WITH FULL FORCE 2010
Last summer didn’t feel like a real one, but just one weekend: It was the WFF-weekend which guaranteed three hot days for another time.
Besides the sunny weather the With Full Force presented a great billing regarding by Metal, Hardcore and Punk the most important subgenres of hard music. Names like the WFF-fan-faves Slayer, Venom, Killswitch Engage, Sick Of It All, NOFX or Heaven Shall Burn speak for itself as for the billing. Even the loss of the canceled Throwdown got a respectable replacement by Stuck Mojo. Just the short-term cancelation of Saturday Night Fever act Skindred because of problems with the vehicle on their way to Roitzschjora was impossible to replace that fast.
Another constant of the well-organized With Full Force are the remarkable fair prices, especially for food and beverages.
And last, but not least, the fans had the opportunity to watch the games of the FIFA World Championship on a big screen behind the Hardbowl tent which included another event: As in 2006 Germany played a remindable quarter final beating Argentina which we’ll surely never forget.
On the airfield of Roitzschjora appeared 63 bands on two stages in three days for about 25.000 visitors.
Friday
Main Stage
The Faceless The 17th edition of With Full Force got opened by a band definitely not playing easy-listening-music. Suported by a great sound the very technichal Prog Death – quintet from LA astonished a pretty filled up festivalsite by compositions from their current masterpiece “Planetary Duality” like “The Ancient Covenant” or “Planetary Duality II: A Prophecies Fruition” as by the classic “An Autopsy” from their debut “Akeldama”. This was the best festival opener I have seen in years.
Bloodwork The Melodic Death Metal – hopefuls from Paderborn rocked the stage as the left spectatorship. With the catchy “Insufficient” or “A Cycle Once Broken” from their debut “The Final End Principle” and very entertaining announcements of fronter David Hambach the fivepiece increased the audience’s support reacting by jumping as pit action. Furthermore the band presented by “Destination Nowhere” and “The Eternity Syndrome” material from their forthcoming album “Ultima Ratio”.
Job For A Cowboy Classic Death Metal combined with lots of breaks generally is an interesting mixture. So the fivepiece from Phoenix kicked ass by the “Ruination” – classics “Unfurling A Darkened Gospel”, “To Detonate And Exterminate” and Regurgitated Disinformation” as by the classic “Knee Deep”, but somehow it felt too uninspired. Technically there was no doubt about the band, but I missed the vibe.
Crowbar After rocking Roitzchjora with the southern all-star-band Kirk Windstein returned with his ordinary Sludge legend. The slow, but intense sound fitted to the sunny hot weather. After many spectators had left the festivalsite before probably preferring to watch the Dutch beating Brasil in the first FIFA WC quarter final. But those who had stayed got the pleasure to watch one of the most intense shows of the weekend celebrating monsters like “Self-Inflicted”, “Conquering”, “All I Had (I Gave)”, “I Am Forever”, “High Rate Of Extinction” or “Planets Collide”.
Stuck Mojo For those who had waited for Throwdown like me got disappointed by the cancelation of their slot, but this feeling turned out to euphoria about the fact Stuck Mojo replaced them. And they did very well! Although the band had done a lot of line-up changes its performance convinced completely. Especially mainman Rich Ward rocked the stage running and jumping it up and down. Just the fronter Lord Nelson didn’t move that much probably depending to his huge figure. But he interpreted the newer “Open Season” as well as the Crossover hymns “Twisted”, “Rising”, “Throw The Switch” and “Not Promised Tomorrow”. Just sad the most visitors didn’t notice this great gig.
Fear Factory Starting with “Mechanize”, “Shock” and “Edge Crusher” the Industrial Metal icon impressed by a wall of sound. Besides its title track they considered by “Powershifter” and “Smear Campaign” further new songs from their new album “Masterpiece” before inspiring the crowd to circlepits by their “Digimortal” as the evergreens “Demanufacture” and “Replica”. The only embarrassing aspect about this appearance was the voice of Burton C. Bell: While his shouts were okay he missed nearly all of his clean vocals. There’s a lot to improve about the vocal performance, musically it rocked!
Caliban The fivepiece from Essen ruled Roitzschjora for the sixth or the seventh time. Opening by “Love Song” and “My Time Has Come” the fans celebrated their faves which got impressing pyro-effect-support. But the band took care about their supporters personally. Shouter Andy Dörner who got birthday climbed down, went into the crowd to initialize a huge wall of death to the following “No One Is Safe”. The band showed its live experience on stage as by “24 Years”, “It’s Our Burden To Bleed” and “I Will Never Let You Down” their hit appeal.
Sick Of It All Another steady guest of the WFF are the guys from the NYC Hardcore legend. So there was motion on stage guaranteed. And so did the thousands of supporters in front of the stage celebrating “Good Lookin’ Out”, the new “Based On A True Story” – tracks “Death Or Jail”, “Waiting For The Day” as “Dominated” and evergreens like “Built To Last”, “Injustice System”, “All My Life”, “Scratch The Surface” and “Step Up”. For the last one the band got co-assisted by their Wisdom Of Chains buddy Mad Joe who punched Arkangel fronter Baldur Vilmundarsson because he wanted to take part in unallowed. So the fans saw much more action on stage than those ones on who watched the second quarter final between Uruguay and Ghana on the screen.
Killswitch Engage The fivepiece from Boston started with an instrumental of Yellow and their best song “Rose Of Sharyn” into their set and made clear by the following “Reckoning” from their current self-titled album they definitely deserve the headliner slot. Supported by 25.000 enthusiastic fans, a cool light show the variable shouter Howard Jones and his comrades they prevailed by “Fixation On The Darkness”, “Breathe Life”, “The Arms Of Sorrow”, “This Is Absolution”, “A Bid Farewell”, “My Last Serenade” as “The End Of Heartache”, which lyrics got sung by the whole audience, songs from their whole band discography except for the unimportant debut. Without too many pyro effects the band also knew how to fascinate by stage action as cool comments as weirdo sixstringer Adam Dutkiewicz dedicating a song to the visitors’ girl friends’ breasts as praising and drinking several cans of German beer. So the encore cover of Dio’s “Holy Diver” found a great end of an amazing live show while Uruguay defeated Ghana at the FIFA WC quarter final by penalty shootout!
Tent Stage: Hardbowl
The Exploited Instead of appearing in the afternoon on the Main Stage like they had done before at WFF the British Punk icon headlined friday’s Hardbowl. And they did pretty well playing “Was It Me”, “Alternative” as of course the classics “Beat The Bastards”, “Sex And Violence” and “Punks’s Not Dead”. And although new guitarist Matt Justice left a good impression and fronter Wattie Buchan took care of a motional show the tent just got filled to its half. I guess it’s time for a new studio release after seven years.
Tent Stage: Knüppelnacht
Nile Dark complex Death Metal with an exotic touch is the sound the US-Deathers around Carl Sanders offer. After a bombastic intro the quartet started with the opener of the current album “Those Whom The Gods Detest” (“Kafir!”) in an incredible set which should have satisfied the experimental assessed as the old school Death Metal fans.
Unleashed The Swedes of Unleashed also entered the stage to a bombastic intro, but in contrast to their predecessor they concentrated on their traditional sound. Besides considering by “Wir Kapitulieren Niemals” as its title track their new output “As Yggdrasil Trembles” the fourpiece got celebrated for the classics “This Is Our World Now”, “Blood Of Lies”, “Hammer Battalion”, “Shadows In The Deep”, “Into Glory Ride” which got dedicated to the departed Type O Negative – mainman Pete Steele and the final “Death Metal Victory”. A cool show except for its bad sound in the beginning as for Mikael Hedlund’s ridiculous announcements.
Dark Nocturn Slaughtercult The German Black Metal combo performed their show uncompromisingly as clichéd. A very simple hard sound, the wild yelling Onielar, corpse paint and some blood games. But just the first few rows seemed enjoying it. I definitely didn’t!
Marduk Another Black Metal band, but this one with a longer history. The Swedes began by “Panzer Divison Marduk” as a statement what was up to follow. By ”The Black Tormentor Of Satan”, “Throne Of Rats”, “Into Utter Madness”, “With Satan And Victorious Weapons” the Swedes entertained showing more song structure as quality as their predecessor had done. Just fronter Mortuus disturbed me for another time.
Lay Down Rotten The Death Metal fivepiece including a sixstringer substitute from the German town of Siegen initiated a cool Death Metal storm on stage. So the formation convinced by “Altering The Whore” or the Carcass cover “Heartwork” several tired metalheads to stay for 40 minutes longer before laying down in their tents.
Keep Of Kalessin In the end of the Knüppelnacht acted the third Black Metal formation, but the first with some mentionable approach. They opened by the first three tracks of their new release “Reptilian” (“Dragon Iconography”, “The Awakening”, “Judgement”) which most of the small crowd didn’t seem to know. This issue became better when playing by “Kolossus” and “The Dragontower” older ones which left us in the very early morning.
Saturday
Main Stage
Elsterglanz Last year the Comedy Rock weirdos opened sunday. Because of the enthusiastic reactions of the spectatorship the local heroes got invited again. In the beginning of their slot two railroad crossing gates which longed over the whole stage length opened symbolically. What followed was an insane funny show filled with lots of crazy gimmicks and special effects in front of a n eormously high drumkit and the coolest backdrop I have ever seen. An astonishing number of spectators filled the festivalsite participating while “De Mutter Von James Bond”, “Hartmann Ist Tot” and the hymn “Kaputtschlahn”.
Born From Pain The Dutch Hardcore commando thrilled the festivalsite for another time, with smashers like “Behind Enemy Lines”, “Rise Or Die”, “Sons Of A Dying World” after which shouter Rob Franssen sent greets to his friends of Heaven Shall Burn, continuing with “State Of Mind”, “The New Hate”, “Final Collapse” and the hymn “Stop At Nothing” no surprise. The fivepiece which acted with a new bassist showed a good performance and the fans got satisfied.
Grand Magus The Doomsters from Sweden had the bad-luck to act while the FIFA WC quarter final of Germany began. So just a small group of fans populated the Main Stage area having more place than while each other band playing there. Nevertheless those ones celebrated “I, The Jury” from the new “Hammer Of The North” – album as classics like “Iron Will”. Finally Germany ruled the match against Argentina with a historic 4:0, so the party was supposed to be continued even bigger, but before the Main Stage got a break because of the match.
Exodus A bit too opportune fronter as redneck Rob Dukes entered stage with his bandmates as a German flag and shouted “Fuck Argentina”! Anyway, to the fans it meant the start signal to a wild Thrash Metal set including”Bonded By Blood”, “Blacklist” and “The Toxic Waltz” on as circle pits and a wall of death in front of the stage while the temperatures may have reached the highest peak.
Ektomorf The Hungarians are still one of the most unoriginal as untalented acts in Metal business. Nevertheless mainman Zoli Farkas and his comrades still have their fans enjoying “Show Your Fist”, “Who Can I Trust”, the Soundgarden cover “Rusty Cage which got dedicated to Johnny Cash and the final “Fuck You All” to whoever this got dedicated to.
Cannibal Corpse Same procedure as every Corpse time. The Florida fivepiece gave their fans they are used and probably addicted to: Pure Grindcore massacre. Their supporters celebrated neckbreakers like “Scattered Remains, Splattered Brains”, “Sentenced To Burn” or “Hammer Smashed Face”.
Heaven Shall Burn What then happened was the show of the real headliner of that evening: Supported by a big threepart-LED-screen filled with intelligent projections during the whole appearance, a great light show and several effects the band performed a world class gig animating the crowd to a huge circlepit over nearly the whole area in front of the Main Stage. The local heroes, all five suited in red shirts and black pants, inspired the crowd by smashers from their brandnew album “Invictus” like “The Omen”, the video single “Combats” and “Return To Sanity” as classics like “The Weapon They Fear”, “Counterweight”, “Voice Of The Voiceless”, “Awoken / Endzeit” as the final Edge Of Sanity cover “Black Tears” while Spain won the fourth and last FIFA WC quarter final against Paraguay with 1:0. Awesome!
Venom The Black Metal legend had bad-luck: Because of the Germany match the organizers put the fans’ fave Walls Of Jericho from their original running order posistion on Main Stage to the Hardbowl playing while Venom acted. So I have never seen such an exhausted festivalsite while an appearing headliner. Suppoted by the most special effects a band had this weekend Cronos and this two newer bandmates performed “Welcome To Hell”, “Metal Black”, “Calm Before The Storm”, “Warhead”, “Black Metal”, Countess Bathory” and “In League With Satan”, but there weren’t enough people left for perceivable reactions. So this stood in total contrast to all the pyros. The former British legend seemed much too old for the audience.
Tent Stage: Hardbowl
Neaera The Deathcore fivepiece from Münster had become a familiar member of the WFF community. So the Hardbowl was pretty filled reminding Germany was supposed to play right after their slot. The crowd enjoyed “Walls Instead Of Bridges”, “Let The Tempest Come”, “Armamentarium” as “I Loathe and organized a respectable circle pit shouter Benny Hilleke took part in.
Bleeding Through The Metalcore sixpack astonishingly populated the Hardbowl tent right after the Germany match. And the crowd participated enthusiastic to “Orange County Blond And Blue”, “Kill To Believe” and their hit “Declaration”. Mentionable was the stage acting of attractive keyboarder Martha Peterson shouting all vocals and banging like having a bionic neck.
Tent Stage: Saturday Night Fever
The Bones Saturday Night Fever at With Full Force means party, and after this day with the mentioned Germany experience there was no doubt about the celebrations’ mood of the crowd. So Rock ‘n’ Roll was the right choice to get crazy with “Gasoline Business”, “Not A Lovesong”, “Screwed, Blued And Tattooed” and “Home Sweet Hell”.
The Mahones Instead of Skindred who were supposed to play on that position, but where forced to cancel it due to problems on their way to the WFF the Folk Punk band played an hour earlier and took care about the party feeling.
Gwar So definitely did the anarchy commando who also acted an hour earlier. The intro of Black Sabath’s “Paranoid” spread the party mood for the following massacre. The song title “Let Us Slay” from the current “Lust In Space” output was representative for what was about to come. Oderus Urungus, Beefcake The Almighty & Co performed a comedian splatter show with a lot of cool puppets and even more graphic gore which covered the first rows in different colors celebrating crazy tracks like “Saddam A Go-Go”. Amazing performance!
Sunday
Main Stage
Mambo Kurt & Rockbitches The usual Mambo Kurt madness started this year’s WFF again after he had partied the press tent the night before as he does each year’s saturday night. This year Mambo Kurt introduced two songs and let the audience choose by applause each time. And the spectators continued their support during the played tracks like “Ice Ice Baby”, “Killing In The Name Of”, “Rhythm Is A Dancer”, “Maria (I Like It Loud)” and the final “Remmidemmi” which he performed by computer after his Rockbitches had destroyed his organ.
Daath The Deathcore commando from Atlanta caught my attention by some soundtrack intro. The band had surprised me positively years before as support on an Unearth tour, this time I had some expectations because of this live experience. The fivepiece performed a solid gig, no more no less, in which just the fronter’s long beard and the Cannibal Corpse cover “Hammer Smashed Face” surprised.
Postmortem The old school band with one of the two Brutz & Brakel (the cult liquer stand at Party San for years) owners on guitar didn’t convince me as they had done when they had performed at Party San last year, but the opener “Give Us Hate”, “Chopped, Shredded And Grind To Meatballs” (from the forthcoming release “Seeds Of Devastation”) and “The Way Of The Knife” found its small but fine spectatorship.
Mustasch Swedish Rock ‘n’ Roll was about to invade the stage, and the audience. The quartet around the very sympathic vocalist Ralf Gyllenhammer rocked the sunny afternoon enormously by “Blasphemy Heresy”, “Bring Me Everyone”, “Mine” and “Black City”. And after a Swedish Boogie Woogie version Ralf Gyllenhammer who had done several German lessons in school taught the crowd an “Alles gut, alles klar: Ja!” – chant they used it in the middle of the last song and video single “Double Nature” after which Mr. Gyllenhammer showed his fans his butt. Funny guy, great Rock show!
Sodom The German Thrash trio around Onkel Tom Angelripper started very traditional by “The Saw Is The Law”, and besides the newer “City Of God”, they put their focus on classics like “Agent Orange”, “The Art Of Killing” and “Der Wachturm”. It was a pretty common Thrash concert which satisfied their fans, but probably didn’t win too many new ones.
Dark Tranquillity When you discover the Gothenburg sixpack on a billing you can be sure of one fact: You get the full live experience of great songs as massive live action. Their set contained by “The Fatalist”, “Dream Oblivion” and “The Grandest Accusation” from the new “We Are The Void” – masterpiece as by classics like “Wonders At Your Feet”, “Final Resistance”, “Misery’s Crown”, “Lost To Apathy” and “Terminus” lots of Melodic Death Metal hits. Fronter Mikael Stanne was agile and his band tight as usual. Incredible performance!
As I Lay Dying The Deathcore ensemble from San Diego rocked the festivalsite like they had done two years ago. Fronter Tim Lambesis & Co considered their new masterpiece “The Powerless Rise” by “Beyond Our Suffering”, “Parallels”, “Vacancy” and “Without Conclusion” which got nearly as much support as familiar hymns like “An Ocean Between Us”, “Through Struggle”, “Within Destruction”, “Confined” including a respecatble wall of death, “94 Hours”, “The Sound Of Truth”, “Forever”, and the set finshing “Nothing Left” by several moshpits. The sound ruled, the band seemed very motivated and the fans enjoyed! Strong appearance!
NOFX Long time, no see. This statement is done right relating to NOFX. It’s a very long time I had heard about the Californians before discovering them on the WFF billing. But the co-headliner position was the right one for the relaxed sound as announcements of fronter Fat Mike. And of course the most party happenpened while their two 90ies hits “Kill All The White Men” and “Don’t Call Me White”.
Slayer The steady guests and surely biggest faves of the WFF visitors headlined Roitzschjora again. But it’s too long ago Slayer had played an exciting show. Especially frontman Tom Arraya lost his voice within the first three tracks and didn’t move at all probably becaus of his physical problems he had been to hospital with. So the opener “World Painted Blood”, “War Ensemble”, “Dead Skin Mask”, “Mandatory Suicide”, “Chemical Warfare”, “Agressive Perfector”, “Hell Awaits”, “Angel Of Death”, “Raining Blood” and the final “South Of Heaven” couldn’t match any goal. Of course many Slayer maniacs didn’t care, recognize or both, but anyway: This gig disappointed absolutely!
Tent Stage: Hardbowl
Evergreen Terrace The fivepiece from Jacksonville got much audience in the tent when they began with the “Almost Home” opener “Enemy Sex”. The fans seemed to had been waiting for a Metalcore band with such a strong melody effect. So they celebrated “Hopelessly Hopeless”, “Wolfbiker”, “Bad Energy Troll” the cover “Mad World” and of course the hit about their sixstringer “Chaney Can’t Quite Riff Like Helmet’s Page Hamilton” which left a sweaty crowd.
Tent Stage: The Last Supper
Letzte Instanz The Folk Rock combo from the close city of Dresden who switched their positions with The Devil’s Blood didn’t have a magnetizing effect. Just a small bunch of people came to the tent to watch tracks in German language like “Mein Engel” plus several fire effects. Nothing special!
The Devil’s Blood I could write how unique and wonderful this gig was: But that would end up in a total fairytale. I don’t know what astonishing sound a few fans found in the music of the Dutch. It is a boring 70ies Rock music copy with an even more boring bloody Black Metal show. So the first few rows celebrated “Come, Reap”, “The Heavens Cry Out For The Devil’s Blood” or the set closing “Christ Or Cocaine”, meanwhile the majority got clearly bored.
Amorphis After such an irrelevant beginning there were two interesting bands left. And the Finish sixpiece attracted much more supporters to come into the tent. The crowd partied to new “Skyforger” material like “Silver Bride”, “From The Heaven Of My Heart” and “Sky Is Mine” as to the well-known northern hymns like “The Smoke”, “House Of Sleep”, the classic “Sign Of The North Side” and the fantastic final “Black Winter Day”. Fronter Tomi Joutsen did another great job, the band played tight and the fans had fun.
Paradise Lost The British founders of Gothic Metal had the honor as exercise to finish the 2010 edition of With Full Force and to feed their fans with melodic as melancholic dark hits. And so they did by a set consisting of “The Rise Of Denial”, “Pity The Sadness”, “Erased”, “I Remain”, “Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us” and “Say Just Words” rocked the stage and motivated the fans to headbanging action. Nick Holmes showed himself as a good vocalist and charismatic entertainer with cool British humor while the band played tight. So the With Full Force ended as it had started by its opener: With high quality live music! Well done again!
Conclusion:
For another time the With Full Force turned out to be very hot! It was the sunniest weekend of the whole year! Besides the weather the organization worked well for another time. The communication about the two cancelations worked well, too!
And the replacement of Stuck Mojo turned out to become the live joker this year! When it’s hot you need to compensate it by liquidity, and this you can still get for fan-friendly prices, e.g. 2,40 € for a 0,4l beer or softdrink! And as fair worked the prices for food!
Our special thanks go out to Wolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann and the WFF-team!!!!!
At the With Full Force 2010 rocked, drank and partied Tobi Wan Kenobi, Thomas and Conny!!!!!