Saturday
For the first band of the day, we had to get up early and even skip breakfast. Iron Walrus on the tent stage presented Sludge Stoner Doom Metal and these Germans certainly were one of the more melodic bands of the festival. Sadly, after half an hour, my hips knocked me out and pain ran through my back. Well, hips don’t lie as Shakira once sang… I paid tribute to my age, laid down in the tent and had to stretch my back for some hours, while a few of our group watched Blood Fire Death, the only cover band at Party.San performing Bathory songs.
Finally, I halfway recovered to make my way back to the infield just before German Sulphur Aeon and their majestic Death Metal. You don’t get to see them too often, so who missed them, tough luck, maybe next year elsewhere?
For a fanzine called Obscuro, it more or less is a must to see the show of Obscura, almost sharing our name. Once again, a German band, playing a very progressive Death Metal according to their high technical skills. Why should they play two notes when they can play ten instead?
Legion Of The Damned from Netherlands have been around for 20 years and it was time for them to return to Party.San this year. Their Thrash Death Metal style not only convinced me once again but also the large audience. Can Legion Of The Damned be called “secret and unofficial headliner”? I think, yes, they can!
Do you fancy strange band names? Here you get Anaal Nathrakh. The British Extreme Metalists named themselves after the first words of one of wizard Merlin’s spells. Whatever you thought, it means “breath of the snake”. The sound was brutal to the extreme, not for everybody’s taste but very powerful and expressive.
At one point, it HAD to become melodic. It was time for Saturday’s co-headliner Paradise Lost. It is difficult to describe the sound of these British metal veterans with only one genre. There are influences of Doom, Death, Gothic Metal, and Dark Rock. Or is it the other way round and Paradise Lost influenced or formed these genres? It was a brilliant set which highlighted the milestones of their 35 years career.
Closer and headliner of Saturday were German Thrash pioneers Sodom, sometimes misspelled as Wodos for the fun of it. 42 years existence and not a single moment of silence speak for themselves. Sodom had put together a very special set of songs exclusively for Party.San. The fans had been able to vote for songs they wanted to hear and Sodom delivered an amazing set excelling themselves compared to their tour last year. For good reason they were celebrated with Sodom shouts and sing-alongs until they played their very last notes long after midnight. These remarkable last notes were the metal version of the German anthem.
And then the final Metal Disco started… Or bedtime. I was happy enough that I had no more problems with back and hips, so I decided for the latter. Others decided for a living after midnight ‘til the dawn. Sunday was the usual day of putting things together, breaking down tents, cleaning campsite and driving back home. It was a relaxed morning and leaving was without a rush and without traffic jams already on the ground. By the way, it was lovely to see, how well the metal heads cleaned up the camp ground before leaving!
The Crew
They all were really nice and helpful. I have already mentioned “Grünbart”, but there were more nice people. The stewards at the gates and entrance were lovely and very relaxed. Sure, they were strict if something was wrong, but still calm and kind. Controls at the doors were quick but effective. The security in the pit was on top notch all the time and still had a sense of humour. I still miss the voice of the “Mistress of the Toilets” in the morning hour commanding people to line up in three rows in front of the water closets and suggesting to the “courageous” women to use the urinal instead. She MUST have been a Drill Sergeant in a former life… These are the people who make a festival different and outstanding. You can watch good bands almost everywhere, but a good crew is the heart of the festival.
And you, the audience
And of course there were you, metal heads from all over the world. Well, nothing else to be expected from metal heads, the people were really nice. But what I liked a lot, there were only a few crowd surfers. Someone said on social media that Party.San is more of a meeting of the music scene than a festival and I would back that. Naturally, fun and partying is part of a festival, but people came here primarily for the music and not just for a party weekend. It definitely is no event for mainstream festival tourists, they would get lost. You celebrated a unique Extreme Metal party. Maybe you didn’t smile or laugh as much as mainstream festival tourists, but it doesn’t mean you had less fun. I bet you had more fun instead, once you concentrated on your desired music and bands. At least I did.
In general, you all were very kind, supportive and polite. There was no aggression or prejudice. Just a metal family all together. See you all next year! Tickets are already on sale and the Early Bird tickets are sold out, so don’t wait for too long.
The Donation
Online:
Please buy merch and physical music or downloads from the bands official sources and don’t stream it for free because it steals your artists’ income.
Text by DerminBoad and Friend.X aka Mr. Deep
Photos by Friend.X aka Mr. Deep
Proof reading and additional editing by DerminBoad