MFVF XII – Day 3
MFVF XII – Day 3
@ Oktoberhallen
Wieze (Belgium)
Day 3 started a little later than Day 2. That helped to be on time after another night partying. What happened there will not be revealed in the report, sorry. To be able to use the backstage entry is quite convenient as there were already people queuing for the doors. A good sign for bands and organizers. Not only the headliners need attention, you might see as one of the first a new great band.
Aria Flame from the US was scheduled first. They describe their music as neo-classical female fronted metal with a circus flare. It’s hard to expose that in a 30 minute slot. If you add next to Aziza Poggi also 3 guest vocalists Grace Méridan, Kassandra Novell and Sabrina Cruz the show needs to be setup very tight. It was a little too much in this short time frame. Unfortunately it took a little attention from the music. More and larger photos
The more solid and straightforward approach from the Italian band Evenoire was appreciated. Lisy Stefanoni has a strong voice that fit well with the solid heavy folk oriented metal. In some songs she used the flute which added some folk elements. The show was appreciated as they were able to get the audience to sing with an up-tempo folk song. More and larger photos
Val Helcanen has some special links with Japan. Therefore a second band from Japan hit the stage, Magistinia Saga. Although Lori sings in Japanese and it is hard to understand for most, this didn’t really matter. Surprisingly there were people in the audience that seemed to be more familiar with this band. The up-tempo songs were quite energetic and combined with their stage outfit and the enthusiastic stage performance, especially from Urugi (guitar), this made it an interesting show. More and larger photos
Iliana Tsakiraki is a well-known appearance on MFVF. In 2012 she was with the band Meden Agan. Last year she was with the Eve’s Apples and Friday with MFV United. Now she came on stage with the new band Enemy of Reality. Her voice is great; high, clear and in tune. The symphonic metal with songs of the album Rejected Gods is catchy and refreshing. A great band to see live on stage that is also grateful that they are there. More and larger photos
Another premiere on stage with Viper Solfa. Not that they don’t have stage experience. The basis is formed by ex-members of Trail of Tears including Ronny Thorsen. But it’s the first gig in this line-up. An album is not yet available but that was no handicap. The sound is solid and the technical skills of the band are clearly more than average. The (Nordic) death metal with male and female vocals (Miriam Renvå) and the applied stage outfit, uniform type overalls, hinted slightly in direction of Lacuna Coil. A fine and solid set but unfortunately a little low response of the audience. More and larger photos
Next one up is still going strong Holy Moses. The operatic voices are for sure not the thing for Sabina Classen. Her message “Enough of these angelic voices, now it’s time for real stuff” was loud and clear. Her grunts, crawls and screams made the difference become reality. Even some small pits were formed. The trash metal initiated also some crowd surfing. Nothing wrong with the interaction with the crowd. At the end Sabina tried to stage dive, but that was not that successful. At the end she could make a small round. The heaviest show until now was appreciated and all present are fully awake for the rest of the festival. More and larger photos
Now it’s time for a band high in the first league of Dutch Female Fronted Metal. The confidence Stream of Passion gained after the successful crowdfunding campaign for the album A War of Our Own is converted into a mature and solid show. The energy and enthusiasm on stage is as always good to see. Marcela Bovio was in great shape and the flying Dutchmen jumped all over the big stage. Luckily they played my new favorite “Don’t Let Go” and at the end my old one “Haunted”. The head banging and flying hair were illustrative for the appreciation this show got. More and larger photos
Although one of my favorite bands, I had to skip the Xandria show to allow Ingeborg and myself to get something to eat. This time a little better planned as I have seen Xandria already a number of times before in the new setting with Dianne van Giersbergen and would see them in two weeks again in Tilburg. Hearing the reactions in the background, I was sure the crowd liked their show.
Similar to Xandria, Arkona had problems with the combination luggage and airports. Whereas Dianna had a spare dress, Arkona had to deal with the missing traditional outfit. In regular clothing they had to do their show. It made only a difference in the visual experience. The energy of Masha (Maria Arichipova) was impressive as always. It’s amazing how she moves around on stage and is still able to sing / scream in sync. The gig was as energetic as usual but the reaction was initially a little restrained. However when Masha asked for a Wall of Death, the response of the crowd was very enthusiastic and the party started. A perfect warm up for the headliner. More and larger photos
The last slot was for Therion who has played before as a headliner at MFVF. The last time I saw them was almost a year ago at Eindhoven Metal Meeting. Therion is hard to categorize because of the combination of opera, metal and rock they bring on stage. And with that you like it or you’re less convinced. I’m definitely in the first group. Although the show was the last of the tour and they had some technical challenges it was great to see them again. The show didn’t suffer from any weariness. With the line-up change Linnéa Vikström got a little different role. She formed with new vocalist Sandra Laureano an excellent singing couple that matched great with the male vocals of Thomas Vikström. Because they had toured with Arkona there was a guest role for Masha. Part of the technical inconveniences was a not working microphones (two) and Masha couldn’t be heard. When also the click track failed we got a small break. The gap was filled with a duet of Thomas and Christian Vidal, a competitive challenge vocals vs guitars. The show continued almost fluently when the issues were solved and it almost looked that it was part of the game. The fun on stage and the music made it an excellent show. More and larger photos
This was the end of again three days of old and new bands, old and new friends, good and less appreciated music, fun and party. Val Helcanen, her team, musicians and crowd can look back on a great fest and hopefully 2016 version will be as good as this year’s edition. We need to survive 2015 however there are initiatives to create alternatives. Anyway, see you in Wieze in 2016.
