• STRAWBERRY PUNCH, A RAINBOW AND INCANTATION •
THAT‘S DEATH METAL!
[Dajana] Woke up early, did some sports, took a hot shower – let’s kick off the second festival day... ;)
[Seb] Hooray, the men's shower has a working hot water supply this year. I don't really need it to be particularly warm, but last year with the broken boiler and rather cold nights it was really frosty. Unfortunately, this also meant that the shower times and therefore waiting times got longer again, haha.
:: pics :: STILLBIRTH ::
[BRT] With :: STILLBIRTH :: you can rather hunt me down. Funny neon-Hawaii trousers and Brutal Death Metal are probably not my world, but I have to admit that the guys do their thing really well. They are an awesome live band and have gained an appealing fan base. There must be a parallel existence with a completely different Death Metal scene…
[Seb] Holy shit, what an utter nonsense... and far too early in the day for that shit. Kids with stupid inflatable toys running around in circles to what I have problems to even call music... and all that in the hottest hour of the day... thanks, but I'll be sitting here and chilling for a bit longer.
[Dajana] In fact, there were always some “fun” Grindcore bands for breakfast. STILLBIRTH are a bit out of the ordinary. Musically, but not so much visually. There were also far fewer colorful costumes this time. But the circle pit worked well ;)
Band: Lukas Swiaczny (vox, git), Leonard Willi (git), Szymon Skiba (git), Lukas Kaminski (bass), Martin Gruppe (drums)
:: pics :: OBSCURITY ::
[Dajana] Since my favorite breakfast wasn't ready yet, I went back to the photopit for :: OBSCURITY :: I haven't seen the Bergisch lions live for a while and actually only recognized singer Agalaz. There have been some changes in the line-up. But musically they are still (almost) the same. It was good to see and hear them again and the crowd gratefully let themselves be pulled along.
Now off for breakfast!
[Seb] @Dajana: The fact that you only recognized him is because he's the sole remaining founding member...
I've been following OBSCURITY for almost 20 years now through all kinds of line-up changes and I hope for the the guys that they've finally found a stable line-up with the (comparatively) young band around Agalaz. In any case, the band did already sound very much attuned to each other and if you were blindfolded you probably wouldn't notice much of a difference compared to the “old days”. A successful debut at the PSOA! It's just a pity that I did only briefly meet Agalaz and the new crew after the gig - it's funny how you can fail to cross path with people even at this comparably cozy little festival.
Band: Agalaz (Mark Fähling - vox, git), Dornaz (Markus Hansgen - git), Askar (git), Grimnir (git), Vidar (bass), Isarn (drums)
[BRT] I've heard the name :: ENTHRONED :: a thousand times, but I don't know any of the more than 10 records. Somehow the band always ends up at the back of the pack and live it becomes clear why. It's quite off-the-rack-black-metal without anything special: no cool riffs, hardly any atmosphere, no melodies that somehow stick. It's nothing more than solid and the band doesn't exactly advertise itself on stage. Too bad.
[Seb] Tastes are different after all, I really like ENTHRONED despite the inappropriate time of day for the style of music and the corpse paint. Especially the use of two vocalists made them stand out a little from your run-off-the-mill black metal band. Admittedly, I would have put together a different setlist: It's a mystery to me why the band hardly ever play e.g. Lamp Of Invisible Lights and similar songs live: ENTHRONED are in my opinion definitely at their strongest when they focus on their more midtempo-ish bangers (as in Sepulchred Within Opaque Slumber, for example). Alas, the band themselves seem to like it a bit harder and faster, as the announcement "And now something more brutal, or do you prefer a ballad" made clear, before they kicked off with 1996's Rites Of The Northern Fullmoon (Prophecies Of Pagan Fire). Overall an above-average gig in my book!
[Öko] I'm more with Seb than with BRT! Even though black metal doesn't have the same atmospheric effect in daylight, ENTHRONED went full throttle from the very first second and kept the tempo constantly high during their 45-minute set. The time flew by, but the impression they left behind was all the more lasting. Would certainly have been even better in the tent.
Band: Nornagest (vox, git), Wrast (git), Neraath (git, keys, vox), Norgaath (bass), Menthor ( drums)
Setlist: Deathmoor, Of Shrines And Sovereigns, Sepulchred Within Opaque Slumber, Silent Redemption, Through The Cortex, Rites Of The Northern Fullmoon, Hosanna Satana, Of Feathers And Flames
[BRT] :: AFSKY :: did it much better than Enthroned. Melodies, atmosphere and catchy songs were there. Some people will probably disagree about frontman Ole's yawp, but the band has certainly deserved to be where they are now. However, not much happens on stage. The band seems more like a group on summer vacation, but musically there's nothing to complain about. Nevertheless, this certainly works much better in a basement club or tent.
[Seb] AFSKY were one of the bigger positive surprises of the festival for me. I was aware that their last two studio albums had been (very) well received by critics and fans alike, but with so many bands to keep tabs on these days, they did not yet make it past my ever-growing “must-listen-to” pile. Similar to Enthroned before, I prefered when AFSKY rely on slower passages, as the Danish band brought quite a few great riffs and melodies to PSOA. The vocals were not outstanding but did not rub me wrong either, I found them just fine and fitting well with the rest of the music. Unfortunately AFSKY encountered some major problems with the sound system during the gig, at one point the entire panel of speakers at the right side of the stage failed. Later on I had the chance to talk to singer Ole and he told me (sure, not exactly a secret, but I didn't know it yet ;-)) that the band will soon (October) be back on tour in Germany. I will definitely attend if one of the legs is somewhere in Rhine/Ruhr.
[Öko] Danish black metal band AFSKY has become one of the most fascinating acts in the scene in recent years. But, unfortunately, they were unable to establish the same connection with the fans on the big stage as they usually do at their club shows. The intensity just didn't really come across in the bright midday light. But all in all, I still quite enjoyed it. My neighbors even liked it a lot! Well, they're both absolute fans too!
Band: Ole Pedersen Luk (alles), Simon Skotte Krogh (git), Jonas Faghtmann (bass), Martin Jørgensen (bass), Simon Frenning Sørensen (drums)
[BRT] Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, :: CLOAK :: have already released three albums, but I must have lost sight of the band after album one. On To Venomous Depths there were some post-punk elements, unfortunately I can't say how they sounds like nowadays. On stage, the band comes across as very charismatic and damn rocking. It was really cool and if you like bands like Uada, Watain or Tribulation, you should have had fun. Hmmhh, and I should definitely check out albums two and three.
Band: Max Brigham (git), Scott Taysom (vox, git), Billy Robinson (bass), JV Green (drums)
:: pics :: SACRAMENTUM ::
[Dajana] The Swedish tundra seems to be say goodbye to the permafrost and brings long-serving warriors back to the surface. The last work of :: SACRAMENTUM :: dates back to 1999, not counting last year's split. It wasn't bad at all and singer Nisse's incantations were downright cute to watch ;)
[BRT] With SACRAMENTUM, a band was on stage that has earned its merits in the wake of Dissection and others, and has written at least one genre classic with Far Away From The Sun. The Swedes played a solid set, nothing more and nothing less.
[Seb] Not only is SACRAMENTUMs style obviously heavily inspired by Dissection, but also the demeanor of singer Anders. He performed the first song partly kneeling, reminding me a bit of the latter-days theatrics of their "role model". Apart from that I would agree, it was a solid, but not particularly memorable performance.
Band: Nisse Karlén (Nils Joel Karlén - vox), Anders Brolycke (git), Julia von Krusenstjerna (bass), Tobias Kellgren (drums)
:: pics :: BEWITCHED ::
[Dajana] Whoops, more hibernating corpses ;) But :: BEWITCHED :: resurfaced “only” 18 years later... Interesting to see Wrath playing bass. I only knew him singing in Naglfar, where he sweeps across the stage like a dervish. But in terms of stage acting, he is and remains the frontman...
[BRT] But the band's Rock’n’Roll sound is just perfect right now. Somewhere between Black, Thrash and Heavy Metal with a lot of Motörhead and Venom influences, BEWITCHED is finally a band on stage that also manages to get people dancing. Unfortunately, I only know At The Gates Of Hell from their discography, but their energetic performance definitely makes me want more. No boring black thrash, there's groove and headbanging moments en masse. Fine, fine!
[Dajana] Yes, I exactly agree!
[Öko] When BEWITCHED took to the stage at the PARTY SAN METAL OPEN AIR, I was really in the mood for a tribute to old Venom (definitely more) and Celtic Frost (a little less) - and I wasn't disappointed. The Swedes, who have enjoyed cult status in the metal underground since the 90s, even exceeded my expectations. Their performance was an absolute highlight and also a real visual blast: the pyro effects came across really well despite the time of day. Sparks and flames accompanied the songs and enhanced the atmosphere of the show. In my opinion, BEWITCHED can easily keep up with a cult band like Midnight - if you want to or can compare the two bands at all.
[Seb] I have to admit that I expected a bit more from BEWITCHED: after all, the singer of one of my long-time favorite bands is with them (albeit in a different role). I did like it to some extent, but I was nowhere near as excited as my colleagues… nothing to write home about in my opinion, hmm.
Band: Vargher (vox, git), Hellfire (git), Wrathyr (bass), Robert "Zoid" Sundelin (drums)
:: pics :: KRAANIUM ::
Seb] This felt like a replay of the horrible first band earlier this day - the instant I saw one of the roadies carrying an inflatable rubber hammer towards the stage while the band played their first (for want of a better word) song, I bailed. Kindergarten remains kindergarten even if you throw in a few guitars and a drum kit ;-)
[BRT] One of those bands I'd never heard of before, where I was surprised that they appeared so high up in the billing and the lettering then revealed which corner it came from. Yes, just not my world, otherwise what I wrote about Stillbirth fits in here 1:1.
[Dajana] I don't know what you’re nagging about. :: KRAANIUM :: was awesome. But, I also like this kind of music very much ;)
After the departure of singer Jack Christensen at the beginning of the year, KRAANIUM are now touring with three singers (Ricardo Proença, Philipp Heckel, Andreas Tseung), depending on who has time when and where. In Schlotheim it was Phil. The position has now been officially advertised. It will be interesting to see who will be on the mic in the future.
Band: Philipp Heckel (vox), Mats Funderud (git), Jason Varlamos (git), Mika da Costa (bass), Tobias Tellenbach (drums)
:: pics :: INCANTATION ::
[Seb] Damn, I actually wanted to see :: INCANTATION :: but just as I was getting ready to head to the stage, it started to pour down and pelt so hard (the wind had been building up all day to the point where pavillions had to be reinforced) that the US band's performance literally fell through for me. The sound (which is usually surprisingly good and crisp back in on the camp site), was unfortunately blown away for the most part: apart from the drums and vocals, there was hardly anything to be heard. It's a shame, this was one of the few death metal bands at the PSOA that I really was looking forward to see.
[BRT] Yes, INCANTATION! I can only repeat myself for the 666th time, this is what Death Metal should sound like. A mixture of blatant thrashing and very dark, slow atmospheric parts. The guys around mainman John McEntee are great musical heroes and as soon as they kick off, we have a happy grin on our faces. The sound in front of the stage is mighty and quite clear, but it's still a little too bright for the normally dark atmosphere, despite the downpour. Great band, great gig.
[Dajana] Yes, I once again fully agree! And the rain was followed by a phenomenal rainbow.
I really need an INCANTATION shirt...
Band: John McEntee (vox), Luke Shively (git), Chuck Sherwood (bass), Kyle Severn (drums)
[BRT] :: VARATHRON ::, one of the bands I really wanted to see live and so I was standing quite close to the stage on time but had to move back a few meters seconds later due to the sheer volume. Apart from that, the sound was clear and powerful and leveled out to a halfway bearable volume during the gig. The Greek Black Metal came across evil and occult, the typical Hellenic melodies always cast a spell over me and Stefan Necroabyssious' vocals are beautifully vicious and powerful, even if the good guy does sometimes run around the stage like a crazy shaman. This was a really great show, but, obviously, everyone in our gang had just taken a break and missed this highlight. Great setlist and a band that I would certainly have liked to have seen for longer than 45 minutes.
[Öko] No, no, I was there too! Greek black metal is really something special! Whether it's Necromantia, Kawir or the spearhead Rotting Christ - what all these bands have in common is that they sound much more occult and darker than many of their Scandinavian colleagues. Of course, this also applies to VARATHRON! As far as their performance in the tent is concerned, I can only agree with BRT. Incidentally, VARATHRON were the only band at PSOA 2024 to offer a T-shirt for 15 Euros - which was of course gladly accepted. The other shirt prices were up to 35 euros!
[Seb] The colleagues have already said it all: Albeit a tad too loud, that was an extremely strong performance by a great band!
Band: Stefan Necroabyssious (vox), Sotiris (git), Achilleas C. (bass), Stratos Kountouras (bass), Haris (drums)
Setlist: Ascension, Hegemony Of Chaos, Tenebrous, Unholy Funeral, Nightly Kingdoms, Saturnian Sect, Crypts In The Mist, Son Of The Moon (Act II), Sic Transit Gloria Mundi
:: pics :: БАТЮШКА ::
[Dajana] Which :: БАТЮШКА :: band is actually the officially correct one?
[Seb] I'm pretty sure that, after years of quarrels, Krzysztof Drabikowski is currently the official “owner” of the БАТЮШКА brand/name. Which makes the version of the band we saw at PSOA the "real deal". However, this issue required an official court ruling to end almost eight years of bitter disputes, and the loser, Krysiuk, does (of course) intend both to appeal and to go on tour again under the name at the end of the year or so...
I really like this kind of music and as this is the first time that I could manage to see this version of the band (skipped the Krysiuk outfit when they were in the region), so I was really looking forward to БАТЮШКА. The about 10 band members, choir and extras(?) in fancy costumes and the elaborate stage decoration made for a very impressive looking set. Alas, there was hardly any movement on stage for the entire three quarters of an hour: you wouldn't expect such a static show at a metal festival but rather when a big choir performs in an orthodox church - but then that was probably exactly what they had in mind. However, as static as the visual performance was, as perfect was the music - I had trouble hearing differences to the album versions of the songs. The sound quality, at least from my vantage point, was equally excellent and I was completely as far as the audio side of the gig is concerned. Of course, the set (with only 2015's Litourgiya and the only album released by Drabikowski alone, Panihida (2019) for material) was quite predictable, but there is no real negative standout on either of the albums anyway. The choirs paired with the bombastic riffs are unmistakable in sound and although the stylistic devices hardly ever change, the songs as such are still surprisingly varied. But please don't ask me about the song titles, I often can't remember them when they're written in the Latin alphabet, haha.
[BRT] БАТЮШКА I saw live shortly before the split and the following kindergarten chaos and found it quite entertaining and atmospheric. But of course, there's also a lot of a Punch and Judy show in the foreground, which sometimes distracts from the actually great songs. And that's where we had the problem: where we were standing, the sound was abysmally bad, dull, muffled, bassy. It was really bad and you couldn't really recognize the songs. In the middle I found it only marginally better, but well, that was a general theme on the weekend, especially Friday. Disappointing for me, but maybe the choice of seat would have been decisive.
[Öko] I have no idea which БАТЮШКА they are. I'm not interested either. It's an eye-catcher for a song, but then it quickly gets boring! You could just as well look at a photo of the band and listen to one of their records - it would probably be the same!
[Dajana] Addendum: As soon as the live report was finished, the news came in that these БАТЮШКА here have now changed their name to PATRIARKH. In other words, ПATPИAPXь and not to be confused with the Belgian Power/Thrash Metal veterans Patriarch (or other metal bands of the same name).
Band: Христофор (git, bass, vox), Барфоломей (vox)
:: pics :: SÓLSTAFIR ::
[Dajana] The drummer carousel of :: SÓLSTAFIR :: continues to turn. After Hallgrímur took a longer break (but is still listed as the official drummer), his replacement, Ari Steinarsson, has broken his bones and will be replaced by Kristján Einar at this year’s summer festivals.
[Seb] I am sure some will perceive this as blasphemy: This was the band to catch my breath and get my feet a bit of rest before we get down to business once more with Behemoth ;-) That's a recurring issue for me, it happens quite often that the penultimate band of the day is way too "quiet" or "tame" for my liking: I feel like it drains ones energy when the "level of heaviness" gets dialed down too much. Am I alone with this assessment?
[BRT] SÓLSTAFIR are always a force to be reckoned with live and I find this break in all the noise very welcome. Even though, the Icelanders are playing here for the umpteenth time, it's simply refreshing to let the atmospheric songs work their magic. All the glacier-like passages are very Sigur Ros-like, the newer records are a bit heavier and rougher, although this doesn't affect the sometimes very static stage acting. The bassist in particular usually seems completely uninvolved and spiritless. Nevertheless, the song Fjara was of course one of the moments of the festival. This song is simply magical.
Band: Aðalbjörn Tryggvason (vox, git), Sæþór Maríus Sæþórsson (git), Svavar Austmann (bass), Kristján Einar (drums)
:: pics :: KONVENT ::
[BRT] :: KONVENT :: - this is a Danish all-girl Doom Death Metal band from Copenhagen. A few years ago, they played at the early noon hour at Metal Mean, here at the PSOA, they are the Friday headliner in the tent. Yes, a lot has changed. The girls delivered a fantastic show, have a lot of charisma and also get down to business on stage. A totally likeable band, even if front woman Rikke's vocals are a bit too crass for me. But the band’s second record I have right here in my home and I really should listen to it again.
[Seb] If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe that these growls etc. came out of a rather unassumingly built young lady, haha. True, it sounded pretty badass, but I didn't think it was too much - maybe it's just the contrast between what you see and what kind of a person you usually expect "behind" a voice like that?
In any case, KONVENT turned out to be a positive surprise!
Band: Rikke (vox.), Heidi (bass), Julie (drums), Sophie (git), Sara (git)
:: pics :: FLAMMENZIRKUS ::
[Dajana] Before the headliner continued, there was a fire performance behind the FOH. The area had been blocked since the early afternoon and was decorated with skulls, which aroused curiosity. The duo from Jena call themselves :: FLAMMENZIRKUS :: (circus of flames) and probably performed the “big festival fire show” here (one of the programs they offer on their website). That was a very nice... um... fiery change :)
:: pics :: BEHEMOTH ::
[Seb] Ever since their legendary tour finale at Cologne's Essigfabrik (fuck, that was really eight years ago already? Where did all that time go...), :: BEHEMOTH :: have have a firmly established place among my favourite live bands, even though the Poles would be outside of my top ten of black metal bands otherwise. It's been almost as long that BEHEMOTH performed at PSOA, and singer Nergal took the opportunity to emphasize several times how much the band enjoy being back and playing at this festival. As usual, Nergal was the center of the accustomed bombastic live show (on the occasion of the band's 33rd anniversary he remarked, "We've now officially outlived fucking Jesus Christ", during another song announcement he kindly asked for more audience participation: "clap your hands you fucking lazy cunts"). In the end I had no clue exactly how many different costume changes he underwent, six at least?
Musically, we got treated with a quasi-best-of spanning more than three decades of band history, which featured almost all of BEHEMOTHs most popular tracks that I am aware of. From the ancient Cursed Angel Of Doom (initially released on the very first demo tape) to Chant for Eschaton 2000 (The Satanist), Demigod from the album of the same name and Christians To The Lions (Thelema.6) to Ov Fire And The Void, hardly a hit was left out and there was a notable focus on the band's early years. I'm actually glad that the "current" 2022 Opvs Contra Natvram wasn't given too much consideration, in my opinion it's not bad but one of the band's weaker albums. I can confidently say that BEHEMOTH haven't lost any of their live skills, this was a worthy headliner and an impressive end to day two!
[Öko] Even though I think Nergal is an absolute weirdo (Kill the Antifa shirt and similar shit) and have never been a huge fan of their albums (except The Satanist), I have to admit that this was a really good show! The sound was bombastic (not always the case with BEHEMOTH), the lightshow was really cool and the stage design was great! Of course, absolutely nothing is spontaneous here and everything is planned from front to back, but everything worked out. A worthy headliner!
Band: Nergal (vox, git), Orion (bass, vox) Inferno (drums)
Setlist: (Intro) Post‐God Nirvana // Once Upon A Pale Horse, Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer, Conquer All, Ov Fire And The Void, Cursed Angel Of Doom, Christians To The Lions, Demigod, The Deathless Sun, Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel, Bartzabel, Chant For Eschaton 2000 // O Father O Satan O Sun!
[Dajana] Well, and so, the second day of the festival has already come to an end. I searched the sky at night for the Perseids, but couldn't spot a single shooting star... *sigh* (last year I saw a few of them ;))
[BRT] After spending most of the day fighting off a bad hangover, while beer didn’t want to taste, I went to bed as sober as I've ever been on the PARTY SAN. Ts, ts, ts... Seems, it's time again for a tough training camp.
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