When you’re facing a day of black metal, it’s best to come prepared. Roadburn’s Friday had plenty of heavy and dark bands, but also saddening news during the day on Friday that affects the project that is Maalstroom. Editor: Guido Segers News broke yesterday that Michiel Eikenaar had passed away, which is greatly saddening. You may have noticed bands dedicating their show to him, such as Molasses on Thursday. From
Tormented sounds howl from the Koepelhal. It is early in the afternoon and Throane brings their ritual to the stage. Standing in a circle around a massive sword sticking up from the center stage, the band delivers a pulverizing set of crushing sludge as the sun still leaks in through the windows. Almost on call the temperature seems to drop outside and a cold settles over the festival. Editor: Guido Segers
To have the Grammy Award winning Metropole orchestra play in 013 is a pleasure. To have them play the life work of Tom Gabriel Fischer, with Triptykon, at Roadburn. Well, that’s a blessing. The set-up is already grand and quite unlike you normally see on your festival set-up. Then the musicians arrive, the curtains open up and the spectacle begins. Editor: Guido Segers / Photo’s: Celtic Frost has been laid
Many of you may be aware that there are some issues people dislike about Roadburn. The Facebook Group, Roadburners (join while you can), is seeing a lot of those – people are starting polls for crying out loud- and we wanted to ask Walter about some of them. Unfortunately, as you may have seen, Walter is running around like Usain Bolt with one phone on his ear, furiously typing on
The secret of a good dish is contrast. Any chef can tell you that. The same applies to Roadburn, where a lot of the bands play music that is complex, layered and made for deep listening. That starts early in the day with the swelling sounds of Sherpa, who begin with a trickle that builds up to a sonic surge, allowing you to float on a sea of sound. Editor:
At first sight it seems like a remarkable choice, Tomas Lindberg as this year’s Roadburn curator. Although immediately known as the frontman for melodeath stalwarts At the Gates, a little research shows a diverse career in music. From fronting bands such as Disfear to stints in Lock Up, Lindberg’s definitely caught Roadburn’s attention, culminating in a friendship with festival director Walter Hoeijmakers and resulting in a curation under the banner The
The visual is always very present during Roadburn festival. In the new venue, The Pit Stop, it hits you from all sides. From the muscular men statues, which will be seen on many Instagram accounts, to the Full Bleed expo, it’s a feast for the eyes. So we went to have a look and hang out with people who create beauty. Editor: Guido Segers / Photo’s: Paul Verhagen Full Bleed
Roadburn is not exclusively about desert rock and stoner music anymore. It’s still there, but really, how far has the festival come? On Thursday, there’s something more primal happening. Folk music, in its broadest sense, is taking center stage at Roadburn, as we see performances of Myrkur, Heilung, and Hexvessel on the main stage. Editor: Guido Segers Let’s face it, many of us are looking for an escape. We are
Yes! We are finally here again! Planet motherfuckin Roadburn! Whoohah! With NMTH, we will completely immerse ourselves in the coming days in the violent glory of what we can regard as simply the best place on earth possible. With this year an even bigger warm-up party on Wednesday in the Green Room of 013, called Ignition: Roadburn 2019 Pre Show. Goddamn, it is so nice to be here again. Editor:
It’s been five years since The Devil’s Blood´ Selim Lemouchi left this world behind. Five years since his band members played his songs, that had such burning force behind them, such otherworldliness and conviction. Certainly, there have been other bands and the spark of his creativity has been carried on but not until today has it fully become part of the texture that is heavy music as Molassess takes the
