WITH FULL FORCE 2012
So now this was our tenth WFF-participation, an anniversary we all were looking for. Besides that the organizers took care about the soccer fans by a huge screen showing the German semifinal before the festival on thursday and the final on sunday. And of course the billing presented for another time attractive acts from the subgenres Metal, Punk and Hardcore. Machine Head, Heaven Shall Burn and Soulfly headlined this year’s With Full Force. The rare gigs of Lamb Of God, Winds Of Plague and Gojira got canceled which sucked, but wasn’t the fault of the WFF-team. The Saturday Night Fever in the Tent Stage got aborted because of the storm mentioned in the next lines. So for security reasons Smoke Blow as The Turbo AC’s had no chance to appear. The festival area as the campgrounds looked much different in comparison to one year before. These changes needed to be done because of the neighbored lake which had grown by the producing gravel quarry in the meantime. So for example the Main Stage and the Tent Stage switched their sides.
After having the first eight years hot up to extremely hot summer weather and in 2011 cold as rainy storms this year’s climate showed another environmental extreme. Short time after the headliner Heaven Shall Burn had appeared a terrible thunderstorm attacked the festival area and injured 51 visitors. A few of them needed to get reanimated. In the end everybody survived. A big respect goes out to the organization which was probably the main reason for the emergency doctors getting to the victims strucked by lightning as fast as necessary and that everybody survived! Nevertheless numerous spectators got their tent destroyed and left the festival in the night or sunday morning. We had more luck, just the pavillons got damaged. So we were able to report the whole three days. On the airfield of Roitzschjora appeared 61 bands on two stages in three days for about 30.000 visitors.
Friday
Main Stage
Skeletonwitch After the WFF-spectators had more or less handled the surprising semifinal-loss of Germany’s soccer team they had the opportunity to bang their frustration out of their heads with Black Thrash Metal from Ohio. Their title “This Horrifying Force (The Desire To Kill)” couldn’t have found a better place than on this festival.
DevilDriver After the opener the Californians were under pressure to score with their modern interpretation of Thrash Metal. But the fans celebrated “Clouds Over California” or “Resurrection Blvd.”. In contrast to those ones I didn’t get convinced by their too uninspired sound.
Insomnium After the two Thrash formations the Melodic Death Metal quintet just attracted a fewer number of fans which was pretty grotesque because the band had earned the reputation of an energetic live band. But in Roitzschjora hymns like the “Inertia”-intro, “Through The Shadows”, “Unsung”, “One For Sorrow”, the predicting “Down With The Sun” and “Whether The Storm” as the final “The Killjoy” and “Mortal Share” would have worked much better in The Last Supper. Great band, wrong stage!
Madball The following 40 minutes were probably the biggest highlight for every present Old School Hardcore fan. Shouter Freddy Cricien and his three comrades started with “Get Out” and “For My Enemies” in an agile performed set. The filled place in front of the stage became the moshpit zone and the fans celebrated the title track of the current release “Empire”, “All Or Nothing”, the Agnostic Front tribute “It’s My Life” and the final consisting of “Infiltrate The System”, “Heavenhell” and “Hardcore Still Lives”.
August Burns Red After NYC-Hardcore followed Metalcore from the neighbored Pennsylvania. Instead of the stamping riff-monsters of Madball the fivepiece brought more melodies, but not less brutality. This was easy to recognize by the pit-action on the festivalsite. The crowd raged wild while “Backburner”, “Internal Cannon” and “Composures”.
Pennywise To my own surprise the Californian Punk veterans got supported by Ignite vocalist Zoli Teglas who joined the band. This combination worked very well beginning from “Every Single Day” over “Society”, “Living For Today” and the final “Bro Hymn”.The fans partied while Zoli had to act with the disadvantage of terrible pain in his back. But he did a fantastic job, so the show rocked.
Emmure This position in the billing was supposed to get filled by Lamb Of God, but just one day before vocalist Randy Blythe got arrested by the police in Prague. In the meantime he was proved not guilty, but nevertheless their WFF-appearance due to those circumstances became impossible. So the planned Tent Stage headliner got the chance to move over onto the Main Stage to perform there. But Emmure weren’t able to replace Lamb Of God musically.
Suicide Silence And the next US-Deathcore-combo was just about to follow. And it became even more boring while “Wake Up”, “Bludgeoned To Death” and “Fuck Everything” attracted especially younger fans creating several pit as crowdsurfing actions. A co-headliner without any substance!
Machine Head What then followed was an example of a headliner performance! Supported by several pyro-effects and a clean as bombastic sound the band performed an impressing show. The songs of their recent “Unto The Locust” – album “Locust”, the intro “I Am Hell (Sonata In C#)” and the new single “Darkness Within” inspired the crowd to headbang and mosh as classics like “Old” or “Imperium” or the younger familiars “Beautiful Mourning” and “Aesthetics Of Hate” did. Besides that fronter Robby Flynn showed entertainer qualities in his statements although bis “awesome”-comments as his beer cup throwing stuck a bit on my nerves. Nevertheless: A great show which found its dignified end in the epic “Halo” and the band hymn “Davidian”.
Tent Stage: Hardbowl
Eyes Set To Kill One of the big surprises of this year’s WFF was the fivepiece from Arizona. A young band playing Metalcore with alternating shouts as clean vocals isn’t nothing that spectacular, especially in the Hardbowl. But the Rodriguez-sisters turned “Broken Frames”, “Falling Fast”, “Heights” and “The Secrets Between” to something special. Cool melodies, great female voice!
Tent Stage: Knüppelnacht
Dark Funeral The fivepack from Stockholm introduced their new German grunter Nachtgarm who presented himself well integrated. So classics like “Vobiscum Satanas” were no problem to him. But after the Main Stage headliner Machine Head their Black Metal sound was just ridiculous.
Dying Fetus The Grindcore institution from Maryland showed a high tech show which must have astonished every ambitioned musician watching this. The trio around John Gallagher interpreted “One Shot, One Kill” as “Killing On Adrenaline” very tight. Just the action became a bit too static.
Endstille Supported by their new second sixstringer B.Killed the Black Metal commando from Kiel had much more guitar power to perform “Dominanz”, “Bastard” and other wannabe-evil tracks. Black Metal acts like Endstille are pure circus to me.
Nasum The reunion of the Grindcore institution to do a farewell tour without original vocalist Mieszko who had died because of the Tsunami at the Indian Ocean nine years before was a often-discussed one. Anyway, their appearance was a very convincing one regarding several classics. And the new live-fronter Keijo Niinimaa from Rotten Sound did a good job on the microphone.
Aborted Belgium’s finest in Brutal Death Metal presented a pretty similar level of technical quality as Dying Fetus had done. Older classics as tracks from the new release “Global Flatline” like “The Origin Of Disease” motivated the fans to headbang.
Debauchery The German answer on or copy of Six Feet Under finished the Knüppelnacht. Their monotony didn’t really keep the crowd awake, just their final “Blood To The Bloodgod” with some naked lady on stage earned bigger applause.
Saturday
Main Stage
Elsterglanz The East German Comedy ensemble enthused by their sympathic attitude, the cool stage setting including backdrop as by songs like their final played classic “Kaputtschlahn”.
Excrementory Grindfuckers And the next Comedy weirdos followed. The festival ground became a bit emptier because they’re from West Germany. Anyway those ones who stayed had their fun with the Grindcore interpretations of Europe’s “The Final Countdown” or David Hasselhoff’s “Looking For Freedom”.
Carnifex From now on brutality replaced comedy. The breakdown battery from San Diego pulverised the stage by “Until I Feel Nothing”, “Hell Chose Me” as “In Coalesce With Filth And Faith” and animated the crowd to several circle-pits.
I Killed The Prom Queen The Australian Metalcore quintet held the heavyness level, but added by the clean vocals of guitarist Jona Weinhofen a suitable contrast to shouter Jamie Hope. Songs like “Memento Vivere” or “Say Goodbye” reached the present spectators positively.
Ektomorf What shall I say? This pure as poor Soulfly copy has no substance, is boring, but still alive. And they attracted numerous fans jumping and moshing to their best of set containing “I Know Them” as “Fuck You All”.
Meshuggah The Swedish Tech Death Metal pioneers were one of my personal highlights, especially after the cancelation of Gojira’s slot. But it started with fucked up technics. The microphone didn’t work at all until the middle of the second song. So Jens Kidman shouted with no acoustic effect on the fans who turned back holding their middle fingers to the sound tower. “I Am Colossus”, “Demiurge” and “Break Those Bones Whose Sinews Gave It Motion” from the new “Koloss” – masterpiece worked as fantastic as classics like “Bleed”, “Rational Gaze” or “New Millenium Cyanide Christ”. Sad effect because of the technical problems was the fact there was no time left to play the last title as band hymn “Future Breed Machine”. The technics sucked, Meshuggah rocked!
Cannibal Corpse The following blastbeed inferno couldn’t hold the high level of Meshuggah, but the Grindcore legend from Florida kicked ass and entertained the left windmill headbangers especially by their classic’s final consisting of the formerly in Germany censored “Hammer Smashed Face” and “Stripped, Raped And Strangled”. If they had played new “Torture” material I wouldn’t have understood it acoustically.
Immortal The Norwegian Black Metal icon impressed by a bombastic sound. But this one sucked in the middle of the set while “Damned In Black” and caught a ten minutes lasting break while fronter Abbath’s mood didn’t become better. “Sons Of Northern Darkness”, “Triumph”, “At The Heart Of Winter”, “Tyrants”, “Kingdom Cold”, “Call Of The Wintermoon” and “One By One” didn’t fill up the half empty festival ground, but entertained the few fans.
Heaven Shall Burn When the quintet began their first With Full Force headliner show by “Endzeit” they didn’t know what this title announced. While the following Edge Of Sanity cover “Black Tears” several lightnings were seen on the horizon and strong rain as even hail followed pretty soon. Numerous spectators flew to their tents, but many still stood in front of the stage where their heroes didn’t care about the rain until the electricity broke down for a while at the end of the show. So they came back with the encores “The Weapon They Fear” and “Voice Of The Voiceless”, supported by ex-guitarist Patrick Schleitzer and right after this the mentioned climate catastrophe began.
Tent Stage: Hardbowl
The Sorrow The Austrian Metalcore quartet replaced the usually planned Winds Of Plague and for another time the guys around the fronting Matthias “Mätze” Schlegel knew how to win the people. Their sympathic performance as catchy songs like “Where Is The Sun?”, “Far Beyond The Days Of Grace”, “Crossing Jordan”, “My Immortal Guardian” “Knights Of Doom”, “Saviour Welcome Home” and “Death From A Lovers Hand” attracted many supporters in the tent.
Evergreen Terrace A sympathic aura and catchy songs can also be called their own by Evergreen Terrace. “Friend Request”, “Wolfbiker”, the “Mad World” – cover as of course the hits “When There Is Fire We Will Carry Gasoline” and “Chaney Can’t Quite Riff Like Helmet’s Page Hamilton” produced masses of crowdsurfers which stood for its own. Cool party!
Tent Stage: Saturday Night Fever
The Browning While the lightnings raged outside the Electro Metal offered a nicer alternative. The fourpiece from Dallas played their first show ever in Germany and got celebrated like they probably had never expected it. They of course concentrated on their debut longplayer including their video-singles “Bloodlust” and “Standing On The Edge”.
The Carburetors The Hardrock fivepiece came to take care of a Rock ‘n ‘ Roll party, but the gig needed to get aborted because of the inferno outside. Some guy of the WFF-team did the announcement to evacuate the tent because the wind strength was on level 11 and nobody would be safe there (!).
Smoke Blow Canceled because of the thunderstorm.
The Turbo AC’s Canceled because of the thunderstorm.
Sunday
Main Stage
Guns Of Moropolis The next day showed the devastation and on the live screens the WFF-team explained what had happened, how they had reacted and that everbody was safe. So the German trio tried to take care of a better mood by tracks from their debut record “In Dynamite We Trust” and introduced by “Under the Sun” a track from the forthcoming output.
Neaera Instead of the canceled Gojira the Deathcore quintet from Münster showed themselves as a well-confirmed replacement. By a best of setlist containing “Let The Tempest Come”, “Armamentarium”, “Walls Instead Of Bridges” and “Heaven’s Descent” took care for the pit-action in front of the stage. So they finished a jubilated gig by “Spearheading The Spawn”.
Kill Devil Hill The all-star-band consisting of drummer Vinnie Appice (Black Sabbath, Dio, Heaven And Hell), bassist Rex Brown (Pantera, Down), guitarist Marc Zavon (WASP, Ratt) and singer Jason Bragg (Pissing Razors) must have been pretty astonished just to appear for a few hundred spectators. But those ones shouldn’t regret their presence. The rockin’ songs from their self-titled debut album entertained well. Especially Bragg’s voice rocked while “Hangman” and “Strange”.
Unearth What followed was a demonstration of pure live power. From the first minute the fans were in motion raging in several circle-pits celebrating songs from the recent album “Darkness In The Light” breakdown attacks like “Watch It Burn”, “Shadows Of The Light” and “Eyes Of Black” as more familiar ones by “The Great Dividers”, “This Glorious Nightmare”, “Zombie Autopilot” or “My Will Be Done” which got high-dosed jubilation. Vocalist Trevor Phipps thanked the audience and told his respect to the festival visitors after last night. The new drummer Nick Pierce convinced, the agile musicians in front of him did it anyway. This year’s best performance at With Full Force!
Pro-Pain You know what you get watching a Pro-Pain show. Old School Hardcore that kicks ass. And so the band did again by “In For The Kill”, “Un-American”, “Fuck It”, “Foul Taste Of Freedom” and “Make War Not Love”. Gary Meskill and his three comrades also showed by the tribute for MCA of the Beastie Boys by “Egg Raid On Mojo” they are able to surprise.
Trivium The quartet creates the right mixture between melody and heavyness for the WFF audience. So it didn’t astonish the area in front of the Main Stage was pretty packed. Starting with the intro “Capsizing The Sea” and the title track of the new masterpiece “In Waves” inspired the fans to spontanous pit-action. Older (“The Deceived”, “Rain”) or younger classics (“Throes Of Perdition”, “Down From The Sky”) as besides the opener further new songs (“Black”, “Dusk Dismantled”) and the sympathic performance of this quartet took care about a very positive atmosphere in the crowd.
Broilers I have never shared the fascination for the group from Düsseldorf. Their german language Rock was too extranous to convince me. “Nur Die Nacht Weiß”, “Tanz Du Noch Einmal Mit Mir”, “Wie Weit Wir Gehen” and the band hymn “Meine Sache” got the applause of their die-hard-fans, but that was it.
Children Of Bodom The Finnish fivepiece first seemed to be at the wrong place, but while “Follow The Reaper”, “Warheart” and “Bodom Beach Terror” the mainly sceptic spectators did a few steps forward and took part in. The band around fronter Alexi Laiho seemed as motivated as the audience and showed a best of setlist containing “Blooddrunk”, “Sixpounder”, “Needled 24/7” and “Hate Me!” as the encores “Bodom After Midnight”, “Hatecrew Deathroll” and the final “Are You Dead Yet?”.
Soulfly While Spain beat Italy in the soccer final and won the european championship the headliner appeared earlier because of Germany’s non-participation in this match and probably due to the incidents of last night. They opened their slot by “Blood, Fire, War, Hate” and the crow was still able to jump and to produce action. Respect! Besides Soulfly songs as “Seek ‘n’ Strike”, “Prophecy” and “Back To The Primitive” of course the Sepultura classics “Refuse/Resist” and “Roots, Bloody Roots” earned the most support. “Eye For An Eye” marked the end of a good show.
Tent Stage: Hardbowl
Comeback Kid The four guys from Winnipeg are always ready for a great show full of sweat and motion. So they did in Roitzschjora. From the beginning marked by “Do Yourself A Favour” over “Partners In Crime”, “Broadcasting”, “The Concept Stays”, “G.M. Vincent & I”, “Because Of All”, until “Wake The Dead” the fans sang along the choruses and took part in circle-pits. Cool show!
Tent Stage: The Last Supper
Eläkeläiset The last chance to dance was offered by the Humppa kings from Finnland. Take several Metal as Rock songs in a Humppa version and Vodka and you’ll have the result of this show. Nice!
Einherjer The following Norwegians were much less party. Their epic Viking Metal was atmospheric, nice, but also a bit boring. Reunited three years ago they presented a well-balanced set between old and new.
Fleshgod Apokalypse The quintet from Rome finished this year’s With Full Force with Prog Death Metal including Black Metal reminiscenses which was too complicated for several spectators, others enjoyed “The Forsaking”, “The Imposition” and “The Violation”.
Conclusion:
In our long festival history we have never experienced such a weather inferno than this year. We just need to point out our big respect to the WFF team for the impressing crisis management and the visitors who helped each other in this case of emergency!!! The prices were still very fair to the fans (e.g. 2,50 € for a 0,4l beer or softdrink)!
And as fair worked the prices for food! Our special thanks go out to Wolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann, Bogo Ritter and the WFF-team!!!!! At the With Full Force 2012 rocked, drank and partied Tobi Wan Kenobi, Helga, Nicole, Alex and Nicole!!!!! So we’re looking forward to With Full Force 2013, including its 20th anniversary!