3,4,5,6-08-2011 Wacken Open Air

Location: Germany
By: Elvira Visser & Michiel van Arkel

Wacken Wednesday 03.08.2011
At Wednesday the die-hards are already awaiting to enter the gates of Wacken. At 8 in the morning the doors open to the festival grounds and soon camps will be born with people from all around the world. After building your tent and getting in the right mood with your fist beers there are bands playing that had won their countries battle to play at Wacken. On this first evening Tempelores went to check three bands and were checking out the festival grounds.

Noein is a band that hails from France and won the battle. We catch this band when it is already in full speed. It is clear that this band knows how to get the audience going as there is a huge pit and even certain times a circle pit. The atmosphere and energy that came from this band could be felt at the audience who were sipping their beer. This resulted in loud cheering when they ended their set. When seeing this band on stage, the show they gave and the way they got the audience to move around was simply good.

Atrum won the battle in Iceland and were ready to rock the stage like Noein was doing. However there were some people screaming but they did not received the same reaction as the France. The crowd was standing still and mostly just listening. The band has to get some credit as they played very tight but part in this was probably the trigger that they used to get their pounding double bass as fast as possible. A negative point was that the sound of the bass was not very clear, at some moment you could only see the bass player do it’s best but the audience did not hear him.

Voltax from mexico is one of those bands that are great to see but the quality lacks at certain points. The singer was sometimes off key and so was the 2nd vocalist but this did not interest the crowd. They wanted to be entertained by this band. Old school metal with a high pitched voice and guys in leather, jeans and poofy hair. Great that those bands are still exist and are great for the festival feeling. The guitar solo’s were great and got the audience screaming a couple of times. Good entertainment level from this band, nice performance but they can work a little on their vocals.

Wacken Thursday 04.08.2011
The Norwegians guys from Kvelertak were not be found on one of the main stages. They were pretty much hidden in the “Bull Head City” tent. There were only a few bands playing there and Kvelertak deserved a place on one of the stages so that more people could enjoy their show. However the people that were inside the tent did get to see an amazing show. I have seen this band twice at a festival this summer but this show was above my expectations. They nailed it. The good thing about the tent is that there was this good light show and moshing sweaty people that got even more carried away by the front singer Erland. The Rock and Roll was very much present at this performance and the level of Death Metal influences seemed also more present. Killer ass show by this Norwegian band.

When we came at the “W.E.T Stage” the band Rude Pevelation was giving away their last couple of songs. Enough to form a judgement on this band. The band from Luxembourg did not shine on stage. The sound was quite okay and the female vocalist could growl and scream but some this band was lacking stage presence and an entertaining level. The Dutch X-tinxion had a very good vocalist who knew how to entertain the audience and get them to do different things, like a wave and screaming. Besides giving away a good show the band played right, a few small mistakes but hell of a doses self esteem on stage. Vocalist Monica should leave out the higher notes in her singing, she did not pitched all of them and her normal singing and amazingly growls are much better. They should focus the show on this. The singing and change between growls work very good with the trash metal speed the musicians play. Look out for this band!

On the “Black Stage” the German punk band Frei.Wild was playing. I guess you need to be able to speak and understand German. It will probably be the lyrics that make this band great. The music and their punkish sound just sound like all those other punk bands. Not too complicated a little happy and with a nice rhythm in it. Many seem to enjoy this band, singing and mumbling along with a beer in their hands that went up in the air every now and then. The German band Helloween
was showing that they gained a lot of experience performing, but this resulted in maybe a little too much interaction with the audience and sometimes they went on about the same thing for too long. Sadly because they can play very well and the crowd seemed eager to hear them play. Many waited to see the legend Ozzy Osbourne on stage this evening. He was as you would expect him to be.

Wacken Friday 05.08.2011

The Finnish Ensiferum had to open the stages outside, after Moonsorrow had opened the day in the W.E.T stage tent. The band gathered quite a large crowd patiently awaiting the Finns to appear on the stage. Ready to sing some battle songs with the fist up in the air. It was time for the first beers while catching a glim of the band and shout along on the very nice folkloric melodies, while still rocking hard. Using folky melodic guitar lines and riffs creating memorable choruses in Viking style. That is what Ensiferum does and they do it well. The presence is still a little stiff, Petri Lindroos the vocalist mainly focus on his singing and guitar playing and leave the interaction to the others. A nice show from Ensiferum, but they can rock a lot harder then they did at Wacken.

Morbid Angel played another show at a festival, during the day. It is weird to see them in broad daylight. They also played not their best show. The sound was very good and as soon as they had set foot on stage you heard basting riffs and raw vocals. Circle pits were formed while they were playing their first song and this continued throughout the show. The songs sounded nice and raw but still there was something missing. Maybe it was the day light, because the flow of their performance and the tracks they played were well chosen.

As I Lay Dying, an metal core band from San Diego was roaming the stage in the early afternoon. No great light show to back up their performance, just them and their pounding metal core. The band consist of all Christian believers and maybe the lyrics are written with that in mind, they sure do not preach or anything on stage. They still sound raw and sometimes full of anger. Speed an aggression is what they do good on the Wacken stage. Tim Lambesis knows how to use his voice in different ways and that is maybe one of the stronger points of this band. An energetic good performance by this American band. Thanking the crowd and telling them to watch their friends from Trivium and Heaven Shall Burn.

At first, when I heard the name Rhapsody was going to play Wacken, I felt excited. Then, when I heard Rhapsody of Fire was playing at Wacken, I got confused. Was this still the band with Luca Turilli and Fabio Lione? Turns out I’ve not heard a while from this band, but when Christopher “Saruman”/”Count Dooku” Lee’s introduction was played, all doubts were immediately removed. Songs like ‘Holy Thunderforce’, ‘Dawn of Victory’ and ‘Emerald Sword’ brought back the epic Italian metal band I came to hold very dear. Sound and performance were tight, drama was high and the all Italian sung ballad was not at all out of place in this set.

Awarded by me with the best bass sound on Wacken Open Air this year, credits go to Suicidal Tendencies. ST showed us that life can be hard and the best way to cope is to live it. Hard. Tough. A lot of crowd pleasers were thrown but did not start to grow tedious, as were the occasional moments of reflection towards the true meaning of the songs. All in all, maybe the band got away with a little too much stretching, but apart from being tight and loud, no-one noticed. Suffice to say, it was awesome to see these guys give it all and love while doin’ it their Suicidal way.

The German metal band Heaven Shall Burn was formed back in the year 1996. first they existed under the name of “Consense”. When recording a demo in 1997 they decided to change their name into Heaven Shall Burn. This five piece German band brings the Wacken audience amazing riffs which are clearly influenced by Scandinavian metal. The band has been flirting with for them unknown teritories on their last album but have shown on this stage that it all has their own sound. The set list of the band contained many great songs and were played in a fierce tempo. All dressed up in red blouses they looked a lot nicer then they ought to be. Very nice, right and well played performance full of energy.

As him being a regular on Wacken Open Air, I can recall seeing Mambo Kurt one time outside of Wacken at the Tuinfeest Sliedrecht near 3 a.m. That combined with heavy alcohol usage, add in an organ and mambo, salsa and a hint of meringue versions of classic metal songs all point to one man: Mambo Kurt. The fact that ‘Banana’ nearly out-staged the dear man on Friday and the girl that won a original Mambo Kurt Prize but did not strip ‘The Full Monty’ only added to the fun of this born performer. Either love it or hate it: I loved it.

Anxious to see the Priest perform? So was the rest of the festival apparently. With the True Metal staged packed with people all the way back to see if Rob Halford was still going strong with their alleged last tour. When the Epitaph curtain was pulled, there was a helluva show that could sure fool you. Was this a band that has been playing since 1969? Really? This energetic lot giving everything they’ve got for two hours straight? This band that altered jackets, parts of the stage and guitars in mere seconds between songs? Wow. Apart from the heavy stuff, they did not hesitate with the more sensitive songs in their repertoire and even though ‘Breaking the Law’ was literally on everyone’s lips while Rob simply held the microphone towards the massively singing crowd, there was a overwhelming stage show that simply cannot be explained other than: Go see it yourself. NOW!

With all rumors and multiple felonies aside, the worry crept up that with Nick Oliveri still in the States, Kyuss Lives would be either cancelled or completely cancelled. Luckily (I should have known, really), Scott Reeder filled in that blank and made us recall that special time when Kyuss was either playing in our stereo at home or in our car.NON-STOP. Now, after more than a mere 16 years since the release of ‘ … And the Circus Leaves Town’ we finally are treated to… a ‘ best of’ performance? Don’t get me wrong, given the nature and the style every note was played accordingly and the original band isn’t in a sense together anymore, but it couldn’t hurt taking off the shades after the very first song and try to connect with the eagerly awaiting audience a little more. ‘It so sad to see you go, I just thought and let you know… and you know.” Now you may know that I was singing along lyrics and was very hoarse the next morning, still immensely satisfied after this great performance.

The Finnish band Apocalyptica was the closer of this Wacken Friday together with Saltatio Mortis. As the latter one is a German folk band it had many viewers. At Wacken there is a special viking village where you taste the old life. Only understandable that they would attract a great audience as well. However a lot of people were cheering for Apocalyptica who play metal on their cello’s. The band was actually playing here last year as well. The show from Apocalyptica was not the best, but it was a good show. They knew how to make one hour short. At least it felt if they had only been on stage for a little while when they had played songs from various albums. Of course there was a sing a long song, “Inquisition Symphony” to show off their fast cello skills, “Seek and Destroy” to set the right mood and the amazing “Hall of the Mountain King” to leave a great impression to those who had never seen the band. Well even if you have seen this band many times they keep mesmerizing on their cello’s, you need to keep watching them. Amazing how fast they can play. Besides this they also know how to entertain, all three of them. Sadly we didn’t see Mikko on the front of the stage. Great to see the appreciation they get from the Wacken audience.

Wacken Saturday 06.08.2011

The Swedish Crashdiet was formed back in 2000, but has seen some line-up changes and a death of their vocalist. Simon Cruz is the current singer and together with the others of the band they try to make good music. Well that they were ready to spread a little bit of a rock and roll vibe at Wacken was clear when they played the first tones. It clearly was not the same as death metal and more girls were in front of the stage, Crashdiet showed that glamrock is still alive today. Singer Simon was not singing that well and making a lot of the same movements. After a couple of songs, you have seen this band.

I had not heard The Haunted before and with these five gentlemen on stage, I wondered: ‘Why the hell not?’ They have a tight sound, killer riffs and a great frontman in the form of Peter Dolving. They must have read my mind when I considered the sound being too consistent and was beginning to lose interest in the more faster work, when they took down a notch and slowed down. And after the breather, to take it back up for the grand finale. Along with some wise life lessons as well as a negative travel advisory to Gothenburg, this show was both inspiring and amazing.

On the of the weirdest bands on this festival is the Japanese Dir en Grey. During the first minutes of the bands performance you wonder what is happening. Weird sounds from the drums and bass guitar fill the air and when vocalist Kyo enters the stage it becomes even weirder. The first minutes he screams, mumbles, whispers all in only weird sounds. Not that I understand Japanse but later one he was singing but in the beginning just totally focus on making weird sounds. At all the times his eyes closed and with dramatic gestures like he was one of the best artist. At least that is how it came across. Very experimental metal and probably misunderstood by some. When he finally started singing the music made more sense, and you had the feeling they were playing some songs. Definitely an outsider on this festival but attracted many people because we all like to see something different and Dir en Grey is.

Iced earth’s show was one of the last shows for vocalist Matt Barlow. After the European tour he would leave the band. For many fans this performance was therefore memorable, because this was the very last show. Stu Block will take over the vocals. For those who have never hear of Iced Earth it is an American heavy metal band from Tampa, Florida. The music that they play is a mix of progressive and power metal with influences from thrash metal and speed metal. The Wacken show was clearly not the best, vocal wise and maybe even instrumental at certain points. But I guess that was because it is a very emotional performance for the guys and the crowd seemed to respond in the same way.

Danko Jones loves festivals. Period. He interacts with crowds much easier when there is more of it to interact with. It shows. There was a time when i could swear that ‘Lovercall’ would slow down in tempo in the chorus, but as consistent and tight as it was played this evening was noteworthy. Of course, with new drummer Atom Willard(RTFC, The Offspring) there were even more differences, like a little drum intermission towards QOTSA’s ‘A Song for the Dead’, only to kick off one of Danko Jones’ Rock Classics. I almost expected Kyuss/ Hermano/ Unida vocalist John Garcia to enter stage during ‘Invisible’, since he was on that same stage almost a day earlier. Danko just did his thing, played some wicked classics and surprisingly good choices of other material, getting ‘guitar-boners’ from the crowd cheering his name and complimenting Wacken on their open mindedness and blonde girls with Suicidal Tendencies T-Shirts. Oh yeah, and to kick our butts towards Motörhead afterwards.

One of the shows that blasted from the stage was the show from Sepultura. It was their first performance on Wacken Open Air and it is a memorable one. The sound was amazing with Sepultura, the bass was very nice present and took care of the deep sounds. Of course playing “Refuse/Resit”, “Relentless” and to end their show they played “Roots Bloody Roots” which was sung along by many people in the audience. People are still missing Max Cavalera but the band clearly shows at Wacken that their current line up is able to perform a very tight and great show as well. Derrick Green is also a very charismatic entertaining front man. Sepultura was one of my favourites of this festival!

‘We are Motörhead, and we’re here to rock and roll’ With guitar straps called Lord Axsmith, Welsh Wanker, these were only a few indications that these British Bastards were killing the crowd with rock n’ roll, despite a little drizzle. After a few songs, the inevitable question arose: raise your arms if you want us be play louder. Unfortunately, that’s when the rain started kicking it up a notch as well, towards a more steady light pour. With Mikkey Dee and Phil Campbell alongside Lemmy Kilmister though, no weather could hold back the raw rock n’ roll and songs like ‘Overkill’ ‘Just because you’ve got the power, doesn’t mean you’ve got the right’ and inevitable ‘Ace of Spades’ made this with a blinder ‘Bomber’ light show plane just above the heads of the performers a genuine example of how to trun a massive crowd of people into a rock loving audience. Definitely a great show to remember.

The Finnish band Children of Bodom played an amazing show at Wacken. One that it memorable, this because it had been dry all day and as soon as Children of Bodom entered the stage it began to rain, first a little but soon heavy rain and even thunder and lightning filled the sky for a brief second. This did not effected the band nor the audience. The guys from Children of Bodom gave away a hell of a good show, full of energy and enthusiasm. They started off with as it seemed a few minor problems but were kicking it in full speed after a few songs. Together with the great lightshow and pyro’s the atmosphere in the crowd was simply amazing. Screaming, moshing, crowdsurfing and screaming in the rain. Chickenpocks when the band played “Hate Crew Deathroll”, the audience was screaming with Alexi in the rain. Amazing performance!