By Jase Walker
Clearly I’ve not had enough extended trips across the country this weekend as I’ve decided to get myself down to Zoetermeer for a bit more tasty prog. Poppodium Boerderij acts as a sort of rite of passage for playing prog in the Netherlands, and despite it being a bit of a pain in the arse to get to, I didn’t want to miss AVKRVST on their first European tour! Bringing Hyla along for the show tonight who have very little information available about them, I’m keen to see what they’ve got in store for me tonight too.
A pretty unassuming walk on and Hyla get started and that is a lot heavier than I was initially anticipating! A sudden switch back to more atmospheric style music lulls me into a false sense of this being more traditional prog style before giving me mad whiplash as the throw themselves into a much heavier segment with gritty gutturals and I find a very large grin spreading across my face in pure awe of how much I am totally into this already!
The change of pace reminds me massively of Jinjer in terms of the rhythmic groovy fury of the heavier segments, this is really really doing it for me! There’s traces of the likes of Opeth in there too, this has really taken me by surprise and will be another small Dutch band I’m going to be following from here on out to say the least.
Their singer at times reminds me a lot of Devin Townsend in the way she switches between grand, soaring clean vocal segments before following it up with brutal screams. Their bass player has a really interesting approach of doing some noise and effects layering parts as well due to taking advantage of the extended range guitars the others have to keep the grunt of the rhythm going. They’ve got a fairly similar style to the likes of Australia’s Reliqa whom I’m also a massive fan of so yeah I think it’s safe to say I’m quite enamoured with these.
The sound they’re putting out is absolutely incredible, superbly clear yet hitting with a ton of grunt so all that lovely groovy playing they’re doing is every bit as crisp as it is powerful. Absolutely 100 per cent yes from me that: absolutely brilliant set and they’ve got themselves a fan that’ll be following them around from now.
And now finally time for the headliner act on their first proper stomp around Europe, AVKRVST. To say their latest album has got my attention might be a bit of an understatement and now I get to see a smattering of it done live!
Looking around I can see that it’s definitely been a solid turnout for these young Norwegian lads which is fantastic to see as doing this for the first time is no small feat! I wish the bass was a bit stronger on the low end as it helps drive more intense moments and it’s lacking that a bit, generally decent sound otherwise though.
As we get stuck into this person it’s little wonder they got slots at ArcTanGent and Midwinter Prog with this sort of quality, there’s a flair in their sound that crosses boundaries beyond just prog and there’s enough there for someone who just loves a good energetic riff. For me though, what really draws me in is this juxtaposition of rhythmic elements against hypnotic arpeggiated playing. The clash between some elements being frantic and busy while others seem lackadaisical in comparison really scratches an itch for me and AVKRVST do very much like doing this sort of thing. The Opeth vibes really show much stronger in a live context as their singer and guitarist seems to take a lot of influence from Mikael Åkerfeldt, pretty solid role model if you ask me.
The live show genuinely is hauntingly beautiful though, each song is a wonderful journey that I often find myself closing my eyes just to absorb it as it comes. I often find most bands’ first headliner tours can be a bit rough around the edges but AVKRVST conduct themselves with much more polish than many other acts. The lighting looks to have had a solid amount of care put into it that flows along with the music, the band themselves look quietly confident in what they’re doing, it all just adds up to quite a slick performance that’s pretty damn engrossing.
At points the other influences for these stand out much stronger, the likes of Porcupine Tree or Steven Wilson, all the way to older stalwarts such as King Crimson or YES. AVKRVST stands on the shoulders of giants but clearly has not forgotten the bands that came before them and gave them inspiration to start their own movement with the amount of subtle nods to them. A young band that looks forward every bit as much as they do giving thanks to those who paved the way. Also I really do have to say how much I appreciate a good keyboard solo and AVKRVST has more than just a few of those, I’m a true sucker for some massive wailing synthy noodling.
Seriously though what a great set this has been, I feel like I’m watching a band that is far more experienced beyond their years. The quiet confidence yet seemingly humble manner in the way they speak to the audience is probably the most surprising element I’m taking away from tonight’s show. AVKRVST are seriously impressive and I feel within the prog world they’ll grow as a name extremely quickly, especially given how they’ve been so keen to break out of their home of Norway into the further reaches of Europe so soon.
I think a tour like this is going to cement themselves with a fantastic stepping stone to more opportunities very soon. Wishing the lads a fantastic rest of their tour and a safe return home but I feel like they can hold their heads high on tonight’s show at least with a great turnout and a crazy high level of show quality.
Now for yet another lengthy return train back… the things I do for a good show.
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