{"id":2216,"date":"2018-06-26T20:41:26","date_gmt":"2018-06-26T19:41:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.metal-festivals.com\/?page_id=2216"},"modified":"2018-06-26T20:41:26","modified_gmt":"2018-06-26T19:41:26","slug":"wacken-2016-review-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/new.metal-festivals.com\/?page_id=2216","title":{"rendered":"Wacken 2016 Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wacken Open Air<\/strong>
\nAfter two editions in a row with rain and mud as still lots of Rock and Metal this year it seemed like the visitors from all over the world could handle with moderate conditions. So we arrived on a dry wednesday, but strong rain should cause a soft floor turning into mud by the fan masses although the organizers invested much into a new drainage. But this turned out as too much water as too many people in too less time. By time it became dryer, and so did the floor on saturday becoming a harder ground.
\nThe fans reacted cool as always and celebrated this very well-organized \u201eMetal-Mekka\u201c which could offer for another time a strong billing lead by Megadeth, Alice Cooper, Volbeat, Amon Amarth, Marilyn Manson and Kreator. Furthermore the 2018-edition included special shows like Accept with an orchestra, Emperor performing their \u201eAnthems To The Welkin’ At Dusk\u201c classic due to its 20th anniversary in its entirety, so did the Cavalera-brothers to the also 20th anniversary of the Sepultura-classic \u201eRoots\u201c, Apocalyptica interpreted Metallica-classics as the WOA-debuts of Psychotic Waltz, Katatonia and the Classic Rock icon Status Quo. The biggest change were the three big Open Air Stages on the main infield which got renamed by the Wacken slogan into Faster Stage, Harder Stage and Louder Stage. Besides the new drainage and the renamed stages the third remarkable novelty was the built beer pipeline which spared the organization lots of trucks driving to the main transport stations on the area, especially while the the wetter days on the moist floor.
\nAt this year\u2019s Wacken Open Air 122 bands appeared on the five regular stages (besides several shows on the Beer Garden Stage, the Wackinger Stage, Metal Church, etc.) in four days for about 75000 visitors (Sold out!). <\/p>\n

Wednesday<\/strong>
\nW:E:T Stage<\/strong>
\nUgly Kid Joe <\/strong>After their WOA-debut in 2015 the fivepiece from South California returned as one of the main wednesday acts. The Hardrock sensation of the early 90ies still knew how to rock. Lead by the agile Withfield Crane the filled tent celebrated \u201eNon One Survives\u201c, \u201eMilkman’s Son\u201c, as \u201eGoddamn Devil\u201c and especially sang along with their hits \u201eCats In The Cradle\u201c as \u201eEverything About You\u201c. And so they did during the Mot\u00f6rhead cover \u201eAce Of Spades\u201c.<\/p>\n

Headbangers Stage<\/strong>
\nAnnihilator <\/strong>Canada’s finest returned to set the tent on fire. The quartet around mastermind Jeff Waters started with the newer \u201eSuicide Society\u201c before giving the fans their Thrash Metal best of by \u201eKing Of The Kill\u201c, \u201eSet The World On Fire\u201c, and the mighty classic \u201eAlison Hell\u201c which of course earned the loudest jubilations. After \u201ePhantasmagoria\u201c the band left to return with the encore \u201eHuman Insecticide\u201c finishing a tight as inspiring show.<\/p>\n

Thursday<\/strong>
\nFaster Stage<\/strong>
\nSkyline <\/strong>Traditionally the cover formation from Wacken started the open air program with cover interpretations of Metal classics. And so they did by the surprising \u201eBombtrack\u201c from Rage Against The Machine, as by Iron Maiden’s \u201eThe Trooper\u201c and Savatage’s \u201eGutter Ballet. In the end Doro entered the stage to perform the WOA anthem \u201eWe Are The Metalheads\u201c together to add Warlock’s \u201eAll We Are\u201c.
\nEurope <\/strong>The Swedish Hardrock institution opened with the first two songs from the current \u201eWar Of Kings\u201c – album by the title track and \u201eHole In My Pocket\u201c to let follow by \u201eRock The Night\u201c the first classic sang by lots of supporters. After this Joey Tempest, John Norum & Co performed very professional through their discography, but the majority of the audience waited for the hits. And finally \u201eSuperstitous\u201c and the undying \u201eThe Final Countdown\u201c marked the much celebrated end of this show.
\nAccept & Orchestra<\/strong> The WOA presented for another time a very special as rare show for \u201eThe Night To Remember\u201c on thursday: In the sunset the German Heavy Metal legend collaborated with the Czech National Symphonic Orchestra from Prague for the very first time live. First of all the band started alone presenting by the opener \u201eDie By The Sword\u201c and \u201eKoolaid\u201c two live premieres from the \u201eRise Of Chaos\u201c – album to be released the following day and also performed by \u201eRestless And Wild\u201c the first classic. In The middle section guitarist Wolf Hoffmann interpreted with the orchestra Classic opuses of Mussorgsky, Chopin, Prokofiev, von Beethoven, Vivaldi and Mozart as he had done on his solo output \u201eA Headbanger’s Symphony\u201c. After this the most awaited part followed when the band performed with the orchestra their Metal evergreens \u201ePrincess Of The Dawn\u201c, \u201eBreaker\u201c, \u201eFast As A Shark\u201c, \u201eMetal Heart\u201c as the final \u201eBalls To The Wall\u201c. The interaction between band and orchestra worked well, so the fans celebrated a tight as unique concert.<\/p>\n

Harder Stage<\/strong>
\nRoss The Boss<\/strong> The former Manowar sixstringer played with a few sidekicks a complete Manowar classics appearance. From \u201eBlood Of The Kings\u201c over \u201eKill With Power\u201c up to \u201eHail And Kill\u201c this turned out to a solid played gig, but somehow a boring one as well. The ridiculous celebration of an award probably nobody ever had heard of in the end of the show without any explanation turned out unnecessary.
\nStatus Quo<\/strong> Nobody had ever expected to watch the Classic Rock icon from Great Britain in Wacken someday. So especially the older fans felt like a dream had come true. And those partied during the opener \u201eCaroline\u201c, the Bolland & Bolland cover \u201eIn The Army Now\u201c, \u201eWhatever You Want\u201c and the John Fogerty – cover \u201eRockin’ All Over The World sang along with thousands of supporters. The new guitarist Richie Malone replacing the charismatic Rick Parfitt acted tight. So mainman Francis Rossi and his younger bandmates could declare their trip to Wacken as a successful one.
\nVolbeat <\/strong>After two hours of Metal and Classic on the neighbored stage the \u201eNight To Remember\u201c was about to end with Rock ‘n’ Roll. A couple of Accept supporters had left, but still thousands cried out when the bell rang for the Danish fourpiece beginning with \u201eThe Devil’s Bleeding Crown\u201c. The first highlight happened when \u201eRing Of Fire\u201c of Johnny Cash warmed up for the hit \u201eSad Man’s Tongue\u201c getting sung by thousands of voices. Later front entertainer Michael Poulsen dedicated \u201eGoodbye Forever\u201c to the passed Chris Cornell (Soundgarden, Audioslave) and Chester Bennington (Linkin Park). Assisted by Napalm Death’s Barney Greenway who had just appeared an hour before with his band on the Headbanger Stage in the tent the regular set got closed before the Danish musicians returned with the encores \u201eFallen\u201c and \u201eStill Counting\u201c marking the end of a great night.<\/p>\n

Friday<\/strong>
\nFaster Stage<\/strong>
\nMemoriam <\/strong>The wake-up-call in the forenoon at 11:00 a.m. turned out to a brutal one. A couple of fans were in front of the stage on time to watch this new Birmingham-collaboration of ex-members from Bolt Thrower and Benediction. Their set of course consisted of their new debut \u201eFor The Fallen\u201c, and its smashers as Karl Willet’s charismatic voice caused the first headbangers for the day.
\nSanctuary <\/strong>Against wind as rain Seattle’s finest had to play against, so the opener \u201eThe Year The Sun Died\u201c couldn’t have been chosen better. But a few thousand fans continued supporting Warrel Dane and his comrades who performed a well-balanced set between recent songs like \u201eQuestion Existence Fading\u201c as \u201eSoldiers Of Steel\u201c and Die For My Sins\u201c from the new album \u201eInception\u201c as jubilated classics like \u201eTaste Revenge\u201c and \u201eFuture Tense\u201c.
\nSonata Arctica<\/strong> After the cancelation of Morbid Angel they got replaced by Sonata Arctica who promoted on the running order from the Headbangers Stage in the tent on the big open air stage. Their Melodic Metal seemed to touch the mood of the audience by their catchy songs as \u201eFull Moon\u201c, \u201eTallulah\u201c, \u201eBlack Sheep\u201c and \u201eDon’t Say A Word\u201c after which the musicians left the stage while some Vodka-song-outro.
\nTrivium <\/strong>This fourpiece showed for another time they are a live machine. Their Modern Metal as the animating fronter Matt Heafy kept that many visitors in motion as it had seemed impossible due to the muddy floor conditions. So the audience sang and jumped to \u201eStrife\u201c, \u201eDown From The Sky\u201c, \u201eBuilt To Fall\u201c as \u201eKirisute Gomen\u201c. By \u201eThe Sin And The Sentence\u201c the quartet presented a new song from the forthcoming album. After \u201eLike Light To The Flies\u201c they left the stage to return and let the audience jump for another time to the stirring encore \u201eIn Waves\u201c.
\nEmperor <\/strong>Three years after celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut \u201eIn The Nightside Eclipse\u201c the time had come for the same anniversary of the mighty \u201eAnthems To The Welkin’ At Dusk\u201c which got performed in its entirety as well. So this rare appearance began with \u201eYe Entrancemperium\u201c as \u201e\u201cThus Spake The Nightspirit\u201c, and the old magic was directly back. These Black Metal hymns hadn’t lost anything of its power. So the crowd completely supported this pyro-assisted show resulting into \u201eEmperor\u201c-chants while Ihsan, Samoth, Trym and their two sidekicks performed tight. After the album set there was still time for further classics in the encore section, and so \u201eCurse You All Men!\u201c, \u201eI Am The Black Wizards\u201c and \u201eInno A Satana\u201c marked the end of an overwhelming as historic show.
\nMarilyn Manson<\/strong> The WOA-debut of the \u201eAntichrist Superstar\u201c was supposed to become another rare highlight, but Mr. Manson must had got his beer intravenous from the pipeline plus a few other drugs. After three intros, smoke and more smoke the audience got smaller. And those who had stayed shouldn’t become happier when the indisposed wannabe-star completely sucked on stage. Laying down on the floor and letting some woman read announcements turned out completely ridiculous. It could have become a good show: Besides presenting by the opener \u201eRevelation #12\u201c and \u201eWe Know Where You Fucking Live\u201c new tracks from the forthcoming record the setlist contained by \u201eThis Is The New Shit\u201c, \u201eThe Dope Show\u201c, the Eurythmics-cover \u201eSweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)\u201c and \u201eThe Beautiful People\u201c hits, but Mr. Manson decided for the complete opposite.<\/p>\n

Harder Stage<\/strong>
\nLacuna Coil<\/strong> The whole stage set as especially costumes of the six Italians looked like a spooky mental hospital being focussed on the concept of the recent album \u201eDelirium\u201c. So they set a main accent on songs of this release as well by the opener \u201eUltima Ratio\u201c, \u201eBlood, Tears, Dust\u201c, \u201eMy Demons\u201c, \u201eGhost In The Mist\u201c and the final \u201eHouse Of Shame\u201c. Lead by the front duo consisting ot the male voice Andrea and the beautiful as powerful singing Cristina the fans spent much applause and especially celebrated \u201eSpellbound\u201c, the hit \u201eHeaven’s A Lie\u201c, \u201eTrip The Darkness\u201c, the Depeche Mode cover \u201eEnjoy The Silence\u201c as \u201eOur Truth\u201c.
\nGrave Digger<\/strong> The first friday act who appeared under moderate as especially dry weather conditions was the German Heavy Metal institution around fronter Chris Boltendahl. Surrounded by an atmospheric stage set with several coffins as reaper sculptures they began by the title track of the new output \u201eHealed By Metal\u201c after which they let follow a best of set containing \u201eKnights Of The Cross\u201c, \u201eThe Ballad Of Mary (Queen Of Scots)\u201c, \u201eExcalibur\u201c, \u201e\u201cRebellion (The Clans Are Marching)\u201c and the classic \u201eHeavy Metal Breakdown\u201c accompanied by several singalongs as much headbanging.
\nSaltatio Mortis<\/strong> I have no idea why this overrated Folk combo got this slot in Wacken while many other much more talented bands filled the tent appearing on the W.E.T. Stage or the Headbangers Stage. Anyway, they had their sale rates, and so many visitors supported them from \u201eFr\u00fcher War Alles Besser\u201c to \u201eSpiel Mit Dem Feuer\u201c, and their fronter enjoyed crowdsurfing over them.
\nApocalyptica <\/strong>Celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut \u201ePlays Metallica by Four Cellos\u201c the four instrumentalists played a set exclusively consisting of songs from this album as further Metallica-interpretations by their four cellos. Assisted by a drummer the four Finns started with \u201eEnter Sandman\u201c and \u201eMaster Of Puppets\u201c. The audience applauded and interacted as choir adding the vocals of \u201eSad But True\u201c, \u201eCreeping Death\u201c, \u201eFor Whom The Bell Tolls\u201c and \u201eBattery\u201c. So the mighty \u201eOne\u201c set the end of this remarkable show.
\nMegadeth <\/strong>Dave Mustaine and his band appeared for the second time in Wacken after their premier three years ago. By the opening classic-triple consisting of \u201eHangar 18\u201c, \u201eWake Up Dead\u201c and \u201eIn My Darkest Hour\u201c the quartet astonished and ruled from the start. Besides their classics they considered by \u201eThe Threat Is Real\u201c, \u201eLying In State\u201c, \u201ePoisonous Shadows\u201c, \u201eFatal Illusion\u201c and its title song five tracks from their current album \u201eDystopia\u201c they seemed very convinced about. All of them earned applause, but besides the great \u201eTrust\u201c the mentioned opening triple and the final one consisting of \u201eSymphony Of Destruction\u201c, \u201eMechanix\u201c and \u201ePeace Sells\u201c of course earned the most support, and so did the encore \u201eHoly Wars\u2026 The Punishment Due\u201c. Dave’s voice was in a goot mood, the band performed tight and the fans got satisfied. Wonderful!
\nAsp <\/strong>After the ridiculous Manson-show the Gothic fraction of the Wacken-visitors could stay to watch the German Gothic Rock formation. Many of them did, experiencing their opener \u201eSchwarzes Blut\u201c, \u201eBernsteinmeerengel\u201c and the well-known \u201eIch Will Brennen\u201c.<\/p>\n

Louder Stage<\/strong>
\nKadavar <\/strong>The German Stoner Rock trio started the day on the third biggest stage by \u201eCome Back Life\u201c. The first couple of fans enjoyed the groovy wake-up-call by \u201eDoomsday Machine\u201c, \u201eBlack Sun\u201c and \u201eThousand Miles Away\u201c before the Beatles cover \u201eHelter Skelter\u201c marked the end of the show.
\nClawfinger <\/strong>For the first time the Crossover icon appeared in Wacken. Their latest release is seven years old, but the six Swedes still attracted many fans in front of the stage. Fronter Zak Tell wore a jacket full of TV test patterns, joked about appearing on this oldies festival and showed he hadn’t anything lost of his agility. And slipping on as falling from a wet monitor box couldn’t stop him. After \u201eThe Price We Pay\u201c and \u201eRecipe For Hate\u201c the band enthused by their classics \u201eRosegrove\u201c, \u201eBiggest & The Best\u201c, their hit \u201eNigger\u201c and \u201eThe Truth\u201c. In front of their backdrop pointing out on \u201eRap Metal Since 1993\u201c the whole crowd sang along with the final \u201eDo What I Say\u201c.
\nThe Amity Affliction<\/strong> By the well-fitting \u201eI Bring The Weather With Me\u201c the formation from Brisbane started into their first WOA-appearance after the weather had become dry. Instead of keeping the masses in motion by blastbeats their melancholic, melodic as heavy sound took care about a cool atmosphere. \u201eShine On\u201c, \u201ePittsburgh\u201c and the finisher \u201eThis Could Be Heartbreak\u201c convinced completely. Hope they’ll come back soon from down under.
\nParadise Lost<\/strong> The Gothic\/Doom Metal icon from Great Britain performed a well-balanced best-of-set with songs from all of their eras and took care of several nostalgic moments by \u201ePity The Sadness\u201c, \u201eGothic\u201c, \u201eTrue Belief\u201c and \u201eEnchantment\u201c. Nick Holmes entertained by his British humor (\u201eMake smoke, Mr Smokeman!\u201c) joking about the party-credibility of the Doom-track \u201eThe Longest Winter\u201c which was one of two played new songs besides \u201eBlood & Chaos\u201c from the forthcoming album. \u201eThe Last Time\u201c finished an amazing show.
\nArchitects <\/strong>Probably just the hardest fans could have known how overwhelming these following 75 minutes became. From \u201eNihilist\u201c and \u201eDeathwish\u201c on the British quintet kept the crowd in motion. The fans celebrated \u201eThese Colours Don’t Run\u201c, \u201eDoomsday\u201c, \u201ePhantom Fear\u201c and \u201eGravity\u201c with many crowdsurfers, a huge moshpit and several walls of death. Vocalist Sam Carter honored the passed guitarist Tom Searle and the band lead follow \u201eGone With The Wind\u201c. Awesome!
\nTurbonegro <\/strong>The Rock ‘n’ Roll commando from Oslo had to enthuse the audience for one last time in this night, but somehow their appearance turned out pretty uninspiring. The Queen tribute medley of \u201eBohemian Rhapsody\u201c and \u201eWe Will Rock You\u201c, the House Of Pain cover \u201eJump Around\u201c as their own hits \u201eGet It On\u201c and \u201eAre You Ready (For Some Darkness)\u201c got more than enough potential to start a party, but the Norwegians didn’t.<\/p>\n

Saturday<\/strong>
\nFaster Stage<\/strong>
\nPossessed <\/strong>The Death Metal icon from San Francisco had to open the last day of this year’s WOA-edition. So they did showing a best-of-program considering their three releases from the mid-eighties. The couple of fans were happy to experience \u201eBurning In Hell\u201c, \u201eConfessions\u201c, \u201eFallen Angel\u201c and \u201eThe Exorcist\u201c during this rare performance.
\nMax & Igor Cavalera<\/strong> With their \u201eReturn To Roots\u201c tour the Cavalera-brothers celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Sepultura-classic \u201eRoots\u201c. And the opener \u201eRoots, Bloody Roots\u201c, \u201eAttitude\u201c, the tribal-hit \u201eRatamahatta\u201c as \u201eIts\u00e1ri\u201c still have the power to move the masses, and so the brothers and their sidekicks did. After they had finished the \u201eRoots\u201c-material they also inspired by the \u201eBeneath The Remains\u201c\/\u201eDesperate Cry\u201c\/\u201eOrgasmatron\u201c-medley as by the covers \u201eIron Man\u201c of Black Sabbath and \u201eAce Of Spades\u201c of Mot\u00f6rhead. And the first title was supposed to be performed as the last one again by \u201eRoots, Bloody Roots\u201c.
\nPowerwolf <\/strong>Meanwhile the fivepiece belongs to the favorites of the Wacken-fans. And I’m sure this year no other band achieved that much singalong support than this one by \u201eColeus Sanctus\u201c, \u201eAmen & Attack\u201c, \u201eRessurrection By Errection\u201c, \u201eWerewolves Of Armenia\u201c and \u201eAll We Need Is Blood\u201c. Vocalist Attila Dorn showed by his ironic comments for another time his entertainer qualities, so \u201eWe Drink Your Blood\u201c marked the end of a jubilated show.
\nAmon Amarth<\/strong> The worldwide leading Viking Metal formation could call that many hits their own it was no difficulty to put \u201eThe Pursuit Of Vikings\u201c to the beginning of the set. So the fans started with their faves furious. Many headbangers saluted to \u201eCry Of The Black Birds\u201c, \u201eDeceiver Of The Gods\u201c and \u201eDeath In Fire\u201c. Another highlight happened when Metal queen Doro Pesch entered the stage to perform with Johan Hegg, who might have the double size of her, \u201eA Dream That Cannot Be\u201c as on record. Further special guests were the Iomsviking action group and the huge Asgard-snake who god striked dead by Hegg with Thor’s hammer. The visual elements convinced as well by the enormous viking helmet as drumriser and several pyro effects. So \u201eGuardians Of Asgard\u201c and the encore \u201eTwilight Of The Thunder God\u201c finished an impressive gig.
\nKreator <\/strong>The German Thrash Metal icon was the last big band in this year’s Wacken-billing. And from the beginning by \u201eHordes Of Chaos (A Necrologue For The Elite)\u201c and \u201ePhobia\u201c the fourpiece from Essen left no doubt another highlight was offered to experience. \u201eSatan Is Real\u201c, the title track, \u201eFallen Brother\u201c (including visualized passed musicians), \u201eWorld War Now\u201c and \u201eHail To The Hordes\u201c from the new release \u201eGods Of Violence\u201c earned its jubilation which raised when Mille & Co performed the classics \u201ePeople Of The Lie\u201c, \u201ePhantom Antichrist\u201c and \u201eEnemy Of God\u201c. \u201eViolent Revolution\u201c and \u201ePleasure To Kill\u201c meant the end of another amazing show of this Thrash Metal machine.<\/p>\n

Harder Stage<\/strong>
\nBeyond The Black<\/strong> After her former bandmates had quit the band to reunite their former one Cypecore, vocalist Jennifer Haben got a new backing band. Lead by her voice the opener \u201eLost In Forever\u201c, the Mot\u00f6rhead cover \u201eLove Me Forever\u201c, \u201eIn The Shadows\u201c, \u201eWhen Angels Fall\u201c entertained well and took care the applauding audience had a good time.
\nHeaven Shall Burn<\/strong> For the sixth time Germany’s leading Metalcore formation participated on the WOA. No wonder that such an intense band populated the infield. They welcomed the masses by the \u201eWanderer\u201c-double \u201eThe Loss Of Fury\u201c and \u201eBring The War Home\u201c resulting in the first mosphits and headbangers. Shouter Marcus Bischoff coquetted with the especially in Wacken banned circle-pits and walls of death. But the organizers were right, the intensity of this show reached a maximum level anyway. \u201eVoice Of The Voiceless\u201c, \u201eForlorn Skies\u201c, \u201eCorium\u201c, \u201eCombat\u201c and \u201eHunters Will Be Hunted\u201c earned much support by their restless fans. After \u201eEndzeit\u201c the quintet left the stage to return with the overwhelming encores \u201eGodiva\u201c and the Edge Of Sanity – cover \u201eBlack Tears\u201c. What a show!
\nAlice Cooper<\/strong> For the third time and in the astonishing age of 69 years Alice Cooper returned with his band presenting a nostalgic show filled with numerous special effects and gimmicks. So he got beheaded under the guilotine for another time. Musically he got the support by the brilliant guitarist Nita Strauss performing \u201eNo Mr. Nice Guy\u201c, \u201ePoison\u201c, \u201eFeed My Frankenstein\u201c and \u201eI’m Eighteen\u201c very tight. And so they did during \u201eSchool’s Out\u201c, in which they integrated the chorus of Pink Floyd’s \u201eAnother Brick In The Wall\u201c. They bid farewell by the Mot\u00f6rhead-cover \u201eAce Of Spades\u201c well sung by bassist Chuck Garric. Hope to see Alice Cooper in Wacken again after his 70th birthday.
\nAvantasia <\/strong>The follwing two hours belonged to Tobias Sammet’s project Avantasia with many special guests known from the albums to transfer the Rock opera live on stage. They startet with \u201eMystery Of A Blood Red Rose\u201c which also had been a candidate for the German qualification for the Eurovision Song Contest. After this Magnum’s Bob Catley, Mr. Big’s Eric Martin, Queensryche’s Geoff Tate as Herbert Langhans, Jorn Lande and Amanda Somerville joined the vocalist slot. During this several visitors left the infield. Those ones who had stayed saw all named artists coming back on stage to perform \u201eSign Of The Cross\u201c\/\u201eThe Seven Angels\u201c to the set closing end.
\nSubway To Sally<\/strong> The sevenpiece from Potsdam can be called one of the most familiar WOA-bands. I watched them on my very first Wacken-visit in 1997. Since then they have appeared there for many times, and since a decade they have had the last open air position in the billing every second year. So their fans for sure were used to not leaving Wacken too early. And for another time they shouldn’t regret that celebrating \u201eHenkersbraut\u201c, \u201eKleid Aus Rosen\u201c, \u201eFalscher Heiland\u201c as \u201eMaria\u201c. The Folk Rock animated to dance, sing along and headbang. So \u201eSieben\u201c and \u201eVeitstanz\u201c marked an euphoric end of this years WOA-program.<\/p>\n

Louder Stage<\/strong>
\nRage <\/strong>The sun shined and the floor got harder. Best conditions for the opener \u201eDon’t Fear The Winter\u201c which couldn’t have been chosen better. Peavy Wagner and the refreshed line-up of his trio got the right combination of melody and heavyness to get the woken up metalheads in motion. Besides the brandnew \u201eSeason Of Black\u201c from the similar titled \u201eSeasons Of Black\u201c album which had got released just the week before the band motivated headbangers to take part in \u201eEnd Of All Days\u201c, \u201eFrom The Cradle To The Grave\u201c, \u201eStraight To Hell\u201c and \u201eBlack In Mind\u201c. In the final \u201eHigher In The Sky\u201c they integrated Dio’s \u201eHoly Diver\u201c into the extended chorus. Well done!
\nRusskaja <\/strong>The Russian-Austrian collaboration presented with their mixture between different music styles a contrast to the Metal-all-day-program. And the audience respected as thanked for that by supporting the sevenpiece from Vienna which showed courage playing by the opener \u201eHello Japan\u201c, \u201eHey Road\u201c, \u201eAlive\u201c and \u201eVolle Kraft Voraus\u201c four new tracks from the new release \u201eKosmopoliturbo\u201c. The Avici-cover \u201eWake Me Up\u201c astonished as well. After the other encore \u201eGop-Stop\u201c their 75 minutes felt over pretty fast.
\nH\u00e4matom <\/strong>With their make-up the four Bavarians looked a bit like Slipknot while their sound reminded of Rammstein. But the fan base had erased enormously in the latest years, as it was easy to see by the numerous supporters in front of the stage celebrating \u201eAuge Um Auge\u201c, \u201eMade In Germany\u201c and the Marteria-cover \u201eKids (2 Finger An Den Kopf)\u201c.
\nKatatonia <\/strong>Who didn’t experience these 75 minutes did a big mistake. Because of Amon Amarth appeared on the neighbored stage it wasn’t that crowded nearby. Singer Jonas Renkse thanked for those ones deciding for the quintet and emphasized twice this was the WOA-debut of Katatonia. And this got celebrated a lot by \u201eCriminals\u201c, \u201eTeargas\u201c, \u201eEvidence\u201c, \u201eGhost Of The Sun\u201c, \u201eForsaker\u201c, \u201eLeaders\u201c as \u201eMy Twin\u201c more than worthy. The fans noticed watching a very remarkable show with each second to enjoy which got finished by the newer \u201eLethean\u201c and \u201eJuly\u201c. Outstanding!
\nJ.B.O.<\/strong> Who searched in these final hours of this WOA-edition for something less serious instead of the parallel performing Kreator was right at this Comedy Metal formation which had performed in Wacken for several times. The fourpiece entertained by their funny announcements as by \u201eGeh Mer Halt Zu Slayer\u201c, the new \u201ePanzer Dance\u201c, \u201eEin Fest\u201c, \u201eI Am Sailing\u201c, \u201eWir Ham Ne Party\u201c, \u201eBolle\u201c as \u201eIm Verkehr\u201c.<\/p>\n

Conclusion:<\/strong>
\nIn comparison to the two years before the rain as mud conditions weren’t as extreme as it had been before although they weren’t perfect. But this is a circumstance impossible to influence. Influenceable is the billing as the organization, and this excercise got solved by the WOA for another time brilliantly.
\nThe only mentionable change in the program was the canceling Morbid Angel, their position got replaced by Sonata Arctica promoting from their Bullhead City Tent slot. The beverage cans increased to 0,4l, and logically so did the prices from 3,50 \u20ac to 4 \u20ac. The return to the bigger cans definitely was the right decision. After testing this in 2016 in the VIP exclusively the WOA offered to pay by a Wacken card after loading it with money at a couple of stations and getting the rest of the money back whenever you want which turned out totally uncomplicated. But each visitor decided for how he\/she wanted to pay.
\nOn saturday night the Wacken organizers announced the first bands for 2018: Nightwish, Running Wild, Arch Enemy, Dirkschneider, Doro, In Extremo, Sepultura, Amorphis, Epica, Watain, Knorkator, Belphegor, Firewind, Deserted Fear and Bannkreis! More announcements about confirmed bands will follow soon. We enjoyed our Wacken 2017! So see you in Wacken 2018 \u2013 rain or shine! Special thanks go out to Anna Lorenz and the WOA-team!!!!! At the Wacken Open Air rocked, drank and partied Tobi Wan Kenobi, Jutzen and Alex!!!!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wacken Open Air After two editions in a row with rain and mud as still lots of Rock and Metal this year it seemed like the visitors from all over the world could handle with moderate conditions. So we arrived on a dry wednesday, but strong rain should cause a soft floor turning into mud … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Wacken 2016 Review”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/new.metal-festivals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2216"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/new.metal-festivals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/new.metal-festivals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/new.metal-festivals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/new.metal-festivals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2216"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/new.metal-festivals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2217,"href":"http:\/\/new.metal-festivals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2216\/revisions\/2217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/new.metal-festivals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}