On the 25th of february SHUTTERWALL MAGAZINE went to Olensfest battles. 4 Metalgroups competed against each other for a place on the stage of Olensfest 2017. Only 2 of them are going to the finals. Phoenix Rebellion was the opener of the night. These young guys were sounded very NWOBHM and with some more experience on the stage they can grow in to a great band. The vocals were not always
that clean. Their performence was playfull. PHOENIX REBELLION had a lot of fun
on stage and that's something importent as well.
Second performence of the night was Innervate. The music they played was actually not my kind of taste but I liked it a lot. Their music is melodical and
the vocals understandable, wich is someting that's not always the case with grunting vocals. The audience was very enthousiastic and asked for encores.
With Solitude Within, the third band of the evening ha taken the stage.
Their first song, In the dark, started a little bit messy. But afterwards with the other songs, Solitude Within became better and better. they
reminded me a little bit of Evanescence. EMMELIE ARENTS sung a nice
performence. She really stood fast on the stage but without
overacting. She also played the keyboard while she was singing. Especially her clean voice, set the tone for the sound of SOLITUDE WITHIN.
The last band performing tonight was Cathubodua, and my
personal favorite of the evening. They are a folk metal
band, with a very recognisable sound. Immediately, they
sounded very familliar. While I'm sure I didn't see them
before. It was a pleasure to hear them play away the
night, into the wee hours that soon will become morning. The violin is surely an added value for CATHUBODUA's
sound. The evening resulted in Innervate and
Solitude Within being send of to the final battles.
TEXT: Stephanie De Caerlé
PHOTO'S: Wim Op de beeck