Written by:	Auntie Sahar, X-Ray Rod
Published:	June 06, 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)

After 3 days of friends, awesome tunes, and binging on food and merchandise, the 2014 edition of Roadburn Festival was finally drawing to a close with the so-called "Afterburner," the Sunday of the fest. While it was certainly sad to know that the whole occasion was ending, it was definitely exciting as well, as the organizers did seem to take a bit of a "best for last" sort of approach, saving some of my most-anticipated bands for this fourth day. After one final visit to that place with the good fries (sorry Rod, forgot the name), the crew and I made it over to the venue grounds for a more relaxed (but just as excellent) final day.

Rod: So this was our last day. This was really the point where I was both glad and sad about the festival coming to an end. My feet were certainly happy though, and I started getting some munchies for REAL food instead of my usual french fries. This fourth day is called "The Afterburner," and it's usually considered a sort of appendix to the main festival. You can buy a ticket just for the Afterburner event, or the first 3 days? or do as we did and be there for all four days! Anyways? during the Afterburner 2 out of the 5 stages that were previously used are closed. Less bands and less people. This was totally fine for me considering how exhausted I was up to that point.

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AQUA NEBULA OSCILLATOR

Che: There was a much larger amount of psychedelic/space rock bands than usual on the Roadburn lineup this year, and being a total sucker for trippy music, I had to get in on the action. I had wanted to see Sula Bassana and Carlton Melton on the previous days, but both of their sets unfortunately conflicted with bands I was more interested in. With the more relaxed schedule of the Afterburner, however, there were no such problems, and I thus made it into the Green Room a good 15 minutes beforehand for these guys. Aqua Nebula Oscillator were kinda like The Vintage Caravan the day before: really bluesy, riff-dominated and with a big old-time sound, but a lot more dreamlike, spacey, and laden with that heavy synth/keyboard presence that I love so much. Their keyboardist also had a nice bongo setup that he got going on from time to time that helped to maintain a very tasty tribal flavor as well, and the band had some really sexy visual eye candy in the background the whole time to set the mood. While I wish I had gotten a bigger dose of this type of music for the entire festival, Aqua Nebula Oscillator certainly delivered it well, so I can't complain too much. Meanwhile, Rod was across the universe, listening to...

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SELIM LEMOUCHI'S ENEMIES

With the tragic death of Selim Lemouchi, known mostly for being the founder of The Devil's Blood, this set was bound to be an important event for many people. Since I recently started listening to his bands, I decided to check out the first half of their set. I sat down way back on the stairs in the main stage and enjoy the show from above with a beer. It was certainly an emotional experience for both the musicians and the public. Their brand of psychedelic rock was mesmerizing and highly hypnotic. Farida Lemouchi (Selim's sister) sang beautifully and together with the visuals, showing Selim both playing in a studio and submerging himself in a lake in an almost ritualistic manner, the result was nothing short of emotive. A thoughtful tribute to a fallen soldier.

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BÖLZER

Che: Fortunately, Bölzer were up next after Aqua Nebula Oscillator, so I just stayed front and center stage in the Green Room until they came on. The band's debut EP last year was one of the best fusions of black and death metal I had heard in a while, so I was particularly looking forward to this set. Along with Obliteration and Indian, Bölzer were probably the nastiest band of the festival. Okoi Jones (who Rod and I had unknowingly seen earlier during Obliteration's set) delivered full force throughout, with drummer "HzR" behind him in the background, and when they dove into "The Great Unifier" in particular, my neck really got snapping! Their set was a lot like Tribulation the previous day in the sense that it was both devastatingly crushing, yet also somehow strangely hypnotic. Call me a lover, but despite some tech issues and a bunch of people afterwards doing their usual complaining about how x sound was too this and y sound wasn't enough of that, these guys really impressed me. They're pretty much the duo that Inquisition wish they could be live, and I'm very excited for their second EP coming out this year.

Rod: Aura was, at least for me, one of the best death metal releases of the past year. It just sounded so fresh while still keeping it classic somehow. Needless to say, I looked forward to Bölzer's set. From what I gathered, the opinion of those who saw them perform varies a lot. They started late and apparently they got sound problems throughout the whole set. I'm ok with people calling me easily impressed? I thought they were great. It wasn't nearly as great as I was expecting, but I still enjoyed it a lot. Those magnificent riffs just kept going on and on with the chaotic drumming following. It was almost trace-friendly. The vocals could have been a bit louder though. I'd love to see them again to see if they get a better response from the audience, considering their obvious talent.

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NEW KEEPERS OF THE WATER TOWERS

Che: Avatarium and Yob were up next in the day, but I really wasn't interested enough to drag my lazy ass to the main stage for either of them. So I hung around doing the usual jiving I had been for the past three days (food, beer, and talking to attractive Dutch women), until New Keepers came on later in the Green Room again. I don't think I'm alone when I say that these guys probably trumped out Yob as the stoner band to see on Sunday. Groovy, but also with a delightfully atmospheric tinge, New Keepers Of The Water Towers lulled us all into a strange trance with barreling riffs laced with a delicious psychedelic touch. The band have a particular wailing "aaahaaah" sound to their vocals on albums that is thankfully retained onstage, and they thus have no problem moving from one setting to the other. They played mostly material from their excellent recent album The Cosmic Child, and were quite possibly my favorite stoner band of the festival, a perfect (though heavier) complement to Aqua Nebula Oscillator earlier.

Rod: After Bölzer, I spent some time outside chilling, drinking and eating. When the time arrived I went to the balcony of one of the smaller stages in order to catch the first half of these Swedes. Their sophomore album from last year was my first contact with the band. It was great display of stoner metal that dripped tons of psychedelia as well. The band were certainly more trippy live than on album, and a bit more loose, making it a nice way to relax before my last set this day and of the entire festival. The set was great, but it didn't grab me that much. Probably because I was way too excited for the last band on my schedule?

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TRIPTYKON

Che: Triptykon were one of the bands no doubt many people had come to Roadburn for in the first place. Much like with Seirom and Mories, it was somewhat very unreal to see Tom Fischer, a living legend of metal, in a live, personal setting. The band got going with some of their material from the recent Melana Chasmata, but as they plowed deeper into their set, Fischer and company unleashed some material harking back to the older days for the diehard fans in the audience, including Celtic Frost's "Circle Of The Tyrants," and even a Hellhammer track. The sound quality was nice, thick, and crunchy, perfect for this type of music, and the band were a perfect ending to both the Afterburner, and Roadburn as a whole. My only complaint with this performance was a somewhat personal one: I was far stage right for the set, so I didn't catch much of a glimpse of the beauty that is Vanja Slajh, who was stage left pretty much the entire time.

Rod: This was it. Triptykon were the last band of the festival I was going to see. My expectations were huge as I've been listening to Celtic Frost and Triptykon more and more during the past year. The main stage was nearly packed and by the time the band arrived it was clear how important this set was for most of the Roadburners. It sounded extremely heavy and intense. I just can't believe Fischer is friggin 51 years old and still rocks the shit out of the audience. Both his vocals and the ones from Victor Bullock sounded fantastic. We were treated with everything I had hoped for: the crushing and extremely dark Triptykon material as well as some good old songs. When the opening riff from the mighty "Circle Of The Tyrants" started I just lost it and headbanged like my life depended on it. Even a track from Hellhammer reached its ugly head during their set. All in all, a great way to finish it all.

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HIGHLIGHTS AND TOUCHY-FEELIES

Rod: Honestly I can't say I had many highlights for the day? besides Triptykon being friggin awesome. I just have to point out that specific moment where everyone in the audience started yelling random "UH!!!" at Fischer when a song ended. A subtle yet sincere smile appeared on his face and told us "You may continue!" So this is it folks. This was my fourth year in a row at Roadburn and I can't see myself stopping any time soon. This might sound incredibly pretentious but this really is more than just a metal festival. It feels like a pilgrimage. The festival has a smaller audience that what you'd expect from a festival, yet sometimes it provides some big names. All the people are extremely friendly and you can see how the bands go there not only for playing but also to have a great time watching other bands. It's a place where everybody shares a strong love for metal and other sorts of heavy music. I hope that with this four part article some of you will get pumped and take your asses to Tilburg and enjoy one of the best festivals metal has to offer!

Che: Triptykon were definitely the best part of the Roadburn Sunday, although Aqua Nebula Oscillator ran a close spot for #2. All in all, this whole festival experience was very special and somewhat otherwordly for me. When I originally signed up on Metal Storm back in 2010, I had no idea that four years later I'd have a well-established presence on the site as a Staffer, almost 80 reviews under my belt, great metal friends all across the globe, and be journeying overseas for a four day metal festival. It was an awesome time, with some memories I'll never forget, and it raises my hopes for more metal friends opening their doors for me to attend more foreign fests with them in the future (I'm looking at you, Hellfest and Deathkult!).

Cheers and thanks to all who followed us lazy reviewers through these four articles, we know that some of them were way overdue in their pacing

Bonus pics added for the sake of memories, and to make you want to go even more