This weekend we travelled to Germany. Dortmund, to be exact. In the magical Westfallenhallen the hardcore event, Exodus took place. Boundaries were broken like there were none. Normally many Germans travel to the Netherlands to party. But this time two Dutch guys travelled to Germany. Exodus resulted in a fantastic experience that we try to describe in this article.

We entered the dome when the Extreme Machines played their first beats. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to enjoy the other previous sets because of the bad weather, we really hoped to see the industrial machines play their heavy sets. Day-Mar was the first pick of the Female team, she dropped some own tracks, but also industrial tracks from Sei2ure and Igneon System. The music was really underground and way heavier than we expected, in a good way!

Stage

Just like last year, the stage was placed in the middle of the Westfalenhallen. The DJ booth was centred and able to rotate, which makes it an awesome experience for the crowd but also for the DJ’s themselves. As mentioned, the stage was placed in the middle of the gigantic hall. Around the whole internship was a structure with many screens, LED lighting and other special effects tools. The stage did look basic, but it had somehow a powerful appearance. Maybe because it was placed in the middle and dominated almost the whole area.

Miss K8

Miss K8 was the second DJ of the Female Fatality, she opened her 30 minute set with Icebreaker, after that she dropped tracks like Raiders of Rampage (official 2016 Masters of Hardcore anthem), Scream, and Bloodrush (Destructive Tendencies remix). The DB has risen to an enormous height already. The crowd was going insane and Miss K8 did a really good job, mixing-wise as well. Because every set was 30 minutes long, it felt like a crazier ride than usual. Shorter tracks, less breaks, more powerful parts, that’s what we want right?! Great concept!

After Miss K8 it was time for Icha and Miss Hysteria. We did decide to walk around the dome. The Westfallenhallen is huge, but the whole side road is connected in a circle. Pay attention to which entrance you just entered because otherwise you will walk circles for ages until you find your friends, haha. There were many shops selling merchandise from Exodus, but also other DJ merchandise. We did want to buy some food so we bought a strip of coupons.

For food you pay the normal price, but drinks were slightly more expensive, since you always had to pay +1 coupon as deposit. Just as the Germans are, many people did return their glasses, because of that, the whole floor was free of trash, that shows the good side of this concept. And if you do, you get your coupon back. The bad side of this concept is that you have to return your coupon everytime and save it in your pocket. And at the end of the evening most of the people have 1 coupon left, which is not useable for anything.

Hardcore Azzuri

The Hardcore Azzuri team was the team, we looked forward to the most. Almost the whole Dogfight crew was united in this team. The first DJ to play her set was Anime, no the female take over was not over yet, haha. As anthem’s creator she dropped her Exodus anthem directly at the start of her set. More lasers and special effects were activated from this moment and the DB did rise even more. The area was crowded to the maximum. As Dutch Hardcore lover, I really loved to see the German crowd.

They don’t have the huge amounts of event as in Holland, you see that the crowd is more excited, the vibe is massive and brutal, people are waiting for events like this the whole year. In Holland some of us are, sadly, a bit spoiled. This positive energy of the German crowd did reflect on all of the DJ’s it seems. The level, mixingwise, was insane. The set by Anime was a 1 hour ride through her classics, new tracks and tracks from her album Exterminate. She dropped tracks like; Bass for your Face, Exterminate, Mffyf and Ama Shishi.After Anime it was time for Noize Suppressor LIVE. He entered the dome and brought his Multiplex MC again, just like at Dominator. He did start his set with Meet My AK, and played some old bangers like Party like an animal. His set was huge. The laser show did his job while the BPM’s was increasing during the set. The diehard Noize Suppressor fans showed themselves.

A huge Italian flag showed itself above the crowd. The Noize Suppressor fans enjoyed it to the maximum. This was for sure one of the best sets of the evening. In the end he dropped a new track with the Lullaby (The Witcher 3 soundtrack). This track did sound like some frenchcore with heavy Italian hardcore kicks. Ending his set with Man on a mission, we only had one thing left to do, give him a big applause!30 minutes left, two DJ’s to go. This meant only one thing; Unexist vs Mad Dog! These Italian hardheads delivered a crazy set. We wondered if anything could top the Noize Suppressor said. Well, this one nailed it! Unexist was continuously scratching all over the tracks, mixing like a maniac. While Mad Dog did the track selection, BPM levelling, and mixed the tracks together, perfect team work! They dropped tracks like Dogfight, Xtermination, Rewind, Music is my weapon and Ameno. The kicks during this send pound through your ears until your brain hurts, that’s the sound of Dogfight Hardcore at its best!

Grandmasters

Angerfist and Tha Playah did kick off the Grandmasters. Tha Playah played the set while wearing his live suit and makeup like ‘The Joker’. Together they dropped Deadfaced Dimension, Just Like Me, Bassface, Fist in your face and Gas met die zooi. For us this set was a bit disappointing. They made some small mistakes mixing wise, ending tracks really abrupt with a lot of filters. After this b2b set it was time for Furyan. He dropped his Adapt or Die (Furyan Remix) for the first time and played Riders of Retalliation (Dominator 2016 anthem) as first picks. After that we left for some drinks and took some rest. Almost near the end of Restyle his set we returned. He played some old classics and crazy remixes. It was a freestyle set which was maybe a bit misplaced in the timetable since all the other DJ’s played really rough. He did end his set with Gaan met die Banaan and Caramba (Korsakoff Remix), this was also the ending of the Grandmasters team.

French Fanatics

Dr. Peacock and The Speedfreak had the honour to open the French Fanatics. A 30 minute set with dazzling melodies and crazy beats. This set was way different than all the previous sounds. You noticed a big difference between the tracks dropped by Dr. Peacock and The Speedfreak. It did sound like the tracks by Dr. Peacock did lack a bit of bass. The Speedfreak did drop way heavier tracks and did almost sound like uptempo instead of Frenchcore. The area was really crowded at this time, so we did decide to move to the tribune for some minutes. From there we enjoyed the sets of Hyrule War and Death by Design. Both are working hard on their DJ career. As next generation artists we recommend you to keep an eye out. If you like Frenchcore you surely love these two youngsters!

Uptempo United

The final team of the evening, well the morning since it was already 5:00 o’clock, was Uptempo United. Destructive Tendencies did start to play some heavy Slave to the Darkness bangers. The great ride to hardcore did come to an end for us while F.Noize and The Punisher shared the stage.

We were exhausted and enjoyed this party so much! Exodus was one of our highlights of the last few years. I-Motion and Art of Dance did a really good job with this Hardcore event. The show was amazing and the sound system was one of the best we witnessed! We recommend every hardcore fanatic to attend next year!

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