The from Osaka reigning “Metalcore” band Crossfaith announced they were embarking on an 14 dates EU Tour in June. They had their first show of this tour in Amsterdam, The Netherlands on June 12th. Of course this means we couldn’t pass up the chance to see them live, as we’ve seen them before and we absolutely love their music. Their show took place in De Melkweg on Leidseplein Amsterdam. It wasn’t a headlining show however with them playing support for American bands Asking Alexandria and Bullet For My Valentine along with Nu-metal band Ded.
This venue is easy to reach if you’re coming from Amsterdam Central Station, take tram 1, 2 or 5 and get out at Leidseplein, from here it’s just a short walk and there are a whole bunch of restaurants and bars around so it’s perfectly located for a fun night. We arrived a little bit earlier because we had an interview with Crossfaith and we noticed there weren’t a lot of people around yet, maybe around 20 people. When we came out again though the numbers had increased, it didn’t take very long for us to be let in then and everyone was really excited. I noticed that the balcony was closed and was a little bummed because it’s the best place to view from if you’re not really into moshpits anymore. We found a good place though and later on we found out that the balcony was used by camera people and band members.
Ded
We stood around for about 15 minutes before out of nowhere the first band started playing. I didn’t know this band much but they were good, even though there weren’t many people watching them play, Ded is from America as well and they play Nu-metal music. It was loud and aggressive and I really enjoyed their music. However it was hard to see them because they didn’t have too much lighting going on which was kind of a bummer. It might have had something to do with all the other band’s equipment behind them. They played seven sounds of which the last one was my favorite and we enjoyed gently bobbing around to them and watching guys go wild in the miniature mosh pit.
Their setlist
1. Disassociate
2. Remember the enemy
3. Rope
4. I exist
5. FMFY
6. Hate me
7. Anti Everything.
Crossfaith
After them and a small build down of their set Crossfaith came up, of course, we were blown away completely. Unlike Ded who just came up and started playing, Crossfaith has an intro, loud electronic music, followed by each member walking onto stage and showing themselves to the fans. Ken, the vocalist, is last and he came in waving a huge Crossfaith flag. The crowd had grown since but everyone was sticking around in the back. After launching into their first song Ken worked hard to get the crowd to come to the stage and participate in their songs, it took him a couple of tries but they came and the crowd went wild in the moshpit and their signature wall of death.
Because they weren’t doing their full set I felt like some of the essence of Crossfaith was missing, They didn’t drink and they didn’t really have their moment to shine but I did think it was absolutely amazing and enjoyed the five songs they played immensely and was kind of bummed when they had to spot already.
Launching into one of my favorite songs Xeno, the party was on right away, everyone was bouncing and moshing around, I enjoyed watching the crowd and the band interact. When they started Monolith, they started a circle pit and a wall of death.
(for those who don’t know what they are:
Moshpit; Jumping around, punching, kicking, shoving and generally being violent to LIVE music, usually heavy metal, punk rock, hardcore or anything fast and hard.Circlepit; Usually the moshpit turns into a swirl of people running in the same directions, often at times there is moshing included.
Wall of Death; The crowd then divides in half…each half made up of aggressive fans ready to tear each other apart. When the considerably heavier or heaviest part of the song kicks in, the two halves of the crowd rush one another.)
When the band kicked into Omen, an electronic beat version at first, everyone went absolutely wild, moshing, jumping and screaming. I had to refrain myself from running into the pit and joining them. But then they ended and we wanted to scream for more, and we tried but it was Asking Alexandria’s turn.
Their setlist
1. XENO
2. Monolith
3. Freedom
4. Countdown to hell
5. Omen (The Prodigy cover)
Asking Alexandria
It took a bit for Crossfaith to breakdown their set but when they did Asking Alexandria came up, to be fair, I didn’t think they had the power that Crossfaith did but let’s just say I’m biased. They were good however and there were so many people losing themselves in their music and I had more fun watching the fans than I had watching the band.
Though that didn’t take away of their music obviously, it was good and they played 9 songs. De Melkweg was packed by now too.
Their setlist
1. Into the Fire
2. Run Free
3. Under Denver
4. The Death of Me
5. When the Lights Come On
6. Eve
7. Someone, Somewhere
8. Where Did It Go?
9. Alone in a Room
Bullet For My Valentine
I forgot to film a bit of BFMV because I was getting tired of standing around, they had an amazing stage presence and their stage decoration was great too. A huge wall of speakers with integrated lights on which their drummer was positioned and a huge BFMV banner behind him.
I had great fun bobbing around to them but it didn’t grab me as much as Crossfaith did. The fans were absolutely wild, with moshpits and insane dancing throughout the venue. I would like to say that They were definitely the most well-known band and a lot of people were there just for them. We moved a bit to the back and got to watch the fans and their interaction from afar and I’d like to say that I would definitely go see them again.
Conclusion
Grade: 7 in total
Crossfaith: 10 out of 10
I absolutely loved Crossfaith’s set because I’m their fan. However for me Ded and Asking Alexandria didn’t do much even though I did enjoy their set.
I’ll be honest and say that I was bummed it was only 5 songs for Crossfaith but then again, there isn’t a right amount of songs for me when it comes to them. I’m not dishing the other bands at all because they absolutely kicked ass and the fans really did show that with crazy headbanging and singing along and it makes me happy to watch them. It was a good night, we had fun and I made my friend a Crossfaith fan too so that was amazing to me!
