WACKEN OPEN AIR 2003
Rating: 5 Skulls
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WACKEN OPEN AIR 2003
Rating: 5 Skulls |
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Reviewed by Metal Militia:
Slayer
Photos by Snake except where notedThe name Wacken has an almost magical effect on metalheads here in the states. The idea of a three day festival solely dedicated to metal in all it variations seems almost unreal, more a metalhead wet dream than anything else. Sure we have the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival or the Milwaukee Metalfest, but the former is far more focused on the extreme side of metal and has more hardcore than the average metalhead can handle, and the latter has the distinct reputation of having shitty sound and being an organizational nightmare. Wacken on the other hand is pure metal and is engineered to perfection (must be a German thing), on top of all that, tens of thousands of metalheads make the pilgrimage each year to drink, camp, most importantly headbang. Have you ever seen 35,000 (that's the official count, from what I understand something like 55,000 were actually in attendance) metalheads in the same place at once? Before this summer I wasn't aware that there were 55,000 metal die hards' in the entire world.
The sheer size of this event is mind boggling. The whole festival takes place on a giant pasture in the tiny town of Wacken. I can only imagine what these townspeople must think each year when thousands of long haired drunks, clad in black t-shirts, jeans, and leather descend on their quiet little town. In fact when we pulled into town many of the townspeople were sitting on their lawns just looking on with amusement at what was being paraded through their streets, given the diversity of this years crowd, I can't say that I didn't chuckle a little myself. What surprised me the most though, was the complete lack of protests. There were no lunatic ranting from any religious group about "The Devil's music" and for that I was grateful.
Kataklysm
Photo by Metal MilitiaThe first day we pulled into camp was one of little musical interest (In fact only the third day showcased bands I had any interest in seeing.) Annihilator, Running Wild and a few other bands I didn't care about were all that was playing, so I decided to dedicate that evening to setting up camp and perusing what proved be the single most amazing merch section ever. Miles of cd's, tapes, vinyl, shirts, flags, and other metal accessories lined the playing grounds, and on top of all this there was a special "Metal Markt" that had a two euro entrance fee. At first I was skeptical of this price gouging, but it turned out to be worth it. Inside was where the choicest merch was kept. Rare and out of print albums were almost commonplace inside this tent. Shirts I thought I would never find in the states were dirt cheap. Before I had even heard a single band I was already convinced that this was the greatest metal experience I have had.
The second day was the first in which I made a trip down to the stage area and even though I didn't care for the opener, I made it in time for Dew Scented. One word review of this band: boring, I actually think they played the same song over seven times in a row. Next up was Extreme Noise Terror, probably the least "metal" of the entire weekend. These guys destroyed, they managed to wake the (relatively) few (think two thousand) people out of their hung over state and got some people moving, not moshing mind you, that seems to be an entirely North American thing. With a blazing set filled with grindcore chaos ETN provided a great, albeit unexpected set.
VaderThe following bands didn't interest me, and although I checked out portions of each of their sets, I didn't find anything worthwhile or surprising about any of them, that was until Testament hit the stage. Testament played after a lackluster performance from the best Judas Priest cover band around, Primal Fear. Testament has always seemed somewhat overrated in metal history and I was never quite sure why they were so amazingly popular. Now that I have witnessed the live show, I can easily say that this must be the reason for their legendary status. Each and every song was filled with energy and Chuck Billy proved himself as one of the greatest thrash vocalist ever. I can only imagine what this must have sounded like in the bands prime.
I wandered around from stage to stage for the rest of the night and caught some of In Flames, which was just as uneventful as I had imagined. I'm not sure how these guys got to be so popular, but they certainly don't deserve any praise for any aspect of their performance. It was filled with cliches and boring antics and bad music. I decided to skip Twisted Sister in favor of a night of drinking with some crazy Germans. Even though Dee Snider and co. put on an entertaining show, I think I made the right decision. Twisted Sister plays somewhat regularly in New York City, however a night of Teutonic drunkenness never comes along.
DarkaneThe third and final day provided the most satisfying day of metal. Even though Sinister was forced to cancel and was replaced by the miserable Holy Moses, day three was easily the strongest. Since there were so many excellent bands on this day I'll only make mention of the elite bands of the day:
Malevolent Creation: The best band of the entire festival. The set list was incredible, showcasing material from "The Ten Commandments" through their most recent "The Will To Kill." Each song was played to perfection, and the band would not let the audience relax. It seems that the majority of European metal fans just like to stand around and headbang to each band regardless of style, well Malevolent Creation wouldn't settle for this, in fact they were the only band besides Slayer to get a good, thrashing metal mosh pit going. Highlights from their set included: Malevolent Creation, The Will To Kill, In Cold Blood, and far too many more to name.
Carpathian ForestCarpathian Forest: The only true black metal band of the entire festival also offered one of the strongest performances of the day. The performance was so strong because it was easy to see how disappointed the band was to have to be there. They never once thanked the audience or promoted their album, they played their songs, talked some shit, played some more, and were done. One of the purest and most hate filled sets I have seen, made even better with the morbidly obese bassist mooning the crowd and the singer throwing up all over himself in the middle of the set.
Kataklysm: The only reason this band gets mentioned is for the songs they played off of "Shadows and Dust" and the one new song they showcased here. I find all their older material to be dry and boring, but "Shadows and Dust" kicks loads of ass. Their also featured a drum solo from their new drummer, he wasn't all that impressive, but the crowd seemed to dig it.
NileSlayer: The headliner, once again prove that they are one of the most lethal bands worldwide. Even though the set list was not up to my standards (No Seasons in the Abyss???) they still left Wacken in shambles. The set list was standard with no big surprises, but it was awesome to see Dave Lombardo behind the kit wrecking through every song with reckless accuracy. My one gripe was with Tom Araya treating the crowd as if they were retards. I know they are mostly European Tom, but I bet they speak more than five words of English! Literally every sentence this guy said to the crowd was slow and drawn out and unbelievably dull. "Wow....this.....all this (motions to the crowd) is.....awesome.....wow." That and the lack of an encore prevented this from being the ultimate Slayer experience.
Overall this trip was bewildering. Even though the line up was a little less than stellar just being surrounded by nothing but metalheads and wilderness for an entire weekend is something every fan must behold, if at all possible, make a trip to Wacken, you will not be disappointed.
Reviewed by Snake:
Photo by Metal MilitiaEvery year since 2000, I attended the Wacken Open Air (WOA) festival, and this year was no difference. WOA is the one joy I look towards for 365 days until the start of the next festival. Once I get home on Sunday afternoon following the three day festival, the wait begins again. In the past, I had attended as a fan, and hence my alcohol consumption was kept at incredibly high levels. This year I went as journalist and I kept my alcohol consumption to a minimum, so I could completely absorb the metal atmosphere. The good vibes by every in attendance and all the bands made it one of my more memorable experiences. I want to thank the following people for making past and present Wackens the best they could be; Mike, Groo, and Scott.
Well enough with my ramblings, time to get down to business. My friends and I arrived at the town of Wacken in the afternoon. We were greeted with a friendly search of our vehicle for drugs and some questions by the German Polizei, after which we were on our way to the press pass area. The weather was hot, and skies were nearly clear. The weather was to be the same throughout the weekend, a pleasant change from the unrelenting rain of last year's mud fest. Once we all got our passes, we found our way over to the backstage camping area where we hooked up with our friends from past Wackens. Once everybody had there tents set up, and all had plenty of beers in them, it was time to take a gander at the festival area.
VaderStarting off Thursday night's line up was Circle II Circle who I only caught a little bit of, but whose main contribution was covering Metallica's "Sanitarium." I thought for sure Metallica lawyers were going to pull plug - maybe they should have. Next up was the band I was really eager to see, Annihilator. Of particular interest to everyone was how the new signer was going do. He had a good stage presence, but he came off as a little one dimensional. Jeff Waters was in perfect form along with their bass player as they hammered out an intricate duet. One of the high points is when the new singer belted out a high falsetto note from "Alice in Hell," sending the crowd into a frenzy. This year the True Metal and the Black Metal Stages exchange places, putting the latter to the far right. Another change was the stages were now equal in size. Also, added was a giant sized 20 by 20 foot LCD screen between the True and Black Metal Stages which was used for close ups, schizophrenic strobe effects, and schedule updates.
The Rotten Egg award goes to Nuclear Blast for supplying the metal concert goers with giant white foam hands with lime green outlines in the form of devil's sign. I would expect something like that at Oz Fest, but not Wacken. To all those people that used them, you made a metal mockery out of yourselves. Death to false metal, tacky metal heads, and record labels with no sense of what they do.
Next up on stage during Thursday's A Night to Remember is Victory, which was a band to forget. They had trouble from the start with the vocalist's microphone getting no sound for the first few moments. This problem ought to have been a sign for these guys to hang it up. Victory played on the True Metal Stage, but they ought to have been playing on the Dokken Reunion tour. Next were they geriatric pirates, Running Wild. These guys began they're show with a pyrotechnic bang. Running Wild may be Noise record label dinosaurs, but the lead singer was enjoying the hell out of himself, switching pirate costumes between songs. Enjoying yourself whether you are a fan or a band is what Wacken is all about. And thus, ended the first night of Wacken. So off to the trunk of my car I went to bed.
NileThe second day of Wacken I awoke feeling rested, though a bit warm from the sun heating the car's insides. I grabbed a nourishing chicken sandwich at Fuego del Sur, a backstage open pit grill stand. Then, I went out at 11 in the morning to see The Quill on the Party Stage. I knew things were going very wrong when Quill's singer asked, "Are you ready to Jump?" The Quill is soft core power metal band that thinks they are next Led Zeppelin, so I gave a resounding "No!" and went over to the Black Metal Stage to watch Dew Scented. Dew Scented with their brawny raw metal flexings stood in stark contrast to The Quill. The drums were a bit too loud, and overwhelmed the guitar sound. The guitars deserved to be heard as they were very tight. The vocalist was bursting at the neck as he gave his all, and he added to an overall good stage presence from the band. Nonetheless, the set was nothing spectacular, and rather flat. So, off I went in search another one of the Wacken moments - where the metal and the soul combine to make the spirit soar!
Who was going to give the performance of their life this year? In years past it had been Venom in 2000, Overkill in 2001, and Bruce Dickinson in 2002. I wandered by the Wet Stage and heard the WOA Forum band playing a rather horrible Black Sabbath cover, so I headed out of the main festival area towards the Metal Market entrance. The Metal Market is a place where international vendors set up all their rare wares for sale at awesome prices. The fan only has to pay a small price for admission. Once inside, I realized it was too damn hot, and I was dripping sweat all over the patches I was prospecting to add to my denim jacket. Nonetheless, I marched on to add to my metal collection with an officially licensed Mercyful Fate T-shirt. The shirt has The Don't Break the Oath album cover in all of its blazing glory on the front which matches the full size back patch on my denim jacket. Before I completely melted away, I wrapped my winnings around my belt and headed back towards the main festival area under the bone warming mid-day sun.
The Crown was already up on stage, and they were wailing away. The Crown demonstrated they are the real thing with their brand of satanic death and roll. The lead signer's dirty greasy lamb chop sized side burns said it all, the king is alive!!! The great vocals were accompanied by heavy rumblings of deep melodies emanating from the rest of the band. The set list included "World View," "Revolution 666," and "Total Fucking Satan," to name a few. The Crown is what God Dethroned wishes they could be in a wet dream.
Photo by Metal MilitiaHungry for more, I wanted to see what Diamond Head was going to offer, if it was as passionate as Running Wild, I would have been happy. What I got was a good band, probably all hired musicians with the original signer who is now an old fat ass, who read the lyrics from a music stand positioned at his feet. Talk about trying to relive your youth and just like Hulk Holgan, Diamond Head needs to hang it up, forever.
"Waking in the morning and eating breakfast, hating the world," was Dismember's intro to the afternoon's crowds already easily topping 10,000. Dismember looked very evil dressed in black in the bright shiny sun. Misanthropic, noisy thrash metal was played and it made me realize, this music was not evolved. I looked for something different, and I found Dark Ages on the Party Stage singing about suicide. Then, Dark Age played a cover of Metallica's "Ride the Lightning," which they made their own with the addition of a synthesizer. With their heavy, deep, and chunky riffs and satanic attitude, Dark Age was more of competitor for rights to play on the Black Metal Stage than Dismember.
Finally, as dusk arrives Testament hit the Black Metal Stage of Wacken. Testament was supposed to have played back in 2001 for the Gathering tour, but due to line up shifts just prior to their scheduled performance they had to drop out. Now, two years later Testament finally made their presence known, and what a show it was. I was overcome with visions of flaming skulls swirling deliriously in a metal maelstrom. Testament was not a let down, but neither were they the best. They played quite a bit from the Gathering, and I was certainly glad to hear it. Also, 30 thousand fans were thrilled by the set, too. I think Chuck was getting off on the crowd, and adding fuel to his fire as he poured his heart into the performance. There is a new Testament album on the way, and Testament treated us with one of their future offerings. The music was bombastic and defiantly bluesy. So, I have another metal purchase to look forward to in the next couple months.
Callenish CircleSpeaking of future purchases, that day Athera, the lead singer from Susperia provided me a sneak listen of a rough mix track from their upcoming release for this Fall. I was harshly critical of last year's Vindication, but after I heard the sonic attack on this sneak peak, I was singing a different tune. Athera has been listening to a lot of Testament and it shows in a good way with his vocal approach. Also, the new vocals combined with the big sound the band has captured in the studio made for a superb new track; and, just as they did with their first album, the Susperia boys have a winner on their hands. Now, if only Susperia would get a chance to play Wacken rather, than just attending as metal fans!
Having been a big fan of early Helloween, I was excited to see Gamma Ray, and the rogue guitarist, Kai Hansen. No matter how great the stage set and light show were, I was seriously disappointed of the tired and worn out power metal set. All the songs have the same mystical titles and eventhough the music is always played perfectly, there is no passion or progression, just perfected stagnation. So, I went backstage to get another sandwich and to wait for In Flames to hit the Black Metal Stage. Once again, I was disappointed with the whole thing. In Flames might as well be a nu-metal band. They have no real direction and their music sounds like a piece of puffed blow fish shit. And from they way they pranced around the back stage area, they appear to be a bunch of cock stars, also. But they were not alone in their attitude as Slayer exceeded them in every aspect, but more on this later. Instead, I managed to catch a few minutes of Assassin, and I did find them to be fantastic working man's version of Kreator.
Finally, it was time for Twisted Sister, and that was like watching the Village People on acid. Twisted Sister was having a hell of a crossing dressing time, and everybody was getting off singing along with the chorus friendly tunes. Also, the photo pit was extremely good with Twisted Sister allowing the press to watch and snatch pictures for 3 songs. Some bands didn't even allow the press to stay in the pit for more than a few seconds, ahem Slayer.
DarkaneWhile walking through the crowd back to the campsite, I stopped a thief from pick pocketing a passed out metal fan. I confronted the guy and made him give back the wallet. Then, I chased the guy until I found a Polizei and told him to stop that guy as I snapped a quick picture of thief trying to make a break for it. Out of nowhere came 5 cops and they held him while they took my statement. My statement combined with the statement of the guy whose wallet had been almost swiped was enough to have the thief arrested. I was mighty proud to get such low life scum out of the midst of us metal fans, who are just trying to have a good time. After all of that, I got back to the camp site to find one of my friends, Jon in trouble for melting a plastic lawn chair. I did not see any harm in it, and I encouraged him to keep enjoying himself.
Morning arrived, and I found myself in great shape and ready for the day ahead. Of course, that is because I had slept passed noon. Anyways, I missed Holy Moses, who was a last minute replacement band for Sinister. Sinister had just lost one of their guitarists. I heard it was a good set, as always. I caught Malevolent Creation as my first band of the day. I had not been too impressed with their most recent release, but they sure had one hell of a live show. They had a thick powerful sound and the front man belted out some damn good vocals. I stood in amazement at just how good Malevolent Creation is live. Cutting loose was hard, but I had to make sure I caught some of the Twisted Tower Dire (TTD). With no gimmicks, no frill, TTD showed the European crowd how we, Americans rock out, and it seemed this no nonsense approach to metal was just what the Europeans were starving for.
I had heard a lot of hype about Callenish Circle, so I went over to the Wet Stage. It is called the Wet Stage because you are soaked in sweat in a matter of minutes from suffocating heat inside the fest tent. And, why did I suffer through that? Especially, when Callenish Circle sounded exactly like every other band in the last dying throes of the New Wave of Swedish Heavy Metal. It went from bad to worse as I watched Metalium try to cover Led Zeppelin. Apparently, this band's time is past and if music quality can be measured by crowd numbers, Metalium almost scores a zero!
Carpathian ForestNow, it was time to see the men in corpse paint, Carpathian Forest. It all started when the singer blurted out, "We are fat fucks, we have come to have sex with you and fuck you!" The music is loud and heavy, but it is not incredibly good or played well either. Anybody who takes these guys seriously is fucking deranged. Fake black metal at its funniest, next please! I got stuck in rut with a lot of shitty bands, next on the chopping block was Evidence One. Every year, Wacken has at least one cock rock band, and this year it was Evidence One. Put simply, they are in the vein of White Snake, and wasn't White Snake enough? This string of horrible bands probably had something to do with most of the crowds staying away from the festival area and giving themselves extra time to nurse their hangovers with the hair of the dog that bit them.
The time was mid-afternoon, the crowd was starting to get a whole lot thicker as Soilwork was readying on stage. Looking out at the crowd, I was surprised to see a whole new generation of metal heads in their late teens and early 20's here at Wacken. I gained greater confidence that real heavy metal will be with us for a long, long time. Well, I was eager to see Soilwork, again. I had seen them at Wacken 2001, and they were perfect then. However, today was an off day with Speed Strid being sick. He was drinking a beer to help him sing, but still he was not able to put his everything into it. "As We Speak" and "Natural Born Chaos" were among a few of the songs played. Strid's clean vocals were a bit off, but the band's backing vocal were right on. This band is normally perfect live, just as good as their albums; if you like what they do, make sure you catch them live before they break up. Just a thought, they lost their keyboardist, and now they had to replace their drummer. In my mind, I doubt Soilwork will be around for too much longer.
Rage joined old Noise label mates, Running Wild and played Wacken this year, too. Playing stuff from last year's Unity. Rage showed that less is more by playing as a three piece. The drums were too loud, but it was a good set. Rage is a metal machine that kept moving and sharpened their blades over the years. If you did not get Unity, you have missed out on one of the most incredible albums of the decade. A new album is due out soon, too.
Callenish CircleDark Funeral was a blast to watch. It was like watching the WWE while on hard drugs. It almost seemed surreal, as the drums and guitars pile drive you from the third rope into the mat. I caught a few minutes of Kataklsym, and watched the crowd thrashing away along with their music. However, I still was looking for more, so I headed back to the Wet Stage and caught Darkane in the act. Darkane played like madmen, and showed the packed crowd how tight they could get. When bands like Darkane have to play in the packed, sweaty, smoke filled Wet Stage tent, it made me wonder why Wacken doesn't go back to having a fourth full stage like they did in 2000. Darkane's singer showed his ambidextrous ability to move in and out of harsh and clean vocals at a drop of a dripping molten dime - one of the top performances of Wacken Open Air 2003.
I caught few songs from Nile's set and I was impressed with their polished death metal. Nile seemed overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of fans. The lead singer had a hard time separating his singing voice from the voice he used in between sets. Whether he was singing or introducing the band, he was always in the cookie monster voice. It would be pretty funny had the band not played so well. Nile strikes as another band that plays so much better live than what they have so far been able to put to disc in the studio.
Slayer was the biggest disappointment of the festival. They are the prime example of what heavy metal artists can become, cock stars; and this year, Slayer took home the 'too big for their britches' award. Apparently, Slayer feels that they are so big that they do not need to associate with the common masses. So, they had WOA security block off the only thruway between the back stage area and the main festival area for over 20 minutes, just so Slayer would not have to walk amongst the grimy dirty drunken fans, and press. This decision resulted in both fans and press members jeering them as they walked by. Slayer retaliated by canceling all of their press interviews. Who would have thought Slayer could be so childish. Their performance was not very good either. Throughout most of the set, Hanneman's guitar solos were too low to be heard. The whole thing showed just how much Slayer has not progressed. They still are guessing how to play their instruments by the numbers. Forget Slayer, they were finished years ago.
SlayerFortunately, Vader stepped up and delivered the powerful headlining set that Slayer was supposed to have delivered. Eventhough, Vader was playing at 1:00 AM, the crowd was still highly energetic and Vader responded in kind. Their amazing guitar capabilities showed Vader developing in dark twisted ways. The music built off of each note and riff, and the solos progressively advanced off each other into one mind blowing whirlwind. Overall, Vader was the performance I had to come to see at Wacken. Vader was as heavy and as metal as it gets.
Tom Angelripper closed out Wacken with his German drinking band, Onkel Tom. Onkel Tom closing out Wacken is a tradition, and it has been for every year I have been in attendance. Strangely enough, this was the first time I watched the performance. I had no idea what the names of the songs were, but the crowd did and they were singing along in German. I could tell Tom was really enjoying himself, and so was everyone else. Tom's good spirits really epitomizes the spirit of the WOA festival - beer drinking and heavy metal under the banner of non-violent debauchery.
Onkel TomIn conclusion, Wacken is a professionally run festival with great bands, friendly fans, and a safe environment where one can really cut loose in a consequence fee environment. And as long as it stays that way, I will keep coming back year after year. Even with the shitty bands, Wacken provides a wide variety of heavy metal bands that appeals to almost every metal fan's tastes, and they are showcased in a professional setting which earns Wacken 5 skulls. See you there next year.
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