Respect The Neck! [Cannibal Corpse]
[Dajana] Anno 2022 the official kick-off of the festival was once again preponed. Now, the first band, :: BIRDFLESH ::, entered the stage at 1:45 pm already. Well, you can do so, but why you should? Many Party.Sans still have to work and arrive late(r) and so miss quite a few bands, while the bands play in front of a lightly filled area.
[Öko] I never was a friend of an embarrassing masquerade, so I only catch song of BIRDFLESH. Seems to be nice Grindcore. But I hear the beer calling me and I strolled towards the bar…
[Öko] Well, :: REVEL IN FLESH :: sound like 1000 other Death Metal bands and 500 sound better. Not for me…
[Öko] Now it’s getting much more interesting visual-wise. The five Portuguese offer a an unusual look. Black suits with golden appliqués. Probably no pleasure under the blazing sun and 30+°C/86+F. The band didn’t move and the sound was bad - except for the zippy tack-tack-tack of the snare drum there wasn’t much to hear - so my first interest quickly slackened. Bummer! I was pretty much taken with their music on CD.
[Seb] I only could hear :: GAEREA :: from afar while walking from the check-in to the battlefield. I actually hoped to see them from the front row. But, after I heard that the sound wasn’t any better than on the backside of the stage, my disappointment was kept to a minimum. Too bad. I actually have experienced GAEREA as solid, sometimes even great live band.
[Öko] *yawns* What have :: HIGH SPIRITS :: and street lights in common? Exactly! You can see them at every corner. Of course, tightly played and performed but super predictable.
[BRT] HIGH SPIRITS on CD is not my thing anymore. They sound too smooth, no dynamics, which is probably due to the fact that only one musician records everything. Surprisingly, live the boys go down well and perfectly fire the crowd up to drink beer. But… BUT… white pants are forbidden. Strictly forbidden!
[Seb] There was not that much that came to mind on the ground and not that much to say now. They had a weird look, as if a bunch of doctor's assistants got lost there on stage. As “thrilling” as that was – probably specialized in anesthesia. No idea why they were booked for PSOA. Felt completely misplaced.
:: pics :: SECRETS OF THE MOON ::
[Dajana] I joined the gang shortly before :: SECRETS OF THE MOON ::, a show I was looking forward with a decent teardrop in my eye. It was the last ever festival show of the band, as they have announced their split in February. There will be four club shows in October and then the band will be done for good.
[Öko] Last festival show ever at PSOA 2022 and SOTM remain to be no live band! They have released great albums and I also could follow the stylistic change from Black Metal to dark (Gothic) Metal. But live… Meanwhile SOTM sound pretty much like Crone, the other band of singer and guitarist Phil Jonas.
[BRT] Oh yes, *sighs*. To see SECRETS OF THE MOON playing live is no pleasure anymore. More than once the guys act cramped, not rehearsed or even unmotivated and annoyed. They visibly don’t have fun on stage either. There was not that much coming over. That was really a bummer! I like the records; I liked the stylistic change… To disband was indeed unavoidable. Well, with Crone there is already a follow-up band waiting in the wings.
[Seb] Last show ever and I’m glad that they can’t blacken the formerly good name anymore. The guys should have shown balls and should have changed their name the time they changed their style so dramatically and released the upsettingly bad Sun record. As feared, SECRETS OF THE MOON mostly played trivial elevator music of the horrible last records (it was only time for five songs) but at least started with Seven Bells from the homonymous album and Miasma from the Carved In Stigmata Wounds. A hopefully final goodbye with a whiff of grandeur.
[Dajana] Well, *sighs* I’m a huge fan of SECRETS OF THE MOON since the early days. And even through rose-colored glasses I have to admit, the breakup was overdue. They should have changed their name at least when Thelemnar left, although I (would) understand the policy behind (if there was one – to establish a new style/band with a well-known name). And yes, again, this final festival show had no brilliance. Singer and guitarist Phil looked cramped, while guitarist Michael looked deadly bored. What a bummer, indeed! I was looking forward to something completely different…
[BRT] I thought I’m the only one with a critical statement about the (un)performance. So, there might be some truth in it…
:: pics :: EXHORDER ::
[Öko] Let’s talk about the first festival highlight. Hailing from Florida, :: EXHORDER :: don’t play common “Louisiana-Sound” (if you like, check out Floodgate, the former band of Kyle Thomas). Here and now excellent Thrash Metal reigned. At every second you could see how much fun the band had to finally play live again. And this delight quickly jumped over onto the crowd seeing them creating the first circle pits. You can’t do anything wrong with crushers such as Death In Vain, Slaughter In The Vatikan and Exhorder.
[BRT] Um... yes… was great… I think? I probably was still busy meeting friends, getting beer, pulling faces and doing other nonsense than to pay necessary attention to the show ;) But at least I was bewildered to see Waldemar Sorychta on stage playing guitars.
[Seb] I think, I didn’t see EXHORDER playing live for two decades or even more, and was astonished to still recognize the songs. Yes, the US thrashers enlisted Waldemar Sorychta on the second guitar (who meanwhile played in every band, did he? Hahaha) and offered, despite the heat, a highly energetic show. Öko probably knows better, but I’m sure, they also played Desecrator.
One point of criticism I have though: The common old-school-thrash-metal-Slayer-syndrome playing unnecessary, stridently squealing guitar solos. What the fuck is all that in aid of? And who likes it?
[BRT] I know some… ;)
[Dajana] Ah! Yes! One of only three Thrash Metal bands this weekend. It was pure joy and pleasure to watch EXHORDER playing!
:: pics ::DER WEG EINER FREIHEIT ::
[Öko] Quite impressing how :: DER WEG EINER FREIHEIT :: (what does the name actually mean?) developed over the years and made it up into the Champions league of (Post) Black Metal, which is mostly due to the last two fabulous records Sinsterre and Noctvrn. Also live I could assure myself several times of the quality of the band. And they didn’t fail today. Despite the sunshine they created a proper chill pouring down the stage. Good show!
[BRT] Well, you know it better. I have this band on my “must-check-out-list” for ages but didn’t do it yet. Here and now I found them okay, but I guess, “traditional” metallers can’t do that much with a band acting so aloof. Somewhere made fun and said (roughly translated to) “civil servant black metal”. It wasn’t that bad and that bands from the Hardcore/Metalcore camp can present themselves properly at PSOA, bands such as Heaven Shall Burn have already proven. Technically, this show was top-notch!
[Seb] Finally the first real (more or less) Black Metal band. The smoke machine unavailingly tried to fight the sun but it was the biggest crowd so far that showed up in front of stage to welcome DWEF. And the band kicked off furiously and electrified the audience from the very beginning. No wonder in the light of technically perfectly performed tracks like Am Rande Der Dunkelheit from the latest album Noctvrn, and older tracks such as Aufbruch (Finisterre) and Lichtmensch (Unstille). I’m always a fan of long and epic Black Metal songs and DWEF serve this niche like hardly any other German band. Thumbs up, my first highlight!
:: pics :: ALCEST ::
[Öko] Now it’s up to one of the top performances of the entire PARTY SAN OPEN AIR 2022. The show of French black gazers :: ALCEST :: was a success on all accounts. Luckily, the night was closing in right on time with the show adding to the light show, mood and atmosphere and seeing a packed field. Some mates from the camp, all of them die hard death metallers, could hardly hide their enthusiasm, so did I. Strong show!
To everybody poking at Neige’s past in Peste Noir: "I never was involved in any way with any political, racist or xenophobic ideologies. I was just a musician in Peste Noire, most of the time session musician, I never took part of the lyrics or philosophy of the band. At the "Aryan Supremacy" period I was 15 years old and I didn't think about the consequence of recording some music with that band, it always was just musical participation for me. ALCEST has NOTHING to do with any hate-based philosophy like racism and as a person I am absolutely NOT into Nazism, racism and such ideologies." – Stéphane „Neige“ Paut: Musikreviews.de
[BRT] Surprisingly far up in the running order, and a surprisingly positive feedback from the crowd. I found the ALCEST show stunning, but I have generally leanings towards spherical and heavy Shoegaze stuff. There is hardly action on stage, instead a great light show, hippie-like clothes and a relaxed atmosphere add to the show. Sometimes I wish to have a joint with our boss Ms. Winkel…
[Dajana] …who, of course, absolutely fell for ALCEST too ;) Especially, since they played my all-time fave Écailles de Lune, Part II. And… I’m a lucky girl, because I can seem them playing live again end of September, in the magic cave of Balve at Prophecy Fest.
And yes, to smoke a joint while watching ALCEST sounds like a great idea… :) Next time?
[BRT] Okay! Let me check the dealers…
[Seb] I don’t understand the hype around ALCEST, nor do I understand the hype about almost every French metal band. Of course, they are sophisticated and one of the “better” (if that is possible) poser post black metal bands, but I find their tracks unnecessary tough and overly-intellectual. But well, between two real black metal bands one needs something to calm down and there must be music for the girlies too ;)
:: pics :: MAYHEM ::
[Öko] :: MAYHEM :: is cult and, together with Darkthrone, responsible for the Black Metal wave in the late 80s and early 90s. I’m not a friend of masquerades, but if they do so, then please all band members! It was pretty strange to see Attila Cishar (vox) capped and gowned alone haunting on stage, while his mates looked pretty normal. This changed in the middle of the set. After a short break everybody returned to the stage in black cowls – that looked much better and graded up the show visually. Anyway, I liked the second half of the show more that the first half. All in all it was an entertaining show. And I have to point out the excellent drum work by Hellhammer!
[BRT] As a MAYHEM fan I surely could have been more attentive to the show. You are allowed to assume an increasing insobriety. I remember a tight and asskicking show. Much better than the last one I saw.
[Seb] Before the evil C I saw MAYHEM on their anniversary tour for their groundbreaking debut album. And it was one of the best shows I have ever seen. Unfortunately you never know before, if a MAYHEM show will be a good one or a bad one. The band’s last show at PSOA 2015 was almost what I would call a “refusal to work”.
However, we had luck, Attila and MAYHEM had a great day (or found great substances) – the shows was great and could have lasted longer than just an hour. As it happened on the mentioned anniversary tour, we got a (shortened) show in three acts. MAYHEM started with three newer songs as “warm-up”, before they started with the part for the fans of the band’s first days. Under a beautiful full moon they played (among others) Freezing Moon and Life Eternal from their masterpiece De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, while Attila threateningly fidgeted with a gallows noose.
Another short break, for act three, the black-red 80s backdrop for „True Mayhem“ was flied and Attila appeared with a skull micro. Heralded by the intro Silvester, MAYHEM almost played the entire Deathcrush EP (at least with Deathcrush, Chainsaw Gutfuck and Carnage). Yes, that was a really great show!
:: pics ::CANNIBAL CORPSE ::
[Öko] The show of “Corpsegrinder” Fisher and his men I watched from afar. So I cannot tell much about it. But what I heard it was a great show with familiar brutality and excellent musicianship.
[BRT] :: CANNIBAL CORPSE :: is an amazing live band, playing tight and powerful and torturing your neck to the max. There is actually not much action on stage, it’s all about the groove and headbanging. Though, it’s pure fun to watch them playing live. There couldn’t have been a better headliner this evening. Splendid!
Meanwhile I was drunk, stumbled aimless to the party tent, but there was not that much going on… wasn’t it? Seems, people were overstrained with pressure fueling of the first day. To go to sleep was seemingly the best idea at this point I guess…
[Seb] Ah, CANNIBAL CORPSE… I didn’t see for ages either, probably last time at PSOA in the 2010s? To my surprise, the Amis started with the smasher Scourge Of Iron I expected in the encore. Mr. Fisher and his men were visibly in high spirits and he challenged the crowd to outperform him head banging (try to keep up with me, you WILL fail miserably). Of course, there is only one expectation at a CANNIBAL CORPSE show: to get a good hour of the most brutal death metal with a lots of classics such as Hammer Smashed Face, Fucked With A Knife and similar titles ;) And we didn’t get disappointed! Not my favorite band, not my favorite genre but a worthy headline for the first day, even if I wished to see Mayhem on this slot.
[Dajana] Yes! Respect the neck! CANNIBAL CORPSE. THE band for the girls! Perfect music to rock me to sleep ;) Great closure for the first festival day. Good night! |
