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[Report] Syndicate 2011 (DE)

Even though it was a cosy 20 degrees outside, we were going to visit an indoor festival on the 1st of October. It was time for the 5th edition of Syndicate, a hard dance concept that was organized in Germany by Art of Dance and I-Motion GmbH. This would be my first Syndicate, and I really had no idea what to expect.

After a long car trip from Eindhoven to Dortmund, my entourage and I arrived at the Westfalenhallen. After we received our bands, we wanted to go inside quickly, and despite the long waiting line, we managed to get inside relatively swiftly. There I noticed that there were no lockers available, which was a little annoying, but at Syndicate you could buy a special band for only 3 euros, which gave you unlimited passage to and from your car. Also the system for the drink coupons was very nice, when you finished your drink, you could trade your empty glass or can for a new coupon. This resulted in a floor that wasn't covered with trash.
Syndicate had 3 stages with 3 different styles. The main room was fully themed by Masters of Hardcore, and they played hardcore the whole evening here. The two smaller rooms were hosts for the Hardstyle and Hardtechno lovers. The sound was of very high quality in all 3 rooms (read: very hard!). It seems like in Germany, they don't have as much trouble with turning up the volume button as we have in the Netherlands.

On the mainstage, the public could enjoy acts such as Art of Fighters Live, Outblast & Korsakoff, Mad Dog Live and the popular Angerfist Live. The last one seems to still be very loved in Germany, the room was literally overflowing with people when Angerfist started his performance. "The Voice of Mayhem" of course passed through the venue, but also "Chaos and Evil" and "Legend" were played. While this musical show was going, the visitors could enjoy a spectacular lightshow of lasers, flames, fireworks and LED screens. The intros were something to look up to every time. Many people captured these with their mobiles, and even I couldn't resist the urge.

The atmosphere in the room was electrical, from the tribune you could see the dancing crowd going crazy. During the intro of Korsakoff & Outblast, the evening seemed to have reached its climax. The 2 Dutch DJs opened their set with the anthem "Hymn of Syndicate", accompanied by live vocals. The set contained some more accessible hardcore with tracks such as "Evil Activities - Evil Inside" and "Outblast - Bassleader Anthem 2011".

Art of Fighters Live was another one of the main acts of the evening. After a half hour of listening to these boy's set, you feel like you just finished running a marathon. Besides the musical violence, the Italians managed to make it into a very presentable show with their masks and their unique performance. Some other acts who gave this festival some more colour were T-Junction, Dyprax, Negative-A and Catscan & Predator.

But Syndicate doesn't only have hardcore, brädwurst and German beer in cans to offer the public, but also Hardstyle. Names such as B-Front, Crypsis Live, Chain Reaction, D-Block & S-Te-Fan and Thera gave this stage some color. Crypsis is one of my personal favorites, and his performances were again of a high level. At Syndicate the public bore witness to two new Crypsis tracks: "Crypsis & Chain Reaction - TBA" and Crypsis & Radical Redemption ft. MC Tha Watcher - Unlike Others". Radical Redemption, keep an eye on that name!

Also B-Front mixed a wonderful set where he showed everyone his own productions. It has been a top year for this DJ, with bookings at the biggest events. After B-Front, Thera closed the party in professional style. And he can do that like nobody else can! With his label Theracords, he gave us another sound that we are used to within the genre, but it was a welcome change.

We decided to close the last hour at the Mainstage with Amnesys & The Stunned Guys. After that we were really exhausted. Syndicate made a very positive impression on me. The sound at all of the stages was perfect and clear, and there was a lot of variety in the music. The decoration of the party was especially eyecatching in the main room, and fitted perfectly to a party such as Syndicate. Logistics-wise, everything went smooth, we never had to wait long, the system with the empty glasses for drink coupons worked perfectly. Even better: at the end you could exchange your remaining coupons back for cash! Why don't we do this in the Netherlands?

In short: Syndicate was a huge success, Art of Dance and I-Motion GmbH deserve a big thumbs up! Don't I have anything negative to report? Oh yes... there's another 360 days until the next Syndicate....