• WHERE'S THE MULLED WINE WHEN YOU NEED IT •
[Seb] Day three is a strange one: unnecessarily early shows in the tent from 10 am to 12 pm, followed by the first band on the main stage, while the tent stage remains unplayed for the next 3.5 hours. This for example could have been an easy opportunity to ensure less "overlap" between tent and main stage later on. Anyway, like almost everyone else, I didn't feel the need to join IRON WALRUS and his masked cronies, and I'd also skip the following band. That's just far too early on the third day and being already somewhat exhausted, the final day tends to feel particularly long. And you can hear them quite well from where we are anyways...
[Dajana] Yup, another bad habit that has crept in over the last 2 years. The 10 o'clock matinee with a band from outside the metal scene was ok. But, the way they handle it now? Nope...
:: pics :: ULTHAR ::
[Seb] :: ULTHAR :: were the first Lovecraft-inspired band of the day and had to kick off the main stage action in the midday heat. To be honest, I have to admit that even though I usually like elaborate song structures, the complex, sometimes relatively long songs don't really work for breakfast.
Apart from that, I really dig the band's conceptual and approach and I'm very open to seeing them again, provided that's at a reasonable time and with less sun (or in a club).
[BRT] Understandable, but surprisingly I found ULTHAR very fresh and powerful, even though tech-death is not really my thing at the moment, but the opener was exactly what I needed to start with. Really strong, even if it probably won't be enough for a record purchase. But I agree with Sebi, like so many others this is a case for the smaller club.
Band: Shelby Lermo (vox, git), Steve Peacock (vox, bass), Justin Ennis (drums)
:: pics :: REGARDE LES HOMMES TOMBER ::
[Seb] :: REGARDE LES HOMMES TOMBER :: were one of the several bands I didn't know much about beforehand, and with the rather unwieldy band name as well as the country of origin in mind I had very mixed expectations - especially as I generally don't like very many bands from those fancy "post xyz" genres. But I have to admit, the French group were one of the positive surprises of not only day three but the entire PSOA: very appealing melodies backed by a predominantly ominous-sounding carpet of sound, the vocals resembling "lamentations" rather than your typical black metal screaming, long (I would estimate an average of 7-8 minutes) but not boring tracks... I'd rather watch REGARDE LES HOMMES TOMBER in the dark and there's probably more appropriate drugs than beer to go along with that kind of music, but it was cool even for the early hour :-)
[BRT] My first real surprise of this festival year was French REGARDE LES HOMMES TOMBER. Although I knew the band, I had never seen them live before. Led by the very charismatic singer T.C., they played a very entertaining set that wasn't as Post Black Metal as I had previously assumed. Powerful, dynamic, with good hooks and melodies, so they did everything right. A strong start to the day, and it would get even better.
[Dajana] For me, REGARDE LES HOMMES TOMBER quickly became THE highlight of PSOA 2024! The band's show simply blew me away! It was just so fucking great! Aaahhh, need their records, need merch (ok, got me a longsleeve ;)). Need to see a full show of them in a club!
Band: T.C. (vox), J.J.S. (git), A.M. (git), A.B. (bass), R.R. (drums)
:: pics :: NECROT ::
[Seb] Wowzers, that was a belter of a gig that :: NECROT :: delivered with just the three of them. Without any doubt very much inspired by Bolt Thrower, the Californians played a no-frippery, groovy old school death metal set. There's not much to yap about it, everyone who is even remotely in death metal has heard music like this before, but NECROT put up just the right amount of brutish momentum at just the right time to get the audience going for the things to come.
[BRT] I found NECROT a bit too dull for the most part, but the guys had a few rather groovy, almost rocky songs in their luggage that loosened up the whole set and at least aroused curiosity to check out a few records.
Band: Luca Indrio (git, bass, vox), Sonny Reinhardt (git), Chad Gailey (drums)
:: pics :: ULTHA ::
[Seb] What a difference an “R” makes (even if its missing)! :: ULTHA :: did already have a very impressive gig on the PSOA tent stage under their belts, and this year the Cologne band have rightfully made it onto the main stage. Just in case anyone in the audience wasn't familiar with ULTHA or their material, Vocalist R started with an introduction: there would be exactly four songs in 45 minutes. I've always preferred "extra length" songs (in black metal), but I've also come across a fair share of bands who stretch rather mundane stuff into long songs simply for the sake of length - something ULTHA can definitely not be accused of. There's not a second of boredom in the entire three quarters of an hour, at no point do you get the feeling that you're listening to "filler" of any kind. An extremely strong performance!
[BRT] One of the gigs of this year's PARTY SAN that I was looking forward to the most, because no matter when and where I've seen ULTHA so far, there was an intense, intoxicating set, and there's hardly a band that could have made me “zone out” better, or almost fall into a trance. And even that worked on the hottest day, at noon in front of the stage, without the typical fog and red light. I can't be particularly objective here. This is a uniquely great band and I'm already looking forward to the next two gigs I can see from the guys this year. As always, thank you!
[Dajana] What else I could addy? Once again an excellent show! More of it!
[Öko] ULTHA was the first band I managed to get myself to see on Saturday. Of course, I didn't regret this decision for a second, as ULTHA are always worth a trip (in this case a walk)! Unlike most BM bands, I don't mind the light at all. As always, ULTHA radiate a lot of atmosphere and the varied songs do the rest! Awesome gig! My camp mates (not to be confused with my NH colleagues) finally disqualify themselves with statements like “The singer sounds like an owl screeching!” Oh man!!!
Band: C (vox, bass), R (vox, git), L (git), M (drums), A (keyboard)
Setlist: The Night Took Her Before My Eyes, Der Alte Feind (Jeder Tag Reißt Wunden), Dispel, The Avarist
[BRT] :: HATE :: I annoyingly missed, because I like the Poles...
[Seb] In my opinion, you didn't really miss that much if you already saw the Behemoth gig the night before: HATE (even though also founded in 1991, i.e. in the distant past) are a bit like a "light version" of them.
[BRT] Yup, I know, but that's exactly what I actually like about these guys. A little less theatricality, the songs more to the point and still plenty of catchy moments at the start. That's a good thing!
[Seb] After a somewhat sluggish opening (the first few tracks felt like they had little too much "filler" for my taste), HATE got stronger and more energetic with every track - until the show came to an abrupt halt after just 30 minutes: I actually believe that the band somehow expected to play a half-hour set. After a few moments of confusion in the crowd, HATE returned to the stage, resumed the show without any announcement or much ado and we got treated to three more songs. A good part of the set was taken from the latest and quite strong album Rugia (2021), but my personal highlight of the gig was the closer Resurrection Machine: a very cool main riff to get the headbanging hordes in front of the stage moving once more.
[Öko] I say BRT has definitely missed something and is rightly annoyed! HATE really had a great day. I don't think I've ever seen them (for the third time today) as good as on this day. The crowd was into it right from the start and the first mosh pit of the day were set off. As usual at HATE gigs, every song was performed with enormous passion. Very good to watch and listen to.
Band: Adam the First Sinner (vox, keys), Domin (git), Tiermes (bass), Nar-Sil (drums)
[BRT] Hmm, well, apparently, the thing between me and them… it's not going to work out. Somehow :: UNTO OTHERS :: completely passed me by. Live once again, by the way. I don't know why, the ingredients should actually work perfectly for me. But they don't, they leave me cold. To throw out another phrase: After the demo and the name change, things apparently went downhill...
[Öko] It's pathetic! Actually, I really like UNTO OTHERS, especially the album under the name Idle Hands, of course. But what was offered here tonight, was pretty bad! The band didn't seem to be rehearsed and the performance by “singer” Gabriel Franco offered was just abysmal! Not a note was hit right and besides, he seemed kind of bored. So after three songs I preferred to go to the beer benches next to the stage. That was nothing!
Band: Gabriel Franco (voc, git), Brandon Hill (bass), Colin Vranzian (drums), Sebastian Silva (git)
:: pics :: SULPHUR AEON ::
[BRT] Owls to Athens, or Shoggoths to R'lyeh - and again, we'll leave objectivity at home. With strong albums behind them, :: SULPHUR AEON :: can't do much wrong, except that they don't manage to conjure up the incarnate darkness on the PSOA grounds. The atmospheric yet melodic black/death chunks also work excellently on stage in daylight. There's not much interaction, the music speaks for itself.
[Dajana] You're downright waiting for tentacles to emerge from the shadows... ;)
[Seb] I've got to agree with BRT on this one again, SULPHUR AEON had definitely one of the strongest performances of the festival. I've played the current (2023) album dozens of times before and when I wrote review and I have to say that I like the material even better when played live. The title track Seven Crowns And Seven Seals in particular has the potential to become the bands signature "live anthem". The crowd was massive for the time of the day and judging by the headbanging and even frequent sing-alongs they did very much agree with our assessment. A little anecdote at the end: When we met again in the backstage beer garden, T. told us that there were actually fans who had not only come all the way from India to finally see them play in person, but had also traveled with all their albums to get them autographed at the signing session: Safe to say, that SULPHUR AEON have established themselves internationally ;-)
[Öko] Of course I'm up for SULPHOR AEON! Not only because I know some of the band members, but because every gig of the guys around T., M. and D. has totally convinced me so far. This afternoon was no exception! Unfortunately, it's always difficult to create a rather gloomy atmosphere (yes, I know, I'm repeating myself with this statement) in bright daylight. SULPHUR AEON also have their difficulties, but thanks to a lot of charisma, especially singer M., they manage to take the audience into the world of H.P.Lovecraft. As BRT and Seb have already written, there's nothing more to say about the quality of the individual songs! A highlight of the festival!
Band: T. (git.), M. (vox.), D. (drums), A. (git.), S.(bass)
:: pics :: OBSCURA ::
[BRT] Impressive. And impressively boring. Unfortunately, for some years now, :: OBSCURA :: are like a technical show that has forgotten how to write songs. They used to remind me a bit of Death, but now I lack access and patience to bear them. In addition, the guys on stage sometimes seem more like business students. What a pity.
[Dajana] Yes, unfortunately that's the case. A classic negative example of how excellent musicianship doesn't work if the soul is missing.
Band: Steffen Kummerer (vox, git) Kevin Olasz (live git), Robin Zielhorst (live bass), Ype Terwisscha van Scheltinga (live bass), James Stewart (live drums)
[BRT]Saturday surprise part two: :: HERETOIR ::. I know exactly one record by the South German band around the charismatic singer and guitarist David Conrad, but I've rather lost sight of the band recently and was convinced by The Omega Swarms Chris to risk an ear, which was definitely worth it. The gig in the tent was absolutely intense, the vocals were great, the songs dynamic and always excitingly arranged. Whether it was Post Black Metal, Blackgaze or DSBM, no one was interested anymore. Who the fuck cares for categories when the music captivates that way? Yes, and I'll have to check out a few albums and EPs. It was a good thing the band played in the tent, otherwise the intensity would have fizzled out a bit on the big stage.
[Dajana] Unfortunately I missed them but I've seen the band live elsewhere and can therefore imagine how great the show was ;)
[Seb] HERETOIR were the only band of PSOA 2024 where I didn't even leave the tent briefly despite the ungodly heat. BRT is correct with all his points: A great show and this was definitely a band that could work best or even only on the smaller stage - and I'm beginning to understand why there are bands that actually ask to rather play on the smaller tent stage than the big one. Up until now, I was mainly aware of HERETOIR because Eklatanz' main preoccupation with the band is the reason why Dornenreich hardly ever play metal gigs these days. Having seen this show it seems to me that he has the right priorities. Very impressive and definitely worth the sweaty shirt!
Band: Eklatanz (git., vox.), Nathanael (bass, backings), Max F. (git.), Nils Groth (drums), Kevin Storm (git.), Stefan Dietz (git.)
:: pics :: LEGION OF THE DAMNED ::
[BRT] It may be very rare for the Nocturnal Hall chaos committee to be in complete agreement when it comes to bands. But in the case of the Dutch :: LEGION OF THE DAMNED :: we actually are, for once. Monotonous and boring, therefore unfortunately missed...
[Dajana] Yep, that's right. It is like that. But, at least, I took photos ;) Time for a short break...
Band: Erik Fleuren (drums), Maurice Swinkels (vox), Harold Gielen (bass), Fabian Verweij (git), Rudd (git)
:: pics :: ANAAL NATHRAKH ::
[BRT] It was somehow clear that the Brits :: ANAAL NATHRAKH ::, led by the former Benediction shouter, would be a pretty blatant affair. But the fact that it turned out to be such an entertaining gig was probably not only a very positive surprise for me. Of course, it helped that the sound was great, which made the completely over-the-top carnage with the catchy choruses work perfectly. But an absolutely beneficial plus were the entertainment qualities of Master Hunt, which were mostly funny, sometimes personal but consistently entertaining. Not sooo many in the metal circus can do that. All in all, I had a pretty contented grin on my face afterwards. Oh and yes, Endarkenment, the current single from the Apocalyptic Onanism EP is a catchy tune.
[Dajana] Here, again, I can only agree wholeheartedly! The Brits have been one of my favorites for quite some time. The combination of the most ferocious Grindcore massacre with the sometimes epic vocals is just terrific. And completely sick ;) And absolutely awesome! Definitely my highlight on Saturday!
[Öko] Let's move on to Saturday's highlight! I'm a big fan of ANAAL NATHRAKH's albums and I've already been convinced of their strong live qualities several times, but this time they outdid themselves! Finally there was some movement on stage and singer Dave Hunt did his best to entertain the audience! It worked very well for me. No matter what a certain Seb writes about this band and this gig, if at all, DON'T BELIEVE HIM! ANAAL NATHRAKH were one of the best bands of the festival!
Band: Irrumator (git.), V.I.T.R.I.O.L. (Dave Hunt) (vox.), Dan Abela (bass), David Gray (drums), Sam Loynes (git.)
Setlist: Acheronta Movebimus, Unleash, Bellum Omnium Contra Omnes, Forward!, The Age Of Starlight Ends, The Road To…, Obscene As Cancer, Feeding The Death Machine, Idol, In Constellation Of The Black Widow, Forging Towards the Street, Endarkenment
:: pics :: AKHLYS ::
[Seb] :: AKHLYS :: were the final highlight on the tent stage and also the last black metal band of the PSOA, and boy did things got down to business once again. The trio from the USA have an impressive kind of energy and aura and proved to be worthy representative of the black metal faction as they concluded the shows of that genre at this years PSOA.
[BRT] I think AKHLYS are very cool on CD, but live it's sometimes bulky. Unfortunately, it didn't really grab me, but you should definitely see them in a small club.
[Seb] Yeah AKHLYS sound (at times) somewhat unwieldy, but at least it is not quite as crass/sick as e.g. Nightbringer, where the head of the troupe is also responsible…
Band: Naas Alcameth (vox, git, bass, keys), Nox Corvus (git), Eoghan (drums)
:: pics :: PARADISE LOST ::
[Seb] I'm surprised at myself that I caught almost the whole gig, as :: PARADISE LOST :: were actually the band I was least interested in by quite some margin. OK, it was mostly from far back in the area and as sort-of background music during conversations, but I can say that I had any eye on the stage the entire time. PARADISE LOST pose the same issue that had with Solstafir the day before: in my opionion it's far too quiet and tame for the penultimate band and just makes me want to relax a bit. Except that there’s no need to get any more rest with only one following band ;-) If I had to praise anything, it would probably be the light-show: It looked pretty god.
Nevertheless, I would like to see more co-headliners (and this doesn't just apply to the PSOA) who keep the energy high and the party going instead of (often significantly) slowing down or muting the intensity.
[BRT] Um, yes... PARADISE LOST are unfortunately one of those bands that you like (for the most part), but rarely manage to convince live. As is so often the case, a performance by the Brits stands and falls with Nick Holmes' vocal performance. But this time there was hardly anything wrong with that either. While the band was in a great mood and enjoyed playing on stage, Mr. Holmes seemed to be on Valium. Completely bored and uninvolved in such a way that I quickly became annoyed. Man, man, man... What a shame. Once again.
For rehabilitation, however, it must be said that I still had Embers Fire as an earworm afterwards and even the next day. This is actually unusual, as Icon is not exactly one of my favorite records...
Part 2 to save the day: Smalltown Boy by Bronski Beat was a cool cover version...
[Dajana] I have to disagree with that. The cover version was extremely bad and the show as a whole boring as hell.
[Öko] Sorry, but unfortunately there was no rescue possible here! I also have to disagree with BRT, the rest of the band was just as bored as Mr. Holmes! Only the bass player I would like to exclude from this criticism. At least he headbanged properly. Apart from that, everything here was very soporific and I mourn My Dying Bride, who should have played instead of PARADISE LOST.
Band: Nick Holmes (vox), Greg Mackintosh (git, keys), Aaron Aedy (git), Steve Edmondson (bass), Guido Zima Montanarin (drums)
Setlist: Enchantment, Say Just Words, Pity The Sadness, One Second, Hallowed Land, As I Die, Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us, No Hope In Sight, The Last Time, Smalltown Boy, Embers Fire
:: pics :: SODOM ::
[Seb] And here we were already at the last band of PSOA 2024: while it initially feels as if day three would never end, it's always over far too quickly. Now, what can we say about :: SODOM :: that hasn't already been said before: I struggle to recall how often the band have already played the PSOA and all of us have seen them play on literally dozens of other occasions - if you are from the Ruhr area (or its immediate surroundings), SODOM are unfortunately a rather underwhelming headliner. Nevertheless, credit where credit is due: guys around Mr. Angelripper did a good job, and by now the string section can keep up with the (relatively) new drummer Toni, so that - unlike during the first gigs in this constellation - the songs no longer sound as if there was a band-internal race between drums and guitars going on.
The audience cheered loudly as the festical concluded with more than an hour of a relentless thrash avalanche (of course with the two "unavoidable" classics Ausgebombt and Bombenhagel as much-acclaimed encores), and the fact that long after the official end of the signing session there was still a queue of several dozen fans in front of the stand made it obvious that SODOM were very well received overall.
[Dajana] I don't know how many times I've seen SODOM... There was a time when I really liked the Ruhrpott thrashers and thought that Tom Angelripper on mic and bass had certain similarities to Lemmy live (had a little crush on him ;)). These days, however, I find it hard to keep my concentration up even for the three songs in the photo pit.
Well, it’s last festival day, the last festival band and in the background people were already stripping down things in every nook and cranny. Exhaustion becomes noticeable, enthusiasm was fairly gone and I felt the festival blues already kicking in... *sighs*.
Band: Tom Angelripper (vox, bass), Frank Blackfire (git), Yorck Segatz (git), Toni Merkel (drums)
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