Weeping Silence at Little Devil
Weeping Silence @ Little Devil Tilburg (Netherlands)
Thursday 15 August 2013
Weeping Silence was scheduled to play at for the Rommelrock Festival on the 16-17th of August. To get more value out their trip from Malta, two additional club shows were scheduled. One of the shows was in Little Devil in Tilburg. But I also had the intention to go to Rommelrock. With this situation I had a challenge, since writing two reviews for the same band doesn't make sense. The dilemma was "solved" by the mayor of Maasmechelen, the intended location for Rommelrock, in a way nobody wanted. He withheld permission for Rommelrock; even the clean history didn't help. The festival had to be cancelled, a big disappointment for the organization, the visitors and of course the bands. I was happy that now at least I could do a review of the gig at Little Devil. Fortunately the organization of Rommelrock was able to organize on very short notice a show with the already arrived bands. This alternative event with headliner Therion was given the name 'Respect for Metal'. It was also a great event for Weeping Silence, since they had the set before Therion. In addition a show in Germany was arranged for Weeping Silence. After all it was not that bad for Weeping Silence.
The show in Little Devil was a good gig. You have to take into account the conditions at Little Devil. It's a rock bar with a very small stage. The sound facilities are limited, the lightning quite basic and challenging for photographers. But nice for the audience, the distance to the band is also very small.
The support for Weeping Silence was the Dutch band Only Fate Remains. Previously they were support for Delain, Autumn and Magion. Only Fate Remains includes six members with musical roots varying from rock & roll to black metal. The lineup: Eva Kokken (vocals), Michiel van Veen (guitar), Jacques Maas (guitar), Maarten Stem (keyboard), Pieter van den Berkmortel (bass) and Tom Pluijmaekers (drums). The members share a passion for strong melodic (and subtle) music. Their variety in background and their passion could definitely be heard in the gig. Only Fate Remains is eager and motivated to share their own compositions with the small audience. The set list mostly included songs from their debut album Breathe ( recorded in 2010 and released in 2011) but also some new songs.
In this gig OFR showed also flexibility, the bass was played by Maarten because Pieter could not join. After the songs "Nightly Walks", "Fall", "Shallow Water" and "The Essence" from Breathe, OFR surprised the audience with a different side. They “rebuilt” the stage for an acoustic set. They had done this before, but it was clear that it was challenging for Eva Kokken. She has a nice strong voice but in the high range it was sometimes a little bit difficult. In this part of the set between "Heal Me" and "Cravings" one of the new songs "All Alone" was played. The set was completed electric with "Lost", "Freaked Mind", “The Real You" and finally "Keepsakes"; twice an old song followed by a new one. This was a good set to get the audience prepared for Weeping Silence.
After a long break, due to technical issues, Weeping Silence started the gig under not optimal conditions. Even during the set not all went completely well. So, the start of their first Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemburg) tour was not the luckiest one. At the end, time regulations made it even necessary to reduce the set. The stage was so small that the keyboard was on the stage but Alison Ellul had to stand besides the stage. Weeping Silences made the impression that they are dynamic on stage but here they were very limited. But despite all the inconveniences, their enthusiasm was not influenced by this.
Weeping Silence is a relatively “old” band. They have been active since the mid 90's . They experimented on their musical path to what they are now. The current style can be categorized, if you want, as doom or gothic metal but also as progressive, avant-garde metal. They include strong symphonic melodies, heavy drums, intriguing guitar riffs and mix of grunts and high-end vocals.
Most of the songs are from For the Unsung (released in 2012 and reviewed by Sonic Cathedral). Both the vocalists (female and male) are different from the album. The new vocalists Diane Camenzuli (joined in 2012) and Dario Pace Taliana (2013) do not detract from the quality of the sound. The other members are Mario Ellul (guitar), Manual Spiteri (guitar), Sean Pollacco (bass) and Angelo Zammit (drums).
The show opened with "My Possesion". This choice made clear that they didn't want to go for an easy set. Angelo on drums and grunts from Dario make way for the vocals of Diane, the symphonic keyboard of Alison and some nice guitar solos. Next was a new, not released, song with the title "Oblivion". Although it is hard to recall the details, for me the coherence of the instruments with the vocals was very well done in all songs. All members got their moment in each song. Three already released songs "Love Lies Bleeding", "The Search Within" and "Mire of Pity" preceded the new songs "Transcending Destiny" and "Gothic Epitaph". For me longer songs offer many more possibilities for all members to show their quality. The risk is that if you don't have sufficient skills (both composition and playing), it gets artificial and/or boring. With Weeping Silence there is no risk. This is why I mentioned also avant-garde metal; every time there is something new to discover. They proved live what is said in the CD review: “Weeping Silence is definitely Gothic metal at its best”.
The shortened set ended with "Innocent Cries" of the album Theatre of Life. I would have loved to hear the missing songs, but the regulations did not permit it. It was a pity that the announcement that Weeping Silence would play with Therion in Belgium came too late for me to reschedule again. After reading the comment of Diane in a Facebook chat “When we played with Therion, the setting was great. Everything was more on a professional level, sound, lighting, etc etc. It was really fun!” I felt even more sorry. Now I have to go on with the album and wait for the next album and or gig.
