Saturday – Hotter Than Hell
I must confess, I kind of f*cked up Saturday. Age pays its toll somehow. Sometimes there is a rest, even for the wicked. I left out the earlier bands and paid a visit to the infield not before Wolfheart and Wind Rose. Still being too tired and a bit weird in my brains I managed to confuse the slots of Lacuna Coil and Cargass so sadly no Cristina Scabbia for me this time, but the last few songs of the other band before it was time for a Life In Agony and the one and only Lord(s) Of The Lost. No. 1 album, ESC-participation, and a growing and growing fan base make it a very successful year so far. All I can say, well deserved by these five sympathetic musician and their lovely crew. Their multi-genre style proofed once again that Metal is not black, is not dark and is not evil. It is colourful, diverse and uniting! To me a prefect but far too short slot which invented the One Person Mosh Pit.
The next two bands in a row, and I had to gather up all my remaining energy to make it to the end, were Saltatio Mortis and Amon Amarth. Pyros ruled during their sets, as if it was a show of KISS or Rammstein. It felt like there was a competition going on, who would make more use of them. They burned the sky and it was so hot. Hell was a place on earth. At least it was a clear draw… And during the set of SaMo I at least got my little piece of Cristina, she performed Dragonborn as a duet with Alea.
Amon Amarth delivered finest Viking Metal. Bannds like them never dissapoint and so they they didn’t this time. Changing stage backdrops, fighting warriors, flames, nordic gods, growling vocals, screaming guitats and classic metan anthems, what else does a metalhead need to be satisfied? Exactly, nothing!!!
The last song of 2023’s RHZ edition was an Overkill, you would expect nothing less from Phil Campell And The Bastard Sons. They played a nice set of Motörhead classics. It is a real tragedy that all three founding members of Motörhead are already dead, but they are still alive in our hearts. A good, if not perfect closer of the festival.
While we talk about death, we need to come to the saddest moments of Rockharz festivals. Between the sets of Saltation Mortis and Amon Amarth all the crew entered the stage. First, to say thank you to the audience, second, to say goodbye to the fallen of the festival. Kristin, chef de cuisine of the band catering died due to a car accident just the day before and three weeks ago, the Rockharz family had to say goodbye to Dirk Lehberger who died in the mid of June after a heart attack. Both are big losses and a minute of silence surely was not enough to honour them. Their memory will remain. Good people always die too young.
