Finally on Sunday 21st of April it was time for something we have been looking forward to: seeing Madmans Esprit play their first concert in The Netherlands.. and they invited no other than the German band VII ARC, who is just like Madmans Esprit is inspired by Japanese Visual Kei music. Of course we couldn’t pass the chance to interview both bands during this day so keep your eyes open for those to come online! You can also win the new Madman’s Esprit EP Glorifying Suicide right here on Saetori, check below for the details!
We got to the venue a little earlier than normal because surprisingly the doors opened at 4 PM, the weather was great so who was complaining. The venue, Bibelot – Popcentrale, is a small cosy place with extremely friendly staff and ideally located smoking area where you can still listen and watch the band/artist perform if you need a little break.
VII ARC
The first band to play was VII ARC, which in the end everyone rather had them play as second band, after their intro, #nttw, they blasted into their first song. From the start everyone was dancing/headbanging and it lasted well throughout the entire show. Léonie had seen them before a couple of years ago and she feels like they seriously improved even more. What I really liked is that they are able to bring their music/vibe into the crowd, making everyone respond really well to their music and fans/concertgoers. And VII ARC hyped eachother up more with every single song they played. They manage to capture that Visual Kei feeling Léonie, Juliet and I really enjoy. We were doing furi (it’s a sort of synchronized dancing done at Visual Kei shows) and headbanging as we would during Japanese shows. The interaction between the band members was really natural and you could see how much they loved performing. For all of us it was easy to lose ourself in the music and after their show they joined the crowd to watch the other bands play. Another awesome thing is that they were really approachable and they seemed to enjoy Madman Esprit just as much as we did.
Setlist
- #nttw
- Impelled
- Doubt me!
- Ira
- Nihilism No Opera
- Nil
- Kurage
- Triviality
- I.Don’t.Care.
- Chasin’ Dreams
Personal opinions
Mayo: 100/10, would go see again, no doubt.
Léonie: 10/10, they were better than I remember!
Juliet: Super energetic 150/10, would go see again
Phlebotomized
This band came after VII ARC, it’s a metal band from The Netherlands, it started out good but in no time half the crowd wasn’t feeling it, not after the energetic show VII ARC just gave. I would have preferred seeing them first, followed by VII ARC. For me it killed the mood I was feeling. Their songs were very monotone and lasted for what seemed like forever, we wondered if they played the same songs multiple times. (they also decided to pack up during the last 2 or 3 songs of Madmans set and slammed the extremely heavy backstage door and their gear into me (Mayo) three times in the span of 10 minutes which left me with a backache for two days and all of us thought it was very distracting and rude as they had to pass through the crowd trying to enjoy the show)
Personal opinions
Mayo: 0/10, would never see again
Juliet: -10/10, would rather step on lego
Léonie: 1/10, first time but also last time
Madmans Esprit
When it was finally time for Madmans Esprit, everyone was buzzing with excitement and the band received many loud screams. I was blown away by the mix of Madmans music, Kyuho has an amazing voice and it seems like he can do anything he wants with it. From clean vocals to screams to grunting and back to clean vocals again. It was really impressive. The crowd was diverse, from girls in full make-up to the older people standing in the back but it seemed like everyone really enjoyed the show. I didn’t spot any interactions between the band members but you could see they were extremely professional. Maybe it’s because Kyuho is the main drive behind the group and the others were supporting him during tour. I can’t really say anything bad about this show, however for me (Mayo) my mood was slightly shot by the Dutch band and I honestly want to see Madman’s Esprit again just to be able to give my full attention because I they are phenomenal!
Setlist
- Intro
- Eine alte Dunkelheit
- Life, Thus Pain
- My Little Dark Paradise
- From the Nothingness
- Ich bin die Kunst
- Suicidol
- You Don’t Allow Me
- In Der Nacht
- A Day in Black
Personal opinions
Juliet: 150/10, great vocals and overall atmosphere!
Léonie: 7/10, Kyuho is really a madman
Mayo: 7/10, would love to see them again without being interrupted by people, I was impressed and I enjoyed it a lot
GIVEAWAY
After the show we got our hands on the new MADMAN’S ESPRIT album Glorifying Suicide and they signed it for us and right after our interview (which will be up soon) Kyuho took the time to pose for cheki which he also signed and this is your chance to win it! The giveaway will end on May 25th 2019.
The rules
1. Follow Saetori on Facebook and Instagram
2. Share the post publicly on your Facebook (we need to be able to check it) Link to the post: https://www.facebook.com/Saetorimedia/posts/1058421884346539
3. Tag 3 friends in the comments and tell us why you should win.
4. Have some luck!
https://www.madmansesprit.com/
www.vii-arc.de
Thank you to Uknight’s Kimberly and Antoine
Thank you to Popcentrale for having us
Thank you to Frank for helping with filming the interviews
Photo’s by Juliet & Mayo
