Dynamo Open Air
7 May 2005
Hellendoorn, Holland
The Dynamo Open Air festival has had a number of homes over the years and was this year residing in the East of Holland by a small town called Hellendoorn on a site which earlier in the week also hosted the Dauwpop festival.
The Open Air title was slightly misleading this year as in fact both stages were situated within open sided tents. In fact the main stage tent was so large it could comfortably accommodate everyone attending the festival. This was rather fortunate as for much of the day, perhaps Dynamo Open Skies would have been more apt.
All three bands on the current Roadrunner Roadrage tour, being Still Remains, 3 Inches of Blood and Trivium, made appearances on the second stage with Still Remains opening proceedings.
With a deluge of American metalcore bands plying the same shouty / clean vocal trade off and seemingly influenced by the likes of In Flames, how does a band set themselves apart? Well in Still Remains case it`s with the addition of keyboards, courtesy of Zach Roth. That extra backing certainly hit the mark with the excellent White Walls, however despite the surprisingly high levels of energy the band were able to inject into their performance at noon on a wet weekend, they seemed somewhat out of place today. Perhaps the shouting vocals of T.J.Miller were a bit much to take at this hour, as many arriving seemed to take a quick look and then shuffle off in the direction of the main stage.
Still Remains set list:
To Live & Die In Fire / Kelsey / White Walls / Blossom The Witch / I Can Revive Him With My Own Hands / The Worst Is Yet To Come
A more enthusiastic response greeted Denmark`s Mercenary who entertained us with half of their recent 11 Dreams album plus a trip back to 2002`s Everblack for Seize The Night. Fittingly for a song about Nosferatu, the face of the vampire himself appeared on the video screen behind the band before being engulfed in flames.
Singer, Mikkel, was putting his all into the performance and delivered stunning vocals throughout with Sharpen The Edges a standout moment. A "very metal" bassist Kral reminded us of the band`s more death metal past, not only looking the part but also adding the odd blood curdling vocal. His scream of "Come closer" more of an order than an invitation.
Finishing up with the catchy 11 Dreams, Mercenary delivered in all areas and took full advantage of the fact that the tent was busy due to the downpour.
Mercenary set list:
reDestructDead / Firesoul / Seize The Night / Sharpen The Edges / World Hate Centre / 11 Dreams
There seems to be a lot of doubt in the UK that 3 Inches Of Blood are genuine about their love of metal. True, back when they supported The Darkness (a crime in itself for some) they looked more like a bunch of piss taking skaters. However, today only shouter Jamie Hooper retains that look and you fear for his safety with co-vocalist Cam Pipes flailing studded wristbands. In truth Pipes`, …erm, pipes are so ridiculous OTT, in a Halford meets King Diamond meets Udo way, that Hooper seems a bit surplus to requirements.
Holland has no qualms about the metal assault confronting them and even though, like us, they may have no idea what a Wykydtron is, they bang their heads and raise devil horns to the twin guitar attack of Justin Hagberg and Shane Clark.
3 Inches Of Blood set list included:
Fear On The Bridge / Revenge Is A Vulture / Wykydtron / Axes Of Evil / Deadly Sinners
By contrast Masterplan`s set didn`t seem to get going. Maybe it was the early hour but aside from Jorn Lande`s classic rock posturing with his mic stand, the rest of the band appeared extremely laid back.
Unfortunately, the fact that Roland Grapow`s guitar wasn`t cutting through in the mix and Lande`s vocals were echoing meant a lot of the hooks, in a set covering both the Aeronautics and Masterplan albums, were blunted.
I can`t help but think that maybe a second guitarist would give the band an extra power in translating the songs in a live environment. Hopefully things will appear in a more Kindhearted Light when the band plays Bloodstock Open Air next month.
Masterplan set list included:
Crimson Rider / Crystal Night / Wounds / Kindhearted Light / I`m Not Afraid / Enlighten Me / Soulburn / Back For My Life / Crawling From Hell
With Ascendancy, Trivium have released one of the best albums so far this year and have gone steaming past the competition in the so called New Wave Of American Heavy Metal. The true test is in the live environment however and Trivium delivered in all departments, being incredibly fast and heavy yet retaining melody and, as unit, playing as tight as hell.
Vocalist/guitarist Matt Heafy looks far to young to have so much confidence, but with gems like Suffocating Sight in his arsenal, which saw the first mosh of the day, it`s no real wonder. The band wear their influences on their t-shirts with guitarist Corey Beaulieu sporting Metallica And Justice For All and bassist Paolo Gregoletto in Overkill Under The Influence, and similar to how Machine Head took the thrash sound into new areas with Burn My Eyes, Trivium are forging their own take on the genre. Certainly a case where the hype is justified.
Trivium set list:
The End Of Everything / Rain / Drowned & Torn / Asunder / Suffocating Sight / Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr / A Gunshot To The Head Of Trepidation / Ascendancy / Like Light To The Flies
A one off chance to see Lääz Rockit play again was one of the major draws of this festival for me, though I had no idea what to expect. As the band tear into Fire In The Hole, visually the most obvious change was Michael Coons big hair now cropped, though his vocals were as distinctive as ever.
The stomping Prelude gets the crowd singing along and afterwards Coons compares their return to the stage as like riding a bike. He tells us in the interim drummer Victor Agnello is now a doctor and between them the band have 8 children. Coons himself has none despite a member of the audience claiming to be his long lost son.
Basically this reunion is about fun and with no pressure, the band were beaming from ear to ear. Bassist Willie Lange in particular seemed to be putting in every ounce of his energy, stamping around the front of the stage and beating his bass strings as the band crunch through Bad Blood. Guitarists Aaron Jellum & Phil Kettner, again, no longer with big hair but both sporting baseball caps, trade solos as Say Goodbye M.F. flies past.
The pace is eased up with Spared From The Fire from 1985 album No Stranger To Danger, but a trio of Know Your Enemy classics, Most Dangerous Game, Last Breath and crowd favourite Euroshima ensure an energetic close to the set.
Coons tells us it`s been 16 years since this line-up played together and probably another 16 years before they do again. I`ll make a note in my 2021 diary!
Lääz Rockit set list:
Fire In The Hole / Prelude / Bad Blood / Say Goodbye M.F. / Spared From The Fire / Forced To Fight / Most Dangerous Game / Last Breath / Euroshima
Quite why Evergrey were consigned to the second stage I do not know. True they were effectively headlining it, but they would have faired much better on any time slot over on the main stage. The rain had finally ceased, but many weren`t chancing the trip through the mud to the second stage. The ground wasn`t the only thing muddy with the sound mix being atrocious and whilst Evergrey were as professional as ever the circumstances they found themselves in were not doing them any favours.
Set wise the choice of songs pretty much followed that played on the James Labrie tour. I`m Sorry appeared mid set, with Tom S. Englund pausing to announce this was the coldest gig of his life, something echoed by the number of t-shirts we were buying mainly to put on to keep warm. Recreation Day`s clap a long provided the necessary exercise to warm up those at the front, before someone got carried away with the dry ice and amusingly the band disappeared from view. If you`ve seen the film The Fog, that`s what it looked and felt like!
This is not to say this was a bad set, far from it. It was just disappointing having seen the band twice already that week that given the right conditions it could have been so much better.
Evergrey set list included:
Blinded / End Of Your Days / More Than Ever / She Speaks To The Dead / I`m Sorry / Recreation Day / A Touch Of Blessing
Gorefest couldn`t have wished for a better introduction to their set, with the skies opening once more for a short sharp shower and hence the main stage tent filling quickly with people. Reunion`s seemed to be a common theme of the day and for the next hour we were treated to one of Dutch`s finest death metal bands who had gone AWOL after 1998`s Chapter 13 album. For their final two albums Gorefest had pursued a more groove orientated take on death metal, however it seems that the band have decided to return to their heavier routes, with two-thirds of 1993`s False album making an appearance today.
Wiry frontman Jan-Chris de Koeijer, lit by a green light, took a commanding presence stage centre, providing the rumbling bottom end with his oversized bass. His deep holler was as relentless as ever as the band powered through The Glorious Dead and the massively brooding State Of Mind with guitarists Boudewijn Bonebakker and Frank Hathoorn staying firmly in position either side of de Koeijer.
Personally I was a bit disappointed by only Chapter 13 itself making an appearance from Gorefest`s final two albums and past the half hour mark the unyielding assault caused my attention to wander, however the death metal faithful were lapping it up.
Gorefest set list:
The Glorius Dead / State Of Mind / Low / Mental Misery / False / Erase / Reality - When You Die / Chapter 13 / From Ignorance To Oblivion / The Mass Insanity / Confessions Of A Serial Killer
The first and second stages had run with no time gaps between them and after the second stage had finished the main stage was still pretty lean on the time of change-overs. Hence with such a great bill there was never going to be a great moment to break, however by this point I was both wet and bloody freezing and a trip back to the car was required for more clothing. As a result we heard Obituary pounding through the first half of their set from the car park. Threatening Skies was a particularly apt choice of song today!
Returning, the first three songs photographers rule meant Johan couldn`t access the photopit, but we enjoyed Obituary from some distance taking in the full effect of the lighting which given the stage was in a tent had been impressive for all the bands despite the time of day.
Obituary are renowned for always delivering live and today was no exception. John Tardy was so absorbed in the deathly tunes that at one point he dropped his mic stand and wandered around the stage with a pained expression as if he was next to be Chopped In Half. Trevor Peres looked even more psychotic than the recent gig in London whilst Allen West had wisely chosen to wear a woolly hat for this deadly cold occasion.
As Slowly We Rot pounded around the tent all that was left was to curse the weather for having missed the earlier part of Obituary`s set.
Obituary set list included:
Internal Bleeding / Threatening Skies / Chopped In Half / Solid State / Kill For Me / Slowly We Rot
Maybe Anthrax suffered through the weather but there was no doubt that the largest crowd of the day had gathered to see Testament. For the first eight songs of the set we didn`t get the full original line-up with John Tempesta ably manning the kit as apparently Louie Clemente was a bit out of practice.
Testament were the first band I ever saw live back in November 1987 and what a flash back it was to see Peterson, Billy, Christian and Skolnick tearing through opener The Preacher. The New Order followed and as Alex Skolnick raced through the song`s solo my jaw hitting the floor was probably heard by all. Skolnick always had such a unique guitar tone and always was one of the best thrash guitar players, but in his days away from the band he has matured so much as a guitar player that even the familiar solos seemed to have moved up a notch.
For Sins Of Omission Chuck points out that this is Skolnick`s first time at Dynamo since 1987 and as it`s the same scenario for Greg Christian he is afforded the familiar bass intro to Souls Of Black.
Following Trial By Fire, Tempesta takes a bow and after a quick on stage beer bong for one of Testament`s roadies, Louie Clemente is introduced and we are treated to the original line up for the remaining songs.
The mellow The Legacy was a surprise inclusion, with the early part of the song providing a showcase for Skolnick`s lead playing. However, this was only a brief respite before the crowd were flattened with back to back renditions of Over The Wall and Disciples Of The Watch.
The future for Testament is currently uncertain, but let`s hope rumour is true that they do decide to record with the original line-up. It sounds like the full on touring may be gearing down, but if sporadic appearances from this line up is all we get, I can settle for that with Skolnick`s attendance a must.
Testament set list:
The Preacher / The New Order / The Haunting / Electric Crown / Sins Of Omission / Souls Of Black / Into The Pit / Trial By Fire / Practice What You Preach / The Legacy / Over The Wall / Disciples Of The Watch
For what seemed like an eternity, roadies were soundchecking the drum kit prior to Jon Oliva`s Pain`s appearance. By this point it was extremely cold and maybe this was to blame for the rapidly thinning audience. When the band did eventually appear, with Jon Oliva finally taking his position stage front behind his keyboards, it was with dismay that a lumpen version of my favourite Savatage song Gutter Ballet was crucified by the sound.
Things weren`t much better during All The Time, but as Oliva stepped out to wander round singing Jesus Saves things appeared to click. The ironic sound of a crowd who had earlier been worshipping Gorefest and Obituary screaming Jesus Saves was not lost, despite the song`s true topic.
Mocking his own size Jon Oliva had given this tour the moniker of Size Does Matter Tour and this was plainly evident as a massive Hounds echoed around the tent. Heading back to Pain material, Oliva described his guitarists as two of the best in the world and the twin assault during The Dark did little to disprove this claim.
Throughout the set, Oliva swapped between his stage front keyboards and pacing the stage as a frontman. For someone who has apparent doubts about his frontman abilities he handled the role with complete ease and whilst not perhaps being a ladies pin-up, Oliva`s constant humour kept the crowd smiling throughout.
Having had most of the set time used up by the extend sound check however, there wasn`t much time to dwell and ancient Savatage faves City Beneath The Surface and Sirnes closed an enjoyable set.
Jon Oliva`s Pain set list:
Gutter Ballet / All The Time / Jesus Saves / Hounds / The Dark / People Say - Gimme Some Hell / Ghost In The Ruins / City Beneath The Surface / Sirens
As I had said, Testament were the first band I had seen, and that was as support to Anthrax on the Among The Living tour. So for the Blues Bros. intro to lead straight into a taped intro of Among The Living, in the exact same fashion as during that tour was a bit of a flash back. What then followed I found just plain weird as the 1987 line-up flooded the stage. Anthrax have been quite lively on stage over the recent years, but what greeted us tonight was a blur with even Dan Spitz getting into the action.
Most eyes were on Joey Belladonna, and although many of the other artists appearing in reunion line-ups today may have changed, Belladonna looked exactly the same. Probably wisely wearing gloves, as in the past today he had his half mic stand and constantly outstretched his arms skywards to evoke a cry from the crowd. During Caught In A Mosh`s breakdown he did the stupidest dance I have ever seen which went completely unnoticed by Scott Ian who was constantly stomping around in circles.
Bassist Frank Bello was back where he ought to stay as Anthrax`s ringmaster general, constantly waving at the crowd to up the energy. Dan Spitz meanwhile, despite having a guitar sound that sounded like a transistor radio, hit all the solos spot on and appeared more confident, perhaps even cocky, than I had ever seen him.
Chuck Billy joined the band for Indians, bowing down for Anthrax with Joey returning the favour and bowing down for him. Nostalgia couldn`t help but carry me on a wave through the set, though the occasional jerk of reality of what about John Bush and the last four albums couldn`t help but pop into my head. I have another taste of this line-up next month at Sweden Rock, and with a set list like tonight how can I not enjoy it? I have to say with no firm word on the future, I still felt a bit confused by what Anthrax are doing at the end however.
Anthrax set list:
Among The Living / Got The Time / Caught In A Mosh / AIR / Madhouse / Antisocial / NFL / Deathrider / Medusa / Indians / Be All End All / I Am The Man / Metal Thrashing Mad / I Am The Law
LINKS:
Dynamo Open Air
Anthrax
Jon Oliva`s Pain
Testament
Obituary
Gorefest
Evergrey
Trivium
Masterplan
3 Inches Of Blood
Mercenary
Still Remains
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