by JJ Koczan

We continue with JJ's report from the Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, Holland. If you missed it, check out Day One and Day Two. Here is Day Three (Saturday April 24, 2009)...

Om @ Roadburn 2009 (Herr Hanz)

Saturday night I communed with The Riff.

That's not a joke. I was just drunk enough at just the right moment so that as Neurosis took an all-too-rare trip through their back catalog, I was taken somewhere, like a living out of body experience. They opened with "A Sun That Never Sets," and split the middle with "Stones From The Sky," and ended in a huge Steve Von Till/Scott Kelly/Jason Roeder drum barrage; it was almost too much for a human psyche to endure. Survival instinct kicked in. They played for an hour and a half and I felt years pass.

The day was long, but worth the effort. I got to 013 Popcentrum a couple minutes into Grails' set and was reminded of just how much I enjoy that band and why I keep buying their records every time they put one out. Having never seen them live before, I was glad to learn that they pull off every texture and nuance of their songs on stage with presence and conviction. When Neurot put out their first two records, I was into it, but didn't really understand, and though their albums have gotten incrementally better, now I feel like I really get it. They're well on their way to being geniuses.

Amenra was in the Green Room at the time, which was full of those seeking something more abrasive than Grails could offer. "Dark" is the first word that comes to mind in thinking about their sound. "Crushing" is the second. They had a little of the post-metal cadence in their rhythms, but they were onto something much more sinister, mood-wise. Heavy as hell, seriously.

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Continue reading "Surviving Roadburn, Day Three: Relearning What Is Known"