Dominator is always one of the events you look forward the most. The Hardcore scene seems to shine brighter than ever in 2016. The sun was shining, a crazy line-up to witness, all hardcore heads around the world united, it was time to dominate, time to mutilate, time for DOMINATOR!

At 08:00 we left Zoetermeer by bus, arranged by Event Travel. After an almost 3 hour drive, we arrived just in time for the start of Dominator 2016. The theme of this year’s Dominator is Methods of Mutilation, a theme which can be interpreted wide. Since we had the Entrance A at the main stage we directly saw the main stage in front of us. It was a wide stage with a design that suits the theme. It did look like a train that was crashing into another train or bulldozer, besides that, you saw some breaks and engines, a skull and the decks of the DJ, which could be lifted in the air! The design did remind me of the stage of 2015. Back then you had two motorcycles, one horizontal and one vertical.

Sands of Slaughter – Bass Chaserz

We did decide to check the whole area directly at the start of the event. We did first head towards the RAW area called Sands of Slaughter. Bass Chaserz did open the Sands of Slaughter. They are doing a great job lately, even more since they signed at Endymion’s record label Nightbreed. Most of the people were entering the festival grounds at the entrance next to the RAW area, which was located in the exact same spot as in 2015. This was in the favour of Bass Chaserz. The area was way more crowded than the mainstage at this point. The Sands of Slaughter had a rough design, looking like a ravage, but I couldn’t find anything else in this design that suits the theme Methods of Mutilation. Bass Chaserz did drop their new crazy tune 180, besides that they did also drop their track ‘Oh yeah boom’ and some TBA tracks. After Bass Chaserz we decided to set sail towards the Dome of Demolition stage. Make some noise for Triax!

Dome of Demolition – Triax

From the Sands of Slaughter towards the Dome of Demolition was a walk towards the other side of the Dominator Festival ground. In the meantime we did pass some chill plaza’s, toilet areas and the beautiful lake of Eersel, were could enjoy a nice view at the Dominator logo which was placed in the lake. We arrived just in time for the start of Triax his set. The Dome of Demolition was a medium-sized tent and didn’t have many special designs. It was a bit more of the same as in 2015. Again it looks like hell on earth, but in a good way, it gives you the Dominator feeling. Triax was dropping some crazy tunes like Lost of my mind, down with the sickness and Bassline bitch, after that, he did drop The Reaper, Repercussion, Just like me and Noise Pumper. Ending his set with Ama Shisi, Bloodrush, Crispy Bassdrum and Destiny he did play a very diverse set. A good set to start your day with, we were really stoked for the rest of the day!

Methods of Mutilation – Korsakoff

After Triax we went to the Mainstage again to enjoy the set of Korsakoff. Last year her set was really good. Her set had a brilliant vibe and a great mix of happy hardcore, freestyle, and even millennium hardcore. This year her set was a bit of the same but it was not catching me somehow. Maybe it was because of the timing. Triax did play really well and rough, while Korsakoff is mostly a bit of slow starter. She played that Gaan met die Banaan remix by Ruthless again but her Caramba remix of the track by The Prophet was the peak of her set. After 30 minutes we did decide to enjoy some more Rawstyle at the Sands of Slaughter. Digital Punk and E-Force were ready to demolish!

Sands of Slaughter – Digital Punk  & E-Force

Will entering this area we directly witnessed a stunning vibe over here, way better than at the ‘not-yet’ fully packed main stage. E-Force did drop his brand new War Force tune Reloaded, after that Digital Punk took over with Retaliate with Hate, a track that is still going strong! The bass of the soundsystem in this area was by far the loudest of Dominator at this moment. We could really feel it pounding trough are body. E-Force did drop the new Supremacy anthem by War Force, which did sound sick! After that, they played their collab Oh My God. They did end their set in front of the packed Sands of Slaughter with Shock and Awe. The people were enjoying themselves all over the place, even some of them managed to get into the water in front of the stage already. It was going loose!

Methods of Mutilation – Bodyshock vs Dyprax

Bodyshock and Dyprax did sound like a really interesting combination. Bodyshock is one of these talents which we like to see the last three years, after his MoH anthem even more. Dyprax is also highly enjoyable with his uplifting melodies and crazy kicks! Bodyshock did kick-off with his track The Darkness, after that Dyprax did drop his The Future track in the Tha Playah Remix, Goddamn what a tune this is! Bodyshock dropped Revolution after that and did play his Legacy, Masters of Hardcore 2015 anthem. Dyprax did play his Masters of Hardcore anthem of 2011, Statement of Disorder, a few minutes after that. MC Tha Watcher was giving his best along this track, since he is the MC of this track, and performed it LIVE trough the mic. Amazing feelings during this track we can’t describe in a few words! They did also drop the new track by Amada called Iceborn and The Storm, Masters of Hardcore Russia 2016 Anthem. Ending their set with Guerilla Games, Let’s Get Socked Up and Made Me A Weapon they gave it all to the max!  The area was getting packed to the maximum, ready for the next act by Mad Dog and Nosferatu!

Methods of Mutilation – Mad Dog & Nosferatu

This is also an interesting combination between Italian Hardcore and Dutch Hardcore. Nosferatu did start this set with The Wild Side, after that Mad Dog did play his new phat tune Dogfight, released on his brand new label which is called the same. After that, they did play Noize Suppressor & Dj Mad Dog vs Rob Gee their new collab. called #MFFYF (MotherFucker Fuck You Fuck), which is fun to scream along, under the assistance of Rob Gee. They did also drop some ID tracks, amongst them was an ID track of D-Fence. Mad Dog did drop, his favorite tune to play, Rewind, besides that he did also play Ama Shisi, Not my tempo, and his DJ Tool, Back to the old school. Nosferatu did drop a funny ID track about the girl Kim climbing the Harmony of Hardcore stage, which could also be an D-Fence ID.

They did also play some N-Vitral tracks. Getverherrie was pounding through the speakers in full throttle but also Bassface did pass by, which we did hear often this day at Dominator. Holy shit what a sick tune that is. It does sound even better live with a speaker system like this. At this moment they did get lift up in the air! this must be a crazy experience for the DJ’s behind the decks. Ending their set with Daar Zijn We Weer by Neophyte and Nosferatu we were almost exhausted. But there was still some energy running trough our veins, we have to keep moving, Let’s enjoy the next act by Outblast and Evil Activities.

Methods of Mutilation – Outblast & Evil Activities

They did start with a sing-a-long track. Never Fall Asleep in the Tha Playah remix. Everybody seems to know this track, to sing-a-long with 40.000 people is simply amazing, every producer would wish to achieve that one day! Outblast did drop Superhero Complex, Masters Symphony, and Pride & Pain. Evil Activities did play their big bangers like Outta Control, God Damn Noise, Delusion, and Sanctity Inside. This set was filled with lots of anthems. Think about Catastrophe ,Dominator 2012 anthem by Angerfist and Outblast ft MC Tha Watcher, The Supreme Team – Carnival of Doom, Dominator 2013 anthem, and The Voice of Mayhem by Outblast & Angerfist ft. MC Tha Watcher, Masters of Hardcore 2010 anthem. All of these tracks we could scream along and gave us goosebumps all over the place. This is what Hardcore is about, what a vibe! We enjoyed it to the max!

Methods of Mutilation – Noize Suppressor LIVE

Noize Suppressor did join the stage for the first LIVE act of the day. Together with Multiplex MC, he was ready to play his dazzling 30-minute live set. Multiplex really has a highly enjoyable voice and knows how to entertain the crowd. Noize Suppressor has energy for 10 people, so this album showcase was one we did look forward the most. They did start with No Enemy, followed by Meet My Ak, an awesome collab between Noize Suppressor and Hard Driver. After that they did perform Body Rockin live and MFFYF. A true banger in the middle of their set was Back With The Hard Street Shit, the new collab between Angerfist and Noize Suppressor. Ending their set with War Zone by Noize Suppressor & Unexist ft. Satronica this set was really amazing. 13 tracks in 30 minutes are what we like to hear more often. Unfortunately, it was only 30 minutes, because we would have liked to see more Noize Suppressor madness! His new album is a true masterpiece, expect an article about it on our website soon!

Methods of Mutilation – Tha Playah & Neophyte

Now it’s time for another b2b set. Neophyte, who did also attend as Bodylotion at the Millenium hardcore stage, did start the set with N-Vitral his remix of Project Omega – Prednison Attack. Yes, we did hear a lot of N-Vitral tracks today! His album is amazing, so better check it out! In the middle of the set, D-Fence entered the stage to play his track Pompen and an ID track. In the end, we did hear Krakaka, Sam’s Gospel and Alles Kapot in the D-Fence remix. After this set we were ready for the heavy stuff, we would like to call it Uptempo, but we have to call it Partyraiser Stylo, combined with the sounds of F. Nøize, get ready for Scarphase LIVE!

Methods of Mutilation – Scarphase LIVE

Damn, this set did pass by in no time. The tempo in this set was immense. I think most of the time it was 220BPM or even more. They did play a lot of new Scarphase tunes, but also their Phase One track and Black Scars. They did also drop the top 1 hardcore tune of this moment, Middle Fingers Up by Partyraiser and Cryogenic. This set was really one of the sickest of the day! I can’t give that many track names since many of them are ID’s. But I can assure you, keep an eye out on Scarphase cause this will bring Hardcore to the next level!

Sector 79 – Unexist

After Scarphase we did set sail towards Sector 79 at the corner of te festival ground. Unexist was already playing for 5 minutes, and we could hear some people yelling already. They were going insane! We went to the front and saw Unexist scratching and mixing like a maniac. Holy shit, this did remind me of his 2015 LIVE performance at the main stage. He did drop his new mix of Ameno for the Destructive Tendencies album, these kicks are really amazing. After that he did play Animal of Noize Suppressor, and we can assure you everybody in the crowd was going crazy like animals, even Unexist was going insane, jumping on the decks, lifting his arms to the sky and feeling the power of the crowd. His mixing skills are so unreal, just focus on that the next time you visit a Unexist set! When he did drop Music is my weapon the whole crowd went total nuts again. Unexist was still going crazy behind the decks, it was so much fun to enjoy this set that I did get wet eyes and almost had to cry because I enjoyed this till the maximum. The vibe at Sector 79 was unbelievable, I think the best I’ve seen in a while. This made us decide to stay at Sector 79 for a few minutes before setting sail towards the end show of Dominator 2016.

Sector 79 – F.Nøize

F.Nøize did start his set with the Ameno remix by Unexist and Mad Dog, which we did also hear a lot this day! F.Nøize is also responsible for the second cd of Dominator 2016. A perfect mix CD which we will write about in another article, so keep an eye out on our website! F.Nøize was playing a crazy set with some Scarphase tracks, N-Vitrals Bassface, and a new ID by System Overload. After 40 minutes we did decide to buy some food to have a full stomach for the end show!

There were a lot of food corners at Dominator, so the choice was diverse. Ou could go for some French Fries, Fresh Fruit, Turkish Pizza or Donor Kebab, you could even buy healthy shakes, a wise decision to place a corner like this, since you loose many proteins and carbohydrates! We did decide to buy some Donor Kebab for 2.5 tokens, which was not that expensive, over all the tokens were 2,80 at this event, which is usual for an Art of Dance or Q-Dance event.

Methods of Mutilation – Furyan

After our short break we were ready for the closing act by the 2016 anthem maker Furyan. Many people were complaining about Furyan as closing act, but I can assure you, he did really play a rough set! He did start his set with The Reckoning followed by The Sound, after that he did drop an ID track. Then he did drop Come As One, Down With The Real and A New Dawn. In the middle of the set he did play Bring it Hardcore, Murder and Slapeloosheid. The area was packed at this moment and the darkness did fall. A perfect moment for the first firework to pop-out. More lasers were lid and during the Trip To Turkey by Dr. Peacock in the Fant4stik remix the crowd went insane. Furyan did start to mix tracks in faster and faster. Dropping a new ID track by D-Fence and Fastlane in the collab. with D-Fence. After that he did drop a few more bangers like Make Some Noise and If You Want It Like That, both in a Furyan remix. Then it was time for closing ceremony starting with the 2016 anthem Methods of Mutilation.

The crowd went insane and saw Dominator counting down towards the end. We still did want to party, and Furyan gave us more! Assisted by more fireworks and lasers as you expect from a grand Q-dance and Art of Dance event, he gave us the best he could! Ending his set with Killswitch, Beuken Maar and Dynamite, in a Furyan Bootleg, we were ready for the final, and most played track at Dominator 2016, N-Vitral – Bassface! A dynamite was counting down on a huge LED screen, Furyan was mixing faster and faster against the time. The Bass was even pounding heavier than before. Everybody was screaming BASS at the same time, the crowd went total nuts, people were destroying their bodies dancing their ass off! And then the dynamite did explode, Dominator 2016 came to an end!

Show & Design & Service

This was one of the best end shows I have ever seen. Normally you see lots of fireworks but they can be off beat or the firework is so loud that you can’t hear the music anymore. This time the fireworks were perfectly balanced and on tempo, the laser show was also amazing. Besides, this end show was 25 minutes, which is very long for an end show, but still it passed by like it did take only 10-15 minutes. The end show was not about 2 or 3 tracks, instead Furyan did drop many tunes during this end show which did build up towards the end aiming for higher BPM’s every track. The stage did look way better with all the lights on during dawn. It took a while to figure out what the stage meant to be, and I actually still don’t know for 100%. All the stages did suit the theme Methods of Mutilation. All the stages did look very cruel, deadly and fierce. Which suits Dominator to the bone! The shows during Dominator were great again. We did spot many actors in costumes, like they were mutilated, and there were some shows with bikers and stuntmen driving quads and hoverboards. There were many resting plazas spread across the area where you could buy food, merchandise, and more.. This year we did spot many healthy food corners which is a good progression in our opinion for those who would like to eat a bit healthy, instead of fast-food at an event.

Dominator has fulfilled our expectations again. It has even transcended. Art of Dance and Q-Dance did a great job, delivering the best hardcore festival again! Hardcore is at his peak, but aiming for the sky and so does Dominator. A few days later we are still in an afterglow. We can’t wait for another edition, hope to see you next year at DOMINATOR! 

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