Unfortunately, their set was ruined by terrible sound, and on plenty of occasions, there was major feedback issues coming from the guitars and vocals, that was extremely unpleasant on the ears, whilst when vocalist Loic Rossetti was joined on stage by an ex member for a dual vocal, it was hard to differentiate the two, when they sang together, and everything seemed to get lost into oblivion. I hope to catch these guys again sometime, when the sound will be better, because from I could make out, their music was intriguing and a bit different, and worth another look to say the very least.

TEXTURES took to the stage, and the atmosphere was there right from the word go, with instrumental ‘Surreal State of Enlightenment’ really helping to build it up, before they kicked into ‘Regenesis’ and ‘Storm Warning’ which was eaten up by the crowd, as everybody including the band headbanged in sync, all throughout the gig.

The sound was miles better for TEXTURES, and a killer display of ‘Stream of Consciousness’ got the real first action in the pit for the set. One thing I did remember about this venue, only after it happened was the situation of the strobe lights here is lower than most venues and more directly in your face, meaning any major usage of these can really deter the enjoyment of the show. Fortunately, it was used only when necessary and in relevant parts of the material too.

New vocalist Daniel de Jongh, taking over from Eric Kalsbeek last year, delivered a very good performance, and even made the earlier material his own, as well as delivering on the new tracks on show tonight from latest album ‘Dualism’ in the form of ‘Sanguine Draws The Oath’ and ‘Consonant Hemispheres’, with a real highlight being ‘Singularity’, performed in the encore. Some crowd participation was included in the form of the impressive ‘Awake’ where plenty of fans sang their hearts out, before a blistering rendition of ‘Swandive’ closed the set, and got the crowd going once more.

The way TEXTURES mix experimental and more aggressive elements with melody is superb, with them reminding me of a cross between MESHUGGAH and SOILWORK. The gradual build up style of ‘Messengers’ opened the encore, before the aforementioned ‘Singularity’ got an airing. An awe inspiring performance of ‘Laments of An Icarus’ closed the proceedings, as the band received rapturous applause and horns from the crowd, and deservedly so. Their hour set flew by, and although not really having heard much of their music before, they have left a definite impression on me after this show, one I will follow up and listen to more of their material.

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