By Jase Walker
If there’s many things I could say about what happened on a weekend out in the Netherlands, being sunburnt in April probably isn’t one of them… but it’s happened anyway. So I’ve dragged my rather pink looking self to a darkened room on a Sunday to get screamed at for a bit, as you do.
Tonight is Beyond The Black supported by Ankor up in Patronaat’s larger upstairs hall and I’ve propped myself up on the balcony because the view from here is fantastic. I’ve noticed how the merch table appears to be up here as well, bizarrely.
Of all the possible intro tracks I was not expecting Ankor to use ‘Attack On Titan’s Season Two intro as one – not that I’m upset about that: quite the opposite. With a new EP behind them this year, I’m very eager to hear some of it live!
The initial sound was a bit off with the drums being quite loud in comparison to the guitars but this seems to get adjusted fairly quickly. Their singer switches between pop vocals and screams, the guitarists smash out their signature busy riffs, while their drummer beats the shit out of their kit: this is what I wanted out of this show alright. A lot of movement on stage is good to see as well and engaging for a live show, especially one as energetic as that by Ankor. For a bit of reference about their style, similar vibe of metalcore to the likes of Venues and Future Palace, some slight symphonic elements, a bit of pop as well with the odd bit of rave thrown in for good measure. I do wish the backing synths were a bit louder as it does a lot for the layering in their songs.
The overall response from the crowd seems pretty positive on the whole with one particular guy down the front fully losing his mind, hell yes, that’s the good stuff. It clearly looks like Ankor are having a ton of fun on stage as well, not just by the movement but the level of interaction between them which really nails it. As with most openers, you’ve got a real short amount of time to get up, hammer your songs out and do everything you can to get a positive response.
Ankor did a pretty solid job here getting people engaged and responding but I get the impression it might have been a bit tough considering how quickly audience participation stopped when not being directly gestured to take part. It’s an oddly long set for an opener but one filled with their biggest ‘bangers. Surprisingly for an opening act, we’re actually getting an encore that actually feels somewhat called for, which is pretty cool too, opening it with a pretty damn epic drum solo! Shame it seems that their bass player couldn’t make it to this show though.
Prior to Beyond The Black, a curtain is drawn across the stage to hide the production and the like as it’s set up prior to the show. The people standing in front of the sound desk didn’t seem too pleased when directed to move away from it so some stairs could be dropped to the floor with a single large floor tom and sticks placed on the platform in front of the sound desk. For some reason using the Stones’ ‘Paint It Black’ shouldn’t surprise me but it does in a very “oh, of course” manner.
The show starts with four silhouettes bashing drums on stage while illuminated by blue screens and the singer suddenly appearing on the sound desk beset by two robed figures either side. Eventually leading their way back to the stage, the curtain falls away revealing the band and things have truly kicked off. What a lot to write up about the intro one eh?
What a spectacular production they’re rolling with for this show, four tall and extremely bright screens across the back and 3 smaller ones to the front. Not only does the production and lighting show look absolutely insane, the sound of this show right off the bat is bloody incredible. I’ve seen quite a few bands in this venue already that I would easily describe as brilliant but this is something else, even the backing track for synths and the like is so finely tuned it’s as if they have a live player with them. This sort of show is very clearly the mark of a band that knows they’re on the right trajectory to play far bigger shows in the near future, Beyond The Black are absolutely not fucking about here. This is well choreographed, rehearsed and above all, very well honed and planned out.
I do need to preface this a bit by saying that I am legitimately the biggest sucker for symphonic metal and this is right up my street: anything that remotely sounds like Epica, Within Temptation, Delain or Sirenia is going to be a hit with me and Beyond The Black are absolutely doing that. It’s fascinating watching the stage techs set up another set of equipment on the sound desk platform as well, looks like some of the band is due another visit for a later stage of the set. Well no sooner do I type that, the singer shifts from the stage and takes a seat at the piano that’s been set up and proceeds to shift gears into a ballad, a bit of variety is always good!
Organically with no prompting, the audience slowly begins to switch their phone torches on to wave about to the music, quite a lovely moment actually. In addition to this the guitarist joins her as well with an acoustic to continue the trend of a softer section of the set. I did feel quite bad for their singer having to cope with an older woman leaning over the barrier to try and stick her recording camera in her face for the *entire* acoustic section though, Christ.
Back to the usual programme with full band songs and hitting even more ‘bangers out of the park, I’m seriously impressed with how incredible this show has been in so many ways. I’m also noticing the length of this show and I think we’re going to end up with a set length of *just* short of two hours, god I’m tired but I’m no quitter. Finally we draw the show to a close with the encore and the singer returns to the stage with an additional large set of wings adorned to her shoulders, what a fantastic look. Sadly these were only present for one song, the rest of the encore saves some epic songs to finish with to wrap up what has been a truly, truly immense show.
This is easily the best show I’ve seen in the main stage area at Patronaat. Beyond The Black are a true force to be reckoned with, incredibly good.
Right, where’s my bed and aftersun? I think I’m peeling already!
- All content © Über Rock. Not to be reproduced in part or in whole without the express written permission of Über Rock.