On Friday December the 13th and Saturday December the 14th it’s time for a new edition of Eindhoven Metal Meeting in the Effenaar in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. One day earlier there will be a warm-up party in the same venue, but you’ll need another ticket for that. However, you can get a discount if you’re also going to the main festival of Eindhoven Metal Meeting 2019. Below you can read something more about all the bands on the festival’s line-up, including the warm-up party’s line-up.
Thursday December the 12th (Warm-up party)
Matterhorn
Before the main festival of Eindhoven Metal Meeting 2019 is going to start there will be a warm-up party in the same venue, the Effenaar, on Thursday December the 12th. These four bands will be performing: the Swiss of Matterhorn, their fellow Swiss Bölzer, the Norwegians of Dødheimsgard and the Poles of Blaze of Perdition. The first band we will mention here is Matterhorn. This band was formed in 2012, but debut album Crass Cleansing is only released since last year. On this album, Matterhorn delivers a heavy, fast-paced and filthy sound, with death, speed and thrash metal influences. There is no doubt that this will be a very heavy, very headbangable and filthy show!
Matterhorn Official Website
Matterhorn Facebook
Bölzer
There is nothing exaggerated when I say that this warm-up party will be very heavy. The next band, Bölzer, is also a band playing some very heavy tunes. They already deliver their heavy, very thought through death/black metal, including a lot of variation, for eleven years. In that period they released two EP’s, one full-length and one split. In addition to that great music it also stands out very much that guitarist/vocalist KzR vocally not only delivers deep grunts but also regularly very clean vocals that fit very well in their music. It’s not yet though, but Bölzer’s new, upcoming EP titled Lese Majesty, will be released before they are going to enter the stage here. This is going to be very nice!
Bölzer Official Website
Bölzer Facebook
Blaze of Perdition
The Polish band Blaze of Perdition is playing black metal. In their black metal they regularly change between heavily, fast-paced parts and more atmospheric black metal parts. Blaze of Perdition’s latest album, Conscious Darkness, already dates back from 2017, but it still is worth checking out for sure, if you don’t know Blaze of Perdition yet. I am very curious to this show!
Blaze of Perdition Facebook
Blaze of Perdition Instagram
Dødheimsgard
The latest album of the next band, Dødheimsgard, is titled A Umbra Omega and is already four years old. What is the case for Blaze of Perdition’s Conscious Darkness also applies on A Umbra Omega though. Don’t you know this yet? Don’t wait with checking this out! Are you in for some dark music, that’s changing between heavy and atmospheric, but above all is very progressive, avantgarde and special? Then be sure to not miss Dødheimsgard on this warm-up party! I am already looking forward to it!
Friday December the 13th
Acrostichon
The amount of bands coming from own soil on this edition of the Eindhoven Metal Meeting is seven. Four of those Dutch bands are scheduled to play on Friday, three of them are going to play on Saturday. Acrostichon is one of those four bands playing on Friday. It’s already thirthy years ago that this death metal band was formed. From 1998 until 2009 they weren’t active though, but they’re back into action since 2009. Acrostichon pounds heavily with their old school death metal, with especially frontwoman Corinne van den Brand standing out with her very brutal vocals. This promises to be a very pounding show!
Asagraum
Another, nowadays entirely, Dutch band that will perform on this Friday are the black metallers of Asagraum. In 2017 they released their heavily pounding debut full-length Potestas Magicum Diaboli. Since September there is a successor for that album released. This successor is titled Dawn of Infinite Fire. On this new album Asagraum again delivers a very filthy and misanthropic, but at moments also compelling, sound. It almost can’t be otherwise than that the audience will be completely blown away during this show.
Asagraum Facebook
Asagraum Instagram
Asagraum Twitter
Bodyfarm
Ten years ago Bodyfarm was formed, since that time they bring fast-paced, heavily pounding old school death metal. However, they do also regularly include quite melodic sounding guitars, but not in such a way that they can be labeled as melodic death metal. Last September Bodyfarm’s fourth full-length album, titled Dreadlord, was released full of songs to which we can headbang very well during this brutal show.
You can read our review of Bodyfarm’s Battle Breed here, as well as our interview with them here.
Bodyfarm Official Website
Bodyfarm Facebook
Lucifericon
The fourth Dutch band that will enter the stage on Friday is Lucifericon. They are playing death metal with quite a lot of black metal influences. Lucifericon’s latest album, Al-Khem-Me, was released last year and it’s very nice for sure. Lucifericon’s music is brutal, filthy and occult. That all promises to become a rough show!
Here you can read our review of Lucifericon’s Brimstone Altar EP.
Burning Witches
So much for the Dutch bands that will perform on Friday. The next band is also partly Dutch though. Originally Burning Witches is a Swiss band, but last year the Dutch guitarist Sonia Nusselder joined them and this year she got Dutch company, because recently vocalist Laura Guldemond also became a member of Burning Witches. Burning Witches plays old school heavy metal that’s really catchy, but powerful to your ears, while also regularly including a bit of a raw, almost thrashy touch.
Burning Witches Facebook
Burning Witches Instagram
Burning Witches Twitter
The Committee
Another band performing today that is only partly Dutch is The Committee. Their bass player/backing vocalist Marc Abre – The Mediator is Dutch. This band, with members that each are from a different country, but is Belgium-based, plays atmospheric black metal. So, expect a dark, but also dreamy, mesmerizing show. A special show by the way, because, as can be read in their Facebookpage-biography: “The Committee is a live band, but does not play many times each season.” So, go to this show, this is a chance you won’t get that often!
The Committee Official Website
The Committee Facebook
Alcest
One of The Committee’s members, guitarist/backing vocalist Aristo Crassade – The Trigger, is French, which creates a path to the next band: the French band Alcest. Where we were writing about a dreamy, mesmerizing show just above here, that’s of course also something Alcest delivers, they even might be one of the masters in that. Recently I saw them perform a fantastic show as one of the supports during Amenra’s 20th anniversary in Paradiso, Amsterdam. That was a show that definitely made me want to see more. So, it’s pretty obvious that I am very much looking forward to this show!
Here you can read our review of Alcest’s Kodama.
Alcest Official Website
Alcest Facebook
Alcest Instagram
Alcest Twitter
Sodom
Writing about the bands that will be performing on Friday, we can’t go anymore southwards than France. Writing about the bands that will be performing on Friday and are neighboring countries to The Netherlands, we already wrote about the Belgium-based The Committee, so now we are going to our other neighboring country, Germany. On Friday three German bands will perform, the first of those three we are going to mention are the thrashers of Sodom. Of course, this is a band that’s already in the metal world for quite some time, 38 years to be more exact. From their original line-up in 1981 only bass player/vocalist Tom Angelripper is still part of Sodom. The rest of Sodom consists of the in 2018 joined drummer Husky and guitarist Yorck Segatz and the in 2018 re-joined guitarist Frank Blackfire, who also was a part of Sodom from 1987 until 1989. Sodom’s latest release, a EP titled Partisan, was released last year. However, their new, upcoming EP titled Out of the Frontline Trench, will be released before this show, on November the 22th.
You can read our reviews of Sodom’s Sacred Warpath and Decision Day here and here.
Sodom Official Website
Sodom Facebook
Sodom Instagram
Sodom Twitter
The Ruins of Beverast
Another German band that will be performing on this day is the one man band of Alexander von Meilenwald, The Ruins of Beverast. Of course during this show Alexander will be on stage together with live musicians. It’s already two years ago that the latest album of this band, Exuvia, was released. On Exuvia you can hear an atmospheric and dark-ambient like mix of black and doom metal that’s very dark, mysterious and at some moments even feels paranoid and disorientating. Exuvia is an album that surely is a very intense experience, hopefully that’s also what this show will bring.
The Ruins of Beverast Facebook
The Vision Bleak
The other German band playing today is The Vision Bleak. This band calls their musical style horror metal which, in my opinion, is more based on the lyrics than the music itself. It surely doesn’t sound as frightening as The Ruins of Beverast. The Vision Bleak’s latest album, The Unknown, already dates back to 2016. On that album The Vision Bleak delivers melodic, symphonic, melancholic and doomy music, at some moments a bit heavier and faster in which the low, clean vocals are sometimes making some room for a bit rawer screams. I am curious to see how this will turn out live!
The Vision Bleak Official Website
The Vision Bleak Facebook
The Vision Bleak Instagram
Bloodbath
From Germany we are going a bit more northwards, to continue with Sweden. This weekend there will be three Swedish bands performing here, with one of them performing on this Friday. That band is the death metal band Bloodbath. As you maybe know not entirely Swedish, because vocalist Nick Holmes is coming from the UK. We will see him again later by the way. Earlier this year I already saw Bloodbath perform on Fortarock in Nijmegen. You can read my live review of that show here. Before Fortarock I was really looking forward to that show and live it seems to be even more intense than I expected. This is going to be very brutal, intense and heavy as fuck, I am already looking forward to this show very much!
Bloodbath Official Website
Bloodbath Facebook
Bloodbath Instagram
Bloodbath Twitter
Nocturnal Breed
West of Sweden is Norway, the country that brings four bands to this edition of Eindhoven Metal Meeting, five if you’re already counting the Norwegian band playing on the warm-up party, Dødheimsgard. Three of those bands are going to perform on Friday, with the first one mentioned being Nocturnal Breed. This band already plays their black/thrash metal for 23 years. In June they released their sixth album, titled We Only Came for the Violence. That album has quite a nice old school vibe, while Nocturnal Breed also delivers their music in a heavily pounding way with the filthy-sounding black/thrash metal.
Tsjuder
The other two Norwegian bands that will enter today’s stage are two, it almost couldn’t be otherwise since they’re coming from Norway, black metal bands. The first of those two bands I am going to mention is Tsjuder. Tsjuder’s latest studio-album, Antiliv, already dates back to 2015. You can read our review of that album here. Since that time the band only released a live-album, titled Norwegian Apocalypse: Oslo vs Sandnes. Heavy drums, high guitars and terrifying screams, that’s what Tsjuder delivers and this sounds as a very nice basis for an overwhelming show.
Tsjuder Official Website
Tsjuder Facebook
Tsjuder Twitter
Kampfar
Where Tsjuder delivers pounding, but quite straightforward black metal on Antiliv, fellow Norwegians Kampfar play their black metal a bit different. Their black metal regularly sounds a bit more epic-like and Kampfar uses a bit more variation and rhythm-changes in their music. Kampfar also delivers that in a very nice way on their newest album, Ofidians Manifest, which was released in May. That made me curious to this show as well.
Kampfar Official Website
Kampfar Facebook
Kampfar Instagram
Kampfar Twitter
Hellfire Deathcult
Writing about the bands performing on Friday there’s one band left to mention, which is the only non-European band of this day, the American band Hellfire Deathcult. Hellfire Deathcult brings us, as they called it themselves on their Facebookpage, militant raw death worshipping bestial chaos. After listening to their music, to me that seems to be a pretty accurate description. Hellfire Deathcult clearly is playing another style of black metal than Tsjuder and Kampfar are doing. These Americans deliver a very raw, gritty and chaotic wall of sound. I am wondering what this will be like live.
Saturday December the 14th
Rectal Smegma
As I already mentioned before there will also be three bands coming from own soil playing on Saturday. The first one I am going to mention is Rectal Smegma. As you probably already thought while reading the band name this band is playing goregrind. Heavily pumping drums, gory lyrics and deep, low vocals at some moments interchanged with higher, filthy shouts. All the ingredients for a heavy goregrind show are present!
Rectal Smegma Official Website
Rectal Smegma Facebook
Graceless
Graceless is the Dutch death metal formation formed in 2016 by former DutchMetalManiac writer Remco Kreft. In 2017 Graceless released their debut album, titled Shadowlands. On Shadowlands they bring nice sounding, powerful death metal that is very headbangable. Later this month a new split between Graceless and the Russian death metallers of Grond will be released via Raw Skull Recordz, a split that also sounds very strong. There probably is going to be a lot of headbanging during this hopefully very powerful show.
Officium Triste
The Dutch band I didn’t yet mention is Officium Triste. They also play death metal, but combined with doom metal, death/doom. That’s why the pace of Officium Triste’s music is a bit slower compared to the that of the two aforementioned bands. This doesn’t mean that Officium Triste is playing music that’s less brutal though. Their music might be quite slow, but it’s also very heavy. So, this band probably is going to give a show that’s very mesmerizing as well as very intense.
You can read our earlier live review of Officium Triste here.
Officium Triste Official Website
Officium Triste Facebook
Bütcher
When going a bit more southwards we’ll arrive at the only Belgian band of today. They are the heavy blackened speed metallers of Bütcher. This band formed in 2002 to, after releasing two demo’s, stop in 2007. However, since 2014 Bütcher is active again and in 2017 they released their debut full-length Bestial Fükkin’ Warmachine, Bütcher’s latest release so far. However, they just recently announced that they will be releasing their second album, titled 666 Goats Carry My Chariot, on January the 31st, next year. Bütcher’s musical style is speed metal, something you’ll probably hear quite fast when you’re hearing this band for the first time. Their music indeed is very fast-paced, something that undoubtly is going to make this show very energetic!
Undead Prophecies
A little bit more southwards is France, the country the next band, Undead Prophecies, is coming from. The members of this band all are anonymous and they’re only known by their aliases. Undead Prophecies is playing heavily pummeling old school death metal. In March of this year they released their second full-length album, titled Sempiternal Void, as well as a cover-EP, titled Origins. You can read our review of Sempiternal Void here. Live Batscum, Drauhr, Zörk, Necros and King Oscuro, the aliases of the band members, perform in grim reaper costumes.
Undead Prophecies Official Website
Undead Prophecies Facebook
Undead Prophecies Twitter
Haemorrhage
Even more going southwards we will arrive in Spain, where the next band is coming from: Rectal Smegma’s fellow goregrinders Haemorrhage. Haemorrhage already released quite a lot of material: seven full-lengths, one split VHS, one live DVD, two live albums, four EP’s, four compilations and no less than twenty-two splits. So, there’s enough material for a heavy, pummeling, crushing and gory show from these Spanish goregrinders!
Haemorrhage Facebook
Haemorrhage Twitter
Hour of Penance
Then we are travelling a bit more towards the East, to Italy. That’s the homecountry of the technical brutal death metallers of Hour of Penance. This band already exists for 20 years, but none of the current band members were already part of the band back in 1999. In those 20 years Hour of Penance released seven full-lengths, with the latest one being Cast the First Stone, which was released in 2017. Later this month these Italians will add an eighth full-length album to that though. That album will be titled Misotheism and last month they already released a first single off of that album, titled Flames of Merciless Gods. It’s a very promising song for this new, upcoming album and nice material for a very nice show as well.
Hour of Penance Official Website
Hour of Penance Facebook
Hour of Penance Instagram
Hour of Penance Twitter
Darkfall
Going a bit northwards coming from Italy, we’ll arrive in Austria, the next band’s home country. That next band is Darkfall, who are playing a very brutal but at the same time quite melodic way of death/thrash metal since their formation in 1995. Their latest, second full-length album, titled At the End of Times, is already two years old. It’s still worth checking out though and sounds very powerful. I hope Darkfall’s show will be just as powerful as they sound on the album.
Darkfall Official Website
Darkfall Facebook
Malokarpatan
A bit eastwards is the country the next band, Malokarpatan, hails from: Slovakia. In their five year existence Malokarpatan released two full-length album, two splits and one EP, which is a re-release of Malokarpatan’s part of the 2017 split titled Samhain Celebration MMXVII. Malokarpatan plays black metal, but their music clearly also includes quite a lot of traditional heavy metal influences, just as some folklore-influences at some moments. Malokarpatan’s black metal definitely isn’t only playing very fast and straightforward, but also contains a lot of variation, without losing the dark atmosphere of their music.
1914
Even more eastwards is Ukraine, where the next band, 1914, hails from. 1914 was formed 100 years after that year, in 2014. One year later they released their debut full-length Eschatology of War, which was later followed by one split, one compilation, one EP and one other full-length, 1914’s latest release titled The Blind Leading the Blind. 1914’s music mainly is a very slow, but at the same time very brutal, heavy and intense combination of death/doom metal with a few influences coming from black and sludge metal. This band already is on my list of bands I want to see live for quite some time, so I am really looking forward to this show. On their studio-material 1914 sounds bone-crushing, hopefully that’s also the case when they play live.
Candlemass
From Ukraine we go a bit northwards and westwards, to Sweden. On this Saturday two Swedish bands will perform. The first one we are going to mention of those two are the epic doom metallers of Candlemass. This isn’t about just an epic doom metal band though, it’s about the founders of it. This band already exists for quite a long time, it’s 35 years ago that this band was formed. In those years Candlemass released quite a lot of material, with this year’s twelfth full-length album The Door to Doom, being their latest release. This is also is the first Candlemass album on which the in 2018 joined vocalist Johan Längquist can be heard. In my opinion that’s a very good combination, I am curious if that will also be the case when they are playing live.
Candlemass Official Website
Candlemass Facebook
Candlemass Instagram
Candlemass Twitter
Mörk Gryning
The other Swedish band that is going to perform on this Saturday is the black metal band Mörk Gryning. Mörk Gryning was formed in 1993 and released five full-length albums until they stopped in 2005. Since 2016 Mörk Gryning is active again, but the self-titled album they released in 2005 still is their latest studio-material. They released a live album, titled Live at Kraken, in 2018 though. On their 2005-released self-titled album as well as on that live album Mörk Gryning sounds furious, dark and raw, which is very promising for their show.
Taake
That the people in Sweden’s neighboring country Norway also know how to play black metal might be clear. One of the bands that’s doing so since 1995 is Taake. In 2015 I watched Taake perform for the first time. Back then they delivered a very intense, powerful show that overwhelmed as fuck. You can read my live review about that show here. I can’t wait to experience this again!
Paradise Lost
When writing about the European bands that will be performing on this Saturday there’s only one band left to mention. That’s the band in which we will, again, see Nick Holmes perform, the British band Paradise Lost. Just as Taake, I saw this band perform for the first time in that same year with a very convincing show. You can read my live review about that show here. So, I am also very much looking forward to Paradise Lost’s show for sure. This is going to be a very nice show without any doubt!
Paradise Lost Official Website
Paradise Lost Facebook
Paradise Lost Instagram
Paradise Lost Twitter
Dying Fetus
That brings us to the last three bands left to mention, all three coming from the USA. I am going to start with Dying Fetus, the death metallers that are already playing their bone-crushing music for 28 years. On their studio-material, with 2017-released Wrong One to Fuck With being their latest full-length album and the 2018-released Contamination Tour 2018 split being their latest overall release, Dying Fetus really pounds very heavily with their brutal death metal that also sounds very technical giving it all an even more crushing effect. This is going to be heavy!
Dying Fetus Facebook
Dying Fetus Instagram
Dying Fetus Twitter
Spectral Voice
Dying Fetus’ fellow Americans of Spectral Voice are playing their music on quite a slower pace. Spectral Voice plays a dark, at moments even haunting and ritualistic-like form of death/doom metal. At some moments they speed things up a bit, while the guitars are bringing a bit more of a black metal vibe at those moments, but they probably aren’t going to play as fast as Dying Fetus does.
Spectral Voice Official Website
M.O.D.
Then there’s one band left to mention and that’s the American crossover thrash metal band Method of Destruction, shortly M.O.D.. With their raw, bone-breaking songs including Billy “Mosh” Milano’s hardcore vocals and lyrics that regularly include a lot of humor, this promises to be a heavily pounding show that probably is going to have a vibe that isn’t all too serious.
M.O.D. Official Website
M.O.D. Facebook
I am really looking forward to these three days full of metal. Who are we going to see there? If you want to go, but you don’t have tickets yet, you can buy those here.
Eindhoven Metal Meeting Official Website
Eindhoven Metal Meeting Facebook
Eindhoven Metal Meeting Instagram
Hi!
I’m Tim van Velthuysen and I started DutchMetalManiac back in 2014. I’m 29 years old and I live in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Of course, I like metal, but I can also appreciate other musical styles.
In addition to DutchMetalManiac I also have a personal website on which I’ll post various things that won’t fit on DutchMetalManiac, but might be interesting for you as well. It’s in Dutch though.
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