It is a good tradition in Germany to celebrate the Eisheilige Nacht festivals in December. The idea was born by Subway to Sally in 2009 because they were touring in December year by year. So why not expanding it to a festival tour? So here we are again in 2023 with altogether nine concerts in Germany and one, the opener, in Switzerland. The closer of course will take place at Potsdam as another tradition. Friend.X of Obscuro.eu will report about the event at Giessen, December 12th 2023!
Eisheilige Nacht Osnabrück 2009
The line-up 2023 consists of rising newcomers Manntra from Umag/Croatia, Letzte Instanz from Dresden/Germany, Fiddler’s Green from Erlangen/Germany and of course Subway To Sally from Potsdam/Germany. By the way, does anyone know, who this Sally is?
Manntra
Their style is best described as Folkloristic Metal. The influences of local medieval roots are undeniable and make their sound very different from most other Folk Metal bands. Traditional melodies combined with modern metal riffs give Manntra an outstanding catchiness and their live show is brilliant anyway. Here are a few pics of their show in Frankfurt one year ago.
Letzte Instanz
Last time I saw them was this year at Rockharz Festival. Even though their time slot was still “daylight”, they made use of a lot of fire, pyro and flames during their furious live show. Letzte Instanz combine metal instruments with cello and violin, which is not very common. Their German lyrics are often very serious if you look behind the curtain of sweet melodies. Pics of course are from Rockharz.
Fiddler’s Green
As Letzte Instanz, I last saw them at Rockharz, so of course their pics will also be from this smart festival. Once again, the instruments are different compared to usual metal bands. Irish bouzouki, accordion, bodhrán and violin clearly dominate guitars and bass. They will release a new album by the end of 2023, so stay tuned for it. Do you know they created their own whiskies? I once had a tasting and they are of an excellent range which does not stand back behind their music. The latter is best described as Punkish Metal-Folk. So here we go.
Subway To Sally
They of course are the headliner. Do I really need to write anything about them? Everybody should know these Medieval and Folk Metal veterans around Eric Fish. They use even more non-metal instruments than all three previous bands together. Sometimes I am not even sure if they are music instruments or medieval torture instruments. Anyway, their music certainly is no torture but pure candy and pleasure for the ears. Their show doesn’t stand back. Nevertheless, here are some pics of, again, Rockharz 2023 when Eric Fish And Friends opened the festival with unusual quiet tones.
Previous years
I’ve done a bit of research so here are the line-ups of the past Eisheilige Nächte from 2009 on. Of Course, during the Corona Years they had come to a halt but in 2022 they returned better, louder, faster and more than ever.
Year Guests
2009 Letzte Instanz, Omega Lithium, Zeraphine
2010 Dunkelschön, Letzte Instanz, Mono Inc., Saltatio Mortis
2011 Feuerschwanz, Fiddler’s Green, Letzte Instanz, Megaherz, Tanzwut
2012 Die Apokalyptischen Reiter, Fejd, Russkaja
2013 Lordi, Lord of the Lost, Korpiklaani
2014 Heldmaschine, Saltatio Mortis, Unzucht
2015 Fiddler’s Green, Letzte Instanz, Versengold
2016 Lord of the Lost, Eluveitie, Vroudenspil
2017 Feuerschwanz, Mono Inc., Mr. Hurley & Die Pulveraffen
2018 Paddy and the Rats, Russkaja, Versengold
2019 Fiddler’s Green, Knasterbart, Vogelfrey
2022 Mr. Irish Bastard, Tanzwut, Mr. Hurley & Die Pulveraffen
2023 Fiddler’s Green, Letzte Instanz, Manntra
It is now up to you to make the Eisheilige Nacht 2023 Tour as successful as or even more successful than in the past years.
Online:
Please buy merch and physical music or downloads from the bands official sources and don’t stream music for free because it steals your artists’ income
proof reading by DerminBoad
All pics by Friend.X aka Mr. Deep