Decibel outdoor 2019: The Weekend

Bigger, better, louder. That's what b2s promised us for this brand new edition of Decibel outdoor. With the expansion of the festival, a completely new Decibel experience awaited us. How did we experience the weekend? And have the expectations been met? This is Decibel outdoor 2019: The Weekend. The pre-party, Decibel outdoor day 1 Contrary to previous years, the sun is not smiling towards us this weekend. On a drizzly Friday morning, we fill up the trunk and drive towards the Beekse Bergen. This weekend we stay in a hotel thanks to the Travel & Stay-packages of b2s, and because of the weather, we are very happy with it. Especially when we hear the stories of our camping-reporters. The queue to enter the campsite (searching, scanning tickets, et cetera) lasted about 2,5 hours. In the rain. Not the best start of your weekend. On the campsite the big change is clear. The big festival tent is gone and the fairground amusement rides are gone, the Hangout Club and the Fiesta bar are still there. When we enter the campsite, it feels very different. Less lively and the cozy, typical Decibel-camping atmosphere is a bit lacking. Around 18.00 hours the south side of the festival site opens up and visitors enter one by one. Tonight the Pussy Lounge stage - entirely dedicated to Las Vegas - is the mainstage, the big raw hardstyle tent on the water is the hardcore stage and we can enjoy freestyle on the Desperados.

 

 

Adrenalize and Devin Wild kick off the weekend at the mainstage and the sun even seems to come through a bit. Also during the set of Sound Rush, it is still quiet on the terrain. In the hardcore tent, Wasted Mind expertly breaks it all down. This brings us well into the vibe. Also at Ruthless, at the Desperados stage, sets up a great party. The evening comes to a climax (see what we did here) at B-Frontliner. Although the audience still reacts a bit tame, records like ‘Magic’ and ‘Auditory Nerve’ bring out euphoric feelings in us. They also play some new tracks, which sounds promising. It’s great to see that Frontliner and B-Front enjoying themselves too. We end the evening with the frenchcore of Dr. Peacock. He plays a nice, varied set and in an audience full of stamping ponchos, we close the first night of Decibel outdoor 2019. Just when we think it's over, a few flares of firework shoot into the air. At Hardstyle Report, we have a motto that says: “If the end show just consists of a couple of hard bangs, they could have been left out as well. If you do a closing show (including fireworks), do it well.” All in all, it was a very nice evening and a great start of Decibel outdoor 2019. Still, the feeling of solidarity was a bit lacking. The atmosphere on the campsite and the terrain were not very lively like it was before. And we secretly missed opening the Decibel outdoor weekend all together in that clammy tent.

 

 

Saturday, Decibel outdoor day 2 It's Saturday, the festival day of Decibel outdoor. Today the whole site is open and we can enjoy a lot of artists divided over 15 different stages. At Decibel outdoor you don't have to expect exuberant decoration, but because of the layout of the festival grounds, it still looks cozy. More than ever, Decibel outdoor is trying to manifest itself as ‘the loudest city on earth’. It may not be so much on top of it, but several urban elements can be found on the festival site, such as a distillery and 2 churches (hardcore tent and mainstage). The Pussy Lounge mainstage is in Las Vegas theme this year and the mainstage (which has been reversed this year) is a large church and comes to life especially in the evening. We stay at the classic internship and let our Saturday really well initiated by Dana. Apparently, the audience still has to get some income, but at least it's not Dana's turning skills that are to blame. Tracks like ‘Josh & Wesz vs. Glowiej - Tempo Pusher’ pop through the speakers and the real die-hards go completely loose in front. A good start of the day! In the raw hardstyle indoor, we find the atmosphere that we missed in other places on the terrain. The sound is nice and loud and clean, and really everyone is going crazy here. Bass Chaserz plays his collab with Deetox and Elyn ‘Breaking Barriers’ and a remix of ‘Josh & Wesz - Like Thiz’. All feet go off the floor and there is an exuberant shouting.

 

 

Then it's time for Phuture Noize Live. We’ve seen Phuture Noize live a lot during the past festival season and today it's time for the last Black Mirror Society showcase. You'd think we knew exactly what to expect, but somehow he knows how to blow us down with this set. Like it's the first time. The tracks, the lights, the show, the energy that Phuture Noize radiates and the reaction of the audience, everything seems to be right. The atmosphere is so magical that we get goosebumps at several moments. After such a good set we like to stay in the moment for a while. And that works well because B-Front opens his set with ‘Mysterias’. The audience is still completely hyped of the magical 3 quarters of an hour before this and goes completely loose. Besides new records, B-Front plays ‘Dark Moon’ and ‘Undiscovered’. Everyone seems to forget that it all comes down to earth. Still, we go into the dripping rain, for the set of Malice and Rebelion. That seems like a bad choice since they’re on the raw hardstyle outdoor stage, but we're not going to regret this. Because man, the atmosphere here is so cool! Malice and Rebelion haven’t been on stage together very often lately, so it's great to hear all the new music together in one set. The audience goes wild on ‘Malice & Luminite - Death Destruction (Malice live edit)’, ‘Rebelion - On The Edge’ and of course ‘Confronting Hate’. These die-hards here are obviously not made of sugar and go free as if it were their last set ever.

 

 

At the mainstage D-Block & S-te-Fan surprises us with a very fat set so that the atmosphere finally gets in the right place. By now it's getting a bit dark and we've put on a sweater, but it can be taken off in no time at all, when we go out for the IMPAQT 2019 anthem ‘Brace Yourself’ and the D-Block & S-te-Fan mash-up of ‘Kingdom Shiverz’. Frequencerz is doing very well here too and so the pace on the mainstage is increased. Meanwhile, the roof goes off in the raw hardstyle indoor stage. The tent is almost empty, but in the front, a group of fans is going crazy, while Chris One and Clockartz are playing one hit after the other. It's a harder set than we're used to from Clockartz, but even with a rock-hard set like this, they manage to hold their own perfectly. The kicks are deafening and the old school vibe can clearly be heard in their choice of records. They also play two new tracks including a new collab and an edit of ‘Showtek - Generation Kick & Bass’. The whole venue goes flat. Maybe this is the highlight of our day! We end at the mainstage, where Miss K8 plays a hardcore set. But not before we have a look at the Remember stage, where Titan definitely puts an end to his hardstyle career. The Saturday will finally end with some great hardcore and a final show that's different from what we're used to from Decibel outdoor.

Instead of all districts to go, the final show of Decibel outdoor 2019 in celestial spheres. When the show starts, we really feel as if we have ended up in the ‘hardstyle church’. The anthem is heralded with an orchel version, followed by under tracks that fully respond to the church theme. Including ‘Amen’ by Headhunterz and Sub Zero Project, ‘Angels in the Sky’ by Rejecta and B-Front and ‘Gods & Devils’ by Access One. Add to that a beautiful light show and the fireworks along the water, and you have one of the better end shows we've seen of b2s. It is now 01.00 hours and there is no real, official afterparty. Because last year we had a wonderful after party at the campsite, we decide to go to the campsite for a while. We notice that the atmosphere is very different. Quieter too. No more big marquee, no more fairground attractions. Most campers hang around their tents or wander around the terrain, but unfortunately, the real party is over. The moment we want to go to our hotel, we pass the Russian Hardbass set of Geck-o and fortunately, we still have a wonderful night. The genius. Sunday, Decibel outdoor day 3 The last Decibel outdoor day and at the same time a completely new day. Normally the Sunday of Decibel outdoor only started at 16.00 hrs and the party remained small and intimate in the big festival tent on the campsite. Today the festival grounds are open and the party starts at 13.00 hours.

 

 

Today, the stages will be given a different zoning plan. The 7 stages on the north side of the festival site are today filled with a lineup full of hardstyle, hardstyle classics, hardcore, hardcore classics, uptempo and freestyle. Because everything is on the north side today, you first have to walk a lot like a camping visitor. The whole area is open, and on the way to the mainstage, we walk past all the dense stages. We understand the idea behind this switch (this way you get more out of the entire festival site), but it's very quiet everywhere and we even see things being cleaned up. The terrain is way too big for the number of visitors and this really detracts from the atmosphere. Just like many others, we can't really find our way in the beginning. It's a shame because Sunday was always our favorite Decibel day. We start with the hardstyle classics area. The volume is soft, it’s almost completely empty, but with the early hardstyle of Sunny D, our last Decibel outdoor day really starts. Then he is followed by Isaac and his classics and little by little the atmosphere comes in. But when D-Block & S-te-Fan come here to play their classics, it’s getting really crowded in the woods. The hands are in the air and we shout along with ‘Part of the Hard’, ‘Keep It Coming’, ‘Sound of the Thunder’ and ‘Shiverz’. What a brilliant set!

 

 

The sun has come through, so we decide to go for another round. We stick to the hardcore classics where Neophyte puts down a very fat set full of classics. Finally, we end up back at the mainstage, and we stay here. Sub Zero Project enters their ‘church’ and makes the mainstage tremble with their deep bass and hard kicks. E-Force is going on and when night falls, it's Paul Elsta’'s and Korsakoff’s turn to skillfully conclude the last day of Decibel outdoor. Rainbow lasers, fireworks. A very nice way to end the weekend. Tired, but satisfied, we drip off. This was Decibel outdoor 2019.

 

 

b2s has taken a new direction. The identity of Decibel outdoor is clearer than ever, and although there are still some improvements here and there (think of the decoration of the stages, this remained a bit abstract and not very creative), this is a very clear, good course. Musically speaking, this was a strong edition. We've seen a lot of surprising sets, enjoyed names from the past, heard new tracks and heard DJ’s we don't see every weekend or do something different than usual. Still, we were a bit ‘disappointed’. The changes on Friday were fine. But the nice Sunday, which made Decibel outdoor so special isn't anymore. We got an extra festival day in return and musically it might have been an improvement, but this was at the expense of the cozy, intimate atmosphere. Tip for next year? Bring back the fairground attractions at the campsite and go for a smaller festival site on Sundays, so that the distances are shorter, the audience is not so divided and the intimate atmosphere of the Decibel outdoor Sunday is not lost. Maybe it takes some getting used to, maybe the other formula was a bit better for us. But that doesn't mean we didn't have a great time. The beautiful terrain, the extra activities, the very strong musical programming, Decibel outdoor, you remain a favorite anyway.