• Triptykon - Marduk - Possessed - Desaster - Insomnium - Necrophobic - Cryptopsy - Hades Almighty - Merciless - Mourning Beloveth - Gruesome Stuff Relish // Tent // Humiliation - Krater - Atomwinter - Vigilance - Blood Of Seklusion - Indian Nightmare - Sideburns

:: pics ::

The Sun goes down

[Dajana] I wish you all a wonderful good morning :) Thanks to a head-friendly Vodka mix my blackout didn’t cause serious consequences. Just a feeble stomach since still hadn’t eaten anything yet. Breakfast!

[Dajana] Though, the last festival didn’t get off the grid that properly. Bad weather and heavy partying took its toll. People looked hangoverish and needed some time to get in full swing again. I have no idea how many people were in the party tent for the morning ceremony, but in front of the main stage only the half amount of fans appeared, compared with the day before. And their enthusiasm left much to be desired. On the other hand, :: GRUESOME STUFF RELISH :: don’t really play this kind of fun Grind but a good one. [
Öko] Although having already released four albums I never heard of this Spanish band before. Death Metal/Grindcore is probably the right description for GSR. I have to confess, I didn’t see that much, but it sounded ok.

[BRT] That the sun made its way through the clouds exactly when Irish doomsters :: MOURNING BELOVETH :: got onto stage was somehow… clear. Many feared that this great band would be just cannon fodder at this early time but… The Irish guys played an phenomenal and left fans speechless.
[Dajana] Agree 100%. MOURNING BELOVETH played an excellent show, blew me and others off. Doom as its best. Especially the clean vocals of Frank Brennan caused goose bumps all over the body. That was this kind of Messiah Marcolin epicness. Truly awesome! Regarding the sun… What sun please? Ok, let’s describe it that way: It did not rain. It was fucking cold and windy, and the cloud cover got thinner. But, wait… yes, I have seen a little piece of blue sky… for a second or two, indeed ;)
[Öko] Let’s talk about the highlight of the Saturday: MOURNING BELOVETH sent shiver and goose bumps up and down the spine. Atmospheric, passionate and hard drinking… that’s what MOURNING BELOVETH are about. I’ve been a fan since the early days, but since Formless and especially since stunning Rust & Bone they (almost) grew up to Primordial fields. Frank Brennan has given his guitar to someone else and focused on his clean singing only. And this singing creeps under your skin! That was indeed amazing! Hauntingly beautiful! I just wish they would have gotten a slot later that day.

[Kai] Founded back in the 1980s, :: MERCILESS :: are one of the oldest extreme Metal band from Sweden. Moreover, their 1990 debut, The Awakening, was the first record on the notorious label Deathlike Silence, established by Marduk founder Euronymous. So, MERCILESS should have already secured an entry in the Encyclopedia Metallum. That they played in the early afternoon was probably due to the anergic state they were in for years. Their last self-titled album was released 15 years ago. Well, I guess most people were only interested in old material. The band’s Thrash influenced ur-Death Metal was played with a lot of vigor and power. Especially convincing were the tracks from the 1994-released third album Unbound like The Land I Used To Walk and the title track. All in all a well-done show by the veterans, every Sweden fan should have seen at PSOA. How knows how often they will play live?
[Dajana] I was first pondering if that are the Swedish MERCILESS or the French ones (also a great Death Metal band). Then realized that the French one gets written with ”y”… ;)
[Öko] I guess it’s called old school Death Metal what „Rogga“ Pettersson and his mates play there. They are up to no good since the 80s. I call their music dowdy. There wasn’t any interesting or thrilling to hear or to see. Technically well-done, nothing more.

[BRT] How it is possible to distribute epic Black/Viking Metal without falling back on knickknack and cheap showmanship Norwegian :: HADES ALMIGHTY :: impressively proved. Songs reduced on just a few but highly effective riffs, Darkthrone-groove and pace ranging from slow to driving but far away from high speed blasts – that’s what HADES ALMIGHTY is about. The show might have been rather unspectacular – on the first sight – but was exceptionally entertaining. (New-)frontman Ask Ty surprised with a strong and charismatic performance. I fail to understand why this dude always hides behind the drum kits of various bands and projects.
[Dajana] Hooded men in wet-look leggings (except for the singer)… ;) But well, the stage outfit suited the music. The HADES ALMIGHTY show was utmost intense. Wow! That was creeping under my skin. Definitely one of the highlights of day 3.
[Öko] Yep, after the tediousness of the Merciless show it got much better now. HADES ALMIGHTY play Pagan Metal, and Pagan Metal has its issues. It’s either unbelievably good or unbelievably bad. There is no middle course. Luckily HADES ALMIGHTY belong to the great bands of this guild and that they proved with this show that had everything one might look for: epicness, charisma and an awesome singer with Ulvhedin Bergli Arctander. Too bad that they didn’t release anything for a long time.

[BRT] Ok, let’s rush into the first rows to keep tabs on drum legend Flo Mournier. No question, technically :: CRYPTOPSY :: play on the highest and finest level. Supersonic speed, bloodcurdling breaks and grooves made me feel giddy. So far, so good. But then, frontman Matt MacGachy opened his mouth and burped monotonous nonsense into the micro and ruined everything. Can’t take much pleasure in CRYPTOPSY anymore. The uncongenial singer kills everything a lover of extreme music would like. Ok, CRYPTOPSY was well received by the crowd, seemed they did it right.
[Dajana] While taking photos in the pit I was looking on Matt MacGachy mouth, and yes, he does not sing lyrics. It was just an ongoing belching on the same pitch. However… CRYPTOPSY played their 1996 release album None So Vile in its entirety.
[Öko] No idea why so many people like such mediocre band. Although… there is nothing mediocre at this band. As BRT said, technically the Canadians work on a high level. Especially drummer Flo left people with chops down. Unfortunately everything good on CRYPTOPSY got killed by the “singing”. Möööööööööp, Möööpp, MöpMööööp!!! That’s how Matt McGachy maltreated his vocal chords and our ears.

[BRT] To be honest, I’m not really familiar with Swedish melodic Death/Black juggernauts :: NECROPHOBIC :: - a fact I quickly have to change. Musically I really, really liked what Anders Strokirk and his buddies offered there, even if the guys looked more like EMP poster boys ;) Regarding songs, music and performance was nothing to nag about.
[Öko] NECROPHOBIC is one of those bands everybody fins “quite ok”, but no one is a real fan. At least none of the people I know. Likewise unspectacular was their live show to me. Technically outstanding, good stage-acting, but I missed great hooks and melodies.
[BRT] Protest! There are obviously many, many people for whom NECROPHOBIC is a big issue. And indeed, the band is definitely worth to deal a little bit closer with them.
[Dajana] Yes, yes, yes! Have seen them several times and they always were awesome. And so they were at PSOA17. Extremely enthusiastic in playing, extremely entertaining, extremely great music! ;)

[BRT] Wrong band at the wrong time, as it already happened last time. The sluggish melodic Death Metal of Finnish band :: INSOMNIUM :: hardly got the audience out of their lethargy. They are generally not my cup of tea, but especially on the last day of this open air at this time, people needed something with power and energy to get them up again.
[Dajana] I really like INSOMNIUM a lot and always like to see them playing live. But here I have to agree with BRT: it didn’t work with them. Instead of enliven the fans, they got supported in their tiredness and idleness. Downer. Too bad…
[Öko] After all this thrashing I found INSOMNIUM quite catchy. Their brand of music anywhere between Dark Tranquillity, old In Flames and At The Gates, is not really my scene, but on this day at this time I really liked it.

[BRT] I missed :: DESASTER :: but a friend told me about technical problems and an unrehearsed band rumbling through a grinding show. But the crowd seemingly didn’t care – DESASTER always go down well.
[Dajana] Only did the photos and then got me some food. Öko?
[Öko] DESASTER get cheered and adored everywhere these days. I follow those voices only conditionally. It’s too monotonous to me. They play straight but without any aftereffect. And I have already seen better shows from them.

[BRT] Bay Area legends :: POSSESSED :: needed a few tracks but then thrilled me fully. Their old tracks are classics anyway and the new ones interspersed (which hopefully will be released as a new album soon) seem to pick up the thread were Seven Churches was left off. Sound was great and genuine. Although wheelchair-bound, Jeff Becarra knows how to deliver a great stage performance and how to electrify the audience.
[Dajana] Hell, yeah! The Godfathers of Death Metal! POSSESSED are bloody awesome! Saw them after their reunion in 2012 on the Barge To Hell in was blown away. It’s incredible how they still manage to enthuse the masses and how they still raise the banner of old school Death Metal. I love, love, love them and really hope to see a new album released soon ♥
[Öko] To date it was not granted to me to see the prime fathers of Death Metal playing live. And I have to say that I’m really happy that I finally got the chance. It was a stunning show! Tracks von Seven Churches everybody knew but also the other ones, especially the one ones knew how to convince.

[BRT] Time has come for the Swedish Black Metal commando :: MARDUK ::, who mercilessly thundered through their set and kicked the crowd awake. Don’t know their stuff really but it was fun watching them destroying everything musically.
[Dajana] Um… Seems they passed me unattended. Or was I off again to get me food? Dunno…
[Öko] Bang! That hit home! That was a straight punch in the face. After the show I felt like beaten down. Beaten in a good sense (if that is possible). That’s the way Death/Black Metal has to sound live! Thank you for waking me up.

[BRT] Here we are at the end of PARTY SAN OPEN AIR 2017. :: TRIPTYKON :: were shortly booked to replace Morbid Angel. As an old Celtic Frost fan-boy I wasn’t really sad about this change ;) But to let TRIPTYKON play as a headliner of the last day is debatable. You can’t do anything wrong with kicking off the show with the two Frost classics Procreation (Of The Wicked) and Dethroned Emperor. Afterwards some technical issues appeared, Tom Warrior answered with cynic, and in my opinion, absolutely inappropriate comments about the stage crew and their work, what was received much dislikeable by the audience. And it didn’t get any better. It doesn’t matter if Tom Warrior had a bad day or not, his permanent nagging was just shit. Well, yes, with Circle Of The Tyrants they played on of the best metal songs ever, but the atmosphere was ruined. Well, The Prolonging is a great song, but to shot a 20 minutes Doom orgy into an exhausted crowd wasn’t probably the best idea. It wasn’t a bad show but I was disappointed.
[Dajana] TRIPTYKON and the PARTY SAN OPEN AIR won’t become friends anymore. Also the third show of the Swiss band in Schlotheim went wrong, which led to the nagging of Mr. Fischer. In 2011 he said that he never ever will play this festival again. He should have been true to his words and left it at this. I love to see TRIPTYKON playing live but Tom Warriors behavior was just completely wrong.
[Öko] I’m actually a big friend of everything musically Mr. Fischer has done so far. And all the TRIPTYKON shows I have seen I found good or excellent. But THIS show here at PSOA17 got totally ruined by his nagging. Sure, if you’re not satisfied with the sound you have to tell it to the stage crew. But only to them and not via the micro to anybody else out there. That is really a bad style. Ok, let’s talk about the music, which was, of course, world class. With Frost songs such as Procreation Of The Wicked and Circle Of The Tyrants you can’t do anything wrong. At the end, it became emotional as drummer Norman Lonhard had one of the last shows here at PSOA. Band and audience wholeheartedly said goodbye to him.
Setlist: Procreation (Of The Wicked) (CF), Dethroned Emperor (CF), Goetia, Ain Elohim (CF), Tree Of Suffocating Souls, Circle Of The Tyrants (CF), Morbid Tales (CF), The Prolonging

Summary:

[BRT] On Saturday especially HADES ALMIGHTY, POSSESSED and NECROPHOBIC knew how to please. But they got already topped in the early morning by MOURNING BELOVETH. Apart from that? Was it the bad weather? I had the feeling that many people left way earlier on Saturday to get home from a rainy, wet and cold festival. Perhaps the atmosphere was suffering from a bit too. Nevertheless, the PARTY SAN OPEN AIR 2017 was once again a great party with some excellent highlights. The billing was varied and strong – keep on doing so! Also with bands aside the genres.

[Dajana] You can’t blame anyone for the weather, but though it can spoil a festival. Weather and personal issues (my car and stuff) made this year’s edition of PARTY SAN OPEN AIR to an uncomfortable matter - despite the great line-up. Well, no hard feelings! I’m looking forward to the next year :) Of course! First bands got already announced: WATAIN (again? *yawns*), TANKARD, HARAKIRI FOR THE SKY, REVENGE, TOXIC HOLOCAUST, BENIGHTED and UNANIMATED. See you in 2018. With sun then… ;)

[Öko] Ok, that was my very first PARTY SAN OPEN AIR. Except for the shitty weather, I really liked it. Great and not so monotonous band selection, fair (beer) pricing and varied food offers, next to the nice crew and the excellent festival area, will surely bring me back in 2018.

story © BRT, Öko, Dajana • pics © Dajana & Dajana Winkel • Photography