Hawaii Friday
Friday is known to be the traditional Hawaiian shirt day for the Grabenschlampen. As a surprise, most of the festival photographers have also bought Hawaiian shirts for this legendary day. So the troupe marches in formation towards the photo pit, ready for the first attack of the early morning.
This is carried out by SEASONS IN BLACK. In a coup, the Bavarians take the stage and overwhelm the already numerous audience with melodic metal sounds.
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With ARCTIS, we leave the southern German countryside and travel to the far north, once again to Finland. We are greeted by a band that has been impressing audiences with modern metal and female vocals since the beginning of their career. This is some serious competition for some established bands!
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Next up is British Metalcore from DEFECTS. They get down to business with energy, loudness and brutality. No compromises, right into the ear canal and firmly anchored there, they leave a lasting impression.
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Things get a little tamer with HARPYIE. They impress with strong vocal performances and Westphalian Folk Metal sounds at lunchtime. Bad news for the food stands, the infield remains more than well filled.
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It’s becoming French with AEPHANEMER. French metal bands are rather rare, as the music scene there is very special. Nevertheless, the band around the likeable singer Marion Bascoul has rightly made a name for itself in the international Melodic Death Metal scene and shines at Rockharz with brutal, screeching vocals and harmonious power metal influences.
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After this very convincing performance, DESERTED FEAR climbs onto the stage between an autograph session and a private wedding appointment. Thuringian Death Metal almost makes some listeners feel at home, as the band comes from the neighbouring federal state.
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It’s time for coffee and cake with VADER. They serve us the finest Death Metal with three lead guitars (!) instead of latte macchiato and cherry pie. The spice mix is just right and perfectly matched to the euphoric audience.
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They wanted to perform at Rockharz three times, but it didn’t work out three times, and the audience is already wondering what will go wrong this time… Long story short, nothing. DRACONIAN not only manage to play their entire set, but also finish it unscathed, despite all the prophecies of doom. The Swedes confidently thrill the crowd with their two vocalists, Anders and Lisa. They are rightly celebrated for their mix of Gothic and Doom Metal.
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So they’re not making it easy for ANY GIVEN DAY from Gelsenkirchen. While their local football club is now only playing in the second division, the band led by the two Dennises on vocals and guitar are clearly at home in the premier league of Metalcore. The show is a total demolition and definitely one of the highlights of the day.
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We stay in the Ruhr area and head to Bochum to see DIE KASSIERER. They are certainly the most controversial band at the festival. After all, they play a toned-down primitive punk show, which is good enough and completely sufficient.
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Things get trashy with veterans OVERKILL. All controls are set to 11 and we’re back to real metal. The band skillfully plays their set as if they were not already in their prime retirement age, but in the midst of their creative prime. Those who can, can.
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The change to GLORYHAMMER is abrupt. Now their fantasy world reigns not only over the stage, but also over the dinosaur- and unicorn-heavy audience. This is real fantasy power metal of the best British quality.
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It stays British with CRADLE OF FILTH. Is there much to say when Dani Filth calls for an infernal mixture of dark, Symphonic Black and Extreme Metal with his usual high, shrill voice? Remarkably, the band has survived the recent line-up changes without any loss of quality; on the contrary, it looked to be more united than ever, as the marriage of Marek and Zoe proves. A band like this always deserves some more pics although I still miss Lindsay and Richard. Meanwhile their replacements Zoe and Marek have left the band for personal reasons too as you might have heard already so it was an unexpected first and last time I saw this line-up.
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We meet old friends at their favourite festival when MONO INC. takes to the stage at the perfect time. It’s going to be gothic, melodic and at times certainly more pop-oriented than is usual at metal festivals. But that’s exactly what the loyal, more than numerous fan base wants to hear. The infield is packed to the food court and it’s going to get even fuller… And of course you get more pics.
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POWERWOLF have brought a backdrop screen with great, almost three-dimensional image effects and a very elaborate stage set-up for their performance. Fireworks and smoke columns paired with a sophisticated Power Metal show create an almost musical-like atmosphere. Every note is perfect. The live musicians and soundboard recordings harmonise with each other in a magnificent way. Every movement, every gesture and every announcement by the Saarlanders is perfect, right down to the famous icing on the cake. This is a show of a true headliner!
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Things take a darker turn with Icelandic band SOLSTAFIR and their unique soundscapes. Gone is the carefree attitude of the previous Power Metal act. Solemn melodies dominate the stage and the audience in muted colours, who are simply mesmerised by the performance. Every note is played exactly where it belongs. No note is too much, no note too little. We experience the high art of Progressive Metal in its purest form. It is perhaps the most atmospheric concert of the entire festival. Da Capo, I take my hat off and bow to this performance!
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