Eisbrecher - Mono Inc. - Staubkind - Rotersand - Fixmer/McCarthy - Neuroticfish - Rabia Sorda - Die Kammer - Ost+Front - Godex

Hello BLACKFIELD FESTIVAL :) Day 3. The night was short again, the last festival day supposed to be a long one. Weather is beautiful: blue sky, bright sun, a bit windy, not too hot… just perfect! I’m still not in the mood for anything… *sighs*… first coffee and breakfast!

:: pics ::

11am. It’s up to :: GODEX :: to kick off the fest. It is even emptier than yesterday but Bochum based local heroes take it easy and rock the stage. And I like it ;) I feel reminded of Dreadful Shadows, just with more electronics, and voice-like Ville Valo pops up in mind. So we talk about classic Gothic Rock. Cool! Nice beginning.
Setlist: Lovesick, For You, Millions Flashlights, The Best, Dragonrider, Love Salvation

Next band fills me with ambivalent feelings :: OST+FRONT :: I’d call the gross. Neue Deutsche Härte, meandering between Industrial, Metal and Electro. Martial stage outfits, brutal show, very angry and cynical German lyrics. Sounds like Rammstein? Pretty much so. But Rammstein was yesterday. You can’t just listen (or watch) OST+FRONT, you have to face and to stand OST+FRONT. They provoke, they polarize, and they mirror and cause a lot of unpleasing feelings. Just gross. And I’m still not sure if I should like or hate them.
Setlist: 911, Heimat Erde, Heimatkind, Denkelied, Fleisch, Schlag Mich, Gang Bang, Ich Liebe Es

Next up festival attendees got some balm for the soul with :: DIE KAMMER :: This is the new project by former ASP guitarist Matze Ambré and former Chamber mastermind Marcus Testory, accompanied by a little chamber ensemble, where one might know the one or the other face too (violinist Aline Deinert for example of Neun Welten, Empyrium, Haggard). So we got pure acoustic chamber music. Beautiful.
Setlist: The Orphanage, Fate/Illusion, Labyrinths Of Despair, The Seeming And The Real, Hither And Thither, Final Days

But this was just a short breathing time. The slogan on festival day 3 was: “no rest for the wicked!” Next up is :: RABIA SORDA :: brainchild of Erk Aicrag, one part of Hocico. Musically both acts don’t differ that much, means harsh and crushing Electro/Industrial as its best. Erk was romping the stage like a devil and let the crowd dance.
Setlist: Eye M The Blacksheep, Out Of Control, Radio Paranoia, Deaf, A World On Fire, Save Me From My Curse, Heart Eating Crows, Turbulence, Somewhere Along The Road

Following band was a real surprise to me and made it be the highlight of the last festival day :: NEUROTICFISH :: Again local heroes but I have to confess that I was not aware of them. The gentlemen Klein and Verlage are already around since 1995 but have just released one full-length and right now an EP. I have to say I was blown away by their performance, their music, the show, the voice - lovely (isn’t the right term for that, I know, but it feels like that ;)) Singer Sascha looks completely different and seems to be the Punk in the scene ;) Definitely awesome!
Setlist: Former Me, The Bomb, Behaviour, Wake Me Up, Suffocating Right, They Are Coming To Take Me Away, M.F.A.P.L., Illusion Of Home, Velocity

The high level of energy gets kept, music just gets a Techno-like twist, though :: FIXMER/MCCARTHY :: still sound significantly like Nitzer Ebb. It’s not only the voice of Douglas McCarthy (who of course acts on stage like he does with NE), also music-wise there are a lot similarities. Only difference is that Mr. Terence Fixmer does not act, he more or less seems to pasted and nailed to his place behind the knobs. The audience does not mind and goes wild too.
Setlist: Intro, Got Plenty, And Then Finally, Destroy, Freefall, New FM 02, Banging Down The Door, By Any Other Name, Look To Me, You Want It

:: ROTERSAND :: is another band I like even if they are labeled as (terrible) Futurepop. Fortunately ROTERSAND have many more influences, are much varied and have quite dynamic rhythms. Being a trio normally only Rascal and Krishan showed up, no further notice what happened to Gunther. Swing your heaps on the dancefloor baby ;)
Setlist: Merging Oceans, Lost, Waiting To Be Born, Electronic World Transmission, I Cry, War On Error, Exterminat Annihilate Destroy, Undone

Some time to take a breath for the finale. More Gothic Rock, with Germany lyrics this time, comes with :: STAUBKIND :: I still have good memories of their show in 2009. It’s not anything breathtaking or innovative, but not bad either. A welcome change stylistically to lean back a b it ;)
Setlist: Gnadenlos, Rette mich, Nur ein Tag, Dein Engel, Fühlst Du, Kannst Du mich seh’n, Paradies, Schlaflied, Königin, Ein Traum, So nah bei mir, Angekommen

:: MONO INC. :: is a band that developed to a mega seller rather quickly. They play in huge and mostly sold out venues and their records can always be found in the top 10. Same goes for the current release After The War, which includes a single with legendary „golden rider“ Joachim Witt in duet. And… hardly to believe… with some samples of his hits before Joachim Witt enters the stage to perform Kein Weg zu weit. I guess it goes without further mention that the crowd freaked out. By the way, MONO INC. will tour with Joachim Witt in fall 2013. But no matter what fronter Martin Engler does on stage, real eye-catcher is still and always drummer Katha Mia, who enthused the audience with a cute drum solo after After The War.
Setlist: My Worst Enemy, Symphony Of Pain, Heile heile Segen, Arabia, Temple Of The Dorn, Kein Weg zu weit (Joachim Witt), Revenge, After The War, Voice Of Doom, Get Some Sleep

Okay, here we go… the Grande finale… BLACKFIELD FESTIVAL 2013 comes to an end and :: EISBRECHER :: heralds. To celebrate the biggest party they don’t mind for an extra of lights, smoky pyros and an extra flock of sexy nuns, who appeared at Heilig, carrying torches. Mr. Wesselsky does it first the charming gentleman way, giving away roses but starts to rock out with brute heaviness a twinkling eye later. No matter if you like EISBRECHER or not, they always play an awesome show, with a lot of gimmicks, witty banter and they know to entertain the audience, especially charismatic frontman Alexx Wesselsky. They are a worthy headliner and play a breathtaking show. To be honest, at Miststück I caught myself singing along… ;)
Setlist: Intro, Exzess Express, Willkommen im Nichts, Antikörper, Leider, Augen unter Null, Amok, Metall, Prototyp, Engel, Schwarze Witwe, Heilig, Vergißmeinnicht, Die Hölle muß warten, This Is Deutsch // Verrückt, Miststück, Outro: Total Eclipse Of The Heart

The last tune fades away, the festival is over and we sally forth melancholically. Yes, it was once again a nice festival, I truly had a blast. I just wish that the BLACKFIELD FESTIVAL catches a summer weekend next time and that we get some interesting and new bands to see live.
I say THANK YOU BLACKFIELD and we hopefully meet in 2014. By the way… on June 20 – 22, 2014, again 3 days.

story & pics © Dajana