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It's early in the morning when we
set out on June 3rd to attend the fourth edition of the Rockhard
festival in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Unfortunately we had to miss the
pre-party which featured Mercenary and Morgana Lefay, but we're in for a
lot of fun this weekend. Germany is already totally submerged in world
cup madness but first a portion of metal will sweep through
Gelsenkirchen. After a quick stop at the hotel we head for the festival
site. A substantial crowd has turned up, still Rockhard is not sold out
despite a rock solid line-up with bands such as Nevermore, Sodom, Celtic
Frost, Fates Warning and DIO. Even so the Rock hard festival is becoming
a phenomenon as more people find their way to Gelsenkirchen every year.
Even the weather gods are nice to us, the splendid location in the shape
of an amphitheatre is warmed up by the sun which is getting hotter and
hotter.
Saturday June 3rd 2006
The first band we watch is
last-minute and special guest Mystic Prophecy. We don't really
know this band which was founded by the Greek Roberto Dimitri Liapakis
who recently moved to Germany. We witness a fine set of uncomplicated
heavy/power metal packed with catchy hooks and riffs. "The Emphasis" is
a song from Mystic Prophecy's most recent album ‘Savage Souls’ from
which we also hear "Shadow Beyond My Soul", "Master Of Sins" and
"Nightmares Of Demons", among others. They also play older tracks such
as “Eternal Flame" and "Signs Of The Cross". The set is ended with the
song "Burning Brides" from the 2004 album ‘Never Ending’.
Next up are Legion Of The Damned who recently released a powerful
death/thrash album with the title ‘Malevolent Rapture’. From this record
we hear "Werewolf Corpse", "Death's Head March", “Demonist", "Taste Of
The Whip" and "Into The Eyes Of The Storm". Although they play an early
slot, LOTD manage to draw quite a crowd and the first moshpits of the
day start to take shape. We hear the title-track of ‘Malevolent Rapture’
which is followed by "Bleed For Me". The band leaves it's signature with
the last song called "Legion Of The Damned" and leave the stage after a
solid show which will definitely win them a number of new fans.
The Irish band Primordial has been around for fifteen years and
has built an ever growing following of fans. Front man Alan Hemtheanga
entertains the crowd with his aggressive eccentric behaviour. His image
is completed by a dose of corpse paint which also makes him interesting
photography material. Primordial kicks off with the song "The Golden
Spiral" off the 2005 album ‘The Gathering Wilderness’, followed by "Sons
Of The Morrigan" and "The Coffin Ships". The other band members are
composed, almost shy while singer Allan constantly incites the crowd. We
hear the tracks "The Song Of The Tomb" and oldie "Gods To The Godless".
Good work by Primordial.
Due to circumstances we have to
miss the German metal core of Caliban, we choose to grab a bite
to eat and explore the huge metal market. After this we are invited by
Century Media Records to come over and listen to the new Mercenary
Album, they didn't need to ask twice. The whole band was also present
and we are stashed in a minivan with a beat blaster on the front seat.
Then the complete new album ‘The Hours That Remain’ is played. The new
album is definitely a good follow up album for ‘11 Dreams’ . We manage
to discern the song titles "Redefine Me", “This Eternal Instant", “Soul
Decision", “Obscure Indiscretion" and “My Secret Window". The album
will be released on august 21 via Century Media Records.
The Mercenary listening session
has caused us to miss the first part of Brainstorm's set. When we
re-enter the festival site they have just started to play "High Without
Lows". Brainstorm's power metal clearly pleases the large German crowd,
the songs "Shadowland", “Shivas Tears" and "Painside" go down a treat.
Personally I'm not into this music, I cannot discover any originality in
the songs I hear. Nonetheless it must be said that front man Andy B.
Frank is a fine singer with a charismatic voice. Brainstorm finishes off
with the tracks "Die To Survive" and "All those Words".
Today Nevermore will play without guitarist Steve Smyth who had
to stay home due to serious kidney problems. Nevermore will attend all
European festivals as a foursome. During their European tour later this
year Jag Panzer guitarist Chris Broderick will fill in for Steve.
Nevermore kick off with the song "Final Product" followed by "Engines Of
Hate". Although Steve's absence is clearly audible, Nevermore manages to
put on a great show. We are treated to "I Voyager", “The River Dragon
Has Come" and "Seven Tongues Of God". I have had the pleasure of seeing
Nevermore during previous gigs and I can see that those guys are all
feeling the fact that Steve is not on stage with them. Still Nevermore
are one of the best bands today. The crowd seems to agree. I see many
metal heads singing along word for word. We hear "Enemies Of Reality"
and "Narcosynthesis" and as a grand finale they play a 9 minute
rendition of the killer song "Born" off their latest album ‘This Godless
Endeavour’. We would like to wish Steve all the best and we are already
looking forward to the shows Nevermore will play in September in support
of Disturbed.
Sodom
is one of those bands that you want to have seen at least once.
Apparently we're not the only ones who adhere to this philosophy as a
large crowd practically fills up the Amphitheatre as the band takes the
stage. As they play the first chords of the song "Blood On Your Lips" a
number of fireworks are set off. Sodom play "Wanted Dead" and then
continue to play a list of classics such as "Outbreak Of Evil" and
“Napalm In The Morning" to which everyone seems to know the words.
Although the pyro show wasn't as spectacular as had been promised, this
was a great show with songs such as "Axis Of Evil", "The Saw Is The Law"
and "Sodomized". The crowd went crazy, with crowd surfers flying around
and a couple of Large churning moshpits before the stage. The German
thrashers end their set with "Remember The Fallen" and the ultimate
Sodom classic "Bombenhagel". As a special extra the Rockhard organiser's
band Randalica with singer Götz Kühnemund take the stage for the first
time in years and they entertain us for approximately fifteen minutes
with the songs "Tote Auffe" and “Tanzfläche", “Nach Uns Die Sinnflut"
and "Potent, Willig Und Solo" if I'm correct. This is not really my
thing but the crowd was loving it.
Minutes after Randalica has left
the stage it starts to rain, this gives us a change to chill half an
hour in a packed backstage tent.
Moments before the sympathetic guys from Bolt Thrower hit the
stage it stops raining and the arena starts filling up with people that
have been sheltering from the rain in their tents. Bolt Thrower came
here today with the sole intention to crush the Amphitheatre with their
mighty death metal machine. This Birmingham band has been a constant
factor in the death metal scene for twenty years and has produced eight
albums of which the latest is titled ‘Those once Loyal’ (November 2005)
and was received well by both the press and fans. After having been away
for about ten years, singer Karl Willets had returned to join the band
for this album. Today Bolt Thrower bring us a mix of old and new
material in the form of "Mercenary", "No Guts, No Glory", "Cenotaph", "Warmaster"
and "For Victory". Despite the overload of highlights today, the crowd
does not seem satisfied and hungrily take in what Bolt Thrower is
serving. The band is clearly enjoying the atmosphere. The ‘Those Once
Royal’ album is not passed by as we hear the title track and the song
"Anti-Tank" and "At First Light" which is accompanied by a lot of
moshing and banging heads. With this performance Bolt Thrower proves
once again that they still belong to the top of today's death metal
scene. Even though singer Karl was not having the best of days regarding
his voice, they played a strong and hard show today. The show ends with
the song "Inside The Wire" and "When Cannons Fade". We would like to
note the fact that the band had brought along their own merchandise
stand at which Bolt Thrower T-shirts could be bought at a very fair
price, much to the pleasure of the fans.
Initially guitarist Anders Olden (Satyricon, Cadaver, Mayhem) was
supposed to support Celtic Frost during their planned shows.
Moments before Celtic Frost were scheduled to commence their show,
singer Gabriel Fischer collapsed. He was immediately rushed to a
hospital in Gelsenkirchen where he was diagnosed to have an acute case
of kidney stones. Unfortunately this meant that Celtic Frost were unable
to play the Rockhard festival. At this moment in time Thomas is said to
have recovered from surgery and Celtic Frost is touring once again.
The Celtic Frost set back was
compensated with short performances by Nevermore, Soilwork
and Sodom, who kindly filled the gap in the programme. Nevermore
is up first and they play "Inside Four Walls", Soilwork's vocalist
joins Warrel on stage for this occasion. They also playe "Dead Heart In
A Dead World". Although they have only just arrived, Soilwork then take
the stage and bring us three songs of which I recognised "Rejection
Role" and "Stalemate". Finally Sodom emerges to entertain us with Onkel
Tom hits "Es Gibt Kein Bier Auf Hawai", "Wachturm" and the Motörhead
cover "Aces Of Spades". All this definitely helped to save the day.
Although I was quite disappointed not to be able to see Celtic Frost
again after twenty years, I am convinced Rockhard will make up for this
in 2007!!!
Sunday June 4
Crucified Barbara
have just started the last song of their set when we enter the
Amphitheatre, so we briefly get to enjoy the pretty picture on stage.
Despite the early hour (12.00) a crowd has already gathered before the
stage. Apart from their stunning appearance, the Swedish ladies also are
capable of rocking the theatre. The singer who reminds us of a female
version of Blackie Lawless (W.A.S.P.) has a pleasant, somewhat raw
voice. The ladies serve us easy to digest rock a la Motörhead with
challenging, somewhat feministic lyrics. Crucified Barbara ends the set
with Motörhead cover "Killed By Death". When the ladies were done the
Amphitheatre emptied, apparently many metal heads had decided to check
out the show before breakfast!!
Next up is Volbeat, one of Denmark's currently
rising stars. These guys play solid rock/metal with a number of
influences. We hear a 60's, 70's Rock 'n Roll like sound, metal a la
Machine Head and a voice resembling that of Keith Caputo (Life Of Agony)
all rolled into one. The Danes look like they are having fun and they
really get the crowd going this early in the afternoon. Of course the
bulk of their set list consists of songs from their debut album ‘The
Strength/ The Sound/ The Songs’ which was released last year: "Caroline
leaving”, "Rebel Monster", "Soulweeper" and "Another Day, Another Way".
Their own version of Dusty Springfield's "I Only Wanna Be With You" is
definitely a hit. Even if you have never heard a song by this band
before, it's still a joy to watch Volbeat in Action. Mark this space!!
Curious to find out what Gojira is all about
we sit ourselves down on the big steps of the amphitheatre. Although the
programme booklet classifies Gojira as a death metal band, we're not
sure if that's giving them enough credit. We discern many different
sounds: death metal, black metal-like elements, slow and fast passages,
clean singing and grunts. The music sounds solid as a whole and
relatively doomy. The lyrics are pretty depressing as the singer
addresses the problems on planet Earth. We hear both old and new stuff:
"Love" from the album ‘Terra Incognita’ (2000), "The Heaviest Matter Of
The Universe" and "Backbone"(both from the album ‘From Mars To Sirius’,
2005). A fine show but still hard to take in if you're new to this band.
Certainly worth another viewing in the future.
Ripper Owen's new band Beyond Fear offers a
blend of Judas Priest and Iced Earth, the front man's old and new band,
respectively. In various interviews Ripper has stressed that Beyond Fear
is certainly not a solo project, rather a complete band with equal input
from all members. Today's show rocks, Ripper is clearly having a good
time.(Even though he has lost his contact lenses on the flight over here
and now he has to wear his glasses on stage) The German crowd parties
hard to songs such as: “The State", "Coming At You" and "Your Time Has
Come". Ripper bounces up and down the stage energetically while
professionally hitting every high note. Near the end of the set we are
treated to the Judas Priest cover " The Green Manalishi"
which would have torn the roof off the theatre if it had one. This band
knows its stuff! This great show is ended with the song "Scream
Machine".
After the warming up by
whirlwind Ripper, Evergrey takes the stage. These gentleman
recently released the excellent album ‘Monday Morning Apocalypse’ which
contains a number of emotional songs besides the up-tempo tracks they
are known for. Evergrey is in very good shape today. Singer Tom's voice
is in top condition and he is more talkative than usual, sharing jokes
with the crowd. Today Evergrey play a diverse set: the softer
ballad-like songs are sung emotionally and the faster songs really blow
us away. First we hear "Blinded" and the classic "More Than Ever". Off
their latest release they play "Still In The Water", "Monday Morning
Apocalypse" and "Obedience". Of all the Evergrey live shows that we have
witnessed, this is without a doubt the best! The crowd goes nuts. More
highlights are the classics "She Speaks To The Dead", "Mark Of The
Triangle" and "Recreation Day". Evergrey conclude this splendid show
with the song "Touch Of Blessing".
It's party time now, cause Finntroll with new singer Matthias
Lillmanns are here to entertain us with some trollish madness. The
crazy, funny mix of Finnish folk music, humpa, thrash, black and death
elevates the mood. It works for us! We hear "Blotthott", Människopesten"
and "Slaget Vid Blödsalv" from the album named ‘Jaktenstid’. The crowd
is roaring. We are also served a number of oldies such as "Trollhammaren",
"Segersang" and "Jaktens Tid". By now there's plenty of crowd surfers
and wild dancing going on, the band is certainly enjoying it all
.Adorned with troll-paint and clad in bearskins they are really partying
on stage. The whole thing is fun to watch and even if you're not into
this kind of thing it's still a breather to hear something completely
different now and then.
Soilwork's
melodic death metal started to become popular when they released the two
well-received albums ‘Natural Born Chaos’(2002) and ‘Figure Number Five’
(2003). Last year their killer album ‘Stabbing The Drama’ was released,
to me this is the finest work of art they have produced until now. From
the moment Soilwork takes the stage and starts playing "Bastard Chain"
from the 2001 album ‘A Predator's Portrait’ sparks start to fly, this
Swedish formation always seems to live up to their excellent
live-reputation. We are blown away by one spherical, bombastic musical
piece after another such as: "One With The Flies", "Chain Heart
Machine", "Overload" and the classic "Follow The Hollow". We watch an
endless stream of crowd surfers as we enjoy the unique sound of this
band. At the end of the show we are treated to two songs from the
‘Stabbing The Drama’ album in the shape of "Nerve" and "Stalemate". It's
all good and the guitarists are showing off so much they almost throw
each other off the stage. This fine show is ended with a splendid
rendition of the song "As We Speak".
It's now time for the
progressive metal of the American band Fates Warning. When their
debut album ‘Night On Bröcken’ came out over twenty years ago, Fates
Warning were deemed an Iron Maiden clone. In the following decennia
however they evolved into one of the most significant progressive rock
bands. Their ninth album named ‘X’ was released in 2004. It took them
four years to produce this album so chances are we'll have to wait till
2008 for their next release, but today they are here and serve us an
unforgettable show. From the instant the intro for "Disconnected" blasts
from the amps an ongoing roar rises from the crowd. This party is
complete when Fates Warning play "One". Of course we hear a number of
songs from the latest album such as "Left Here" and "Simple Human". We
also hear "11th Hour" and a cover of the Scorpions' classic "He's A
Woman, She's A Man". The sound is near perfect and so we nominate Fates
Warning for 'Winner of the day'.
Since the release of their fore
last album ‘Hellfire Club’ in 2004, German powermetal band Edguy
have made a huge leap forward. ‘Rocket Ride’, the album that followed in
2005, was received slightly less positive. One way or another something
was missing on this album. Live on stage however, Edguy know how to make
it happen and we are entertained with a bombastic lightshow, bridges and
carefully rehearsed poses. The band open their set with the song
"Lavatory Love Machine" from the album ‘Hellfire Club’ after which they
play the relatively old song "Babylon". From the latest Edguy album we
hear "Fucking With Fire", "Sacrifice" and "Save Me". Then some more
older songs such as "Fairytale"(from the album ‘Vain's Glory Opera’,
1998), "Tears Of The Mandrake" and "Out Of Control". Singer Tobias
Sammet never stops running back and forth and his band members flaunt
their well-known heavy metal poses. I must say these guys really work to
visually entertain the crowd although the happy power metal is an
acquired taste. If this is not your thing then the best thing you can do
is head to the bar and have a drink.
Now's the time many have been
waiting for: Time for the grandmaster Dio. We get comfortable and
are waited on hand and foot by killer classics, an extremely solid band
and the practically unique voice of the metal-coryphée Ronny James Dio.
The small man with the big voice kicks off with the songs "Children Of
The Night" and "Speed & Light". The songs "One Night In The City",
"Stand Up And Shout", "Gypsy" and "Don't Talk To Strangers" mesmerize
the crowd and there's not a soul in the Amphitheatre that doesn't sing
along with "Holy Diver". Half way through the show the drummer Simon
Wright plays a solo that is a bit too long for our liking but we'll let
him off as this show seriously rocks! From beginning till end we just
sit there enchanted by Dio's golden vocal chords and the professionalism
of his band. We hear the classics "Rainbow In The Dark", "All The Fools
Sailed Away" and "Long Live Rock 'n Roll". The set is ended with a
sublime rendition of the 1980 Black Sabbath hit "Heaven And Hell" and
before we know it this super show is history and we find ourselves
making our way back to the hotel, a bit drunk and very satisfied.
Rockhard 2006: Mission
accomplished!!! We can look back on a fun festival with great atmosphere
and an excellent line-up with great variety. The weather was better than
expected and the only rain we had was at night. We'll discard the fact
there was still an insufficient number of toilets, apart from that there
was only one setback and that was the cancellation of the Saturday
headliner Celtic frost, due to a severe case of kidney stones that
struck the band's front man. Nevermore, Soilwork and Sodom kindly filled
the gap and this was typical for the whole of the Rockhard festival.
Friendly, brotherly, happy and musically satisfying. Last but not least,
a big thumbs up for the security people whose job it was to catch the
crowd surfers! Seldom have we seen this happen with such
professionalism. Highlights this weekend were definitely Nevermore,
Sodom, Bolt Thrower, Evergrey and Dio. On the whole, the sound was good,
maybe a bit loud now and then. The only guy on stage that we couldn't
hear was Götz Kühnemund himself after his long night of partying and
working, but we can certainly live with that. We would like to
congratulate and thank the entire Rockhard crew and of course festival
director and party animal Götz for the hospitality and an extremely
enjoyable festival with a killer line-up.Praise be! Up till now we have
not heard any announcements for Rockhard 2007. We hope to see you all
next year at one of Germany's coolest festivals!!
To see more photo's from this festival, just go to the photo section of
this website!!!
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