THIS WAS SHOCKERZ 2022
89%Overall Score
Organisation90%
Visuals & Stage Design87%
Sound System91%
Reader Rating 4 Votes
50%

Time for Shockerz edition no. 9 – Complex Aftermath. The pure raw elite indoor event gathered again thousands with a highly anticipated lineup and a well-designed show. With more than 38 Artists, a load of new live acts, and a special anthem show, Hardstyle Mag experienced a massive night.

Justin & Milan

On March 19th it was finally time. After two years of Corona abstinence, Shockerz returned to the Autotron in Den Bosch and all without Corona rules. “Complex side effects” could not be felt though. The completely sold out event had as usual everything to offer what the heart of a Rawhead desires. With more than 40 acts spread over two areas, Shockerz delivered exactly what we all needed so badly. For €45, it was almost impossible to pass up. Everyone who has been there knows that this is money well spent. Most of all we were looking forward to the new live act of Regain and The Purge LIVE. And beforehand: we were not disappointed. Let’s start with this was Shockerz 2022

ADMISSION PROCESS AND TOKEN SYSTEM

Five of us arrived by car and arrived at the parking lot around 1:30 pm. We had not bought a parking ticket before, so the first 15€ of the day were already gone. As usual, we were directed to a free parking lot, from where we walked to the event. The roar of the bass could already be heard from here. The anticipation was great! The entrance went quickly and was uncomplicated. Show your ticket on your cell phone to be scanned and off you go. After stowing our stuff in a locker, we went to the token booth before we treated ourselves to the first set of the day in Area 2.


This was Shockerz 2022: Pure power on the mainstage This was Shokerz 2022: This was Shokerz 2022: Pure power on the mainstage

The price per token was €3, which is totally normal. For one token you got a beer, for 1,5 a white wine and for 2 an energy drink. To reduce waste, there has been an environmental token for some time, which you hand in as a deposit and get back when you return your cup to the bar. If you lose the cup or the token, you pay 1.5 tokens extra. We think this is a very good system to raise awareness for environmental pollution. You could also buy something to eat. Above the mainstage there was a chill-out/smoking area as well as food and merchandise stands. For 1,5 tokens you could get a portion of french fries with mayo. From above you also had a great view of the stage. Large LED walls, lasers, moving heads and flame throwers provided a visual experience to go with the powerful sound system.

KICKING OFF THE EVENT

For us the day started with Invector on the second stage. The young Dutchman played a set as you would expect. Melodic breaks with driving drops full of kickrolls. The perfect warm up for the day. Afterwards we made our way to the mainstage where Rejecta played his set. But since we wanted to get back to the second stage in time for the next set, we decided to take the first break of the day. Outside the sun was shining, so we sat outside for a short while, where smokers could also smoke and you could find someone to have a nice chat with for a short while at every corner. On the way back to the second stage we passed the toilets to take the beer away again.


This was Shockerz 2022: Fire on the dancefloor and on the Dj Stage

ANTHEM BY VERTILE

After the set of Artifact and Level One we went back to the mainstage, where Vertile presented his live act. He was also responsible for the Anthem this year. “Complex Aftermath” is a very successful one in our opinion. Its melodies combined with its hard kicks, got everyone carried away. The light show and the visuals completed the whole picture perfectly. So our very personal timetable kept us on our toes the whole day. After wandering back and forth several times between Stage 1 and 2, the restrooms and the chillout area, it was time. Regain “Square One” came next. Man man man, what a set that was. We are still speechless…


Along with edits of tracks like “Cocaine” and “Get Up” (his current collab with Bloodlust playing later in the evening) and remixes of his tracks “Bottle after Bottle” by Scarra and “Dynamite” KENAI, Regain played many new solo tracks. The brute sound of screeches and kicks really turned the mainstage into a witches cauldron. 30 minutes of bass face guaranteed and for us already quite clearly the highlight of the evening – no matter what is still to come. A few hours later it was time for Bloodlust & Killshot LIVE. The two End of Line members played a set as you know it from them. Energetic tracks with partly experimental and partly “classic” raw kicks.


This was Shockerz 2022: MC Nolz in action

POWERMODE AT SHOCKERZ

During his (Bloodlust) edit of “The Assasins” you could literally read the “WTF” in the party people’S faces, us included. But there were also new tracks presented, like the new collab of the two Dutchmen. Before that Imperatorz vs. Cryex (Area 2) and Radical Redemption played. We watched the end of his set from the aforementioned bleachers above the stage, after spending about a quarter of an hour at the exit of Area 2. The Stage was packed and apparently not only we had the plan to leave. What exactly provoked the traffic jam, we didnt expect. But we guess that someone had a health problem, because several paramedics rushed past us. Arrived at the mainstage we could still watch how tracks like “Dome of Drums” or the new collab with N-Vitral put the “Radical Army” into ectase. At 10pm Warface was on the program. A mix of familiar and new records got our spirits back up despite our aching backs and feet. The set was a perfect mix of gated and distorted kicks. “Sensory” and the Cryex remix of “Day One” are just a few examples of the End of Line founder’s artillery. Not only are our powers drawing to a close, but so is the evening.

RECHARGE

On our way to The Purge LIVE, we could still see the substance abuse education booth, with whom we had a nice conversation a few hours earlier, dismantling and heading home. From the nice young people we also got the gadgets that can be seen in the photo. The silicone bottle cap and the token dispenser are definitely a must-have for every festival goer! After another smoke break, where we talked to a group of Dutch people about God and the world, we went to see The Purge. So it was once again mobilize all energy reserves and let the lungs collapse for half an hour. The atmosphere was as you would imagine when the Klapplong Gang gets together and stomps the ground flat. “STO COME I PAZZI” the collab with the more and more famous Adjuzt or even “Wake Up” were played alongside a lot of tracks we didn’t know yet. After this power work out our energy was finally used up. We decided not to visit the set of Riot Shift or Vyral & D-Verze anymore, but to start our way home as well.


This was Shockerz 2022: Packed main area

CONCLUSION – THIS WAS SHOCKERZ 2022

Looking back, we can say that the people in charge at Shockerz did a super job. You never had the feeling that something was unorganized, the line-up had a lot to offer and for our 45€ we were perfectly rewarded. Even after the event Regain is still our highlight. The set will probably stick in our heads for a long time. Overall, we would give the evening 4.5 out of 5 stars. Half a star is deducted for the toilet situation. As a woman, you had to wait in line for a very long time because there were too few toilets on the entire premises. As a result, it was always very crowded and cramped. So if you have been to an edition of Shockerz, you should mark it in your calendar and follow the social media channels to not miss the presale for next year. We are sure that also next year the tickets will be sold out quickly. So it pays to be quick

NEXT SHOCKERZ

The Organizers were pretty fast, right after the event, the next edition for Shockerz went online. On December 27th. 2022 we will meet again for another raw night. We will keep you posted, once more information are available.

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