It was a great edition ! Great stage, much better than last year (not complicated though).
Liked all the sets except Deadly Guns which was the worst closing ever. Vertile was nothing special too. But the rest was really cool, best sets for me was B-Front & PN, Blademasterz and Devin Wild.
[18/11/2023] Qlimax - Enter The Void [NL]
i had to laugh way too loud while reading "fakedrops sein Vater" out of nowhereDeadwood wrote: 20 Nov 2023, 13:04 Deadly Guns (0/10): What a shitty set to end the night. Horrible kicks, fakedrops sein Vater and every track sounded the same. This was the first time we left Qlimax early after going every year since 2013.
okay where do I start with this years edition?
Deepack (?/10): missed the set because of the traffic jam in front of the GelreDome, even tough we were at the last junction at 9 pm and had priority parking.
Blademasterz (7/10): great set, awesome track selection, but as Deadwood already said - felt like too many breaks.
Showtek: (?/10): We missed most of the set because one of our mates was lost and we looked for him, but the few minutes in the end were awesome, can't wait to re-watch the set.
TNT (8/10): TNT at Qlimax never disappoints, some newer tunes and some classics - but felt like the crowd went wilder when they played their classics (me too
)
Hard Driver (3/10): yep great anthem show, but the rest was kinda whack - once again as Deadwood wrote, the Zaagkick track at the end was the only good thing to remember.
Devin Wild (5/10): expected way more of him, I mean the tracks weren't that bad, but we stood on the dancefloor and felt like "naahh, let's grab something to eat" - watched the last 20 minutes from the seats.
B-Front & Phuture Noize (9/10): I love both of them and had high expectations - didn't get disappointed, their set felt like 10 minutes and i could've listen to it for hours.
The Qreator (0/10): to be fair, the track selection was quite solid (6/10), but I felt so disappointed, angry and sad that Q-Dance let him play in the middle of night instead of a REAL surprise act. (some more about that later)
Cryex (6/10): One of my favorite artists/producer at the moment, well deserved spot and happy for him to play at Qlimax - but kinda disappointing for this track selection, I'd say it would have been better if he made a pre-recorded full energetic set instead of playing 3 or 4 tracks with 8 minutes of breaks.
Adjuzt & The Purge (4/10): poor track selection, same as Cryex with the thought of a pre-recorded set.
Vertile (5/10): saw him the last time at Proton, Stuttgart in October, nearly the same tracks, nothing surprising. 5 Points because I love his tracks.
Warface (8/10): I never thought that that I will write the following about his performance: Best set of the night in the point of transitions, good track selection (except the last 3 tracks) and very energetic. Also the collab with Dual Damage was pumping trough my whole body + light show was very well.
Deadly Guns (1/10): I wasn't happy to have him at Qlimax. Repetetive set and cheap produced tracks - never liked him and never will. Baddest Qlimax ending of the 4 Editions i experienced live.
Q-Dance: FUCK YOU!!!! Giving so many hints about Project One, posting lyrics and videos of them is the most son of a b*tch move ever! Writing in the FAQ that "the best of the night will begin at 2 a.m." (That was right after HD and nothing happens!) Then let some mysterious guy with no own produced tracks take a spot in the prime time.
FUCK YOU one more time! So many installed lasers but just used them in full power so rarely.
Their politics are so stupid, like they want that Qlimax gets worse and not sold out anymore. First pulling the plug of Q-Base/Impaqt (Q-Base was one of my fav events), then Qaptial and now it's time for Qlimax.
Wishing all of them a reallly bad cramp while they're taking a shit.
Last Qlimax editon for me - ever.
Deepack (?/10): missed the set because of the traffic jam in front of the GelreDome, even tough we were at the last junction at 9 pm and had priority parking.
Blademasterz (7/10): great set, awesome track selection, but as Deadwood already said - felt like too many breaks.
Showtek: (?/10): We missed most of the set because one of our mates was lost and we looked for him, but the few minutes in the end were awesome, can't wait to re-watch the set.
TNT (8/10): TNT at Qlimax never disappoints, some newer tunes and some classics - but felt like the crowd went wilder when they played their classics (me too
) Hard Driver (3/10): yep great anthem show, but the rest was kinda whack - once again as Deadwood wrote, the Zaagkick track at the end was the only good thing to remember.
Devin Wild (5/10): expected way more of him, I mean the tracks weren't that bad, but we stood on the dancefloor and felt like "naahh, let's grab something to eat" - watched the last 20 minutes from the seats.
B-Front & Phuture Noize (9/10): I love both of them and had high expectations - didn't get disappointed, their set felt like 10 minutes and i could've listen to it for hours.
The Qreator (0/10): to be fair, the track selection was quite solid (6/10), but I felt so disappointed, angry and sad that Q-Dance let him play in the middle of night instead of a REAL surprise act. (some more about that later)
Cryex (6/10): One of my favorite artists/producer at the moment, well deserved spot and happy for him to play at Qlimax - but kinda disappointing for this track selection, I'd say it would have been better if he made a pre-recorded full energetic set instead of playing 3 or 4 tracks with 8 minutes of breaks.
Adjuzt & The Purge (4/10): poor track selection, same as Cryex with the thought of a pre-recorded set.
Vertile (5/10): saw him the last time at Proton, Stuttgart in October, nearly the same tracks, nothing surprising. 5 Points because I love his tracks.
Warface (8/10): I never thought that that I will write the following about his performance: Best set of the night in the point of transitions, good track selection (except the last 3 tracks) and very energetic. Also the collab with Dual Damage was pumping trough my whole body + light show was very well.
Deadly Guns (1/10): I wasn't happy to have him at Qlimax. Repetetive set and cheap produced tracks - never liked him and never will. Baddest Qlimax ending of the 4 Editions i experienced live.
Q-Dance: FUCK YOU!!!! Giving so many hints about Project One, posting lyrics and videos of them is the most son of a b*tch move ever! Writing in the FAQ that "the best of the night will begin at 2 a.m." (That was right after HD and nothing happens!) Then let some mysterious guy with no own produced tracks take a spot in the prime time.
FUCK YOU one more time! So many installed lasers but just used them in full power so rarely.
Their politics are so stupid, like they want that Qlimax gets worse and not sold out anymore. First pulling the plug of Q-Base/Impaqt (Q-Base was one of my fav events), then Qaptial and now it's time for Qlimax.
Wishing all of them a reallly bad cramp while they're taking a shit.
Last Qlimax editon for me - ever.
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Romanian Hardstyler
- State Celebrity
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- Joined: 03 Oct 2010, 20:17
I think P1 were supposed to perform, but something happened
Yep, this got me good too.Grape wrote: 20 Nov 2023, 16:53i had to laugh way too loud while reading "fakedrops sein Vater" out of nowhereDeadwood wrote: 20 Nov 2023, 13:04 Deadly Guns (0/10): What a shitty set to end the night. Horrible kicks, fakedrops sein Vater and every track sounded the same. This was the first time we left Qlimax early after going every year since 2013.
Make Hardstyle great again
As i said before, people should stop thinking that every post is a hint to an artist.
Showtek, Ghost Stories & Project One, are the most expensive acts in the scene, it's simply not possible to book 2 of them as (a wild guess) Q-dance is in need of money.
Showtek, Ghost Stories & Project One, are the most expensive acts in the scene, it's simply not possible to book 2 of them as (a wild guess) Q-dance is in need of money.
Waves, Voices, Distorted Noises..
hi guys, i will tell my opinion
1st of all always great to live qlimax and gelredome even if it's not like in the past, fucking love the people and the whole night.
anyway, i lost deepack and blademasterz because of my dutch friend a bit late and the traffic jam at the parking
- showtek 9/10 amazing, old and new tunes, cool edits and really a good flow,besides the "showtek hype" they really had a solid set,
- tnt 9/10, just because they didn't play some more classic that i wanted to lol, amazing set, even if 1 hour of reverse bass could annoy a bit, but they know how to do.
-hard driver 6/10, the anthem kick and another one, were technically perfect, besides that average set, not my taste but still good, and i went mad when he played E=NC2
(when you listen to tracks like this at qlimax, you can feel really the difference from the past to now)
- devin wild 7,5/10 amazing tracks and really deserved, i listened 3/4 of his set but the only thing i didn't like was the change from powerful to cheesy more than one time, kill a little bit the flow.
- bfront & phuture noize 8/10 always a vibe, really original set, bob strenght and passion, marko atmosphere. (but i missed bfrontliner)
- the purge & adjustz 9/10 well to be honest i was a bit surprised by them because they really played a good mix of raw kicks, melodies and they heat the crowd up really well, and i know the purge since the past, he was emotional considering from where he started, he cant believe it. not bad comparing to other sets, dreamscape/winter blues are so good
- cryex 7/10 solid set, he started to put some heavy kicks switching a bit the nightflow and i give him even if was not so special for me.
- vertile, listened half a set but it didn't catch me too much, even if some tracks were really good. i dont know why but looked like not so catchy so 5/10
- the qreator, track selection 9/10 but, wtf, anyway.
- warface 10/10 nothing to add, bombs, perfect track selection, good mixing and good vibe, totally deserved
- deadly guns 3/10 i have respect for him and uptempo but, it's not my thing, too heavy, my mind can't recognize in time what is happening, can't dance to it, imo not a good choice to close a qlimax. at defqon his set was a bit more better than this even if it's not my taste.
stage: 8/10 nice lasers and elements, amazing choice to put the curtain with light games, but the rest was a bit empty behind. but still good
intros: 7/10 i felt it a bit short, not too much narrative. 2019 intros were definetly on another level.
general thoughts: i don't know the qdance plan but, for me this event have to be rebranded. i could suggest them to call it SPOTLIGHT because they use it as a spotlight to what kind of music they want to push in the music industry, to do marketing with some new dj's that are starting to be more popular etc, they don't care about the flow, the uniqueness and other stuff anymore.
a no soldout event like this is a big sign.
just to compare it, this was the hall of fame of hard dance music, they've celebrate the best out of it, and not sponsor things like a marketing event.
my suggestion and thoughts:
1 opening by geck-o(well known,trippin sets,never fail a flow, a bit oldschool a bit psychedelic/trance vibes) so bringing back the opening with a different genre or approach
2 stop with the qreator, you can't put it everytime in the last 5 years when you have a bfrontliner finally completed, could have sell out more, just look at the love people have for them
3 shadow priests, good idea, but imo there were other that deserved the same way or more in terms of popularity, music, what they have done to the genre actually, like eforce,kronos,anderex,fraw sickmode or malice for example, adrenalize(even if he is doing less stuff). i fully understand and see that we have a lack of talents in hardstyle but a lot of people in rawstyle. anyway still happy with the choice, cryex adjustz and the purge are the ones almost there and they've done pretty well in this year overall
4 if hardcore doesn't exist anymore, doesn't mean that we have to listen uptempo and zagkick with 2 second breaks for 30 minutes as a closing. i understand the choice for deadly guns with qdance logic but my choice for the closing would've been mad dog, with downtempo vibe till the most powerful hardcore, he put hardcore alive again in 2023 with that album.
5 and most important DO SOMETHING WITH THE WAY OF MIXING, the whole scene now is "hardstyle,rawkick,cheesy,rawkick,uptempo,cheesy,hardstyle,rawkick,cheesy,zaagkick,cut short tracks to play 1292 tracks in a set" and this from the first to the last set, i mean, we don't have that typical flow anymore, it's all mixed up most of the time.
1st of all always great to live qlimax and gelredome even if it's not like in the past, fucking love the people and the whole night.
anyway, i lost deepack and blademasterz because of my dutch friend a bit late and the traffic jam at the parking
- showtek 9/10 amazing, old and new tunes, cool edits and really a good flow,besides the "showtek hype" they really had a solid set,
- tnt 9/10, just because they didn't play some more classic that i wanted to lol, amazing set, even if 1 hour of reverse bass could annoy a bit, but they know how to do.
-hard driver 6/10, the anthem kick and another one, were technically perfect, besides that average set, not my taste but still good, and i went mad when he played E=NC2
(when you listen to tracks like this at qlimax, you can feel really the difference from the past to now)- devin wild 7,5/10 amazing tracks and really deserved, i listened 3/4 of his set but the only thing i didn't like was the change from powerful to cheesy more than one time, kill a little bit the flow.
- bfront & phuture noize 8/10 always a vibe, really original set, bob strenght and passion, marko atmosphere. (but i missed bfrontliner)
- the purge & adjustz 9/10 well to be honest i was a bit surprised by them because they really played a good mix of raw kicks, melodies and they heat the crowd up really well, and i know the purge since the past, he was emotional considering from where he started, he cant believe it. not bad comparing to other sets, dreamscape/winter blues are so good
- cryex 7/10 solid set, he started to put some heavy kicks switching a bit the nightflow and i give him even if was not so special for me.
- vertile, listened half a set but it didn't catch me too much, even if some tracks were really good. i dont know why but looked like not so catchy so 5/10
- the qreator, track selection 9/10 but, wtf, anyway.
- warface 10/10 nothing to add, bombs, perfect track selection, good mixing and good vibe, totally deserved
- deadly guns 3/10 i have respect for him and uptempo but, it's not my thing, too heavy, my mind can't recognize in time what is happening, can't dance to it, imo not a good choice to close a qlimax. at defqon his set was a bit more better than this even if it's not my taste.
stage: 8/10 nice lasers and elements, amazing choice to put the curtain with light games, but the rest was a bit empty behind. but still good
intros: 7/10 i felt it a bit short, not too much narrative. 2019 intros were definetly on another level.
general thoughts: i don't know the qdance plan but, for me this event have to be rebranded. i could suggest them to call it SPOTLIGHT because they use it as a spotlight to what kind of music they want to push in the music industry, to do marketing with some new dj's that are starting to be more popular etc, they don't care about the flow, the uniqueness and other stuff anymore.
a no soldout event like this is a big sign.
just to compare it, this was the hall of fame of hard dance music, they've celebrate the best out of it, and not sponsor things like a marketing event.
my suggestion and thoughts:
1 opening by geck-o(well known,trippin sets,never fail a flow, a bit oldschool a bit psychedelic/trance vibes) so bringing back the opening with a different genre or approach
2 stop with the qreator, you can't put it everytime in the last 5 years when you have a bfrontliner finally completed, could have sell out more, just look at the love people have for them
3 shadow priests, good idea, but imo there were other that deserved the same way or more in terms of popularity, music, what they have done to the genre actually, like eforce,kronos,anderex,fraw sickmode or malice for example, adrenalize(even if he is doing less stuff). i fully understand and see that we have a lack of talents in hardstyle but a lot of people in rawstyle. anyway still happy with the choice, cryex adjustz and the purge are the ones almost there and they've done pretty well in this year overall
4 if hardcore doesn't exist anymore, doesn't mean that we have to listen uptempo and zagkick with 2 second breaks for 30 minutes as a closing. i understand the choice for deadly guns with qdance logic but my choice for the closing would've been mad dog, with downtempo vibe till the most powerful hardcore, he put hardcore alive again in 2023 with that album.
5 and most important DO SOMETHING WITH THE WAY OF MIXING, the whole scene now is "hardstyle,rawkick,cheesy,rawkick,uptempo,cheesy,hardstyle,rawkick,cheesy,zaagkick,cut short tracks to play 1292 tracks in a set" and this from the first to the last set, i mean, we don't have that typical flow anymore, it's all mixed up most of the time.
Last edited by GianaWana on 21 Nov 2023, 16:57, edited 1 time in total.
QLMX 11',12',13',14',16',18',19',23' | HARDBASS 12',16' | QBASE 13' | XQLUSIVE LEGENDS 14' | DEDIQATED 20' | ASOT1000 23' | DQ1 23'
Got back from NL, somewhat disappointing experience after my 5th edition. Either I'm getting old / out of touch with the scene or Q is doing something wrong. Judging by the crowd this Saturday, it's the latter.
My review:
Highlight of the night was The Enlightenment, TNT and Showtek. Sad to miss Deepack due to traffic. (10/10)
Happy I didn't stay for DG, after listening the livestream back, that was a disgrace to music. (1/10)
Big up for Villain for not talking all night, and doing an enjoyable MCing this year. (8/10)
Qreator had a very nice track selection, although I dislike the concept. (6/10)
HD, DW, Blademasterz, Warface done pretty good. (7,5/10)
The rest was just boring and bad. (3/10)
Sorry, but LOL at all the P1 hype
My review:
Highlight of the night was The Enlightenment, TNT and Showtek. Sad to miss Deepack due to traffic. (10/10)
Happy I didn't stay for DG, after listening the livestream back, that was a disgrace to music. (1/10)
Big up for Villain for not talking all night, and doing an enjoyable MCing this year. (8/10)
Qreator had a very nice track selection, although I dislike the concept. (6/10)
HD, DW, Blademasterz, Warface done pretty good. (7,5/10)
The rest was just boring and bad. (3/10)
Sorry, but LOL at all the P1 hype
"Maybe if you wrote some music, you wouldn't need 6 kick drums." - Lenny Dee
This so much. Every set feels like a playlist. Bring back the flow. We need transitions between the tracks again.GianaWana wrote: 20 Nov 2023, 21:03 5 and most important DO SOMETHING WITH THE WAY OF MIXING, the whole scene now is "hardstyle,rawkick,cheesy,rawkick,uptempo,cheesy,hardstyle,rawkick,cheesy,zaagkick,cut short tracks to play 1292 tracks in a set" and this from the first to the last set, i mean, we don't have that typical flow anymore, it's all mixed up most of the time.
Set reviews:
DANCEFLOOR
- Deepack: great warm-up, would have loved more Early hardstyle (especially since Blademasterz played quite some oldschool stuff too, it wouldn't have been an abrupt transition), but they had an amazing track selection
- Blademasterz: favorite set of the night, tied with Showtek, first time I took the old One Blade Brennan Heart kick live and it slaps harder than any raw kick, oldies are very cool, new stuff is very good too, lots of covers but great ones at that so I don't mind
- Showtek: I feel like I witnessed history here, the return of Showtek, new tracks are super sick with Dear Hardstyle being TOTY, I'd have loved a longer set with a few more classics but I'm glad they prefered to use the 30 minutes for their new stuff and their album announcement
- TNT: very energetic stuff, was dancing throughout the entire set, love their new stuff
- Hard Driver: cool set, anthem is super sick and his stuff generally is very good. Not as good as the first 4 sets but those were up the roof, I think Hard Driver delivered
- Devin Wild: insane stuff all around, Devin really is the best modern producer, that Drum'n'Bass track he played was insane
SEATS
- B-Front & Phuture Noize: first slight disappointment of the night, though me being on the seats at the back of the dome might not have helped. It was good still, but I feel that Destination Unknown is their best track by far and so their other stuff didn't hit me as good. I'll still wait for HQ (or even the set itself being uploaded) to judge as my position (and tiredness) likely didn't give this set justice
- Shadow Priests (Cryex - The Purge & Adjuzt): Both pretty good sets imo considering they had 15 minutes each, nice showcase of their stuff, also that Dreamscape track from Adjuzt & The Purge is fucking insane
- Vertile: I had no expectations and his sets matched that. Some decent tracks but overall I can't get into his style. Before I Wake still is an amazing track so there is that
DANCEFLOOR
- Warface: really nice set live, I finally got to hear Levitate live I was harsh on his album because it hits very good on the floor
- Deadly Guns: didn't catch the whole thing but it was pretty disappointing. I know his direction and generally like it but it really does not fit Qlimax.Even he has tracks better suited imo, but if they really needed an Uptempo closing Spitnoise or Dither would have been better suited I think :/
Other stuff:
I really enjoyed the show and scenery. Not that much lasers but I'm fine with it, I feel that the images, lighting and scenery were beautiful, really enjoyed the Void theme. The Gelredome is a very good venue too, I had only been once (Qlimax 2014) and it is very easy to move around despite the crowd, entrance was pretty quick too and I'm glad that they let people enter BEFORE the actual event starts.
Overall a very good experiecne on my side, very well worth it
EDIT: I forgot the Qreator, I don't know why they push him so much. I feel his sets are basically kind of a "current" version of the classic warmup set, and the sets are not half bad to be fair, I just wish they booked someone else or added some time to other sets rather than bringing him (especially as a surprise, was a mood killer there lmao)
DANCEFLOOR
- Deepack: great warm-up, would have loved more Early hardstyle (especially since Blademasterz played quite some oldschool stuff too, it wouldn't have been an abrupt transition), but they had an amazing track selection
- Blademasterz: favorite set of the night, tied with Showtek, first time I took the old One Blade Brennan Heart kick live and it slaps harder than any raw kick, oldies are very cool, new stuff is very good too, lots of covers but great ones at that so I don't mind
- Showtek: I feel like I witnessed history here, the return of Showtek, new tracks are super sick with Dear Hardstyle being TOTY, I'd have loved a longer set with a few more classics but I'm glad they prefered to use the 30 minutes for their new stuff and their album announcement
- TNT: very energetic stuff, was dancing throughout the entire set, love their new stuff
- Hard Driver: cool set, anthem is super sick and his stuff generally is very good. Not as good as the first 4 sets but those were up the roof, I think Hard Driver delivered
- Devin Wild: insane stuff all around, Devin really is the best modern producer, that Drum'n'Bass track he played was insane
SEATS
- B-Front & Phuture Noize: first slight disappointment of the night, though me being on the seats at the back of the dome might not have helped. It was good still, but I feel that Destination Unknown is their best track by far and so their other stuff didn't hit me as good. I'll still wait for HQ (or even the set itself being uploaded) to judge as my position (and tiredness) likely didn't give this set justice
- Shadow Priests (Cryex - The Purge & Adjuzt): Both pretty good sets imo considering they had 15 minutes each, nice showcase of their stuff, also that Dreamscape track from Adjuzt & The Purge is fucking insane
- Vertile: I had no expectations and his sets matched that. Some decent tracks but overall I can't get into his style. Before I Wake still is an amazing track so there is that
DANCEFLOOR
- Warface: really nice set live, I finally got to hear Levitate live
I was harsh on his album because it hits very good on the floor - Deadly Guns: didn't catch the whole thing but it was pretty disappointing. I know his direction and generally like it but it really does not fit Qlimax.Even he has tracks better suited imo, but if they really needed an Uptempo closing Spitnoise or Dither would have been better suited I think :/
Other stuff:
I really enjoyed the show and scenery. Not that much lasers but I'm fine with it, I feel that the images, lighting and scenery were beautiful, really enjoyed the Void theme. The Gelredome is a very good venue too, I had only been once (Qlimax 2014) and it is very easy to move around despite the crowd, entrance was pretty quick too and I'm glad that they let people enter BEFORE the actual event starts.
Overall a very good experiecne on my side, very well worth it
EDIT: I forgot the Qreator, I don't know why they push him so much. I feel his sets are basically kind of a "current" version of the classic warmup set, and the sets are not half bad to be fair, I just wish they booked someone else or added some time to other sets rather than bringing him (especially as a surprise, was a mood killer there lmao)
Formerly lilfrenchidiot/Tritta