Sakrileg - Unleashed - Tankard - Impaled Nazarene - Thulcandra - Internal Suffering - Nuclear Vomit - Ctulu - Abrupt Demise - Epsilon - Asmodeus - Vulvathrone - Halo Creation

11:30 12:00 :: HALO CREATION :: - Death Metal with a growling front woman, partly technical and complex, not eminently catchy is cudgeled by HALO CREATION, just to battle the sleep in our eyes. The rhythmically interesting structure of the song Army Of Annihilators causes an early three-men-Moshpit!
Setlist: Downward Path, Altered Normal Behaviour, Loss Of Reality, Army Of Annihilators, My Dark Passenger

12:20 12:50 :: VULVATHRONE :: - I am sitting in the grass, looking down at the stage from above, after I walked to the old festival area a few hundred metres away. The Slovenian band sounds like a group with five vocalists and thereby I was told afterwards that the original singer was not performing, which makes the substitute even more respectable. The sounds change from rabid frog on speed to squealing pigs besides a bunch of other animals, because the Grindschwein also delivers a guest appearance.

13:10 13:40:: ASMODEUS :: - A summer like a decade ago - ASMODEUS are back from the pitch-black crypts with obligatory corpse paint and they blast like they never had a break. They perform in enormous speed, but the uncompromising Black Metal is more effective with some slower elements and groovy accents. Finally, the band hymn Summon The Horde sets a grim ending spot.

14:00 14:40 :: EPSILON :: - Sometimes, it is possible to reach the goal without enormous effects, and EPSILON know about that fact, because their simple words on the shirts have a memorable consequence. Fleisch – Organ – Kraft – Leib are the catch-words. In the cut-set of Death and Thrash, the music’s access is not really easy accessible because of their demand, so that I prefer concentrated listening in contrast to dull exuberance.
Setlist: I Shall Feast on The Flesh Of My Enemies, Ein Zarter Hauch Von Menschlichkeit, Foxy Knoxy, (As Long As You) Submit To Supremacy, Witness My Transformation Evisceration, Can They Suffer?, Die Lebenden Und Die Toten, Nutzmensch Agonie

15:00 15:40 :: CTULU :: - Goddamn, that’s the way Black Metal should sound like – puristical, melodical and variable! Similar to Mgla – maybe the masks are responsible for my crosslink - CTULU unleash grim franticness and handy catchiness without frippery, but the songs stay in my mind.
Setlist: Serce Krwawe, Treibjagd, Gezeitenstürme, Totenhauswinde, Heerführer Der Herrenlosen, Serenadenhallen, Die Arkaden Von R'lyeh

16:00 16:40 :: SAKRILEG :: - Black Metal furiousness dominates the sound of SAKRILEG for a bigger part, whereby felicitous acoustic breaks avoid boredom and add alternation to the tunes. A dark thoroughgoingness and obsessed mania pervade the compositions, but senseless chaos is avoided. Maybe the show’s effect would has been a more intense one in the middle of the night like it was planned primary, because the sun does not fit the ice-cold sounds perfectly.
Setlist: Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost, Menschenscheu, Exile, Verloren, Die Sonne Weint

17:00 17:40 :: NUCLEAR VOMIT :: - BreeBreeBreeeeeBreBreeBreeBreeee! Slamming Dance Music or Goregrind with typical growl/screech duet vocals, added up by some uffta-uffta measures – let’s get the party started! Many thanks to Hofi, who wrote the whole lyrics on a small sheet for me to get the meaning: BreeBreeBreeeeeBreBreeBreeBreeee!

18:00 18:40 :: THULCANDRA :: - THULCANDRA play for the first time at KOA and singer Stefan is really motivated, although the stage acting seems rather concentrated and contained, but very likeable. The legacy of mighty Dissection is taken in dignified manner with wonderful elegiac guitar harmonies; the diverting program combines technically demanding Death/Black Metal with filigree easiness. It is surprising that the crowd redoubles at the beginning of the set!

19:00 19:50 :: INTERNAL SUFFERING :: - Unfortunately, the drummer cannot play today, but INTERNAL SUFFERING do not cancel their show because of this instance. Death-like Grindcore or Grinding Death, that’s the question…by all means, it sounds brutal and some heads roll, some neck vertebrae crumble and some eardrums bleed…

20:10 21:00 :: IMPALED NAZARENE :: - Finnish cult with sicko Mika on the lead, I expect excesses, verbal abuse and thoroughgoingness like a middle finger in musical manner and concerning behaviour. Surprisingly, the concert passes by without exciting peculiarities. Mika motivates the crowd with an encouraging statement „you are the laziest crowd we have ever played for” in smuggy way. Of course, tunes like Total War – Winter War level the scenery without compromise, broken by punky manginess. IMPALED NAZARENE are as non-conformal after decades like they used to be for ages and so you have to take your hat off.

21:30 22:40 :: TANKARD :: - Party hard with TANKARD! Three decades of Thrash and no end in sight, so it is not easy to play all classics of their career. The orchestra round front bullet Gerre disperse good humor like always and the crowd dances to hits like The Morning After or Chemical Invasion. I feel sorry for the staff at the bar after the demand of Freibier for a real long time :) Many visitors got one or another Empty Tankard and this trouble of missing Cerveza must be solved immediately – cheers!
Setlist: El Condor Pasa, Zombie Attack, The Morning After, Fooled by Your Guts, Rapid Fire (A Tyrant's Elegy), Rules for Fools, R.I.B. (Rest in Beer), MetaltoMetal, Not One Day Dead (But One Day Mad), Chemical Invasion, A Girl Called Cerveza, Rectifier, Alien, Freibier, Empty Tankard

23:10 00:30 :: UNLEASHED :: - It is not the best starting position for the Swedish warriors, because drummer Anders got 40 degrees fever, but plays the gig till the end – respect for that! All listeners honor his efforts and donate an extra acclamation. Johnny appears as hearty, authentic and easy-going as always, no wonder that rhythmic and catchy pieces like The Final Silence cause many Moshpits, an army of waving hair and hundreds of raised fists.
Setlist: The Final Silence, This Is Our World Now, If They Had Eyes, Where Is Your God Now?, Don’t Want To Be Born, Winterland, The Avenger, Fimbulwinter, Defenders Of Midgard, Legal Rapes, To Asgaard We Fly, To Miklagard, Hammer Battalion

00:50 01:30 :: ABRUPT DEMISE :: - Only a handful of insatiable bangers see the last and quite heavy band from The Netherlands. Some hyperactive youngsters use the space for funny running games and chase each other. On stage, the Metal of Death reigns and expulses the melancholic thoughts of that KALTENBACH OPEN AIR will end soon…

Finally, numerous wonderful impressions concerning music and friends stay in my memory. Many thanks go out to all volunteers and securities for their awesome work, staying friendly all the time! Special thanks apart from organizers Thomas and Ronny to: Fear (you know why!), Hofi (for Grindcore infos), Lorenz (have fun while travelling), Anna & Bernd, Sabine (Moremetal) – it is wonderful to be part of the Metal family for all those years! THANKS!!!

story © Leo • photos © Elisabeth Eichmüller for earshot.at