Children Of The Corn
[BRT] Whatever the case, the start into Friday morning turns out to be difficult again... Little sleep, slight alcohol abuse and showers that spit out ice cubes. It's a good thing that our entire camp ate the clown for breakfast and we quickly got to operating temperature, snorting and laughing. Thanks to Mexican and hops smoothies!
[Dajana] Hahahaha, hell yes! I don't think I've ever laughed so much on such an early festival morning. As soon as the sun pokes its nose over the mountaintop, you're literally sizzled out of the tent. Then it might just be 8 or 9:30... On the other hand, you were already awake when the agricultural machinery around the airfield entered the fields to mow the grain and caused much noise and huge clouds of dust... How good that the showers at the girls had hot water on all days ;)
[Seb] Man, that was a short night! But the morning round, which then developed, was a lot of fun and made up for it. To camp on the battlefield is definitely an advantage over hotel or apartment, just like the fact that you don’t have to torture yourself to get to the train station and the shuttle. Now let's hope that no low point comes later...
:: pics :: BE'LAKOR ::
[BRT] :: BE'LAKOR :: were recommended to me from various sides and although I can't do much with classic melodic Swedish Death, I gave the guys a chance. However, there were stiff guys on stage with the charisma of a school band. The music didn't appeal to me either. Well, then just not.
[Dajana] I actually liked the music. Only visual (and photographically), the band didn't have anything to offer. Well… hungry! And thirsty...
Band: John Richardson (bass), Shaun Sykes (git), George Kosmas (git, vox), Steve Merry (keys), Elliott Sansom (drums)
:: pics :: ENDSEEKER ::
[Dajana] Driven on by a certain enthusiastic Hamburg photographer duo, I finally went to see :: ENDSEEKER :: live. And the brutal Death Metal wrecking ball was pure fun, especially with the facial expressions of singer Lenni :) Total demolition at this early hour!
[Seb] With the prospect of a crushing death metal show, the time had come to finally drag themselves towards the stage. The very likeable gang offered a nice and groovy performance that seemed to me like a successful hybrid of Bolt Thrower, Benediction and US-Old-School Death. They were visibly happy that, despite the "early hour", a respectable audience got going. Was fun and was a nice wake-up call for the day. And now on to the "breakfast"...
Band: Lennart Osterhus (vox), Jury Kowalczyk (git), Ben Liepelt (git), Torsten Eggert (bass), André Kummer (drums)
:: pics :: YOTH IRIA ::
[BRT] As The Flame Withers by :: YOTH IRIA :: has surely been one of the most remarkable albums of the last few years and so I was really looking forward to the gig. There is nothing to nag about the songs: this is Greek Black Metal of highest quality. Unfortunately, there were some technical problems. The sound was only okay, the band didn't seem to be well rehearsed and they didn't really came out of their shells up there on stage. Jim Mutilator is rather the gray quiet eminence in the background, only guitarist Nick Perlepe made some stage action. The fact that on vocals it wasn't The Magus but (probably) ex-Dark Fortress singer Morean, didn't leave a negative impact. Still, I was as pleased as punch to finally see the band live.
[Dajana] Indeed a remarkable band. I didn't know them before. Can't even remember that the Greeks crossed my desk editorially. Great music! But especially the singer was the cracker! Visually full of contrast and in terms of performance so untypical of BM. I had bet that the singer would still dance... And yes... he danced!
[Öko] It was obvious that YOTH IRIA were a fixed program item for many visitors in advance. The black metal band, consisting of former Rotting Christ members, attracted a considerable number of spectators in front of the Party.San stage in the early afternoon. The reason for this was undoubtedly their impressive debut album. During their performance, we were initially presented with a strange picture: the replacement frontman stood out due to his corpse-paint in the midst of his more conventionally dressed bandmates. His theatrical gestures and expressive performances during the songs gave the whole thing an eccentric touch. Especially during tracks like Hermetic Call, the singer seemed to be virtually reaching for the stars from outer space. Despite the harmonious performance, however, there was one problem: the sound was unfortunately not optimal. Despite these sound problems, the band managed to excite the crowd. The audience got carried away by the energy and celebrated the double guitar leads as well as the ominous sounds of YOTH IRIA. The gig was surprisingly varied and coherent in itself. For this reason, we can gladly consider it one of the highlights of this year.
[Seb] YOTH IRIA were praised to me from all sides, as if the band was the best invention since sliced bread. I have to say that I was a little bit "underwhelmed" in view of all the praise, but on the other hand it was a pretty good show that the guys delivered. Unmistakable were the influences of and personnel overlaps with Rotting Christ and other Greek bands. But first and foremost, the enthusiasm of the (substitute) singer remained in my memory (did he actually do so much expressive dancing at Dark Fortress?). It was fun and I can agree with the colleagues in almost all points. YOTH IRIA were in good hands on the main stage, despite only having one official album out.
Band: Morean (vox), Nick Perlepe (git), Apophis (git), Jim Mutilator (bass), Vongaar (drums)
[BRT] The sound in the tent is also only okay with :: HORNS OF DOMINATION :: and unfortunately lets some characteristics of the fantastic Where Voices Leave No Echoes disc blur. In addition, it is hot and extremely stuffy in the tent on this day, so that longer stays there are not much fun. But I really have to see this band in a small club.
Band: D.P. (git), C.G. (bass), S.E. (drums)
:: pics :: KANONENFIEBER ::
[Öko] The ability of :: KANONENFIEBER :: to deliver an impressive spectacle on stage has become well known. This also applies without reservation to the live performance recorded here: barbed wire and sandbags, uniforms and masks - in view of this impressive staging, KANONENFIEBER could well be called the "Sabaton of extreme metal". The way in which war themes are staged almost appear like in a theater play. At the end, for entertainment purposes only, which, of course, is a matter of taste. However, a deep impression of the terrors and horrors of war was hardly conveyed to the audience. But at least one thing is beyond doubt: the stage concept is well thought out and coherently implemented down to the smallest detail. What KANONENFIEBER presented here was more reminiscent of a musical than an ordinary concert. But for me: Conseve gferne. I don't need this live!
[Dajana] It may have been all well and coherently staged, but I couldn't do anything at all with the band and the music. Then rather Köstritzer!
[Seb] KANONENFIEBER was one of the bands I was most excited about. While I had previously talked to a lot of people who could hardly wait for the gig there was always one who just shrugged or was completely averse to the band. I have to say that the "masking gimmick" after bands such as Mgla, The Committee, Midnight has worn off quite a bit for me, and beyond that, both the very Eisregen-like "singing" as well as the striking fuss about "Fatherland" etc. were a bit repugnant to me. The music as such was quite solid, if not very varied - if you didn't look, but only listened, there was little above average. You can watch it when the band is there, but it's not on my list as a highlight.
Band: Noise
:: pics :: URGEHAL ::
[Seb] Let's move on to the band I was looking forward to by far the most. :: URGEHAL :: are back on stage after a break of more than ten years, which they had taken after the death of their singer Nefas. Quasi under the motto "Satanic Black Metal in the light" the Scandinavians (as always unmistakable thanks to the bizarre "headdress" that Enzifer still wears) started directly with their "top hit" Goatcraft Torment and delivered a furious best-of of their entire work: I would have put together the setlist almost one-to-one myself. Of course, fans of the band’s early days particularly welcomed the older tracks, but also "newer" material like the grandiose The Necessity For Total Genocide (at that time the best Black Metal track of the year on the otherwise rather unspectacular Ikonoklast) was not missed out. A perfectly presented Black Metal and Black'n'Roll attack, where Trondr Nefas, who was honored on the backdrop, was represented by no less than two new singers (Morten Shax from Endezzma and Sorath Northgrove, who is involved in umpteen bands and is best known for Vulture Lord), who gave the finale (of course the second absolute classic Mirror Satan) together after four solo songs each. Only Sorath's voice doesn't fit that well for my taste or differs a little too much from the original, but that's nagging on a very high level. At that point and until the very last show of PSOA 2023, it was my absolute highlight of the festival!
Band: Enzifer (git), Uruz (drums), Mannevond (bass), Morten Shax (vox), Sorath Northgrove (vox)
Setlist: Goatcraft Torment, Antireligiøs, Dødsmarsj til helvete, Satanic Black Metal In Hell, Nekromisantrop, Stesolid Self-Destruction To Damnation, The Necessity Of Total Genocide (snippet), The Eternal Eclipse, Mirror Satan
[BRT] And on we go in the tent with :: DROWNED :: who cut a slightly better figure. The fine Idola Specus record is already nine years old, so the gentlemen really need to get out something new.
Band: Tlmnn (git), G.ST (bass, vox), T.E. (drums)
[Dajana] At this point I take a little break here and listen to :: ILLDISPOSED :: and MIDNIGHT from afar in the horizontal position ;)
[Seb] With ILLDISPOSED I did the same as Dajana and went to the tent for a while and took a shower, which was still about 7 degrees cold (my hope that someone would fix it this weekend was unfortunately unfounded). After the very short night, a little break was needed. What I heard from afar was definitely not bad, but the announcements by Mr. Summer stuck in my head more than that. Unfortunately, I have to agree with him when he throws things like “Are you up for more? […] Why? There are better bands!?” ;-)
Band: Bo Summer (vox), Jacob Batten (git), Ken Holst (git), Onkel K. Jensen (bass), Rasmus Schmidt (drums)
[BRT] :: MIDNIGHT :: are actually always a nice experience live on stage. Okay, sometimes the band is too drunk or I am too. This time it fits and the band played a really funny and entertaining gig and creates something like a party atmosphere on stage for the first time. You immediately notice the higher number of beer hits and the urge to do some nonsense. I do not do after all. But I'm still happy about the drive the band sprays.
[Seb] Last year at the rainy RHF, I was very taken with MIDNIGHT and all in all with the songs from the then new album. But this year it didn't really spark as much. I don't know if it was my fault, because the large crowd liked the performance very much. It is remarkable that MIDNIGHT found a loophole to finance their flights: At the request of the singer, the audience threw two deposit cups worth several hundred euros on stage, which the band - apparently used to US-American conditions - intended to exchange for 5 cents per cup ;-)
Band: Athenar (vox,bass), Sorg Of Satan (git), Iron Possessor (drums)
[BRT] Pure demolition the second! :: BLACK CURSE :: confirm their great form (from Chaos Descends festival) and bust the songs of their debut album Endless Wound into the tent. I don't know if this band from the Blood Incantation/Primitive Man area is still an insider's tip, but people should really listen to this one. Absolutely strong Black/Death Metal without frills.
[Öko] BLACK CURSE were definitely an insider tip for me! I didn't know this US combo until now, or only from hearsay. To follow this recommendation turned out to be completely right! The performance was awesome and the sound roller, which thundered down from the stage through the tent, impressed me throughout the whole concert. I also found the rare but cleverly used breathers very good. It loosened up the whole thing and made it more digestible. Strong performance of a band whose debut I urgently have to buy.
Band: Morris Kolontyrsky (bass), Antinom (drums), Jonathan Campos (git), Eli Wendler (git, vox)
:: pics :: DECAPITATED ::
[BRT] I have never dealt with :: DECAPITATED :: before, and located the Polish band rather in the Tech-Death area. But it didn't sound like that. The sound was good and I thought it was quite cool in parts, but not over the whole playing time. Solid gig, but nothing more.
[Dajana] I think that this is technical death metal, just not pure clean shredding, but with a lot of groove and energy. You could tell that the guys were really into it. Classic festival set across their discography.
[Seb] Basically a quite appealing old school attack with some really impressive, "galloping" riffs. One of the fans right in front of the stage was so excited that he couldn't control his stomach anymore ;-) But unfortunately, it got also a bit monotonous after a short time and that singer Rafael uses more or less exclusively the word "fuck" is also exhausting after a while...
Band: Rafał Piotrowski (vox), Waclaw „Vogg“ Kieltyka (git), Pawel Pasek (bass), James Stewart (drums)
Setlist: Cancer Culture, Just A Cigarette, Earth Scar, Last Supper, Silence, Day 69, Spheres Of Madness, Nine Steps, Never, Iconoclast
[BRT] Hmmhh, yes... I shed a few tears over Necros Christos. Unfortunately their successors, :: SIJJIN ::, ain't that cool, but that is of course complaining on a high level. The band around the charismatic Malte Gericke worships Morbid Angel in the best possible way and brings that across on stage in the best way. The debut album Sumerian Promises maybe lacks a cool melody here and there or needs a bit more recognition value, but all in all it's pretty cool what the Berliners deliver here.
[Öko] SIJJIN was given the honor to be the day's headliner in the tent (Grave Miasma was moved to the main stage due to Mantar's cancellation at short notice). The trio from Berlin had a monstrous sound reminiscent of the glory days of Morbid Angel. Their somewhat technical approach proved to be an interesting but fitting addition. After Black Curse reduced the tent to ashes, there was room for some cranky riffs without stealing the wild energy of the evening. It was great to see this comparatively new band take the stage with confidence and strength. You could already tell that the members already had a lot of experience. A seductively vicious performance.
Band: Malte Gericke (bass, vox), Ekaitz Garmendia (git), Ivan Hernandez (drums)
:: pics :: GRAVE MIASMA ::
[BRT] :: MANTAR :: unfortunately dropped out at very short notice due to illness. Too bad, that would have been a welcome change in all the thrashings before. :: GRAVE MIASMA :: moved to the main stage instead. With all the fans and celebrations of the current Abyss Of Wrathful Deities record, this was not a good idea. The big stage and the daylight didn't support their special atmosphere that good.
[Dajana] Unfortunately, I have to agree with that. It might be a great chance to switch over to the mainstage at a late hour, but the band and the technics weren't prepared for it, and you could see that. GRAVE MIASMA seemed somehow lost and insecure on this big stage. It's just a band for the clubs...
[Seb] Unfortunately, the audience had little interest in the Mantar replacement, although the band tried hard. They seemed - possibly for the first time on such a big stage - more than slightly overstrained. Of all the gigs I watched on Friday, this was the one that fell into oblivion the quickest.
Band: Y (Yoni Ben-Haim vox), Am (Amadeusz git), T (Tom McKenna git, bass), D (Dani Ben-Haim drums)
:: pics :: DYING FETUS ::
[BRT] :: DYING FETUS :: are always a pleasure live. A band that is even more precise clockwork simply does not exist. It's insane what the guys from Baltimore pull off on stage between perfect groove and straight thrashing. I wouldn't have recognized singer John Gallagher, who mutated from a bald head to a long-haired man.
[Öko] With DYING FETUS it is, for me, like with Cannibal Corpse. I can watch them live, but I'm not interested in them on tape. I only watched the whole thing from a distance and therefore I can't say much about this gig! But a really good sound DYING FETUS definitely had!
[Dajana] Not only a good sound! DYING FETUS exactly did what Nile failed to do the day before: highly demanding death metal but with soul, with love and a lot of groove. The brutal way ♥
Another band with a new record out soon. Make Them Beg For Death will blow your mind on September 8th. And here, at least two new songs were presented live, plus a lot of classics. Yeah! Definitely a highlight!
[Seb] I don’t know how many times I've seen DYING FETUS playing live, as well as on the PSOA and the Americans have simply never disappointed. The 2023 performance was almost perfect, like almost all previous ones, the band seems almost incapable of making mistakes and pulls through the songs mercilessly as one man. To have a band at the festival that, despite the enormous brutality, still has a groove that makes you HAVE to move is unfortunately an exception these days, and you're so grateful for it. The selection of songs was almost ideal, apart from classics like the inevitable Grotesque Impalement, I hardly missed any of my favorite tracks - only Devout Atrocity I would have liked to have live again. DYING FETUS are welcome to come back for the 30th time ;-)
Band: John Gallagher (git, vox), Sean Beasley (bass, vox), Trey Williams (drums)
Setlist: The Boys Are Back in Town (Intro), One Shot, One Kill, Subjected To A Beating, We Are Your Enemy, Unbridled Fury, In The Trenches, Grotesque Impalement, Compulsion For Cruelty, Praise The Lord (Opium Of The Masses), Your Treachery Will Die With You, From Womb To Waste, Wrong One To Fuck With, Celebration (Outro)
:: pics :: HYPOCRISY ::
[Öko] About :: HYPOCRISY :: I can say even less. One word is actually enough: tiring! Headlines like: "Peter Tägtgren supports right-wing US vaccination opponents" don't make it any better either!
[BRT] Actually, I just wanted to drink a water and take a short break. However, the warning signals from my body sent me straight to bed missing HYPOCRISY. Oh well. Seems, the day was then again quite escalating. Who always gives me so much alcohol?
[Dajana] I'm actually a big HYPOCRISY fan, at least as far as the old stuff is concerned, and I really enjoy watching the Swedes live. So I did. But I have to say, HYPOCRISY couldn't hold a candle to Dying Fetus and fell off accordingly. The energy was gone and you could clearly see that on the emptying battlefield. The band also played with too little love (and too little light) and too much of routine, even though HYPOCRISY still had Brutal Assault and Alcatraz ahead of them (compared to Dying Fetus, for example). Regardless, it was yet a nice conclusion of the second festival day, even if it was not a highlight.
[Seb] HYPOCRISY had the incredible misfortune of having to go on stage right after Dying Fetus: it would have made a lot more sense the other way around. After the absolute brutal and groovy wrecking ball before, HYPOCRISYs melodic Death Metal seemed almost like tame Hard Rock in comparison, which even the light show, which I thought was well done (but I didn't have to take pics either ;)) couldn't make up for it. I don't want to badmouth this, the fans of the band certainly got their money's worth, but for me there wasn't much energy left in it.
Band: Peter Tägtgren (vox, git), Mikael Hedlund (bass), Henrik Axelsson (drums)
Setlist: Fractured Millennium, Impotent God, Mind Corruption, Adjusting The Sun, Eraser, Chemical Whore, Weed Out The Weak, Don't Judge Me, Children Of The Gray, Inferior Devoties, Fire In The Sky, War-Path, The Final Chapter, The Gathering, Roswell 47, Deathrow (No Regrets) |
