Written by:	Auntie Sahar, X-Ray Rod
Published:	June 15, 2015
Event:	Roadburn 2015: 20th Anniversary (Website)
Location:	013, Tilburg, The Netherlands
Galleries:	Roadburn 2015, Day 4 by X-Ray Rod (15) Roadburn 2015, Day 3 by Auntie Sahar (58) Roadburn 2015, Day 2 by Auntie Sahar (59) Roadburn 2015, Day 1 by Auntie Sahar (28)

Che: With the curated day of Roadburn over, it was now time to get back into business with the regular festival organization. Stepping out of Marcel's house in Utrecht to make the journey on this third day, a gloomy sky and icy drizzle greeted us. The weather had been more or less behaving itself for the past two days, but this one created a much more ominous atmosphere, and was definitely the coldest day of the fest. Even so, halfway into things, our crew was now well adjusted to the usual routine, and we arrived at the 013 on this gray Saturday somewhat wet, but ready to keep the ball rolling.

Rod: The third day came, and with it the weather went south. Nothing too shabby at first, but the rain soon showed up and everyone ran to the outside area looking for cover. Cold winds also made their appearance, which sucked for me as I tend to be like the average old person, always wanting to have extra jackets on me. But enough about the weather, my pants ended up wet anyways from all the bands I was looking forward to seeing!

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BOTANIST

Che: The announcement that Botanist would perform at Roadburn this year was one that immediately raised anticipation. It seemed like an obvious move: Botanist and Kayo Dot were on a European tour together at the time, so why not stop by in Tilburg to give us lovely Roadburners a treat? Gathering early in the Het Patronaat with my man Rod, we were treated to a very warm and mesmerizing performance from Otrebor and company, who all looked like ancient shamans or something in those cloaks they wear onstage. On album, of course, it's all him, but live he adds in a drummer, a bassist, and two guys handling dulcimer duty while he takes command of the mic and some strange, organ-looking thing. It really must be said that the lack of any guitar is part of what makes these guys so great live. While many other bands get smothered in a layer of distortion and feedback, and occasionally become difficult to hear, with Botanist this is no problem at all. They're crisp, airy, and bright, and in my opinion were definitely the most audible band of the fest. Truly a rare occasion to see these guys live, and I'm very happy to have gotten the chance.

Rod: I could barely believe it when I found out Botanist were going to play at Roadburn. With deep curiosity I went to the Het Patronaat, which was previously the annex of a church, a perfect place for these worshipers of the green ways. For live manifestations of his works, Otrebor is accompanied by three other musicians. So we got a drummer, two guys taking care of the dulcimers and someone (I believe it's Otrebor) handling the vocals and a type of accordion. I understand those who simply don't like Botanist albums, but I urge everyone to at least give them a chance live if the chance is given. The vocals weren't frog-like at all, which turned off most people during the first couple of albums. Instead his shrieks and growls are harsh, commanding, and well mixed into the background. Watching the two musicians play the dulcimer was an almost entrancing experience, which was enhanced by the cool costumes and green lights over them.

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KING DUDE

Rod: I decided to stay after Botanist in order to catch an artist that always intrigued me. The acoustic songs composed by this man are quite beautiful and pleasing to the ears, but his music also carries a kind of darkness you don't find too often. Black country? Hahaha. King Dude came across as a down to earth dude who had no problem whatsoever to interact with the audience, talking between songs and cracking a good number of jokes in the run. There were many people watching him, yet it still felt like an intimate show between friends in a bar or something. Sharply dressed and only accompanied by his acoustic guitar, and a piano during the last track, His Dudeness showed how less really is more. Best moment for me? When everyone in the audience was singing along "Lucifer is the light of the world!!!"

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SUN WORSHIP

Che: After Botanist, I moved on into the Dudok (the restaurant portion of the Patronaat) to have [url= http://metalstorm.net/pub/interview.php?interview_id=720]a great interview[/url] with Maurice de Jong, who would be performing the following day. Then I ran on over to the Green Room to catch a good half hour of these German black metallers. I had greatly enjoyed their Elder Giants debut, and was eager to see them live, as they've frequently been compared to Wolves In The Throne Room. While not quite of the caliber of WITTR, their playing style is indeed similar, that same kind of midpaced, hypnotic black metal that lulls you into a bit of a spiritual haze with its cascading riffs and occasionally beautiful atmospheric breaks. The band definitely know how to grab an audience's attention, not necessarily in terms of a commanding vocalist, but in terms of the inherently ensnaring power of their music. And moreover, they're definitely a good example of just how much the image of black metal has changed over the years, as their frotman, with his short haircut and glasses, did not look grim or menacing at all. Kvlt has a new look, y'all.

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ACID WITCH

Che: I left early on Sun Worship to run back to the Patronaat for Acid Witch. The place was already packed to the brim, so I had to use my time honed skills of s̶h̶o̶v̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶p̶e̶o̶p̶l̶e̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶y̶ ̶ audience maneuvering to secure a good spot close to the stage. This set was just as much of a party as I was expecting it to be. With Slasher Dave on vocals, and also taking command of those eerie keyboards that have always defined the band's sound, we were launched into a groovy, fun-as-all-hell atmosphere of crunchy riffs, horror movie samples, death growls, and songs about, as bassist Shagrat put it, "smoking weed and fucking witches." This was one of the best sets of the fest in terms of audience enthusiasm: everyone just seemed to be in total synch with the catchy riffs of the band, and the band themselves did a lot of talking into the crowd to hype people up. Strangely enough though, they didn't play "Witchtanic Hellucinations," which I was greatly looking forward to. Maybe they were just too stoned to remember it.

Rod: While running around to take cover from the rain that suddenly turned violent and windy, I went to the Het Patronaat in search for warmth and rest. Acid Witch provided the soundtrack of my fatigue as I just went to the balcony, and after trying to stand up for five minutes I decided to sit down on the floor and close my eyes. This was for the best, as the heat in the stage made me sleepy and trippy. The groovy riffs of these American doomsters mixed with the old horror movie samples and keyboard was perfect for some well-deserved rest. I noticed most of the songs were played much faster than on the album though, almost sounding thrashy at points. I didn't remember the ending. I was too occupied going all ZZZZZzzzzzZZZZ?

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TOMBS

Rod: Aaaaaaaaand I woke up with Tombs' punishing music. No kidding, I slipped into a deep slumber until these Americans showed up and cranked up the volume. I went back down to the first floor in the Patronaat to escape the heat, so I stood next to a wall enjoying the show. Their mix of post and black metal was perfect to wake up. It was surprising to me that their overall sound came off as more black than expected. Considering the applause, I think most people weren't expecting them to be that solid live. Check them out if you have the chance! Definitely better live than on album.

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KAYO DOT

Rod: Kayo Dot was one of the bands I was looking forward to see the most out of the entire festival. The legendary Maudlin Of The Well has been one of my favorite Avant-garde acts of all time, and I always admired Toby Driver's daring sense of composition and open mindedness to so many genres, which he carried on with Kayo Dot after MOTW's demise. I secured myself a spot dead center in the first row and waited with patience. It was nothing short of a kaleidoscope of psychedelic music under the moody blue lights. Genres turned into a blur with the aggressive and jazzy drums, the constant soloing, the imposing bass and keyboards handled by Driver himself, and of course some great sax to top it off. Losing yourself in the psychedelia has rarely been this fun. The audience couldn't stop smiling, and the applause at the end saw no ending, leaving Toby Driver shy and nervous, with his only words being "I don't know what to tell you, guys? thank you so much for this."

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UNDERSMILE

Che: After laying low for a while following the Acid Witch set that had worn me out from all the jumping around and headbanging, I made it on over to the Green Room early to get a good spot front and center for Undersmile. I had fallen in love with the ladies of this UK drone doom foursome and their powerful vocal harmonization, and was quite excited for their set. It was a strange combination of dark and beautiful, with the vocals of Hel and Taz being sweet and relaxing at points, and then ominous and crushing at others, augmented by the heavy-as-a-hurricane rhythms of the drummer and the bassist (who are actually engaged and married to Hel and Taz, respectively). To top it all off, the band also had this freaky as hell Japanese horror film going in the background? a woman screaming, a kabuki demon, etc., which went perfectly with the overall mysterious nature of their lush and hypnotic landscape of dense riffs and deep, imposing vocals. After the set, I looked up at Hel and Taz and gave them a heartfelt "you ladies killed it!" which they returned with warm, genuine smiles and a sweet reply of "you're so kind."

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URFAUST

Che: If there's one thing that's clear, it's that Roadburn doesn't mess around when it comes to replacing bands that cancel with even better ones. The psychonauts in Electric Citizen pulling out led them to be replaced by Dutch local legends Urfaust. I stayed in the Green Room after Undersmile waiting for them to come on. I knew it was going to be packed, and there was no way I was losing my spot for these guys. As anyone who's listened to them on album knows just how well this duo can nail the creepy horror vibe? I can guarantee you it's about ten times better live. These guys definitely know how to create a mood. Before they came onstage they were burning incense in a goat's skull, which they kept going for the entirety of their set. When they finally did take command, we were plunged into the pulsating drums of Jim (who was drinking beer and making funny faces almost constantly), and the eerie-yet-catchy guitar riffs of Willem, who's highly unique vocals were both aggressive, and darkly ensnaring. And as what was probably the icing on the cake, the band had a bunch of visuals going in the background from old school horror films: dancing skeletons, spooky castles, mad scientists examining flasks, and the like. I never really thought that a black metal band could be both haunting and fun at the same time, but when it comes to Urfaust in a live setting, they've got this fusion down.

Rod: This was the only time I moved my ass from the Het Patronaat. Off I went to the balcony of the Green Room for a perfect view of this very unique black metal act. I can understand those who can't stand their style but I urge everybody to check them out live if they can. That's when they truly shine. The clean vocals are fantastic and cut through the wall of riffs and drums like rays through dark clouds. The hypnotic vibe is all too real here, and watching everyone from the balcony headbanging perfectly in unison was a sight to behold. The music was accompanied by nice footage of old underground movies, which matched nicely with the dark mood in the room.

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FISTULA

Che: Fistula were called in to replace Lord Mantis when the latter cancelled on Roadburn. While I was originally disappointed, my hype got raised the more I listened to their discography and realized just how nasty these guys really are. Heading over to the Patronaat one final time, Rod, Johan, and I were subjected to some painful, no-holds-barred sludge, with riffs that would snap your neck with their heaviness, and the aggressive shrieks of Dan Harrington, a very powerful, charismatic frontman. Fistula also have a heavy hardcore element to their sludge, and just like with Eyehategod the previous day, when things picked up tempo several mosh pits got going, which continued on throughout the band's set. Acid Witch had already brought the party earlier, but with Fistula the party was much more raw and assertive, more in a "get drunk and smash shit" way than a "smoke out and groove along" way. Without question one of the most memorable sets of the fest, but one of my biggest regrets was choosing to get a CD at the band's merch table later, rather than a delightful [url= http://www.patacrecords.com/distro/images/fistulasmokeacidtee2.jpg]"Smoke Acid, Shoot Pills" shirt[/url]. Arrrgggh!

Rod: So after such a colossal and hypnotic set by Urfaust, we thought we could go see something chill to relax? but then we thought that idea was for cowards and headed to Fistula's set ready to get obliterated. This is a prime example of meat and potatoes sludge. No bullshit, just slooooooow and fast riffs to get your groove on. Oh, and it was FUCKING NOISY. Maybe it was just me but it felt like a sludge version of Anal Cunt in terms of how noisy and violent it was. Fortunately I had my earplugs on, otherwise my brain would have exploded. I don't know if it was my back hurting like hell or my overall disinterest with the band, but I got out of the front row to go all the way back to stretch and then sit down until my amigos were done watching.

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WRAP UP

Che: Saturday was without question the most stylistically varied day of Roadburn this year, and proof that although the festival is mostly centered around doom derivatives and psychedelia, by no means whatsoever is that what it's purely limited to. In the middle of the day, Marcel dipped out on us, being too hurt from a bad knee to continue to walk around the fest, leaving simply Rod, Johan, and I to travel back to his house after the fest. It was all good though: waiting for the bus later that night, we stopped and got some good food at this cheap little hole-in-the-wall place in the meantime, before doing the bus and train combo back to Utrecht. Tired beyond words from a very exciting day, I collapsed onto my mattress in Marcel's flat after finally getting back, sad that the final day was coming, but eager nonetheless.

Rod: This day stood out for me as the most relaxed by a mile. All but one band I saw performed on the same stage, leading to no clashes. As my brah Che would later comment on, this was the most eclectic day, with all the bands I saw being so far away from each other. Definitely a rich experience and one of the things I love the most about Roadburn. You really get a smorgasbord of fine music. In the middle of the day we got a man down as Marcel was too sore stand all day. So Che, Johan and I went home alone, taking a bus and a train quietly, and waiting for the sweet slumber and final day to arrive.

Thanks for waiting on us, guys!
It's kind of been a slow process with all the other stuff we've been having going on outside of t̶h̶e̶ ̶M̶a̶t̶r̶i̶x̶ ̶ Metal Storm, but we're committed on getting these reports out to you. Our final article for day 4 will be coming soon, and take a closer look at [url= http://metalstorm.net/gallery/gallery.php?gallery_id=582]our day 3 pics[/url] in the meantime!