SOiL/Images Of Eden – Hoofddorp, Cpunt – 3 August 2024

By Jase Walker

Nothing quite gets me more energized than a chance to really lean into my nostalgia with a band that had always stayed closed to my heart. In this case it’s SOiL. And even though I now live in Amsterdam, they are playing the next town over with Images Of Eden (I’m salty missing the ÜK supports) so I’ve decided to get myself along and it’ll be a good ‘un. God has it really been over 20 years since ‘Scars’ was released? I should be cashing my pension.

It’s time for Images of Eden to kick things off tonight and it’s noticeable that they sound a bit more power metal than their headliners, maybe a bit prog? I do love a good keyboardist being part of a metal band though. I feel like the keyboard player could support the guitarist when he’s doing his noodling and solos mint as it feels a bit thin when he does. Maybe it’s a bit mismatched with SOiL I suppose, as SOiL are a bit more riffy and aggressive whereas Images Of Eden seem to run along similar vibes to Dream Theater. Admittedly I do think they’re playing some tasty stuff that is in line with a lot of music that I love anyway, keys, atmosphere, tasty bass licks and busy drums.

The mix is a bit muddy which doesn’t do their sound justice, the singer should be a lot stronger but often sounds buried by the rest of the band so it’s hard to make out what he’s singing. I strongly feel like this a band that I would genuinely enjoy ordinarily but it seems like they’ve been marred by bad sound engineering which is a genuine shame. It seems they saved their more aggressive riffage for further into the show as the groovy elements suit them far better with the stronger higher pitched vocals and I wonder where they’ve kept this compared to earlier in the show.

For the record I’ve enjoyed Images Of Eden’s music but I feel like their set pacing was a bit messy and the sound engineering did a lot to damage their live set. I don’t think a band like this suits a support slot for a band like SOiL, I would expect similarly riffy acts to work a lot better. Overall Images Of Eden’s set has been a bit of a mixed bag where some moments have been fantastic slices of prog but others have felt almost bizarre. I would like to think I would enjoy them in the right environment but tonight maybe wasn’t it.

The venue is absolutely packed before SOiL take the stage which is fantastic to see. Opening with ‘Breaking Me Down’ is a smooth way to get things going with its iconic riff which immediately energizes the audience. Immediately following up with the real start of Scars, ‘Need To Feel’, sets the tone for tonight’s show, it’s an all bangers set and this is how it’s gonna roll. Continuing it with ‘Wide Open’, I’m definitely getting a slice of proper teenage years metal and I couldn’t be happier.

It’s a ‘Scars’ set so I’m going to fully live out my nostalgia and I’m gonna fully revel in it. Anyway time for a fight song, ‘Unreal’, and we’re fully getting into the meat of ‘Scars’. ‘Inside’ is also going down a storm even if Ryan admits that he’s starting to actually forget lyrics because he’s “getting old”, which is sort of fair in my book I guess… it’s only been over 20 years.

‘Two Skins’ sees us getting further through ‘Scars’ but ‘Halo’ is no doubt moved toward the end of the set because it’s easily their biggest anthem. It’s taken long enough for the crowd to wake up but ‘The One’ has finally kicked off the mosh pit so let’s go with all of the massive Dutch guys! As we near the end of the set, it’s time for the ‘Scars’ finale, ‘Black 7’, and I’m still definitely waiting for “Halo” but I suppose it’s their set finisher and I’m waiting with baited breath.

And finally ‘Halo’ which although is slightly out of order, I’ve finally got to see one of my lifetime favourite albums played in full. I really wish more bands would do this as I think it’s a real wonderful treat to hear something like this done start to finish as I’m a true album listener. Fuck yeah SOiL, you might be a teenage band of mine but you still go so fucking hard.

I’m quite happy that we got an encore of more stuff too! Getting my private wish of ‘Pride’ adds a small cherry to the top of a massive cake. I was hoping for ‘Redefine’ on top of it but sadly, we’re out of time. God, I love SOiL.