On 30th September Art of Dance unleashed a supreme armada of devastating artists upon visitors of Supremacy 2017! An exquisite show throughout the night, a crazy sound system and fully packed Brabanthallen are just three reasons to take a look at Supremacy 2017. With its 4th edition Art of Dance has the serious chance to claim the crone for the most insane indoor hardstyle event of 2017!
Why’s Supremacy different this year? It’s quite obvious – the line up! We’ve already been used to earth shattering live acts, live act premieres or devastating combinations of artists. Just think about Delete VIP, Minus Militia, Sub Sonik Live, War Force Live or High Voltage Live. The line up was always something unique – a great balance of newcomers, established artists, premieres or unique live acts and a kick-ass hardcore ending.
This year Supremacy offers a line up, the scene hasn’t seen before. Except for MYST & Killshot ALL artist are going to play LIVE! Now, take a look at the line up:
The venue & facilities
As underlined in previous Supremacy-Event reviews, the Brabanthallen are a great location! The parking spot is easy to reach by car, costs 15€, which is the average, and is located directly next to the venue. Tip: Buy your parking ticket online and save 5€!
Entering the venue was not a problem. A relatively fast entrance and good personal controls by the security gave a first glimpse on the quality of this event. After the security check, you entered hall 2 with lockers, located to the right and left side a small kiosk and the way towards the stage.
Although we are absolutely convinced by the location and how Art of Dance makes usage of it, we do think some more food facilities could be cool! We do not know if this is in the hands of Art of Dance, but the food was just okay. With the average festival ast food and a smoothie / fruits booth we do wish some more selection.
One more thing we’d love to underline: Token prices were normal, meaning 10€ for 3,5 tokens. However, prices for drinks were slightly higher. A water 0,5L was 2 Tokens, Beer was 1 Token, Energy 2,5 Tokens and longdrinks 3 tokens. We do think 2 tokens for a water is definitely too high, although there was free water available at the toilets. Which is by the way a huge plus! Furthermore, a “premium” burger for 3 Tokens, which is almost 10€!!! is also way too much – sorry!
The stage & Show
We didn’t really know if we are visiting The One Man Army or Supremacy 2017. That may sounds harsh, but the similarities couldn’t be unseen. But it doesn’t mean it’s bad – The stage looked great and impressive. We even think it was the best Supremacy stage so far. Supremacy always has something futuristic, something technological. Also, Supremacy sets the bar high when it comes to intense shows and a spectacular visual experience.
Art of Dance, although they do present various show elements more than once (flying DJ booth f.e.) always tries to push boundaries in visual and non-visual experiences. This year, they had some sort of translucent curtain, functioning as a screen for two Beamers, hanging from the ceiling and projecting 3D visuals “above” the DJ! The visuals were amazing, especially during Frequencerz Intro.
Sound-wise, we have nothing to complain about. When it comes to that, Supremacy plays a leading role and only a few events can actually compete with it.
The sets
Myst
This man has been on a major rise lately producing masterpieces like ‘Before You Go’ and ‘Never Look Back’. It seems that almost every track that has been produced by this man within the last couple of months becomes a hit. No wonder that there was a proper crowd waiting for him when he opened the night. The dedication we witnessed during MYST’s set was an omen for what would follow the rest of the night.
Killshot
After this great kick-off, it was up to End of Line’s prodigy Killshot! He proved himself of being worthy to play at a big event like Supremacy closing his set with his debut hit ‘Beastmode’. Not much more to say about it. We are very curious what 2018 will be like for this boy, we can’t wait! One thing for sure: it is going to be massive!
High Voltage Live
High Voltage just came around with his latest album “Signs of the Apocalypse” and was about to kick-off the night as the first live act. As written previously about his live act, we can just underline the quality of his performance, music and set! A more atmospheric driven set, perfect transitions and good flow. We do think he absolutely deserved a later spot, as his rather dark tracks felt a little out of place in that early stage of the night.
Sub Sonik Live
“There is no different sounds in Rawstyle”. Uhm, yes there is! There is for instance an obvious difference between High Voltage and Sub Sonik. Sub Sonik, who had released his album ‘Strike One’ earlier this year, played some of his album tracks (e.g. The One) but also ‘Infinity’ and Lil’ Kleine – Alleen (Sub Sonik bootleg).
His more uplifting sound pumped up the crowd for the night to follow as the venue slowly starting to be getting filled up with all the visitors. It felt like a good mix and good track selection, however, the MC was MORE than annoying! Please, we do not need a second Villain.
Public Enemies
What’s up with these lads lately? They seem to be on every line up. The OG sinners delivered an okay set. We were not blown away, but that is just a matter of taste. We’ve seen Public Enemies twice very recently (The Qontinent and Q-Base) and their sets are quite similar. The concept is worked out well but maybe we have just seen them too much lately. However, during a Public Enemies set ‘Start the Rage’ (Qapital 2017 anthem) is always a party starter. This Q-Dance Rawstyle event anthem does very well at Art of Dance’s Rawstyle indoor event.
Act of Rage
Boy, expectations are high for this one! The anthem maker entered the stage, Minus is More yougster Act of Rage. Just like Supremacy 2015 and Supremacy 2016, the anthem maker got to fly over and land in the crowd. It is a magic trick we have seen before but we had never seen it from this close. We were approximately 5 metres away from where the booth landed in the audience.
And to be honest, it was quite impressive! Releasing his debut album later this year, Act of Rage raised the stakes for himself. He played a lot of new tracks and of course the album anthem ‘Sabotage’, but also his Defqon.1 mash-up. As Act of Rage fans, we can’t be fully objective but this was a good set with a great atmosphere.
Frequencerz: Stealth Mode
The boys from Frequencerz announced to be introducing a new live act at Supremacy: Frequencerz present Stealth Mode. They promised to be delivering an act on the more raw side of their spectrum. A lot of visitors were very curious about this act. Besides playing a lot of new tracks with a sound, that differs greatly from ‘Medium Rare’, it was just a regular Frequencerz set. To be honest, we were kind of disappointed. Maybe we expected too much, maybe this particular set just did not do justice for what ‘Stealth Mode’ is supposed to be.
Would we visit Frequencerz present Stealth Mode again? We would probably give it another shot. But let’s be very clear boys: do not let us down again! Stealth Mode has every opportunity to become just as great as ‘Medium Rare’ was. If the Stealth Mode project continues to follow the sound of the new tracks we heard, then keep up that good work Frequencerz!
Sub Zero Project
After this let-down, Sub Zero Project had the tough task to get us excited again. Last year they opened Supremacy and this year they had the chance to play live. So, what should we say about this set? In our opinion, Sub Zero Project is not the first act you think of when you hear Supremacy since they are on the more euphoric side of raw. Don’t get us wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that but it did not get us out of our disappointment.
Their psytrance and flat, gated kick edits are getting old. In our opinion that hype is over. Other visitors also did not seem to enjoy the set a we spotted groups migrating to other places in the venue which is clearly not something you would like to do when you are enjoying a set. Sorry boys, better luck next time!
Radical Redemption
A total 180! Straight from Sub Zero Project to no normal salvation but Radical Redemption. Mr. Redemption announced earlier that he would be opening his live set with The Road to Redemption anthem. And it sure was one hell of an anthem. A choir, an orchestra and a sick radical sound. It surely lived up to its expectations. It is always nice to hear an anthem during a set instead of at home or through earphones.
In a venue it comes to live; it was a great occasion to premiere it! Overall the rest of the set was full of tracks of the upcoming album (e.g. ‘Face First’ and ‘Just Like You’) but also some older tracks (e.g. ‘Brutal 3.0’ and ‘United from the Start’). Radical Redemption gave us a good taste of what is to come on the 4th of November in the Radical Dome. We are stoked AF!
D-Sturb
This man can no longer be described as a prodigy or upcoming talent. He has settled within the scene as one of the bigger names in Rawstyle. Kickrolls, kickrolls, kickrolls!!! Decent set with golden oldy ‘Until it’s Gone’, slammer ‘Marked For Death’ and – of course – the track ’Legacy’ which was previously known as the Supremacy tool. Especially this last mentioned track created a great atmosphere in the audience. Overall, Radical Redemption followed by D-Sturb was a very pleasant hour.
Crypsis
Personally, a set we were looking forward to. Crypsis knows his mixing! No time to chill. ‘Punish’, ‘Torture (Frequencerz remix)’ and ‘Kill for the Thrill’ were among the tracks spinned by this Polish main mf. Also, Act of Rage – The Rush (Crypsis remix) is not a remix we can complain about. Embracing the original track but updating it to 2017 in Crypsis style, awesome!
E-Force
We’ve heard alot of E-Force live sets at various festivals and events. More or less, the build up is quite the same. From tunes like Men of Steel to his collab with Tha Playah. FTP as a crowd pleaser, Stresstest as the one, “out of the box” track and of course his Seven edit. We’d say, the mindset of the Hardstyle mag team is quite different than the one of a regular visitor. As we listen to so many sets throughout the year it’s hard to surprise us. But, E-Force actually did it!
He delivered the quality, tempo, drive and music selection we expect from a live act, especially with that set time. No bullshit, just straight forward, pleasing visitors and us with “The Edge of Insanity”! Even some new tracks, like his remix of Echoes (orig. by Rebelion) made it into the set.
Warface Live: Heavy Artillery
Okay, we seriously try to be patient here, but holy shit, this was ONE HELL OF A RIDE! Warface delivering his roughest live act so far, with a tempo, drive and quality mixing, only he can please the crowd with. Within this 30 minutes performance, there wasn’t even a single break. By editing the playing tracks, mixing climax into climax and raising the BPM to 160 and even faster in the end, he stated clear: Warface Live is THE BEST live act out there. A definite highlight was the climax part of Mutilate & Destroy as the drop of Catalyst.
We do not even have to say more. Just thank you Warface – one of the best Warface Live sets we’ve heard since the launch of the live act. Also: To all those wannabe live acts, take Warface Live as an example. This is what a live act is all about.
Delete VIP
Proud member of the Supremacy movement, Australian’s deadliest slayer Delete unleashed his powerful live act Delete VIP for the third time at Supremacy. Funky Beats, Just Do It or Punishment are just a few tracks who blew your mind and body! The kicks were shattering through the whole place, with such a clear and stunning sound, that we were pretty much speechless after it!
The mix was flawless, the well know tracks made you sing along, the ground shaking kicks gave you Goosebumps everywhere, the live edits left you speechless and the atmosphere blew you away! Delete VIP once again state clear who’s the motherfucking boss in the scene. A different perspective on a live act is what makes Delete VIP a truly unique experience.
Rebelion
Before Supremacy will be closed by THE hardcore act of the scene, Rebelion was granted access to Surpemacy’s stage. Our expectations were very low to be honest here. But it turned out to be something positive, as we think it was a good set! Thankfully it was not as horrible as the Qapital set and actually had a good drive, some good drops and surprising elements. Far away from a great live act, but something worth to check out.
Angerfist
After Tha Playah in 2014, Miss K8 in 2015 and Mad Dog in 2016, Hardcore’s finest Angerfist had the honour to close down Supremacy 2017. The man himself put into words that he had his doubts about closing a Rawstyle event with a Hardcore set. However, he was thankful that the crowd destroyed the venue within the last 30 minutes (-Angerfist, 1st of October 2017).
‘Promqueen’s Finest Drugs’, ‘Hoax’, ‘Repercussion (with Radical Redemption’), ‘Bogotá (with Miss K8)’, Tha Playah – ‘Why So Serious?’ (Angerfist remix), ‘Pissing Razorblades (Radical Redemption remix)’. If we had to, we could dictate the entire tracklist of his set. It was a feast for the Angerfist lover. Personally, it was one of our favorite live sets by Angerfist. It was perfectly suitable for kicking out all the left-over energy.
Conclusion
All in all this years edition of Supremacy does not have to hide from major events like Qlimax, Reverze or Hard Bass. Actually, those huge events can take Supremacy as a huge, inspiring example when it comes to various show elements, artist selection and quality.
The Line up paid off, as the night felt like it’s passing by within minutes. Due to the batched live acts throughout the whole night, the event had such a great drive. Furthermore, we’ve never experienced an event, just filled with live acts. Next year we’d love to see a “versus” edition! Maybe two live acts battling each other
The massive show, with its flying DJ both, the stage design and all small, positive aspects, such as a smoking area next to the floor, enough space to dance and the very dense atmosphere are just a few things to mention, which made Supremacy 2017 a grande event!