On Saturday, the 11th of June, The Silverdome in Zoetermeer changed into a Hardcore-temple. After 6 sold-out indoor editions, it was time for an outdoor event. This time, BKJN-events proudly presented BKJN vs. Partyraiser Festival. The Indoor event, usually in Hemkade, is one of the hardest events out there. This time, the event took place from 16:00 till 07:00, a dazzling 15-hour ride. From 16:00-23:00 the event took place outside, after 22:00 the indoor area opened its doors as well. Besides that there are 4 stages and Partyraiser will play a 7-hour set together with the best hardcore artists. This all sounds very promising right? Let’s have a look at this event!
Outdoor BKJN vs Partyraiser Festival
The weather was still nice when we entered the Silverdome festival ground. It was already 19:00 when we arrived and we could hear the final beats of the set by DJ Mad Dog and AniMe. Unfortunately we did miss this Italian hardcore set, but luckily for us, Andy the Core was ready to wreck the dome. We entered the festival ground and we saw that people didn’t receive any bracelets yet. At the toilet area people were receiving them, after they paid 1 token for the toilet. This ensured that there was a huge line formed at the toilets, many visitors thought that you had to stand in this line to go to the toilets, even though they did have a band. This tactic caused a bit of chaos. When you pay €50,- for a ticket, and you still have to pay for the toilet, I think that’s insane. On the other hand, there was no line at the entrance so that was a nice coincidence.
Let’s discuss the outdoor terrain. There was a medium-sized stage with a reasonable design. It consisted of a few square objects that caused some reflection of lights, in addition, there were many lasers. Unfortunately, most of these lasers were only used during the final act at the outdoor stage. There were some alien heads at the stage and there was one big led screen which did shoot a rocket with the words BKJN and Partyraiser. So, nothing spectacular on the first sight, but still a good stage for an event like this. A bonus point was the great speaker system, which did almost look like the speaker system used at Dominator.
For a smaller area like this, there really was a huge amount of great working speakers. On the left and right of the audience there was a bar to get your drinks, and at the back there was a road with some food trucks. On top of 1 bar there was a VIP area. Which was actually just a balcony. It was fun to visit this so you can get on top of the crowd, but I won’t actually pay more for this view and the VIP wristband if I were you. At the back of the area there was one toilet area which I mentioned before. At this point you will receive a green wristband as normal visitor, after you paid that token… The downside of the toilet area was that there was no running water. You could have your hands clean with alcohol but around 21:00 that was no longer available. Of course, the organization wanted to do something against people filling water bottles. But it has to be hygienic.
Let’s go back to the music, cause that is the reason why we are here, right?! Andy the Core was playing his tracks mixing his ass off! He really is a great DJ, almost everytime he is mixing 3 tracks in one. He played tracks like Swingbeat and Bass down low, but also played a stunning mash-up of Burn this MF down and Noise Pumper. Andy the Core was playing around 180-190 BPM already I believe, and sometimes he did even hit the 200. Imagine that it was just 19:30, and we still had to party for like 12 hours. Andy the Core closed his set with his track The Last One.. You probably now that track by the lyrics ‘DONT FUCK WITH ANDY THE CORE’. What an amazing track!
After Andy The Core it was time for D-FENCE LIVE! Actually I don’t know why it said LIVE? Because D-Fence of course only plays his own tracks all the time. You probably now him from Krakaka and Pompen. For sure these tracks passed by. Also his kings day track smashed our ear drums. Besides there was an MC, which I didn’t see before. But he was doing a great job! He was a real enthusiast, creating a good atmosphere. Still I don’t know what the LIVE is all about, since I didn’t spot any equipment that you can use during a LIVE act. Anyway, the set was great, although it was almost a copy of the Harmony of Hardcore set. But D-Fence didn’t produce many tracks yet so I can understand. The bass was pumping loudly trough the speakers, still at a high BPM. It was time for Miss K8, I wondered how can she ever top this? Especially because Miss K8 is normally playing a bit softer than an Andy the Core for instance.
Well, I was really surprised about the set of Miss K8. Of course she did start with the Masters of Hardcore 2016 anthem. But she was playing just a few tracks from her new album. She was playing many tracks I didn’t even know. She was really playing at 180-200 BPM! That was insane. I think I never saw her playing like this before, and yes, I really liked it! She was playing Crispy Bassdrum by N-Vitral and Bloodrush in the Destructive Tendencies Remix, but I didn’t knew all the other tracks. It was a very original set! After Miss K8 it was time for the special act of tonight. Ready to launch phase 2. Give it up for Scarphase LIVE!
The sun went down, there was a dark atmosphere. The packed area was ready to enjoy the first beats of Partyraiser today. Together with F. Nøize, and his future wife (which we learned from the interview, haha) he was ready for a devastating act! The lasers finally showed themselves! The first beats dropped and there was some firework filled the sky. It was simply amazing. After 10 minutes, unfortunately, the there was a technical error and the sound system went offline. Partyraiser promised the crowd that they would continue their set anyway until the very end. After a few minutes they continued there set. People were going even more crazy. So, it was not bad after all! They were playing their own tracks, like Black Scars! F. Nøize was controlling the Midi controller and creating some LIVE edits, Partyraiser was doing the DJ job behind the decks. It was stunning set to witness. Scarphase really knows how to entertain! Scarphase was the final act at the outdoor stage, let’s discuss the indoor now, starting with Day-Mar!
Indoor BKJN vs Partyraiser Festival
Day-Mar did play a great set together with Unexist at Masters of Hardcore 2016, so my expectations were high! She always plays a bit underground and rough tracks. I really like her new track Luxury. And of course she dropped that one! Besides her own tracks she did also play Drum machine and Informer by Sei2ure. One of my favourite hardcore tracks of 2015! Still going strong!
Let’s have a look at this area. Again there were two bars at both sides of the crowd. At the top of one bar there was again, a VIP area. It was actually a mirrored version of the outdoor area. At the back there was a toilet area, besides this area you could still visit the outdoor toilet area. This was a long walk tough. The Silverdome is a skating rink which is also used for the home matches of the ice hockey club of Zoetermeer. Therefore, it is a very good isolated space. The temperature rose to unprecedented levels, and you did sweat tremendously. Because of the heat you had to drink a lot! But of course you couldn’t fill your bottles, so you had to empty your wallet just for water. That was a bit of a downside of this event.
The stage was constructed out of a few truss bars, forming a pentagon. Behind the square there was a big screen that did remind me of the Blue stage of Defqon 2015. It was not that special but the show on the screen and the lasers in the whole area were doing a great job! Again the sound in this area was outstanding. It was way louder than the outdoor area, but still without any noise.
Day-Mar did leave the stage and it was time for F. Nøize vs Aggressive! They were playing a great set again at this high BPM, which continued to keep going the whole night! They dropped tracks like Skullfuck Dominion and Ameno in the end of their set. After that we were ready for the opening act. Give it up for Partyraiser!
Partyraiser did play a 15-minute set with some collabs with DT in it but also his track Look when u shoot, this did remind me of his Qlimax 2014 set. It directly gave me the Qlimax feeling. This event was actually a bit of an hardcore Qlimax. Of course it is not strange I had this feeling, since Qlimax took place in this area a few years ago! After the opening it was time for a 7-hour set of Partyraiser. He was playing b2b with the biggest artists from the scene. Think about; Destructive Tendencies, Angerfist, Unexist, Tieum, Drokz, Repix, Darkcontroller, The Sickest Squad, SRB and Drokz. I won’t to focus on a few sets, let’s start with Partyraiser vs Destructive Tendencies!
Since their collab. Sound Becomes One, their friendship seems to be closer than ever! They were dealing a crazy set with of course there collabs Sound Becomes One and Fuck the Fame and Fortune. They also dropped a new track by N-Vitral, from his new album ‘Louder than a bomb’!, which I recommend to buy, because it’s a really sick album! The track is called Getverherrie! Which reminds me a bit of the D-Fence style, with those funny lyrics. But producing wise this track really has a lot as well! Keep an eye out on N-Vitral, I tell you!
This night it was also time for the battle between two grandmasters of the Hardcore scene. Angerfist vs Partyraiser, this must be crazy right?! I can tell u, it is really crazy! So better visit their set at Defqon 1., if you are a weekend warrior, since they play at Friday at the Black stage. I never witnessed Angerfist at this high BPM’s. I went to many sets but this one must have been one of the craziest. Playing tracks like Repercussion in a mash-up with Loose ya calm, Full Gentle Racket, Death Mask, Killswitch.. Only the hardest tracks by Angerfist and Partyraiser passed by! They also played the new Sjammienators track, which I also recommend you to check out! It is called Sjammienators – Kick the Nation! Damn, I love this Piano pounding trough the speakers, assisted by a phat bass! A dreamy up-tempo track kicking in the Silverdome, simply amazing!
After the set with Angerfist two friends joined the stage. One from france, and one from Italy. Give it up for Partyraiser vs Unexist vs Tieum! They played a sick set but they all kept their unique sound! Unexist was dropping Fuck the System and Drop that beat, Partyraiser was playing Mellow Moe Nie Mouwe and Tieum was dropping a Sock It and Coming at you strong! The atmosphere was still amazing inside the dome. People were going completely nuts. After all these hours I was a bit exhausted but I didn’t want to leave the area! Still I did decide to catch some breath and sit down at the gallery.
It was time for the final sets of the evening. Dr. Peacock did hit the stage with his LIVE act, giving you the dreamy Frenchcore sound, with live piano edits. The Sickest Squad played a b2b set with Partyraiser with their Italian hardcore sound and after that it was time for some terror! Although the whole event was at a high BPM the terror acts didn’t really bring what I did expect. It was not ‘harder than the rest’ since the whole event was really rough and hardcore to the bone! SRB and Drokz smashed the final bits of energy out of my body! At 7:00 the event did come to an end. What a great success it was! Partyraiser promised us that he will be back next year! Hopefully at the same location! It was one of the best hardcore events I did visit in my life!
For €45,- you can witness the most brutal hardcore from the scene in a 15-hour dazzling ride! It was an event organized with the ‘Partyraiser stylo.’ The BPM was at a high level. The Atmosphere was amazing. The Crowd was dedicated. The sound systems were amazing, there was a cool show. You get everything you wish for, in this unique out- & indoor concept! With just a few edits this event is ready for many more editions! Do you like music with balls? Do you like the Hardcore sound? Then we recommend you to visit BKJN vs Partyraiser next year!