Coldrain in Amsterdam: A Performance Fueled by Sheer Will

On November 30th, Japanese metalcore band coldrain visited Amsterdam as part of their ‘Optimize’ tour. For this run they were joined by fellow Japanese band NOISEMAKER and the French band Revnoir. It’s been over 6 years since coldrain last played in The Netherlands, with a festival set at Pinkpop in 2019 and as support for Crown The Empire in 2018, so the fans had been waiting for a while to see them.

Doors to the venue opened at 7PM, with the first fans happily taking their spot against the stage to be as close to their favorite band as possible. One fan even brought glow sticks with her, which she passed around before the show started. The crowd was not just filled with Dutch fans, as some people travelled from other countries to be here. Just half an hour after doors the first band of the night, NOISEMAKER, took to the stage. It was the first time in Europe for this Japanese band, and they truly lived up to their name. If you didn’t know better, you could have thought this was the headliner of the evening. From the beginning notes of “Something New” until ending their set with “Name,” their energy was through the roof. There was barely any room on the already small stage, with two drum kits and amps taking up most of it. Despite that the band was jumping and spinning around, warming up the crowd by asking them to jump along. Singer AG jumped off the stage to do part of “Something New” in the crowd, getting close and intimate. With just 6 songs on their setlist, the crowd was just getting a small taste of this band and I know for sure a lot of people hope they come back soon.

A short 15 minutes later it was time for French band Revoir to keep up the energy. While there was less jumping during their set, the crowd was moving more with the two walls of deaths and multiple mosh pits singer Max Rodriguez asked for. During one moment in their set the band left the stage, except for Rodriguez and guitarist Julien Ho who switched to the piano. While still not having much space, Revnoir also made the best of it by moving around the little room they had. Stepping up onto the risers at the front of the stage and jumping off them. For the song that was introduced by Rodriguez as “soft but dark” the venue lit up with phone lights, creating a beautiful atmosphere.

Entertaining themselves during the last break between sets, the crowd was singing along to the playlist, especially to System Of A Down’s “Chop Suey.” After the short break it took to take down the second drum kit and complete setting up for coldrain, the band walked out on stage to loud cheers of the crowd. Their set started with “FREE FALL,” followed by “PARADISE (Kill the Silence).” During the latter the first crowd surfer of the night made his way forward. After finishing the first two songs, singer Masato told the crowd how he was sick, but did not want to cancel the show. You could tell he felt really bad about this, since he immediately started offering refunds to anyone that did not feel satisfied after the show they were about to put on. They went on with “INCOMPLETE”, after which the stage turned back and you could see Masato crouched down with his back to the crowd. To show their support the crowd chanted his name, which visibly touched him.

Next up were “The Revelation” and “REVOLUTION,” while the screams still sounded great, you could tell Masato his voice was struggling with the singing. No matter how he felt, he kept giving it his all. During “REVOLUTION” you could see NOISEMAKERS’ AG standing on the side of the stage vibing to the song, even jumping to guitarist Sugi his microphone to sing along for a bit.

Coming back on his offer for refunds, Masato now told the crowd to hold on to their tickets from this show as he would get everyone in for free next time they come back. For the next song, “Boys and Girls,” the venue was lit up by phone lights once again. After the song ended Masato thanked the crowd for singing with him, making him cry in his heart because the venue is packed and he’s happy to be back here. Throughout the set you could tell his voice was starting to struggle more, which is why they skipped “Uninvited” and went straight to “Bloody Power Fame.”

For “MAYDAY” the crowd was stepping forward to support Masato, singing along as loud as they could during the whole song. Before “CHASING SHADOWS” Masato spoke to the crowd:

“I came here to give you guys something, energy or love, we came to touch your hearts, but today, tonight, you touched mine. Please remember this day, as the day you saved my life.”

The crowd cheered loudly for them, showing their support in the best way possible. Even during the talking breaks you could hear his voice getting raspier as the night went on.

Personally I hoped that when the band left the stage it would be the end of the show, not because it was a bad show, but more so to prevent permanent damage to Masato his voice, the rest of the venue thought otherwise as they started chanting: “We want more!” After a few minutes the band walked back out on stage, first talking to the crowd, once again promising they will come back for a redo. It was not about the want to show the crowd how it usually is, but Masato his personal need to show a 100% coldrain show, even if it might take two or three nights in Amsterdam to make up for this one, playing all the songs they missed tonight and even more. The final song of the night was “VENGEANCE,” which was sung along loudly by the crowd. The band left the stage for the final time tonight to a loud applause, feeling the energy from the crowd. Amsterdam really drained the last of Masato his voice, as they unfortunately had to cancel the 3 shows that followed. Let’s hope he recovers quickly and can go back to doing what they love most: playing shows to fans all over the world.