During 3 days, about 80 bands played on the 5 stages of the Jera On Air. From the opening bands like Paleface or Paledusk to the headliners like Parkway Drive and Rancid, we’ve seen awesome shows from metalcore, punk and hardcore bands. Almost none of these bands have disappointed us but some will stay unforgettable for a long time! Here’s our top 10 from the Jera On Air 2023 in alphabetical order… except the first one!
THE GHOST INSIDE
It was their first show in Netherlands since their tragic accident in 2015. Since their comeback, we had the chance to see them a couple of times: Paris and London last Summer, Graspop last week. It was number 4 but we can’t get enough of it. Their first French show but also their first club show. First British show. Their first Belgian show. And now their first Dutch show. We love to to be there on their first times! What can we say about this one? Almost the whole festival was there to see them. Many people have cried. The band played an awesome set – longer than at Graspop. And they were so friendly as they invited people stage-side to come as close as possible to hang out with them. We can only show love and respect for these guys!
BILLY TALENT
We expected a good show but not that good! It was one hour of karaoke, from the old school stuff to the new school stuff. From the first row to the last people in the full Vulture Eastpack, everybody was singing loud on Fallen Leaves. One of the highlight of the day, of the festival too and so it was totally natural to put Billy Talent in our top 10 !
CODE ORANGE
Code Orange is that kind of modern metal band that is difficult to put a specific genre name on it. Groovy, heavy, powerful… influences from Slayer, Rob Zombie, SlipKnot, Hatebreed… sometimes more hardcore, sometimes more nu-metal. Who cares about the exact name?! They’re just killing it and they proved it again this weekend! If the sound wasn’t that good on the Jupiler Stage at Graspop, this time sounded way better on the Vulture Eastpack Stage!
FLEDDY MELCULY
They were the small band playing in the small tent Hawk while Rancid were headlining the festival on the Main Stage. We gave it a shot. It was full as hell. It was hot as hell. And sadly we didn’t make until the end; we were about to die in this sauna. But it was such a sick show and great to see a Belgian band getting that success in another country! Obviously, the fact they’re singing in Dutch helps a lot in Netherlands. It wouldn’t have been the same in France or in the UK per example. But for Jera On Air, it was perfect!
LANDMVRKS
We knew they gonna have a strong success. But it’s different to thing about it and to actually see it. It’s 2:30pm on this Saturday afternoon and the marquee is packed. The Frenchies will proved they deserve their status… and an higher spot on festivals line-up. We might know so much their set as it’s almost the same of last Summer but it always kick-ass. Their energy and good vibes are so communicating. C’est Marseille Bébé ! Hopefully they’ll release some new sick songs soon and come back on a headliner tour again.
PAPA ROACH
Another good surprise from the weekend because we didn’t really know what to expect. A set with too many new songs? An audience only there for the classics? Well, none of that! We got an awesome set-list with many old-school songs we didn’t even dreamed about like Broken Home, many cool medley with rap stuff, lot of pyro we didn’t expect either and a cool featuring of Jason from Fever 333 for the legendary Last Resort that the whole festival was singing along! Papa Roach has always been a very good live band but with the last boring albums, the set-lists weren’t that good. This weekend, they proved us wrong.
PALEDUSK
The band from Japan is so young but the hype around them started almost on the first day. Well, at least, on the first single. They opened the Main Stage aka Eagle Jupiler Stage at noon but lot of people were there to mosh and sing along. This first tour in Europe and so first show in Netherlands was a success and marked the fundation of many successful tours to come. We had Crossfaith, then Cyrstal Lake and here’s the third generation!
SLEEP TOKEN
Is it the band with the biggest hype around them right now? It seems so. A lot of people were looking forward to see them playing at Jera On Air this weekend. Between the fans and the curious people. How would it be possible you haven’t heard about them the last 2 years? During 45 minutes, they proved their status and we can’t wait to see them again. They have a huge tour planned for this Fall. We hoped to see them playing at the Ancienne Belgique. Wanna bet?
STRAY FROM THE PATH
There are bands that never disappoint live. There are bands that are always giving the best shows possible despite any kind of external conditions. There are bands that are always giving us a big smile on our faces only by seeing their name on a poster. Stray From The Path are one of them! We knew we gonna have a blast with their show, even if we’re not especially fan of their last albums We knew we gonna have a blast with their show, even if Tom (guitarist) had some technical issues with his pedal-board.
We know we gonna have a blast with their show, even if we were still a bit tired from the horrible day we got the day before (the weather, not the music). The crowd was on fire, Craig made his best to destroy his drums while playing but his Tama kit is strong as hell and what about this ending on First World Premiere Child?! Madness!
THE AMITY AFFLICTION
Like we said in our live-report of this first day at Jera On Air, we have been disappointed by The Amity Affliction a couple of times. But not this time. Hell no! It was hands down the best show we’ve seen from the Aussies. In 45 minutes, they gave us a strong set-list, lot of pyro on stage and the crowd reaction was pure madness. After their set, it was already certain they were end in our top 10! Now we’re even more sad their next headliner tour will stop everywhere except in Belgium…
Obviously, this list is based on the bands we’ve seen and our personnal tastes. It’s not objective and you might have a top 10 totally different. This is why we’d love to know yours: go to your Facebook or Instagram accounts and comments below this article your favorite shows of Jera On air 2023!