By Jase Walker
Despite feeling a bit under the weather this weekend, I’ve still decided to make the trip across the Netherlands to catch another Dutch band I’ve come across, Another Now. With their new album, ‘Hex’, only recently dropping and absolutely packed with bangers, I’m looking forward to getting my ears blasted tonight before my lengthy trip back home.
For support tonight is Sugar Spine, Australian metalcore via Netherlands, a band I’ve not come across before but more new music is always good!
Dynamo is another great example of the Netherlands having great venues, fantastic layout and weirdly very affordable drinks prices. Anyway, time for the band talk as Sugar Spine have gotten things started by filling the room with smoke and a thumping “heart beat” before screaming that “it’s time to get this shit started”.
They weren’t kidding about it being distinctly Aussie metalcore either: the vibes of Northlane, Parkway Drive, Make Them Suffer shine through right from the start. It’s notable that the room is pretty packed already too, seeing a turnout like this for the supports is a great sight. Their singer has a pretty damn impressive vocal ability too, not shying away from all manner of various horrific noises from shrill screams to filthy gutturals. Also why does the one guy who decides to start two-stepping into everyone have to smell like literal ass?
I do feel a bit bad for Sugar Spine doing what they can to incense the audience into action but the crowd is having absolutely none of it. They’re putting on a decent show otherwise, it sounds pretty damn good and they’ve got a ton of energy that sadly isn’t quite being reciprocated by the people watching. A brief guest spot on the vocals sees a lad grab the mic who sounds remarkably like the singer of Knocked Loose! Legitimately a great set from Sugar Spine that bodies a lot of what I love about balls out aggressive metalcore. It’s just a shame the crowd didn’t really seem like they wanted to give the energy back.
And finally for the main act that I’m here for tonight, the synth drenched metalcore act, Another Now. Starting a bit later than I anticipated, a booming noise bellows over the audience that reminds me of Dune, here we go, it’s throw down time! What an incredible start, Another Now sound incredible, absolutely epic right from the word go. The floor is shaking from the bass and booms through my chest, what immense force they’re delivering! This sort of show is a real treat when you see a band that absolutely knows their stuff killing it in a real cozy venue, that up close feeling is unmatched. Mixed vocals, massive riffs, earth shattering drums, it’s all there and what an unbelievable experience it is to get this literally smashed into my face and ears up close.
Another thing to note is that the synth backing is properly audible too, so many bands use it on their recordings and almost mute it at live shows, totally not the case here! I adore the use of melody that Another Now does, the heaviness isn’t lost all but the melodic elements work so so well.
This sort of style reminds me very heavily of the likes of ERRA or Northlane, it’s genuinely a fantastic blend of atmosphere, beautiful melodies and fucking filth. I also may have dropped a message to my mates in Waterlines in the UK to maaaybe try organizing a tour – for semi-selfish reasons. With the dual vocals doing the same lyrics it also has a similar vibe to Bury Tomorrow. The opening riff for ‘The Death Of Everything’ hits like a truck, but man those melodic choruses are quite something.
I truly feel like I’ve caught Another Now at the right time, this particular string of shows in support of ‘Hex’ really feels like it’s on the precipice of a big step up for these. We’re finally seeing some proper violence in the pit now too, people are finally awake and it’s time to smash into each other with reckless abandon. They’ve even done a brief break in between songs to light the room up to find a dropped phone, which was successfully found! Most bands I’ve seen wouldn’t really care about that so that’s pretty good of them!
I had real high hopes for this show and Another Now have gone and completely gone far beyond what I expected. These guys know exactly what they’re doing from writing massive bangers to conducting an amazing live show. Steeped in synth backing and melodic music, they also go so incredibly hard as well. Hex is going to get rinsed for the rest of this year at the absolute least, you won’t catch me missing another show from these.
The Dutch rock and metal scene is incredibly underrated, and the fact that bands like Another Now were unknown to me before moving here is a massive shame. I can’t wait to see how they progress, with a live show like this it’s something that the UK would eat up alone, nevermind the rest of Europe!
What an immense discovery and first live show for me. Another Now absolutely fucking killed it!