Sometimes when you attend a concert and get to talk to a band after the show, a conversation about music, mutual interest and personal backgrounds can grow to something bigger. Something like that happened some years ago when I saw the band Kingcrow for the first time. A big plus was, I did love their music and all the band members were some of the nicest persons I have met in the musical scene. So, when I was informed this band would visit Holland for two shows in March 2016, there was no doubt and two tickets were bought immediately. The 2016 tour is a double headlining tour Kingcrow does with Polish progressive metallers Votum; another band I have seen several times, but this time would be the first time the band would play new material from their latest release Ktonik; the first album where vocalist Bartosz Sobieraj has taken over the lead vocals. As a very special addition, the second show in Holland was guested by a very promising and talented band; Mind:Soul.
 

Mind:Soul

Let's start with this last one, the special guest that got a half an hour to warm up Cultuurpodium De Boerderij. Mind:Soul has a strong and dedicated bunch of followers that showed that night giving the band applause like they were headlining the event. This is something that could very well be possible in the future, for these guys showed enthusiasm, played tight and have a very charismatic front man in Tom de Wit. Knowing they only had thirty minutes, this vocalist tried to keep the conversation in between the songs to a minimum, but in full speed he did mention his teenage dream finally came true; playing live in Cultuurpodium De Boerderij. Mind:Soul's progressive metal was technical, furious and a pleasure to watch. This band deserves to get more attention and I am sure Mind:Soul will have a bright future.
 

Votum

Bartosz Sobieraj

Back to the double headliners of the two nights. The first band on stage was Votum; like I referred to, Votum was promoting their new album and celebrated this by playing all the songs of Ktonik and only played two songs from previous albums; Dead Ringer, which can be found on previous album Harvest Moon (2013, see review) and Stranger Than Fiction, a song from Metafiction (2010, see review). For the people that are not yet familiar with the 'new' Votum, but like the previous albums, here's something I discussed with keyboard player Zbigniew Szatkowski; with the release of the new album, Votum has become a new and different band. Like during the show, you could notice, their new music is dark, edgier and the vocal melodies have turned into

Votum

furious vocals, holding growls and a different kind of grunt than before. Votum's stage presentation was dark; to the extreme, at one point the whole band was covered in darkness, the other moment the audience was totally blinded by the flashy stroboscope. Nevertheless the show was a good one, their vocalist is very enthusiastic and brings the new songs to life with a form of passion I did not notice during previous shows; yes, they were only playing older work back then, recorded with a different vocalist. The band's performance seems to be influenced by Leprous, so you can't expect a party band on stage, but a more static performance. Guitarist Piotr Lniany, hooded, is playing his riffs in a kind of Rammstein way; emotionless, not making any contact with the audience, but concentrating on his guitar. Votum's show was nice, but I think it did lack a little bit of variation in the music, therefore my attention did wander off after a while, too bad, because Votum does not deserve that.
 

Kingcrow

Diego Marchesi

Kingcrow also did two similar sets in Uden as well as in Zoetermeer, but both shows gave me a different experience. First let me state that our Italian friends are a band you have to witness on stage. Kingcrow is a band that puts loads of emotion into their performance; vocalist Diego Marchesi is a more than charismatic front man making dramatic gestures when one of the guitarists is playing a solo to intense vocal parts while falling to his knees. Main thing is; this band shows they are having a blast on stage. The songs from their latest effort Eidos (2015, see review) have found their spot on the set list and work perfectly with the older material as we got brilliant versions of The Moth, The Deeper Divide and If Only alongside the older The Drowning Line, Morning Rain and the closest thing that comes to a ballad; This Ain't Another Love Song. Both guitarists Diego Cafolla and Ivan Nastasi shared the solo parts and more that before the incredible bass sounds of Francesco D'Errico were a circumstantial part of the overall sound; during live performances of other bands, the bass is hardly noticeable.

L to R: Diego Cafolla, Francesco D'Errico and Ivan Nastasi

In the back Thundra Cafolla was concentrated and keeping the complex rhythms steady. Normally Kingcrow plays with their sixth member; keyboard player Christian Della Polla, but due to the happy occasion of becoming a dad, Kingcrow had to do the tour with sampled keyboards. Like I referred to, Kingcrow is a band that needs to be seen and in De Pul the visibility was great and with bright lights we all could have a close look at what was happening on stage. The day after however, the lighting guy seemed to be amazed by the possibilities of the equipment of Votum's light show. So this show was a bit darker and the unnecessary use of the stroboscope, was a bit of a downer. Kingcrow does not need all the extras to play a wonderful show. Nevertheless this second show also was a great one, filled with fantastic music, played with Italian passion.

As usual, after concerts, the bands turned to the remaining people to talk to them, answer questions, take pictures and put some autographs on their CDs. I guess all three bands have to get kudos for taking the time to talk to people, although both Votum and Kingcrow were awaiting a long trip to Paris the night following the Zoetermeer concert, they really took the time to meet their audience. See you next time.

Pedro Bekkers (edited by Robert James Pashman)