Roadburn 2022: Heaviness Redefined, Part 2 (Live Review)
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Saturday
As the dust settles on Friday evening and the performance of Thou and Mizmor’s surprise album Myopia still weighs heavy on the mind, Saturday brings even more moments of intensity as it begins at The Engine Room with the delicate danger of Midwife. Madeline Johnston uses her voice and a guitar to create heavy whispers of sound that curl through the crowd and affect each in individual ways. Her command is in the quiet moments that allow space to reflect and in the contrasting bursts of color from the looped guitars and crescendos. It is a jarring start to the day and one that fulfills the brief of “Redefining Heaviness” that the Festival is promoting this year. Midwife’s weight lies not in huge crashes of sound but in the emotional heft that Johnston imbues her music with, the core elements of pain and trying to find an understanding of loss bringing much more in terms of heaviness than a larger ensemble of musicians would.
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This theme follows through into Jo Quail’s commissioned piece, The Cartographer, at least in terms of using quiet to invoke a sense of weight and burden. The classical aspects of Quail’s cello-led work is given life by the musicians behind her, percussion and trombone alongside violin and piano, while a modern slant is taken by vocalists Lucie Dehli and Jake Harding who breathe a contemporary edge into the piece. As The Cartographer flows over the Main Stage and into the audience it becomes clear that Jo Quail has created something very special – the composition washes over the rapt gathering in beautiful waves of luminous sound and as it moves towards the inevitable end, the dual vocalists bring their voices together to lift the work into the realm of the heavens. It is a stunning climax and it’s not until the artists have left the stage that a collective sigh is released by many in the crowd. It’s an expression of awe, a “what did we just witness, that was incredible” moment shared by thousands on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Tilburg. It’s beautiful.
A quick switch back to De Koepelhal and The Terminal stage brings us to Hangman’s Chair. The French band are playing their latest album, A Loner in full today and while the plan is to watch half before heading back to the Main Stage to see Emma Ruth Rundle play her newest release, too, Hangman’s Chair are captivating. The first song shows just how skilled these musicians are as the sound that emanates from the stage is almost note perfect. Cédric Toufouti’s voice rings out across the hangar with stunning resonance as the band move through their album, impressing many who wandered into the stage without any expectations or ideas as to what the band would sound like. That aspect is difficult to define as their sound incorporates doom, gothic elements and a clean singing style that places it slightly outside of the usual genre boundaries but that is what Roadburn is for – to explore those limitations that have previously been set and to push them further from the basic codas that have been put in place in the past. Hangman’s Chair represents that and on Sunday will join Regarde Les Hommes Tomber to present their collaboration and push those limits once again.
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As the set draws to a close it is time to head over to the Hall of Fame venue, this year a free-standing and much larger structure than previous years, to check out the dark synthwave of Deathsomnia. The industrial slant of their sound forces many to move in sync with the electronic beats and despite entering the stage with little to no idea of what to expect, the UK/Estonian band impress immediately with devilishly catchy songs and a bombastic stage presence. Deathsomnia proves to be a good decision in the end as the Skatepark is full way before Primitive Man’s surprise set starts and it’s not long before the next announcement comes via the Festival’s twitter feed. Patrick Walker will be appearing at Paradox – the newest venue for Roadburn and a well known local jazz club which hosts many of the more experimental and avant-garde bands of the weekend. It is the perfect place for a solo show from the 40 Watt Sun frontman, who, alone with an acoustic guitar, plays songs missed from the band’s full set on Thursday alongside friends who accompany him at times on cello and additional guitar. The 40 Watt Sun live band join towards the end but it’s an emotional dedication to a good friend who happens to be in the audience, Emma Ruth Rundle, with the song “Carry Me Home” that moves many to tears.
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To the surprise of probably no-one, Thou are announced to be playing another set today. This time it’s listed as Thou & Friends and it’s happening at the Ladybird Skatepark. Can we get in? Only if everyone else leaves, so after some waiting around in the queue for it to go absolutely nowhere for ten minutes, many of us give up and head elsewhere. This attendee stakes a place for Ulver on the Main Stage which is intriguing enough before it even starts due to the large white screen that is tied down across the entire front of the stage, from ceiling to photo pit. What this will entail is anybody’s guess and as the band begin with “One Last Dance” from Flowers of Evil (the main focus of the set), the screen stays up – and will for the whole performance – as colorful patterns bloom across it, projected from above and through to the main video screen behind them. The band stays firmly positioned at its back and at their instruments, with Kristoffer Rygg occasionally moving forward away from his own setup to encourage the audience in their dancing. It’s a fascinating way to approach the audience and one that leaves plenty of people slightly confused for the first song as they wait for the screen to reveal the band more clearly. However, as the set progresses and the visuals move in time to the beats of the songs it becomes clear that Ulver are sending a message, perhaps about how we engage with music and artists. But that’s a much more complicated thought than can be handled during the psychedelic breakouts that Ulver incorporate into their songs, expanding them into ten minute plus epics and inserting a couple of favorites from 2017s The Assassination of Julius Caesar to round out their time on the stage. It’s a thrilling performance and one that I’m still thinking about weeks later.
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As midnight rolls around and the final bands are taking to the stage across the Festival’s venues, this attendee heads out to the Weirdo Canyon in search of friends and a cold drink. As much as music is a passion, there is only so much you can take before you stop having a good time and for me, this is the end of the day’s musical discovery and a chance to catch up with some people that haven’t been seen since the last in-person edition of Roadburn.
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Sunday
Sunday’s adventures start with a double header of Dutch underground music on The Terminal stage as Terzij de Horde showcase their new material from album In One Of These, I Am Your Enemy. Partway through the allotted time the band leave the stage and handover the reins to Ggu:ll before the two projects come together to lay waste to the space of The Terminal. This is a stage that sees a lot of black metal action today and De Koepelhal is the place to be if you want to see some of the most interesting and forward-thinking acts of the genre – the next being a collaboration between fellow Dutch entities Solar Temple and Dead Neanderthals.
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Entitled Embers Beget The Divine, this mind-melting journey of sound is as hypnotic as it is heavy. Almost immediately there is a sense of ritual to this performance as the guitars and their cyclic riffs burrow deep into the psyche, lifting the songs into spiritual territory and becoming as hymns to an all-seeing god. The audience is entranced as the songs twist through repeating patterns that are seemingly never-ending in their search for higher dimensions and the spell is only broken once the music stops. It comes as a shock for many as they are so deeply entrenched in the world that Solar Temple x Dead Neanderthals have created that coming back to reality is a confusing moment for a lot of us.
Having previously been announced for the 2020 edition of Roadburn where they would play 2019s much celebrated album Cairn, Mizmor are one of the biggest draws of the day. Led by A.L.N. and supported by several old friends to complete the live band, Mizmor are masters of creating music that makes you feel. Emotions that have been long forgotten are dredged from the darkest places of the soul during their performance as the band journey through religious fervor and leaving it all behind due to the absurd nature of what is asked from a person from God. A.L.N.’s voice switches from the deepest bellows to the highest shrieks as he explores his life path and the audience is taken on this devastating journey with him. This is pure catharsis for many here tonight as the collective exhale as the final notes of “The Narrowing Way” rest in the air can attest to.
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Spilling into the early evening light after being in almost total darkness is a shock to the system but a breather is needed before heading back into The Terminal for Lamp of Murmuur’s official Roadburn debut (secret show notwithstanding) and this is a set that is extremely exciting for many who are already queuing to enter the stage. It’s a curious thing to be waiting to see a band that up until two years ago were known mainly on the internet to a dedicated fanbase. You couldn’t hear the music unless you purchased it physically (or someone ripped it to YouTube) and the mysterious M. plays their cards so extremely close to their chest that it isn’t clear who they even are. Appearing in black cloaks and corpse paint, the live band have been chosen carefully to execute M.’s vision which comprises raw black metal that has been imbued with several post-punk and goth influences. Tonight M. is draped in black and masked to ensure his identity can remain hidden yet his sheer passion is apparent quickly. Having been released in 2021, Lamp of Murmuur play through the entirety of Submission and Slavery this evening and while the audience is slightly more subdued than those in attendance at the Little Devil show, the band are giving it their all with M. occasionally stepping to the front to take in the spectacle before him.
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Slightly before Lamp of Murmuur took to the stage, Roadburn announce that Grey Aura would be playing immediately after in the skatepark and so after the rapturous applause dies out on The Terminal stage it’s time to make a quick dash around the corner to hear what the Dutch band have to offer. And, damn, they have a lot to offer. Their black metal is deeply indebted to the avant-garde but it’s the beats that dig under the skin and there is more dancing here tonight than there was at Ulver last night. There is an infectious charm to Grey Aura’s sound and it cannot be ignored by those who gather at the front of the stage. When the quartet finish some fresh air is required before heading back in for bonkers Belgian’s Alkerdeel who take over for the unfortunately canceled performance from enigmatic entity Koldovstvo.
It’s not long before a surprise is announced in the form of a Black Sabbath tribute on the Next Stage after Green Lung finish. Green Lung play a pastoral sort of doom that takes inspiration from English folklore and myths and creates a fascinating sound from it, not least because of Tom Templar’s stunning voice that commands the crowd down to the last row in the room. It seems as though many in the crowd are here to stake a claim for the front row for this intriguing Black Sabbath tribute (could it be Thou who have played every other day?) which is lucky for Green Lung as they have surely found several new fans tonight.
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As the band leave and the stage hands begin to break down the equipment ready for whatever will happen next the general buzz and consensus is that, yes, Thou are going to be the band to do this covers set. The atmosphere is electric as the band set-up, with some curious concert-goers taking a sneak peek at the setlist that lies on the monitors before Thou are ready to start a set which is to be the final performance of Roadburn 2022. “Wheels of Confusion” kicks off the tribute set and it is a suitably fuzzed-out rendition of a classic song.
The audience are going wild as the first notes pierce the smoke-filled room, something frontman Bryan Funck jokes about quickly… “Can we have less smoke? We don’t know these songs that well and hardly had time to practice.” Considering they’ve played at least one hundred other songs this weekend it’s surprising they can remember their own names at this point. Still, the smoke adds to the occasion and the band are joined by a handful of friends as the set progresses. Smoke aside, the viewing location isn’t exactly the best and so we only manage to catch a brief glimpse of A.L.N. from Mizmor on drums, Andrew Black (Mizmor live) on guitar but the most obvious collaborator during this set is Lingua Ignota on vocals during “Black Sabbath.” Despite holding the lyrics in her hand and professing to not knowing the song at all, she does an incredible job adding even more dimension to the track. The set closes with “Supernaut” and as the audience calls for more, both because Thou are a thrill to watch and because by them finishing it signals the end of Roadburn, the band apologize – they don’t know any more songs.
As the audience come to terms with this fact and leave the 013 for the last time for Roadburn 2022, there is a sense of hope and magic in the air. For most, this is the biggest event they’ve been to in two years and it’s also a place where your musical dreams can come true, so to be able to experience live music in this capacity once again is a wonderful feeling.
Roadburn will be back in 2023–see you there?
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