By Jase Walker
One thing that’s stood out to me a bit when it comes to gigs over in Netherlands is that it’s not uncommon for shows to have just the headline artist on their own. And today on a sweltering hot start to May, I’m back at Melkweg to catch Cassyette because evidently I’ve rejected a chilled warm evening outside in favour of live music: weird that!
As it’s just Cassyette without any support, this will no doubt be a relatively short writeup when compared with the four band lineups I’ve had the pleasure of getting stuck into over the past couple of months.
Well, as I’ve sat down for a bit it certainly seems like there is actually a support act in the form of someone wearing a pig mask with two balaclava clad types either side of them. It seems they’re about to hammer out some metal mashups opening with a mix of Prodigy and Slipknot, oh yes and of course Bring Me The Horizon. To preface, this is absolutely not my thing at all, I suppose it’s a nice change from the usual sorts of support acts and the like though. The crowd seem to be enjoying it though which is good to see all the same but for myself, the whole club and metal fusion isn’t particularly enjoyable. Sleep Token is in there too amongst other things, I think this might be a bit too TikTok for me, but they’re getting a solid reaction from everyone as they roll through the set and admittedly if I’d been a bit more beered up and this was a weekend, I’d probably be stuck into this along with everyone else. Not my cuppa but pretty solid show.
Rudely interrupting Ashnikko’s ‘Cheerleader’, a video projection starts up with a doll sporting Cassyette’s signature art dancing, it’s time for Cassyette! The band members walk on followed by Cassyette herself to a chorus of screams as if they’ve all been waiting a lifetime to finally see Cassyette live, that’s the right energy! This is one of the things I love about smaller shows, the condensed energy of everyone being here in such a venue makes it that much more intense. Considering the last time I saw Cassyette the stage and audience was that much larger, a show like this is something I really revel in. Cassyette is unashamedly punk, and the energy she and her performance delivers is fantastic, it’s lively, loud and straight up fun.
It’s also notable that some people tend to write her off as just another “woman trying to make it in the alt scene” but I can assure you that is absolutely not the case. The music is every bit as headbang worthy as the biggest metal bands and she’s got an immense vocal range that goes from pop to filthy gutturals and screams. The music errs between Vukovi styled punk and As Everything Unfolds metal but never yields on its own strength of identity, little wonder Cassyette has built such a strong following with performances like this. It also stands out to me that the audience skews heavily on the femme side which in metal isn’t exactly super common yet if Cassyette draws more into the metal and rock scene, that’s a massive achievement in its own right.
Infectious hooks, catchy riffs, bombastic rhythmic segments, all tied together with Cassyette front and centre thriving off the energy of the crowd. The vocal dynamics often remind me a lot of prominent vocalists Maria Brink and Courtney La Plante with how they can be so soft at times and so raw in others, all from the same person. This show has been another entry in why I love Cassyette so much, this new wave of metal acts in the ÜK with fierce energy and interesting approaches to songwriting is wonderful to be caught up in. As we roll towards the end of the set, finishing up with ‘Dear Goth’, which seems like the big song everyone’s been waiting for going off the screams and everyone bouncing around like their life depends on it.
It’s one downside to not living in the ÜK anymore, that the chances to see these sorts of ÜK artists is far less regular due to the costs of doing this. The ÜK really does have an absolutely fantastic scene for this stuff that should be nurtured and supported so it can continue to produce some of the finest metal acts of tomorrow. Cassyette smashed it again!
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