Kickrolls, screeches & brutality! – This was Fatality Outdoor.
**Disclaimer – All photographs used retain credit to vincentvandenboogaard.nl, Richard Brunsveld and spanhof.info – Illusions of Photo-Art**
After holding an initial kick-ass edition of Fatality in Club Monte Carlo, Nijmegen, Confusion Events evidently left a mark on the many visitors who entered the venue and enjoyed themselves to the max. Sporting small line-up of a-listers who tore the club to shreds, this party marked the beginning of an exciting journey for the organisation, who soon sought out bigger and better things…
Fast forward a couple of months to the midst of the 2016 festival season and you have a brand new addition to Hardstyle lovers’ agendas – Fatality Outdoor Festival. Now, it’s a no-brainer that the Dutch festival season is flooded with events and the market is extremely competitive, meaning that it was a huge risk for Confusion Events to up-size and attempt to execute a medium-sized outdoor event. A raw hardstyle festival in the middle of summer is as ‘rare’ as finding sand at the beach, therefore Fatality Outdoor had to promise something exceptional to win the hearts of its loyal visitors.
When the line-up for Fatality Outdoor dropped, raw Hardstyle crusaders erupted into a state of euphoria. Their prayers were answered with an eclectic selection of the scene’s most anticipated names spread across three areas. Everything underneath the umbrella of ‘raw’ was cherished as fans were treated to the accessible sounds of Digital Punk, E-Force and Frequencerz all the way up to the extremities of Rebelion, Regain and Unresolved. Oh, and who could forget about the Gearbox 4 Hour showcase, otherwise known as raw Hardstyle’s very own Boiler Room. Before I forget, on the days leading up to the festival, the organisation announced its ‘sold out’ status which was monumental! For an organisation to execute a sold out festival on its first edition is truly impressive, which only made me more excited to see what tricks they had up their sleeve.
So, I guess that leaves you all with one important question: “Did Fatality deliver the goods?” Well, as a raw Hardstyle lover, I guess that you could compare this event to having a pizza delivered when you’re in dire need. For those who don’t understand that analogy, I’ll simplify: Fatality hit the spot and satisfied some serious cravings!
Arriving at the venue at around 3:30PM, I hopped out of the car to be ‘greeted’ by beautiful sunshine and a humid atmosphere. Just as I was about to complain about the heat I bit my tongue and asked myself if I’d rather party in torrential rain instead. Nope, I’ll take this sunshine any day! Walking towards the entrance, I could already hear the rough, raw beats and for a second it felt slightly unusual to hear such brutal music so early in the afternoon. Remembering that this event was 100% raw, I became excited (and slightly nervous) about the relentless brutality I was about the experience.
Upon entering the festival, we manoeuvred ourselves through the absurdly long line to buy tokens and after the long wait I was more than ready to drink my body weight in white wine. Making our way over to the VIP deck to check the mainstage out, I was already impressed by the set-out of the event. The VIP deck promised a gorgeous view of the mid-sized mainstage and I was generally impressed by the design, however you’ve all probably seen countless photos, so I won’t bore you with the design details… Let’s talk about how drunk I got instead!
Despite the excruciating heat (I say this as an Australian, by the way) the crowd was devoted as ever and partying hard, meaning that it was time for me to get my act together and start drinking. By 5:00, I’d sculled my first wine and the only criticism I could make was that the cups were painfully tiny. It was comparable to drinking wine out of a large shot glass and carrying my glass of wine through the crowd without knocking it all over my hands soon became an on-going mission.
6:00PM: Wandering around for the majority of the day, we soon ventured to the ‘Outworld’ stage to witness Raw Hardstyle in its utmost severity. Scottish representatives Rebelion were tearing the area to shreds – I’ve literally never seen this many people going so crazy. From my view all I could see was relentless jumping and visitors rapidly swinging their arms to nail every kickroll. It was pure insanity and although I wasn’t too familiar with the sounds of Rebelion I could take a step back and appreciate how well this music works at parties. Another idea that Fatality really brought to life was supporting the upcoming talent and shedding an accurate light on the underground sounds. Raw Hardstyle is evidently quite a niche movement, however when I witnessed hundreds of aficionados unequivocally losing their minds to Rebelion’s onslaught, it made me realise just how powerful this crusade is.
Another salutation I have to make is to Gearbox Records; this niche label has really made an impact on the industry by striving to unveil an unparalleled approach to the darker, rougher spectrum of Hardstyle. Aside from the extensive catalogue of kick-ass tunes on the label, I must applaud Gearbox for the whole ‘family’ vibe they got going on – it’s so nice to see such a down-to-Earth and open-minded label conquering such great things.
After witnessing the spectacle of Rebelion’s performance (which was on a whole new level, by the way) I made my way back to the mainstage, where I was reunited with a bunch of raver friends. We were ready to kick into party mode and now that the heat was beginning to subside it was a little more comfortable to dance. We watched Crypsis vs. Luna and of course the guys delivered the goods! Retreating backstage during Jack Of Sound’s set, I couldn’t exactly see what was going on, but boy, could I hear?! The severe tunes that he was pumping out could bring on some sort of natural disaster – in the best way possible, of course! Next up to conquer the mainstage was Requiem, who pushed it to the limit with Polish prodigy Regain. Together, the pair absolutely destroyed the area, which was becoming more packed by the second! Monstrous kicks, piercing screeches and undying energy was what this set represented, so big ups to the guys for delivering some heavy artillery.
I’d been exploring the festival grounds, socialising and drinking stupid amounts of wine for the entire day, so shamefully enough I actually didn’t ‘stick around’ to watch anyone’s entire set, however this changed when Radical Redemption stepped on stage. If there’s one thing I’ve learned this summer it’s that Radical Redemption display no mercy and his performance at Fatality was no exception. Going hand-in-hand with the darkening day, laser lights began to spew violently from the mainstage, thus intensifying the mood. If there’s one thing I’ll never get sick of it’s the shift from day to night; partygoers become more intense, the production steps up to reach a climax and the music displays an utmost brutality that’s incomparable to the day hours.
Standing on the VIP deck and watching this spectacle unfold before my very eyes was intriguing and despite my wonky drunkenness, I was still thoroughly enjoying myself. Before the event could even reach its ultimate pinnacle, I unfortunately had to leave in order to make the dreaded trek back to the North. I was gutted that I couldn’t stick around for the final hour, however this drunk bitch needed a sandwich and some sleep – pronto!
All in all, I’d like to take this moment to thank Fatality for having me and also congratulate them on two things. One, selling out their very first outdoor festival and two, throwing a fucking unforgettable event! As I mentioned earlier, it’s difficult to sell out a brand new concept in such a competitive market, let alone execute an enjoyable and well-rounded event. I think a lot of upcoming event organisations need to take a leaf out of Fatality’s book; their pre-event marketing, line-up, organisational aspects, set-out, stages and production proved to comprise a solid event. There’s no doubt in my mind that Confusion Events will continue to grow and soar with their future events and I can’t wait to see what tricks these guys will pull out at their next event!
For those who missed out on last weekend’s madness at Fatality, have no fear because Confusion Events will be holding another edition of this infamous concept on New Year’s Eve in Time Out, Gemert.