Faith and The Muse must ring a bell with most listeners of underground music. I can easily say that they are one of the most appreciated bands in the dark-wave scene. Their gothic sound is a combination of punk, rock, dark-wave and many traditional folk influences. The lyrics and the music have changed a bit throughout their 16 years existence. In the beginning it went mostly about old European folk stories and myths. The music contained a lot of Celtic folk and classical music. Nowadays the music is more rough-edged because the punk and dark-wave took a bigger place. Monica and William created a new masterpiece; ‘
: ankoku butoh :’ (release date is in a couple of weeks). They found a lot of inspiration in old Japanese wisdom and lifestyle. It is always exciting to see Faith and The Muse live, because you’ll never know what to expect. It can be a real rock show with a full line-up, but it also can be acoustic and very intimate. On this misty Sunday afternoon they will play in
Zaandam
and the band announced there will be dancers and some violins, cello’s. So that means a very energetic live show. But first it is time for two Dutch warming-up bands. (Gaby)
Despite the German name and lyrics, Schwarzblut is a Dutch band. I’d come across the bands’ name a few times but never heard their music, so I’m curious to see what this first act has to offer. A Sunday afternoon isn’t an ideal concert moment and the venue is still squeamishly empty... Fortunately that doesn’t seem to matter to Schwarzblut, and the band surprises me with a solid live set filled with German poetry combined with danceable beats. The group doesn’t only play songs from their debut EP ‘Sehlenwolf’, but also treats the audience at some songs from their upcoming album ‘Das Mausoleum’ which will be released by Alfa Matrix. This afternoon Schwarzblut plays a tight set, and is a great start of the evening. (Seraphictine)
The second act is once again a Dutch one, this time it’s Contrast. This group, consisting of ex-Malochia members, plays a mixture of EBM and darkwave and is selected to warm up the people who are a bit late. I’m also new with Contrast, and once again I’m pleasantly surprised. The heavy dancebeats, distorted vocals, and atmospheric arrangements sound great, especially ‘Follow the Leaders’ and ‘Dare’ of this years’ debut album ‘Antidote’ are solid live tracks. The early start of the set is probably the reason why the audience is a bit calm, ‘cause when the band ends with Alien Sex Fiend-cover ‘In God We Trust’ they’ve played a fine and convincing live show. (Seraphictine)
De Kade was a bit quiet when the two warming up bands played. But when the lights began to change and an intro began to play and two beautiful belly dancers entered the stage, the room became to come more crowded. These girls were good and they performed a kind of Japanese dance. When Monica and William finally reached the stage and played the opening song of the evening (which was a new song) the audience reacted a little reluctant. The song was nice and was a typical Faith and The Muse song, but with some new ingredients, like violin, cello and taiko drums merged with it. I was happy to see Monica was wearing one of her beautifully coloured dresses again. The plain suit she was wearing at the latest tour was boring and did not fit the music so well. The voice of the always strict looking Monica was pure and great and when they played some old songs ‘The Silver Circle’, Scars Flown Proud and ‘All Lovers Lost’, the audience began to loosen up and they ate out of her hand. The old familiar songs sounded better than ever, I was deeply impressed. Mostly thanks to the violinist Paul Mercer and two other familiar musicians; Marzia Rangel and Steven James, both known of The Deadfly Ensemble. Tonight they played, violin, cello, bass and guitar. And they really played amazingly well. In the beginning of the show William looked a bit irritated about some technical difficulties (none of them were hearable in the audience) but when the problem got fixed he got relaxed and soon he gave it all. The performed a new song, 'Nine Dragons', which was very powerful. His low, dark voice is always very pleasant. Thanks the great visuals, the dancing duo Serpentine and the great line-up the show was very magical and I enjoyed it very much. Definitely the best Faith and The Muse show I ever saw. Review by:Seraphictine
City: Zaandam