{"id":1164,"date":"2012-06-25T21:08:18","date_gmt":"2012-06-25T20:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.metal-festivals.com\/?page_id=1164"},"modified":"2012-06-25T21:08:18","modified_gmt":"2012-06-25T20:08:18","slug":"wacken-2011-review","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/new.metal-festivals.com\/?page_id=1164","title":{"rendered":"Wacken 2011 Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

WACKEN OPEN AIR 2011<\/strong><\/p>\n

The biggest Metal festival of this planet is a constant global player to many metalheads. It’s not just the size, it’s the whole Wacken-feeling from the stages over the campinggrounds to the visitors who come from all over the world taking a holiday in Germany or rather in Europe within the Wacken adventure as its highlight. So this year there were so many different languages heard while walking over the festivalsite we can just conclude: \u201cWacken \u2013 Connecting Metal People!\u201d
\nMusically madman Ozzy Osbourne, NWOBHM-legend Judas Priest and the Rock ‘n’ Roll – icon Mot\u00f6rhead were just the heads of a high class billing. Exclusive shows of Iced Earth (Last one with their voice Matthew Barlow!) or of Avantasia (Last show ever!) just showed the importance of Wacken!
\nThe organization worked very well as it had done all the years before. The festivalsite as its ways to the different stages offered much space for the masses, the clean restrooms were for free use and the variety of food and beverages was huge. After forbidding circle pits and wall of deaths in 2010 the WOA-organizers asked its visitors in a voting about this issue and they gave the recommendation to allow those elements of pit-action and so the organization did.
\nIn contrast to most of the forecasts the weather played a good role from thursday on.
\nLike the latest WOA-editions the fans also had the opportunity to visit the Wackinger Village with several viking as medieval shows and market, the Bullhead City tent or a J\u00e4germeister bar bringing you to the height of 50 metres above the festival offering you a great view on itself besides some drinks. Besides that the organizers enlarged the program in the Bullhead City Tent as in the Wackinger Village and in the Beergarden by mainly medieval bands and fun acts, also on wednesday.
\nBut of course we concentrated on the festivalsite reporting about the regular program. Also remarkable was the fact that besides TV stations from all over the world reporting about the WOA, German TV broadcasted live from Wacken!
\nAt this year\u2019s Wacken Open Air 75 bands appeared on the four regular stages (besides several shows on the Beer Garden Stage, the Medieval Stage and Bullhead – City Tent as lots of competitors within the Metal Battle contest as further performances on the W.E.T. Stage on wednesday) in the three days for about 75000 visitors (Sold out in february!).
\nTo the writer of these lines it had been the 15th WOA \u2013 participation in a row, and still everything worked well as in 1997.<\/p>\n

Thursday<\/strong>
\nTrue Metal Stage<\/strong>
\nHelloween<\/strong> Because of technical problems it took a long time before the Melodic Metal \u2013 icon from the near city of Hamburg was about to start. Beginning by \u201cAre You Metal?\u201d and the classic \u201cEagle Fly Free\u201d the fivepiece still had to fight with technical difficulties. And what followed didn’t satisfy my expectations about that gig at all. After playing several classics including a \u201cKeeper Of The Seven Keys\u201d-medley singer Andi Deris and his companions extended the band hymns \u201cFuture World\u201d, \u201cDr. Stein\u201d and \u201cI Want Out\u201d to a maximum by a couple of crowd chants games and unnecessary comments leading this show to a live catastrophe.<\/p>\n

Ozzy Osbourne<\/strong> Everyone on the filled festivalsite was very curious about the madman and nobody should get disappointed. Ozzy was the big star of Wacken this weekend, his voice convinced and his band consisted of several instrumental genuises. The setlist contained by \u201cMr. Crowley\u201d, \u201cWar Pigs\u201d, \u201cBark At The Moon\u201d, \u201cRoad To Nowhere\u201d, \u201cShot In The Dark\u201d, \u201cIron Man\u201d or \u201cI Don’t Want To Change The World\u201d lots of classics celebrated by the audience while ignoring the latest albums which probably nobody worried about. Of course in the middle of the 90 minutes lasting set Ozzy needed a break which got filled by his bandmates playing solos. After finishing the regular set with \u201cCrazy Train\u201d the prince of darkness and his band returned on stage to perform the encores \u201cMama, I’m Coming Home\u201d and the Black Sabbath – classic \u201cParanoid\u201d. The combination Ozzy & Wacken worked very well. Amazing!<\/p>\n

Black Stage<\/strong>
\nSkyline<\/strong> It had become tradition the band of one WOA-organizer opened the regular program on the festivalsite. Supported by the German Metal-personalities Doro Pesch, Chris Boltendahl, Tom Angelripper and Udo Dirkschneider they performed the Wacken-hymns \u201cWe Are The Metalheads\u201d, \u201cWacken Will Never Die\u201d, \u201cAuf Nach Wacken\u201d and \u201cHeavy Metal WOA\u201d as several cover versions.<\/p>\n

B\u00fclent Ceylan<\/strong> Last year the comedian and self-declared metalhead B\u00fclent Ceylan entertained the Summer Breeze as surprise guest. On the SB – press conference he announced it’s a big dream to him appearing in Wacken. And so just one year later he stood in front of the WOA masses which probably majoritarian had fun. I prefer political cabaret anyway.<\/p>\n

Frei.Wild<\/strong> I don’t know the necessarity to fill a vaccum of the split B\u00f6hse Onkelz which existence I doubt by a worse copy of them. The band from South Tyrol performed German lyrics with primitive tough-guy messages and their music was nothing special. But many fans seemingly enjoyed it supporting them.<\/p>\n

Blind Guardian<\/strong> The Fantasy Metal \u2013 institution from Krefeld satisfied the melodic fraction after the Helloween – disappointment right before. Vocalist Hansi K\u00fcrsch and his comrades took care about the communication with the audience without to forget to mainly let the music do the talking. So besides the newer \u201cAt The Edge Of Time\u201d – songs like the opener \u201cSacred Worlds\u201d and \u201cWheel Of Time\u201d the band performed a greatest hits setlist consisting of \u201cWelcome To Dying\u201d, \u201cNightfall\u201d, \u201cTraveller In Time\u201d, \u201cImaginations From The Other Side\u201d, \u201cLord Of The Rings\u201d, \u201cValhalla\u201d, \u201cMajesty\u201d and the set closing ballad \u201cThe Bard’s Song\u201d sung by thousands of fans. The musical skills of the musicians as their live-action impressed and inspired the crowd to long applauses.<\/p>\n

Friday<\/strong>
\nTrue Metal Stage<\/strong>
\nSuicidal Tendencies<\/strong> Mike Muir and his bandana band were one of the first Crossover bands ever and they still are unique in the scene. They opened with a hammer classic triple consisting of \u201cYou Can’t Bring Me Down\u201d, \u201cJoin The Army\u201d and \u201cWar Inside My Head\u201d. Mike ran the stage up and down in his very own way. Because of the latest full-length album had been released eleven years before the instumental magicians of course performed a best-of-set which ended with the well-known \u201cHow Will Laugh Tomorrow\u201d and the band-anthem \u201cPledge Your Allegiance\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sodom<\/strong> The German Thrash Metal icon can be called as a steady guest in Wacken. The trio considered by the opener \u201cIn War And Peaces\u201d, \u201cFeigned Death Throes\u201d and \u201cThe Art Of Killing Poetry\u201d three titles from the also named current release \u201cIn War And Peaces\u201d besides all those classics like \u201cOutbreak Of Evil\u201d, \u201cThe Saw Is The Law\u201d, \u201cAgent Orange\u201d, \u201cBlasphemer\u201d and \u201cRemember The Fallen\u201d. Mainman Tom Angelripper and his both comrades bid farewell with the medley \u201cStalinknarrenhagel\u201d, but the fans missed \u201cAusgebombt\u201d.<\/p>\n

Trivium<\/strong> The American Metal shooting stars including their new drummer Nick Augusto started by \u201cIn Waves\u201d with the title track from their brandnew album. Songs as its live presentation showed how professional this quartet had become in the latest years. The following classic \u201cA Gunshot To The Head Of Trepidation\u201d emphasized this impression. And the setlist chronology consisting of \u201cBlack\u201d, \u201cLike Light To The Flies\u201d, \u201cBuilt To Fall\u201d, \u201cPull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr\u201d, \u201cDown From The Sky\u201d and the final \u201cThroes Of Perdition\u201d spoke for itself. Vocalist Matt Heafy communicated with the crowd, partly in German, and so this appearance rocked. Awesome!<\/p>\n

Judas Priest <\/strong>It was time for British Steel in Wacken, one of the few big bands which had been really missed by the Wacken visitors as probably by the organizers. So the NWOBHM legend appeared on its farewell tour at the WOA. Supported by Richie Faulkner who had replaced original member K.K. Downing the band began by \u201cRapid Fire\u201d and \u201cMetal Gods\u201d. In front of a filled festivalsite interpreted classics like \u201cVictim Of Changes\u201d, \u201cNight Crawler\u201d, \u201cTurbo Lover\u201d, \u201cBlood Red Skies\u201d and \u201cPainkiller\u201d surprisingly well, especially Rob Halford surprised hitting his notes right after he had disappointed often the years before. But the live-presentation sucked. Old men just watching their instruments, no motion on stage and no communication to their numerous fans. And to let the crowd sing the whole lyrics of their hymn \u201cBreaking The Law\u201d wasn’t the best idea I guess. So the heroes of many metalheads finished by the classics \u201cHell Bent For Leather\u201d, \u201cYou’ve Got Another Thing Comin’\u201d and \u201cLiving After Midnight\u201d a show that was musically good, but because of the mentioned presentation emotionless.<\/p>\n

Airbourne<\/strong> The Australian AC\/DC-soundalikes opened by \u201cRaise The Flag\u201d and \u201cBorn To Kill\u201d from their recent release \u201cNo Guts, No Glory\u201d. This was their third WOA appearance and even in the night bandleader and fronter Joel O’Keefe climbed up the stage again while playing \u201cBlackjack\u201d. A cool Rock ‘n’ Roll Party after midnight ended with the hit \u201cToo Much, Too Young, Too Fast\u201d and the title track of their debut \u201cRunnin’ Wild\u201d.<\/p>\n

Black Stage<\/strong>
\nEnsiferum<\/strong> The Finnish Pagan Metal combo welcomed thousands of fans in the sunny noon. And those celebrated the title track of their latest output \u201cFrom Afar\u201d, \u201cBattle Song\u201d and \u201cStone Cold Metal\u201d. But those Pagan music as shows are much too similar to each other.<\/p>\n

Morbid Angel<\/strong> Before this appearance there had been a controverse discussion between the Morbid Angel fans because of the experiments on their new record \u201cIllud Divinum Insanus\u201d. And the fourpiece performed by \u201cExisto Vulgor\u00e9\u201d, \u201cNevermore\u201d and \u201cI Am Morbid\u201d three titles of it in a row in the middle section of their set. Technically the whole appearance worked well, but of course the fans celebrated classics like \u201cMaze Of Torment\u201d or the final consisting of \u201cChapel Of Gouls\u201d, \u201cWhere The Slime Lives\u201d and \u201cGod Of Emptiness\u201d.<\/p>\n

As I Lay Dying<\/strong> The Metalcore \/ Deathcore icon from San Diego caused a big crowd in front of the stage which showed their raised popularity. And they stressed it by an amazing show containing hits as the opener \u201cWithin Destruction\u201d, \u201cSound Of Truth\u201d, \u201cThrough Struggle\u201d, \u201cAn Ocean Between Us\u201d, \u201cParallels\u201d, \u201cNothing Left\u201d, or \u201cForever\u201d. Besides that the quintet calls by Tim Lambesis a charismatic fronter its own. The instrumental skills of the guitarists Phil Sgrosso and Nick Hipa as those ones of their drummer \u201cJordan Mancino\u201d did their part to let this show become successful. And bassist Josh Gilbert did his backing vocals part very well. So the band finished a jubilated appearance by \u201cConfined\u201d and the classic \u201c94 Hours\u201d.<\/p>\n

Heaven Shall Burn<\/strong> Germany’s leading formation in Metalcore \/ Deathcore set standards how intensive a show can be for another time. Suited in red shirts as black pants and supported by their large video screens and several pyro effects the crowd experienced an hour they probably won’t forget. Beginning with \u201cProfane Believers\u201d and \u201cVoice Of The Voiceless\u201d several circle pits started. And they moved on while \u201cForlorn Skies\u201d, \u201cCombat\u201d and \u201cEndzeit\u201d. Remarkable was the idea to motivate the female spectators to take part in crowd surfing with the destination photo pit where they got a HSB-shirt each. Cool idea! And in the end after \u201cBehind A Wall Of Silence\u201d and \u201cReturn To Sanity\u201d the quintet spent tribute to Edge Of Sanity by covering \u201cBlack Tears\u201d which of course found the applause of many metalheads.<\/p>\n

Triptykon<\/strong> After Cradle of Filth had canceled their WOA-participation the new band of Tom G. Fischer got presented as their short-term-replacement. The fireflame-decorated stage took care of a strange atmosphere while the band played by \u201cProcreation (Of The Wicked)\u201d, \u201cCircle Of The Tyrants\u201d, \u201cBabylon Fell\u201d and \u201cSynagoga Satane\u201d four tracks of Fischer’s former band Celtic Frost. Generally interesting as strange show.<\/p>\n

Apocalyptica<\/strong> The four Metal cellists are very well-known. And such a band is probably one of the few which is predestined for a show in the deepest night. So the left audience enjoyed the atmosphere this formation spread. Of course the Metallica-interpretations \u201cMaster Of Puppets\u201d, \u201cNothing Else Matters\u201d and \u201cSeek And Destroy\u201d got the most applause. Nice!<\/p>\n

Party Stage<\/strong>
\nPrimal Fear<\/strong> After starting with technical problems while the opener \u201cSign Of Fear\u201d the Swabian fivepiece surprised with their early set debut-classics \u201cChainbreaker\u201d and \u201cBattalions Of Hate\u201d. The Melodic Metal fans celebrated Ralf Scheepers, Mat Sinner & Co who bid farewell by their hymn \u201cMetal Is Forever\u201d.<\/p>\n

Van Canto<\/strong> Beginning as a project this a capella formation just assisted by a drummer had become a real success as the WOA-participation showed. Interpreting the whole instrumentation as vocal lines of Metal songs as \u201cWhishmaster\u201d (Nightwish), \u201cRebellion\u201d (Grave Digger), \u201cPrimo Victoria\u201d (Sabbaton), \u201cThe Bard’s Song\u201d (Blind Guardian), \u201cKings Of Metal\u201d (Manowar) or \u201cFear Of The Dark\u201d (Iron Maiden) with one female and four male voices seemed to have its audience. To me one of the most overestimated bands nowadays, after two songs this appearance bored.<\/p>\n

Rhapsody Of Fire<\/strong> Long time, no see! The Symphonic Metal group showed they hadn’t been lazy in the meantime of their absence. Technically this performance was on top of the instrumental skills of this weekend, and that all worked well with Fabio Leone’s siren. Although they had released by \u201cEternity\u201d a new record just two months ago the band considered no material of this one. From the opener \u201cTriumph Or Agony\u201d till \u201cEmerald Sword\u201d they concentrated on more familiar compositions.<\/p>\n

Morgoth<\/strong> After a long absence of the Metal scene in general as of Wacken in special (Morgoth had appeared at the WOA in 1995!) the first big German Death Metal band had to fight with several technical difficulties. So the stage monitor sound was the only sound to hear for the fans in the beginning. But this changed after and the numerous fans celebrated the setlist which completely contained classics like the opener \u201cBody Count\u201d, \u201cSuffer Life\u201d, \u201cUnter The Surface\u201d, \u201cPits Of Utumno\u201d and \u201cIsolated\u201d. The cult is back!<\/p>\n

Kyuss Lives<\/strong> The following appearance was supposed to become one of the most interesting ones of the weekend. The desert and dust sound of the Stone Rockers were a nice change to the typical metal acts. As expected vocalist John Garcia and his bandmates didn’t move too much, but groovers as the opener \u201cGardenia\u201d, \u201cOne Inch Man\u201d, \u201cAsteroid\u201d, \u201cEl Rodeo\u201d and the final \u201cGreen Machine\u201d entertained very well.<\/p>\n

Saltatio Mortis<\/strong> One of the most horrible shows of the weekend should become the medieval Folk Rock act from Mannheim. Their tracks sounded like I had heard them thousand times before and the intrusive performance of their fronter sucked. Besides that the combo presented by \u201cEulenspiegel\u201d a title from the forthcoming output and the duet with Doro for \u201cSalome\u201d was the only positive surprise of this hour.<\/p>\n

W.E.T. Stage<\/strong>
\nSirenia<\/strong> After several changes on the position of the female vocals the Gothic Metal quartet might have found by Aylin a great singer with much perspective. The Spanish vocalist harmonized very well with the band from Stavanger. After opening by \u201cThe End Of It All\u201d and \u201cFallen Angel\u201d from their new album \u201cThe Enigma Of Life\u201d Morten Veland and his band filled the rest of the 30 minutes by former material (\u201cLost In Life\u201d, \u201cThe Other Side\u201d, \u201cThe Path To Decay\u201d and \u201cMy Mind’s Eye\u201d). Cool show!<\/p>\n

Slime<\/strong> I needed to watch the billing for a second time when I noticed the probably most political German Punk band would appear in Wacken. A contrast? No, an hour after midnight the tent was pretty filled up with a crowd which sang the lyrics of \u201c\u201dAlle Gegen Alle\u201d, \u201cReligion\u201d or \u201cDeutschland Muss Sterben\u201d. It turned out to good show as alternation to the rest of the program. <\/p>\n

Shraphead<\/strong> As last act of the day in the tent the Norwegian Heavy Rock newcomers had to play for just a very small audience. The performance, especially the one of their fronter, as rockers like \u201cMerry Go Round\u201d or \u201cBlind And Seduced\u201d of the so named brandnew debut showed this band deserves much more, for example a second chance in Wacken.<\/p>\n

Saturday<\/strong>
\nTrue Metal Stage<\/strong>
\nCrashdiet<\/strong> The fourpiece from Sweden seemed to live their Glam Rock beginning with their rouged as suited style and ending up with their sound as its live presentation. To play encores they left the stage earlier after \u201cRebel\u201d to which vocalist Martin Sweet had entered the stage on a Harley-Davidson to return with \u201cArmageddon\u201d and \u201cGeneration Wild\u201d.<\/p>\n

Dir En Grey<\/strong> The also rouged Japanese appeared for the second time in Wacken. The Visual Key icon stuck on my as on many others’ nerves with seemingly uncoordinated sounding tracks combined with psycho screams. Next!<\/p>\n

Iced Earth<\/strong> This fourth band’s appearance was a very special one: It was the last participation between Iced Earth and their voice Matthew Barlow. And what followed can be called nostalgic. After the \u201c1776\u201d-intro the quintet opened with \u201cBurning Times\u201d after which Matt showed a great interpretation of the Ripper-track \u201cDeclaration Day\u201d. \u201cVengeance Is Mine\u201d, \u201cLast December\u201d, \u201cI Died For You\u201d, \u201cThe Hunter\u201d as the final \u201cSomething Wicked This Way Comes\u201d – trilogy consisting of \u201cProphecy\u201d, \u201cBirth Of The Wicked\u201d and \u201cThe Coming Curse\u201d belonging to the best US Power Metal is able to offer, especially by Barlow’s voice. Thousands of enthusiastic fans celebrated the show which got closed by the encore \u201cIced Earth\u201d and a very emotional farewell of Matt who got standing ovations by the crowd for minutes.<\/p>\n

Avantasia<\/strong> Another farewell was up to follow next. Edguy’s vocalist Tobias Sammet announced this WOA-appearance would be the last show of his Avantasia project ever. Supported by Jorn Lande, Bob Catley, Michael Kiske, Kai Hansen and Oliver Hartmann on the vocals this show became pretty varied and fulfilled its art approach. To me the whole Avantasia project is too cheesy. Whatever: The fans had their fun.<\/p>\n

Mot\u00f6rhead<\/strong> \u201cWe are Mot\u00f6rhead \u2013 and we play Rock ‘n’ Roll\u201d. This pre-announcement of every Mot\u00f6rhead show sounds pretty familiar to every headbanger. And so the seventh WOA-appearance of Lemmy & Co began. And besides \u201cGet Back In Line\u201d from the recent \u201cThe W\u00f6rld Is Yours\u201d output the trio concentrated on classics like the opener \u201cIron Fist\u201d, \u201cMetropolis\u201d, \u201cRock Out\u201d or \u201cIn The Name Of Tragedy\u201d. After closing the set by the Sepultura-dedicated \u201cGoing To Brasil\u201d, \u201cKilled By Death\u201d and \u201cBomber\u201d Lemmy, Phil Campbell and Mickey Dee returned to perform the encores \u201cAce Of Spades\u201d and \u201cOverkill\u201d. <\/p>\n

Subway To Sally<\/strong> It had become a ritual to let the East German Folk Metal sevenpiece entertain the crowd deep in the night as they did this time again. Beginning with \u201cHenkersbraut\u201d the band appeared in front of a respactable crowd meanwhile it started to rain. Especially the old hits like \u201cSag Dem Teufel\u201d, \u201cFalscher Heiland\u201d, \u201cVeitstanz\u201d and the encore \u201cJulia Und Die R\u00e4uber\u201d which was sung by the audience earned much support.<\/p>\n

Black Stage<\/strong>
\nMoonsorrow<\/strong> This Finnish fivepiece is one of the few Pagan bands which really kick ass with good songs. And so they did by opening the last day of this year’s Wacken-edition in the sunny noon. After \u201cKyl\u00e4n P\u00e4\u00e4ss\u00e4\u201d they decided to perform the epic \u201cT\u00e4hdet\u00f6n\u201d which of course took a third of their time, but it was worth it.<\/p>\n

Kataklysm<\/strong> One of the best Death Metal acts nowadays rocked the early afternoon sustainable. By \u201cPush The Venom\u201d and the classic \u201cManipulator of Souls\u201d the fans noticed just in the beginning of the show what it was about: Doublebass attacks, tight riffs and the grunts of Maurizio Iacono allowed each single person just to headbang and\/or to mosh. And the Canadien madness continued by \u201cTaking The World By Storm\u201d, \u201cIlluminati\u201d, \u201cIn Shadows And Dust\u201d, \u201cAs I Slither\u201d and the final \u201cCrippled And Broken\u201d. Strong!<\/p>\n

Mayhem<\/strong> And so the following act lead us to the question why this former Norwegian Black Metal icon whose popularity is mainly based by a murder to their founder and the suicide of their ex-fronter had this position to appear. The show was closed by \u201cPure Fucking Armageddon\u201d, a title which allows different interpretation relating to the musical quality.<\/p>\n

Sepultura<\/strong> Before Wacken we had seen different Sepultura shows at different places which were mostly okay, but I had always missed the vibe. The first Brasilian WOA-showdown should change this: From the start marked by the classics \u201cArise\u201d and \u201cRefuse\/Resist\u201d the band rocked the whole festival area. Especially shouter Derrick Green showed a very strong appearance, so who does really miss Max Cavalera? The band acted tight that also songs from the newer band phase as \u201cKairos\u201d or \u201cChoke\u201d convinced. Just the Ministry-cover \u201cJust One Fix\u201d could have been replaced by another own song. Anyway this performance surprised absolutely turning out to the best of the whole weekend in this strong billing. The final of the set containing the classics \u201cTroops Of Doom\u201d, \u201cTerritory\u201d, \u201cInner Self\u201d, \u201cRatamahatta\u201d and \u201cRoots Bloody Roots\u201d spoke for itself. <\/p>\n

Kreator<\/strong> The Thrash Metal institution from Essen is a pleasant guest in Wacken always guaranteeing an amazing live show. First of all the huge video screen instead of a backdrop impressed showing different animations, classic album covers as pics from the bands’ early years. Mainman Mille animated the fanship as usual to give their best to the opener \u201cHordes Of Chaos\u201d, \u201cEndless Pain\u201d, \u201cEnemy Of God\u201d, \u201cPhobia\u201d, \u201cReconquering The Throne\u201d, \u201cViolent Revolution\u201d, \u201cBetrayer\u201d, \u201cFlag Of Hate\u201d and \u201cTormentor\u201d in the end, just \u201cExtreme Aggresions\u201d should be missed.<\/p>\n

Children Of Bodom<\/strong> On other festivals the Finnish fivepiece appear as headliners, in Wacken they have to play much later after them which shows the high quality in the WOA-billing. But this high level didn’t get fulfilled by Alexi Laiho & Co. Too spiritless they acted through their set starting with \u201cNot My Funeral\u201d from the new \u201cRelentless Reckless Forever\u201d release and ending with the encores \u201cAre You Dead Yet?\u201d and \u201cHatecrew Deathroll\u201d.<\/p>\n

Party Stage<\/strong>
\nVisions Of Atlantis<\/strong> The self-announced \u201cbreakfast band\u201d served Symphonic Metal which really was too much in the warm noon. From their opener \u201cAt The Back Of Beyond\u201d to the finisher \u201cMemento\u201d their music sounded very typical Austrian. Not my cup of tea!<\/p>\n

The Haunted<\/strong> The Swedish quintet around the Bjorler brothers are pure live power. Beginning with \u201cNever Better\u201d from the new \u201cUnseen\u201d-masterpiece they let follow a best of setlist containing \u201c99\u201d, \u201cThe Flood\u201d, \u201cD.O.A.\u201d, \u201cNo Compromise\u201d, etc.. Lead by their charismatic fronter Peter Dolving they had no problems to animate the motivated crowd to take part in a great show which should end up in the great final consisting of the double track \u201cDark Intentions\u201d and \u201cBury Your Dead\u201d.<\/p>\n

Knorkator<\/strong> They’re back: The only Comedy Metal band which is really funny decided to return after their split, and that was definitely a good decision. Opening with \u201cDer Ultimative Mann\u201d the band nearly defined what entertainment is about. This also applied the cover versions of Ace Of Base’s \u201cAll That She Wants\u201d and Boney M.’s \u201cMa Baker\u201d. Besides that fronter Stumpen animated to several exotic gestures and interactions the crowd directly realized. Astonishing was the huge audience who completely filled the ground in front of the Party Stage meanwhile the Black Stage with Mayhem just counted a small number of fans in comparison to Knorkator. All hail to Stumpen, Alf Ator, Buzz Dee & Co!<\/p>\n

Vreid<\/strong> The Norwegian Black ‘n’ Rollers introduced by the opener \u201cThe Arche\u201d, \u201cFire On The Mountain\u201d, \u201cThe Sound Of The River\u201d, \u201cWolverine Bastards\u201d and \u201cThe Look And The Others\u201d pretty many tracks from their new \u201cV\u201d-record which filled half of the show. But of course the last played title \u201cPitch Black\u201d was the most jubilated one. Anyway, the show can be counted to one of the band’s desastrous ones because they had to fight against a couple of technical problems.<\/p>\n

Danko Jones<\/strong> From the opener \u201cThe Rules\u201d on the Rock ‘n’ Roll trio definitely kicked ass. To me this was the right Rock-shit to party after a long weekend with tons of good Metal. And playing against Kreator on a neighbored stage Danko Jones explained from his early days how he had become a die-hard-Kreator-fan and what it means to him playing next to them. Very sympathic as charismatic and entertaining this man showed himself. Later comments were again related to Kreator in a very funny as respectful way. And that what was it all about: Metal, Rock ‘n’ Roll, respect and party! The audience understood that and celebrated \u201cFirst Date\u201d, \u201cFull Of Regret\u201d, \u201cSugar Chocolate\u201d and \u201cCadillac\u201d.<\/p>\n

El\u00e4kel\u00e4iset<\/strong> Party isn’t a strange word to the Finnish vodka-polka-coalition. So they drank vodka and played their Polka-interpreted cover versions of classics like Iron Maiden’s \u201cRun To The Hills\u201d, Queen’s \u201cWe Will Rock You\u201d, Rolling Stones’ \u201cSatisfaction\u201d, Kiss’ \u201cI Was Made For Loving You\u201d, The Scorpions’ \u201cWind Of Change\u201d or Mot\u00f6rhead’s \u201cAce Of Spades\u201d. The left visitors had their fun with the sympathic group while it started to rain. Anyway: A good closure after this great weekend!<\/p>\n

Conclusion:<\/strong>
\nWacken Open Air 2011 was the 15th WOA in a row for the writer of these lines. A lot has changed while the festival has evolved step by step and the early sold out by 75000 fans showed the progressed WOA is completely accepted. This has a lot to do with the very varied entertainment options as by the organization which guarantees the success of a raised festival. The only important short-termed band-cancelation Cradle Of Filth got well- replaced by Triptykon and COF were directly confirmed for the next year. Many shows from very different sounding bands met high acceptance by the international audience coming from all over the world
\nThe prices for food and beverages stayed the same as the years before (e.g. 3,50 \u20ac for a 0,4 l beer or softdrink). We enjoyed our Wacken 2011! So see you in Wacken 2012 \u2013 rain or shine! Special thanks go out to Britta Kock and the WOA-team!!!!! At the Wacken Open Air rocked, drank and partied Tobi Wan Kenobi, Lotte, Dumbo and Snake!!!!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WACKEN OPEN AIR 2011 The biggest Metal festival of this planet is a constant global player to many metalheads. It’s not just the size, it’s the whole Wacken-feeling from the stages over the campinggrounds to the visitors who come from all over the world taking a holiday in Germany or rather in Europe within the … <\/p>\n

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