By Jase Walker
One thing that’s pretty great about being in a social group where everyone takes their support of bands quite seriously is that there’s a never-ending stream of recommendations that get thrown my way and Autarkh is the latest of them. As such I’ve landed back in Haarlem for them heading up Patronaat’s Stage Three! Along for the ride is Farer and Alkhahest to round off an evening of noisy Dutch metal. I’ve been doing as much as I can to get stuck into the local bands since moving here so this is another chance to get that little bit more familiar with the underrated metal scene in the Netherlands.
First up and pretty shortly after doors is Alkahest. After a lengthy ambient intro, the band silently takes the stage to begin. And given the intro I wasn’t quite expecting the somewhat silent band to suddenly launch a volley of Gojira styled visceral onslaught of riffs and absolutely disgusting gutturals. This is a real good slice of post-metal right here as the overwhelmingly aggressive start breaks into a more ambient and chilled segment to allow a brief reprieve.
Alkahest also pepper their songs with atonal bouts of glitchy noise which is a pretty nice touch too. I’ve said it quite a few times but bands that exist within the post- genres often have some of the most interesting and unique approaches to the distillation of their respective “home” genres and Alkahest’s use of drone against technical riffing and machine gun powered drumming is a fantastic thing to behold.
Their singer has absolutely incredible low gutturals that would make Dimmu Borgir blush, some of the deeper moments remind me a lot of Tatiana of Jinjer especially with the vocal melodies. Absolutely fantastic start, thoroughly enjoyed them and whacked them in my playlist for future.
Next up is Farer and I look up from faffing about with my phone to see that this band has two bass players and no guitar player? Their soundcheck is shaking my stomach, something fierce! They get started and I would say this probably comes across as a bit blackened doom, it’s got the characteristic shrill screaming and absolute hammering of the tremolo picking style but is ultimately quite droney because.. well, bass guitar. I really am not keen on the vocals though admittedly, although I do find the overall sound quite interesting. What’s also interesting is the sort of orchestral feel of how the chords are used in a lot of black metal actually translates pretty well to a bass guitar.
The further I get through this set though the more I think that these wouldn’t go amiss at somewhere like ArcTanGent or Pelagic Fest and I would definitely watch them again. One thing I really have to point out though is their drummer is an absolute monster, constant grooves all over the place, tasty fills and dances all around the kit.
There’s more than a few bands I see regularly where I’m not totally a fan of the vocals but for the whole package, it just works and wouldn’t any other way. There’s something about a band that assaults you with a cacophony of noise and backs it up with an atmosphere that smothers you like a blanket while sonically punching you in the gut that feels right. At times these seem to veer off into shoegaze territory that reminds me a lot of MØL which is a nice surprise too.
These have been an interesting trio that I’ve warmed to over the course of their set and while it wouldn’t really be a go-to on my own personal listening, I wouldn’t exactly pass off the chance to see them again in future. Good show lads.
And finally, Autarkh to round off the evening. Admittedly I had my doubts about this set starting on time considering they had to basically do an entire stage build really quickly. The thing that strikes me right from the start is how much this reminds me of Devin Townsend’s solo work with its oppressive wall of sound that feels like it stands so tall that you can’t see the top. Reverb drenched and droney guitars that have subtle melodies interwoven, meaty as fuck.
Honestly, I am absolutely sold on Autarkh already. With shows like this directly from recommendations I’ve found that I get much more out of a show going in blind and seeing how they do things. These are rolling with a live sound that is every bit as thick and heavy as The Ocean, it shakes the floor, vibrates your feet and legs and punches you in the gut constantly. The absolute fury these guys deliver in a live show is unreal, I feel like Patronaat’s Stage Three is barely containing it. I do wish the crowd was a little bit more lively but it’s a Sunday in January and everyone’s knackered and cold so can’t really blame them.
Is that some throat singing I randomly hear part way through one song? Excellent, more of that. I am enamoured with Autarkh’s switching gears between disgustingly heavy parts and wonderfully uplifting passages as well, what an experience to live through for the first time. This sort of atmosphere building and driving towards an incredibly intense peak has been a key part of Autarkh’s set, every song pushing the boundaries of being overwhelming.
But truly what a phenomenal band to witness for the first time and fall in love with almost immediately. Sadly the flow of the show is suddenly interrupted by what appears to be issues with the drum kit which puts a bit of a damper on the show; fortunately this gets resolved fairly quickly! Legitimately though, Autarkh have been massively impressive and straight into my “don’t miss” list for the future and hopefully this will be the first of a few times I’ll see them over the coming years.
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