#amenra — Public Fediverse posts

Aus Gründen ....

Amenra, vom Hellfest 2026

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0tB5QLoSePo&pp=0gcJCYsCo7VqN5tD

#Amenra #Hellfest #Arte #Konzert

When one pictures Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, post-metal is probably not among the imagery that readily springs to mind. But the more I think about it, the more the birthplace of Loneshore makes sense. Just as post-metal is often defined by striking contrasts, so is Rio, a city where mountains and beaches coexist alongside favelas and wealthy communities. This diversity is mirrored in Loneshore’s sophomore record, Nothing Left to Deconstruct, which arrives nearly eight years after their 2018 debut, From Presence to Silence. How have the members of Loneshore matured as musicians during this time?

It turns out that Loneshore wasn’t always primarily a post-metal group. From Presence to Silence blended somber, doomy melodeath similar to Eternal Storm with Opethian melodies. Nothing Left to Deconstruct, however, squarely straddles the line between post-metal and Explosions in the Sky-esque post-rock, while adopting Amenra’s silvery-smooth buildups and releases. Loneshore retains some progressive metal, although this time it’s closer to The Ocean, especially during some of the clean-sung passages in “To Stride the Black Earth.” In fact, Luiz Felipe Netto’s clean and harsh vocal styles both cover a wide array of registers. Nothing Left to Deconstruct is no less lush from an instrumental perspective, making it an enjoyable listen from front to back.

Nothing Left to Deconstruct flows like a river, though don’t expect many whitewater rapids. Intro track “Self Oscillations” is like a gentle tributary, its dreamy vocal harmonies, mild guitar notes, and mesmerizing tom drum percussion rolling fluidly into “Straylight.” Loneshore makes good use of three guitarists and a bassist by overlapping their lines together sumptuously (“Parhelion,” “Of Lost Waters”). The 10-minute centerpiece “Birth of a Mountain” features a laid-back recurring melody that rises and falls like a sea of sand dunes. That said, there are sometimes surges of vehemence in the form of blackened snarls and forceful riffs (“Straylight,” “To Stride the Black Earth,” “Parhelion”). Because Loneshore doesn’t overly favor hooks or heaviness, Nothing Left to Deconstruct is a bit of a slow burn, requiring a few complete spins to sink in for me.

As relaxing as Nothing Left to Deconstruct is overall, most of its individual songs last longer than their contents can support. The majority hover around the 8-minute mark, and all of these have lengthy outros that don’t add much. “Of Lost Waters” begins with a pristine and serene post-rock tune, which is diminished by the minute-and-a-half meandering conclusion of “Birth of a Mountain” that came before. Likewise, concluding track “With Nothing We Part” is the most languid and least memorable despite a momentary injection of vitality at the halfway point. On the other hand, “To Stride the Black Earth” is the punchiest and has no noticeable fluff. While the total runtime sits at a fairly reasonable 52 minutes, there is a stronger 40 to 45-minute record lurking within.

It’s not uncommon for artists’ priorities to shift during a lengthy absence; in this case, Loneshore is the better for it. The post/prog metal hybrid Nothing Left to Deconstruct passes by like a pleasant ocean breeze in Rio de Janeiro. It took some time for me to fully appreciate it, but I’m glad I did. The main deficiencies holding back Nothing Left to Deconstruct are a lack of decisive conclusions and a bit of bloat. Nevertheless, if Loneshore continues to develop in this manner, I anticipate great things from album number three.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Willowtip Records
Websites: loneshore.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/Loneshore
Releases Worldwide: June 19th, 2026

Conjurer – Unself Review

By Dear Hollow

I’m beginning to think Mire was a fluke. I’m not saying that as a bad thing, but I remember listening to Conjurer’s debut and thinking that it was a top post-metal album steeped in atmosphere and enigma, tied together with vicious vocals and vindictive weight.1 So then, I was immensely let down by follow-up Páthos because it seemed to shed substance for novelty: if I’m being honest, its stark dichotomy of heartwrenching melodies and kickass riffs felt inauthentic and shoehorned. Thus, I approached Unself carefully, hoping for something like Mire but tentatively expecting Páthos. What I got, however, was neither. You see, Mire was a fluke not in quality but in approach, because Unself proves that Conjurer prioritizes riff, weaponizing it for the very human tale of the deconstruction of self.

The title track enters with what I would expect from an early 2010s metalcore band intro,2 the Americana cover of 1919 gospel song “I Can’t Feel At Home in this World Anymore” morphing into a full-on dissodeath takedown via a barb of squealing dissonance. While this and the final song, “The World is Not My Home” seem to tie up the album into a thematic deconstruction of religion, Unself is a bit more complex than that. It reflects the journey of vocalist/guitarist Dani Nightingale through an autism diagnosis and discovery of them being non-binary. Similarly reflecting this complexity and remaining incredibly difficult to neatly categorize its sonic assault, Conjurer lays a foundation of post-metal’s meandering rhythmic hulk with death metal intensity, sludge tonal abuse, and a sleek modern production built atop, with – in Unself – hints of black metal. It’s not the second coming of Mire – it’s Unself and undeniably on-brand and completely authentic – and that’s perfectly okay for Conjurer.

Unself’s structure shows Conjurer’s devotion to natural growth, a welcome change from the shoehorned Páthos – largely because Nightingale’s sonic struggles with self-discovery undergird the movements. The two halves of the album are divided into three tracks, bookended by the Huntsmen-influenced thematic motif of the aforesaid “I Can’t Feel at Home in This World” morphed into ugly beatdowns and yearning sadness. The meat of the two suites fall into one of three categories: the relatively traditional post-metal waltzing of Amenra’s heavier moments in sprawling weight (“All Apart,” “Foreclosure”), the yearning chord progressions and melodies recalling Páthos’ emotive emphasis to a more effective degree (“There Is No Warmth,” “Let Us Live”), or the outright assaults of blackened sludge and -core breakdowns (“The Searing Glow,” “Hang Them in Your Head”). As the album progresses, so does the intensity. The latter, the most vicious of the bunch, feel like they nearly boil over, nearly forsaking the post-metal attack for an obscure death metal attack a la Convulsing or Adversarial – making interlude “A Plea” truly the eye of the storm in its minimalist approach, distant vocal samples, and acoustic strumming.

The balance between novelty and songwriting remains an issue for Conjurer. Because of the trichotomy of its sounds, Unself offers different levels of quality. At first, the more traditional post-metal cuts (“All Apart,” “Foreclosure”) feel like absolute bangers, touched with darkness and harmony – but then you hear the other two approaches and they suddenly feel overly long and uneventful in comparison. Likewise, there are several tracks that could stand a good trimming, simply because many feature a singular abrupt tonal shift from melodic to dissonant in its last respective third (“There is No Warmth,” “Let Us Live”). A more divisive take is that Conjurer’s production is very modern and sleek, the down-tuned leads more akin to 2010s metalcore acts like The Plot in You or The Sorrow, an accessibility largely contradicting post-metal’s historic opaqueness (Neurosis) and death metal’s hostility (Bolt Thrower), so while I liked its more “loud and ouchy” tones, others may not be so persuaded.

The novelty and the emotion are resolved in Unself, as Conjurer finally feels authentic and realized. No, Unself is not better than Mire, but it feels more genuine and human than Páthos, offering some of the act’s most intense material to date while chronicling the dismantling of the self into something more authentic. Not only does Dani Nightingale embark on a journey of self-discovery, but Conjurer does too. I’m just happy to be along for the ride.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 4 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Websites: conjureruk.bandcamp.com | conjureruk.com | facebook.com/conjureruk
Releases Worldwide: October 24th, 2025

#2025 #30 #Adversarial #Amenra #BlackMetal #BoltThrower #BritishMetal #Conjurer #Convulsing #DeathMetal #DissonantDeathMetal #Huntsmen #Neurosis #NuclearBlastRecords #Oct25 #PostMetal #Review #Reviews #SludgeMetal #TheOngoingConcept #ThePlotInYou #TheSorrow #Unself #VeilOfMaya

GardensTale Goes to Roadburn 2025

By GardensTale

The story of Easter, detailing the gruesome death and supernatural resurrection of a cult leader, is pretty fucking metal, all things considered. So it’s fitting that the cream of the crop among underground heavy music festivals, Roadburn, coincides with the religious holiday this year. Not that it makes much difference to me, my partner, or the slew of friends we drag across the Tilburg city centre to enjoy some of the heaviest, strangest, and most envelope-pushing music that music has to offer. We’d murder our feet and livers for this fest any time of the year.

For the last few editions, Roadburn has spread its venues over several locations within a few hundred-meter radius. The 013 is the main venue, hosting the large Main stage with its signature staircase (a brilliant way to rest your feet while watching a show!) and the smaller NEXT. A 5-10 minute walk away, depending on your state of mind and soundness of body, is the old industrial hall known as Koepelhal, split for the occasion into the larger Terminal and smaller Engine Room. Attached is the diminutive Hall of Fame, where the smallest artists get to do their thing, with the ever-popular skate park next door regularly hosting secret shows, which are often announced only a few hours beforehand. Finally, the local jazz club Paradox is the place to be for the more unconventional material, which is saying something in this place.

What follows is a cleaned-up live thread I tapped out in hasty bursts between and during sets, my word-vomit witnessed in real time by my colleagues who gave frequent and often unhelpful commentary. Where applicable, I saw fit to include their remarks and any response I had to their tomfoolery. I can not promise this will result in a sane article, but I hope it can sketch a glimpse of what the greatest festival in the world is like.

Day 1 (Thursday, 17th of April)

2:51 PM — As usual, the larger sizes of the merch sell out lightning fast, and so I walk away with a single patch and disappointment. Let’s hope Glassing can obliterate the letdown.

Cherd of Doom: Surely they restock merch through the festival?

HAHAHA no
Everyone knows merch goes fast so everyone goes to merch first so merch goes fast
And they always underproduce the large sizes

sentynel: You’d think if the merch consistently sold out really quickly they might print more next time

3:12 PM — Yep, Glassing is fucking killing it. Pushing an almost Spartan setup to its limit. The drummer is just bonkers!

4:11 PM — Listening to Oranssi Pazuzu outside the main stage because we could no longer get inside. It sounds impressively oppressive. Wish we could have seen more of it, but I would not have wanted to miss Glassing. Choices choices.

4:24 PM — The electronics and psychedelics of Oranssi Pazuzu are really cool. I should have paid more attention to this band.

4:48 PM — Slowing things down a bit with Toby Driver’s new age project Alora Crucible. It’s pretty enough, but 10 minutes in, I am still waiting for it to develop into something more than a yoga class background music jam.

5:17 PM — It did not.

5:31 PM — Listened most of Alora Crucible from the lounge where they pipe down the music from that stage. Very relaxing, better way to experience it than the venue!

5:33 PM — Then sludge legends Kylesa reformed on the main stage. No second drummer sadly, but what a treat to see this band live again! Last time was at Graspop in 2011.

6:44 PM — Waiting for Faetooth to start. Their first European gig!

Dolphin Whisperer: love Faetooth, they got a new album on the horizon I believe

7:10 PM — Faetooth is decent but not amazing, the vocals are a bit one-note at least on stage. Some nice riffs and I wouldn’t have minded finishing the gig but my feet are too dead to settle for decent right now. At least we can still listen to them for a bit outside the venue.

9:20 PM — After a good big meal we went to the main stage for envy.
And it’s already entrancing just a few minutes in.

9:31 PM — I am in love, this is the greatest thing I discovered today. The intense and concentrated emotion divided between melancholic post-rock and colossal outbursts of post-metal-hardcore is divine.
This is their 2003 album, tomorrow they will play a modern era set.

Dolphin Whisperer: envy good

well WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME

Cherd of Doom: See, bands playing multiple themed sets is exactly why I’d love to go to Roadburn. The Inter Arma sets last year for instance

10:29 PM — Envy was my favorite show of the day easily. So intense, so emotional.

10:39 PM — Black Curse is apparently overrun, so instead we decided to wait for Concrete Winds. Dame Area was still playing in that venue, so we thought we’d check it out. We walked in and walked back out like Grandpa Simpson.

Dolphin Whisperer: CONCRETE WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINDS

11:30 PM — Concrete Winds sounds good for dense death metal but I am honestly too tired for death metal this dense.

12:42 AM — But I stuck it out! It was intense, but pretty cool. Sadly my phone died halfway through.

Day 2 (Friday, 18th of April)

12:49 PM — Heading in for the first performance on the bill today, a collab of Throwing Bricks and Ontaard. They’ve collaborated successfully before on record, but this is a new commissioned piece.

1:19 PM — It’s fucking awesome! 8 musicians on stage, massive sound, but the balance is great and it’s emotionally devastating.
The sound quality is also much better than most Engine Room performances.
Between the two bands you also have a lot of variety. Male and female vocals, synths, violin, two drummers. Gorgeous.

1:49 PM — I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of ‘beautiful serene passage, suddenly interrupted by the most devastating wall of noise.’

2:54 PM — Midwife was very pretty, very demure, and very much not what I was looking for right now. Sort of a shoegaze, dreampop, slowcore thing that feels more appropriate for a summer sunset than a dark crowded hall and foot pain. Will check again later!

3:20 PM — Now for one of my most anticipated shows of the festival: Messa playing their new album The Spin in full!

3:41 PM — Their stage presence is a bit static, but the album and execution thereof are so good it’s easy to forgive.

Dolphin Whisperer: They don’t typically have a big stage presence from what I gather. They didn’t when I saw em in a small club

5:11 PM — After Messa we intended to see CHVE, the solo project of Colin [van Eeckhout] from Amenra. The line was pretty long, so we declined to join it. But it was all speed 0 soundscapes and were even boring when listening from the lounge.

Dolphin Whisperer: why go fast when you can go sloooooooooooooooooooooow

5:13 PM — But now it’s time for round 2 of envy! Loved em so much yesterday, we wanted seconds. Today is the modern set, including all of Eunoia, their 2024 album.

6:36 PM — Envy was once again beautiful and crushing.

6:39 PM — After envy we went to queue for 40 Watt Sun. Patrick Walker is doing a solo show in Paradox, the jazz club, and it’s bound to be jam-packed. Thankfully we got in! Now having another beer and waiting for the man to make us weep.

7:02 PM — Walker surveying the crowd: “That does not look comfortable.”

7:34 PM — Between songs this man is the funniest fucker alive, then he starts playing again and instantly it’s misty eyes and goosebumps. What a character, what a musician.

8:52 PM — Sometimes you gotta stop and smell the Korean fried chicken.

9:22 PM — Now waiting for Genital Shame.

10:20 PM — Genital Shame was decent, but couldn’t hold our attention. Also I was much too close to the speakers and the kick drums were overpowering the guitars. Caught a friend heading out and decided to follow her to Gnod Drop Out with White Hills.

11:04 PM — Gnod was very particular music for a very particular audience under a particularly large amount of drugs. Endlessly spooling 70’s space rock psychedelics. We didn’t stay long. Instead we opted for Thou, playing Umbilical on the main stage.

Dolphin Whisperer: THOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUU

11:19 PM
I always kind of skirted around Thou, but they put on a good show. Unforgivingly harsh and unstoppably heavy, with the biggest riffs I’ve heard today. I don’t feel the amount of heart I got from the best performances today, but it’s a fun and filthy way to end the day.

Day 3 (Saturday, 19th of April)

1:54 PM — Scarfed down a fresh stroopwafel, brought my ebook for breaks and waits, and shuffled into the Terminal for Dødheimsgard!

They’re playing Black Medium Current front to back.

2:05 PM — It’s more of a sardine pressure vat than a sardine can in here.

2:11 PM — But the show is great! The big hall works for the expansive spacy black metal and the band is performing with fire

2:38 PM — We escaped the crowd to join a different one and check out Haatdrager, a project from students at the Metal Factory in Eindhoven. Claustrophobic electro-laden sludge. It’s fucking awesome!

2:44 PM — The vocalist is a very talented young woman. Throat ripping screams, but she also focuses on flow and rhythm in a more hip-hop fashion which gives the music an urban fusion flair akin to Backxwash and dälek.

Dolphin Whisperer: Like and subscribe

3:42 PM — We left for ice cream, then headed back to catch the off-kilter hardcore punk of Gillian Carter.

3:49 PM — Instrumentation is cool, sharp riffs with unexpected turns and skronks. Vocals are very one-note though. Will try to get into Grey Aura instead.

3:52 PM — Samantha compared the vocals [of Gillian Carter] to Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit sinking into the Dip and it is 100% accurate.

4:29 PM — Grey Aura was worse though. Embarrassing vocals honestly. Yelling like he wanted the kids to get off his lawn.

Tyme: Boooo! Too bad. I dig Grey Aura.

Dolphin Whisperer: That’s really sad to hear :(

5:09 PM — We grabbed a drink and intended to get in line for Uniform. And so we did, but the Terminal filled to capacity before we got there. Not willing to face another sardine pressure vat, we went with plan B: a collaboration between Sumac and Moor Mother. Now waiting for that while giving our feet a rest on the main stage steps.

Tyme: Sumac?? Hmmmmmm. Interesting

Dolphin Whisperer: Sumac + Moor Mother sounds the kinda collab that is so high art it may be impossible to sniff it. Hope it’s enjoyable

You’re not far off. It doesn’t feel like they managed to glue freeform activist hiphop and sludge doom together cohesively. More like switching between the Moor Mother bits with heavy guitars, then Sumac bits where they play actual riffs.

6:23 PM — We left to see Coilguns instead. That turned out to be the right decision. Frantic hardcore punk with ketamine energy and acidic left field swerves; it’s not always sane but it’s highly entertaining!

6:25 PM — The vocalist is especially all over the place, pulling himself across the stage by the afro and using 5 different styles and inflections in the same song

6:29 PM — Also met one of our Discord users, inkster.

Dolphin Whisperer: inky is very social + nice

She was! We left before the end because it was a long set and our feet are so fucked, but Sammy and I had fun watching Coilguns with her for a bit

8:52 PM — Caught a couple songs from Denisa after dinner. A sort of raw post-punk meets Emma Ruth Rundle from Indonesia. Not extraordinary, but solid, sung and played with heart.

9:38 PM — Also a few songs from Doodseskader’s set. First saw them opening for Alcest, and their stark, raw nu-sludge, with intense visuals synced to the music, hasn’t lost its potency.

9:43 PM — Altın Gün is a big change of pace, though. They play a mixture of psychedelic rock and Turkish traditional music. It’s very danceable, but for me it lacks a little oomph, a bit of grit.

11:21 PM — Bidding the day goodnight with Chat Pile. They play their music well, but I was hoping that’d be enough to make me enjoy their music more, and it isn’t. Still, it’s an effective, brusque brand of spasmodic aggression. The frontman pacing back and forth barefoot in shorts like he’s in the Ministry of Funny Walks is quite the choice.

11:38 PM — Okay, “Why” was a hoot, fair is fair

Tyme: Still sounds like you’re having a blast tho!

I gotta admit it, that was a pretty fucking fun show yeah

Day 4 (Sunday, April 20th)

10:04 AM — Mild hangover. Went to the local metal dive bar last night with some of our festival pals. Partied til 3:30 am. I am getting too old for this shit. Except fuck that, it was a ton of fun and I’ll fucking do it again!

2:01 PM — Dragged my husk to the Terminal to see Vuur & Zijde play Boezem, which I gave a very positive review a few months ago. Curious to see how it plays on stage!

2:53 PM — Though the music was performed perfectly well, a giant industrial hall is probably not the ideal venue for Vuur & Zijde. I think they’d do better in a more intimate setting. But some minor sound issues aside, it was a pretty good show overall.

2:56 PM — Halfway through we decided to move to the smaller Hall of Fame to check out Bacht’n de Vulle Moane, a band that’s only a year old and supposedly plays some intense black metal festuring analog electronics.

3:05 PM — “Good evening Roadburn!” Dude it’s 3 pm.

3:14 PM — This sounds less like black metal with electronics and more like someone yelling over muddy hardstyle.

3:26 PM — It didn’t annoy me, but it did bore me. I didn’t come here for techno.

Dolphin Whisperer: Every time is the evening if you’re playing black metal

That’s great, maybe they should have tried that instead of playing techno haha

4:01 PM — Just watched an animated short movie called The Hunter made by Costin Chioreanu. Quite cool, though the plot was lost on me. Pretty imagery though!

4:32 PM — Frente Abierto plays flamenco, but a dark and heavy variation thereof. Interesting, but not really to my tastes.

6:11 PM — Michael Gira’s set with Kristof Hahn (both from Swans) was an exercise in patience. Slow droning soundscapes, eventually joined by slow droning vocals. At some point I could no longer stand the slow droning.

6:13 PM — Turns out Sumac has quite a lot of slow droning soundscapes as well. I don’t need to like everything Roadburn has to offer, but gee golly, I hope I’ll enjoy at least one thing more than Vuur & Zijde today.

7:37 PM — With a belly full of noodles we plowed on back to the Terminal to catch a slice of Big|Brave. More slow droning soundscapes, but the vocals help give it a slightly better sense of progression. Still, when the song devolves into crash cymbal taps and nothing else for a few minutes, I do get a bit restless.

7:41 PM — When the buildup is more noticeable the music is much more enjoyable, thankfully, and the vocals are powerful.

7:48 PM — All in all a good performance that requires a bit more patience than my exhaustion has left me with.

9:03 PM — Bo Ningen, heavy psych rock from Japan, is a lot of fun and the first thing with this much energy today. Quite diverse, exploring different moods and textures.

9:25 PM — They manage both heartfelt space-outs and extended high-octane jams. Exciting show and excellent musicians!

9:35 PM — “This will be our last song!”
They still had 15 minutes.
They still went over time.

10:58 PM — Closing out the festival for us is Haunted Plasma. The glitzy darkwave with an edge reminds me of that scene in Blade with the vampire nightclub. The woman on the mic has a sweet spectral presence. A bit one-note, but otherwise very enjoyable and a worthy festival finale.

Even though the line-up was a bit frontloaded this year, it still resulted in some of the most hardest-hitting and affecting live music I’ve yet experienced, even from bands I’d never heard of in the first place. Both envy shows and the Throwing Bricks collaboration with Ontaard were the stuff of legends, and this kind of discovery is what makes Roadburn such a joy to return to, year after year. And it’s all the sweeter having a great group of friends to experience it with, as my partner and I attended few shows without at least one other friend by our side. So dear reader… same time next year?

#40WattSun #Alcest #AloraCrucible #AltınGün #Amenra #BachtNDeVulleMoane #Backxwash #BigBrave #BlogPost #BlogPosts #BoNingen #ChatPile #CHVE #Coilguns #ConcreteWinds #Dälek #DameArea #Denisa #Dödheimsgard #Doodseskader #EmmaRuthRundle #Envy #Faetooth #FrenteAbierto #GenitalShame #GillianCarter #Glassing #Gnod #GreyAura #Haatdrager #HauntedPlasma #InterArma #Kylesa #Messa #Midwife #MoorMother #Ontaard #OranssiPazuzu #Sumac #Swans #Thou #ThrowingBricks #Uniform #VuurZijde #WhiteHills

GardensTale Goes to Roadburn 2025

By GardensTale

The story of Easter, detailing the gruesome death and supernatural resurrection of a cult leader, is pretty fucking metal, all things considered. So it’s fitting that the cream of the crop among underground heavy music festivals, Roadburn, coincides with the religious holiday this year. Not that it makes much difference to me, my partner, or the slew of friends we drag across the Tilburg city centre to enjoy some of the heaviest, strangest, and most envelope-pushing music that music has to offer. We’d murder our feet and livers for this fest any time of the year.

For the last few editions, Roadburn has spread its venues over several locations within a few hundred-meter radius. The 013 is the main venue, hosting the large Main stage with its signature staircase (a brilliant way to rest your feet while watching a show!) and the smaller NEXT. A 5-10 minute walk away, depending on your state of mind and soundness of body, is the old industrial hall known as Koepelhal, split for the occasion into the larger Terminal and smaller Engine Room. Attached is the diminutive Hall of Fame, where the smallest artists get to do their thing, with the ever-popular skate park next door regularly hosting secret shows, which are often announced only a few hours beforehand. Finally, the local jazz club Paradox is the place to be for the more unconventional material, which is saying something in this place.

What follows is a cleaned-up live thread I tapped out in hasty bursts between and during sets, my word-vomit witnessed in real time by my colleagues who gave frequent and often unhelpful commentary. Where applicable, I saw fit to include their remarks and any response I had to their tomfoolery. I can not promise this will result in a sane article, but I hope it can sketch a glimpse of what the greatest festival in the world is like.

Day 1 (Thursday, 17th of April)

2:51 PM — As usual, the larger sizes of the merch sell out lightning fast, and so I walk away with a single patch and disappointment. Let’s hope Glassing can obliterate the letdown.

Cherd of Doom: Surely they restock merch through the festival?

HAHAHA no
Everyone knows merch goes fast so everyone goes to merch first so merch goes fast
And they always underproduce the large sizes

sentynel: You’d think if the merch consistently sold out really quickly they might print more next time

3:12 PM — Yep, Glassing is fucking killing it. Pushing an almost Spartan setup to its limit. The drummer is just bonkers!

4:11 PM — Listening to Oranssi Pazuzu outside the main stage because we could no longer get inside. It sounds impressively oppressive. Wish we could have seen more of it, but I would not have wanted to miss Glassing. Choices choices.

4:24 PM — The electronics and psychedelics of Oranssi Pazuzu are really cool. I should have paid more attention to this band.

4:48 PM — Slowing things down a bit with Toby Driver’s new age project Alora Crucible. It’s pretty enough, but 10 minutes in, I am still waiting for it to develop into something more than a yoga class background music jam.

5:17 PM — It did not.

5:31 PM — Listened most of Alora Crucible from the lounge where they pipe down the music from that stage. Very relaxing, better way to experience it than the venue!

5:33 PM — Then sludge legends Kylesa reformed on the main stage. No second drummer sadly, but what a treat to see this band live again! Last time was at Graspop in 2011.

6:44 PM — Waiting for Faetooth to start. Their first European gig!

Dolphin Whisperer: love Faetooth, they got a new album on the horizon I believe

7:10 PM — Faetooth is decent but not amazing, the vocals are a bit one-note at least on stage. Some nice riffs and I wouldn’t have minded finishing the gig but my feet are too dead to settle for decent right now. At least we can still listen to them for a bit outside the venue.

9:20 PM — After a good big meal we went to the main stage for envy.
And it’s already entrancing just a few minutes in.

9:31 PM — I am in love, this is the greatest thing I discovered today. The intense and concentrated emotion divided between melancholic post-rock and colossal outbursts of post-metal-hardcore is divine.
This is their 2003 album, tomorrow they will play a modern era set.

Dolphin Whisperer: envy good

well WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME

Cherd of Doom: See, bands playing multiple themed sets is exactly why I’d love to go to Roadburn. The Inter Arma sets last year for instance

10:29 PM — Envy was my favorite show of the day easily. So intense, so emotional.

10:39 PM — Black Curse is apparently overrun, so instead we decided to wait for Concrete Winds. Dame Area was still playing in that venue, so we thought we’d check it out. We walked in and walked back out like Grandpa Simpson.

Dolphin Whisperer: CONCRETE WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINDS

11:30 PM — Concrete Winds sounds good for dense death metal but I am honestly too tired for death metal this dense.

12:42 AM — But I stuck it out! It was intense, but pretty cool. Sadly my phone died halfway through.

Day 2 (Friday, 18th of April)

12:49 PM — Heading in for the first performance on the bill today, a collab of Throwing Bricks and Ontaard. They’ve collaborated successfully before on record, but this is a new commissioned piece.

1:19 PM — It’s fucking awesome! 8 musicians on stage, massive sound, but the balance is great and it’s emotionally devastating.
The sound quality is also much better than most Engine Room performances.
Between the two bands you also have a lot of variety. Male and female vocals, synths, violin, two drummers. Gorgeous.

1:49 PM — I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of ‘beautiful serene passage, suddenly interrupted by the most devastating wall of noise.’

2:54 PM — Midwife was very pretty, very demure, and very much not what I was looking for right now. Sort of a shoegaze, dreampop, slowcore thing that feels more appropriate for a summer sunset than a dark crowded hall and foot pain. Will check again later!

3:20 PM — Now for one of my most anticipated shows of the festival: Messa playing their new album The Spin in full!

3:41 PM — Their stage presence is a bit static, but the album and execution thereof are so good it’s easy to forgive.

Dolphin Whisperer: They don’t typically have a big stage presence from what I gather. They didn’t when I saw em in a small club

5:11 PM — After Messa we intended to see CHVE, the solo project of Colin [van Eeckhout] from Amenra. The line was pretty long, so we declined to join it. But it was all speed 0 soundscapes and were even boring when listening from the lounge.

Dolphin Whisperer: why go fast when you can go sloooooooooooooooooooooow

5:13 PM — But now it’s time for round 2 of envy! Loved em so much yesterday, we wanted seconds. Today is the modern set, including all of Eunoia, their 2024 album.

6:36 PM — Envy was once again beautiful and crushing.

6:39 PM — After envy we went to queue for 40 Watt Sun. Patrick Walker is doing a solo show in Paradox, the jazz club, and it’s bound to be jam-packed. Thankfully we got in! Now having another beer and waiting for the man to make us weep.

7:02 PM — Walker surveying the crowd: “That does not look comfortable.”

7:34 PM — Between songs this man is the funniest fucker alive, then he starts playing again and instantly it’s misty eyes and goosebumps. What a character, what a musician.

8:52 PM — Sometimes you gotta stop and smell the Korean fried chicken.

9:22 PM — Now waiting for Genital Shame.

10:20 PM — Genital Shame was decent, but couldn’t hold our attention. Also I was much too close to the speakers and the kick drums were overpowering the guitars. Caught a friend heading out and decided to follow her to Gnod Drop Out with White Hills.

11:04 PM — Gnod was very particular music for a very particular audience under a particularly large amount of drugs. Endlessly spooling 70’s space rock psychedelics. We didn’t stay long. Instead we opted for Thou, playing Umbilical on the main stage.

Dolphin Whisperer: THOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUU

11:19 PM
I always kind of skirted around Thou, but they put on a good show. Unforgivingly harsh and unstoppably heavy, with the biggest riffs I’ve heard today. I don’t feel the amount of heart I got from the best performances today, but it’s a fun and filthy way to end the day.

Day 3 (Saturday, 19th of April)

1:54 PM — Scarfed down a fresh stroopwafel, brought my ebook for breaks and waits, and shuffled into the Terminal for Dødheimsgard!

They’re playing Black Medium Current front to back.

2:05 PM — It’s more of a sardine pressure vat than a sardine can in here.

2:11 PM — But the show is great! The big hall works for the expansive spacy black metal and the band is performing with fire

2:38 PM — We escaped the crowd to join a different one and check out Haatdrager, a project from students at the Metal Factory in Eindhoven. Claustrophobic electro-laden sludge. It’s fucking awesome!

2:44 PM — The vocalist is a very talented young woman. Throat ripping screams, but she also focuses on flow and rhythm in a more hip-hop fashion which gives the music an urban fusion flair akin to Backxwash and dälek.

Dolphin Whisperer: Like and subscribe

3:42 PM — We left for ice cream, then headed back to catch the off-kilter hardcore punk of Gillian Carter.

3:49 PM — Instrumentation is cool, sharp riffs with unexpected turns and skronks. Vocals are very one-note though. Will try to get into Grey Aura instead.

3:52 PM — Samantha compared the vocals [of Gillian Carter] to Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit sinking into the Dip and it is 100% accurate.

4:29 PM — Grey Aura was worse though. Embarrassing vocals honestly. Yelling like he wanted the kids to get off his lawn.

Tyme: Boooo! Too bad. I dig Grey Aura.

Dolphin Whisperer: That’s really sad to hear :(

5:09 PM — We grabbed a drink and intended to get in line for Uniform. And so we did, but the Terminal filled to capacity before we got there. Not willing to face another sardine pressure vat, we went with plan B: a collaboration between Sumac and Moor Mother. Now waiting for that while giving our feet a rest on the main stage steps.

Tyme: Sumac?? Hmmmmmm. Interesting

Dolphin Whisperer: Sumac + Moor Mother sounds the kinda collab that is so high art it may be impossible to sniff it. Hope it’s enjoyable

You’re not far off. It doesn’t feel like they managed to glue freeform activist hiphop and sludge doom together cohesively. More like switching between the Moor Mother bits with heavy guitars, then Sumac bits where they play actual riffs.

6:23 PM — We left to see Coilguns instead. That turned out to be the right decision. Frantic hardcore punk with ketamine energy and acidic left field swerves; it’s not always sane but it’s highly entertaining!

6:25 PM — The vocalist is especially all over the place, pulling himself across the stage by the afro and using 5 different styles and inflections in the same song

6:29 PM — Also met one of our Discord users, inkster.

Dolphin Whisperer: inky is very social + nice

She was! We left before the end because it was a long set and our feet are so fucked, but Sammy and I had fun watching Coilguns with her for a bit

8:52 PM — Caught a couple songs from Denisa after dinner. A sort of raw post-punk meets Emma Ruth Rundle from Indonesia. Not extraordinary, but solid, sung and played with heart.

9:38 PM — Also a few songs from Doodseskader’s set. First saw them opening for Alcest, and their stark, raw nu-sludge, with intense visuals synced to the music, hasn’t lost its potency.

9:43 PM — Altın Gün is a big change of pace, though. They play a mixture of psychedelic rock and Turkish traditional music. It’s very danceable, but for me it lacks a little oomph, a bit of grit.

11:21 PM — Bidding the day goodnight with Chat Pile. They play their music well, but I was hoping that’d be enough to make me enjoy their music more, and it isn’t. Still, it’s an effective, brusque brand of spasmodic aggression. The frontman pacing back and forth barefoot in shorts like he’s in the Ministry of Funny Walks is quite the choice.

11:38 PM — Okay, “Why” was a hoot, fair is fair

Tyme: Still sounds like you’re having a blast tho!

I gotta admit it, that was a pretty fucking fun show yeah

Day 4 (Sunday, April 20th)

10:04 AM — Mild hangover. Went to the local metal dive bar last night with some of our festival pals. Partied til 3:30 am. I am getting too old for this shit. Except fuck that, it was a ton of fun and I’ll fucking do it again!

2:01 PM — Dragged my husk to the Terminal to see Vuur & Zijde play Boezem, which I gave a very positive review a few months ago. Curious to see how it plays on stage!

2:53 PM — Though the music was performed perfectly well, a giant industrial hall is probably not the ideal venue for Vuur & Zijde. I think they’d do better in a more intimate setting. But some minor sound issues aside, it was a pretty good show overall.

2:56 PM — Halfway through we decided to move to the smaller Hall of Fame to check out Bacht’n de Vulle Moane, a band that’s only a year old and supposedly plays some intense black metal festuring analog electronics.

3:05 PM — “Good evening Roadburn!” Dude it’s 3 pm.

3:14 PM — This sounds less like black metal with electronics and more like someone yelling over muddy hardstyle.

3:26 PM — It didn’t annoy me, but it did bore me. I didn’t come here for techno.

Dolphin Whisperer: Every time is the evening if you’re playing black metal

That’s great, maybe they should have tried that instead of playing techno haha

4:01 PM — Just watched an animated short movie called The Hunter made by Costin Chioreanu. Quite cool, though the plot was lost on me. Pretty imagery though!

4:32 PM — Frente Abierto plays flamenco, but a dark and heavy variation thereof. Interesting, but not really to my tastes.

6:11 PM — Michael Gira’s set with Kristof Hahn (both from Swans) was an exercise in patience. Slow droning soundscapes, eventually joined by slow droning vocals. At some point I could no longer stand the slow droning.

6:13 PM — Turns out Sumac has quite a lot of slow droning soundscapes as well. I don’t need to like everything Roadburn has to offer, but gee golly, I hope I’ll enjoy at least one thing more than Vuur & Zijde today.

7:37 PM — With a belly full of noodles we plowed on back to the Terminal to catch a slice of Big|Brave. More slow droning soundscapes, but the vocals help give it a slightly better sense of progression. Still, when the song devolves into crash cymbal taps and nothing else for a few minutes, I do get a bit restless.

7:41 PM — When the buildup is more noticeable the music is much more enjoyable, thankfully, and the vocals are powerful.

7:48 PM — All in all a good performance that requires a bit more patience than my exhaustion has left me with.

9:03 PM — Bo Ningen, heavy psych rock from Japan, is a lot of fun and the first thing with this much energy today. Quite diverse, exploring different moods and textures.

9:25 PM — They manage both heartfelt space-outs and extended high-octane jams. Exciting show and excellent musicians!

9:35 PM — “This will be our last song!”
They still had 15 minutes.
They still went over time.

10:58 PM — Closing out the festival for us is Haunted Plasma. The glitzy darkwave with an edge reminds me of that scene in Blade with the vampire nightclub. The woman on the mic has a sweet spectral presence. A bit one-note, but otherwise very enjoyable and a worthy festival finale.

Even though the line-up was a bit frontloaded this year, it still resulted in some of the most hardest-hitting and affecting live music I’ve yet experienced, even from bands I’d never heard of in the first place. Both envy shows and the Throwing Bricks collaboration with Ontaard were the stuff of legends, and this kind of discovery is what makes Roadburn such a joy to return to, year after year. And it’s all the sweeter having a great group of friends to experience it with, as my partner and I attended few shows without at least one other friend by our side. So dear reader… same time next year?

#40WattSun #Alcest #AloraCrucible #AltınGün #Amenra #BachtNDeVulleMoane #Backxwash #BigBrave #BlogPost #BlogPosts #BoNingen #ChatPile #CHVE #Coilguns #ConcreteWinds #Dälek #DameArea #Denisa #Dödheimsgard #Doodseskader #EmmaRuthRundle #Envy #Faetooth #FrenteAbierto #GenitalShame #GillianCarter #Glassing #Gnod #GreyAura #Haatdrager #HauntedPlasma #InterArma #Kylesa #Messa #Midwife #MoorMother #Ontaard #OranssiPazuzu #Sumac #Swans #Thou #ThrowingBricks #Uniform #VuurZijde #WhiteHills

GardensTale Goes to Roadburn 2025

By GardensTale

The story of Easter, detailing the gruesome death and supernatural resurrection of a cult leader, is pretty fucking metal, all things considered. So it’s fitting that the cream of the crop among underground heavy music festivals, Roadburn, coincides with the religious holiday this year. Not that it makes much difference to me, my partner, or the slew of friends we drag across the Tilburg city centre to enjoy some of the heaviest, strangest, and most envelope-pushing music that music has to offer. We’d murder our feet and livers for this fest any time of the year.

For the last few editions, Roadburn has spread its venues over several locations within a few hundred-meter radius. The 013 is the main venue, hosting the large Main stage with its signature staircase (a brilliant way to rest your feet while watching a show!) and the smaller NEXT. A 5-10 minute walk away, depending on your state of mind and soundness of body, is the old industrial hall known as Koepelhal, split for the occasion into the larger Terminal and smaller Engine Room. Attached is the diminutive Hall of Fame, where the smallest artists get to do their thing, with the ever-popular skate park next door regularly hosting secret shows, which are often announced only a few hours beforehand. Finally, the local jazz club Paradox is the place to be for the more unconventional material, which is saying something in this place.

What follows is a cleaned-up live thread I tapped out in hasty bursts between and during sets, my word-vomit witnessed in real time by my colleagues who gave frequent and often unhelpful commentary. Where applicable, I saw fit to include their remarks and any response I had to their tomfoolery. I can not promise this will result in a sane article, but I hope it can sketch a glimpse of what the greatest festival in the world is like.

Day 1 (Thursday, 17th of April)

2:51 PM — As usual, the larger sizes of the merch sell out lightning fast, and so I walk away with a single patch and disappointment. Let’s hope Glassing can obliterate the letdown.

Cherd of Doom: Surely they restock merch through the festival?

HAHAHA no
Everyone knows merch goes fast so everyone goes to merch first so merch goes fast
And they always underproduce the large sizes

sentynel: You’d think if the merch consistently sold out really quickly they might print more next time

3:12 PM — Yep, Glassing is fucking killing it. Pushing an almost Spartan setup to its limit. The drummer is just bonkers!

4:11 PM — Listening to Oranssi Pazuzu outside the main stage because we could no longer get inside. It sounds impressively oppressive. Wish we could have seen more of it, but I would not have wanted to miss Glassing. Choices choices.

4:24 PM — The electronics and psychedelics of Oranssi Pazuzu are really cool. I should have paid more attention to this band.

4:48 PM — Slowing things down a bit with Toby Driver’s new age project Alora Crucible. It’s pretty enough, but 10 minutes in, I am still waiting for it to develop into something more than a yoga class background music jam.

5:17 PM — It did not.

5:31 PM — Listened most of Alora Crucible from the lounge where they pipe down the music from that stage. Very relaxing, better way to experience it than the venue!

5:33 PM — Then sludge legends Kylesa reformed on the main stage. No second drummer sadly, but what a treat to see this band live again! Last time was at Graspop in 2011.

6:44 PM — Waiting for Faetooth to start. Their first European gig!

Dolphin Whisperer: love Faetooth, they got a new album on the horizon I believe

7:10 PM — Faetooth is decent but not amazing, the vocals are a bit one-note at least on stage. Some nice riffs and I wouldn’t have minded finishing the gig but my feet are too dead to settle for decent right now. At least we can still listen to them for a bit outside the venue.

9:20 PM — After a good big meal we went to the main stage for envy.
And it’s already entrancing just a few minutes in.

9:31 PM — I am in love, this is the greatest thing I discovered today. The intense and concentrated emotion divided between melancholic post-rock and colossal outbursts of post-metal-hardcore is divine.
This is their 2003 album, tomorrow they will play a modern era set.

Dolphin Whisperer: envy good

well WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME

Cherd of Doom: See, bands playing multiple themed sets is exactly why I’d love to go to Roadburn. The Inter Arma sets last year for instance

10:29 PM — Envy was my favorite show of the day easily. So intense, so emotional.

10:39 PM — Black Curse is apparently overrun, so instead we decided to wait for Concrete Winds. Dame Area was still playing in that venue, so we thought we’d check it out. We walked in and walked back out like Grandpa Simpson.

Dolphin Whisperer: CONCRETE WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINDS

11:30 PM — Concrete Winds sounds good for dense death metal but I am honestly too tired for death metal this dense.

12:42 AM — But I stuck it out! It was intense, but pretty cool. Sadly my phone died halfway through.

Day 2 (Friday, 18th of April)

12:49 PM — Heading in for the first performance on the bill today, a collab of Throwing Bricks and Ontaard. They’ve collaborated successfully before on record, but this is a new commissioned piece.

1:19 PM — It’s fucking awesome! 8 musicians on stage, massive sound, but the balance is great and it’s emotionally devastating.
The sound quality is also much better than most Engine Room performances.
Between the two bands you also have a lot of variety. Male and female vocals, synths, violin, two drummers. Gorgeous.

1:49 PM — I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of ‘beautiful serene passage, suddenly interrupted by the most devastating wall of noise.’

2:54 PM — Midwife was very pretty, very demure, and very much not what I was looking for right now. Sort of a shoegaze, dreampop, slowcore thing that feels more appropriate for a summer sunset than a dark crowded hall and foot pain. Will check again later!

3:20 PM — Now for one of my most anticipated shows of the festival: Messa playing their new album The Spin in full!

3:41 PM — Their stage presence is a bit static, but the album and execution thereof are so good it’s easy to forgive.

Dolphin Whisperer: They don’t typically have a big stage presence from what I gather. They didn’t when I saw em in a small club

5:11 PM — After Messa we intended to see CHVE, the solo project of Colin [van Eeckhout] from Amenra. The line was pretty long, so we declined to join it. But it was all speed 0 soundscapes and were even boring when listening from the lounge.

Dolphin Whisperer: why go fast when you can go sloooooooooooooooooooooow

5:13 PM — But now it’s time for round 2 of envy! Loved em so much yesterday, we wanted seconds. Today is the modern set, including all of Eunoia, their 2024 album.

6:36 PM — Envy was once again beautiful and crushing.

6:39 PM — After envy we went to queue for 40 Watt Sun. Patrick Walker is doing a solo show in Paradox, the jazz club, and it’s bound to be jam-packed. Thankfully we got in! Now having another beer and waiting for the man to make us weep.

7:02 PM — Walker surveying the crowd: “That does not look comfortable.”

7:34 PM — Between songs this man is the funniest fucker alive, then he starts playing again and instantly it’s misty eyes and goosebumps. What a character, what a musician.

8:52 PM — Sometimes you gotta stop and smell the Korean fried chicken.

9:22 PM — Now waiting for Genital Shame.

10:20 PM — Genital Shame was decent, but couldn’t hold our attention. Also I was much too close to the speakers and the kick drums were overpowering the guitars. Caught a friend heading out and decided to follow her to Gnod Drop Out with White Hills.

11:04 PM — Gnod was very particular music for a very particular audience under a particularly large amount of drugs. Endlessly spooling 70’s space rock psychedelics. We didn’t stay long. Instead we opted for Thou, playing Umbilical on the main stage.

Dolphin Whisperer: THOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUU

11:19 PM
I always kind of skirted around Thou, but they put on a good show. Unforgivingly harsh and unstoppably heavy, with the biggest riffs I’ve heard today. I don’t feel the amount of heart I got from the best performances today, but it’s a fun and filthy way to end the day.

Day 3 (Saturday, 19th of April)

1:54 PM — Scarfed down a fresh stroopwafel, brought my ebook for breaks and waits, and shuffled into the Terminal for Dødheimsgard!

They’re playing Black Medium Current front to back.

2:05 PM — It’s more of a sardine pressure vat than a sardine can in here.

2:11 PM — But the show is great! The big hall works for the expansive spacy black metal and the band is performing with fire

2:38 PM — We escaped the crowd to join a different one and check out Haatdrager, a project from students at the Metal Factory in Eindhoven. Claustrophobic electro-laden sludge. It’s fucking awesome!

2:44 PM — The vocalist is a very talented young woman. Throat ripping screams, but she also focuses on flow and rhythm in a more hip-hop fashion which gives the music an urban fusion flair akin to Backxwash and dälek.

Dolphin Whisperer: Like and subscribe

3:42 PM — We left for ice cream, then headed back to catch the off-kilter hardcore punk of Gillian Carter.

3:49 PM — Instrumentation is cool, sharp riffs with unexpected turns and skronks. Vocals are very one-note though. Will try to get into Grey Aura instead.

3:52 PM — Samantha compared the vocals [of Gillian Carter] to Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit sinking into the Dip and it is 100% accurate.

4:29 PM — Grey Aura was worse though. Embarrassing vocals honestly. Yelling like he wanted the kids to get off his lawn.

Tyme: Boooo! Too bad. I dig Grey Aura.

Dolphin Whisperer: That’s really sad to hear :(

5:09 PM — We grabbed a drink and intended to get in line for Uniform. And so we did, but the Terminal filled to capacity before we got there. Not willing to face another sardine pressure vat, we went with plan B: a collaboration between Sumac and Moor Mother. Now waiting for that while giving our feet a rest on the main stage steps.

Tyme: Sumac?? Hmmmmmm. Interesting

Dolphin Whisperer: Sumac + Moor Mother sounds the kinda collab that is so high art it may be impossible to sniff it. Hope it’s enjoyable

You’re not far off. It doesn’t feel like they managed to glue freeform activist hiphop and sludge doom together cohesively. More like switching between the Moor Mother bits with heavy guitars, then Sumac bits where they play actual riffs.

6:23 PM — We left to see Coilguns instead. That turned out to be the right decision. Frantic hardcore punk with ketamine energy and acidic left field swerves; it’s not always sane but it’s highly entertaining!

6:25 PM — The vocalist is especially all over the place, pulling himself across the stage by the afro and using 5 different styles and inflections in the same song

6:29 PM — Also met one of our Discord users, inkster.

Dolphin Whisperer: inky is very social + nice

She was! We left before the end because it was a long set and our feet are so fucked, but Sammy and I had fun watching Coilguns with her for a bit

8:52 PM — Caught a couple songs from Denisa after dinner. A sort of raw post-punk meets Emma Ruth Rundle from Indonesia. Not extraordinary, but solid, sung and played with heart.

9:38 PM — Also a few songs from Doodseskader’s set. First saw them opening for Alcest, and their stark, raw nu-sludge, with intense visuals synced to the music, hasn’t lost its potency.

9:43 PM — Altın Gün is a big change of pace, though. They play a mixture of psychedelic rock and Turkish traditional music. It’s very danceable, but for me it lacks a little oomph, a bit of grit.

11:21 PM — Bidding the day goodnight with Chat Pile. They play their music well, but I was hoping that’d be enough to make me enjoy their music more, and it isn’t. Still, it’s an effective, brusque brand of spasmodic aggression. The frontman pacing back and forth barefoot in shorts like he’s in the Ministry of Funny Walks is quite the choice.

11:38 PM — Okay, “Why” was a hoot, fair is fair

Tyme: Still sounds like you’re having a blast tho!

I gotta admit it, that was a pretty fucking fun show yeah

Day 4 (Sunday, April 20th)

10:04 AM — Mild hangover. Went to the local metal dive bar last night with some of our festival pals. Partied til 3:30 am. I am getting too old for this shit. Except fuck that, it was a ton of fun and I’ll fucking do it again!

2:01 PM — Dragged my husk to the Terminal to see Vuur & Zijde play Boezem, which I gave a very positive review a few months ago. Curious to see how it plays on stage!

2:53 PM — Though the music was performed perfectly well, a giant industrial hall is probably not the ideal venue for Vuur & Zijde. I think they’d do better in a more intimate setting. But some minor sound issues aside, it was a pretty good show overall.

2:56 PM — Halfway through we decided to move to the smaller Hall of Fame to check out Bacht’n de Vulle Moane, a band that’s only a year old and supposedly plays some intense black metal festuring analog electronics.

3:05 PM — “Good evening Roadburn!” Dude it’s 3 pm.

3:14 PM — This sounds less like black metal with electronics and more like someone yelling over muddy hardstyle.

3:26 PM — It didn’t annoy me, but it did bore me. I didn’t come here for techno.

Dolphin Whisperer: Every time is the evening if you’re playing black metal

That’s great, maybe they should have tried that instead of playing techno haha

4:01 PM — Just watched an animated short movie called The Hunter made by Costin Chioreanu. Quite cool, though the plot was lost on me. Pretty imagery though!

4:32 PM — Frente Abierto plays flamenco, but a dark and heavy variation thereof. Interesting, but not really to my tastes.

6:11 PM — Michael Gira’s set with Kristof Hahn (both from Swans) was an exercise in patience. Slow droning soundscapes, eventually joined by slow droning vocals. At some point I could no longer stand the slow droning.

6:13 PM — Turns out Sumac has quite a lot of slow droning soundscapes as well. I don’t need to like everything Roadburn has to offer, but gee golly, I hope I’ll enjoy at least one thing more than Vuur & Zijde today.

7:37 PM — With a belly full of noodles we plowed on back to the Terminal to catch a slice of Big|Brave. More slow droning soundscapes, but the vocals help give it a slightly better sense of progression. Still, when the song devolves into crash cymbal taps and nothing else for a few minutes, I do get a bit restless.

7:41 PM — When the buildup is more noticeable the music is much more enjoyable, thankfully, and the vocals are powerful.

7:48 PM — All in all a good performance that requires a bit more patience than my exhaustion has left me with.

9:03 PM — Bo Ningen, heavy psych rock from Japan, is a lot of fun and the first thing with this much energy today. Quite diverse, exploring different moods and textures.

9:25 PM — They manage both heartfelt space-outs and extended high-octane jams. Exciting show and excellent musicians!

9:35 PM — “This will be our last song!”
They still had 15 minutes.
They still went over time.

10:58 PM — Closing out the festival for us is Haunted Plasma. The glitzy darkwave with an edge reminds me of that scene in Blade with the vampire nightclub. The woman on the mic has a sweet spectral presence. A bit one-note, but otherwise very enjoyable and a worthy festival finale.

Even though the line-up was a bit frontloaded this year, it still resulted in some of the most hardest-hitting and affecting live music I’ve yet experienced, even from bands I’d never heard of in the first place. Both envy shows and the Throwing Bricks collaboration with Ontaard were the stuff of legends, and this kind of discovery is what makes Roadburn such a joy to return to, year after year. And it’s all the sweeter having a great group of friends to experience it with, as my partner and I attended few shows without at least one other friend by our side. So dear reader… same time next year?

#40WattSun #Alcest #AloraCrucible #AltınGün #Amenra #BachtNDeVulleMoane #Backxwash #BigBrave #BlogPost #BlogPosts #BoNingen #ChatPile #CHVE #Coilguns #ConcreteWinds #Dälek #DameArea #Denisa #Dödheimsgard #Doodseskader #EmmaRuthRundle #Envy #Faetooth #FrenteAbierto #GenitalShame #GillianCarter #Glassing #Gnod #GreyAura #Haatdrager #HauntedPlasma #InterArma #Kylesa #Messa #Midwife #MoorMother #Ontaard #OranssiPazuzu #Sumac #Swans #Thou #ThrowingBricks #Uniform #VuurZijde #WhiteHills

GardensTale Goes to Roadburn 2025

By GardensTale

The story of Easter, detailing the gruesome death and supernatural resurrection of a cult leader, is pretty fucking metal, all things considered. So it’s fitting that the cream of the crop among underground heavy music festivals, Roadburn, coincides with the religious holiday this year. Not that it makes much difference to me, my partner, or the slew of friends we drag across the Tilburg city centre to enjoy some of the heaviest, strangest, and most envelope-pushing music that music has to offer. We’d murder our feet and livers for this fest any time of the year.

For the last few editions, Roadburn has spread its venues over several locations within a few hundred-meter radius. The 013 is the main venue, hosting the large Main stage with its signature staircase (a brilliant way to rest your feet while watching a show!) and the smaller NEXT. A 5-10 minute walk away, depending on your state of mind and soundness of body, is the old industrial hall known as Koepelhal, split for the occasion into the larger Terminal and smaller Engine Room. Attached is the diminutive Hall of Fame, where the smallest artists get to do their thing, with the ever-popular skate park next door regularly hosting secret shows, which are often announced only a few hours beforehand. Finally, the local jazz club Paradox is the place to be for the more unconventional material, which is saying something in this place.

What follows is a cleaned-up live thread I tapped out in hasty bursts between and during sets, my word-vomit witnessed in real time by my colleagues who gave frequent and often unhelpful commentary. Where applicable, I saw fit to include their remarks and any response I had to their tomfoolery. I can not promise this will result in a sane article, but I hope it can sketch a glimpse of what the greatest festival in the world is like.

Day 1 (Thursday, 17th of April)

2:51 PM — As usual, the larger sizes of the merch sell out lightning fast, and so I walk away with a single patch and disappointment. Let’s hope Glassing can obliterate the letdown.

Cherd of Doom: Surely they restock merch through the festival?

HAHAHA no
Everyone knows merch goes fast so everyone goes to merch first so merch goes fast
And they always underproduce the large sizes

sentynel: You’d think if the merch consistently sold out really quickly they might print more next time

3:12 PM — Yep, Glassing is fucking killing it. Pushing an almost Spartan setup to its limit. The drummer is just bonkers!

4:11 PM — Listening to Oranssi Pazuzu outside the main stage because we could no longer get inside. It sounds impressively oppressive. Wish we could have seen more of it, but I would not have wanted to miss Glassing. Choices choices.

4:24 PM — The electronics and psychedelics of Oranssi Pazuzu are really cool. I should have paid more attention to this band.

4:48 PM — Slowing things down a bit with Toby Driver’s new age project Alora Crucible. It’s pretty enough, but 10 minutes in, I am still waiting for it to develop into something more than a yoga class background music jam.

5:17 PM — It did not.

5:31 PM — Listened most of Alora Crucible from the lounge where they pipe down the music from that stage. Very relaxing, better way to experience it than the venue!

5:33 PM — Then sludge legends Kylesa reformed on the main stage. No second drummer sadly, but what a treat to see this band live again! Last time was at Graspop in 2011.

6:44 PM — Waiting for Faetooth to start. Their first European gig!

Dolphin Whisperer: love Faetooth, they got a new album on the horizon I believe

7:10 PM — Faetooth is decent but not amazing, the vocals are a bit one-note at least on stage. Some nice riffs and I wouldn’t have minded finishing the gig but my feet are too dead to settle for decent right now. At least we can still listen to them for a bit outside the venue.

9:20 PM — After a good big meal we went to the main stage for envy.
And it’s already entrancing just a few minutes in.

9:31 PM — I am in love, this is the greatest thing I discovered today. The intense and concentrated emotion divided between melancholic post-rock and colossal outbursts of post-metal-hardcore is divine.
This is their 2003 album, tomorrow they will play a modern era set.

Dolphin Whisperer: envy good

well WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME

Cherd of Doom: See, bands playing multiple themed sets is exactly why I’d love to go to Roadburn. The Inter Arma sets last year for instance

10:29 PM — Envy was my favorite show of the day easily. So intense, so emotional.

10:39 PM — Black Curse is apparently overrun, so instead we decided to wait for Concrete Winds. Dame Area was still playing in that venue, so we thought we’d check it out. We walked in and walked back out like Grandpa Simpson.

Dolphin Whisperer: CONCRETE WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINDS

11:30 PM — Concrete Winds sounds good for dense death metal but I am honestly too tired for death metal this dense.

12:42 AM — But I stuck it out! It was intense, but pretty cool. Sadly my phone died halfway through.

Day 2 (Friday, 18th of April)

12:49 PM — Heading in for the first performance on the bill today, a collab of Throwing Bricks and Ontaard. They’ve collaborated successfully before on record, but this is a new commissioned piece.

1:19 PM — It’s fucking awesome! 8 musicians on stage, massive sound, but the balance is great and it’s emotionally devastating.
The sound quality is also much better than most Engine Room performances.
Between the two bands you also have a lot of variety. Male and female vocals, synths, violin, two drummers. Gorgeous.

1:49 PM — I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of ‘beautiful serene passage, suddenly interrupted by the most devastating wall of noise.’

2:54 PM — Midwife was very pretty, very demure, and very much not what I was looking for right now. Sort of a shoegaze, dreampop, slowcore thing that feels more appropriate for a summer sunset than a dark crowded hall and foot pain. Will check again later!

3:20 PM — Now for one of my most anticipated shows of the festival: Messa playing their new album The Spin in full!

3:41 PM — Their stage presence is a bit static, but the album and execution thereof are so good it’s easy to forgive.

Dolphin Whisperer: They don’t typically have a big stage presence from what I gather. They didn’t when I saw em in a small club

5:11 PM — After Messa we intended to see CHVE, the solo project of Colin [van Eeckhout] from Amenra. The line was pretty long, so we declined to join it. But it was all speed 0 soundscapes and were even boring when listening from the lounge.

Dolphin Whisperer: why go fast when you can go sloooooooooooooooooooooow

5:13 PM — But now it’s time for round 2 of envy! Loved em so much yesterday, we wanted seconds. Today is the modern set, including all of Eunoia, their 2024 album.

6:36 PM — Envy was once again beautiful and crushing.

6:39 PM — After envy we went to queue for 40 Watt Sun. Patrick Walker is doing a solo show in Paradox, the jazz club, and it’s bound to be jam-packed. Thankfully we got in! Now having another beer and waiting for the man to make us weep.

7:02 PM — Walker surveying the crowd: “That does not look comfortable.”

7:34 PM — Between songs this man is the funniest fucker alive, then he starts playing again and instantly it’s misty eyes and goosebumps. What a character, what a musician.

8:52 PM — Sometimes you gotta stop and smell the Korean fried chicken.

9:22 PM — Now waiting for Genital Shame.

10:20 PM — Genital Shame was decent, but couldn’t hold our attention. Also I was much too close to the speakers and the kick drums were overpowering the guitars. Caught a friend heading out and decided to follow her to Gnod Drop Out with White Hills.

11:04 PM — Gnod was very particular music for a very particular audience under a particularly large amount of drugs. Endlessly spooling 70’s space rock psychedelics. We didn’t stay long. Instead we opted for Thou, playing Umbilical on the main stage.

Dolphin Whisperer: THOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUU

11:19 PM
I always kind of skirted around Thou, but they put on a good show. Unforgivingly harsh and unstoppably heavy, with the biggest riffs I’ve heard today. I don’t feel the amount of heart I got from the best performances today, but it’s a fun and filthy way to end the day.

Day 3 (Saturday, 19th of April)

1:54 PM — Scarfed down a fresh stroopwafel, brought my ebook for breaks and waits, and shuffled into the Terminal for Dødheimsgard!

They’re playing Black Medium Current front to back.

2:05 PM — It’s more of a sardine pressure vat than a sardine can in here.

2:11 PM — But the show is great! The big hall works for the expansive spacy black metal and the band is performing with fire

2:38 PM — We escaped the crowd to join a different one and check out Haatdrager, a project from students at the Metal Factory in Eindhoven. Claustrophobic electro-laden sludge. It’s fucking awesome!

2:44 PM — The vocalist is a very talented young woman. Throat ripping screams, but she also focuses on flow and rhythm in a more hip-hop fashion which gives the music an urban fusion flair akin to Backxwash and dälek.

Dolphin Whisperer: Like and subscribe

3:42 PM — We left for ice cream, then headed back to catch the off-kilter hardcore punk of Gillian Carter.

3:49 PM — Instrumentation is cool, sharp riffs with unexpected turns and skronks. Vocals are very one-note though. Will try to get into Grey Aura instead.

3:52 PM — Samantha compared the vocals [of Gillian Carter] to Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit sinking into the Dip and it is 100% accurate.

4:29 PM — Grey Aura was worse though. Embarrassing vocals honestly. Yelling like he wanted the kids to get off his lawn.

Tyme: Boooo! Too bad. I dig Grey Aura.

Dolphin Whisperer: That’s really sad to hear :(

5:09 PM — We grabbed a drink and intended to get in line for Uniform. And so we did, but the Terminal filled to capacity before we got there. Not willing to face another sardine pressure vat, we went with plan B: a collaboration between Sumac and Moor Mother. Now waiting for that while giving our feet a rest on the main stage steps.

Tyme: Sumac?? Hmmmmmm. Interesting

Dolphin Whisperer: Sumac + Moor Mother sounds the kinda collab that is so high art it may be impossible to sniff it. Hope it’s enjoyable

You’re not far off. It doesn’t feel like they managed to glue freeform activist hiphop and sludge doom together cohesively. More like switching between the Moor Mother bits with heavy guitars, then Sumac bits where they play actual riffs.

6:23 PM — We left to see Coilguns instead. That turned out to be the right decision. Frantic hardcore punk with ketamine energy and acidic left field swerves; it’s not always sane but it’s highly entertaining!

6:25 PM — The vocalist is especially all over the place, pulling himself across the stage by the afro and using 5 different styles and inflections in the same song

6:29 PM — Also met one of our Discord users, inkster.

Dolphin Whisperer: inky is very social + nice

She was! We left before the end because it was a long set and our feet are so fucked, but Sammy and I had fun watching Coilguns with her for a bit

8:52 PM — Caught a couple songs from Denisa after dinner. A sort of raw post-punk meets Emma Ruth Rundle from Indonesia. Not extraordinary, but solid, sung and played with heart.

9:38 PM — Also a few songs from Doodseskader’s set. First saw them opening for Alcest, and their stark, raw nu-sludge, with intense visuals synced to the music, hasn’t lost its potency.

9:43 PM — Altın Gün is a big change of pace, though. They play a mixture of psychedelic rock and Turkish traditional music. It’s very danceable, but for me it lacks a little oomph, a bit of grit.

11:21 PM — Bidding the day goodnight with Chat Pile. They play their music well, but I was hoping that’d be enough to make me enjoy their music more, and it isn’t. Still, it’s an effective, brusque brand of spasmodic aggression. The frontman pacing back and forth barefoot in shorts like he’s in the Ministry of Funny Walks is quite the choice.

11:38 PM — Okay, “Why” was a hoot, fair is fair

Tyme: Still sounds like you’re having a blast tho!

I gotta admit it, that was a pretty fucking fun show yeah

Day 4 (Sunday, April 20th)

10:04 AM — Mild hangover. Went to the local metal dive bar last night with some of our festival pals. Partied til 3:30 am. I am getting too old for this shit. Except fuck that, it was a ton of fun and I’ll fucking do it again!

2:01 PM — Dragged my husk to the Terminal to see Vuur & Zijde play Boezem, which I gave a very positive review a few months ago. Curious to see how it plays on stage!

2:53 PM — Though the music was performed perfectly well, a giant industrial hall is probably not the ideal venue for Vuur & Zijde. I think they’d do better in a more intimate setting. But some minor sound issues aside, it was a pretty good show overall.

2:56 PM — Halfway through we decided to move to the smaller Hall of Fame to check out Bacht’n de Vulle Moane, a band that’s only a year old and supposedly plays some intense black metal festuring analog electronics.

3:05 PM — “Good evening Roadburn!” Dude it’s 3 pm.

3:14 PM — This sounds less like black metal with electronics and more like someone yelling over muddy hardstyle.

3:26 PM — It didn’t annoy me, but it did bore me. I didn’t come here for techno.

Dolphin Whisperer: Every time is the evening if you’re playing black metal

That’s great, maybe they should have tried that instead of playing techno haha

4:01 PM — Just watched an animated short movie called The Hunter made by Costin Chioreanu. Quite cool, though the plot was lost on me. Pretty imagery though!

4:32 PM — Frente Abierto plays flamenco, but a dark and heavy variation thereof. Interesting, but not really to my tastes.

6:11 PM — Michael Gira’s set with Kristof Hahn (both from Swans) was an exercise in patience. Slow droning soundscapes, eventually joined by slow droning vocals. At some point I could no longer stand the slow droning.

6:13 PM — Turns out Sumac has quite a lot of slow droning soundscapes as well. I don’t need to like everything Roadburn has to offer, but gee golly, I hope I’ll enjoy at least one thing more than Vuur & Zijde today.

7:37 PM — With a belly full of noodles we plowed on back to the Terminal to catch a slice of Big|Brave. More slow droning soundscapes, but the vocals help give it a slightly better sense of progression. Still, when the song devolves into crash cymbal taps and nothing else for a few minutes, I do get a bit restless.

7:41 PM — When the buildup is more noticeable the music is much more enjoyable, thankfully, and the vocals are powerful.

7:48 PM — All in all a good performance that requires a bit more patience than my exhaustion has left me with.

9:03 PM — Bo Ningen, heavy psych rock from Japan, is a lot of fun and the first thing with this much energy today. Quite diverse, exploring different moods and textures.

9:25 PM — They manage both heartfelt space-outs and extended high-octane jams. Exciting show and excellent musicians!

9:35 PM — “This will be our last song!”
They still had 15 minutes.
They still went over time.

10:58 PM — Closing out the festival for us is Haunted Plasma. The glitzy darkwave with an edge reminds me of that scene in Blade with the vampire nightclub. The woman on the mic has a sweet spectral presence. A bit one-note, but otherwise very enjoyable and a worthy festival finale.

Even though the line-up was a bit frontloaded this year, it still resulted in some of the most hardest-hitting and affecting live music I’ve yet experienced, even from bands I’d never heard of in the first place. Both envy shows and the Throwing Bricks collaboration with Ontaard were the stuff of legends, and this kind of discovery is what makes Roadburn such a joy to return to, year after year. And it’s all the sweeter having a great group of friends to experience it with, as my partner and I attended few shows without at least one other friend by our side. So dear reader… same time next year?

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