Wacken Metal Battle Belgium 2019 finals review
-- Wacken Metal Battle Belgium --
01/01/1970 - 01/01/1970
Stijn Daneels
[INTRODUCTION]
On Saturday
May 25 Kevin “Loco Shredder,” Glenn “Terra Shredder” and I attended the finals
of the Wacken Metal Battle Belgium 2019. Back in December me and organizers
Eddy and Geert had over 90 unsigned Belgian bands to judge and we eventually
cut it down to 24 artists for the 4 semi-finals. During each semi-final round
both the jury (me included) and the visitors could choose 1 band for the
finals. So eventually 8 acts reached the Volkskring venue in Zingem for one final
showdown and the competition was extremely tight! Be sure to also check out our
personal rankings in the CONCLUSION chapter of this article.
Picture
collages by Bianca Lootens from Musika.be.
Final
picture by Dirk Baelen from Pixashoot.
[HUNTER]
The first
finalist was Hunter, an old-school heavy metal band that recently released
their eponymous debut album. A sweet release that we reviewed shortly before
the finals (read it here http://belgianmetalshredder.be/reviews/142). Simply put, Hunter’s style is a
very fun homage to NWOBHM acts like Iron Maiden, Metal Church and Angel Witch. Tight,
bass-heavy rhythms, soaring vocals and energetic dual guitar riffs and solos. Particularly
bassist Jeroen stole the show with his sharp and clear bass lines and vivid
stage antics as well as vocalist David who, despite a leg injury, also did a
lot of dancing around and gave his full extensive vocal range to the masses.
Hunter ended
up with a solid 44 points (5th place on the overall ranking). A fair
score because of Hunter’s all kills, no frills performance. You may call their
style generic, but the Hunter gang definitely brings it with a lot of competence
and gusto!
[WHEN PLAGUES COLLIDE]
Next up was
When Plagues Collide (from now on shortened to WPC), a symphonic deathcore
band! Yup, as unlikely as it sounds, WPC combines raw deathcore beats and guttural
vocals with keyboard and orchestra samples. And as we already figured out in
our review of their 2018 album Tutor Of The Dying (read it here: http://belgianmetalshredder.be/reviews/98) this combination really works! WPC’s
style ticked off all the right deathcore boxes (guttural vocals that sounded brutal
yet natural, earth shaking blast beats and sharp guitar riffs) and the added
symphonic elements made their sound feel more unique and grandiose than the
typical deathcore act.
In the end,
WPC received a mere 8 points (8th place on the overall ranking) but
all three of us agreed that WPC still is a damn good band that we can warmly
recommend to anyone who likes metalcore or deathcore!
[PRIMAL CREATION]
The third
finalist was Primal Creation, another band whose material we reviewed in the
past (read our review of their 2017 debut album Demockracy here: http://belgianmetalshredder.be/reviews/70). Primal Creation certainly was the
most versatile band during the finals because they combined thrash, death and
progressive metal melodies and vocals all together into one smooth package. The
band’s motto is #voteclown which they also represented visually when a guy
appeared wearing a clown mask and a slick grey suit and holding out the slogan DENY
GLOBAL WARMING. Obviously a big stab to the current political climate and
especially referring to a certain US president we’re all familiar with.
Political messages aside, Primal Creation presented their music with a huge
sense of rage and anarchy. Particularly vocalist Koen, with his wet hair, furious
vocals and equally furious stage antics really came out as a guy ready to lead
a riot against all the injustice in the world!
Add to that
the catchy guitar work, fast-paced beats and overall musical variety and it all
resulted in Primal Creation receiving 64 points (1st place in the
overall rankings) and gaining the final win! Very well deserved, now go out
there to Wacken and make sure they also #voteclown!
[THE CURSE OF MILLHAVEN]
Up next was
The Curse Of Millhaven! Like When Plagues Collide before them The Curse Of
Millhaven came out to destroy the Zingem stage with ferocious extreme metal. Compared
to WPC, this band played a more classic and melodic style of death metal and
both Bart’s immensely powerful drum blasts and Jasper’s savage vocals served as
The Curse Of Millhaven’s main highlights during their performance in Zingem. Hell,
they played with such ferocity that they were one of the few bands of the night
to provoke a mosh pit!
The Curse
Of Millhaven ended with 33 points (7th place in the overall
rankings). Not the worst score, but the band deserved better given the intense
performance they had given us that night. In any case, The Curse Of Millhaven
is slated to bring out their second album “Thresholds” this year and we’re
looking forward to shredding that one! If you enjoy acts like The Black Dahlia
Murder, God Dethroned or our country’s very own Aborted then it’s a no-brainer
to give The Curse Of Millhaven a shot!
[STAND FOR]
The first
of the two bands from Wallonia, Stand For. A bunch of five well-dressed young
men who played a very upbeat metal sound that Loco Shredder and I thoroughly enjoyed
back when we saw them during the semi-finals in Lens. I actually don’t need a lot
of text to describe Stand For’s sound. It’s catchy, straight forward heavy
metal that reminded me a lot of classic acts like Judas Priest with the
high-energy guitar work and the commanding vocals. Stand For did an excellent
effort in making us dance and sing along to their song and their self-titled
track in particular has always been a true joy for us to listen to!
Stand For
received 53 points (3rd place in the overall rankings). Don’t let
their clean shaven faces and suits fool you, these five young folks know how to
throw a metal party and they’re well worth checking out if you enjoy catchy
metal!
[INSOMNIA]
During the
semi-finals Insomnia was the band that surprised me the most during the first
live encounter Loco Shredder and I had with them during the semi-finals in
Lens. While Insomnia describe themselves as a power metal band, I personally believe
that they’ve got much more in common with groove metal bands like Pantera, Lamb
Of God and Machine Head rather than Helloween, Dio or Hammerfall. Insomnia
played an upbeat metal sound with distorted guitar riffs, clean raging vocals
and head banging inducing beats. The band played one groove barrage after the
other without taking any rest or showing any sign of fatigue. It almost looked
like they were playing one long song split into many different parts. It was a
very smooth experience despite guitarist Ludo’s technical difficulties which he
suffered during the middle part of the gig.
Insomnia
ended up with 39 points (6th place in the overall rankings). Like
Hunter before them, Insomnia provided a throwback to a metal era of the past,
this time the 1990s groove metal scene. So if you’re looking for a newly
established band that makes you walk like fucking hostile, then Insomnia is
well worth checking out!
[CATHUBODUA]
Along with
the Curse Of Millhaven, Cathubodua is a band that I personally have been
following for a few years now. And like that aforementioned death metal machine,
Cathubodua’s act has evolved very positively over time. At its core, Cathubodua
plays symphonic metal but they don’t simply rely on operatic female vocals and
violin, they also mix in cues from folk, orchestra and even a few touches of thrash
and death metal. Thus creating a sound that can be legitimately described as
epic. Sara’s vocal range is huge to say the least, combining soprano with harsh
vocals and more natural singing. Katrien plays her violin more like a rhythm
guitar and the men in the group added the necessary heaviness and fast beats to
make it all feel very cinematic and grandiose!
In the end,
Cathubodua received 62 points (2nd in the overall rankings) and 2 points short
of the eventual winner which was Primal Creation. While they may have not won
the battle itself, they did end up getting signed to Massacre Records for the
release of their upcoming debut album “Continuum” so in a way, they came
out on top as well!
[HUDIC]
The eighth
and final band of this year’s WOA Metal Battle Belgium finals was the black,
death and doom metal band Hudic. Kevin “Loco Shredder” had seen them during the
semi-finals while for Glenn “Terra Shredder” and me it was our first time.
After some technical difficulties with J’s bass guitar (which he quickly fixed
without much hassle), Hudic made their entrance cloaked in black shirts, chains
and hoods while the band’s frontman K wore the same brown monk robes he had
been wearing during the semi-finals in Hasselt. Shortly after making their
entrance, another black shirted and hooded figure appeared from the side of the
stage and brutally “stabbed” Hudic’s hapless frontman and took his microphone!
Eventually this mysterious assailant took off his hood and revealed himself to
be K himself and so the show began! After those little theatrics, Hudic dragged
a shroud of hellish red and smoky darkness over the Zingem venue as they played
lengthy songs that combined elements from doom, black and death metal into one
varied and engaging package. Vocalist K didn’t look like a demon but he
certainly acted and sounded like one with his crisp yet growling voice and he also
took a few minutes to roam through the crowd and make people look into his
dead, white eyes. Scary stuff and I like it!
Hudic
devoured 46 points (4th place in the overall rankings). I admit that
doom metal isn’t among my favorite subgenres but Hudic provided an excellent dark
and atmospheric sound that we can recommended to anyone looking for some great
satanic looking and sounding metal!
[CONCLUSION]
{
Stijn “Metal
Shredder” personal ranking:
1 The Curse
Of Millhaven
2 Cathubodua3 Insomnia
4 Hudic
5 When Plagues Collide
6 Primal Creation
7 Hunter
8 Stand For
Kevin “Loco
Shredder” personal ranking:
1 Hudic
2 Cathubodua3 The Curse Of Millhaven
4 Primal Creation
5 Hunter
6 Insomnia
7 Stand For
8 When Plagues Collide
Glenn “Terra
Shredder” personal ranking:
1 When
Plagues Collide
2 Hudic3 The Curse Of Millhaven
4 Primal Creation
5 Hunter
6 Insomnia
7 Stand For
8 Cathubodua
This was my
third consecutive time that I juried the finals of the WOA Metal Battle Belgium
and it definitely was the hardest one for me. Not just because the number of
finalists increased from 6 to 8 but also because each of those eight bands
rightfully deserved to be present at this final showdown! All eight bands, each
in their own way, kicked a ton of ass during the finals!
Not only
was I highly pleased with every band’s performance, but I was also happy that
many more bands from Wallonia joined in for this year’s WOA Metal Battle. The past
two years we mostly had Flemish metal bands but this year the southern part of
our small Belgian country has given us a huge taste of its own rock and metal
goodness. It’s perfect proof that music is one of the best ways to build
bridges between countries, races and cultures. We’re already looking forward to next year. Thanks for reading, Metal Shredder signing off!
