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{"id":1773,"date":"2015-08-06T18:07:25","date_gmt":"2015-08-06T16:07:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powerofmetal.dk\/?p=1773"},"modified":"2015-08-11T22:36:03","modified_gmt":"2015-08-11T20:36:03","slug":"wacken-open-air-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsite.powerofmetal.dk\/live-reviews\/wacken-open-air-2015","title":{"rendered":"Wacken Open Air 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/p>\n The Holy Wacken Land is open for business.<\/strong> A lot of good music is on offer also this year, but the festival starts in a way no one had hoped for: It has rained continuously for three days before the festival, and it doesn\u2019t stop there.<\/p>\n During Tuesday, the Wacken Open Air team sends out warnings because of the uncontrollable amounts of mud that are forming on the festival grounds. The reports, it turns out, are not exaggerated. As we hit the VIP camp grounds, the field is already a mess. The first stroll out to the \u2018real\u2019 camp site proves that things are even worse there. There\u2019s mud everywhere, ankle deep, in some places even more.<\/p>\n Here’s the Power Of Metal.dk Wacken 2015 team (Phil, Thomas, J\u00f8rgen, Matt), getting ready to venture into the mud:<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n One of the consequences of the weather conditions is that we miss at least a couple of the Wacken Metal Battle bands we would\u2019ve liked to see, and our first encounter with metal music today is US thrash\/classic rock outfit DEADIRON<\/strong>. Front man Alexander is a showman more than anything and uses not only the WET stage and the wrestling podium between the WET and Headbangers stages to incite the audience to partake in the fun, he also engages very directly in the circle pit, which is formed on his own request. If he\u2019s a great singer is hard to tell because the vocal production is honestly bad, and it\u2019s hard to hear him at all, but entertaining he certainly is.<\/p>\n Attending: J\u00f8rgen, Phil, Thomas<\/strong><\/p>\n Rating:<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n Immediately after Deadiron, we make the easy shift over to the Headbangers Stage, where the 14-year-old guitar progeny NIK KAI<\/strong> and his band NO WORDS<\/strong> are getting ready to play their first Wacken gig. The fact that the boy is only 14 is mentioned more than once, as if that in itself is a selling point. When it comes down to it, I don\u2019t really care what age the guitarist of a band is, as long as he plays well. He clearly masters his instrument, but that doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that the band can put together great songs. No Words\u2019 music has a nu metal touch, a metal core touch, some thrash, some traditional metal, i.e. a bit for everyone\u2019s taste. The Wacken audience is not immediately convinced that this band is the best thing since Nutella, but after a few songs, the crowd kind of gets warmed up and coughs up the response the singer is looking for. Actually, the constant mentioning of Kai’s age leads to considerations of how such a young boy can have so much hair in his armpits etc. Perhaps there should be more focus on the music, eh eh?<\/p>\n Attending: J\u00f8rgen, Phil, Thomas<\/strong><\/p>\n Rating:<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n No surprise: Arjen Anthony Lucassen does not show up at Wacken for the The Gentle Storm<\/strong> show. The Dutch hermit stays at home, composing material for upcoming masterpieces I will worship just like the previous ones.<\/p>\n Anneke Van Giersbergen is luckily here. She is such a lovely person to behold. Her big smile, her aura of positive energy and, of course, that fabulous voice.<\/p>\n She is not alone at the Wackinger stage. Marcela Bovio must receive a special applause. She is not just a side chorister. Her duo with Anneke is terrific and these female voices match perfectly with 7-string guitars (awesome Merel Bechtold) and 5-string bass.<\/p>\n One person is missing from the live line-up: Joost van den Broeck. His keyboards and equipment have been stolen and the show is dedicated to him.<\/p>\n The songs from \u2018The Diary\u2019 are the backbone of the gig. \u2018The Storm\u2019 deserves its title on CD, on stage and in the audience with the nice weather we have now: cold rain and wind. The tracklist is completed with \u2018Witnesses\u2019 (Agua de Annique), \u2018Strange Machines\u2019 (The Gathering) and \u2018Fallout\u2019 (Devin Townsend Project). I have only one regret, as there is no Ayreon song from \u2018Into the Electric Castle\u2019 and its Egyptian voice, and no \u2018Waking Dreams\u2019. I would love to hear those songs live. Anyway, I give two thumbs up to The Gentle Storm<\/strong>, for studio and live version.<\/p>\n Attending: Thomas, Phil<\/strong><\/p>\n Rating:<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a> There are many weird concepts in metal, and GRAILKNIGHTS<\/strong> is one of them. A bunch of German guys dressed as superheroes play Hammerfall-ish metal. It\u2019s fun for about three minutes, then it sort of wears out. After ten minutes, someone like me is ready to leave the tent. And that\u2019s what I do.<\/p>\n Attending: Thomas<\/p>\n Rating: None<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n Now, this is where it gets too much in terms of rain and mud. You have to focus so much on keeping your camera dry and not falling etc. that you get tired of it all. So it\u2019s back to the tent and grabbing some food \u2013 knowing ourselves well enough to admit that we\u2019re not going to catch the NEW MODEL ARMY<\/strong> later on, even that was actually the plan.<\/p>\n Fed and filled up and with dry clothes, I venture into the darkness, pouring rain and mud. I\u2019m heading up to Headbangers Stage to see none other than Swedish 80s icon EUROPE<\/strong>. The five Swedes turn out to be so much more than the Final Countdown and Carrie. In fact, they have skipped the latter tune altogether tonight. I\u2019ve never been a follower of Europe, but have enjoyed listening to a few of their songs over the years. This means I\u2019m not really familiar with the major part of the material played tonight. Still, it\u2019s plain to everyone that this is a band who know their stuff and quite simply deliver a good old, solid rock performance. You could expect that a band like Europe would rest of the laurels and play their old material, but this is certainly not the case. In fact, they start out with two songs from their new album, \u2018War of Kings\u2019, and another tune from said album is aired later. The songs I do recognise are Superstitious, Sign of the Times, Let the Good Times Rock and Rock the Night, and of course the power of recognition adds a certain something to the songs. It\u2019s probably unavoidable: The encore is Final Countdown. I never thought I\u2019d say this, but this is quite simply majestic. I never thought that hearing this song live and witnessing the overwhelming response of the audience would be so goose-bump provoking. It is. Great stuff!<\/p>\n Attending: Thomas<\/p>\n Rating:<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n Waking up to even more rain is just not great. It\u2019s somehow harder to get out of the sleeping bag than usual, knowing that this is going to be another day of soaked clothes and fighting through the mud. But what can you do? We\u2019re here for the metal, and the metal doesn\u2019t happen in the camp site, and certainly not in our tents. The first band we encounter are SAVAGE MACHINE<\/strong>, the Danish winners of the international Wacken Metal Battle. The show begins with Iron Forest from their debut EP \u2018Through the Iron Forest\u2019, a really great song. The Danes are filled with energy and despite some sound problems, they deliver a great show, which seems to go down well with the crowd. If you\u2019re into Blind Guardian, Kai Hansen or just normal Power Metal, Savage Machine are probably a band you\u2019d want to check out. Good one.<\/p>\n Attending: Thomas, Phil, J\u00f8rgen<\/strong><\/p>\n Rating:<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a> This was not our original intension, but because of the pouring rain, we stay in the tent for a bit longer. This turns out to be a good choice. Romanian Metal Battle winners DARK FUSION<\/strong> have a strong on-stage presence, a futuristic\/gothic visual concept and pound the audience with their impressive barrage of industrial metal. They\u2019ve done their homework and prepared synchronous headbanging and moves, and overall make a great impression.<\/p>\n Attending: J\u00f8rgen, Phil, Thomas<\/strong><\/p>\n Rating:<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n The rain hasn\u2019t stopped yet, so we stay a bit longer. Dutch Metal Battle winners FOR I AM KING have a charming little girl with specs in front. Her singing\u2019s not exactly charming, though. She can grunt! I\u2019m not sure how to label their brand of extreme metal, but it comes across as being a bit unstructured, and when the rain stops after a couple of songs, we move on.<\/p>\n Attending: J\u00f8rgen, Phil, Thomas <\/a> Folk metal phenomenon IN EXTREMO<\/strong> are as popular as usual here in Germany and gather a huge crowd in front of the Black Stage. As it is the case for basically all concerts today, the extreme amounts of mud dampen the reactions of the audience considerably, which, of course, is a shame. Still, Michael Rhein and his jolly fellows manage to create a party with their dudelsack metal and in particular with tunes like Erdbeerenmund, Spielmannsfluch and Rasend Herz. In Extremo celebrate their 20th anniversary this year, and cake is even shared with fortunate members of the audience.<\/p>\n Attending: Matt, Phil, J\u00f8rgen, Thomas<\/strong><\/p>\n Rating: <\/a> White Zombie\u00a0was one of those bands I liked\u00a0a lot during the 90s, but never got to see live. Now I finally have the chance to at least hear three songs from that era played live\u00a0by the infamous front man, ROB ZOMBIE<\/strong>. \u00a0A Rob Zombie show, it turns out, is just as much a spectacle as it is about the music. A damned shame that this takes place during broad daylight, because the stage setup and the band’s make-up surely must be impressive in a dark place! Anyhoo, it’s great to hear some of the songs I listened (a lot) to back in the day (More Human Than Human, Super-Charger Heaven) alongside latter-day Zombie hits like Teenage Nosferatu Pussy and\u00a0Living Dead Girl – plus a snippet of Enter Sandman. Excellent gig.<\/p>\n Attending: Thomas<\/p>\n Rating: <\/a> The return of Savatage<\/strong> has had many people on a buzz for ages. Jon Oliva is a criminally underrated songwriter. To say we\u00a0are excited about this does not convey it appropriately. They are doing a dual set with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra<\/strong> (TSO) across two stages \u2013 a feat which I will learn in the press conference the following day all came together because of Al Pitrelli. That is to say, he was the glue that held that aspect of the performance together. The band members all pay tribute to one another for their various contributions, but it is Al who\u00a0is hailed as the hero of the night for his ability to remain calm and co-ordinated. Jon even\u00a0mentions the pyro burnt his hand, but he heartily adds that he loved every second of the performance.<\/p>\n Well, so does pretty much everyone else that\u00a0are there despite the unrelenting rain and the mud up to our shins.<\/p>\n It starts with Savatage. It has been a long time for a lot of people, many of whom I can see with tour shirts from the last time Wacken hosted them. Songs from \u2018Hall Of The Mountain King\u2019 and \u2018Streets\u2019 go down particularly well but Savatage do well to include things spanning almost their entire career. Even before the addition of the orchestra, they sound more operatic and it works well. The sound is very good. In rain that most people including organisers have described as the worst in the history of the festival, the sheer number of spectators is a staunch testament to the captivating power that Savatage still create. I\u2019ve seen many people leave headlining acts because of far less rain.<\/p>\n Jon is a showman and a half. He loves being on that stage and it doesn\u2019t seem obvious that he was absent from it with Savatage for so long, particularly in the final song before TSO arrive on the other stage. When they do, Al has raced across to perform with them. The only thing that is out of place with the TSO set is the unnecessary back up dancers. That they could have done without. Not in any way required nor making any meaningful contribution. It\u2019s the only criticism I have of the evening. Please don\u2019t have them again. Also it is quite apparent that after 20 minutes of TSO the majority of people are waiting for Savatage. After 20 minutes, every song that finished of TSO is followed by the crowd looking over to the Savatage stage.<\/p>\n The musician skills are not in dispute, though, and regarding that I don\u2019t know how the hell they manage to get the sound so good. Seriously, with a never before attempted dual stage headliner, a lot could have gone wrong here. What a feat to organise it and pull it off so well, especially when the two stages are playing simultaneously and with the weather being so shit and the wind picking up. The sound and stage crew are world class here. No fault at all. I could have been watching this in Dolby surround sound it is that good. The visual display except for the dancers is as entertaining as the musical performances themselves.<\/p>\n Attending: Thomas, J\u00f8rgen, Matt<\/strong><\/p>\n Rating: <\/a> This has been the second day of pissing rain and more and more mud. Although we’d actually like to see Architects of Chaos with Paul Di’Anno in front, there’s no more energy left, and we wade back to our bunks to get some sleep and get ready for the third day of mud & metal.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Rumour has it that the rain will stop today, and we can’t wait for it to do so. And rightly enough, there\u00a0are only few drops from\u00a0the heavens throughout the day, and the sun\u00a0begins to take over. Not that the mud will be gone as if by magic –\u00a0far from it. It’s still like\u00a0walking in doug in many, many places. Anyway,\u00a0after breakfast, it’s time for more metal music.<\/p>\n EPICA<\/strong> have build a substantial following over the past year, and I can see why, even if this isn’t 100% my type of music. Much of the explanation for the popularity would of course be found in the fine voice of lovely Simone Simons who also live shows her ability to entertain the masses. I’m not familiar with the material, but I can see from the reactions of the crowd that the choice of songs goes down well. For me, this looks like an effective and professional performance with a bunch of musicians who know their trade of symphonic easy-listening metal. A nice to wake up, but not our thing.<\/p>\n Attending: Phil, Thomas<\/strong><\/p>\n Rating:<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n There is little doubt in my mind that Italian female fronted\u00a0ANCIENT BARDS\u00a0<\/strong>is a band to watch out for for fans of Rhapsody and the like, but I’m\u00a0personally bored stiff after four or five songs of this\u00a0round of\u00a0guitar wanking.<\/p>\n Attending: Thomas<\/p>\n Rating:<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n FALCONER<\/strong> is the first band for me to watch Friday. This is their second show at Wacken, and it will also be their last if we are to believe singer Mathias Blad. Don\u2019t really know why, but even if they are\u00a0all dressed in black, the\u00a0band is in a great mood. The Swedish power\/folk institution delivers a great show despite not playing many live shows. We are\u00a0served songs from all of their albums and the sound is\u00a0excellent. The sun even comes out for the first time\u00a0during the festival!<\/p>\n Attending: J\u00f8rgen<\/p>\n Rating: As we wait for\u00a0Sepultura to begin, we watch a few songs by\u00a0ENSIFERUM on the True Stage. On the whole, this doesn’t work for me, but I do see the qualities in a song like Burning Leaves.<\/p>\n Attending: Phil, Thomas<\/strong><\/p>\n Rating: None<\/p>\n SEPULTURA<\/strong> are, on the other hand, my thing. The band is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and here at Wacken, it’s being celebrated with a song from all releases except ‘Nation’, ‘Roorback’ and ‘A-Lex’ – and that’s simply because they don’t have time for more. A gig that starts off\u00a0with Troops of Doom from ‘Morbid Visions’ cannot go wrong in\u00a0my book. Then on to From the Past Comes the Storms from ‘Schizophrenia’, Inner Self’, Arise, Refuse\/Resist, Roots Bloody Roots, and from the Derrick Green era it’s Choke, Convicted in Life, Kairos, a welcome stint back in time with Orgasmatron, then The Vatican and finally the Tit\u00e4s cover Policia (where I’d probably preferred another Sepultura song, but so be it). Attending: Phil, Thomas\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Rating:<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Colossal presence (Sepultura)<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n STRATOVARIUS <\/strong>are suffering from the fact that the crowd \u2013 because of the mud \u2013 can do little more than nod their heads in rhythm or clap their hands above their heads. Nobody is physically able to move more than that \u2013 and that probably isn\u2019t something they\u2019re used to on stage because they\u2019ve had a very long and well established career. They are enjoying their performance and we are treated to some material for their new album due to be released next month called \u2018Eternal\u2019. The music is tight \u2013 really precise and their technical skill on guitars in particular is commendable. The dual guitar solos are performed so well. I personally feel that they deserve to be a little higher on the billing than they are. A lot of people have waded through the sludge to see them. They set the standard for power metal live acts for me this year. The best power metal performance of 2015 I have seen. But at this point I didn’t know that\u00a0this would change already Saturday!<\/p>\n Attending: Matt<\/p>\n Rating: <\/p>\n AT THE GATES<\/strong> founded the Swedish Melodeath School. \u2018Slaughter of the Soul\u2019 is a must have classic. Period.\u00a0I discovered this album when I\u00a0watched the\u00a0\u2018Blinded by Fear\u2019 music video at 2 a.m. on French TV, many, many years ago: I remember I bought the CD a couple of days later. I did not hesitate to pre-order \u2018At War with Reality\u2019, many, many years later: an excellent choice. When I am thinking about AtG, I\u00a0have Carcass in mind too. \u2018Why?\u2019\u00a0you may ask. First, both bands are definitely leaders, not followers, and inspired tons of combos. After a very long break, when many thought they were out forever, both played reformation shows, which brought them\u00a0to the Hole in the Sky festival in Bergen, where I enjoyed each note they played. Both came later with a terrific new record, which can stand the comparison with their legendary previous productions. Last but not the least, Carcass played last year at Wacken for a more than a \u201810 devils\u2019 show: a great and wild souvenir!<\/p>\n Today it is the turn of the Swedes from G\u00f6teborg<\/em> to hit the scene here. The sun is back, but wind has tricky influence on their advanced and particular riffs, which deserve the perfect sound they had at Hole in the Sky, then at Aalborg Metal festival where they blew me up. Indoor shows match perhaps better their compositions and style. Anyway, the concert itself is great, and Tomas \u2018Tompa\u2019 Lindberg is running from side to side, as a screaming Nisse<\/em>. After Derek Greene, and later Mikael \u00c5kerfeldt, Mark Osegueda and John Bush, it is the frontmen day today (on Saturday too, because of Dee \u2018Fucking\u2019 Snyder, the king of frontmen!). AtG do not let us go before a last punch in the face: THE \u2018Blinded by Fear\u2019.<\/p>\n Attending: Thomas, Phil<\/strong><\/p>\n Rating: <\/a> My own private story with OPETH <\/strong>started on July 2000 when I bought \u2018Still Life\u2019 in Trondheim, and played it in the car on my way to Nordland, Troms and Finnmark: long journey with great music. From the first notes of \u2018The Moor\u2019, I understood this band would have a special place in my discography. I have seen them live three times, twice in Oslo, once in Kristiansand, always indoor. I could not yet experience them in open air: the show at Hovefestivalen in Arendal was canceled because Mikael \u00c5kerfeldt had chickenpox; Coroner played at the same time at Wacken in 2012, a heartbreaking choice.<\/p>\n Opeth\u00a0is not just playing songs,\u00a0they create delicate or bombastic atmospheres.\u00a0Will it work with an outdoor show on a sunny day? They open the gig with \u2018Eternal Rains Will Come\u2019 and \u2018Cusp of Eternity\u2019 from Pale Communion, and the magic works immediately, magnified by a loud and clear sound. Then we get the first moment of grace through the notes of \u2018Drapery Falls\u2019. The second one comes with \u2018To Rid the Disease\u2019. From now on I am flying high: do not take\u00a0drugs or alcohol, just music. I need a couple of minutes to land after a huge \u2018Deliverance\u2019, which is closing a show I will definitely remember.<\/p>\n P.S.: I just disagree with Mikael when he sings \u2018God Is Dead\u2019: Cthulhu is actually just asleep\u2026 For the record, he has still a great sense of humour (I am talking about Mikael\u2026).<\/p>\n Attending: Phil <\/strong><\/p>\n Rating: BLACK LABEL SOCIETY <\/strong>are ok \u2013 the power of \u2018The Beggning\u2019 and \u2018Funeral Bell\u2019 and Zakks impressive vocals are a good start. Thankfully they\u2019re spending less time talking between songs and it is a good half an hour before Zakk spends ten minutes going over and over the same repetitive guitar phrase. I\u2019m sorry but however great a player his is \u2013 and he most definitely is \u2013 there\u2019s just no need for this. It is the same every time, and it\u2019s boring. When you\u2019ve only got a little over an hour to play, why not play? \u2018Concrete Jungle\u2019 is played significantly slower, and the rendition of \u2018Blessed Hellride\u2019 sounds a lot different. It\u2019s not the acoustic ballad from the album. It\u2019s a little darker with the electric element. It works, but I prefer the original version.<\/p>\n Attending: Matt<\/p>\n Rating: Parts of QUEENSRYCHE’s<\/strong> portfolio I quite simply worship. ‘Operation:Mindcrime’ first and foremost, then ‘Promised Land’ and ‘Empire’, to some extent also ‘The Warning’. Funny thing is that I never have seen them live, and it’s something I really wanted for ages. Now that Todd La Torre is on board, I also have some faith in the band’s ability to actually hit the\u00a0right note, so to speak.\u00a0Todd\u00a0certainly is a fantastic\u00a0singer. He treats the classic Qr\u00ffche material with great respect and delivers everything, also the songs from last years ‘Queensr\u00ffche’ album\u00a0perfectly. Things start out a bit worrying with a dodgy sound, but things are cleared up quickly. Michael Wilton and Eddie Jackson are not the most lively musicians on the planet, but La Torre and Parker Lundgren make up for that with more movement, as does the dynamo behind the drums, Scott Rockenfield. En Force, Warning, Breaking the Silence, The Needle Lies, Eyes of a Stranger, Queen of the Reich and\u00a0Take Hold of the Flame are some of the powerful tunes that wave over the muddy rivers of Wacken today, and it’s like a relief for someone like me who’s taken so long to finally get to see this band. Queensr\u00ffche also plays a promising old-school sounding song from their upcoming album. Can’t wait to hear that one!<\/p>\n Attending: Phil,\u00a0J\u00f8rgen, Thomas<\/strong><\/p>\n Rating:<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Oi! Is that Geoff Tate? Will someone kick his arse? Wait, hang on, I just did myself… (Queensr\u00ffche)<\/strong><\/p>\n Attending: Thomas, Matt<\/strong><\/p>\n Rating: <\/a><\/p>\n Flashback to the 90s – Mike Mangini behind the kit once more (Annihilator)<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n It is difficult to describe the intensity of DEATH ANGEL<\/strong> show. These guys are not getting older, they are getting wilder. \u2018Seemingly Endless Time\u2019 from the classic ‘Act III’ album\u00a0opens the hostilities and even during Mark Osegueda\u2019s between songs speeches, we do not get a second to catch our breath: what a frontman! Rob Cavestany was, is and will always be a guitar hero for me, in the studio and on stage: just check out the solos from \u2018Voracious Souls\u2019, solos\u00a0he composed when he was teenager. But Mark, Rob, Ted, Will and Damian are not living in the past, and songs like \u2019The Dream Calls for Blood\u2019 or \u2018Succubus\u2019 kill as well (Kill as one, hahaha?). Just sweat, blood, fun and a diabolical precision in the execution of the songs. I just feel I have been executed, and so happy for that. Thank you very much, you amok Thrashers. I am afraid the WET stage as to be rebuilt now.<\/p>\n Attending: Thomas, Phil<\/strong><\/p>\n Rating: <\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I have seen DREAM THEATER<\/strong> several times before and they never disappoint, same thing with their Wacken show. They were tight as hell and really seemed to enjoy their first show at Wacken. They played all their classics like The Spirit Carries on etc. it was a really great show that everyone seemed to enjoy. Sadly I had to go early to catch the Armored Saint show.<\/p>\n Attending: J\u00f8rgen<\/p>\n Rating: Aaah, the memories. At some point in 1991, J\u00f8rgen and I got ourselves on a bus and headed down to the Rock Hard Festival in Berlin. The bill was quite frankly an odd mixture: Morgoth, Sepultura, Obituary, Blind Guardian and, you guessed it,\u00a0ARMORED SAINT<\/strong>. Having then just released the ‘Symbol of Salvation’ album, the Saint wasn’t the winner of the day, there in Berlin. J\u00f8rgen and I were practically their only fans, along with perhaps 20 others. Depressing it was. Eventually, Armored Saint collapsed without having reached the deserved recognition, only to return after John Bush had left Anthrax. They’re a good band, and in my view, they deserve a lot of credit. Some of that credit they get today on the Headbangers Stage. Attending: Phil,\u00a0J\u00f8rgen, Thomas<\/strong><\/p>\n Rating: <\/a><\/p>\n Much like their performance I witnessed at Hellfest earlier this year, IN FLAMES <\/strong>have pulled in the crowd. I suspect it won’t be long before they are headlining major UK festivals too. Most of what I said at the Hellfest review also applies here. The only difference is that the crowd are a little more restricted in being able to go as crazy as the Hellfest crowd on account of the ground conditions. For the same reasons, I\u00a0am restricted too, being able to only see this from further back, but the sound is still incredible \u2013 very well balanced. The pyros during and at the end of their set\u00a0go down a treat and they\u00a0are just as tight as they\u00a0were a little more than a month ago. There\u2019s a bit more talking between the songs, of which there are more than was the case at Hellfest. I do kinda wish their image was still the same as a few years back instead of developing an almost nu-metal look. Well, to be fair that only applies to vocalist Anders.<\/p>\n Attending: Matt<\/p>\n Rating: There have been phases in my metal life where I’ve listened to NUCLEAR ASSAULT<\/strong> a lot. They were also among the first twenty or so bands I saw live (Roskilde 1992), so, yeah, John Connelly and Danny Lilker were early influences for me. Their sound was unlike any other band I knew at the time and their approach to thrash wasn’t at all like e.g. Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth or all the other bands I listened to. In 2015, there are now several bands who\u00a0copy what Nuclear Assualt did back then, but they are still a unique band. Connelly has short hair now and hasn’t exactly lost weight, jawohl, but his voice is no less characteristic and aggressive. Glen Evans behind the drums looks really, really old now, but\u00a0he’s still got the same punch, and Lilker hasn’t\u00a0actually changed that much. Erik Burke has replaced Anthony Bramante since the last time I saw Nuclear Assault live (Wacken 2002), and he fits in nicely. A couple of new songs from the new EP are played and approved, but otherwise we’re looking back in history with songs like Critical Mass, Emergency, When Freedom Dies,\u00a0Radiation Sickness and the hilarious My America and the most provocative tune of them all, namely Hang the Pope. Killer stuff.<\/p>\n Attending: Phil, Thomas<\/strong><\/p>\n Rating:<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Still brutal (Nuclear Assault)<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Due to the\u00a0overlapping schedules and hard prioritisation, my encounter with Dutch female fronted super stars WITHIN TEMPTATION<\/strong> is all but too brief. Sharon den Adel looks as wonderful as ever and her voice is equally stunning, and that’s just about what I get from that concert before wading back to the WET Stage.<\/p>\n Attending a little bit: Thomas<\/p>\n It’s funny how some bands have a special status with you. MY DYING BRIDE<\/strong> aren’t commercially huge in any way, and, admittedly, some of their material from yonder years isn’t exactly the best that has graced human ears, and yet, they have always been my favourite doom band. The reasons are\u00a0 primarily their sound and their\u00a0mix of the melancholy with death metal fury. I love contrasts, also in music, and that it something\u00a0the Brits around Aaron Stainthorpe\u00a0certainly provide. This is only the second time I see the Bride live (the last time was at Wacken 2002), and I’m therefore anxious\u00a0that this will be a good experience. My Dying Bride do not disappoint. Attending: Thomas<\/p>\n Rating:<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Thus ends the third day of Wacken Open Air, mud still dominating the scenery, although the rain has finally stopped and is not likely to return on the morrow.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I wish I could understand German. POWERWOLF <\/strong>are very popular in their native country, and in between songs the frontman is saying things that has the crowd laughing their assess off, but of course I have no clue what is being said. It\u2019s pretty formulaic in terms of the music, but people have a lot more freedom to move around today as the mud is drying out a lot better, so there is a lot of jumping around and much more audience participation than has previously been possible. There\u2019s a lot of latin based themes \u2013 it sounds more symphonic than power metal. They are darker than most power metal bands and they certainly look it. They are not familiar to me, but I\u2019ll be checking out more of their material for sure. A particular favourite is one called \u2018Werewolves Of Armenia\u2019. The frontman is a guy called Attila Dorn, and he talks a lot, but he obviously uses it to his advantage. Though I personally have no idea what he is saying, the pauses between songs and him engaging with the crowd in the way he does actually adds to the performance \u2013 and that\u2019s rare. Normally I am the first to want people to stop talking so much and play the songs, but I wasn\u2019t bothered by this \u2013 and I don\u2019t even understand the language! I also enjoy the way the keyboard player does not restrict himself to standing behind the instrument when he isn\u2019t playing, instead running down to the front of the crowd and adding to the stage presence. The reason I said Stratovarious were the best power metal band I had seen in 2015 until then was because after watching Powerwolf, they are now second.<\/p>\n Attending: J\u00f8rgen, Matt<\/p>\n Rating: Usually, Phil and I are\u00a0up and about earlier than two or three in the afternoon, but it’s as if the mud has made us a tad more tired, and, well, we’re not tempted by Powerwolf as it is the case for J\u00f8rgen and Matt.\u00a0Paradoxically, the sun is now beaming from a clear, blue sky, and quite frankly scorching. Luckily,\u00a0a breeze of refreshing, cold wind blows from the land of A Thousand Lakes as Finland’s proud sons AMORPHIS<\/strong> are the first ones to grace our running order on the last day of the festival. Even if the Finns have a strong, new album out soon, the focus is entirely old-school. Amorphis celebrate the 20th anniversary of ‘Tales from the Thousand Lakes’, and, to be honest, it’s a treat to listen to all of these old songs with Tomi doing the vocals. In addition to the ‘Tales…’ songs, the sympathetic Finns treat us with Better Unborn, Against Widows and My Kantele from ‘Elegy’, as well as the slightly superfluous Abhorrence cover Vulgar Necrolatry, and lastly Folk of the North from the ‘Black Winter Day’ EP. A bit weird to see Tomi without his characteristic dreadlocks (with the sunglasses he looks like an updated and fitter version of Dave Wyndorf from Monster Magnet). But it matters not: Amorphis are a wonderful band, and listening to the ‘Tales…’ material brings back fond memories of a time when there weren’t folk inspired metal bands every goddamned corner.<\/p>\n Attending: Phil, Thomas<\/strong><\/p>\n Rating: <\/a><\/p>\n There are over 50 people on stage for ROCK MEETS CLASSIC<\/strong>. Prague Symphony Orchestra make up most of that number. Rock and classical music mix so well when people know what they\u2019re doing. And this has been very well put together. Dio and Rainbow songs from Joe Lynn Turner are a good way to continue after an ok but not outstanding opener from Jennie Haben from Beyond The Black. They\u2019re a symphonic band as far as I know. Joe has the experience needed to build the pace of things and get things rocking more, but it\u2019s Michael Kiske and Dee Snider who really get things heated up. Before I get to that I have to acknowledge the orchestra’s performance. Far more than traditional performances from orchestras involved in rock music such as the S&M Metallica performance, the Prague Orchestra actually really works well to add to the stage presence. They may have to stay sitting a lot of the time, but they are rocking out just as much as the other band members are. You clearly see the enjoyment they get, and they convey that to the crowd, which has a really powerful, positive effect. The conductor swordfighting with the baton went down a treat too. Now, for the rest of the performance: I never thought I would see Kiske on stage doing Helloween songs. A mate of mine also watching said he hadn\u2019t seen him sing those songs since \u201988. He may look a lot different, but he still hits all the notes when he sings\u00a0I want Out and Kids of the Century. He is limited to\u00a0three songs. Then Dee Snider, or Dee \u2018Fuckin\u2019 Snider as he addresses himself, appears for some Twisted Sister classics amid a lot of joking and banter, and a rant about selfies \u2013 he is even wearing a shirt saying \u2018Stop Taking Selfies\u2019 which he jokingly describes as a world problem. His encouragement of audience participation is captivating and it does exactly what it is intended to do. This is one of the most entertaining acts I have witnessed in recent years. Of course the biggest participation of the entire day is with the classics I Wanna Rock and We\u2019re Not Gonna Take It. The set finishes with all the people involved coming on together to perform ACDC’s Highway To Hell. Dee jokes that they won’t go off for an encore because getting 50 people off and on stage again is a nightmare and when he tried it last many of them didn\u2019t come back. According to the schedule, they overran already. Nobody cares. Everyone enjoys this. I hope they tour it more.<\/p>\n Attending: Matt, J\u00f8rgen, Phil, Thomas<\/strong><\/p>\n Rating:WOA Day I (Wednesday)<\/strong><\/h1>\n
\nBring on the show! (Deadiron)<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nDid we already mention that this person is only 14 years old? (No Words)<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nCreating a gentle storm in the pouring rain (Anneke and The Gentle Storm)<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nNot so super superheroes (Grailknights)<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nProfessional and down-to-earth (Europe)<\/strong><\/p>\nWOA Day II (Thursday)<\/strong><\/h1>\n
\nPower metal from Denmark (Savage Machine)
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\nA fine fusion of death and industrial (Dark Fusion)<\/strong><\/p>\n
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\nLittle person, big grunt (For I Am King)<\/strong><\/p>\n
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\nCelebrating 20 years of dudelsack metal this year\u00a0(In Extremo)<\/strong><\/p>\n
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\nHorror fetishist and\u00a0a spectacle on stage (Rob Zombie)<\/strong><\/p>\n
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\nThe man who pulled it all together – Al Pitrelli (Savatage & Trans-Siberian Orchestra)<\/strong><\/p>\nWOA Day III (Friday)<\/strong><\/h1>\n
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\nDerrick proves again that he is a colossal front man, and the band appear like a tightly knit unit. Impressive.<\/p>\n
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\nMelo-death forefathers experiencing a new heyday (At The Gates)<\/strong><\/p>\n
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\nThe best Wacken sound ever (Opeth)<\/strong><\/p>\n
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\nANNIHILATOR <\/strong>now have Jeff Waters as a frontman. This has happened before, but it is my first experience seeing them with him on lead vocal duties as well as guitars. Unfortunately the result is not as good. Jeff doesn\u2019t make mistakes \u2013 there are just some things he does better than others. His vocals are alright \u2013 nothing exceptional but not bad either. The reason the performance suffers in comparison with others is simply this: A trademark of Jeff (as any Annihilator fan should know) is his on stage quirks, expressions and movements around the stage while delivering some of the most exquisite guitar in this history of thrash metal. Something is lost when that isn\u2019t able to be delivered in the same way due to Jeff having to concentrate on vocals. His stage presence is one of the best things about this band \u2013 and he is one of those rare talents\u00a0who can successfully simultaneously combine brilliant stage presence with mastery of his instrument. However, adding lead vocals in means that the stage presence is not as good. The guitar is fine. Fantastic as always. There were a couple of sound issues too. A slight technical difficulty half way through the set, and initially the guitars were not loud enough though this was resolved fairly quickly. An interesting surprise is a guest appearance from Mike Mangini playing drums on \u2018Set The World On Fire\u2019. As many of you may know he is now the Dream Theater drummer and since they are to play on the adjacent stage directly after Annihilator, he joins his former band to play for that song. It is warmly received. The best thing Annihilator have done in terms of the set list in recent performances is to include \u2018Human Insecticide\u2019. It\u2019s such a good, solid, thrash riff and it\u2019s also a good thing that by this point in the day people can move around a little more because the mud is drying out a bit better.<\/p>\n
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\nStarting out with the title track from the latest and indeed capable album, ‘Win Hands Down’, I’m sure that some of the old-school fans in the audience get worried, but there is no reason to. First of all, it’s a great song, secondly, this is the only new song apart from An Exercise in Debauchery, which is played later. March of the Saint is next, then Delirious Nomad. After An Exercise…, it’s time for Raising Fear and the goose-bump provoking Last Train Home, where Bush once again shows that he’s one of the best metal singers around. Albeit that the man looks as non-metal as you can. What’s with those weird pants anyway?!
\nA new-ish song is then brought forth: Left Hook from Right Field (from ‘La Raza’), only to be followed by the two old-school hammers Reign of Fire and Can U Deliver. A nod to the old school? Indeed\u00a0– and what a nod!<\/p>\n
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\nKicking off\u00a0with Your River\u00a0from ‘Turn Loose The Swans’, the WET Stage audience are invited on a late-night journey through the My Dying Bride universe. Eight songs of atmospheric, emotionally haunting doom, with the breath-taking tempo shifts and stunningly beautiful passages are laid before us, the set concluding with a demo song, God Is Alone, which the band, according to Aaron, wrote 145 years ago. The song, by the way, is complete mayhem and pure death metal anger unleashed. Throughout the gig, the front man himself is wallowing in apparent self-torment, biting his own arms, falling onto the floor as if in constant agony, thus adding to the atmosphere of gloom. A special concert, this one, and most definitely not one I will forget soon.<\/p>\nWOA Day IV (Saturday)<\/strong><\/h1>\n
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