97-10-04 Mastic Scum – Mangled – Necrophagist – Pleurisy – Suppository – [Agathocles] – [Cornucopia]

This was the second day of the grind/death Bulldozer fest, an “underground meeting with brutal death and bestial grind”, organised by Fred(eric) Driessens. The poster announces ‘Mastic Scum’, ‘Agathocles’, ‘Cornucopia’, ‘Suppository’, ‘Pleurisy’, ‘Judgement Day’, etc. The V.V. notes also mention ‘Mangled’ (Nl), ‘Necrophagist’ (Ger), ‘Disjunction’ (‘Disjunctor’) (Bel), but no ‘Agathocles’ or ‘Judgement Day’. ‘Cornucopia’ didn’t get to play because the cops shut down the concert.

[First day: Last Days Of Humanity (Nl), Sublime Cadaveric Decomposition (Fra), Catafalque (Nl), In-quest (Bel), Ectopia (Bel)]

‘Mastic Scum’ (from Vienna) was described as an “in-your-face” grindcore bands. The guys in the band: Harry Gandler (guitar), Man Gandler (drums), Steff Moser (bass) and Linga & Jesus (vocals; Will Schett joined later). The bands still exists (masticscum.com)… Thijs Van Der Spank from Katwijk-aan-Zee (The Netherlands) contacted me to arrange a gig for these Austrians. He was involved with Eurodusnie, a collective set up in 1997 (Koppenhinksteeg squat, Leiden) to organise protests against the Euro-summit in Amsterdam… The band didn’t wanna play the Hogepont-squat in Gent so I guess they ended up at the V.V. Thijs came along with them.

‘Mangled’ was a Dutch death-metal band (from Horst) with Erwin Hermsen (guitar), Floris de Jonge (drums), Harold Gielen (guitar), Loek Peeters (bass; also ‘Insult’) and Pepijn Houwen (vocals). Their album Ancient Times was recorded January 1997.

‘Necrophagist’ – a German technical death-metal band – consisted of (at that time) Muhammed Suiçmez (guitar/vocals), Daniel Silva (drums) and Jochen Bittmann on bass. They had 2 self-released tapes out.

‘Pleurisy’ (from Amersfoort, The Netherlands’) also played death-metal. They had a few tapes out and had released a split-12” (with the Germans of ‘Asgaia’) in ’96. Guitarist Alex Seegers had recorded the latter with bassist Bas van den Boogaard, drummer Edwin Nederkoorn, guitarist Axel Becker and “grunter” Mathieu van Hamersveld (or was it Johan Wesdijk mentioned in the guestbook?).

‘Suppository’ played the V.V. already half a year before this (97-05-31). They were a grindcore band from Dutch Limburg. Boris ‘Bastard’ Cornelissen (vocals), Max ‘Goulash’ Duys (bass), Rutger ‘Ragout’ Noij (drums; also ‘Catafalque’) and René (guitar) recorded their first efforts in March ‘97 (released on a split-7” with the Greek ‘Rakitis’ in ’98). The same year there was a CD with ‘Agathocles’ where Matty replaced René on guitar. More releases followed… They also did a German tour that year with ‘Cornucopia’.

‘Judgement Day’ was Dutch metal band with guitarist Theo van Eekelen. Don’t think they actually played here…

No idea who ‘Disjunction’/‘Disjunctor’ were…

In April 1998 ‘Agathocles’ recorded the tracks for the split-LP with the Brazilian ‘Deadmocracy’ in their rehearsalroom in Zichem, Belgium. During that session Vince(nt) Morre played bass, Burt Beyens hit the drums, Matías ‘Matty’ Dupont played guitar and Jan Frederickx growled. The recordings for the split-7” with ‘Abstain’ were done in September 1997 with the same line-up. If the band performed here, it must’ve been with them…

‘Cornucopia’ had already played the V.V. on 96-02-24 & 97-02-28…

Brob

As far as I can remember: no ‘Agathocles’, ‘Cornucopia’ and ‘Judgement Day’, but definitely ‘Necrophagist’ and ‘Pleurisy’!

Erik Minnen, ‘Cornucopia’ vocalist

I remember this show at the Vort’n Vis, as we played the night before in Vienna (we did a small tour called ‘Hang Over tour’ with some more gigs in Belgium and the Netherlands) and drove the whole night to Belgium. We arrived in Ieper in the afternoon and then played. It was aweseome but can ‘t recall anything more, hahaha! ‘Suppository’ from the Netherlands also played.

Harry Gandler, ‘Mastic Scum’ guitarist

Quite some alcohol-conumption that night… Playing there also got us a gig in France (organised by the singer of ‘Sublime Cadaveric Decomposition’)…

Harold Gielen, ‘Mangled’ guitarist

We played our first gig outside Germany in Belgium at the Vort‘n Vis. We were headlining the gig but when we were in as 3rd or 4th, the police ended our gig because of complaints from neighbours regarding the noise-level. Details are very fuzzy. The only two things I can recall were that 1) we had to sleep in one room with all the other bands and their members and that this room was not heated/very cold and 2) the room where we played was a former barn or slaughterhouse and that you still could smell the scent of animal-excrements.

the former ‘Necrophagist’ bassist

I believe I was there but I didn’t play for ‘Agathocles’ yet… I was their ‘roadie’ the years before. To long ago to remember anything about the gig but I think Wim De Leersnijder a.k.a. ‘Herrie Kederrie’ was there…

Vincent Morre

Don’t think I was there. Can’t remember….

Wim De Leersnijder

Too long ago to remember. In retrospect, it’s kinda cool that ‘Necrophagist’ played there and later became very big. One of my all-time favourite bands.

Edwin Nederkoorn, ‘Pleurisy’ drummer

excerpts from the V.V. guestbook:

additions wellcome!…

97-10-03 Last Days Of Humanity – Sublime Cadaveric Decomposition – Catafalque – In-quest – Ectopia

First day of the grind/death Bulldozer fest, an “underground meeting with brutal death and bestial grind”, organised by Fred(eric) Driessens. The poster announces ‘Catafalque’, ‘Last Days Of Humanity’, ‘In-quest’… The V.V. notes also make mention of ‘Ectopia’, ‘S.C.D.’, but not ‘Catafalque’…

[Second day: Mastic Scum (Öst), Necrophagist (Ger), Suppository (Nl), Pleurisy (Nl), Mangled (Nl)]

‘Last Days Of Humanity’ was a grindcore band from The Netherlands. They formed in 1989 and split-up in 2006 but reformed in 2010. In 1998 their CD The Sound Of Rancid Juices Sloshing Around Your Coffin was released. The recordings (from 1996) were with Hans Smits (vocals), William Van De Ven (guitar), Anne Van De Burgt (guitar), Glenn Jagers (drums) & Erwin De Wit (bass). They came back to the V.V. with 98-09-25 with Bart Boumans as vocalist & (Rutger-)Rogier Kuzee (bass).

‘In-quest’ was a death-metal band from the Antwerp/Turnhout region. At that time probably Gert Monden (drums; ex ‘System Shit’), Jan Geenen (bass/guitar; ex ‘System Shit’), Wim Roelants (guitar), Laurent Swaan (guitar; ex ‘System Shit’), Manu Van Tichelen (bass) & ‘Noisegrinder’ Ben Adams (vocals; ex ‘System Shit’, later ‘Caducity’ and replaced by Sven De Caluwé of ‘Aborted’). In ’97 they released a CD entitled Extrusion-Battlehymns.

‘Ectopia’ was a grindcore band (from Ronse, Belgium) with Steven ‘Roy’ De Rui (bass; later ‘Leprasy’), Guy (guitar), Kurt ‘Monie’ Termonia (vocals; also ‘Serial Butcher’) & ‘Narre’ Bernard Demeulenaere (drums; ex ‘Dreft’). They did a self-released tape (entitled Necronymphomaniac) in 1997 and later a CD (Sickly Private; with Wesley Carrez on guitar, also ‘Caducity’).

‘Ectopia & friends; L => R: ‘Narre’, Steven De Cracker (nowadays vocalist of ‘Putrid Inbred’, back then ‘Serial Butcher’, Nico Veroeven (‘Serial Butcher’ drummer), Kurt

‘S.C.D.’ or ‘Sublime Cadaveric Decomposition’ is (still active) a grindcore band from France. They recorded a bunch of tracks in February 1997 that appeared on a split-tape with ‘Infected Pussy’. The guys playing these were with Yov (drums), Bruno (guitar/vocals) & Seb (vocals). Nowadyas only Seb remains.

There was a Belgian band named ‘Catafalque’ (from Loppem, near Bruges) that did technical melodic death-metal. Steve Folens (guitar/vocals), Pol Van Tieghem (bass) and Frank Rosseau (drums) recorded the tape Ruins Of A Forgotten Age in 1996. Vocalist Kris Maes (ex ‘Dreft’) joined them for the recording of the Awakening CD (GoodLife recs 1997).

‘Catafalque’ (Nl); courtesy of Kris Maes

Kris tells me that it was probably the Dutch ‘Catafalque’ that played. In 1997: Rutger Noij (drums; also ‘Suppository’, ‘Last Days of Humanity’), Jozef ‘Jupke’ Folkerts (bass/vocals) & Susan Gerl (guitar).

Brob

I was there that friday, it was the first concert of ‘LDOH’ with the new singer, Bart Boumans.

Hans Smits

We were together with the boys of ‘Suppository’… Fantastic times!

Jozef Folkerts

I’m 85% certain that we played there with ‘Catafalque’… An eternity ago!

Rutger Noij

I remember there was a big crowd. We played in the pub, not the barn in the back and that I got of the stage for a moment to release the surplus of beer from my stomach. :-) During our act.

Kurt Termonia, ‘Ectopia’ vocalist

We had already been at the Vort’n Vis to see ‘Dead Infection’ [97-05-31]. There weren’t a lot of grind gigs in France at that time so we used to come to Belgium (the Vort’n Vis in Ieper or the Frontline in Ghent, or the Zichem Open Air of ‘Agathocles’). I recall we came to the V.V. at one time to see bands and that one almost cancelled because of a health-issue so we asked Frederic Driessens to play ‘cause our band was there already. In the end the health-problem wasn’t too bad and it we didn’t get to replace them. But we kept in touch with Fred and soon after he proposed that we would play the Vort’n Vis. We got to play there several times (and slept on upstairs, in the attic). I’m almost sure that the picture of our band in Hard’n’Heavy # 72 was taken at the Vort’n Vis [Brob: Yes, I recognise the V.V. courtyard.]. I also believe we met Nico [Nicolas Foubert] of our first label (Bones Brigade recs) at a gig in the V.V.

L => R: Yov – Bruno – Seb (‘S.C.D.’)

Seb, ‘Sublime Cadaveric Decomposition’ vocalist

I have a recollection of this: 2-day fest and nice weather. I came to the Vort’n Vis often, also when we didn’t play ourselves; always good atmosphere. To me there were a few places that stood out: Groningen, La Zone in Liège and the V.V. Quite far away for us but always worthwhile. Grind or crust or punk, everyone was getting along well (most can learn from that nowadays)…

Erwin De Wit, ‘L.D.O.H.’ bassist

additions wellcome!…