[Psycho] Day 2 of ROCK HARD FESTIVAL go started with hyped Thrash Metal hopefuls :: TRAITOR ::. To me, their new album, Knee-Deep In The Dead, is not aggressive enough, but this little drawback did carry no weight live on stage in this beautiful Amphitheater. Instead, they heavily kicked asses, which was rewarded by the audience correspondingly. Despite the double burden of drummer Andreas, his singing was really good. Respect. Need to listen to the latest album again…
[Sui] Psycho introduced TRAITOR to me as Kreator without aggressiveness and thus I got my first surprises this day. TRAITOR are for sure not innovative but their old school Thrash is for sure aggressive enough to wipe the tiredness out of the bones. I take one's hat off to drummer/singer Andreas Mozer, but also his mates delivered an awesome performance.
[Dajana] I found TRAITOR highly refreshing that morning (especially after standing in line for ages to get the bag checked and the hurry to get in the pit). The youngsters are hot, keen to play live, especially such festival and brim over with energy, You downright get infected by them ;)
During Teutonic Storm Burkhard Schmitt joined the band with guest vocals. He is the vocalist in Hate Squad and the band’s manager (just to name two fields of activity, this guy is a Jack of all trades). So the drummer got a bit unburdened. Singing drummer are truly admirable. My respect for this effort.
[Psycho] There were actually a lot of singing drummers on this year’s RHF. Is this a new trend?
[BRT] TRAITOR were entertaining. Great opener for a festival day. Nothing new musically but that’s a general problem within the Thrash Metal scene. I really loved the original intro, where a moderator pokes fun at intro-tapes and the silly band name ;)
Setlist: Intro, Knee-Deep In The Dead, Crucifiction, Thrash Commando, Ebola, Lords Of Lust, Mad Dictator, Teutonic Storm, Predator (Skinned Alive), Nuke ‘Em All, F.U.A.D., Blitzkrieg Bop (Ramones cover)
[Psycho] After the adrenalin cudgel named Traitor, :: NOCTURNAL RITES :: afterwards displayed how to play metal without any power. Technically excellent but agonizingly boring. Cheesy refrains and bonbon keyboards from tape put me over the edge.
[Sui] My difficulties with melodic Power Metal is the absence of power. NOCTURNAL RITES in fact have powerful approaches yet kill them by overblown refrains and this with instinctive certainty. That the original drummer left and joined Sabaton… makes sense. They are even more boring but also more successful.
[BRT] It was kinda clear that a band like NOCTURNAL RITES was nothing the NH crew would write about home. Melodic Power Metal is not really to find in the crew members fave lists. Well, there was power, some cool melodies, a great singer and some nice background singing. But at the end the show did not have much depth. It was like well-done fast-food without sustainability. The band kicked off with much delight in playing but fell off over the course, which probably was due to the lame respond by the crowd.
Setlist: Before We Waste Away, Call Out To The World, Shadowland, Never Trust, Repent My Sins, Never Again, A Heart As Black as Coal, Still Alive, Fools Never Die
[Dajana] Just three weeks ago I just have seen :: THE NEW ROSES :: supporting The Dead Daisies and they left me thrilled. Powerful Hard Rock, great melodies, sing-along refrains, groove, a proper portion of heaviness and a band that was brimming with energy. Here, at the ROCK HARD FESTIVAL, the guys could not convince me.
[Psycho] I felt so too. The Dead Daisies last year at RHF I liked much more.
[Sui] It is like constantly changing worlds, musically. First Thrash Metal, then a Power Metal sleeping pill and now Blues-tinged classic Hard Rock with a Frank Zander voice. Some refrains were even Pop-like and remembered of Bon Jovi. The track, Life Ain’t Easy (For A Boy With Long Hair), somewhat sounded like Brian Adams Summer Of ’69. However, singer Timmy Rough still does not seem to know how far he wants to play the Texas boy. Some of his announcements were peppered with Americana clichés, which would act rather affected at a longhaired boy from the German sticks. Though, all in all THE NEW ROSES make fun to watch and listening to and so they were cheered and celebrated by the audience.
[BRT] Yep, the summary of the last band can be converted for THE NEW ROSES too. Well-done Hard Rock, entertaining and played with delight but heard and seen umpteen times and lacking of depth. But yeah, the posing by the guys from Wiesbaden, Texas, was great.
Setlist: Every Wildheart, Forever Never Comes, Dancing On A Razorblade, Gimme Your Love, It's A Long Way, Life Ain't Easy (For A Boy With Long Hair), Devil's Toys, One More For The Road, Thirsty
[Psycho] High expectations part 3. :: LEATHERWOLF :: are veterans in the US Metal scene and suggested to be more powerful as they played with three guitarists. Measured on this fact the show was rather restrained, but overall quite ok. Just the extra kick by the third guitar did not reveal itself to me. And the stringent melodies I missed as well, which might have been due to the squishy sound. As for that, I have to admit: Michael Olivieri is a fucking great singer!
[Sui] LEATHERWOLF was one of those bands to get surprised. The band’s brand of US Power Metal sounded well, was played well, but the spark did not want to jump over. The songwriting seemed to be too arbitrarily.
[Dajana] Same here. Damn. I liked what I got but… I would not say the music is unwieldy but somehow not the easiest to access. Michael Olivieri? ♥
[BRT] LEATHERWOLF are some of those legends everybody has heard of, who have released umpteen albums but never had a commercial breakthrough. Well, there have been great songs, but also some inexpressive. This show was not the best advertising for them. Though, to one or two albums of them I have to listen to. Great singer, yes, but three guitars? What for?
Setlist: Spiter, Endangered Species, Season Of The Witch, Street Ready, Princess Of Love, Spirits In The Wind, Cry Out, Thunder, Hideaway, Leatherwolf, Wicked Ways/ The Calling/Wicked Ways
[Psycho] Now, I had no expectations and then this happened! :: CIRITH UNGOL :: rocked the theater to the core. Yeah! Propelled by a lot of energy, delight and a wild Jarvis Leatherby (Night Demon) the band played itself in a frenzy. Above all the crazy siren-like voice of Tim Baker was dominating. After they opened the micro for him… Especially because of their early work I was in doubt regarding singing, but I was absolutely wrong! This was breathtakingly AWESOME! Not to mention the set filled with classics such as Frost & Fire, Join The Legion and Blood & Fire. Metal heart what more you want?
[Sui] CIRITH UNGOL – again veterans that still has something to prove. And they did, indeed! The drummer was jolting here and there but the band improved over the course of their show, played themselves in a fever. I also had fears towards the singer and luckily was wrong. Musically as well as atmospherically one of the highlights of the whole festival.
[Dajana] I had no expectations, was just curious and got blown away. Amazing!
[BRT] I now saw them for the third time since their reunion. Every show was good or even great. CIRITH UNGOL stand and fall with the vocal performance of singer Tim Baker. Tonight he was in best shape. The Californian guys were amplified by 2 Night Demon members, burnt the stage and played an outstanding show. Hits such as Blood And Iron, Frost And Fire and Chaos Descends are timeless and belong in every metal head’s CD shelf.
Setlist: Atom Smasher, Join The Legion, Blood And Iron, I'm Alive, Black Machine, Frost And Fire, Cirith Ungol, Chaos Descends, Fire (The Crazy World of Arthur Brown cover), Master Of The Pit, King Of The Dead
[Dajana] Let’s talk about Swedish Black metallers :: MARDUK ::. There was a story in 2016, dug out again and published by Swedish morning paper (Dagens ETC) shortly before the festival, claiming that singer Hans Daniel Rostén and drummer Fredrik Widigs have ordered several times and in large amounts Nazi propaganda from Nordfront shop by Nordic Resistance Movement (a Pan-Nordic neo-Nazi movement). The band denied and the Swedish paper withdrew one of its claims. We did not have time to research for details and decided to take a break during the MARDUK show. Afterwards we did research and think there are questionable gaps and blur in the story in favor of the band. On the other hand, there were already many accusations towards MARDUK as a band as well as towards single band members to be Nazis or at least to flirt with that scene. There are no clear prove. The band denies to be political in any way but never distanced themselves from right-wing orientated ideas. As for that, MARDUK remains unconsidered for ROCK HARD FESTIVAL.
[Psycho] Running the risk to be stoned… :: AXEL RUDI PELL :: was boring. Perfectly done and played but I just cannot get into this kind of 70s-based Hard Rock. Now, do it to me…
[Sui] No fears Psycho, I start with heavy fruits… Of course, music is always a matter of taste. And those, who do not like Hard Rock will have less to do with AXEL RUDI PELL. Objectively seen, the show was beyond any doubt. Not only when it comes to playing techniques but also songs and show. I, anyway, regret a little bit that I never dealt any closer with them. To put them as the co-headliner for Saturday on the billing was just ok and deserved.
[Dajana] I really liked the show. Especially singer Johnny Gioeli was fantastic. What a voice. And so lively. He killed me. To be honest, I saw AXEL RUDI PELL live for the first time and I know that he usually sells out his shows as they did most recently in Bochum nearby. Maybe I should give the just released new album, Knights Call, a try.
[BRT] Sure, you can blame a band that looks like a skittles club on its way to Mallorca for many things… Musically, the boy from Bochum-Wattenscheid was beyond of any doubts. Delight in playing, great melodies and an outstanding singer cheered everybody up in the arena. And even skeptics nodded their heads acceptingly.
[Psycho] Indeed. I cannot deny this.
Setlist: The Medieval Overture, The Wild And The Young, Wildest Dreams, Only The Strong Will Survive, Mystica (incl. Drum Solo), Long Live Rock, (Keyboard Solo), Game Of Sins (incl. Tower Of Babylon), The Line, The Masquerade Ball/Casbah, Rock The Nation
[Psycho] If they do not stop, :: OVERKILL :: can be soon renamed in “Overpresence”. At least, when it comes to shows in Germany. Of course, the band once again gave their very best, destroyed the Amphitheater. They did not do the mistake to just play their newest live album 1:1 down here, which is dedicated to Horrorscope and Feel The Fire. OVERKILL changed the order of songs and embedded some other classics. Well done! Points of criticism I have only two: 1. Some of the old tracks they intentionally play too fast, so that characteristics of the songs are killed. Why playing own material worse? And 2: Can someone please tell to Dave Linsk that movement, especially live on stage, does not do any harm?
[Sui] Yesss! The wrecking ball from New York is back (again) at RHF and reduces everything to dust and ashes! OVERKILL are for sure not the youngest anymore but still deliver the soundtrack for total destruction. At least I felt so after leaving the moshpit.
When I saw OVERKILL in the early 2000s they dismissed demands to play songs from Feel The Fire with a smiling fuck you. It seems the early work of the band has redeemed itself at its creators. That OVERKILL play those songs a bit too fast probably only matters when you sit on the circles and watch the goings-on from afar. In the moshpit it does not matter at all.
[Dajana] Does not play OVERKILL always their songs too fast? They announced a Horrorscope/Feel The Fire special show and they delivered a Horrorscope/Feel The Fire special show, except for two another songs and the Fuck You cover. Besides… OVERKILL is OVERKILL. If you know them, you know what you get. Always great. Always all-destroying, no matter if in a club or on an open air stage. I love them! ♥
Setlist: Coma, Infectious, Blood Money, Thanx For Nothin', Raise The Dead, Rotten To The Core, There's No Tomorrow, Feel The Fire, Horrorscope, Hammerhead, Nice Day... For A Funeral, Overkill, In Union We Stand, Elimination, Fuck You (Subhumans cover), Sonic Reducer (Dead Boys cover), Fuck You (Reprise)
[Psycho] The day went by fast. My highlight was clearly CIRITH UNGOL. From my point of view, I would like to say, the Amphitheater was emptier than in previous years.
[Sui] Good start with TRAITOR, some idle with NOCTURNAL RITES, good entertainment with THE NEW ROSES, again a little lengthiness with LEATHERWOLF, pure cult with CIRITH UNGOL, a worthy co-headliner with AXEL RUDI PELL and the Thrash Metal thunderstorm with OVERKILL. If there would not have been another band (introduced by the most daft announcement) it would have been an even better day.
[Dajana] My fave was CIRITH UNGOL too. OVERKILL goes without saying…
[BRT] Winner of the day: CIRITH UNGOL. It is just stunning what these old horses deliver live on stage since their reunion. |
