23.-24.10.2010 - Metal Female Voices Fest VIII, Oktoberhallen, Wieze (Belgium)

The solemn closure of the eighth Metal Female Voices Fest edition was performed by the Dutch symphonic metal band Epica. They are the only band that took part on all Metal Female Voices fest editions and had considered for this year a special "The Phantom Agony" show. In it they played several pieces of their debut album and combined them with a great cross section across all other albums.

After they played the last year only a short acoustic set this year Leaves' Eyes were back for a longer gig. The band that is formed by the German group Atrocity together with the Norwegian former Theatre Of Tragedy front woman Liv Kristine Espenaes Krull has continued a nice tradition. Each time I saw them or Atrocity live they have played in a different setting.

The festival was slowly coming to an end but still there were increases. So to see on the American heavy metal band HolyHell. With their equally named debut album they wanted to conquer the Belgium audience (extended by the Dio classic "Holy Diver") and that they reached for sure.

After the fast and heavy metal of The Agonist now something more sustained and epic. The symphonic metal of the Spanish from Diabulus In Musica was quite easy listeneing. Although front woman Zuberoa Aznárez excused directly in the beginning that she still had a cold of which you could not hear anything during the concert. As support they had a group of background singer with them who all conveyed their good mood really great to the audience.

Just in time to their gig the Canadian band The Agonist arrived at the venue (as they got stuck in a traffic jam Sarah Jezebel Deva was alread brought forward). But also here like on the previous band there were issues.

As I had a chat for a longer time with someone on the camping ground (we had to get the cars out of the puddles of mud as long as that was still possible), I missed the first three bands of the day (Anwynn as replacement for the rejected Déjafuse, Ram-Zet and Omega Lithium). As the fourth scheduled band The Agonist got stuck in traffic jam the schedule was rearranged again.

With 15 minutes delay as closure of the long day finally Arch Enemy entered the stage. The Swedes with the German front woman Angela Gossow really blew everything out of one's ears with their death metal. Very appropriate was also directly Angela's remark after she had entered the stage: "We are here on Metal Female Voices Fest but I really do not know what I should be here for? My voice is not really female."

The first of the two headliners: Floor Jansen's new band Revamp. On last year's Metal Female Voices Fest announced and from Phil directly taken into the bill although nothing was existing to that time except the name of the band. After I took a listen whilst driving to Wieze to her current album "Revamp" I was extremely looking forward to the gig.

Slowly we were heading for the two headliners of the day and just like the year before it was also this year the German band Krypteria who joined this festival. The stage setting seemed to be known but luckily Ji-In Cho did not again appear on stage in a wedding dress and also guitarist Christoph Siemons was in a better shape from health point of view.

The next one entering the stage was Tristania with a new band cast. Besides singer Mariangela Demurtas there was also her male counterpart new cast by Kjetil Nordhus. Both were wonderful complementary not only during their solos but also during many duets.

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