WACKEN OPEN AIR 2004
Rating: 5 Skulls
Reviewed by Dragon (08/5/04 - 08/7/04, Wacken, Germany):
It has taken me almost nine months to write my review for Wacken Open Air 2004, and it is nearly time for Wacken 2005. How the hell has this happened you may ask? Well, it is for no reason that most of you need to know! What I will say - I am happy with the final product and that is all that matters to me. This tardiness also provides me the opportunity to kill two birds with one blast. One, publish the 2004 review; and, two, give my required plug for Wacken 2005, so that I may once again get a coveted photo pit pass, and hang out with the very cool Wacken press staff backstage while I recharge my batteries - and I mean all of my batteries to include myself! SO, GO TO WACKEN OPEN AIR 2005 AND BE PREPARED FOR THE BEST OPEN AIR FESTIVAL IN THE WORLD. Now for the 2004 flashback:
Wacken Open Air 2005Wacken Open Air (WOA) celebrated its 15th year in 2004, and it was my fifth year in a row. A lot has changed since then with both Wacken and myself, yet I remain a true diehard Metalhead and Wacken stays true to its motto 'Faster, Harder, Louder!' every year. I was extremely eager, as with every year, for the first weekend in August to arrive. WOA is what I use to gauge the coming and going of time. It began as my friends arrived from Norway and the US a few days before Thursday morning's departure. We gathered our necessary food items like Absinthe, Jagermeister, and beer. I also had been gathering steaks for several weeks for grilling breakfast and dinner. Now that we had everything all lined up, frozen or on ice, we relaxed at the local Schwimmbad, a German oasis of swimming pools and saunas.
Getting to Wacken was a harrowing experience as the brake light went on a quarter of the way there, this happening just after I had my car prepared by the mechanics for the trip. I told them I was going on a long trip with my SUV loaded with people and supplies, and I needed to be sure everything was safe. I especially requested they check the brakes . . . oh, well. Two stops at two Porsche dealers along the way, five hours later, five hundred Euros, and we had new brakes. I was told we had only 100 kilometers left on the brakes before they would have given out completely; we were very lucky.
Cathedral
Photos by DragonWe had one more stop before the press booth on the outskirts of Wacken for the usual Polezei inspection. We were waved in. The Polezei were surprised I did not have a passport with me. I did not require one and I knew it, as US Army on orders to Germany. I was not going to argue over this point, so I apologized for my mistake. The Polezei asked if I had been drinking. I had not, but all my friends had been drinking quite a bit on our 12-hour saga, so the smell was quite overwhelming. Anyways, I passed the Breathalyzer test and the Polezei thanked us for our cooperation. We made it to the press booth by late evening. Britta Koch handed us our passes and we went to the campsite.
At our campsite, I broke out my old trusty full size Weber grill and offloaded the 150 quart cooler of beer and my sleeping area in the back of the SUV was set up - no tent for me, no thank you. Unfortunately, we had arrived too late for Motorhead - I was very disappointed. I still vow to see Motorhead and King Diamond in my lifetime. So, I cooked steaks for my friends. The cooler, filled with five cases of beer and ice, was opened and the ice-cold beers were passed around. The weather was the best ever since 2000. Few clouds during the day and fairly warm nights helped make this Wacken a very enjoyable experience. After setting up our campsite and meeting up with our friends from Norway and Sweden, we checked out the backstage bar. It seemed as though time had stood still as if I had never left, as the same people are here year after year. I felt at home. Nothing much to do, but I managed to talk with Britta Koch, WOA Press Manager, who was gracious enough to upgrade my photo pass to a pit pass. So I made sure to make the most of the pit pass. Enjoy the pictures, I took over a thousand and I hope I’ve shown the very best ones here.
Friday morning launched with several cans of Red Bull and freshly grilled steak sandwiches, and I was off to the photo pits to get my eardrums blown away by massive three story high speakers, and thumping 20-foot long subwoofers. The attendance at WOA has grown significantly each successive year, since I first attended in 2000. This WOA had more people than I had ever seen before. The weather was perfect, and everybody was having a good time. Wacken was and will remain the place to be, especially if Holger, one of the three Wacken managers, is successful in arranging for Iron Maiden in 2005.
Arch EnemyI had unfortunately not been able to see Orphanage kick things off for Wacken on Friday morning on the Party Stage. I was just too worn out from the long drive the day before. I could hear them from the backstage area, though. Progressive death Metal with the usual guttural growl interlaced with clean female vocals, definitely not your usual band. My plan for the day was to catch some Cathedral, maybe Raunchy, and definitely Arch Enemy. I would make a concerted effort to see Mayhem and Satan without a doubt. Also, I wanted to see Warlock, and Mambo Kurt who supposedly plays Metal covers with an organ. I also planned to see Destruction and Dio. However, it was not in the cards for me to make it to Dio as the day ahead would take its toll on me. Follow my steps through the heavy Metal Mecca called Wacken Open Air.
Paragon was the first band I caught, and they were fucking boring, a hard rock poser band. This sycophantic Power Metal crap stemmed from the success of the enigma called Hammerfall. Paragon definitely was a little uncomfortable on the stage, perhaps because they sucked and they were sucking in front 20,000 concertgoers, who were paying them no attention while they waited for some real Metal.
Cathedral was on the Black Metal Stage, which makes no fucking sense, in case you're from Mars, Cathedral is Doom Metal. The singer seemed way too apathetic; the bass player was calmly laying out fat bass lines; the guitarist had a shaved head and he was intensely focused on his riffing. The drummer looked like he would kill anybody who got in his way. All together, an old school Black Sabbath sound brought back to life by some really talented musicians. Maybe with a few tokes from a bowl and some mushrooms thrown in, Cathedral live will make your day. The musicians were really jamming, but the singer was still monotonous, no dimension, no depth - emotionless. Seemed like only 20 people really cared what Cathedral played. I guess they had died and nobody had told them. They have passed their prime, and have become slow and boring. Even Raunchy on the party stage was getting more attention. After absorbing a few more moments of the Cathedral caravan, I made my way from the photo pit to a small shop right off to the side of the Black Metal Stage where 10 Euros got me 3 T-shirts - a real bargain. This year, the vendors were mostly located outside of the arena area in giant maze where everybody showed off the latest Metal gear and gothic dress for sale. I saw some cool stuff, and I walked away with a bunch of it. With my hard earned money spent, I was the owner of Mercyful Fate's Melissa album cover T-shirt with the band on the back, and King Diamond's Abigail, again with the band on the back. I had now moved over to the main WOA T-shirt vending stand. This year Wacken was offering up jerseys. I had to ask myself why? Don't most Metalheads want T-shirts and hoodies? What kind of people wanted this stuff, and did they really belong amongst the Metalheads? I don't know, but it burns in the back of my mind. Do these sheep really belong? I doubt it, but it seems they are here to stay for now.
Raunchy was really putting on a show. They were truly going for it. Nonetheless, they were only 20 or 30 people who were really getting into it. Finally, the crowd started to get caught up in the Wacken spirit as Raunchy played a brand of harsh Swedish new wave of heavy Metal. Raunchy actually turned out to be something worth listening to. Still, there seems to be a trend at Wacken; the opening day bands are just no good. Nobody cares for these bands. So, why invite them? Wacken would be better off giving the better bands more time. Quality over quantity is a sacred principle.
MayhemAs I pondered these thoughts, I wandered again into what I thought was the Metal Market, but it was only the standard vendors, later I found the real Metal market, but nonetheless Metal was everywhere. I picked a Vader's Angel of Death long sleeve, which is now my favorite Metal shirt. It scares the kids and the parents even more, and that makes me happy. I had few more minutes before Arch Enemy, so I decided to make good on my earning the photo pit pass, and go take some picture of Weinhold. Weinhold failed to impress. I imagined the female singer looked better about 10 or 20 years ago, but she is all dried up now. When you are depending on your looks to sell, even if you are mocking those who do, it is an ugly tragedy.
Hobb's Angel of DeathThe time was approaching for Arch Enemy, and I was getting psyched. It was to be my first time ever seeing them live. Sharlee D'Angelo, their bass player, I have seen live with Mercyful Fate, twice, and Witchery, once, and he is the coolest person you could ever meet. And I was not disappointed as Angela Gossow and the Amott brothers had a slick professional set. The first 'A' list band of the day. Not only can Angela belt out some of the most demonic, Carcass inspired, guttural vocals, she looks fucking awesome doing it. Sharlee looked as young as ever, and his Jesus Slaves shirt was fucking cool. I spent a bit of time soaking in Arch Enemy's music and staring at Angela's hard body and intense blue eyes, and it was over, and it was time to make the mad rush over to see Satan, the band, not the supposed deity, yet for some reason I got sidetracked. I ended up in the Metal Maze once again tried to score some more rare t-shirts for my collection. Finally, I did make it over to see Satan on the Party Stage and I realized that I had not missed a damn thing. This was not the Satan that had put out the most amazing Into the Future mini-EP. There was no way in hell this was them; this music stank. The lead signer was a caricature of the dimwitted hair Metal moron from the '80s, big beer stomach, dark aviator sunglasses, and black curly hair - probably a wig. He held a whip curled around his fist that he never used. What I waste, I took a few pictures and locked the whole thing away in my mind with the Grim Reaper and Diamond Head embarrassments of Wacken past. These are guys that don't play music much anymore, but when they hear about a paycheck they crawl out from under their rock to the dismay of the Metal world. Here is a little message: Stay the fuck at home!
DestructionNow, it was time for some real Metal: Mayhem. I must admit, I do not own any Mayhem albums, nor did I think or know much of them. Nonetheless, they put on one of the best shows at Wacken. Everything was loud, heavy, and crisp. Maniac held the huge crowd in his bleeding palm. He was leaning on a rotting pig's head on a pike, and the most evil lyrics were espoused with ease. Maniac was making use of several weapon props; the most impressive one was a three bladed sword with a handgrip braced by the forearm. Maniac used this weapon and impaled a pig's head on all three blades. Maniac raised it defiantly above his head as though it was the Christian god's. All the while the band ravaged the crowd non-stop with black Metal thrash magic. WOA had allowed Mayhem to play as long as Maniac refrained from his blood letting. However, a weapon of pig destruction, a long sword handle snapped off while Maniac was trying to impale another pig's head, and he sliced his hand wide open. There in the bright white afternoon sunlight an even brighter red blood covered Maniac's hand. This drove the crowd into a frenzy. Maniac started to play soccer with the eight or so pig heads on stage. Eventually, one made it into the crowd, and I was told by a security guard that the fans proceeded to tear into with their teeth taking big gulps of the nasty rotten swine meat. So, who is weirder? The fans or Maniac? The answer is not that simple, but I will say Maniac is no fool, nor does he tolerate a fool lightly. Backstage, while Maniac and I were engaged in a serious discussion, some idiot thought he would try to lower our collective IQ by joining us without an invitation. Maniac finally tired of his constant interruption, and others' failed attempts to make him leave. He shoved this fool so hard his wallet flew out of his pocket and he landed a good 10-15 feet away. Maniac may be very strong, but he was not able to beat my “Army muscle,” as he called it, in an arm wrestling contest. Maniac did beat me in sheer scar count, though. Just one arm alone had over 50 or so scars from his bloodletting rituals from past concerts. I was sorry to hear he has left Mayhem, and I wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors. I am certain he will re-emerge stronger than ever now that he conserves his blood. And I wish the very best to Atila who has returned to Mayhem and reassumed being the front man.
I went back to the campsite to check on my friends and see what lunacy was going on. Just as I reached camp I realized I needed to be at the W.E.T. stage for Hobb's Angel of Death. I ran as fast as this cripple could go and made it in time for at least the last 15 minutes of the show. Only to realize my memory stick was still in my computer after dumping the early day's worth of photos. I had to run back and to get it, or I would have no visual record, except my memory. Also, I promised my friend, Metalion of Slayer Magazine, some photos of Hobb's Angel of Death. Ten minutes later, I was snapping photos furiously for the last five minutes of the show. The sound was awesome and everybody was drenched from sweat. Hobb was dripping wet with concentration as he delivered the most brutal Metal of the day. Sadly, I only got to see a few minutes. However, it was a treat to hang out with Hobb backstage the next night and drink some Absinthe.
WarlockNow on to a band with many diehard fans, Destruction. They by far had the best stage presence, clad in leather, studded armor and spikes. Their music is pure thrash Metal; a perfected formula that worked well with their stage pyrotechnics. It was awesome spectacle of Heavy Metal, metal and flames. The fans were eating it up too. Destruction is one of those rare bands that are a million times better live than in the studio; Vader is another one. I think the dynamics of the fans, the lights, the pyrotechnics, and Destruction's effort made a whole that is greater than the sum of its mere parts. The Metal spirit was burning brightly for Destruction that night at Wacken.
Warlock was next, and I was definitely psyched to catch this show; Doro is very pleasing on the eyes. Tonight, Warlock was to be accompanied with a full orchestra. However, it was a letdown - way overblown! Rage tried the orchestra thing for years, and they finally stopped sucking when they went back to the basics. If you did not know that, check out Unity. Doro has been going solo now for many years, and I think for good reason: Warlock's well has run dry. No orchestra was going to squeeze any more water from that rock. What originally seemed like a good idea just made everything look like a grotesque puppet show. What the hell goes on in these people's minds that make them think an orchestra is going to help to make Metal heavy? For the many Americans readers, Doro still reigns supreme in Germany, so she was still well received by the crowd. Hey, besides drinking at the time; what else was there to do?! I, however, got out of there as quick as I could; I was worn down from running from stage to stage, and I needed to rest for the upcoming second full day of Wacken Metal.
I slept in the back of my SUV eagerly waiting for Death Angel to kick off Wacken the next day. I was especially thrilled as I had been playing The Art of Dying continuously for the previous two months. I was pumped up to see them live, and I had the opportunity to interview them later. Morning broke, and again with the Red Bull and grilled steaks before I made it out to the Death Angel photo pit. Death Angel played on the True Metal Stage, and they played the truest Metal seen at Wacken since Overkill a few years back. They played a lot of their new songs from The Art of Dying and ran through many songs from their entire catalog. All the tracks were played with the newly evolved Death Angel sound having formed from years of musical practice. The guitars were crushing, thrashing harmonies along with vocals steeped in perfect timing. In total, the music seemed so simple, but that is its genius (it is not). I took so many pictures of Death Angel I almost filled a whole 256MB Sony Memory Stick during the first three songs. It was only a few months before WOA that I first heard Death Angel's new album. I had been blown by The Art of Dying. It blew me away like no other since I first heard King Diamond's Abigail some 17 years ago. I had been playing it constantly, and I needed more. I found a Swarm album, and then bought the original three Death Angel releases from the 80's and the early 90's. And here at WOA the musical journey had come to a furious climax with a crescendo later with a wildly exuberant Osegueda interview. I was definitely far from being “Bored.”
Death AngelInterview time: I had worked so very hard to arrange them, but all credit goes to the Swissman. Thanks, I would have never gotten them without your help. Hypocrisy's Peter Tägtgren was first, and then Mark Osegueda was to follow soon after. I was told Nuclear Blast (NB) had scheduled the interview, but I realized I was never told where it was to take place. I had my cell phone on just in case NB called, but no mercy. Luckily, inside the Press Tent I saw a group of press geeks gathered and milling around questioning Peter. I waited patiently as these journalists went through their checklist of questions. Soon, the area cleared and it was just Peter and me - and no checklist of questions. I asked if it was all right if I filmed the interview and it was no problem. It turned out to be a brilliant interview with a musician I had admired for nearly a decade. He was a quiet, introspective, and polite person. He surpassed my expectations; he is clearly a man of sharp intellect despite the image he garners of being an alcoholic madman on tour. Read the interview on Metal Update, http://www.metalupdate.com/interviewhypocrisy2.html.
As for the Death Angel interview, I managed to walk into Mark with his manager standing at his side. I told him Swissman had made the arrangements for the interview. The manager looked at the schedule, and said we had time now for the interview - great timing. I told Mark that I was extremely honored to meet one of the driving forces of Death Angel and melted the ice with a story about how I had been on morphine for over a year due to my damaged spine from my time in the military. I went cold turkey from it because it was literally destroying me. I had gone into withdrawals for a solid week; my brain had stopped working. Thanks to the “Devil Incarnate,” I was able to jump start my brain and get it going again. I had cranked my stereo all the way up to its full 350 watts while I flew down the German Autobahn at 155 MPH. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up from the adrenaline, and then something new happened; it felt like I had goose bumps inside my brain. Death Angel's music allowed me to overcome in a week what probably would have taken nearly a year to recover from otherwise. Mark was very pleased by my story. As you can see from the photos he is bursting at the seams with happiness and pride. Thanks in part to a stellar performance just a few hours earlier, and the well deserved attention and accolades Death Angel has received for The Art of Dying. If you have not heard it yet - do! By the way, the Death Angel interview will be coming to Metal Update soon.
NevermoreSo, now I had my planned interviews done. I was leaving the press tent, and I ran into Tommy Angelripper (Sodom and Onkel Tom). I had to let him know that Metalion of Slayer magazine had wanted to be here, but just could not make it. Mr. Angelripper took that as an invite for an interview. He said, "Anything for Slayer magazine." He told me to see him in a few hours for the interview. What an incredible day I was having; I was speaking with the legends of Heavy Metal. These people's music had made my life as a teenager worth living, and now I had the opportunity to personally thank them, and in turn provide some payment in return in the form of positive press. Look for the Tommy Angelripper interview in the 20th Anniversary edition of Slayer Magazine along with some Wacken 2004 pictures, and some photos from the return show of Dissection in Stockholm, Sweden on 30 October 2004.
It was time to return to the photo pits for Nevermore from Seattle, Washington. Enemies of Reality, their most recent release, is one hell of an album that transcended the stereotypical mediocre American Metal scene to a plateau of their own making. The European crowds loved what they were hearing, and I think Nevermore enjoyed playing in front of 30,000 Metal maniacs as opposed to a local dive in the USA where only a 1,000 or so show. There is just too much distance and division in the United States too allow Metalheads a place in society all their own. There is too much fear and apprehension thanks to the news media. I have been on Michael Moore kick lately. It seems to me, we as Metalheads in the USA would thrive in a more open and accepting society like those in Europe. With oppression lifted, perhaps our spirits too would soar higher. What a strange world it would be when the underground was as accepted as it seems to be in Europe. I digress, I hope I have brought you the smell of beer, piss, and mud, and ringing eardrums of two straight days of Metal to your senses. I've still got little more to give before this review ends.
HypocrisyAh yes, another thing I could cross off my list before I died, seeing Hypocrisy live, well it was for the second time, so I got to cross it off the list twice. Peter had said earlier he did not like playing in the daytime, but that is where they were slotted. He said that they were not a family band, and their music was meant for the night. I agreed; nonetheless, the music was a blistering stream of lava across the Wacken wasteland populated by the many mutant Metal maniacs screaming to be melted away by insane screams of torture and mind melding music streaming from the guitars. The sunlight was so bright it made colors seem bleached white; in stark contrast to blackened atmosphere Peter and company hammered out with perfection, song after song. Hypocrisy almost died a decade ago; Peter made a good choice to keep Hypocrisy alive. A big thanks for that!
Whoa! I was floored and worn out. I found a corner and a chair in the press tent and passed out from sheer exhaustion. I woke up several hours later and realized was already night. Satyricon and the long awaited arrival of half of Darkthrone was soon to be. I made my way out for the last run of Heavy Metal for Wacken Open Air; Satyricon, and later Satyr stepped back and allow Nocturno Culto (NC) to take the front man position while the rest of Satyricon took the role of the other remaining recording half of Darkthrone, Fenriz. Fenriz refuses to have any part in 'the glitz and glitter' of live performances anymore. Though, Fenriz does DJ at John Dees in Oslo. If you do see him it is best if you just say hello, and not make a big deal out of it. NC was basically backed by Satyricon as a Darkthrone cover band. The mental gymnastics of the whole set up is mind-boggling. Satyricon had a solid sound, but nothing really stood out of the blackened noise atmosphere to form any cohesive riffing or melody, just well produced droning sound. Frost did battery on the drums providing a death beat to the ever-continuous monotone guitar riffing. The corpse paint, upside down crosses, and other satanic symbols and references reminded me of the other extreme of the religious right, always about power and money. And sadly Satyr's message is that you need to be satanic and the only way to do it is by buying his albums. As for the special event of one-half of Darkthrone playing, the tone of the evening turned much darker. The difference between Satyr and Nocturno Culto; NC does not front any band, but instead he made a dark atmosphere through his presence and lyrics lending an unusual blackened close to Wacken, not seen since 2000 when Venom was the headliner. After the show, I was introduced to Frost backstage by a mutual friend. Frost is the most quiet and reserved person I have ever met. He seemed uncomfortable and almost surreal in the party surroundings; he seemed as though he belonged in another time and whole other dimension. I mean that as a sincere compliment.
SatyriconNow, I had to find Tommy Angelripper for the promised interview. It was not a hard task as he was seated next to the backstage bar surrounded by many women, who seemed to be waiting on him hand and foot. Tommy had been drinking Desperados for many hours, but he sobered up for the interview. We dug deep into his coal mining family history. Look for the interview in the upcoming 20th Anniversary of Slayer Magazine in next month or two. With our beers finished, I gathered the strength to see the closing act, which is usually Uncle Tom, Tommy Angelripper's Metal German beer drinking music, but not this night - for some ungodly reason JBO held court in gay pink. Uncle Tom was needed on the main stage to bring to a close another fantastic festival. This year's end to WOA just did not seem right at all. JBO just does not fit the bill. I try not judge things by looks, but sometimes the look tells all. Gay pink powder puff spoof thrash Metal. Shit, some serious musicians with real talent had played their best progressive Metal, and Wacken ends with pink?! Off to bed, the show was over for me. Hopefully next year Wacken ends the right way, with Uncle Tom.
Every year at WOA, Sunday morning, the day after all is done, it is always a serenely eerie scene. I woke up and heard nothing but silence after three straights days of ear blasting Metal coming at you from vendor's booths, thousand of partying campsites, even a port-a-john, and of course the four main stages. It is as though Death himself was too tired to kill. As far as I could see, it was like looking at a scene of destruction directly out of the Road Warrior movies. By 9:00 AM in the morning, I have already melted my grill and hacked apart two tents. It was time to go. Mind you, I did my part for the clean up effort; put all the beer cans and assorted bottles and junk into several trash bags. Hopefully, the clean up costs stay where they are. Though 10 or 15 euro isn't too bad to have a clean up crew take care of three days worth of chaos. And speaking of chaos, I am planning for my 6th year in row at Wacken 2005. We will see Dissection and Overkill, and an outside chance of Iron Maiden; what a WOA that will be. I know Sodom wants to play, also. Every year, somehow my schedule has allowed me to attend; and, I hope it does again for 2005.
A Man and his SheepWacken reigned supreme over the summer festivals in 2004. 5 Skulls thanks to the management of Holger Hubner (answered all my emails), Sheree Hesse (polite, knowledgeable, and takes pride in her work) and Thomas Jensen (actually, I have not met him, yet). And of course, big thanks to Britta Koch, WOA press management, for the press passes and the photo pit passes for the last two years. So, if you want to have a good time, and see more Heavy Metal bands than you can count on your fingers and toes, and be in a consequence free environment where you and your sheep can pass out and not be bothered - save your money and get your ass to Wacken 2005.
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