I regret to report that we REALLY needed Voivod at Roadburn 2013; or maybe die kreuzen missed the window & would have been better off reuniting last year to be part of Voivod's special curated Friday...either way, it wasn't really a success. Both sets were inconsistent; obviously, die k are very much like Voivod – their discography contains some quantum leaps in terms of style, despite maintaining certain constant elements. As for Voivod, there have been times when the jump from one something like “The Prow” to “Ripping Headaches” or the latter into “Nothingface” didn’t really work for me.
Same thing with die k – you’d have a super dreamy emo song from the later days followed by a 60 second blast from the debut album, but whereas Voivod can usually pull that off, it did not work for die k.
You see, unlike Voivod, the band did not have that special chemistry. They didn't seem like a single living breathing entity on stage the way Voivod has since Chewy joined.
You had drummer Eric, who was totally competent and the most comfortable-looking on stage; then there was guitarist Jay being superbly talented but hanging back off to the side; Keith the bassist was gazing out from under half closed eyelids, not showing a lot of energy despite the perfectly decent playing; and finally, there was Dan, trying so hard, posturing and gesturing, which compared to his much less animated bandmates sometimes veered into exaggerated territory.
There was good will for the band, but nowhere near the amount that Voivod received upon the decision to hit the road w/ Chewy. Putting die k on the main stage right after High On Fire and right before Godflesh on the Saturday didn't help. There was hardly anyone and suddenly the main hall seemed like the main, empty hangar. Painful.
They would have been much better off later in the evening, in the Patronaat - a nice sweaty attic-like space with exposed beams and wooden floors. It's where Doom tore up Roadburn last year as part of Voivod's day.
I was reminded of Corrosion of Conformity w/ Mike Dean at Roadburn as part of Sunn O)))'s curated day...they were put in the main hall and while it wasn't as deserted as it was for die k, turnout was still terribly low, and it was instantly clear that the band in that (killer!!) line-up was much more suited to a small, club-like room, and not the big fancy main stage. History repeats itself...
Then again, even in the more suitable dimensions of the green room on Sunday, die k somehow failed to deliver the anticipated punch.
Obviously, the sting of the previous day's "where is everyone" took a toll, but even without that, it still wasn't a full house. There simply wasn't the kind of chemistry and coherence that, say, Voivod demonstrated, and the set was just too inconsistent with raging hardcore & swirling prog clashing (and extended breaks in between didn't help, either).
Do I sound like an armchair quarterback? I hope not. I can’t stand it when people do that. Then again, my intentions are not to sound like a know-it-all. I’m a huge fan of die k's music, and I felt really bad for them at the fest. So I stand by what I’m writing here, including any armchair quarterbacking!
Obviously, the majority of 'burners did not really know them in the first place. It would have been nice to have a curator like neurosis or Voivod backing them.
Also, it didn't help that they were omitted entirely from the festival booklet.
This year, the part of the festival booklet that features band bios was farmed out to Iron Fist magazine, and for whatever reason, they didn't mention a band that was invited for not one but two performances. Pretty sad, right? Especially given the buzz when die k was first announced; r'burn premier this, first gig in europe in 20 years that,
and so on. They deserved a good write-up in the booklet. Or at least a mention. Geez.
It might be blasphemous to say so, but I left the festival feeling like they might be better off just honoring their legacy as one of those "killer bands that were way ahead of their time” and leaving it like that.
Some bands can return 20 years later and pick up where they left off, whereas others find themselves left in the dust when they regroup 20 years later to try again. Bob Seger sang, “You can come back, baby, rock n roll never forgets.” Well, that’s not necessarily true for metal/hardcore.
posted April 24, 2013 10:52
