By cave Het Zesde Metaal – GC De Kluize – 13 March 2025
On March 13, Het Zesde Metaal touched down at GC De Kluize in Oosterzele – a small cultural center, almost literally in my backyard, where I often attend events. A familiar place, then, that turned out to be a perfect match for the intimate atmosphere the band brought with them on this theatre tour. I had seen them perform before, in different venues and forms – at festivals, in larger concert halls, standing, seated – but this evening felt different. Smaller. More personal. More intense. Closer to home.
This tour centered around Het Langste Jaar, the band’s sixth album, released at the end of 2024 – just a few months after the passing of multi-instrumentalist Tom Pintens. He had finished producing the album before his death. His absence hung over the set like a quiet shadow – palpable but never heavy. In the meantime, Kasper Cornelis had joined the lineup as guitarist and keyboardist – subtle, precise, and exactly where needed.
The band members took to the modest, softly lit stage one by one. No bombast, no grand gestures – just music, in its most honest form. The contrast with their more energetic festival performances was stark, but this setting proved ideal for the vulnerability they intended to convey.
Wannes Cappelle rarely played guitar himself and focused entirely on singing – on carrying the words, the emotions. The lighting remained minimal, the setlist carefully crafted. Not a single moment felt left to chance, and yet it never felt staged. The music breathed.
Between songs, Wannes offered brief commentary – often dry, sometimes sarcastic – about the instruments or the state of the world. The audience casually learned what a lap steel on legs is, or why the drummer performed standing up. There was laughter, murmuring, nodding – small gestures of connection.
Reworked versions of classics like Ploegsteert made an appearance, new arrangements with electronic touches, and above all, many songs from Het Langste Jaar – the grieving heart of this tour. And then there was the cover of Willem Vermandere’s Duizend Soldaten – hauntingly relevant, piercing in its simplicity.
Toward the end, Naar De Wuppe broke through the evening’s restraint. The audience sang along with enthusiasm, the tempo picked up, but even then, that distinctive melancholic undertone remained – a worldview both loving and sharp.
It was an evening that truly landed. No spectacle, no gimmicks – just music, words, and a band that plays straight to the heart. In Oosterzele, Het Zesde Metaal touched something essential.
Silence became meaning.
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