On November 2nd, I went to see my favorite band…and fucking Obituary! The event took place at the Jupiler Stage at 013, Tilburg. The Jupiler Stage is the venue’s smaller space, but this is exactly what you want when you’re seeing bands the likes of Exodus, who are true masters of the stage when performing for smaller groups; it gets really personal and energetic. This was the second time this year seeing these 2 thrash and death giants share the stage; they gave away an awesome show in the Czech Republic at Brutal Assault festival too!
Since I’m not really a fan of either Prong or King Parrot, I decided to skip their shows.
Exodus was a really wild show, but could you really expect anything less from these guys? I don’t know if there are any people here that favor Rob Dukes over Zetro on vox, but I gotta tell ya, Zetro nailed the intro song The Ballad of Leonard and Charles, which isn’t even one he recorded with the band. I’ve always been a bit skeptical of his live performances, because the old live-albums that are out there lack the vocal quality that I’m looking for in live stuff, but I think, after seeing Exodus on a festival and small stage after Zetro’s return to the band, I’m actually starting to favor this guy over Dukes. The setlist was pretty much the same as always, you’ve got your Bonded by Blood, Toxic Waltz, And Then There Were None..basically a setlist they could release as a ‘’Best of..’’ album (though unfortunately, as always, nothing from Impact is Imminent). The show was energetic as fuck. There was shit flying all over the place, including people. The pit only went quiet for a few small moments in between songs, and there was A LOT of crowdsurfing and people joining on stage. The only thing that got boring was all the talking in between, because he kind of just kept repeating the same thing each time.
When Obituary took the stage, things got a little more serious. Okay, a lot more serious. It’s almost if there was an entirely different crowd. When they opened up with Internal Bleeding, the whole room started trembling as an immense wall of beats hit us in the face. I have to say, though I’m a greater fan of Exodus, Obituary’s performance was more satisfying in some ways. I’m more of a headbangin’ kind of guy rather than moshing all the way through a show, and this was just one of those shows where I just wanna enjoy the noise and bang my head into a concussion. They played a really neat set, and though I’m not fully familiar with their repertoire, I most certainly did hear Visions in My Head, and a handful of songs off of Slowly We Rot and even some new stuff. The sound was soooo good, it’s amazing how clear everything sounded and how well-executed the solos are. A show I won’t soon forget, and definitely a better experience than on a festival!
Exodus Official Website
Exodus Facebook
Exodus Twitter
Obituary Official Website
Obituary Facebook
Obituary Twitter
1 thought on “Live review: Battle Of The Bays (Exodus, Obituary) at 013, Tilburg, The Netherlands, November 2nd 2016”