[Dajana] *sigh* To get up this morning was arduous. Though, on time, I entered the photo pit ready for the new festival day. I was, wasn't I?
:: pics :: INDIAN NIGHTMARE ::
[Dajana] Did :: INDIAN NIGHTMARE ::. start earlier? Or are their tracks so short? Or are their tracks that short? Hardly that I entered the photo pit I was kicked out again ;) Musically I was wrong too. I had some Folk in mind. Instead I got Heavy/Speed Metal Punk ;) Woah! What wake-up call! That was fun!
[BRT] Hmmhh? I think, last night’s spree wasn’t that wicked. To me it was an easy task to get up and to the Amphitheater on time ;) Well, yes, INDIAN NIGHTMARE are known for their rumbling Black-Speed-Punk-Metal. They are often booked for early times on festivals to warm up the crowd. Great fun on a festival, at home I rather would not put on a record of them.
Setlist: Bastions Of Nightmares, Land Of The Damned, Banshee, Riddle Of Steel, Fire Meets Steel, Speed Metal Rock 'n' Roll, Lucifer, War-Metal-Punx, Incursions Of Death
:: pics :: SUICIDAL ANGELS ::
[Dajana] Greeks the first. If you like Slayer you can’t do anything wrong with :: SUICIDAL ANGELS ::, although they meanwhile quite emancipated themselves from the idols. The problem is they are so often on tour/festivals that you probably can see them ten times a year. The show ain’t boring per se but feels like a worn out tee. At least, SUICIDAL ANGELS had the one and only wall of death and the first crowd surfers again ;)
[BRT] SUICIDAL ANGELS are and remain to be one of the most boring bands to me. Their generic Thrash Metal doesn’t have an own note at all. Additionally, they play at every watering pot. Well, at least, there is a motivated band on stage that enjoys to play live and to please the crowd. Could be worse.
Setlist: Jaws, Endless War, Born Of Hate, Years Of Aggression, Bloodbath, Bloody Ground, Capital Of War, Apokathilosis, Sharp Dressed Man
:: pics :: VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY ::
[BRT] To me, the :: VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY :: were the highlight of the ROCK HARD FESTIVAL 2022. The Greeks often play amphitheaters in their home country, so it was the perfect match here in Gelsenkirchen. I admit, for a festival like this, the villagers are rather a band of special interest than metal mainstream. The psychedelic soundscapes are unique, the atmosphere absolutely relaxed, and band and music are perfectly made for positive vibrations. Much better, people didn’t talk that much and just listened. Super! To me a perfect live band that wants to be fully enjoyed during their show. [Dajana] Greeks the second. Dunno if they know each other ;) VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY I already have seen live, wasn’t my cup of tea. I thought. Too quiet, too little action on stage, I thought. But then, I somehow found them cool. Must have been the basses that so nicely tickled in my tummy. Though, I think, the music of the villagers is rather made to listen inside your own four walls.
Setlist: Welcome, Age Of Aquarius, Skaros, Dance Of Night, Arrival, Father Sun, Millennium Blues, For The Innocent
:: pics :: ATLANTEAN KODEX ::
[BRT] There is hardly a band that meanwhile is so worn out and totally overrated in this country than :: ATLANTEAN KODEX ::. Especially live it strikes that the tracks are too long and singer Markus Becker needs to battle the guitar walls with his voice. One or two hits the band has, yes, but altogether the show was too lengthy, especially, when you have seen the other band the previous day that did it much better.
[Seb] My RHF Saturday started with ATLANTEAN KODEX: An, albeit expected, death in my family during the last night didn’t exactly boost my mood and I took a while until I felt like being amongst a crowd. I only knew the band by name and that some sort of Epic/Doom Metal was to be expected. Quite a large audience had already gathered and ATLANTEAN KODEX did their best to summon up an atmosphere of darkness and mystique despite the burning afternoon sun. A solid “opener” A solid “opener” for the… or better said, my second day.
Setlist: The Alpha And The Occident, People Of The Moon, Lion Of Chaldea, Sol Invictus, Heresiarch, Twelve Stars And An Azure Gown, The Atlantean Kodex
:: pics :: THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA ::
[Dajana] Ah, yes, my anticipation highlight number two. So, let’s dance! Now! A :: THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA :: show goes and falls with the voice of Mr. Strid. This time everything was fine and the crowd in the Amphitheater was dancing, down in the arena as well as above on the tiers. That was awesome to watch! I would only like to nag about the song selection as I find that older material is crispier and more powerful than the tracks from the Aeromantic double albums. How about Carpenter Brut or Perturbator next year??
[BRT] Ah, yes, marvelous, what varicolored program! Well, one could say that THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA is a styled and designed product, if they weren’t that great. It’s not only perfect 80s AOR but also perfect entertainment, fancy dresses and party music. It’s surely made with commercial calculations but if you get such great songs, it doesn’t matter.
[Seb] THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA turned out to be one of the bigger surprises of this RHF (for me, that is). It would actually be quite difficult to imagine a metal-ish band that is more disconnected from my usual taste, but the Swedes are nonetheless great entertainers. Having started as a side project of e.g. Soilwork and Arch Enemy members, TNFO did already release six albums of mercilessly over-the-top 80s hard rock/metal – if the material was more complex, one had to assume that TNFO had turned into their main project by now.
Clad in white and black suits (with vocalist Björn Strid also sporting golden lapels and golden microphone) and supported by two “stewardesses” in 80s costumes, the whole flight felt like as we had been sucked into the soundtrack of some campy 80s comedy movie. Even the most die-hard and trve metal heads in the audience (including myself, haha) couldn’t help but smile and bob their heads, while the crowd in front of the stage went absolutely bonkers. For the grand finale, Björn appointed a captain and commanded the audience to start a polonaise, and what can I say: it did even (sort of) work, hehe.
Overall, very funny and entertaining shenanigans :-D
Setlist: How Long, Sometimes The World Ain't Enough, Divinyls, If Tonight Is Our Only Chance, Burn For Me, This Boy's Last Summer, Gemini, Satellite, White Jeans, West Ruth Ave
:: pics :: GRAVE DIGGER ::
[Dajana] I never liked :: GRAVE DIGGER ::. I actually belittled them. But tonight’s show commanded my respect Chapeau!
[BRT] I absolutely agree. I never dealt with GRAVE DIGGER any closer. Except for the Rebellion hit I couldn’t join any conservation about songs and records. And yes, there was a highly motivated band on stage playing a killer show, accompanied by the Scottish touched :: Baul Muluy Pipes & Drums Hamburg :: orchestra. Nice gimmick but only used selective.
[Seb] GRAVE DIGGER are actually one of the bands that made me flee the stage area on a previous occasion ;-) This time, the band brought support in form of a pipes-and-drum-band from Hamburg, and if someone brings anything Scotland to the table, they’ve erstwhile earned my attention (not only do I collect and digest Islay single malts and visited the country half a dozen times in recent years, I did also at one point have more than 50% of Scottish blood due to rather dire circumstances…).
As the stage preparations suggested, GRAVE DIGGER entered the stage together with half a dozen highland drum players and an even larger host of bag pipers, who opened with a traditional Scottish war tune. Unfortunately, the contributions of the “Scots” should be mostly limited to intermezzos. GRAVE DIGGER themselves did of course stay true to the Scotland theme and did almost exclusively play Scotland-related tracks about Clans, Warriors and ancients kings, mainly from the 2020 concept album Fields Of Blood.
By the way, was that 2nd singer, who was called to the front for the last song, actually on stage all along, as Dajana claimed? I could swear that I did not notice that, haha.
Overall, it was a worthwhile show that was highly acclaimed by the audience. As said earlier, the pipes and drums felt a bit underused for my taste, and even though it might come across as a bit pedantic: Someone who is that much into Scotland should work (at least to some extent ) to reduce that really, really harsh German accent ;-)
[Dajana] Yes, true, he stood on a higher place behind the drum kit. Look at the pics ;)
Setlist: The Dark Of The Sun, Excalibur, The Clans Will Rise Again, Lions Of The Sea, The Ballad Of Mary (Queen Of Scots), The Heart Of Scotland, Highland Farewell, Hell Is My Purgatory, Rebellion (The Clans Are Marching), Heavy Metal Breakdown
:: pics :: ASPHYX ::
[Dajana] Well, now it was actually time for Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons to play Motörhead and to celebrate a legend. Unfortunately a member became sick and the band had to cancel its appearance on short notice. I guess the telephone wires in the production office were glowing to find a replacement. And yes, in a lightning-speed, Dutch death metal machine :: ASPHYX :: rolled over.
First a big thank you to Martin and his boys to let drop everything and to come over. The show was a bit chaotic, no wonder, but at the end, ASPHYX nailed it, leaving nothing but scorched earth. I found the set a bit lengthy. Perhaps I have seen them too often ;) Anyway, great co-headliner show, Amphitheater destroyed! That’s the way it has to be!
[Seb] I’ve never checked out youtube et al to investigate if we actually missed out on something, but I simply can neither imagine a (good) Motörhead show without Lemmy nor someone being able to emulate him well enough for a tribute that is worth to be on a big stage. Considering that, I wasn’t disappointed at all, that ASPHYX would take the RHF stage as a replacement. The Dutch combo did only learn at 11 in the morning, that their services were required and had pretty much zero time to prepare: As Martin mentioned a couple of time, he didn’t even practice for a full 30 days because he was preoccupied with drinking and fucking. But of course, ASPHYX, after all the years, are versed enough that the situation would not pose any problem. So, what more to say: ASPHYX delivered about an hour of accustomed quality: While the classics where strong and bombastic (Scorbutics, Last One One Earth) as ever and at times would remind me of their legendary show at the 2008 RHF, they did also sprinkle in a few songs from the new album (I prefer the older material, but of course was also happy to finally get to listen to the new stuff live, as that hadn’t occurred yet due to the dreaded pandemic). Good one.
[BRT] Yap, ASPHYX as fill-in is surely not the worst idea ;) They are pros and play tight no matter what, and have an entertaining singer and frontman. Though, after around 25 minutes, it got a bit lengthy and boring. The tracks ain’t that thrilling and exciting.
Setlist: Botox Implosion, The Nameless Elite, Death The Brutal Way, Asphyx (Forgotten War), Deathhammer, Molten Black Earth, Wasteland Of Terror, Scorbutics, Knights Templar Stand, Forerunners Of The Apocalypse, Death: The Only Immortal, Necroceros, The Rack, Last One On Earth
:: pics :: BLIND GUARDIAN ::
[Dajana] A worthy headliner? Of course! Great show, great sound, great lights. :: BLIND GUARDIAN :: are pros. To see the whole Somewhere Far Beyond album performed live is nothing to be sneezed at either. And else? I found the announcements by singer Hansi Kürsch arrogant and patronizing. Or didn’t I understand his puns? Maybe I should have drunk more beers.
[BRT] Gosh! To leave a likeable impression they know not. What an arrogant and reserved performance of Krefeld, Germany’s super stars. Sorry, but good sound, lights and stylish songs didn’t narrow the bad impression anymore. I heard angry fans talking about same shitty behavior at the signing session. We left pretty quickly.
[Seb] BLIND GUARDIAN didn’t have any chance to impress me in the wake of Asphyx. Not only was the music at best tolerable, the narcissistic drivel (I am not even sure if it was meant to be funny or ironic) of vocalist Hansi Kürsch really didn’t do it for me and my brain soon went into self-protective “trough-draught-mode”. Since we wanted to be back early tomorrow, we decided not to suffer through the whole show and called it a day after about the half of it.
Setlist: Into The Storm, Welcome To Dying, Nightfall, Time Stands Still (At The Iron Hill) • Somewhere Far Beyond Set • Time What Is Time, Journey Through The Dark, Black Chamber, Theatre Of Pain, The Quest For Tanelorn, Ashes To Ashes, The Bard's Song - In The Forest, The Bard's Song - The Hobbit, The Piper's Calling, Somewhere Far Beyond // Valhalla, Mirror Mirror
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