| Doors: 1 pm | Show: 2 pm | Tickets: 49.00 EUR plus fees |

Main Stage • And One - Hocico - Frontline Asembly - Welle: Erdball - The Cassandra Complex - Assemblage 23 - Kite - Henric De La Cour

Second Stage • Suicide Commando - Diorama - Legend - Winterkälte - Reborn Beton - Harmjoy - Orange Sector

And here we stand! Ok, better said: here we sit. This Sunday is - against all announcements (of a cold, grey, rainy and cloudy day) - a wonderfully sunny, clear and mild one. Not the best conditions to sit down writing a festival report ;) But well… The E-TROPOLIS FESTIVAL 2016 lies behind us and awaits its review. We got something new to discover and something old to nag about, once again. There have been great bands and other ones like pain in the neck. And there have been interesting people and such that seemingly went astray.

:: Bands :: Pics ::

Ticket prices have increased: 4 Euro more as in the previous year. But I think that’s acceptable regarding the rate of price increases and various (security) rules of action. Besides, the :: Turbinenhalle ::, Oberhausen, got completely reconstructed and I now got the chance to see the result on the whole. And I have to say, I like the new Turbinenhalle with its 3 halls, with all those galleries and balconies around. I like the new concept. Another plus was that an extra corridor was opened to get easier and faster to the second stage. There are more bars now, which means shorter queues to get a beer. Pricing was not cheap but not exaggerated either. But I was disappointed by the merchandise. Many bands have not brought merch to the festival. What a pity. I was so keen to get me a LEGEND tee or a CD. Same goes for KITE. Food was ok too. There is a bistro between hall 2 and 3 and there have been additional food booths, shopping booths and enough seating in hall 3.

But there is one thing I truly have to nag about! Again! I’m nagging about light and sound! Gosh darn it! What the fucking hell is the problem? There are many, many events at this technically well appointed location, with many great shows regarding sound and lights. So, what is the problem with the E-TROPOLIS FESTIVAL? And it wasn’t the first time. Remember, every single E-TROPOLIS FESTIVAL at the Turbinenhalle Oberhausen was characterized by bad lights and bad sound. Every fucking year so far. This I call methodic.

Musically the smaller and rather unknown bands that made the E-TROPOLIS FESTIVAL 2016 so special. First of all Icelandic rockers LEGEND, but also the Swedish acts KITE and HENRIC DE LA COUR. And DIORAMA. The big bands and headliners have been seen umpteen times already, even at E-TROPOLIS FESTIVAL, without any specials during the performances or special sets to make a difference. Nope, it has been the small bands that killed this year! :)

The last official announcement made to introduce the headliner of the E-TROPOLIS FESTIVAL 2016, once again done by Jens, singer of X-Divide, of course revealed that there will be a new edition of E-TROPOLIS FESTIVAL in 2017, taking place on March 18. Win 5x2 VIP tickets for the next year by taking part in the poll for the E-TROPOLIS FESTIVAL 2016.

story & pics © Dajana & Dajana Winkel • Photography