Posts Tagged ‘Jose Carlos Santos’

Terrorizer – Roadburn Review: The Afterburner (by José Carlos Santos)

Posted on Monday, April 25th, 2011

Roadburn 2011 was my fifth Roadburn already, but this was the first time the gods of doom, airplane flights, hotel fares, volcanoes and other assorted ruling deities of this world converged towards allowing me to stay for the Afterburner. Just like the festival itself became a part of my very own being right from the first time I set foot on the 013 all those years ago, so too this little addendum will become a habit that no circumstances will ever take away from me again.

It all makes sense once you get to the venue (Midi Theater and V39 are closed for this). The Afterburner mood is a totally different one and you suddenly realize why this isn’t just the fourth day of Roadburn and why it’s called Afterburner. Lots of people are sitting down on the floor outside, tired and / or relaxed, the place is a little less busy and crowded, there are fewer shows with only the Main Stage and Green Room operating, which means fewer clashes and a fortunate absence of that anxious feeling of your four favourite bands playing all at once.

The Afterburner is the perfect transition to the horror that is real life post-Roadburn, delivered at a time when you just can’t, physically and mentally, take one more full festival day, but you still don’t want to leave just yet and won’t mind half a dozen more good shows to wind down before bidding Tilburg farewell for another year (unless you happen to be local or attend Neurotic Deathfest, in which case I kinda hate you).

The choice of artists is apt from the beginning, as the western / desert psychedelia of Spindrift and the harder but still languid stoner jams of local Dutchmen Sungrazer compete for the crowd’s early attention at 3.30pm. Both are sunny afternoon music, so the word “compete” isn’t really completely accurate, especially as lots of people seem to switch hazily between the two almost adjacent rooms as if the two bands are just two different parts of a very laidback whole.

Sungrazer extend their set for a while longer than their temporary brothers-in-song for this afternoon, and just a couple of minutes after they leave the Green Room, Eli Brown‘s short but oh-so-sweet introduction is heard as a rallying call over on the Main Stage: “Hi, we’re the Blood Farmers from New York and we’re here to play some doom,” he offers. Even if the legendary doomsters have reunited back in 2007, a lot of those present haven’t had the chance to see them live since then, so it’s with a sense of extra excitement that this long-awaited concert is witnessed by an enraptured crowd.

True to their horror theme, selected film footage is projected during the whole show, and while nipples and foreheads being sliced in half by a razorblade and Coffin Joe‘s creepy presence are seemingly at odds with the relaxed atmosphere of the day, they fit the heavy doom of the American trio perfectly. For those who indulge a wee bit too much on the pleasures of the sweet leaf, the rumbling basslines and the combination of gruesome images probably sends their mind into overdrive, but everyone survives the much applauded performance and hangs around for what turns out to be the show of the day.

The Coffins guys seem to be as ecstatic as the audience when they come on stage, as vocalist  /guitarist Uchino offers a broad smile, takes a photo of the audience and spends quite a long time admiring the huge projection of the bands distinctive logo behind drummer Ryo. Fortunately, all niceties stop when the aggression starts. The stench of putrid old-schoolness and total Autopsy worship (right down to Uchino’s t-shirt and teasing intro to the last song) fills the air for just under an hour, a ferocious display with huge cavernous sound and remarkable feeling from the Japanese trio. It’s the tracks from 2008′s ‘Buried Death’ that go down as highlights, but everything just reeks of pure doom / death metal perfection.

Continue reading: TERRORIZER: ROADBURN REVIEW – THE AFTERBURNER.

Tags: Blood Farmers, Coffins, Eli Brow, Jose Carlos Santos, Roadburn, Roadburn 2011, Roadburn Afterburner, Roadburn Festival, Roadburn Festival 2011, Spindrift, Sungrazer, terrorizer, The Afterburner
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Black Pyramid Live at Roadburn 2011 Audio Stream

Posted on Thursday, January 6th, 2011

Please relive Black Pyramid live at Roadburn 2011, courtesy of VPRO 3voor12. The audio stream has been mixed by Marcel van der Vondervoort at Torture Garden Studio. “Despite the wonderfully enveloping performance of the Canadians, halfway through the need for a stronger kick emerges, and so off we go to ...read more