Saturday May 30

The only band we missed this Rockhard edition was today’s opening act Evocation. Unfortunately, circumstances did not allow us to be on time to see these Swedish gentlemen at work. It was their frightful task to wake up all the metalheads today..
 

This weekend it becomes evident once more that Scandinavian bands enjoy a high level of popularity in Germany. Next up is Grand Magus from Sweden, a band I don’t know much about. They bring us slightly dark sounding doom metal with, if I heard correctly, some stoner influences. The three Swedes play a dedicated show and somewhat take me by surprise. We hear the songs “Like The Oar Strikes The Water”, “Blood Oath” and “Wolf’s Return”. Some songs I cannot fully comprehend but hey, we’re having fun. The song that stood out most for me was “Iron Will”. Grand Magus appear to be relaxed on stage and they continue to play “The Shadow Knows” which doesn’t sound bad at all. By the time they get into their final song “King Slayer”, I can conclude that this band has certainly managed to win some fans here today.
 

Another band from the North: The Norwegian Audrey Horne is here today. Last year they played as a support act for Enslaved and I must say I never took the time to watch these guys at work because of the simple fact that I didn’t know them. But when Enslaved axeman Ice Dale played with them, I became curious. When they start their show it remains disappointingly quiet in front of the stage. I think many people just don’t know this band yet, or maybe a number of metalheads are simply still sleeping. Anyway, musically Audrey Horne has practically nothing in common with Enslaved. They play rock, alternative rock, to be precise. The songs contain solid and beautiful melodies and smooth guitar action. They manage to grasp my attention this time with songs such as “Dead”, “Confessions” and “Last Call”. The people in the metal market and food stalls seem to take notice of their music as they flock to the stage while the band plays “Jaws”, “Euphoria”, “Last Chance” and “Threshold”. Many a metalhead is noticeably surprised by this pleasant music. This pleasurable performance is ended with the song “Right Lights”.

The Dutchmen from Hail of Bullets have built up a vast fanbase in Germany. Frontman Martin van Drunen is pretty fluent in German and he charms the hell out of the German crowd in their mother tongue. Hail of Bullets kicks off with the song “General Winter” and rages on with “Red Wolves”. In between songs Martin van Drunen prepares the crowd for what’s coming by explaning the tales which are told by each track. They continue to play “Nachthexen”. The flaming guitarparts by axemen Paul Baayens and Stefan Gebedi and the merciless drumming of Ed Warby penetrate your very being. This band is a class act. Allthough Martin’s vocal qualities are not entirely what they used to be, the whole package destroys. We hear “Stalingrad” as a sizeable pit comes into being in which the large crowd of metalheads moshes and shouts. This, in turn, fires up the energy on stage. We hear “The crucial Offensive”. We enjoy a splendid and energetic show by a topnotch band that gives it 200% here today. There’s this great interaction going on between the band and the crowd. The set is ended with the songs “Berlin” and the absolute ballcrushing “Ordered Eastward” during which quite a bit of crowdsurfing is going on. Great show, Hail of Bullets is a band that the Dutch can be proud of.

Dragonforce is a band that is perpetually in party-mode and so they besiege the stage with bottles of hard liquor in their hands. With this band, a severe party is guaranteed with guitar violence and a theatrical show. Their uptempo, upbeat and spontaneous manner of playing is something you just can’t tear yourself away from. If you happen to glance away from the stage for a second, you might just miss one of many hilarious moments. They launch into the show with the songs “Heroes Of Our Time” and “Fury Of The Storm” during which Herman Li and Sam Totman have an elaborate guitar battle on stage. Bass player Frederic Leclerq and keyboardist Vadim Pruzhanov join the fight for third and fourth place while singer ZP Theart holds the band together. We hear “Strike Of The Ninja”, “The Last Journey Home” and “Valley Of The Damned” among others. The crowd is loving it. Singer ZP takes a dive into the crowd after which the Englishman climbs right back on stage to sing the final song “Through The Fire And Flames”. You can’t help but wonder where those guys get the energy from to be in this perpetual party mode! Don’t know how many years they will manage to keep this up though. I do know they always manage to entertain the crowd and put a smile on the faces of many metalheads.

The Bay area based band Forbidden has been around for what seems forever, although last year, right after a number of reunion gigs, guitarist Glen Alvelais was replaced by Steve Smyth (ex- Tesatament, Dragonlord, Nevermore and Vicious Rumors). After the intro entitled “Parting Of The Ways” the band thunders on with the song “Infinite”. It soon becomes evident that vocalist Russ is in good shape and the band sounds tight as a whole. When they play “Forbidden Evil”the crowd launches into a pit which will last until the end of the show. We hear the classic song “R.I.P.” which is sung along with passionately by a host of thrash fans. Forbidden goes on to play “Off The Edge” and “Step By Step”. This is a no-nonsense show with little talk and lots of music which is certainly appreciated by those present. The band rips it up with “March Into Fire” while Marc Hernandez’ (Violence) drum work leads the band to a real high. We hear “Follow Me”, “Twisted Into Form And Blood”. In short, an excellent performance that proves once more that San Francisco is the world capitol of thrash metal.

Next on the bill is Jon Oliva’s Pain. Of course this band mainly owes its fame to its vocalist who is also the bandleader of Savatage. They kick off with “City Beneath The Surface” and “Sirens”. Jon obviously holds on to the Savatage era. Unfortunately Jon’s voice is disappointing today, he sounds quite hoarse and tired which makes it hard to concentrate on the music. We cheer up a little when the band plays “Through The Eyes Of The King” and “Of Rage and War Play” but I’m not boiling over with enthusiasm. We hear all-time hit “Chance” and “Maniacal Renderings” but it still feels like Jon is warming up. Even so, many people in the amphitheatre are clearly enjoying the show, especially the Savatage classics susch as “Gutter Ballet”, “Tonight He Grims Again” and “Hounds”. It must be said that the band is in crisp form today, although they remain relatively motionlous throughout the show. Jon doesn’t move around much either but he is visibly enjoying allthe attention he’s getting. The show is concluded with megahits “Believe”, “Jesus Saves” and “Hall Of The Mountain King”. The crowd is asking for more but I have heard enough today. I’ve seen Jon Oliva do a much better job on several other occasions, This was not the show I had hoped for and it has left me thirsty so I head for the bar to treat myself to a cocktail.

This year Rockhard has managed to land a headlining deal with the Finnish band Children of Bodom, excellent choice as these guys have become pretty major in Germany. Long before the band is due to go on, many young metalheads have secured a spot right at the front of the stage. COB is especially popular with a relatively young crowd at present and when Alexi and his men take the stage the youngsters go nuts. COB manages to impress me from the very first chords of the opening song “Needled 24/7”. Although vocalist/guitarist Alexi recently fractured his collarbone, they crush on stage and rip it up with “Bodom Beach Terror”, “Smile Pretty For The Devil” and “Living Dead Beat”. I am very impressed by this band. We hear “Are You Dead Yet?” and “Banned from Heaven”while a huge moshpit takes shape in front of the stage. COB have managed to find a perfect balance between death metal and modern heavy metal, their music is fast and gripping. Today they play a selection from their complete catalogue and so we get to hear “Hate Me”, “Blooddrunk”, “In Your Face” and “Kissing The Shadows”, the latter is a song that is rarely played live. The crowd reaches a point of ecstasy when the band launches into their all-time classic “Bodom After Midnight” and “Angels Don’t Kill”. The end of the set is announced but COB return for an encore in the shape of “Downfall” and “Bed Of Razors”. Due to his injury, singer Alexi was slightly less active on stage than normal, but allover this was a splendid show by COB. We hit the backstage bar for a couple of drinks and then head for our hotel. Time flies when you’re having fun!!

For more photo's, check out the visual on this website!