[Sui] I have to admit that I am not familiar with the first two bands, all the more reason to be on time for once. I like to be surprised, and that’s is not always easy with the RHF billing. This time, however, there are actually a few bands on the lineup that I've missed so far. Considering that I've been living on a building site for a good six months, it’s no wonder that I could not keep up, though.
[Psycho] You did see ATTIC a few years ago, but probably forgot about it. In any case, SANHEDRIN alone are worth the early arrival.
The biggest surprise for me is GEOFF TATE. Can he still get it right vocally, and what does he actually play?
:: pics :: SANHEDRIN ::
[Dajana] The first band of the festival on the Friday afternoon is always something special. Expectations are extremely high, the fans, who made it early, are motivated to the tips and full of anticipation. Even though the amphitheater tends not to be filled well at this early time, the first band does traditionally enjoy a massive reception ;)
Opening the ROCK HARD FESTIVAL 2025 were :: SANHEDRIN ::. I have to admit, the New Yorkers had (at least until the beginning of 2025) flown under my radar for the most time, but then the promotional campaign for the fourth album Heat Lightning crossed my desk and immediately grabbed my attention ;)
[BRT] Currently, SANHEDRIN might be one of the most exciting classic heavy metal bands. The power trio can look back on four albums, have always delivered live and are a great band to serve as a warm-up act. Quality wise, they could as well have played in the upper third.
[Psycho] In the run-up to the show, people were already claiming that the band were to be the best RHF opener ever etc. I really like the band and in my opinion it’s a shame that they were scheduled so early in the billing. However, SANHEDRIN did not quite fulfill the high expectations. It wasn't because of the lack of a motivated audience; the trio somehow couldn't unfold any real stage magic. There was hardly any stage acting and also virtually no announcements, a combination that made everything seem a bit “distanced”. Musically, however, it was, as great as I hoped it would be! I'd like to see them again soon, but rather on a smaller stage.
[Sui] I'd never heard of SANHEDRIN, but I've been living on a construction site for half a year and hardly notice anything anymore. The classic metal with Maiden influences was the perfect opener for RHF 2025, but the trio's presence didn't really fill the big stage. This would probably have been an awesome gig in a club but they seemed somewhat lost here.
[Dajana] I would say that this was the largest audience during a RHF opener in a long time and the atmosphere was absolutely fantastic. Everything done right ;-)
[BRT] An excellent band that deserves to be much higher up in the billings of local events. Their material is much more varied, dynamic and exciting than the run-of-the-mill Swedish Maiden disciples. But yes, they had their issues being only a trio on this big stage, SANHEDRIN are “made” for the small, sweaty and foggy clubs. Nevertheless, a strong performance, featuring a charismatic front woman and great vocals. I’m still sad that I missed their tour with Savage Master. Under normal circumstances I would have bought a shirt, but at the current 30 (+) euros I gave it a pass, sorry.
Band: Erica Stoltz (vox, bass), Jeremy Sosville (git), Nathan Honor (drums)
Setlist: Blind Wolf, Let’s Spill Some Blood, Correction, Lost At Sea, Fight For Your Life, Above The Law, Scythian Woman, The Getaway, Riding On The Dawn
:: pics :: ATTIC ::
[Dajana] Gelsenkirchen-based Heavy Metal Satanists :: ATTIC :: have been pretty quiet for a long time. Their latest album, Return Of The Witchfinder, took them seven years (ok, admittedly, the evil C happened in between). I didn't really take any notice of them playing live either (even though they’ve played at the RHF several times ;)), and if I recall it correctly, master Cagliostro was ill for a long time, resulting in a bunch of canceled gigs. But it seems, everything is back to be ok...
[BRT] ATTIC are a bit of a mixed bag to me. Musically they are quite appealing, but the vocals have always been too strenuous; to me they lack dynamics and are too uniform. Well, let's see and let's (possibly) be surprised.
[Psycho] I like the band on record as far as music and vocals go, but unfortunately that does not really translate to live gigs for me. The songs as such are presented well, but it's the vocals that are divisive. In any case, the local heroes drew a much smaller audience than Sanhedrin did previously.
[Sui] I’d like ATTIC a lot more if master Cagliostro in particular concentrated more on his own strengths instead of frantically trying to emulate his role model King Diamond. As soon as he drops the seal-pulling falsetto, he proves that he has a good and, more importantly, original voice. Apart from that, there's no debate about the band’s musical quality, it's undeniably high.
Band: Meister Cagliostro (vox), Tim “Katte” Katteluhn (git), Max Werner (git), Christoph Erdmann (bass), J.P. (drums)
Setlist: The Covenant, Darkest Rites, Penalized, Join The Coven, Return Of The Witchfinder, The Hound Of Heaven, Azrael, The Headless Horseman
:: pics :: MUNICIPAL WASTE ::
[Dajana] Seeing :: MUNICIPAL WASTE :: live is undoubtedly always a pleasure. Their shows are always raw and full of energy. Some of you will remember their support show for Kreator…
[BRT] MUNICIPAL WASTE will guarantee an early kick in the face, ADHS Crossover Thrash at its best, the pit should get pretty busy... Well, if there are still people older than 40 who enter such a pit in the first place…
[Psycho] There were plenty of them. Actually, there was even the biggest pit of the day, lasting all gig long. Apart from that, I have to be honest in that I had never paid much attention to MUNICIPAL WASTE before, so I'll try to employ the journalistic means of a pro/con list here:
Pros:
- Great stage acting with lots of movement and interaction with the crowd
- High energy level and visible fun at the concert (coming across like that)
Contra:
- Vocals were too monotonous in the long run (although Rob Dukes should be an even bigger “offender” later on)
- too many hardcore elements for my taste - not particularly original, nothing to write home about as far as the songs go…
[Seb] The band from Virginia (USA) have been around for almost 25 years now and yet I'd never seen them live before. As I had to cut back a little for the reasons mentioned above, MUNICIPAL WASTE marked my entry to the festival this year, and I for my part can't complain. It was enormously energetic; the spark jumped directly to the audience starting with the first song. I’m also pretty confident that we've rarely seen such a persistent circle pit at the RHF, even with bands that are much “bigger” by name!
[Sui] Wrecking ball number one! It’s been a long time that I’ve seen MUNICIPAL WASTE at a hardcore festival in Wiesbaden. And the thrash-hardcore crossover with attitude is still a lot of fun live. The circle pit spoke volumes. MUNICIPAL WASTE wouldn’t necessarily make for a great headliner or fill an entire evening due to their lack of variety, but the band was bursting with energy and their efforts were rightfully rewarded accordingly by the audience.
[BRT] An overall strong performance that caused a lot of action in the pit. Unfortunately, nothing really stuck with me in terms of the music itself: MUNICIPAL WASTE simply lacks melodies, hooklines and singalongs. They are the prototypical case of “I like them live, but I wouldn’t listen to them at home”. In any case, the young fellows and their energy would still make it a difficult follow-up gig for their much older colleagues who were up next - two Thrash bands in direct succession aren’t a great idea anyways.
Band: Tony „Guardrail“ Foresta (vox), Ryan Waste (git), Philip „Landphil“ Hall (bass), Dave Witte (drums)
Setlist: The Garbage Stomp, Sadistic Magician, Slime And Punishment, Breathe Grease, Grave Dive, You're Cut Off, The Thrashin' Of The Christ, Poison The Preacher, Wave Of Death, High Speed Steel, Restless And Wicked, Crank The Heat, The Art Of Partying, Demoralizer, Born To Party
:: pics :: DEATH ANGEL ::
[Dajana] There's not really much more to say about :: DEATH ANGEL ::. I'm eagerly looking forward to finally seeing the Bay Area thrashers live again.
Singer Mark Osegueda has recently been very busy with Kerry King and his new band, to a degree that he neglected DEATH ANGEL a bit. The band is also celebrating the 35th anniversary of Act III and had some exclusive shows where they (at least in the States) played the album in its entirety.
After a long time (6 years?), the band did actually release a new song this May, a stand-alone single called Wrath (Bring Fire), but (still) without the prospect of a new album.
[BRT] Did DEATH ANGEL actually come up with anything noteworthy following Act III? I've completely lost track of the band in recent years, even though I've seen them as a passable live band here and there. Most recently, the band made headlines for the wrong reasons: singer Mark Osegueda was a bit too involved with Kerry King, causing understandable displeasure with his DEATH ANGEL colleagues as well as with fans.
[Sui] Did any of the first-generation Bay Area thrash bands do anything of relevance in the past 20 years? DEATH ANGEL have released some very good albums since their reunion in 2001 and are always more than solid as a live band.
[BRT] Well, okay, point taken. But still, Act III was nothing short of a visionary album, while everything in its wake was just generic thrash metal. But yeah, somehow thrash metal has been somewhat generic for years... ;)
[Psycho] Well folks, DEATH ANGEL seem to have (had) different priorities, as they didn't play a single song from Act III. Unfortunately, the opening Mistress Of Pain fell victim to the mixer, who couldn't find the control for the guitar volume. Things improved from the second song onward, but the Bay Area thrashers still had a hard time following the ass-kicking Municipal Waste's had delivered before. Unfortunately, even Mark Osegueda tireless efforts with his always powerful voice couldn't change that. Conclusion: good, but I've seen better.
[Seb] The second of four consecutive US bands of the day, and the longest-serving of them all: if you ignore the almost decade of silence, DEATH ANGEL have a whopping 43 years under their belts, of which Rob Cavestany has been part of all of them while singer Mark has been with the band since 1984. Once the sound problems were fixed, I thought the gig was pretty good. Besides a lot of songs from the good old The Ultra-Violence, there was also a live world premiere of DEATH ANGEL's latest track Wrath (Bring Fire), as Dajana already mentioned, their first output in a good six years.
Unfortunately, the gig ended almost 10 minutes before the scheduled time, no idea if the guys or singer Mark ran out of breath? Ending a set extremely early should sadly become a bit of a trend in the coming days, whereas in some of the previous years you almost had to turn off the sound system to make some of the bands stop…
[Sui] It's no coincidence that I have a back patch of Bay Area thrash veterans DEATH ANGEL on my battle vest: I've never seen this band play a bad gig. Nevertheless, despite all the fun in the mosh pit, I was a little disappointed. The sound, especially terrible directly in front of the stage, played only a minor role in that, the setlist did also leave a lot to be desired in my opinion. Not a single track from Act III as well as no entry from the great album Relentless Retribution? The band has much better tracks in the back catalog than they ended up playing! Apart from Ted Aguilar, who (as usual) seemed a bit stoic, the band did at least radiate the usual joy of playing, so overall I guess that I’m complaining on a high level.
[BRT] Unfortunately, DEATH ANGEL made it a habit of being rather boring live on stage. It’s a shame as Mark Osegueda is a good front man with a great voice. The song selection was just a bit lacking “it”, and following the much more energetic Municipal Waste the gig did even seem somewhat tame.
P.S. Sound and thrash bands, there‘s a never ending issue @ ROCK HARD FESTIVAL ...
[Seb] Apart from everything we've written so far, I'm still curious to hear our boss ladies verdict: Clad in a DEATH ANGEL shirt and basically going directly from the photo pit to the other side in front of the stage while generally being in some sort of “fangirl mode”, I would assume that she probably liked it :)
Band: Mark Osegueda (vox), Rob Cavestany (git), Ted Aguilar (git), Damien Sisson (bass), Will Carroll (drums)
Setlist: Mistress Of Pain, Voracious Souls, I Came For Blood, Buried Alive, The Dream Calls For Blood, Caster Of Shame, The Moth, Wrath (Bring Fire), Thrown To The Wolves/The Ultraviolence
:: pics :: GEOFF TATE ::
[Dajana] To me it’s a bit tricky to deal with :: GEOFF TATE ::. Except for the last albums, his contributions to Queensrÿche were great, no question. All the cringe on his way out… well, that’s another story. His solo stuff is also best described as “passable”. But I guess that things are finally getting back on track with his new band OPERATION: MINDCRIME (sic), despite a rather volatile line-up. Alas, he hasn't had any real musical success with that project as of now. Instead, he’s more successful performing the old Queensrÿche stuff. And all of a sudden, he's co-headlining the RHF on a Friday? Hm. Hm. Hm. I was skeptical, well, curious too, but my expectations weren’t high.
[BRT] I have a similar view. The solo stuff doesn't leave much of an impression and fans only expect him to play songs from Operation: Mindcrime, Empire and Rage For Order. Of course, this could easily result in a massive disappointment, but I've recently heard really positive things about him. So, let's hope for the best. As far as the vocals go, it is bound to be top notch no matter what.
[Psycho] In retrospect, one has to wonder why there was so much skepticism or uncertainty in the lead up to GEOFF TATE's performance. The maestro's vocals were beyond reproach from the very first note and he brought an exquisite backing band. And not only that, as the cherry on top of the cake he played one of the best concept albums of all time in its entirety: Operation: Mindcrime is still an absolute killer! The result: collective enthusiasm, the entire audience singing along at the top of their voices, and for the finale we were treated with two of his former band's greatest hits from other albums. One of the best concerts I've seen this year. Chapeau!
[Seb] Even as someone who is far from being a fan of the genre, I can easily acknowledge that this was a very clean and skillful performance. GEOFF TATE assembled a band that must be about half his age (at least they look like that), and even though they aren’t official band members, you can tell that they are perfectly attuned to each other. So well, in fact, that I could even suffer through the vocals with less difficulty as usually *duck* (yes, I know that the man is an exceptional talent, but I'm just not into the (very) high notes... can’t do anything about that).
[Sui] Neither the break-up quarrels with Queensrÿche nor his solo activities made GEOFF TATE any new friends, while his former comrades-in-arms handled the situation much more gracefully. GEOFF TATE decided to live on past glories, and, to be honest, there’s hardly more glory than Operation: Mindcrime. Of course there’s certainly also a financial aspect to it, but I’m fine with that. Especially when that leads to an outstanding performance. GEOFF TATE is still in perfect voice and the band is well-rehearsed. This show had some actual goosebump moments and, as rare as that is, almost everyone in the audience agreed that they witnessed a highlight in RHF history.
[Dajana] What can I say? I still don't have the words to even begin to adequately describe what an incredibly great show that was. And (for me) an extremely emotional one as well (for reasons). I hadn't expected GEOFF TATE to play Operation: Mindcrime in its entirety. We'd even speculated about it beforehand, but thought that the time slot would not allow for the entire length (maybe that's why Death Angel's set was shortened?) In any case, the show was definitely one of the highlights in the entire RHF history and without any doubt my personal number one highlight of RHF 2025!
[BRT] Going in with low expectations beforehand, nothing could really go wrong, but as the as the starting time drew closer and closer my friends Dirk, Chris and started to theorize: “how cool would it be if they played this and that song, preferably with an intro”, and in the end I actually grew a bit tense from expectations.
And then the big surprise: while we had naively been hoping for a few of our favorite songs we did actually get to hear the entire album, absolute madness. The records is mega important to me and apparently many, many other people. Not only did the band seem to have a lot of fun, but the master himself, GEOFF TATE, was also in great voice and got a big energy boost from the cheering audience. I can only remember roaring along (you could hardly call it singing along at this point), uttering “ah, my favorite song” more than once and actually even shedding a few tears. Fantastic, simply fantastic.
Band: Geoff Tate (vox), Geoff Tate (vox), Amaury Altmayer (git), Dario Parente (git), James Brown (git), Jimmy Wynen (bass), Felix Bohnke (drums), Clodagh McCarthy (keys, backing vox)
Setlist: Intro (I Remember Now), Anarchy-X, Revolution Calling, Operation Mindcrime, Speak, Spreading The Disease, The Mission, Suite Sister Mary, The Needle Lies, Electric Requiem, Breaking The Silence, I Don't Believe In Love, Waiting For 22, My Empty Room, Eyes Of A Stranger // Silent Lucidity, Queen Of The Reich
:: pics :: EXODUS ::
[Dajana] :: EXODUS :: seem to like it “wild” ;) (it’s actually the opposite, as Gary Holt explained in an interview at the festival). After three stints with the band, Steve “Zetro” Souza has finally been fired for good and Rob Dukes (who was likewise rudely “released” back then) has been brought back to fill the void. There have not been other candidates? Gary says, they did not ask anybody else, they wanted Rob back, because they remained close friends. Gary Holt is still occasionally playing with the (more or less) retired Slayer and Tom Hunting had to win his battle with stomach cancer before he could get back on the stage again. He obviously did, and that did certainly play a part in the apparent rejuvenation of EXODUS. The band seems to be bursting with energy, currently they are recording not only one, but two new studio albums.
[BRT] EXODUS are certainly going to tear it up again. I could have done without the extremely unlikable Rob Dukes, but who knows what went down behind the closed rehearsal room doors. Well, with band as big as they are, management was probably also involved in that decision...
[Psycho] I'll be honest: I would have preferred Zetro as the singer - or literally anyone else. It shouldn't be that difficult to find a decent shouter in the States!?
[Seb] Even though EXODUS unfortunately couldn’t play in 2023, they've already become something of a permanent fixture at the festival for me, and the Californians have - as of yet - never disappointed.
[Psycho] I had actually been looking forward to seeing EXODUS live with Zetro again, but things turned out differently. Instead, we got Rob Dukes, who at least managed to have his chav level under more control this time. Good, but he is still a terribly one-dimensional singer - even for a thrash metal band. EXODUS stormed out of the gates to three classics from the first album. As per usual at a blistering pace, although these songs in particular really didn't need to be played so much faster than on the album. Of course it was quite entertaining, but in my opinion, there was also nothing special to write home about. While the band played a decent amount of tracks from Bonded By Blood some fans were still disappointed: During their last US tour the album was featured in full length. Nevertheless, it was enough to highlight the contrast between the older songs and the newer riff-heavy material. Apart from that, there was the usual involvement of the audience, and soon the first day at the ROCK HARD FESTIVAL was done and dusted. It did not even rain properly…
[Seb] I can mostly subscribe to that: The show was (as always) by no means a disappointment, but EXODUS have had better gigs and this one won't go down in the books as one of their most impressive performances. As for Mr. Dukes: we all seem to agree that he sucks, and the man himself does also appear to know that his “popularity” isn't in a particularly good state: his shouted “I'm fucking back motherfuckers” sounded more defiant than anything else.
All in all, it's always a treat to hear classics like A Lesson In Violence or Blacklist, and it's a pity that The Toxic Waltz and Strike Of The Beast (both of course played towards the end) unfortunately fell victim to my walk to the subway.
[Sui] Wrecking ball, the 2nd! EXODUS leave no stone unturned with their set. While Rob Dukes will probably never be a crowd favorite, he does least focus on his job. Yes, I agree, his vocal qualities are pretty one dimensional, but most songs in today's set list are as well. Especially with the Bonded By Blood songs, his shortcomings are of little consequence, considering that Paul Baloff wasn't exactly a subtle vocal acrobat either. In my opinion, Geoff Tate would have been a more worthy headliner, but it was still a strong finale to day one.
[BRT] Lots of songs from Bonded By Blood, so basically a largely fool proof setlist. Dukes didn't stand out too negatively and bands like Testament or Death Angel should exchange notes with the mixer to learn how the amphitheater sound works ... Strong performance.
P.S. I like the "wasn't a subtle vocal acrobat" ;)
Band: Rob Dukes (vox), Gary Holt (git), Lee Altus (git), Jack Gibson (bass), Tom Hunting (drums)
Setlist: Bonded By Blood, Exodus, And Then There Were None, Fabulous Disaster, Children Of A Worthless God, Brain Dead, Deathamphetamine, Blacklist, Prescribing Horror, The Beatings Will Continue (Until Morale Improves), Metal Command, A Lesson In Violence, War Is My Shepherd // The Toxic Waltz, Strike Of The Beast
[Sui] My conclusion of the first day: No real disappointment, two wrecking balls, and one real highlight. A good Friday!
[BRT] My first highlight was the surprisingly good weather, SANHEDRIN and GEOFF TATE were my musical highlights, and all the other bands were at least decent and often good. Maybe a bit too much thrash in the lineup, and particularly two thrash bands in a row was a bit unfortunate. I was also surprised how large the audience was for a first day. Usually, the first bands draw a smaller crowd. Hard to say if the festival sold enough tickets to break even, though - the ticket sale figures for the last few years have never been made public, have they?
There were a lot of rumors and negativity before the event started, but once you’re there it's really great again.
[Pycho] At least on paper, Friday was definitely the best day of the event - and not only because it hardly rained. Sometimes you just have to be lucky... |
