Looking for a fun Saturday night out in the city? Well, Chinastraat got you covered with a top hardcore bill!
Crossover Thrash Machine
All the way from Montreal, Canada the guys in Prowl stormed the stage blazing with energy! Their technical instrumental sounds make a perfect addition to the heavy metal-hardcore vibe. Their set was filled with metal guitar riffs, heavy breakdowns which got the mosh pit moving, 2 stepping and the first side-to-sides of the evening.
Setlist: The Merchant of Bones – Left Alone – The Forgotten Realms – Death For Us – Momentum of Death – All Is Lost
Sorcerer of the mosh pit
Next on stage was the French band Sorcerer which was not a new name for the Ghent hardcore scene. These guys from Paris definitely built a reputation for themselves and were eager to present their newest album DEVOTION which was released earlier this year. From the first notes in ‘Badlands‘ the mosh pit got moving, getting more brutal towards the end of the song.
The mosh pit opened up for a side-to-side on the song ‘Only God Forgives‘ , where the metal guitar riffs made way for the breakdown. The hardcore kids could demonstrate their ‘Devotion‘ to the 2 step. The guitar riff in the middle of the song was great, and let’s wait for the outro; beautiful piece of music which seamlessly transitioned into the intro for ‘Ablaze‘.
Setlist: Badlands – Only God Forgives – The Eternal Grief – Fortress – In the Arms of Mortality – Devotion – Ablaze – Someone Else’s Skin – Seed of Decline
Foreign hands
The first song ‘Hesitation Marks‘ made clear that Foreign Hands was ready to show us a good time. They proved that even in hardcore music clean vocals can significantly enhance the live experience. The proof was clear in the songs ‘Horror Domain‘ and ‘Conditioned For A Head-On Collision‘. The latter song was so moving that it even got some people slow dancing in the mosh pit, never seen before!
Moving on to a heavier song ‘God Under Fingernails‘ which got the mosh pit moving again! Time for some more side-to-side action on the next song ‘Tearing Down Your Reality‘. Sadly their time was up as they left us with a ‘Seperation Souvenir‘. I did not expect to see people clapping and sing-a-long but Foreign Hands is indeed an exceptional live band with a unique sound.
Setlist: Hesitation Marks – Horror Domain – Resetting the Senses – Conditioned For A Head-On Collision – Laceration Wings – God Under Fingernails – Tearing Down Your Reality – A Memory in Latency – Separation Souvenir
Guilt Trip
Not so long ago they shared the stage with LANDMVRKS and Malevolence but this time Guilt Trip , a 5-piece hardcore band from Manchester who already made a name for themselves, returned to Belgium as headliner on their Severance tour. By now, the room was fully packed.
Having the opportunity to showcase their new songs, from the LP Severance which was released last year, they kicked off with some new songs as ‘Fallen At My Feet‘ , ‘Eyes Wide Shut‘ , ‘Surrounded By Pain‘ and ‘Sweet Dreams‘ which were perfect opportunities to open the mosh pit and change it up with a circle pit from time to time.
A little guilt trip to memory lane with ‘Unrelenting Force‘ and ‘Seperate‘ which the fans clearly appreciated! The rhytm in ‘Seperate‘ was just a perfect opportunity for some side-to-side movement. After this little throwback to 2016, it was time to go back to the sophomore LP songs with bangers such as ‘The Gates‘ and title song ‘Severance‘. ‘Tearing Your Life Away‘ got everyone going crazy and dancing, both in and out the mosh pit with a musical apotheosis by the hands of Jak Maden playing an impeccable guitar solo.
Moving on to ‘Broken Wings‘ which featured not only heavy notes, but also another sick guitar solo and even some clean singing, courtesy of Tom Aimson who changed his drum sticks for the microphone for a moment. On the lyrics “Ѕwаllоw mе whоlе, еrаѕе mу раіn. І’m nоt thе ѕаmе, оn brоkеn wіngѕ І fеll frоm grасе. Соvеr mу ѕоul wіth thе blооd І оwе. Іt’ѕ runnіng соld, mу brоkеn drеаmѕ аrе аll І knоw.” the whole room started clapping before, without remorse, the mosh pit opened up again in all its fury!
‘Thin Ice‘ was the classic song that got everyone moving, shouting, dancing for one last time. By this stage, the room was completely full. As a great way of concluding this amazing concert they played a bit of ‘Davidian‘, a cover song originally performed by Machine Head.
Setlist: Fallen At My Feet – Surrounded By Pain – Sweet Dreams – Eyes Wide Shut – Unrelenting Force – Separate – The Gates – Severance – Guilt Trip – Tearing Your Life Away – Broken Wings – Thin Ice – Davidian (Machine Head cover)
This concert proved once again that hardcore is very much alive in Ghent. It was great to see so many nationalities uniting on stage to give their all! See you next time, Chinastraat!