Written by:	Auntie Sahar, X-Ray Rod
Published:	May 10, 2014
Event:	Roadburn Festival 2014 (Website)
Location:	013, Tilburg, The Netherlands
Galleries:	Roadburn 2014, Afterburner by Auntie Sahar (39) Roadburn 2014, Day 3 by Auntie Sahar (41) Roadburn 2014, Day 2 by Auntie Sahar (38) Roadburn 2014, Day 1 by Auntie Sahar (46)

Following the less-than-exciting prog parade that was more or less Day 2 of Roadburn, it was time to get things going again with Rodrigo with a day more dedicated to the usual crushing riffs and coma-inducing headbanging. There was little to no cheese to be found on April 12th, just some fist pumping goodness and a ton of crowd energy. Thus, Day 3 was a "redemption" of sorts, that turned around some of our disappointment left over from the previous day, and injected us with some nasty metal doses once again. The first band I wanted to see for the day weren't on until 4:30 (festival officially begins at 3), so I decided to hang out with Rod around the grounds with a few smokes and drinks beforehand. Eventually, we got rather bored of sitting around and decided to make it over to the main stage early to check out some of Noothgrush. However, I was a bit inebriated at that point, so I'll let Rod do the talking for the first band of the day.

---

NOOTHGRUSH

At this point the Roadburn routine was getting a bit tiresome, so when I arrived at the venue I just sat somewhere and chilled for a while with Che. My musical instincts told me that we should get our asses up and check out one of the bands that were playing. I'm glad we picked the main stage, since as soon as I got there I could feel my batteries recharging once again by the power of the groovy and filthy sludge of these Americans. It kind of blew my mind to find out how old these guys are (formed in '94) since I didn't know anything about them. With only one full length and a load of demos, EPs and splits, I can only say: release your sophomore album ASAP! Noothgrush might not be the most original stuff around, but damn it if it isn't effective. This is hard-hitting sludge in the vein of bands like Eyehategod. Feedback-friendly, fat bass lines, addictive riffs and painful vocals from a very charismatic vocalist (whom we had the pleasure to chat with a bit after the concert). The misanthropic visuals were a nice addition to the music, as well as the hilarious samples they used from time to time. Highly recommended for anyone who digs no-holds-barred sludge.

---

WINDHAND

Che: Now Rod and I could just hang out in the main stage area for Windhand, who were on after Noothgrush. The music for these guys feels like it can lag a bit on album, but I still enjoyed it for the most part and decided to check them out. I thanked myself later, as the band are a lot better live than on album (at least partially due to the amazing beauty that is vocalist Dorthia Cottrell). It was actually a bit of a pleasant surprise to see her, as I hadn't yet realized that the vocals on their recent Soma release were those of a woman! This was pretty much an hour of stoner metal hazes, topped off with some faint psychedelic elements. After Napalm Death, these guys probably had my favorite visuals of the festival, of a bunch of nature scenes and animals: spiders, birds, and (my personal favorite) snakes, to name a few. The slight trance state Windhand lulled me into left me somewhat wanting some more action, and Rod and I got it later in the Het Patronaat.

Rod: Hungry for more heaviness, Che and I stayed in the main stage for the arrival of Windhand. Heaviness is what we wanted, and that's what we received. The massive riffs floored the audience. I honestly couldn't hear the vocals too well (I was in the first row), so I don't have that much of an opinion. Our Dutch colleague claims the vocals were out of tune most of the time. To me, however, it wasn't much of a problem, since they are usually in the background on CD anyways. The riffage is the key for Windhand, and on that aspect they delivered. Sick visuals were also a thing with these guys, from Christian fanatics with epilepsy to animal sequences.

---

TRIBULATION

Che: If you got on the hype surrounding The Formulas Of Death last year (and honestly, shame on you if you didn't), you can probably imagine how excited I was to see these guys. I like to think that how a band begins a performance is key to establishing what they're looking to accomplish with it, and Tribulation took to this idea quite well. Decked out in horror-esque makeup, and with frontman Johannes Andersson's mic stand complete with a scale of bones dangling from it, these guys got the slaughter going right off the bat. The band have a great manipulation of mood and tempo on album, and this only seems to be enhanced onstage, with plenty of the more atmospheric moments from the Formulas Of Death tracks that they played being quite hypnotizing. This set really had a great flow to it, both with the heavier moments as well as the more relaxed ones, and much like with Tyranny the day before, I had a very "please don't tell me it's over!" type of feeling when it finally came to an end. Rod and I also ended up meeting the band members outside of a restaurant close to the Roadburn venue the day after, and saluted them all for a great performance before they had to fly back to Sweden.

Rod: The Formulas Of Death was a game changing album for these Swedes. It proved that there was far more in their sound that what their more traditional sounding debut led us to believe. To be able to listen to such an intriguing brand of extreme metal was without a doubt a top priority during the third day, so I made sure to be up front and center with my man Che and my sis. Wearing some extremely tight clothes, and with some old school metal make up on their faces, they certainly know how to make an entrance. The band focused mostly on their latest album, but some songs from The Horror reared their ugly heads to great effect after the more unorthodox songs. Not many bands can pull off such intricate songwriting while also not forgetting the marrow that is fist-raising metal! With all the exaggerated poses and cheering to the crowd, Tribulation strike as a great live band with a ton of energy.

---

INDIAN

Che: If you're a fan of bands like Coffinworm and Lord Mantis (with whom Indian actually share a drummer), and you haven't checked out these guys yet, do yourself the favor. Having greatly enjoyed From All Purity, I was ready to have my ears bleed with some dirty sludge, and I wasn't disappointed. This set was totally crushing from beginning to end, and I think it can best be summed up by the title of the opening track of their latest album (that is, "Rape"). Interestingly enough, there were one or two tracks in their set where frontman Dylan O'Toole actually put down his guitar and just did straight vocals, with the other guitarist backing him up. No disrespect to the guy, but he's much more vocal-oriented, and it was an overall better sound with just one guitarist. Guitar or no guitar, Dylan and company still destroyed the Het Patronaat, turning all of its inhabitants into crying babies in the process. Quite likely the nastiest band of the day.

Rod: I had some big expectations for these guys. Most of you are probably aware by now that I'm a sucker for FILTHY sludge metal, and I enjoyed Indian's last two albums so much because of that. Unbelievably heavy and oppressive music with piercing vocals. How are they live? Well, they were definitely not the best band of the entire festival, but they sure as hell were the most intense for me. Both the audience and the band looked exhausted after such an overwhelming set. The riffs crushed everything with no compassion and the drums were imposing even under the slower moments. But the crown really must go to the vocalist. Dylan O'Toole pushed himself to the extremes during their set, sometimes just falling to the floor and screaming with such a disturbing power. If you liked them on album, watch them live if you ever get the chance. You won't regret it, as the studio albums don't do justice for what they can conjure up live.

---

INTER ARMA

Che: At this point I didn't have any other "must sees" on my list for a while. So while I was hanging around inflating like an anaconda on Roadburn food and indiscriminately talking to some festival honeys, Rod saw these sludgers.

Rod: What's the best way to follow up an intense sludge set? With more sludge of course! Inter Arma's take on the genre is a more sophisticated one though. Blending black and post elements, the overall result is perfect for a live setting. The dissonant and droning riffs kept hitting me until they got stuck in my head, and the astronomic visuals were of big help towards achieving a hypnotizing effect during the calm moments before the storm. The star of the show had to be the drummer though. Not only did he wear the most metal clothes of the festival (pink bathing shorts), but his performance was stellar from beginning to end, ending up as the main focus during a huge part of their set. He did quite a few solos during the calmer sections and used a huge tree branch (no joke) more than once during the climaxes. Hilarious, to say the least. One big disappointment was the fact that the band had with them a live member who was going to play a friggin theremin. I was so damn curious the whole time about how it was going to sound with the rest of the instruments, but the dude couldn't get his act together at all! On the plus side, it's not like they really needed it, as all the key elements were already there.

---

THE VINTAGE CARAVAN

Che: I was debating between these guys and Horse Latitudes as my final band for the day, and finally settled on the former. I love the latter's formula of two basses and no guitar, and had originally wanted to check them out, but after being warn out from too much food, I needed something to pick me back up, and I knew Horse Latitudes would only hypnotize me and make me feel even more tired. Packed into the tiny Stage 01, Vintage were a great ending to my night with some groovy, bluesy, and somewhat psychedelic jams. Oddly enough, the visuals in the background were a lot of trippy colors with the face of their frontman appearing and disappearing over them (I know, totally not narcissistic at all). However, it was their bassist who really stole the show. Shirtless and high on god knows what, he was bouncing around like a maniac, planting his foot right front-and-center on the speaker in front of me plenty of times. While I was enjoying this riff-heavy-and-wailing-vocals end to my evening, Rod was meanwhile getting entranced by some heavy and trippy Finnish metal (seems that's what that country's been doing best in the scene lately, eh?)

---

HORSE LATITUDES

Rod: Two bassists and one drummer who also sings? Interesting to say the least! I was worried about the sound, since I feared that the sound of both basses in a smaller stage would just sound like a huge fuzz with no shape or form. But luckily I was wrong, as the sound was perfectly clear, and you could listen to the riffs and even leads clear as water. The only thing I knew about these guys is that they played some sort of doom with drone influences, but the sound was far gentler than I imagined. The vocals varied from mournful and deep cleans to whisper-like growls, and together with the low-tuned melodies the atmosphere was very trance-friendly, especially during the more tribal moments. Unfortunately I had to leave early due to the trains' schedule, so I only stayed for a bit more than half the set. Another great discovery Roadburn style, and a nice way to finish my third day.

---

Che: Making it back to Marcel's house around the usual slot between 2 and 3 am, we were all wiped, and the fact that there was only one day of the festival left was both exciting and sad. The main part of the fest was over, but little did I know that some of the best was yet to come with the Afterburner on Sunday, which, despite the smaller number of bands, still packed a potent punch.

Highlights of Day 3: The pleasant surprise that was Noothgrush, Tribulation and Indian both destroying the Het Patronaat, and watching Dorthia Cottrell perform (yeah, she's pretty, I think you get the point).

One more day to go! Stay tuned for the Afterburner article, and check out the Day 3 Gallery!