Tower Transmissions XI
Pffft...! was the big surprise for everyone and highlight of Friday. The massive sound was perfect for their Test Department-style metal percussion and all the details were crystal clear. The project has existed since 1984 already and I say that's well kept anonymity! Discogs didn't list any of their releases prior to this gig, but a new tape, Bunkerbeschallung, was for sale at the festival,
Minimun Sentence was okay and short enough. PÅGÅ, also ok, atmospheric stuff but felt too long. Kommando's flanger-glucking was enjoyable for a while, but the set was really long and became a bit monotonous. The very long sets actually started to feel like an endurance test. Nocturne and Sigillum S were total garbage. The kind of lame synth pop and IDM stuff I don't listen at all. It wasn't really a surprise for Sigillum S, but I slightly hoped they would do something different than electronics beats.
Saturday was easily the stronger day!
Moozzhead was at the top of his game. The big stage, PA, and hands down the best background video of the festival. And in general, probably best visuals for his sets so far. The pure harsh noise blast of 17 minutes felt really refreshing in contrast to long industrial sets.
ᚦᛟᚦ ᚷᛁᚷ was not musically bad, I could listen to this at home, but there is always something off in Trepaneringsritualen guy's stage antics. Hard to pinpoint it exactly, maybe it was the crust pants combined with the lump mask.
Sektion C was unfamiliar to me. At first, I wasn't sure about the visuals with vague political statements: Palestine/USA politics, "Refugees Welcome," etc. The cardboard Trump was funny, though. The sound was excellent and powerful again. In retrospect, this was really good! The second song especially was great...The world is on fire? Not sure about the title. I listened to older Sektion B material on my way back, and elements from those records were used in the live set.
Arktau Eos played one of their strongest sets. The sound was perfect again.
Genocide Organ was good and luckily different to the Turku gig. Some metal junk sounds weren't properly audible, but it wasn't a big problem. At this point, I was quite tired after a long day. GO good, but Turku gig better! It felt more intense and resonated better with audience. The images of Dresden bombing at the background video was a nice touch.
Cindytalk was another unknown act for me. I only watched briefly, but the guitar wall and female vocals didn't sound bad at all.
Overall, it was a fun trip. Socialising with old and new acquaintances, decent record scores from merch section, Dresden was beautiful and the venue really good. The amount of women in the audience was surprisingly large. There should have been more seats. Some of the more atmospheric sets work better if you watch them while sitting down.