As the motto of the festivals says “Rain or Shine” this time we had a very different scenario when compared to the sunny 2004 festival. This year it was clearly the “Rain” year. Anyway, this didn´t stop us of enjoying the most amazing metal festival on Earth.  Here is a short report of the amazing bands that we could see in this three days.

DAY 1-  August 4th

Tristania

The first band that we had the pleasure of seeing this year was Tristania. Contrasting with the next day the band played with full afternoon sunshine. Starting with a muddy sound that buried Vibeke´s vocals, the band soon found themselves comfortable in playing as the opening act of the festival. The audience was somewhat taken by surprise with the beginning of the show and they were a little bit cold in the first couple of songs. The band played some old songs but they focused on their latest album.

Candlemass

After the Tristania show came the almighty Candlemass. Supporting the release of their self titled album the band did a show containing some classics and new material. I had never seen this band before and I was blown away by Messiah Marcolin´s voice and stage presence. Their doom was ideal for a day that was turning into night fastly. The new songs match perfectly the old classics contrasting somewhat in sound but fitting really well the doom sound of the band.

Oomph!

A band that follows the path of Rammstein but with a more accessible feeling in their songs. The music is not as hard as in the other german band that we mentioned and it is extremely memorable due to the choruses. The band, all dressed in white overalls gave a good show with a lot of stage presence. German people seems to be more comfortable with this band, specially due to their lyrics in german language.

Nightwish

I didn´t thought Nightwish had become such a popular band here in Germany. Closing the first day of the Festival the band kicked off with the opening track from “Once”, “Dark Chest of Wonders”, with a loud drumming sound that later was better mixed after the first song. The band has gained a lot of live experience in the last couple of years and Marco´s vocals are having more and more importance in the newer tunes. As always the center of the music here are Tuomas keyboards that deliver all the orchestration needed by the band. Tarja´s voice is in full shape and she shares the frontman/woman role with Marco really well. They played a lot of classics such as “Wishmaster” or “Kinslayer” and also their newer tunes such as “Wish I Had an Angel”, “Nemo” and the best of the night that was “Ghost Love Score”.

DAY 2- August 5th

Mercenary /Naglfar

This thing of having to run from one stage to the other to see two great bands that play at the same time is going to kill me some day.  Two completely different bands were playing just at the same time in the opening of the second day.

Having listened their “11 Dreams” album I expected pure energy and aggression. And the band was up to the expectations. They have their huge amount of growls and screams with the vocal duet done by Karl and Mikkel. And they are the masters of huge guitar riffs. Their trademark sound of melodies and more extreme parts was in all its splendor here.

Naglfar did a hell of a show with a lot of aggression. A lot of people went to see this show showing that this band is quite popular in Europe. Kristoffer´s screams and growls were at top shape and he looked like a maniac while screaming along the stage. Darkness appeared in Wacken in plain daylight.

Morgana Lefay

The thin rain was starting to fell in Wacken and mud was starting to appear in clothes and bodies. Kicking off with a loud scream the band entered the stage. This band seems to have a lot of fun on stage and they delivered a really good show full of their pure metal tunes with good runs.

Sonata Arctica

Another of the main finnish bands in the heavy metal scene nowadays. The band showed their combination of epic parts with melodies and fast riffs. I have to praise the vocal work of the band cause Tony seemed to have some problems with his voice and the band backed him up really well. The band delivered a good show and power metal fans where really satisfied with this show.

Ensiferum

The guys from Finland showed no mercy kicking off with the opening tune of “Iron” and showing that their mix of pure aggression and Nordic folk melodies besides being original is really effective. Their show was dynamic and aggressive and the crowd gathered around the party stage to feel the power from this amazing band.

Metal Church

Another classic band that spreads its wings over Wacken. They played some tunes from their latest album “The Weight of the World” and also some classic ones. It was amazing to see some mosh full of mud during this show in plain daylight. Kurt Vanderhoof´s riffs showed while this band is in full shape after more than twenty years

Obituary

The return of the death metal masters from Florida!! Supporting their “Frozen in Time” album the band showed how old school death metal must be played. The band was a little bit static on stage playing both new tunes like “Insane” and plenty of classics. John Tardy growls where one of the highlights of the second day.

Reckless Tide

After having seen them last year in Wacken and then listening their debut album I could not miss the show of this german thrash metal machine. They played all the material from their album and also some new tune. I have to remark the killer guitar work that this band has where the riffs are played with razor sharp precision. Susanne Swillus is an amazing guitar player and she has a hell of an attitude and stage presence. The two vocalists also do a great job in creating the right thrashing mood of the songs adding aggression and also a really modern sound to the music.

Within Temptation

I have to say that Within Temptation is a really extraordinary band. Sharon´s voice and stage presence is amazing. And the band sounds compact and solid. I have to say that this band is one of the bands that plays the song closer to the version that we can listen in their album but sometimes faster than the original versions. With a stage full of smoke that reflected in a really good way the lights the band delivered their tunes full of emotions and melancholy, as well as aggression.

Machine Head

Another of the highlights of the festival. With one of the biggest mosh pits of the festival Machine Head delivered their crushing aggression playing not only their own music but also some covers. Rob Flynn gave everything on stage and he showed that he is a crushing frontman. The band sounds really solid and they show what the word aggression means on each of their tunes.

Stratovarius – Surprise Act

I was suspecting something about Stratovarius even before the gig was announced. Why? Because there was plenty of merchandise from the band in the shops. It was the opportunity to see the Kotipelto / Tolkki reunion as well as to see the classic lineup plus Lauri Porra on bass instead of Jari Kainulainen. The band did a short show starting with “Hunting High and Low”. They played a couple of classics like “Black Diamond” and also their newer tune “Maniac Dance”.

Corvus Corax

This was one of the special shows that every year are delivered in Wacken. This time Corvus Corax had an orchestra and a choir on stage to perform Carmina Burana. With a good visual show the band delivered the combination of orchestral arrangements and heavier tunes here.  With a lot of instrumentation and weird looking instruments the show was really fluent and most of the audience loved it because of the originality.

Samael / Turisas

The thing about going from one stage to the other is an almost impossible task if the ground is too muddy and you can not see a fucking shit.

A dark stage with an amazing atmosphere welcomed Samael. Their music is more focused on their later day albums but they still kick ass and they know how to combine climatic moments with more aggressive ones. Vorphalack´s voice is ideal for this type of shows in a deep dark cold night.

Turisas was a band that you have to see live. Their show has a lot of visual impact and seeing all this people with tribal paintings and blood all over their bodies and dressed in leather and fur is really weird. They delivered a good set (at least the part that I saw) with a lot of aggression and that pagan feeling that their music has.

DAY 3 – August 6th

Zyklon

It is weird to see this devastating band play almost in the morning….an ideal beginning for this third day of the festival. The band delivered their mix of death and black metal showing how brutal this guys can be. Samoth and Trim (one half of Emperor ´s line up) show a lot of professionalism and aggression. The show also introduced bassist/vocalist Secthdaemon who is a real growler.

Suffocation

Brutality at its top level !!! In a festival where you can see many bands that have reunited, here we have Suffocation. Vocalist Frank growls all over the composition while the other guys show how old school brutal death must be done. The band has a lot of presence without moving too much. In fact Frank is the only one that moves along the stage while the rest of the musicians bang their head. Pure old school brutality.

Overkill

Pure classic thrash metal. The band delivered classics like “Wrecking Crew” or “In Union We Stand” combined with newer tunes and delivering a good show to the masses.

Holy Moses

My absolute favorite band of the festival !! This is a band that gives 1000% over the stage and Sabina is really amazing. She must be superhuman to do this type of show. Classics like “Finish with the Dogs”, “Current of Death”, “S.S.P.”, along with tunes from their latest album “Strength, Power, Will, Passion” as “End Of Time” were delivered with a lot of aggression and sort of a party feeling. It is amazing to see this woman bang her head as she does and then smile and laugh at the crowd. If I had to choose one show of the whole festival I would choose this one.

Fintroll

Fintroll was another of the sensations of the festival. Combining their folk influences with pure aggressive metal the band delivered a killer show. One of the highlights was the vocalist who has a lot of stage presence. One good thing also was to listen the crowd sing the choruses of each of the tunes.

Kreator

Another thrash metal classic …:Wow !!! A wet dream come true.  When Mille entered the stage the crowd went mad. It was like the cold and the bad weather had not affected them. “Flag of Hate”, “Betrayer”, “People of the Lie” ….name them and they are all classics. Kreator is  a classic and they showed it again in Wacken with a  crushing show. They had a good lightshow and smoke that helped to achieve the exact mood.

Accept

This was a once in a lifetime show with the classical line-up of this legendary German band. If you wanted to listen good metal classics in Wacken then this was your show. With Udo Dirikschneider at top shape “Fast as a Shark”, “Restless and Wild”, “Up to the Limit”, “London Leather Boys” and “Balls to the Wall” where among this Accept Greatest Hits show. A night to remember forever.

Sentenced

This was one of the last shows that this finnish band is supposed to play before splitting up. Kicking off with “Excuse me while I kill myself” the band played a lot of their latest albums material such as “No One There” and “Cross my heart and Hope To Die”. A really good end for this Festival