[Dajana] Eleven o’clock in Schlotheim. Esmiralda fired all over the place to wake up the drunkards, hangoverishs and the spaced out ones. Time to get all dressed for the Grindcore matinée. I think, I have not seen the field so crowded at this early hour. And, every year fans seem to be more creative with their “costumes” and “paraphernalia” for this ritual. Even the security people danced in the photo pit with colored little caps on their heads ;)
[Dajana] :: GUTALAX :: ain’t here for the first time. The Czech dudes threw a dozen toilet paper rolls into the crowd for some more fun and started to squeak and grunt as if there was no tomorrow. Their music might not be any bit sophisticated and challenging yet was a hell of fun. Beer anyone? Or better a coffee?
[Öko] That might be the sound when Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog have sexual intercourse. I’m probably lacking of humor to find such shit even tolerable.
[BRT] I agree. I finally would like to see a fantastic and serious Grindcore band again. That would be not funny but with interesting statements. But, well… then probably the Ballermann folks would not attend.
[Dajana] Oh, at this point I would like to praise the two mobile baristas on the infield. The coffee was extremely delicious. And their Black Forest latte was just otherworldly.
[Öko] Indeed, the coffee was great and saved me more than once from a blackout.
[Dajana] Next up was :: DEFEATED SANITY ::. Well… hm… sort of the same like Gutalax, just not funny. Don’t get me wrong, I occasionally enjoy high-end tech Death Metal but the 45 minutes were dragging on. Sorry guys…
The last song was dedicated to the late Deeds Of Flesh singer and Unique Leaders founder Erik Lindmark. I though was attentive ;)
[Öko] I don’t know why this band played on the main stage. It could not sound more 08/15 (brutal) Death Metal
[BRT] In Germany, DEFEATED SANITY are surely one of the most established and biggest bands of this Death Metal (sub) genre. So, it does make sense to let them play the main stage. This part gets more attention at PSOA too. But to be honest, the songs did not have a recognition factor to me and I missed some dramaturgy. Much better Stillbirth did it later in the tent. Ok, one has to fancy that tech Death Metal stuff with ultra-low grunts and this special rhythmic but on stage we just witnessed a standard performance.
[Öko] Let’s talk about the first real band of this festival day: :: THE CROWN :: play melodic Death Metal and they did a great job, with much enthusiasm. THE CROWN can draw from a rich backing catalogue and thus delivered a diversified set. Good show.
[BRT] THE CROWN don’t have much to do with the melodic stuff from their early days. Nowadays they play a brutal Death/Thrash mix that works well on CD. I would like to see them in club.
[Dajana] Hm. Musically, :: SOLSTICE :: are killing it. Epic Power Metal as its best. But the field has visibly drained. Seems like it was not the taste of many. And SOLSTICE had a big problem: the singer. Freshly on board he has a great voice, suiting the band and the music. He can sing… but he did it in the wrong pitch? It did not match anyway, and after a few songs it became an unpleasant matter.
[Öko] I was looking forward to see SOLSTICE. All their records are worth to be checked and White Horse Hill is one of the top 10 albums in 2018. Unfortunately, Felipe Plaza is no proper replacement for Paul Thomas Kearns. Don’t get me wrong, Felipe Plaza is a great singer and I like what he does in Procession. But it doesn’t work for SOLSTICE. I hope the band will find a better replacement soon. Besides this, the show was ok.
[Dajana] Or Mr. Plaza varies his singing. Maybe he just had no monitor sound.
[BRT] Nothing to add. SOLSTICE is a great band and Felipe Plaza a great singer. Side by side it just did not work. Besides, there is nothing to nag. Good show, much interaction on stage, little response in front of. After all the good thrashing it was suspiciously empty.
[Dajana] Hooded men the first (of this day). The Cleveland trio :: MIDNIGHT :: broke into their set with full force and didn’t stop till the end. With massive vehemence, brutality and enthusiasm they exploded on stage like a sonic bang. That was fun :)
[Öko] Well, even if I get stoned to death now, to me, MIDNIGHT are neither the adequate successor of Venom, nor are they much inventive. It’s all hype. It’s ok to watch them live but their songs ain’t convincing.
[BRT] MIDNIGHT was surely a highlight. There was pure action on stage, the band was in high spirits and played their songs with joy. Well, you can’t do anything wrong with hits such as You Can‘t Stop Steel. Yep, that was fun. But in the end it is rather live music and was meant to please Motörhead and Venom followers.
[Öko] Impressing! That’s the word that comes to mind first when watching :: KRISIUN ::. Technically it was a top-notch performance with songs played brutally and powerful. I felt much entertained. And I never dealt with KRISIUN before. Have seen them live before but never put their records on. Seems, I have to catch up on it.
'[BRT] KRISIUN are probably the tightest and best-rehearsed Death Metal band on earth. Founded back in 1990, the trio never had line-up changes. And that is noticeable live on stage. Merciless power meets technical perfection and great melodies. I started to appreciate them late too and like to spin their albums every now and then. This show was killer! In this genre KRISIUN are almost unbeatable.
[Dajana] Totally agree. This show was total destruction.
[Dajana] During the :: ARKONA :: I took a break and had a cold shower ;)
[Öko] You did not miss anything. Visually, the band looked good, robed in stone-age-like Siberian leather. But the musical performance could not keep up. ARKONA have written some good songs, which are rather Black Metal than the offered Viking masquerade. Wrong song selection I’d say and it seemed that a big part of the crowed saw that the same way and did not appear or went away quickly. That’s what I did too.
[Dajana] Also :: NIGHT DEMON :: burnt the airfield. Almost literally. So much fire at this early hour. And at full sunshine. Visually not optimal but suited their show well ;)
[Öko] NIGHT DEMON? Again? Slowly I grow weary of them. The guys around singer/bassist Jarvis Leatherby play literally every time and everywhere. I think, they should care for their live schedule, otherwise, none will see them anymore. But this is not now. The field is crowded and NIGHT DEMON is an excellent live band, no doubt. What about a new album guys?
[BRT] Meanwhile the youngsters of :: NEKROVAULT :: wrecking the tent stage. Since 2017 the band tours Germany and that you can hear. The band is well-rehearsed and played tight, songs are great and the performance is top-notch. The sound is almost too clear, as for that, the smoke machine fails at the (almost too) big stage. The response is frenetic and I look forward to the debut album, hopefully to be released soon.
[Dajana] Wow, wow, WOW! :: ROTTING CHRIST :: are known to deliver excellent shows. This time it was even more. Everything was perfect. Night was about to closing in, clouds made a dramatic sky. Pyros now had a maximum effect. The music was extremely thrilling, captivating and hauntingly beautiful. The atmosphere were dense and intensive as fuck. What a show! Definitely THE highlight of PARTY SAN OPEN AIR 2019!
[Öko] All is said and I agree with it. The best what the PSOA 2019 had to offer. Then the rain came and I, much pussy-like, moseyed on over into the VIP tent.
[BRT] Ditto. To me too, ROTTING CHRIST was the band of the festival and a big surprise. After a long time, the Greek have found their very own style, distinct and mystical, and truly deserved the title: “occult”. The sound was crystal clear, the song selection excellent, and the band got electrified by the crowd’s frenetic response. If you talk about epic – you have to talk about In Yumen/Xibalba. You can’t write a song any better and perform live. Absolutely a highlight, if I did not mention yet…
[Dajana] Hooded men the second. Why watching a politically fishy band like :: MGŁA ::, when you can have Midnight. And it started to rain again. Ok, let’s have some food…
[Dajana] Yes, :: DEICIDE :: have been there ;) Ok, running gag…
[BRT] Clouds kept pissing and rumors had it that DEICIDE fronter Glenn Benton had an unpleasant arrival and thus was in a nasty mood. Nothing that was to notice on stage. DEICIDE downright attacked the crowd with the debut’s Dead By Dawn and immediately scored. Ok, there happened not that much on stage; the maestro did not talk either. Stoic and humorless the band shot their songs down the stage. And it was a real pleasure! Songs were short and crisp and after a while sound was great too. The performance might have appeared leggy but the show was harsh and compact. Despite the rain, it was really fun. Man, DEICIDE are pretty cool, ain’t they?
[Dajana] Yep. Especially after such a long time. Haven’t seen them for ages.
[BRT] I did not expect much but :: TESTAMENT :: were a force! Really. On the other hand, who has a trio consisting of Steve DiGiorgio, Gene Hoglan and Alex Skolnick in the band, must be able to deliver. The sound was again crystal clear (headliner goodie) and the band offered a lot of classics, perfectly played. Chuck Billy did a superior job and brought the crowd to ecstasy one last time. A strong final on Friday night. That was excellent!
[Dajana] Nothing more to add. Thrash as its best. Made everybody involved happy ;)
Setlist: Brotherhood Of The Snake, The Pale King, More Than Meets The Eye, D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate), Eyes Of Wrath, Legions Of The Dead, Low, The Preacher, Into The Pit, The New Order, Over The Wall, Disciples Of The Watch, The Formation Of Damnation
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