Saturday
The Dawn
Danish youngsters Nakkeknaekker fire full volleys of Old School Death Metal. You think, 11:30 is too early for a wall of death? No, it isn’t! They are the ultimate wake-up call for the last sleeper on the campsite.
Parasite Inc. convince with their slightly more melodic interpretation of Death Metal. They manage to keep the pace and increase the mood. It becomes more crowded minute by minute…
Storm Seeker interrupt the reign of Death. Are all pirates on board now? Get ready to row, invade and conquer with full nautic forces. Hurdy-gurdy, flute and beer dominate the stage, very well done!
Knife return to well-groomed Speed and Thrash Metal. As their vocalist once said, they always give 150%, no matter if five or 5000 people in the audience. There are slightly more and Knife pull all triggers of their explosive and harsh show!
It is time for the maybe the most obscure band of today, Coppelius. Acoustic double bass, cello and clarinet, clothes from the late 19th century do their duty and find together to a formidable interpretation of Chamber-Metal. Great show, please more next time!
Afternoon Evacuation
I miss Mystic Prophecy and the festival photographers’ own photo-session, my idea is to return to the infield for their last two songs and take my pics from a distance. Well, it happens what has never happened before. Due to heavy storm, rain and hail warnings the infield must be evacuated. The festival is interrupted for the first time in 30 years. No one knows what will happen. My interview with Knife is cancelled too. No one is allowed to leave the shelter for quite some time. Thank you for your discipline und understanding, dear audience. Nestor, Avatarium and Draconian must cancel their slots, safety first of course. JUst check, how the skies changed over the days.
Thank all weather gods it doesn’t get as tough as feared. Rockharz is only slightly touched and can continue short before 18:00 as planned. Orden Ogan present songs of their brand-new album. They are not used to playing them live, so they ask the audience for support, or they might have to leave “when we fail”. Well, they don’t fail, and the new songs fit in perfectly.
The Melodic Death Metal of Soilwork lets the sun shine again. It is blinding. And it is good. It whets the appetite for more metal meals after we missed three courses.
So, get ready for Schandmaul. They present 2 guest-vocalists, Alea of Saltatio Mortis and Marco Klingel, the vocal coach of original vocalist Thomas Lindner. He relies on playing guitar only and gives a heart-breaking explanation. Cancer is a beast.
The infield is filled as never before, and it is time for THE legend of Heavy Metal, welcome Rob Halford and Judas Priest. Their origins go back to 1969 which makes it a career span of 55 years. Judas Priest have forgotten nothing; they break the law and live after midnight until another thing is coming, as if they were still in their golden 20ies. What a great show and unique legend.
It is tough to play after such a blast, but Peter Tägtren’s Hypocrisy take it with ease. They handle it with cleverness and self-confidence. Peter is crazy himself anyway. He performed with Pain on Thursday, flew over to a gig in Finland just to return to the after-headliner slot of Hypocrisy. My respect and esteem!
The night still is not over, it is time for monsters and Hallelujah, it is Lordi-time. I’ve seldom seen them in such a good mood as this time. Perfect show and perfect music to lead to the closer of the festival.
Faun take over for the last hour and play a dreamy set of mystic Pagan-Metal. I must confess, after everything that happened since Power Paladin opened on Wednesday early afternoon, I’m a bit too tired to follow them with the deserved attention, but I certainly have them on my bucket list for a next time.
