{"id":412,"date":"2011-03-09T19:11:41","date_gmt":"2011-03-09T18:11:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.metal-festivals.com\/?page_id=412"},"modified":"2011-03-09T19:11:41","modified_gmt":"2011-03-09T18:11:41","slug":"rock-hard-festival-2006-review","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/new.metal-festivals.com\/?page_id=412","title":{"rendered":"Rock Hard Festival 2006 Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rock Hard Festival 2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

For another time the Rock Hard Festival became a big success! Although the organizers had got the cancelation of the Friday headliner Celtic Frost that short before they had no time left to replace them by some new band the festival-billing was excellent anyway. The cool relaxed party atmosphere is a \u2018for-sure-guarantee\u201d realised by a nice audience in the wonderful ideal area of the Amphitheater Gelsenkirchen. The two persons who tried to disturb this atmosphere by distributing flyers of a party from the very far right scene in Germany were thrown out by the organizers! The only right decision to show those freaks are never invited!!!!!
\nBesides that I tried a new experience: Because of the Illdisposed + Deadsoil + Demia-show that was held in Cologne one day before I stretched the weekend to a four-day-event. So after I had seen a hammer (warm up) show I came with knotted hair and a hurting neck to the Rock Hard Frstival before it had already begun. Like I said: A new experience! \uf04a
\nAt the Amphitheater Gelsenkirchen appeared 23 bands (each band 45 minutes minimum execpt for the surprise act Randalica) on one stage (on friday on a different stage) in three days for about 6000 visitors.<\/p>\n

Friday<\/strong>
\nSide Stage<\/em>
\nEngel <\/strong>Sometimes even newcomers are somehow familiar. The Swedish fivepiece whose demo became the \u2018demo of the month\u2019 in the april-edition of the Rock Hard-magazine calls with Niklas Engelin (Passenger, ex-Gardenian, ex-In Flames) and Marcus Sunesson (ex-The Crown) a well-known guitar-duo its own. Both produced neckbreaking riffs supported by the tight rhythm section and the variable voice of fronter Mangan Klavborn who could have been mixed much louder. Songs like \u201cWalk The Wounded\u201d remembering a little bit to the sound of Soilwork which found many supporters in the early ecening. So the newcomers who were all suited in the same black shirts with a cool band symbol on it became the ideal festival opener.<\/p>\n

Custard <\/strong>After the modern Melodic Death Metal-sound of Engel the following band from the close town Herne served old school Melodic Metal. And that just animated a small die-hard fan-group. Only with the cover \u201cIn Union We Stand\u201d they reached the whole audience singing the Overkill-hymn. Finally for two songs (\u201cFor My King\u201d, \u201cI Know You\u201d) the band got support by their ex-sixstringer and appeared with three guitars.<\/p>\n

Mercenary <\/strong>The Danish fivepiece acting with the new bassist and backing-vocalist Ren\u00e9 brought a modern version of Melodic Metal and they understood to entertain the crowd by their sound. Besides introducing \u201cSoul Decision\u201d from their new album \u201cThe Hours That Remain\u201d singer Mikkel Sandagger & Co mainly concentrated on their well-known compositions from their debut \u201c11 Dreams\u201d by \u201cFiresoul\u201d, \u201cWorld Hate Center\u201d, \u201cRedestrucdead\u201d, \u201cLoneliness\u201d and the title track finishing a set with an astonishing number of stagedivers and crowdsurfers celebrating a cool performance.<\/p>\n

Morgana Lefay<\/strong> The great idea to confirm the Bolln\u00e4s-crew for this position guaranteed a party for sure. The in my opinion best RHF Friday-headliner up to now was awaited by a lot of spectators filling up the place in front of the Friday-stage. The Power Metal-icon started with \u201cMy Funeral Is Calling\u201d. Besides this one they performed by \u201cHollow\u201d, \u201cI Roam\u201d and \u201cAngels Deceit\u201d three other titles from their current release \u201cGrand Materia\u201d. The band around vocalist Charles Rytk\u00f6nen filled the rest of their 60 minutes with classics like \u201cSource Of Pain\u201d, \u201cMaster Of The Masquerade\u201d, \u201cMaleficium\u201d, \u201cIn The Court Of The Crimson King\u201d or the encore \u201cThe Boon He Gives\u201d. Celebrated by the whole audience the band showed Power Metal at its best! And honestly: Have you ever seen a weak (Morgana) Lefay-show? I haven\u2019t yet!<\/p>\n

Saturday<\/strong>
\nMain Stage<\/em>
\nMystic Prophecy<\/strong> The Bavarian True Metal-formation was the last band added to the festival-billing. After some sirtaki intro the band around its Greek fronter R.D. Liapakis laid their main accent on their new output \u201cSavage Souls\u201d by the opener \u201cShadows Beyond Your Soul\u201d, \u201cMaster Of Sins\u201d, \u201cEvil Empires\u201d, the title track, \u201cIn The Darkness\u201d and \u201cNightmare Of Demons\u201d and just strew a few older numbers like \u201cEternal Flame\u201d, \u201cSign Of The Cross\u201d, the self-titled band-hymn (from \u201cRegressus\u201d) and \u201cBurning Bridges\u201d (from \u201cNever-Ending\u201d). Technically there was no doubt about them, but they didn\u2019t excite me like most of the few people watching the opener of today.<\/p>\n

Legion Of The Damned<\/strong> The new Thrash Metal-shooting stars aren\u2019t that new at all! Behind this name there are the members from the well-known Dutch Death Metal-band Occult. They performed all tracks from their new praised debut \u201cMalevolent Rapture\u201d except for \u201cScourging The Crowned King\u201d. Supported by a bunch of fans the \u2018oranje-boys were celebrated for the opener \u201cWerewolf Corpse\u201d, \u201cTaste Of The Whip\u201d as the set-closing self-titled \u201cLegion Of The Damned\u201d. This band earned much support while the gig, so they seemed to be on the right way. Nevertheless I still don\u2019t understand the big excitement around them. In these 45 minutes I got bored.<\/p>\n

Primordial <\/strong>After being announced by Rock Hard chief-editor G\u00f6tz K\u00fchnemund the time had come for Pagan Metal-epics. Ireland\u2019s finest began with \u201cThe Golden Spiral\u201d and let follow the title track, \u201cThe Coffin Ships\u201d and \u201cThe Song Of The Tomb\u201d which was dedicated to the Bathory-mastermind Quorthon three other songs from the new record \u201cThe Gathering Wilderness\u201d. Especially much support by the fans Alan A. Nemtheanga and his fellows earned for \u201cSons Of The Morrigan\u201d and the final \u201cGods To The Godless\u201d. Although I\u2019m not a big fan of the Irish formation I need to mention they performed a theatralic interesting gig. Finally Nemtheanga concluded with the fitting statement: \u201cSome music still comes from the heart!\u201d Nothing to add!<\/p>\n

Caliban <\/strong>The weeks before a lot of Rock Hard Festival-fans weren\u2019t amused about the confirmation of one of the two leading Metalcore-bands coming from Germany. The other one – Heaven Shall Burn – played last year\u2019s Rock Hard Festival, succesfully! And so became the Caliban-performance. They introduced their new album \u201cThe Undying Darkness\u201d by \u201cI Rape Myself\u201d, \u201cIt\u2019s Our Burden To Bleed\u201d and \u201cMoment Of Clarity\u201d and played a couple of familiar songs like \u201cRevenge\u201d, \u201cI\u2019ve Sold Myself\u201d, \u201cStigmata\u201d, \u201cMy Little Secret\u201d or the hit \u201cThe Beloved And The Hatred\u201d. The band also coming from the Ruhr Valley knew how to act on stage as to animate the wild crowd in front of the stage. Mosh- as circle-pits followed there, but also the audience sitting on the amphitheatre-stairs spent much applause. So in contrast to the discussions before the appearance became a success. Just the clean vocals by guitarist Denis Schmidt didn\u2019t hit its aimed tones. Not for the first time.<\/p>\n

Brainstorm <\/strong>The best Power Metal-act Germany has to offer began with \u201cWorld\u2019s Are Coming Through from their latest release \u201cLiquid Monster\u201d and offered a well-balanced combination between those newer (\u201cInvisible Enemy\u201d, \u201cPainside\u201d, \u201cAll Those Words\u201d) and older (\u201cBlind Suffering\u201d, \u201cThe Leading\u201d, \u201cHighs Without Lows\u201d, \u201cShadowland\u201d, \u201cShiva\u2019s Tears\u201d, \u201cHollow Hideaway\u201d) songs. While the track \u201cShiva\u2019s Tears\u201d some Rock Hard-member came on stage asking his girl-friend if she wants to marry him. She answered: \u201cYes!\u201d I can\u2019t understand people searching such forums for that actually romantic intimate moments! By the way the Suebes seemed pretty surprised and after this little ceremony great singer Andy B. Franck showed his entertainer qualities by the question: \u201cIs there still anybody left who wants to marry?\u201d Anyway for another time a phenomenal performance finished by \u201cDoorway To Survive\u201d which chorus was still sung by the fans a couple of minutes after the band had left the stage!<\/p>\n

Nevermore <\/strong>The innovative Prog\/Power Metal-band from Seattle is always an investment being worth it. Celebrated by a lot of fans banging and singing their lyrics this show became a big triumph. First of all they were forced to renounce sixstringer Steve Smyth for some physical problems (Get well soon!), but they were still blessed with guitar-genius Jeff Loomis. Opening with the new \u201cFinal Product\u201d to let follow \u201cEngines Of Hate\u201d and \u201cI Voyager\u201d they spread endless enthusiasm either they played material from the current album \u201cThis Godless Endeavor\u201d which was set to the beginning and the end of the show or between it the classics (\u201cThe River Dragon Has Come\u201d, \u201cThe Seven Tongues Of God\u201d, \u201cThe Enemies Of Reality\u201d, \u201cNarcosynthesis\u201d). After the epical nine-minute-lasting title track of the latest masterpiece and the also new \u201cBorn\u201d a great show was done. Surprisingly the band didn\u2019t play anything from the \u201cDreaming Neon Black\u201d-masterpiece or the live-evergreen \u201cThe Heart Collector\u201d. For another time the band created a fascinating hour of festival live performance. What a voice! What musicians! What a band!<\/p>\n

Sodom <\/strong>The local heros from Gelsenkirchen were anounced with a special show. The Thrash Metal-icon celebrated the 20th anniversary since releasing their first longplayer \u201cObsessed By Cruelty\u201d. Nevertheless mainman Tom Angelripper started with \u201c\u201dBlood On Your Lips\u201d and \u201cWanted Dead\u201d from the very new self-titled \u201cSodom\u201d-record to let follow the jubilated classics \u201cOutbreak Of Evil\u201d and \u201cNapalm In The Morning\u201d. By \u201cAxis Of Evil\u201d and \u201cBuried In The Justice Ground\u201d they performed two other brandnew tracks. But of course the most celebration the threepiece earned by the well-known tracks like \u201cSilence Is Consent\u201d, \u201cThe Saw Is The Law\u201d, \u201cSodomized\u201d and the final part consisting of \u201cAusgbombt\u201d, \u201cAmong The Weirdcong\u201d, \u201cRemember The Fallen\u201d and \u201cBombenhagel\u201d. Supported by a pyro show the band inspired the curious fans. In contrast to that I was pretty disappointed by a little bit too much motivated band playing their songs much faster than on record and a boring show. I had seen them in a much better form for several times. Followed by loud applause Tom left the stage …<\/p>\n

Randalica <\/strong>… but Bobby and Bernemann didn\u2019t. They got reinforced by fronter Sir Pommes, Gunther, \u00d6mmes and Fleisch to play a surprise gig of the band where they had been discovered by Tom Angelripper about ten years ago, the Rock Hard – Irony Metal-project Randalica. For how many years I had been asking for a reunion-gig. And finally my wish should become true! Sir Pommes wearing a cool suit and his comrades performed the three evergreens \u201cTote Auffe Tanzfl\u00e4che\u201d (You hopefully all know the legendary video-clip!), \u201cNach Uns Die Sintflut\u201d and \u201cPotent, Willig & Solo\u201d from the one and only band\u2019s masterpiece \u201cKnast, Tod Oder Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll\u201d. They showed they hadn\u2019t lost anything of their cool live power. And I remember three guys starting a very wild moshpit lasting through the whole appearance!<\/p>\n

Bolt Thrower<\/strong> After the sex & crime – protagonists then the time had come for the war machine of all the Metal-bands. Fronter Baz Thompson & Co opened with \u201c4th Crusade\u201d and \u201cMercenary\u201d and the crowd went totally wild. They were pretty focussed on material from the recent album \u201cThose Once Loyal\u201d (\u201cEntrenched\u201d, the title track, \u201cAnti-Tank (Dead Armour)\u201d, \u201cThe Killchain\u201d, \u201cAt First Light\u201d, \u201cSalvo\u201d, \u201cWhen Cannons Fade\u201d). The reactions didn\u2019t show much difference between those new tracks and their older ones (the \u201cWorld Eater\u201d\/\u201cCenotaph\u201d-medley, \u201cInside The Wire\u201d, \u201cPowder Burns\u201d, the band-hymn \u201cNo Guts, No Glory\u201d, \u201cWarmaster\u201d, the final title \u201c… For Victory\u201d), they were very loud anyway. This was my first Bolt Thrower-concert as I don\u2019t call myself a big fan. And it became a great Death Metal-show. I\u2019m pretty sure noone got really disappointed.<\/p>\n

Nevermore\/Brainstorm\/Sodom\/Soilwork<\/strong> As mentioned in the introduction Friday\u2019s headliner Celtic Frost were forced to cancel their first festival show since their reunion because fronter Tom Fischer had become sick in the afternoon and had been brought to hospital. Bassist Eric Ain explained it to the audience which reacted with comprehension. The sadest persons must have been the Celtic Frost-musicians because the Rock Hard Festival-audience would have been a very dignified one to experience the historic live event. In these few hours left it was impossible to witchcraft a new headliner. So four bands being on the festival area and being almost sober played short (each band three songs) sets. The definitely best alternative in that situation!
\nNevermore made a good choice and played with \u201cInside Four Walls\u201d (supported by Soilwork-fronter Bj\u00f6rn Strid), \u201cNever Purify\u201d and \u201cDead Heart In A Dead World\u201d three songs which hadn\u2019t been considered in their regular afternoon-set. Soilwork performed without their keyboarder and fronter Bj\u00f6rn Strid seemed to be pretty drunk. But most people dwelled in the same dimension. \uf04a So most people didn\u2019t care they didn\u2019t act in the best condition and partied to \u201cStabbing The Drama\u201d (with the guest appearance of Nevermore-singer Warrel Dane), \u201cRejection Role\u201d and \u201cStalemate\u201d. Brainstorm showed another powerful performance. Andy B. Franck hadn\u2019t obviously drunk too much and demonstrated his great voice and entertainer qualities while the opener \u201cInside The Monster\u201d or the following \u201cForever\u201d. Sodom set the final point and played a mixed set consisting of \u201cDer Wachturm\u201d, the Onkel Tom – side-project track \u201cEs Gibt Kein Bier Auf Hawai\u201d and the Mot\u00f6rhead-cover \u201cAce Of Spades\u201d. A cool song choice to party!<\/p>\n

Sunday<\/strong>
\nMain Stage<\/em>
\nCrucified Barbara<\/strong> The all-girl-band isn\u2019t just attractive, they rock! The first evidence for that by the opener and recent single \u201cPlay Me Hard (The Bachelor Guitar)\u201d was only heard by most visitors waiting at the entrance. The earliest RHF-band ever acted at 11 a.m. and meanwhile the security declared the entrance open. A little mishap! While the following \u201cHide \u2018Em All\u201d they played in front of a bunch of fans. Their set contained numbers from their debut \u201cIn Distortion We Trust\u201d (the two mentioned titles, \u201cI Wet Myself\u201d, \u201cGoing Down\u201d, the title track, \u201cMotherfucker\u201d, \u201cLosing The Game\u201d, \u201cBad Hangover\u201d) except for the Mot\u00f6rhead-cover \u201cKilled By Death\u201d which marked the end of their set.<\/p>\n

Volbeat <\/strong>You want to hear something new in the hard sector? Then could this Danish band be the right choice. Metal-riffs combined with the voice of Michael Poulsen sounding similar to Life Of Agony-singer Keith Caputo and with a touch of Elvis Presley yield a musical result I hadn\u2019t heard till then. To Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll-groovers like \u201cCaroline Leaving\u201d, \u201cRebel Monster\u201d, \u201cSoulweeper\u201d, the party-hymn \u201cPool Of Booze Booze Booza\u201d and the Dusty Springfield-cover \u201cI Only Wanna Be With You\u201d (all from the current debut \u201cThe Strenght \/ The Sound \/ The Songs\u201d you just had one option left in the sunny noon: Go, get your beer and party! They just need to improve their stageacting a little bit. Besides that there is a lot to expect! A band with a promising future!<\/p>\n

Gojira <\/strong>The French Metal-scene is a small and in Germany mostly unknown one. Nevertheless it offers real diamonds like Scarve or … Gojira. The fourpiece around Joe Duplantier opened by \u201cOcean Planet\u201d and song by song they earned more as louder applause. Prog \/ Death Metal – compositions (a little bit comparable to Meshuggah) like \u201cBackbone\u201d, \u201cFrom The Sky\u201d, \u201cThe Heaviest Matter Of The Universe\u201d (the opener from their current third longplayer \u201cFrom Mars To Sirius\u201d), \u201cLove\u201d (from the debut) or \u201cThe Link\u201d (from the so-titled album) weren\u2019t simple party-invitations, but somehow the complicated songs including intelligent lyrics, the very talented musicians and their energetic live-performance convinced most fans. Probably meanwhile some of them call themselves an owner of the latest Gojira-album. Great band! Great performance! More of that!<\/p>\n

Beyond Fear<\/strong> After he had left Judas Priest being replaced by original fronter Rob Halford Tim \u2018Ripper\u2019 Owens joined Iced Earth. Obviously Tim needed an own band to express himself musically. So he founded Beyond Fear. Despite his bandmates were unknown the fivepiece acted very tight. The setlist mainly contained tracks from the self-titled band-debut (\u201cAnd…You Will Die\u201d, \u201cSave Me\u201d, \u201cComing At You\u201d, \u201cTelling Lies\u201d, \u201cWords Of Wisdom\u201d, the finishing \u201cScream Machine), added by two tracks of his Judas-Priest-phase (\u201cBurn In Hell\u201d, \u201cBlood Stained\u201d) and the (also often by Judas Priest interpreted) Fleetwood Mac-cover \u201cThe Green Manalishi\u201d. Musically this became a good performance and technically there was no doubt left about Tim\u2019s voice. But there were too many screams and much too less harmonies shown. A matter \u2018The Ripper\u2019 and his boys should work about!<\/p>\n

Evergrey <\/strong>This day was a good day for every Prog-fan. Gojira, had already played, now it was on to Evergrey and there was still Fates Warning to come. Evergrey gave an excellent appearance to their pretty big punch of fans singing the lyrics and banging the shit out of them. The Swedes hit the right balance between their six studio-masterpieces and got celebrated for songs from the new album \u201cMonday Morning Apocalypse\u201d like \u201cObedience\u201d, \u201cThe Curtain Fall\u201d and \u201cStill In The Water\u201d and even more for the classics from their middle ages like \u201cBlinded\u201d, \u201cMore Than Ever\u201d, \u201cI\u2019m Sorry\u201d, \u201cRecreation Day\u201d, \u201cA Touch Of Blessing\u201d as for the oldies \u201cMark Of The Triangle\u201d, \u201cDark Waters\u201d and an acoustic version of \u201cWords Mean Nothing\u201d. Mastermind Tom S. Englund communicated with the audience much \u2018more than ever\u2019\uf04a. The band rocked the stage musically as by their activity on stage and the crowded place got rocked by numerous of happy fans. What a powerful show!<\/p>\n

Finntroll <\/strong>Between all this high quality on the Sunday\u2019s billing there also must have been a lowlight. This job was done by the Folk\/Black Metal-band from Finland. Announced by some Rock Hard-writer dressed in a cool bunny-costume the group convinced their die hard-fans with \u201cJaktens Tid\u201d, \u201cTrollhammaren\u201d and \u201cNattf\u00f6dd\u201d. The new frontman Matthias \u201cVreth\u201d Lillmans did his vocal job as good as his predecessor Wilska, but he had no real stage-presence. Hopefully he was just nervous because the Polka-fans won\u2019t accept a fronter just holding the microphone-stand during the whole gig. But this day it fitted to the performance. The band in general didn\u2019t show that much motivation and somehow I missed the vibe. So they satisfied their die hard-fans, but didn\u2019t win many new fans.<\/p>\n

Soilwork <\/strong>After the short bonus gig last night being held by a partly pretty drunk band its members presented themselves in their best condition, especially variable singer Bj\u00f6rn \u2018Speed\u2019 Strid. Just the sound wasn\u2019t the best one in the gig\u2019s beginning. Supported by Dimension Zero-sixstringer Daniel Antonsson who filled the place left empty after songwriter and gutiarist Peter Wichers had quit the band they played a strong gig consisting of songs from the current \u201cStabbing The Drama\u201d-album like the title track, \u201cOne With The Flies\u201d (including some animation by crazy bassist Ola Flink rowing with his instrument to the song\u2019s rhythm while balancing on some monitor box), \u201cNerve\u201d or \u201cStalemate\u201d as of well-known songs mainly from the two longplayers before like \u201cThe Bringer\u201d, \u201cRejection Role\u201d, \u201cFollow The Hollow\u201d or the final \u201cAs We Speak\u201d. Thumbs up for Soilwork!<\/p>\n

Fates Warning<\/strong> The time had come for one of the very raw concerts the Prog Metal-idols play. I hadn\u2019t seen them since their Dynamo Open Air 1998-appearance. The line-up included a few surprises: Besides mainman Jim Matheos, \u2018Mr Voice\u2019 Ray Alder (now with short-cut hair) and bass-veteran Joey Vera the live-line-up was joined by ex-member Frank Arresti on the second guitar and Spock\u2019s Beard-singer\/drummer Nick D\u2019 Virgilio on the drums, but they renounced a keyboarder. While the Intro \u201cDisconnected Part I\u201d there was an atmosphere I hadn\u2019t felt for a long time. All fans were waiting for their heroes. From the first tones from the following \u201cOne\u201d the crowd got in action. And this party-atmosphere wasn\u2019t about to stop. No wonder while milestones like \u201cA Pleasant Shade Of Gray Part III\u201d, \u201cStill Remains\u201d, the new \u201cHeal Me\u201d, \u201cLife In Still Water\u201d, \u201cSimple Human\u201d, \u201cMonument\u201d, \u201cThe Eleventh Hour\u201d and \u201cPoint Of View\u201d. Filling an hour this was a nearly perfect setlist. Nearly? Yes, besides the fact nobody really expected songs from the John Arch-era (which isn\u2019t necessary in such a strong set) the band finished with the Scorpons-cover \u201cHe\u2019s A Woman, She\u2019s A Man\u201d. A Hardrock-party-classic which could have been replaced by many Fates Warning-classics which party much more. Nevertheless this appearance held by brilliant musicians supported by an ideal sound and a big fan-following (including our whole team, especially Primal Dirk and me) celebrating happily a very unique show which didn\u2019t leave any wishes! Oh yes, one: Don\u2019t let me wait another eight years! Even in this very strong billing definitely the highlight! Overwhelming!<\/p>\n

Edguy <\/strong>Whatever followed, the next band was damned to call their live-mission a \u2018Mission Impossible\u2019. After the high standards Fates Warning had set Edguy had no other chance to fail. Under this conditions Edguy gave their best, rocked with their simple songs and animated the crowd to take part in. After the intro the combo around front-clown Tobias \u2018Run, Forest, Run\u2019 (= always in action) Sammet began with \u201cLavatory Love Machine\u201d, the classic \u201cBabylon\u201d and \u201cFucking With Fire\u201d while the crowd didn\u2019t feel problems to arrange itself with their simple music. The five boys from Fulda brought by \u201cSacrifice\u201d, \u201cSave Me\u201d and \u201cSuperheroes\u201d three songs from their new release \u201cRocket Ride\u201d. By \u201cFairytale\u201d, \u201cTears Of A Mandrake\u201d, \u201cMysteria\u201d, the two oldies \u201cOut Of Control\u201d and the final \u201cVain Glory Opera\u201d as the final \u201cKing Of Fools\u201d they weren\u2019t able to reach the level of the band before, but nevertheless their performance inluding some of the usual Sammet – smalltalks inspired to party again. But there is still the question left why this band played the co-headliner-position including more time than Fates Warning before. It would have been a favour to Edguy letting them play before the US-Proggies.<\/p>\n

Dio <\/strong>This concert was supposed to become a very special one to a member of our crew: At midnight Dumbo celebrated his 30th birthday and like the RHF-organizers would have known it they confirmed Dumbo\u2019s voice-hero for the Sunday night – headliner position. Later it also seemed like Dio might have known it, too.\uf04a Twenty minutes later than planned the Metal \/ Rock – idol and his tight band opened the show by the Black Sabbath-classic \u201cChildren Of the Sea\u201d, \u201cI Speed At Night\u201d, \u201cOne Night In The City\u201d and \u201cStand Up And Shout\u201d happened the unexpected: Short time before midnight they started playing \u201cHoly Diver\u201d. A better birthday present couldn\u2019t have happened to the endless happily Dumbo. After this hit and \u201cGypsy\u201d Simon Wright played a boring Drum Solo. The rest of the band returned to perform the wonderful ballad \u201cDon\u2019t Talk To Strangers\u201d and the hymn \u201cRainbow In The Dark\u201d (both as you know also from the classic \u201cHoly Diver\u201d-album) before leaving again for an as unnecessary guitar solo from Craig Goldy. Back again the band took a good choice playing with \u201cI\u201d a Black Sabbath-song from Dio\u2019s \u201cDehumanizer\u201d-phase. By \u201cAll The Fools Sailed Away\u201d, \u201cMan On The Silver Mountain\u201d, the Rainbow-classic \u201cLong Live Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll\u201d and another Black Sabbath-evergreen \u201cHeaven And Hell\u201d Dio and his band finished a best of – set that satisfied all the very happy fans, especially Dumbo! \uf04a<\/p>\n

Conclusion:<\/strong>
\nThe Rock Hard Festival overwhelmed us for another three days like it had done the years before! The organizers were able to hold all the high standards (e.g. a very good toilet \/ restroom-situation for free, an uncomplicated security, Rock Hard – members always being close to the fans for answering their questions, etc.). The prices were the same as last year (e.g. 2,30 Euro for a 0,33l beer or softdrink). And after four years most bands of the metal-scene should know about the unique area and atmosphere of the Amphitheater in Gelsenkirchen to have the unconditional will to play there. It might be a very special experience to the musicians playing there and it is definitely to our team. Next year we\u2019ll rock on at Rock Hard Festival!
\nSpecial Thanks go out to Manni Glamowski, Jenny R\u00f6nnebeck, G\u00f6tz K\u00fchnemund, Martina Sinovzik and the RHF-team!!!!!
\nAnother Special Thanks go out to all those dudes signing the birthday card for Dumbo (He was more than pleased about it!): Musicians from Nevermore, Soilwork, Sodom, Dew-Scented, members of Rock Hard (some of them are mentioned in the other Special Thanks-list above), Heavy, Metal Blade, Nuclear Blast Century Media, Inside Out, SPV and the big couple of friends!!!!!
\nOn the Rock Hard Festival rocked, partied and drank Tobi Wan Kenobi, Lotte, Dumbo, VeVa and Primal Dirk!!!!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rock Hard Festival 2006 For another time the Rock Hard Festival became a big success! Although the organizers had got the cancelation of the Friday headliner Celtic Frost that short before they had no time left to replace them by some new band the festival-billing was excellent anyway. The cool relaxed party atmosphere is a … <\/p>\n

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