Friday july 31 2009

First band today is Vreid from Norway. They get to open the Black stage at 11 O’clock in the morning, which means that I have to be there in time too! The band appears happy to be here today as they kick off with the song ”Jarnbyrd”. The crowd, however, seems to have some trouble shaking of yesterday’s hangover. Even though there are not that many people present at this early hour, Vreid gives it 100%. The emphasis is on songs off the album entitled ‘Milorg’ which was released earlier this year and so we the songs “Disciplined”, “Speak Goddamnit” and “Blucher” among others. With all the live gigs they have played this year, Vreid has become a tight unit and they effortlessly combine melody with aggression, especially when they play older songs such as “I Krig”. I am certainly very positive about this show and when the guys end their set with the song “Pitch Black Brigade” I am left thinking I would have liked to have heard a couple more.

First band today is Vreid from Norway. They get to open the Black stage at 11 O’clock in the morning, which means that I have to be there in time too! The band appears happy to be here today as they kick off with the song ”Jarnbyrd”. The crowd, however, seems to have some trouble shaking of yesterday’s hangover. Even though there are not that many people present at this early hour, Vreid gives it 100%. The emphasis is on songs off the album entitled ‘Milorg’ which was released earlier this year and so we the songs “Disciplined”, “Speak Goddamnit” and “Blucher” among others. With all the live gigs they have played this year, Vreid has become a tight unit and they effortlessly combine melody with aggression, especially when they play older songs such as “I Krig”. I am certainly very positive about this show and when the guys end their set with the song “Pitch Black Brigade” I am left thinking I would have liked to have heard a couple more.

Rock legends UFO have been part of the scene for decades, they experienced a peak in the seventies with albums like ‘Phenomenon’(1974), ‘Force it’(1975) and ‘No Heavy Petting’(1976). Although it is still relatively early , quite a large crowd have gathered to witness this A-status band. UFO start off with “Saving Me” of their latest album, and continue to play “Daylight Goes To Town” which gets us all into the party mood. The band has one hour to show us what they have got and so they quickly go on to play songs like “This Kid’s” and “I’m A Loser”It is great to hear this band play live again, good old typical American hardrock with a big dose of blues and plenty of axework. Looks like the band are enjoying themselves too. We hear “Helldriver” and superhit “Lights Out”. Mister Mogg proves that he is a vocalist with great variety and skill, while Vinnie Moore impresses us with fine guitar solo’s. We enjoy the songs “Love To Love” and “Too Hot To Handle” after which the end of this show is in sight. After an extensive rendition of “Rockbottom”it’s all over. We would have appericiated another couple of songs and we kind of missed the UFO hit “Doctor Doctor”, but compliments to the band.

The second band to enter the Black stage today is Endstille from Germany. This is a whole different ballgame than UFO’s hardrock! Endstille takes off with “Dominonz” followed by “The One I Hate”. I need a little time to adjust to this total 180 change. Musically, this band does not sound bad but Endstille’s black metal just doesn’t push my buttons, the way a band like Enslaved does. Endstille are certainly working hard on stage and they are rewarded with a steadily growing crowd. We hear the songs “Biblist Burner”, “Bastard” and “Ripping Angelflesh”. I find it hard to comment on Endstille’s playing as I am no expert on this type of music, but now and then they sound a little disorganized. This can probably be explained by the fact that guitarist Nocturnal Overlord (Crimson Moon) is playing as a guest musician with Endstille today. Later this day I was told that the vocals were also taken care of by a guest musician; Mannerond ( Koldbrann) had stepped in for vocalist Iblis who, at this point in time, has left the band. Endstille ends today’s set with the songs “Operation Wintersturm” and “Fruhlingserwachen” and we prepare to see another German band.
 

I believe that the band Gamma Ray needs no further introduction. They have been going strong for many years now, especially in their home country Germany. The band is looking crisp and with great enthusiasm they start out with the fitting song “Welcome” which is followed by a combination of “Heavy Metal Universe” and “Ride The Sky”. I look around and I realize that the festival grounds are packed with spectators as the band continues to play “New World Order”, “Rebellion In Dreamland”, “Man On A Mission” and “ Into The Storm”. Musically and soundwise they are doing an OK job. After “Heaven Can Wait”, we are treated to “To The Metal”, a teaser off the new album. As a grand finale, Gamma Ray plays a medley which really gets the crowd off its feet. After playing “I Want Out” and “Somewhere Out in Space”, the band leaves the stage only to return for the official last song “Send Me A Sign” and we can look back on a successful performance by Gamma Ray.

Next up is the Detroit-based metalcore band Walls of Jericho with professional screamer Candace Kucsulain. This band managed to surprise me on a number of occasion, although last week during a show at the Zwarte Cross in the Netherlands, their performance was not quite up to scratch as Candace was forced to return home before the show due to personal reasons. Thankfully she is here today as this lady has a set of vocal chords that can kick many guy’s ass. The band has a solid sound going on today and the crowd is easily convinced, resulting in a number of circle pits, and of course, the so-called wall of death. We hear “A Little Piece Of Me”, “Hope To Die” and “Feeding Frenzy”. It appears that nowadays the younger generation of metalheads are especially into bands like Walls of Jericho and I can’t blame them as the band is playing an excellent and intense show today. This splendid performance is ended with the song “Revival Never Goes Out Of Style” and the crowd once more seized the opportunity to completely let go after which we start making our way to the True metal stage for the first personal highlight of today.

Warrel Dane and co. will perform as a quartet today, they have a relatively early slot today and will entertain us for one hour. Last week when Nevermore played the Zwarte Cross festival, Warrel Dane was experiencing some throat problems. Today it appears he has made a full recovery. During the first song “This Sacrement” it is apparent that the technician is searching for the right tuning but he nails it pretty soon. We hear splendid renditions of “Enemies Of Reality”, “The River Dragon Has Come” and “Narcosynthesis”. The only slight point of critique is the fact that, during the midtempo parts, it is quite evident that this band does need a second axeman. Jeff Loomis is a super guitarist but, for instance, during “The Heartcollector”, we do miss a certain basis, the song just has less body. Having said this, nothing but praise for this exceptional band and a major compliment for Jeff Loomis who played double duty today. Especially the way in which he combines the up-tempo parts in “Born” proves what a skilled musician this man is. Unfortunately, after ten songs, this splendid band is done for today.

It’s now time for the Australian band Airbourne who served as the support act for Iron Maiden last year. Apparently the Wacken organization was impressed as they were given a slot higher up on the bill this year. Those who witnessed Airborne’s performance last year know that they are a pure AC/DC tribute. They kick off with “Stan Up For Rock ‘n Roll” to warm up the crowd. When they go on to play “Hell Fire”, I take a moment to look around and realize that this band is much more popular than I thought . This band tatally rocks and we thoroughly enjoy the songs “Fat City” and “Diamond In The Rough”. The band is living it up on stage and off stage there is also a big party going on. The setlist is continued with “What’s Eatin’ You”, “Girls In Black”, “Cheap Wine And Cheaper Woman” and a cover version of Mariah Carey’s “Heartbreaker”. Singer/guitarist Joel O’Keeffe climbs high into the scaffolding, much to amusement of the crowd. The show is ended with the songs “Blackjack” and “Running Wild” and I must say. I am very sorry to see them leave!i’ll definitely go and check out an Airbourne clubshow when I get the chance.

Hammerfall is one of these steady bands that have been delivering quality material for years. And today they are well-received by a massif crowd. They start the show with the songs “Blood Bound” and “Renegade”, followed by “Hallowed Be My Name”, “Last Man Standing” and “Heeding The Call” among others. This band has build a large and faithful fanbase and they are obviously thankful for this. Hammerfall is in it for the full 100% today and they continue to play the oldies “Glory To The Brave” and “Life Is Now”. Their show is not as ostentatious as usual but they still have a number of blocks which they happily make use of. The Swedes go on to play “Riders Of The Storm” off the 2002 album ‘Crimson Thunder’ and the classic “Let The Hammerfall” in which they are joined by thousands of people. We notice that singer Joacim Cans’vocal chords are still in top shape and he really puts his soul into it when he sings “Heart Of Fire”. This was a more than solid performance in very way, Hammefall proved their quality as a band once more today.

When the started out, the Welsh band Bullit For My Valentine were especially popular among a younger crowd. But at present they manage to interest all ages and this becomes evident from the fact that quite a number of ‘older’ metalheads have gathered here to see them play. From the very first note, the band comes across as self-assured and confident. The thrashy first song “Waking The Demon” sets the mood for a disciplined performance by this relatively young band. The setlist also comprises the songs “No Control”, “Tears Don’t Fall”, “Ashes Of The Innocent” and “Eye Of The Storm” and of course “Scream Aim Fire” with which the set is ended. BFMV did a fine job today, I certainly expect these guys to gain in popularity in the future.

“We are Motorhead and we play Rock n’ Roll”, we hear Lemmy’s familiar voice bounding through the speakers as Motorhead hits the stage. Many metalheads have especially made their way to Wacken to see this band here today and although I’ve seen them approximately 666 times, I too am here to see the show. They kick off with the classic “Iron Fist”, instantly creating a party atmosphere. As could be expected, there are no surprises on today’s setlist. We hear “Stay Clean” and “be My Baby” followed by a more recent song called “Rock Out”. Despite the fact that we’ve heard it all before, everyone is having a good old time, singing along and banging their heads. The volume is cranked up pretty high but according to Lemmy it’s never loud enough and so he orders the techs to turn it up to an almost deafening level. We hear songs such as “Metropolis”, “Over The Top”, “One Night Stand”, “The Thousand Names Of God” (with a ripping guitarsolo) and “Another Perfect Day”. During the song “In The Name Of Tragedy”, Mikkey Dee displays his technique with a drumsolo that is a little too lengthy for our liking. Motorhead continues to play “Just ‘Cos You Got The Power” and “Going To Brazil” after which they bunch into their greatest hits section with “Killed By Death” for which they are joined on stage by vocalist Nina C. (Skew Siskin) and a bunch of half naked dancers. The band exits the stage only to return after a few minutes for the classics “Ace Of Spades” and “Overkill”. This was a show exactly as we had expected it, fast and loud!

Today’s headliner is In Flames and judging from the number of In Flames t-shirts I’ve seen here today, they are definitely one of this festivals favourites. After a short intro they kick off with fireworks and the song “Delight And Anger”. To our surprise they go on to play “The Hive” off the album ‘Whoracle’. Another oldie on the setlist is “Only For The Weak”. In Flames is laying down a solid performance today and vocalist Anders is less chatty than usual so we can concentrate completely on the music. In Flames is definitely taking revenge for their mediocre at the Wacken festival two years ago. Today’s setlist mainly consists of the bands more recent efforts. In Flames appears to be especially fond of their latest opus ‘A Sense Of Purpose’, they play at least five songs off this album: “Disconnected”, “The Chosen Pessimist”(during which it is clearly audible that singer Anders has been working on his clean vocal skills) and a fine rendition of the partially acoustic song “Alias” are among the selection. W are surprised with the song “Dead End” off the album ‘Come Clarity’ for which guest vocalist Lisa Mykovsky enters the stage. As far as we know, this is only the second time in the history of In Flames that they have chosen to do so. We get goose bumps when the title track of the ‘Come Clarity’ album is played and during “My Sweet Shadow” we are treated with fireworks, the last bangs are perfectly n sync with the last chords of the song. Looking back, this was a cool setlist although it could have used a little more spice in the middle. Impressive fireworks and background screenwork, and In Flames certainly proved themselves a worthy headliner today.

Around 01.15 the time has arrived for German beauty Doro to take the True Metal stage. A huge crowd is awaiting the queen of metal. Much to the pleasure of the crowd, the band kicks off with the Warlock song “Fur Immer” followed by two more Warlock classics “Rule The Ruins” and “Burning The Witches”. When they launch into playing “True As Steel”, I begin to wonder if this is a Doro show or a Warlock show? Doro is in excellent shape today and the band is definitely up to standard with After Forever guitarist Bas Maas in its ranks. They go on to play “Night Of The Warlock” and “Fight”, followed by “Above The Ashes” and “Burn It Up”. The crowd is ecstatic but Doro is saving the best for last. During the last three songs of the set, the crowd goes nuts when Holy Moses vocalist Sabina Classen steps onto the stage to join Doro in singing “Celebrate”. After this we hear a cover of the Judas Priest hit “Breaking The Law” and as a grand finale they play the Warlock megahit “All We Are”. After 25 years Doro still knows how to kick ass!

It’s now 2 O’Clock at night and Amon Amarth have come to end this Friday with a 3 hour spectacle. The guys assume their positions in front of the giant Viking ship which has been placed on stage for the occasion and they start off with “Twilight Of The Thunder God” followed by “Free will Sacrifice”. With extensive touring this band has become a solid, experienced unit and so they deliver a relatively flawless set today. The setlist does not contain any surprises: we hear “Guardians Of Asgaard”, “Runes To My Memory” and “Live For The Kill”, among others. The pyrotechnics on stage are quite impressive when they launch into playing “Victorious March”, “The Pursuit Of Vikings” and “Cry Of The Black Birds”. The show is ened with “Death In Fire”. Amon Amarth never fails to deliver, a successful performance, even at this late hour!

After the late Amon Amarth show we decide it would be wise to head for our tents as we have a heavy programme tomorrow. Due to the large number of bands and stages and the immense bustle of bodies, we’ve had to miss bands like Napalm death, Coheed & Cambria, Dragonforce and Epica on the Party stage. Also Bring Me The Horizon, Whiplash, Sarke and Pentagram on the Wet stage.

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