[Dajana] Yes, so here we are again :) The accreditation procedure was super easy, our usual place was taken immediately and the first beer was consumed.
[Seb] Things didn't go quite as planned for me, I had to miss Friday completely. Instead, hospital and acute treatment were the order of the day. After that it wasn't even enough to watch the live stream, I hoped that things would be different on Saturday...
[Sui] For personal reasons, the ROCK HARD FESTIVAL 2024 was a difficult affair for me. But the expectations of meeting up with old friends, getting a good earful, drinking beer and eating chips that were as well-balanced as they were reasonably priced (cough), made getting through the entrance an uplifting moment this time too. Due to the long journey and the usual traffic jams, I naturally missed the first two bands, which was a shame, especially with regard to THRONEHAMMER. But to anticipate: All the bands we saw impressed with their joy of playing and high musical level.
[BRT] The anticipation was there early and, as usual, I met up with my buddy Lütti on Thursday for pre-celebrations. The weather forecast had us fearing the worst, but the only heavy downpour lasted for about an hour on Thursday evening and that was as far as we got.
On a positive note: there was a new party tent again, even though I was never inside. Around the last band I'm usually too hammered to even think about a party tent visit.
Negative: the food prices outside the area were shockingly high, I can't say whether they were higher than last time, but this time I noticed it particularly negatively.
:: pics :: DREAD SOVEREIGN ::
[Dajana] The ROCK HARD FESTIVAL 2024 was opened by A.A. Nemtheanga's... um... side project :: DREAD SOVEREIGN ::. Well, since he's there anyway (with Primordial on Saturday).
[BRT] I really liked DREAD SOVEREIGN as the opener. The records are on the shelf anyway and the slightly rumbling mixture of heavy, doom and space rock with a Venom ass-kick is simply fun! In addition, Alan Averill is just a great singer and guitarist Bones is a likeable and active member on stage. And when the epic The Great Beast We Serve from the current long player Alchemical Warfare is on the program, nothing can go wrong.
[Dajana] Yep, I agree with that 100 percent. That was a great start!
[Öko] DREAD SOVEREIGN were definitely one of the best openers I've ever seen at the RHF! This doesn't just mean the festival opener on Friday, but all the opening bands! No matter if Friday, Saturday or Sunday!
Band: A.A. Nemtheanga (vox, bass), Bones (git), Con Ri (drums)
Setlist: This World Is Doomed, She Wolves Of The Savage Season, The Great Beast We Serve, Nature Is The Devil’s Church, We Wield The Spear Of Longinus
:: pics :: THRONEHAMMER ::
[Dajana] I was very curious about the British doom metallers from :: THRONEHAMMER ::. I had never seen them live before. And I was thrilled! Both musically and in terms of their performance. Especially from the photo pit you could see how emotionally Kat Shevil conveys the music.
[BRT] It could have been difficult to start with a lot of doom, but it wasn't. THRONEHAMMER can already be described as current shooting stars. Three highly praised albums in their program and musically much more kick-ass than most doom bands. But you could also see live that the Doom label is a bit too small for the German-English co-production. THRONEHAMMER delivered a great show, even if I'd rather enjoy a band like that in a dark club. Well, I finally have to buy the records.
[Dajana] Yep, a sunny afternoon stage isn't exactly ideal for a band like that. Next time definitely in the club. And yes again, the albums have to be purchased!
[Öko] THRONEHAMMER couldn't quite convince me. I like the albums a lot, but as BRT already wrote, this band is not made for daylight. I saw THRONEHAMMER at Hammer Of Doom XIV and they were much better there!
Band: Kat Shevil Gillham (vox), Stuart West (git), Uwe Void (bass), Markus Ströhlein (drums)
Setlist: Kingslayer, Thy Blood, A Fading King, Thronehammer
:: pics :: MYSTIC PROPHECY ::
[Sui] The gig of :: MYSTIC PROPHECY :: started with Metal Division and ended with Metal Brigade, in between - spoiler alert - metal. Or to be more precise: well-groomed, rather straightforward power metal made in Germany, solid, with few surprises, but obviously just the right thing to get the mood up to a first small climax. The band seemed committed; Roberto Liapakis was in good voice and... Wait, isn't someone missing? The band was playing without bassist Joey Roxx. How the undeniable bass sound came about was a mystery. Nevertheless, it was a successful gig in which most of the metal clichés were covered without being embarrassing.
[BRT] Phew yes, German power metal is not really my thing, but it came across surprisingly well. There's no question that MYSTIC PROPHECY sound styled from front to back, routine, clichéd to the max and completely predictable, but oops, yes, I'm in the metal scene... that's what they want. Well-honed, strong vocals, so everything done right. I even knew the song Metal Brigade, although I don't own any of the band's records. Yes, that's how a band has to perform live, but I still won't become a fan.
[Dajana]And I still thought MYSTIC PROPHECY didn't fit into Friday. Musically speaking... far from it. I also went along and had a lot of fun. A really tight show full of energy and dynamics.
[Öko] German power metal can be really terrible. But it wasn't in this case. Everything was OK, but not the highlight of the day.
Band: Roberto Dimitri Liapakis (vox), Evan K (git), Markus Pohl (git), Hanno Kerstan (drums)
Setlist: Metal Division, Burning Out, Killhammer, War Panzer, Unholy Hell, Hellriot, Dracula, We Kill! You Die!, Ravenlord, Eye To Eye, Metal Brigade
:: pics :: UNLEASHED ::
[Dajana] Yay, I haven't seen :: UNLEASHED :: live for a while and they're basically one of those bands you can never go wrong with ;) This evening was no exception, especially, since the Friday is naturally the “hardest” day of the festival and there was still the real heaviness missing.
[Sui] The old Swedes from UNLEASHED put on another heavy set with their old school death metal. Musically, I've never really gotten into death metal, mainly because of the vocals. But Johnny Hedlund's voice is relatively thrashy for death metal. My personal highlight is the intense banger Midvinterblot. UNLEASHED kept the level high in terms of enthusiasm, so that the first small mosh pit formed. A successful gig.
[BRT] I was never really a UNLEASHED fan - I only made peace with the band late. So, I was all the more surprised how awesome this gig was. Always a bit of Motörhead in the wake, death metal played in a catchy way (what, that's possible?) and a few hits. No question, there are professionals on stage who have been playing together in this line-up for over thirty years. Even if many will deny it to the genre death metal per se, and UNLEASHED certainly sound a bit uniform at times, the band has managed over the years to be a band with recognition value, which has classics in its program and is simply fun. That was really good and a real highlight of the day.
[Öko] I hadn't really expected more than a solid performance from the veterans of Swedish death metal. But then I was very positively surprised! I wasn't and still am not a huge fan of UNLEASHED's albums, but I have to admit that there are always some strong songs in between. The live highlights should be mentioned here: The Longships Are Coming, Midvinterblot, Hammer Battalion and I Have Sworn Allegiance. But also Death Metal Victory should not go unmentioned! All in all, a very good gig!
Band: Johnny Hedlund (vox, bass), Tomas Olsson (git), Fredrik Folkare (git), Anders Schultz (drums)
Setlist: To Asgaard We Fly, Lead Us Into War, The Longships Are Coming, No Sign Of Life, Midvinterblot, Hammer Battalion, The King Lost His Crown, You Are The Warrior!, The Hunt For White Christ, I Have Sworn Allegiance, Into Glory Ride, Death Metal Victory, Before The Creation Of Time
:: pics :: BRUTUS ::
[Dajana] I like :: BRUTUS :: very, very much. But this band as co-headliner on Friday? I wasn't really sure if that would work out well. But then the trio came on stage, saw and conquered. So vehemently that it was already clear to me halfway through the gig: BRUTUS are THE highlight of RHF 2024!
However, as with Thronehammer, the band works better in a club. There was no stage setting, not even a banner and there was (still) nothing to see of a light show because it was sunny. In combination, it seemed a bit too spartan. On the other hand... nothing should distract from the music ;)
BRUTUS won a lot of new fans that evening and the band merch was sold like hot cakes.
[Sui] I spent a long time thinking about what to write about BRUTUS. There was a lot of excitement and expectation before their gig. The enthusiasm afterwards was even greater. For many, they were even the best band of the festival. And there are good reasons for this: first and foremost, of course, the front woman, a charismatic, likeable singer who can also play solid drums. There are also some appealing songs and melodies. So why can't I share the enthusiasm? The Rockpalast livestream put my original reservations into perspective a little. What came across as a rather undifferentiated sound mash up in the stands had far more nuances and details than I had initially suspected. The reverb effect on the vocals was obviously enhanced by the acoustics of the amphitheater. However, I still haven't become a fan. After about 20 minutes, I had the feeling that I'd heard it all before, the quiet guitar parts alternating with the alternative drumming, the constant maltreatment of the ride cymbal and some of the vocal patterns kept repeating themselves. For personal reasons, I can't blame the band for the fact that the permanently melancholic mood was hard to bear in the long run.
Conclusion: I can understand the enthusiasm, but I can't fully share it.
[BRT] Wow, BRUTUS were great once again, but I was also further in front of the stage and could watch front woman Stefanie Mannaerts beat up her drumset. The sound was good. However, I can certainly understand the divided reactions, as I never listen to the band at home, for example, and a certain uniformity cannot be denied. I do like melancholy, especially in the combination of how the Belgians blast it into the audience. A small point of criticism: the band should actually play later so that the great light show comes into its own. I would watch the band live again and again, but I won't put it into my stereo (anymore).
[Öko] I consider all BRUTUS albums to be absolute masterpieces! So, I was very excited to see the three Belgians live for the first time. And I wasn't disappointed at all! Definitely the highlight of the day and rightly number two on the Friday bill! I absolutely have to see them indoors (preferably not too big)!
Band: Stefanie Mannaerts (vox, drums), Stijn Vanhoegaerden (git), Peter Mulders (bass)
Setlist: War, Horde II, Storm, Justice de Julia II, Miles Away, Brave, What Have We Done, Liar, Chainlife, Space, Dust, Victoria, Sugar Dragon
:: pics :: AMORPHIS ::
[Dajana] You can't do it wrong with :: AMORPHIS ::! No matter how small or how big the show or festival is, no matter if as a headliner or anywhere in between the billing, you don't have to worry about anything, the Finns deliver! There is only one question: how many old songs will they play, although the definition varies. For me, it could have been more and also other older songs. The material from the last 10 years is a bit too smooth and melodic for me, but well, you can't have everything and AMORPHIS undoubtedly put on a great headlining show.
[Sui] In a positive sense, the name AMORPHIS says it all: The Finns' music is not a homogeneous mass, it defies clear categorization. Their style (or is it actually several styles) encompasses death, progressive, melodic, doom and whatnot. The mixture is exciting, sometimes a little smooth, but always top class. The atmospheric density of songs like The Moon is supported by a relatively simple but extremely effective light show. New songs like the opener Northwards harmonize well with classics like The Castaway. For my taste, it was almost too melodic at times, but that's complaining on a high level. A worthy Friday headliner.
[BRT] AMORPHIS is one of those bands that I “lost” years ago. After the great Elegy album, which captures the 70s influences best, the band became too cheesy for me, the sound didn't reach me anymore, so I don't know much about more recent stuff. I saw a few songs where the sound was crystal clear and there was a great lightshow. But apart from that... it somehow completely passed me by. Maybe I couldn't really get into it...
[Öko] I'm like BRT, I really liked all the albums up to and including Elegy. So, I was also very enthusiastic about the (few) songs from the early albums. The newer songs went in one ear and out the other without anything sticking with me. But the great light show and the very good sound made it an altogether respectable performance by the old Finns.
Band: Tomi Joutsen (vox), Esa Holopainen (git), Tomi Koivusaari (git), Olli-Pekka Laine (bass), Jan Rechberger (drums), Santeri Kallio (keys)
Setlist: Northwards, On The Dark Waters, The Smoke, Sky Is Mine, The Moon, Thousand Lakes, The Castaway, Silver Bride, The Wolf, Brother & Sister, Amongst Stars, Wrong Direction, Black Winter Day, My Kantele, House Of Sleep // The Bee
[Dajana]And with that, the first day of the festival is already history. Every single band was great, expected and unexpected, the weather and beer were great. Let's hurry home and get ready for day 2!
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