VNV Nation - Project Pitchfork - Laibach - Leæther Strip - Grendel - Spetsnaz - Vomito Negro - Centhron :: De/Vision - Solar Fake - Frozen Plasma - Solitary Experiments - Torul - Ambassador 21 - Phosgore

With over 4,000 visitors, the E-TROPOLIS 2015 at the • Turbinenhalle Oberhausen • set a new visitor record. The audience was diverse and all generations of the dark electronic scene celebrated peacefully or intentionally aggressive in the mosh pit next to each other. The review is going to follow now, separated by stages. Whereas Markus Lambertz took care of the main stage, Fee Wundersee was responsible for the second stage in the Turbinenhalle 2.

Conclusion: The organization of the festival was great and there were only a few unpleasant overlaps. However, I want to criticize the meaninglessness of the voucher-payment-system. At the beginning one has to change money into bons in order to be able to purchase food or drinks. So far, so good. But the bons cannot be exchanged again at the end thus losing money. I think that that's not only visitor unfriendly but also not very lawful. I can change every bon into money again or at least use it later again. That's not the case with the vouchers in the Turbinenhalle because they're sorted according to colors and equipped with the year. While I can also use every voucher, every bon of a gas station infinitely later again that's not the case here. Especially for visitors who only pilgrimage to the Turbinenhalle once a year that's a huge nuisance. One should also organize one or two more food stalls in the future in order to prevent kilometer-long queues. Another bitter aftertaste was left by the sound technology which was either too quiet or too loud especially on the main stage, diminishing the overall impression of VNV Nation who would've given a good show otherwise. Another criticism is the moderate light show for the “smaller bands” on the main stage which didn't underline the performance optimally. Some visitors apparently complained about the partly overpriced food as well as about the unroofed smoking area. But those are partly luxury problems which don't diminish the overall impression of the festival: The venue, the staff, and the security were very nice and friendly. The moderation by Honey of Welle:Erdball between almost every band was solid as usual and offered a great entertainment value which no one really expected.

Those who want to utter their praise or their personal critique can do so on the event homepage on the specifically prepared survey. Besides, every participant can win 5x2 tickets for the E-TROPOLIS FESTIVAL 2016. That one will take place on the 5th March 2016 for the third time in the Turbinenhalle Oberhausen. The first acts are announced with THE CASSANDRA COMPLEX, ASSEMBLAGE 23, DIORAMA, WINTERKÄLTE and LEGEND.

story © Markus Lambertz & Josie Leopold • pics © Dani Vorndran & Black-Cat-Net