Suicide Commando celebrates 25th anniversary at Summer Darkness in Utrecht, with a big surprise! (exclusive)
This year, it was the 10th anniversary of the Summer Darkness festival (full review to be published soon) but it also corresponded to the 25th anniversary of Suicide Commando, which celebrated the event by giving two concerts, one "Best of 25 Years set" and one "Vintage set" with a nice surprise!
For the Vintage set on Friday, the venue was packed with fans eager to witness a unique moment. No need to present this band, which was created by Johan van Roy in 1986 and became the godfathers of Electro-Industrial / Aggrotech. Some of you might remember the time when Johan was selling his tapes at concerts and parties in Belgium in the late 80s. It was not until 1994 that he managed to publish his first CD, "Critical Stage", and that the club hit "See You In Hell" launched his successful career.
During the set, Johan was accompanied by Gert Haelevoet (from Frames A Second), who played with him earlier, a first element of retro! The setlist revisited some of the best songs from the first period of Suicide Commando, songs which were characterized by mid tempo's and dramatic, melancholic horror soundscapes. From "TV Obsession" and "Traumatize" to "Sheer Horror" and "The Ultimate Machine", we were transported in a nostalgic, hypnotic journey with distorted vocals exploring the darkness of the human soul. Suddenly, during "Where Do We Go from Here", Dirk Ivens (Sonar, The Klinik,...) joined Johan on stage to sing the lead vocals of the song! It was a great surprise to see those two Belgian legends of dark music together on stage for such an exceptional anniversary! It was also a way for Suicide Commando to recognize the heritage of The Klinik... A great moment...
In the second part of the show, the band made the link between this first period (more introspective and "ambient") and the next period (more extrovert and dance-oriented), especially in "Never Get Out", "Fate", "Save Me" and of course, the iconic "See You In Hell", which closed the show. As a whole, the audience's reaction was very enthusiastic and an encore was claimed with screams and noises. The band came back to play "The Mirror" and "Necrophilia". In a nutshell: it was an amazing concert!
On Sunday, they band played a 'Best Of 25 Years' show on the main stage of the Tivoli-Oudegracht in which all the classic club hits of the band were interpreted. Happy birthday, Johan!!
Picture by Xavier Marquis - Video by Noorkat
SHAUN F is a new project by Shaun Frandsen (GLIS). Mainly an instrumental project existing on the foundations of Elektro, House and more contemporary versions of Electronica, it still holds on to influences like NITZER EBB or FRONT 242.
Out now via all downloadplatforms is the 2 track single "Drty Fckn Dsko" featuring 2 versions:
- Drty Fckn Dsko, Vol. 1
- Drty Fckn Dsko, Vol. 2
You can download this new single on iTunes, Amazon USA, Amazon UK or Amazon DE.
The 8th Amphi Festival, "The Orkus Open Air“, took place on 21st and 22nd July in Cologne and it was a true success.
You can already view the fantastic pictures taken by our photographer Xavier Marquis in the "Photos" area.
A full review by our reporter Phil Blackmarquis will be published in the next few days.
In the meantime, you can also watch a video clip of the powerful performance of one of the headliners of the festival: Sisters of Mercy.... Check below.
So you think nothing happens in Belgium? Well, perhaps it could been better but stick to what you have and be happy about!
KMFDM play in Antwerp at the 18th of August along with our fave noisemakers Ambassador 21 and as a teaser, here's the latest KMFDM-single!
After four long years of silence, the Berlin Electropopband Sound Tesselated is back with a new album. With their fifth Studio album, "Morning" the band created a new milestone in their almost 20 year band history. So enjoy wonderful Synthpop sounds, a great voice and discover "Morning" in a very special way!
Tracklisting:
01. Wonderland
02. Paper Dreams
03. Plastic People
04. Crossing Borders
05. Nautic Lovesong
06. On The Shore
07. Starlight Queen
08. Memories
09. When You Light Me
10. The Way I Walk
11. Higher Skies
12. Out Of The Dark
Bonustracks:
13. Night 2012
14. Don't Wanna See You (feat. Durlaub)
