bring the rampage above
It has been 10 years since Raven van Dorst, Micha Haring, Job van de Zande, Nick Polak and Reinier Vermeulen founded the band DOOL.
10 years in which they achieved an almost stellar rise. With (almost) only one single, Oweynagat (I love this song!), DOOL made it to Roadburn and shortly after landed at Prophecy Productions. With their debut album Here Now, There Then they quite caused a stir, climbed the charts in some countries, and made it to be Album of the Month or even Album of the Year in many magazines. Two more albums followed, which were even more successful. Sure, all band members are experienced and well-known musicians, and some of whom had been playing together long before DOOL, but that alone does not guarantee success, nor does it diminish it.
It is the total work of art that is DOOL. Music that is not metal, but heavy, that is not occult but spiritual, allowing mystical vibes to seep subtly between the lines. The rhythms are driving, groovy, and can quickly take on ecstatic, almost hypnotic forms, especially live. The influences and genres that merge in DOOL's music are manifold, elusive, and ultimately an almost philosophical affair - like the title of their current album, The Shape Of Fluidity, which perfectly would describe the band's music.
While charismatic singer/guitarist and songwriter Raven van Dorst naturally takes center stage, her mates rampage the stage the wildest way and rock down every location.
10 years of DOOL, 10 years of eventful band history, which now needs to be celebrated.
And here, too, DOOL proved their golden touch and, above all, their musical taste. 10 hand-picked bands and musicians were invited, who could hardly be more different in style, and of whom I knew less than half ;) This promised to be a wonderful journey of musical discovery.
10 bands and musicians to celebrate with DOOL. The poster and shirt design features a decagonal labyrinth (Dutch: doolhof), representing 10 years of music, family, friendship, creativity, and chaos.
For the celebrations, DOOL chose the winter solstice and booked the entire upper area of :: TivoliVredenburg ::. The bands played alternately on two stages at Ronda and Pandora, while three musicians performed an intimate dungeon set in the Pandora foyer. To chill out and switch off from all the noise, as DOOL said ;)
In the large foyer, there was extensive merchandise from all the bands - DOOL dropped prices on many items, a bargain buy for many fans - and a “shopping mile” featuring a variety of art, clothing, and jewelry makers. One floor up, in Park 6, there was everything for your physical well-being: delicious Indian curry, hamburgers, specially brewed beers, and various other drinks. A place to meet, chat, and eat :)
It all promised to be such a fantastic evening that I absolutely wanted to be there. I still had a few days of vacation left, so I booked a hotel right across from the Tivoli so I could enjoy A DECADE OF DOOL to the fullest without any stress.
Well, stress before pleasure, so to say. It was the fourth Sunday of Advent, and the shops were open (which would never happen in Germany ;)). Getting to Utrecht was easy but getting to the parking garage in the heart of the old town, were the Tivoli and the hotel were, was not. Furthermore, the entrance to the hotel was inside a huge and packed shopping mall, not easy to find until you know where it is ;)
I had been to the Vredenburg before, but that was a long time ago (Skinny Puppy 2007?) and obviously a lot has changed. I don’t remember the location being that huge. I also didn't remember (anymore) that the whole thing would turn into a workout when switching between Ronda and Pandora because you have to run up and down endless stairs. Okay, there are escalators (but not all the way to the top) and elevators, but I'm no wimp ;)
:: pics :: GOTT ::
Here we are. But I had to put my orientation on hold for a moment, because I was running late and :: GOTT :: were already on stage, conjuring up the legacy of The Devil's Blood. GOTT was founded by Farida Lemouchi and Dave van Beek. Farida also contributed backing vocals to two songs on Dool's debut, and Job played bass for GOTT (and previously for The Devil's Blood). This brought things full circle (I find it truly remarkable how influential The Devil's Blood were in their short creative phase and how much they shaped a certain part of the Dutch music scene. Going from The Devil’s Blood, a band with satanic background to a band called Gott is surely a special thing too. I guess Farida would have to say something about it, but that’s another story ;)).
The music of GOTT is not so far away from what we know from Faridas previous endeavors (e.g. Molassess): psychedelic-tinged heavy rock (with a subtle post-punk touch, I would say), three guitars and her incomparable voice.
The Ronda was only moderately full, as many fans were still stuck in traffic/parking lot jams. Unfortunately, the sound wasn't quite balanced yet and it seemed that the individual musicians couldn't always hear each other. The band was bathed in deep blue lights, punctuated by strobes. It looked great from the balcony but was difficult to photograph.
GOTT just released (on December 3) a fantastic cover version of Fleetwood Mac's The Chain. Unfortunately, they didn't play this song live here. Check it out, or listen to their debut EP To Hell To Zion :)
Band: F. Lemouchi (vox), T. van Geel (git), T. van Laarhoven (git), W. van der Voort (git), D. van Beek (git, bass), J. Schmitz (drums)
Setlist: Venus In Mirage, Peyote’s Dance, Nectarious Nights, The Colour Empty, Siberian Crashings, Axiom VI, Bone Dust & Ivory
On the way to the Pandora stage, there was the first and, in a musical sense, only dungeon interlude by :: NORTFALKE ::, also known to connoisseurs as Swerc from numerous Dutch underground black metal bands. The music was very calm, close to nature, and very relaxing. Many fans sat on benches with their eyes closed or lay on large cushions and listened, completely silent (there was hardly anything to see at all). Yeah, I loved it but didn’t have the ease to stay there for the full set.
I'm not really sure but would say that NORTFALKE performed the 17 minutes track Yn it krachtfjild fan de stiere from his 2025 album Moonjeie during his set.
Band: Nortfalke
:: pics :: SANGRE DE MUERDAGO ::
The Pandora stage continued with :: SANGRE DE MUERDAGO ::, a Galician neofolk band. This group has been around for almost two decades and has released numerous albums and EPs. Their latest work, O Xardín, was released in September. Musically, this was a completely unexpected direction for me at this festival. But that's what makes A DECADE OF DOOL so special. And I deliberately didn't listen to the bands beforehand so that I could absorb everything without any preconceptions ;)
Band: Pablo Caamiña Ursusson (guitar, vocals), Georg Börner (nyckelharpa, viola, vocals), Xoel López (clarinet, vocals), Saúl Nogareda (cello)
:: pics :: MESSA ::
Well, I of course have listened to the :: MESSA :: albums, but I haven't seen them live yet. The Italian doom rockers have had a similar rise to fame and celebrated their tenth anniversary last year. Here, too, different genres and styles are fused together. In addition to atmospheric doom, there are many prog and jazz influences in MESSA's music. It just took a little longer for their music to be appreciated in these latitudes, and now they can be seen live more often.
The one-hour show was dominated by their current album The Spin (released in April), with two songs from its predecessor Close. The focus was, of course, on the petite singer Sara Bianchin with her incredible voice and presence.
Band: Sara Bianchin (vocals), Alberto Piccolo (guitar), Mark Sade (guitar), Mistyr (drums)
Setlist: Fire On The Roof, At Races, The Dress, Rubedo, Thicker Blood, Pilgrim, Immolation, Reveal
Then it was back up the stairs again, past the dungeon corner, where :: SUNWELL :: used her loop machine, effects, guitar, and voice to build a surreal atmosphere for Little Heart's Lament Part. 1, layer by layer. You remember Julee Cruise's Falling in Twin Peaks? It’s a little bit like that, only more post-punk, or call it doomgaze, or witch house, in the true sense of the word.
Unfortunately, the French singer was nowhere to be seen, only her background was lit up a little red. Well, that's all you really need with this kind of music, because you just close your eyes and let yourself drift away ;) But it breaks a photographer's heart, because you don't want to disturb the fans and artist by bustling around until you get the right photo. The four tracks SUNWELL performed were from their debut album I'm Looking At The Light, released this November. Really beautiful!
Band: Elya Bernard
Setlist: I Give You, Little Heart's Lament Part. 1, Little Heart's Lament Part. 2, Carry Us
:: pics :: LIFELESS PAST ::
Life sometimes takes strange turns... Although both were born and raised in Curaçao, Injerreau Cijntje and Brandon Schotte didn't meet until they were in Holland. A punk concert brought them together, and now they thrill their fans with (Goth) post-punk/batcave music.
:: LIFELESS PAST :: seem to be well known in the Dutch underground scene, yet very little is known about the duo. They performed very lively, which made a big difference and encouraged the fans in front of the stage to dance ;) Once again, I experienced a great show of a band I have never heard of before. A new discovery for me. By the way, LIFELESS PAST have already played in Münster, as I read afterwards. Check out their latest album, Discarnate Objects.
Band: Injerreau Cijntje (guitar, vocals), Brandon Schotte (live percussion)
Setlist: Witching Hour, Deceived, Delirio, Anxiety, A Safer Place, Pain, Resist, Down, Dismal Reality, No Time, Through Passion, Shimmer, Encuentro Abismal, Bold Hue
:: pics :: HARAKIRI FOR THE SKY ::
There isn't really much to say about :: HARAKIRI FOR THE SKY ::. The Austrians were the only band at this festival that seemed ordinary to me. Maybe it’s because I know them well and have seen them live many times, so they no longer offer me anything exciting. Musically, of course, they were great as always! What I found interesting, however, was that singer J.J. finally came out of his shell a bit, spent a lot of time at the edge of the stage and didn't hide in the back, as I've often seen with this band. Theatrical gestures, strangling himself with the microphone cable... everything as usual and a live band that - like Dool - tore the stage apart in almost frenzied mania.
Band: J.J. (vox), M.S. (git), Marrok ( git live), Paul Färber (drums live)
The last performance in the Pandora foyer came from sound alchemist :: ANDY AQUARIUS ::, who created a mystical, folkloric atmosphere with his Celtic harp. Here, there was finally a little bit more light (presumably so he could see the strings of his harp), allowing us to see that the man was wearing a chainmail helmet. Between two tracks from the 2021 album Chapel, there was new, previously unreleased material.
Band: Andy Ozbolt
Setlist: High On An Astral Horse, unreleased new tracks without titles, Chapel
:: pics :: INVUNCHE ::
Chilean (high-speed) black metal punk with South American folk influences - that's :: INVUNCHE ::, the Dutch solo project by El Invunche (Invunche is a central figure in the mythology of Chiloé (Chilean island), representing both physical deformity and magical power and a connection to the world of witches). What a crazy mix, and that's how the band performed on stage. Painted accordingly, the singer hooded, the band thundered through their set at an insane speed, but never bluntly. There were always melodic or groovy parts to catch your breath. In the end, though, you felt a bit like you'd been run over by an ICE train ;)
These are the kind of bands I'd love to see at PSOA or the Culthe Festival, for example. The tracks came from the two albums Atavismo and II. An hour of wild frenzy, that was real fun :)
Band: El Invunche Live: Nacho Pérez (guitar), Gideon Ferrero (guitar), Sky (bass), Rens von Bray (drums), Alina Valentina (keys)
Setlist: Antü, Elal, Ciudad, Ruina, La Puerta Del Sol, La Luna, Últimos Días, Qhapaq Hucha, El Sol
:: pics :: DOOL ::
Contrary to expectations (which had been clear since the running order was announced),:: DOOL :: did not play as the final headliner, but instead performed at prime time, shortly before nine o'clock, on the main stage. The nearly two-hour set was divided into three chapters, with four songs from each album. The band played wildly and unrestrainedly, and it was the songs from their debut album Here Now, There Then that made the Ronda shake (still my favorite album).
The Ronda was now packed to the rafters, with fans crowded in front of the stage. Afterwards, the fans naturally didn't want to let the band leave so easily. There were calls for an encore until DOOL returned to the stage. Raven van Dorst then took the time to say a few words about the evening and the anniversary, most of all to thank many people for the last 10 years, for example the band's "babysitter" aka manager Ram Lauwrier (whom I would also like to thank very much for the accreditation). They did this in an incomparable way, eliciting a whole series of laughs. After asking who among the audience was not from Holland, and a good third of the fans responded, they said in amazement that they would now have to repeat everything they said in English. They didn't, because everyone understood they just fine.
DOOL ended the show with one more song, the live debut of To Whom May Lead The Blind.
Yes, this was for sure one hell of a fantastic show! What a wonderful musical journey through the records of DOOL and what an excellent way to celebrate an anniversary. Count me in in 10 years for the next festival ;)
Band: Raven van Dorst ( vox, git), Nick Polak (git), Omar Iskandr ( git), JB van der Wal (bass), Vincent Kreyder (drums)
Setlist: Vantablack, In Her Darkest Hour, The Alpha, Oweynagat • Summerland, Wolf Moon, Be Your Sins, Dust & Shadow • Venus In Flames, The Shape Of Fluidity, House Of A Thousand Dreams, Hermagorgon // To Whom May Lead The Blind
:: pics :: CURSES ::
To round off a wonderful festival day, the now somewhat tired crowd got to dance properly once again at :: CURSES ::, or rather warmed up for the after-show party ;)
The project led by Berlin-based DJ and musician Luca Venezia creates “romantic post-punk with a good dose of dark Italo disco”, and yes, it got everyone moving.
CURSES definitely have some dark post-punk/batcave tracks to offer, as we heard before with Lifeless Past. But for the most part, the romantic Italian synth-pop side comes through ;) The disco ball on the ceiling was missing for the perfect feeling. A gentle end to a fantastic festival!
Band: Luca Venezia (vocals, guitar), Dame Bonnet (synth)
What else is there to say? DOOL celebrated themselves with a great anniversary festival and let their fans share in the fun. A DECADE OF DOOL presented a line-up that was unexpected and very diverse for me – I got to know many new bands. The TivoliVredenburg is huge and offered plenty of space to move around, retreat, sit, eat, and drink, plus, you had a fantastic view over Utrecht. The festival was very relaxed, with DOOL (and many of the other bands) blending with the fans.
Well then... here's to the next 10 years of DOOL! I'm looking forward to the next concert!
panta rhei
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