By Jase Walker

Dymytry Paradox @ Patronaat, Haarlem 23/01/26

Kicking off a string of weekend shows during a particularly nasty cold snap in January, I’m over to my usual Haarlem haunt of Patronaat. Tonight’s show is headlined by a band new to my ears which is Dmytry Paradox as I’ve been drawn in particularly by the support act, Space Of Variations whom I’ve been a long time fan of since years ago after they grabbed my attention at Rebellion in Manchester. Oddly enough Space Of Variations also supported their Ukrainian compatriots Jinjer a while back and I’ll be seeing them tomorrow also, so big up the Ukrainian scene!

Looking over the stage it’s looking particularly dominated by Dymytry Paradox’s bloody enormous drum kit which is taking up a solid 40 per cent of the stage while the rest is peppered by steps with built in smoke machines. I think Space Of Variations are going to have their work cut out for them when it comes to making sure they look dynamic enough on stage without potentially smacking each other in the face with the guitar headstocks.

Admittedly I feel a bit bad about the turnout and I get the impression that ticket sales haven’t been particularly strong for tonight’s show. Whatever, anyway fuck it, it’s time to get some Space Of Variations in my ears again after so long!

Their singer at least seems pleased that there’s some solid fans down the front with their merch on and if that’s enough to give them the motivation to sink the energy into the show then all the more credit to them.

Stylistically Space of Variations are more, uh, varied than I remember as I distinctly had a memory of a stronger synth sound overall but the setlist they’re working through dances between metalcore laced riffs and other parts having a much more nu-metal feel to them. Either way they’re sounding solid, properly tight performance wise and with enough grunt to make the air shake when they’re properly laying into it.

What’s quite amusing at times is there’s another show happening in the same venue upstairs and curious people attending keep poking their head in and having quite a range of emotions written on their face ranging from quiet amusement to outright shock. I suppose for the type of people that find Drop-D on acoustic a bit too heavy for their liking then it might be a bit jarring that there’s a whole rabbit hole to fall down beyond that but I that’s how it is for some I suppose.

I’m a bit bummed that it’s such a short set though, Space Of Variations really deserve more attention and with the upcoming album I really hope this is the signal of more to come. However one thing that absolutely makes it worth it is that “Someone Else” is still in the set! This song alone absolutely sealed it for me the first time I saw them and it fully blew my head off and it still sounds every bit as fantastic as it did the first time.

All things considered, the trip for this evening to see that these guys are still absolutely killing it was absolutely worth it. Space Of Variations absolutely slay and it’s great seeing them back out on the road, smash the rest of the tour guys!

An emergency broadcast booms over the speakers signalling the start of Dmytry Paradox, other than the stage absolutely blinding me with powerful red lighting. This is entirely a first for me as I’m experiencing these with no prior experience.

The dirty suited band takes the stage with the members also clad in masks, I was initially expecting something along the lines of industrial metal at first but this is fully leaning into power metal territory similar to the likes of Sabaton which has taken me quite by surprise! I suppose this actually explains the bloody outrageous size of the drum kit though due to needing two different sized bass drums and more cymbals than your average American homecoming parade.

I’m quite enjoying their lighting production that fans out from behind the drummer in a similar fashion to a peacock and its feathers. Each spoke featuring a set of bright single lights up towards the top of it which is then topped with a large LED Panel and a circular floodlight. The band remarks a bit on actually expecting less people considering this is the first headline show for themselves in the Netherlands so at least they’re taking it in good stride.

It’s also quite fascinating looking at the bass player doing support vocals singing into a microphone when they’ve got a pretty comprehensive looking gasmask directly over their mouths.

It seems there’s quite a few fellow Slavic people in the audience as I can hear what I presume is Czech but I can’t say I know enough to pick it apart. What I do understand is “Jagermeister!” as someone passes a small bottle to one of the guitarists for a quick shot.

The pit was a bit slow to pick up but more people joined in shortly after one lad completely missed his mate and ended up arse over tit on the floor. Objectively I can’t fault their sound or performance, both are solid on all counts but subjectively I can’t really say I’m hugely enamoured with the music itself. It’s not *bad* by any means but it’s definitely not really the sort of music I gravitate towards and I think the mismatch between styles of the headliner and supports probably wasn’t the best. I get the feeling that the people who have turned up to see Dmytry Paradox that were already fans are absolutely getting their money’s worth as they’re clearly having a great time though.

I had to go check who the cover song they’ve picked is by (‘Legends Never Die’) and it’s a League Of Legends song!? I think of all the possible covers a band like this could have done, I genuinely don’t think this would have even been on my radar.

I think on the whole, making the trip here for Space Of Variations was worthwhile but I can’t say I really felt much for Dmytry Paradox. This isn’t to say I thought the latter was bad or anything, quite the opposite as they’re very solid performers and are well on the way to building a fanbase across Europe, you don’t do these sorts of tours for nothing. I hope the tour is a great success for them but really not my cuppa.