Ed`s Wasted,

at Moonspell, Tiamat, and Flowing Tears.

March 10th, Ed and his pal Clement (drummer for Ed`s band Sleazy Dreams) went all the way to the nice city of Tilburg (the Netherlands) to go and watch Moonspell. That Tiamat was opening was very nice, but Ed was wasted when he saw Tiamat last, so couldn`t really build an image of what the band was like live anymore.

So I had a nice train ride to about the half of the country (I was to cross it completely) and my pal Clement got into the train. On we went! Once in Tilburg we were too early, goths everywhere, LoL, and then WE looked strange with the tattoos and stuff haha, in the midst of beautiful gothgirls and their boyfriends that had also indulged in the fine art of make up (like their girls).

After several beers in a nice Cuban cafe we entered the venue. 013, nice venue all together, first band started to play. No Tiamat. Big surprise; girl vocals! A nice girl (Marieke Tukker, the girl that made these pics ) informed me that it was Flowing Tears, a German band that has released several albums so far. And good ones, I`ve heard afterwards, strong powerful gothic metal. Nice detail was that they used electronics, I think the drummer triggered a lot of samples and loops. I heard synths but saw none. Very good band, great gig, nice and interesting songs altogether. i want to see that band again.

Then the mighty Tiamat. Yes, THE MIGHTY TIAMAT!! Damn they`re brutal! Without being brutal. The music is well dosed power metal with their feet still in gothic, their legs in current metal, their bellies in old school heavy metal and their heads in melodic rock. F**k!!!! They rule! kick ass lighting to top it all off. Try to get a hold of one of their albums, or, just their cover version of "sympathy for the devil" (Rolling Stones, you ignorant person!).

Vocals packed with power, yet sung in a haunting way, two guitars layered over a vast bedding of drums and bass guitar. Everything held together with some synths... Haunting experience, the pics prove it. Sound was amongst the best i`ve ever witnessed with metal bands, and that goes for all three of the bands. Tiamat was accompanied by Flowing Tears vocalist on two songs, which made the gig even more special. Great live show; no gimmicks, just a band working their asses off.

Main event: Moonspell. Everything that was visible on stage was being decorated by big decors that changed the stage into a dead forest with dead branches and dead bushes and trees sticking out everywhere, eerie lighting accompanied it. An evil, yet comfy (strange, I know) atmosphere was building in the venue. Excitement rose.

Then they got on stage. Satan`s got a name: Moonspell! These Portuguese guys have got it all. The music more than rocks, it`s good to see they don`t forget their true metal roots, and still play true strong evil metal. Accompanied by a load of songs from the last three albums, which means also good harmonies, great arrangements, lots of electronics in their music, and a kick ass performance.
It may sound very very strange, but the only negative aspect of this evening was that it ended at one point.

It`s been a long time since i`ve been so impressed by three bands. May it be opening act, main act, or the band in the middle. they all kicked ass.

Plus the fact that we got wasted...

Cheers!

Ed