food, but it was very quick being a buffet). I then returneed to the Effenaar refreshed and refuelled.
The Gentle Storm: 7pm ish - 8:02pm
6 piece (2 guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, female vocals)
Anneke von Giesenberg's (The Gathering) new band, and with Stream of Passion's bassist in it by the look of things. I only caught the last part of the set, which included several duets with Stream of Passion's singer, and then a few best of songs, which were pretty good. Perhaps I shouldn't have been so willing to miss the rest of their set... the last 25 mins were certainly rather good, glad I got to see them! (I last saw Anneke supporting Within Temptation some years ago and wasn't so impressed then).
I decided to get a good position for Tristania and skip Cripper downstairs who I knew nothing about but instead found a friend and chatted for a bit. I was later told that Cripper were more shouty than I would have liked.
Tristania: 8:31pm - 9:29pm
6 piece (2 guitars + harsh vocals, bass, drums, clean and harsh male vocals, female vocals)
I always enjoy seeing Tristania, especially as they still do some of their earlier songs. Tonight it seemed to take their first song to get their sound right, but then it was heavy melodic doomy heaven. Fantastic, and definitely my favourite of the day so far. Will Therion be able to top them... They will have to do very well indeed. I rocked out totally. Fantastic, and still a real favourite band for me.
I skipped Purest of Pain to rest and kept a place at the front for Therion. The others said they were very shouty so very much doubt I would have liked them.
Therion: 10:07pm - 11:27pm
7 piece (bass, 2 guitars, drums, male vocals, 2 female vocals)
Another highlight, and actually only the second time I have seen them. I like them, but they are not a true favourite as while their very best work is utterly amazing, they have done quite a bit of (for me) less good stuff. Of course over the years there is plenty of excellent material, and that is what they played tonight. I rocked along despite sore feet and enjoyed their full stage performance - with 7 of them there is plenty going on. The sound was excellent and the crowd was with them. A great way to end the festival: their encore of Sodom & Gomorrah and then To Mega Therion is unbeatable, and I along with everyone else around me went wild. I was very happy with them as headliners. As for whether I like them more than Tristania or not that is hard to say... On the night I think Therion just get the nod, but in general probably Tristania do for me.
Lovelorn Dolls: 11:38pm-12:15am ish
4 piece (guitar, bass, drums, female vocals, keyboards recorded)
Bouncy guitar driven rock with an industrial edge. They brought in a guest singer as well for Happy Valentine, which was a nice touch. They are in The Birthday Massacre genre, and not at all bad, though I wasn't so fond of their new album after a quick listen. Live they were pretty good and ok to dance to, though I was really rather tired at this point... Glad to have stayed to see them though - earlier in the day I'm sure I would have conjured more enthusiasm (and stamina), but at this stage just standing up was an effort!
Overall then a fantastic two day festival, but so very intense with the two stages - a bit too intense perhaps? I really look forward to the next one!
I haven't been to the Female Metal Voices Fest before or the previous Female Metal event, but have been to numerous similar (but smaller) events in England. I went along with a couple of friends. We flew from Stansted to Eindhoven on the Friday morning, got a bus into town from the airport and found our hotel is both right in the centre of town and very close to the venue - great organising Cecile! We had time to have a bit of a rest, get ready for the evening and then go out for some Thai food before headed to the venue: The Effenaar.
The format is that there are two stages, one in a large upstairs room and one in a smaller downstairs room. When one band finishes the next starts on the other stage, and so on, so if you are willing to rush up and down the stairs then there are no breaks. Oddly the small stage finishes after the main stage, and thus the headline band is not the last to play!
This evening, full of energy and with loads of bands to see we rushed up and down and tried to see pretty much everything!
Whyzdom - 6pm ish - 6:45pm ish
6 piece + 3 female backing vocalists (2 guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, female vocalist)
I have seen these guys at various female metal events in the UK, and as usual for me, these French power metallers are ok, but just don't really do it for me. Somehow more discordant than harmonious for me. A shame given I seem to see them quite often.
Autumn - 6:47pm-7:25pm
7 piece (3 guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, female vocals)
I don't think I have seen them before, but enjoy their slightly more mellow brand of female fronted proggish metal. It took a couple of mins to get the sound together, but then they were good to sway and rock along to. Vocals melodic and hints of various older bands creeping in there, and one song reminded me of Alanis Morissette (which is a good thing for me). Somehow not super memorable, but just nicely enjoyable, and their set went quickly.
Visions of Atlantis - 7:15pm ish - 7:55pm
5 piece (guitar, bass, drums, male vocals, female vocals, keyboards recorded)
I have seen them before (but now they have a new front lady) and enjoy their music, so they were one of the attractions for me. Sadly we missed the start of their set, but got straight into them, and rocked out. Very good melodic male and female vocalled epic rock. Great stuff, though they finished early so we didn't see very much of them sadly.
Aevarium - 8:01pm - 8:42pm
6 piece (guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, female vocals, male growled and clean
vocals)
In many ways very similar to VoA, but heavier and sometimes with nu-metal style male vocals. A band I investigated just prior to this festival and they impressed me greatly, so I was very much lookng forward to seeing them live to see if they were as good... Yes, indeed they were excellent, and exactly my sort of thing, and better than VoA on this occasion, for me - that heavier edge pushing them ahead. A great find from this festival. Wonderful.
Draconian - 8:35pm ish - 9:25pm isg
6 piece (2 guitars, bass, drums, female vocals, harsh male vocals)
A band I only know a little and hadn't seen before, so was interested to experience them. Dark doomy near death metal but with clean female vocals which shine out a ray of light from the depths of darkness. Very much music to be poetic too, have deep thoughts and feel the world's gloominess. They aren't my usual fayre, but I appreciated what I saw of them and felt their sadness deep within. I went to the back and sat on the floor for a bit and listened and rested my now sore feet for a little bit while they played.
Kingfisher Sky - 9:25pm - 10pm ish
7 piece (2 guitars, bass + male vocals, cello, drums, keyboards, female vocals)
I knew nothing of these guys prior to seeing them, and my feet still wanted a rest... But I am always interested to see another band here. Their music is rather mellow almost folk, at times gentle, but also quite heavy very melodic proggy rock. A bit different to anything else here so far, and a pleasant change of pace. Interesting, and perhaps a hint of Stream of Passion, but without any Spanish feel. I left and headed upstairs in good time for..
Lacuna Coil - 10:10pm-11:26pm
5 piece (bass, guitar, drums, male vocals, female vocals, keyboards and some guitar recorded)
LC were probably the biggest draw to come to this festival for me, and this was an excellent set which I enjoyed greatly. However, for me their earlier albums are their best work (up to and including Karmacode) and I remember going to their gigs then and I can't help thinking that I have been to what will prove to be their best gigs ever for me... I guess I'm getting old. Anyway today's set was good and I rocked out plenty, but my theory is validated, as I did enjoy their older stuff best...
Aria Flame - 11:30pm - 12:15ish
5 piece (guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, female vocals)
Sort of Anna Aliena does operatic circus power metal, and rather well, with humour and tongue definitely in cheek, with some circus flare in there too. Cool, and an excellent bonus after what would normally be the end of the evening. Rather good, I will investigate them further. I was dragged away a little before the end of the set...
It has to be said I was utterly shattered, somewhat dehydrated and somewhat out of it by the end of the evening. After being revived by a kebab and lemonade I realised that I won't be able to cope with trying to see everything tomorrow, so will have to pick and choose and take breaks properly.
Sat 17th Oct
We had a lazy morning - lots of sleep, and a bit of a wander around town for me, followed by brunch at Bagels and Beans - a tapas bagel selection, which was tasty and different. We then headed to the Effenaar...
Unshine 1:20pm ish - 1:57pm
5 piece (2 guitars, bass, drums, female vocals, keyboards horns etc recorded)
Finnish slightly folkish metal which I have liked for a while, and so was very happy to see them live. A little doomy and straight forward, but very much my thing, and I really enjoyed them live, except for the long recorded monologue in Finnish... Very tight sound. They wandered perhaps a little too deep into their Finnish forests at times, but otherwise very good, and definitely a very good start to the day for me, and one of my top 'first time seen' bands of the weekend.
Karmaflow: 1:50pm ish - 2:50pm ish
7 piece (2 guitars, bass, drums, 3 male and 1 female 'actor' / singer, keyboards recorded)
I came in a bit late after seeing Unshine, and was surprised to see what I can only describe as a power prog opera in progress, with the three-four actors / vocalists dressed up for some lost Wagnerian opera... Definitely different! Absolutely no idea what was going on. They also had Tristania's front woman join them for a bit. The music was ok, a bit poundy without enough melody for me really, and many of the male vocals a bit unrelentingly harsh with insufficient counterbalancing melody. So sadly they did little for me despite being quite a spectacle. Dutch prog madness gone overboard. My title for their work was: 'Birdman defeats Pharoah and the Wolf to rescue the Druid Princess'. Rather over progged, I had to retire...
Sin7Sins: 2:56pm - 3:20pm ish
5 piece (2 guitars (& harsh male vocals), bass, drums, female vocals)
Utterly unrelenting drums, roaring guitars, harsh male vocals. Just lots of noise, which the female vocals couldn't really reprieve. Sorry, clearly not for me. I stepped out after just a few songs
I had a break and bought an Unshine T-shirt I liked, and said hello to the band, and then sat down for a bit. Since I didn't really like the festival t-shirt, the Unshine one is my take home momento of the weekend!
It should have been Stream of Passion next, who I enjoy, but it wasn't... Instead it was a power / death metal band with very harsh male only vocals, which did nothing for me. A shame, as I had been looking forward to SoP :-(
Nymeria: 3:20pm - 4pm ish
6 piece (2 guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, harsh male vocals)
Not for me as explained above. Sorry...
Effloresce: 4:05pm - 4:45pm ish
5 piece (2 guitars, bass, drums, female vocals)
Power metal with clean female vocals. Some good bits, but sometimes just very poundy. Quite enjoyable, but not special unfortunately. I stayed until I needed to head upstairs for the next major band.
So it turns out Xandria can't play and Stream of Passion have been promoted to their place. Very sad Xandria had to drop out though, as I enjoy them, but at least I saw them last year.
Stream of Passion: 4:33pm - 5:20pm
6 piece (2 guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, female vocals and violin)
Having seen them before several times I knew what to expect and hoped they could justify stepping into Xandria's shoes. They did a good, though shorter set than I am used to, and there was only about 20 secs of violin which was a shame. The sound wasn't perfect, but good enough and the crowd enthused which always helps. That said it was very enjoyable, with only their heavier material being played, no accoustic or violin based sections. They did well for a band that really needs more time to show off their versatility. I liked them of course, and was pleased the friends I was with liked SoP too, since I had enthused about them!
Scarlet Stories: 5:20pm ish - 5:56pm
5 piece (2 guitars, bass, drums, female vocals)
I knew nothing of these guys before seeing them. Ethereal rock, with haunting female vocals. Jangly, subtle guitars. Mellow and enchanting, but with heavier and louder moments as well. I enjoyed their set, though moved to the back to enjoy it while resting my feet for a bit. Not bad at all.
Luciferian Light Orchestra: 5:50pm ish - 6:30pm ish
5 piece (2 guitars, bass, drums, female vocals)
Heavy female fronted metal with a slightly occult theme, but not really special for me, just somewhat bland, some growly male vocals, and recorded keyboards too. I stayed for a while, but then decided to head out for a break and get some food.
I headed out to dinner and so missed Dionysis, but I have seen them several times, and they aren't really my thing and I gather their sound wasn't very good, which is a real shame for them.
I went back to the hotel to freshen up and had lots of water to drink (which doesn't cost €2 for a tiny bottle), and then went to an Indonesian buffet and had some food with a glass of wine (the food was quite tasty but not really special unlike last night's Thai food, but it was very quick being a buffet). I then returneed to the Effenaar refreshed and refuelled.
The Gentle Storm: 7pm ish - 8:02pm
6 piece (2 guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, female vocals)
Anneke von Giesenberg's (The Gathering) new band, and with Stream of Passion's bassist in it by the look of things. I only caught the last part of the set, which included several duets with Stream of Passion's singer, and then a few best of songs, which were pretty good. Perhaps I shouldn't have been so willing to miss the rest of their set... the last 25 mins were certainly rather good, glad I got to see them! (I last saw Anneke supporting Within Temptation some years ago and wasn't so impressed then).
I decided to get a good position for Tristania and skip Cripper downstairs who I knew nothing about but instead found a friend and chatted for a bit. I was later told that Cripper were more shouty than I would have liked.
Tristania: 8:31pm - 9:29pm
6 piece (2 guitars + harsh vocals, bass, drums, clean and harsh male vocals, female vocals)
I always enjoy seeing Tristania, especially as they still do some of their earlier songs. Tonight it seemed to take their first song to get their sound right, but then it was heavy melodic doomy heaven. Fantastic, and definitely my favourite of the day so far. Will Therion be able to top them... They will have to do very well indeed. I rocked out totally. Fantastic, and still a real favourite band for me.
I skipped Purest of Pain to rest and kept a place at the front for Therion. The others said they were very shouty so very much doubt I would have liked them.
Therion: 10:07pm - 11:27pm
7 piece (bass, 2 guitars, drums, male vocals, 2 female vocals)
Another highlight, and actually only the second time I have seen them. I like them, but they are not a true favourite as while their very best work is utterly amazing, they have done quite a bit of (for me) less good stuff. Of course over the years there is plenty of excellent material, and that is what they played tonight. I rocked along despite sore feet and enjoyed their full stage performance - with 7 of them there is plenty going on. The sound was excellent and the crowd was with them. A great way to end the festival: their encore of Sodom & Gomorrah and then To Mega Therion is unbeatable, and I along with everyone else around me went wild. I was very happy with them as headliners. As for whether I like them more than Tristania or not that is hard to say... On the night I think Therion just get the nod, but in general probably Tristania do for me.
Lovelorn Dolls: 11:38pm-12:15am ish
4 piece (guitar, bass, drums, female vocals, keyboards recorded)
Bouncy guitar driven rock with an industrial edge. They brought in a guest singer as well for Happy Valentine, which was a nice touch. They are in The Birthday Massacre genre, and not at all bad, though I wasn't so fond of their new album after a quick listen. Live they were pretty good and ok to dance to, though I was really rather tired at this point... Glad to have stayed to see them though - earlier in the day I'm sure I would have conjured more enthusiasm (and stamina), but at this stage just standing up was an effort!
Overall then a fantastic two day festival, but so very intense with the two stages - a bit too intense perhaps? I really look forward to the next one!