SNAKE RIDE RODEO were up first on Thursday, their singer apparently stage manager for the two big days to follow. Explains a lot. Non-descript traditional metal, the kind Europeans eat up, especially after a long, alcohol-fuelled evening. But it was only 8 PM, and many had yet to pay the 30 Euro ($45 USD) entrance fee, nor wound their way through the “Bonkasse” (purchasing drink tickets), so despite frequent invitations from the stage for a toast, the Snakes rode into apathy.??Is it really fair to put thrash newbies EVILE on the same stage with old warriors KREATOR at practically a home game? While the British press has trumped up the recent crop of potentially (internationally) viable bands, EVILE amongst them, it’s long overdue for a nation with a proud metallic heritage but nothing to show for it in a generation! ‘Bathe In Blood’, ‘First Blood’, the new ‘Now Demolition’, and then closing with ‘Enter The Grave’, the debut’s title track held them in good stead. Bassist Mike Alexander wore a Maple Leafs jersey. Jon Oliva’s repertoire relies heavily on Savatage material. From this perspective, that’s a good thing. As if anyone was unaware, the set kicked off with ‘City Beneath The Surface’ and ‘Sirens’. You go Jon! Latter-day ‘Tage came in the form of ‘Believe’, ‘Jesus Saves’ and ‘Edge Of Thorns’, amongst others, prior to closing with the ubiquitous ‘Hall Of The Mountain King’. A side note, someone needs to talk to Oliva and guitarist Matt LaPorte. Tragically, both mountains (in reference to Leslie West, as well as the aforementioned track) seem inexplicitly linked in a caloric Autobahn that shows signs of stopping only in fatality.??Less than a year to the date, KREATOR headlined Wacken, in front of at least 70,000 (numbers vary), yet here they were at essentially a club show. Special! The video display behind them made all the more sense since everyone could make out the images (think Mille Petrozza-fronted version of the Spartans in 300). A heavy dose of the last trio of albums, plus the classics made for a joyous introduction to BYH, even if the 1 AM finish threatened the next morning’s timely start of the festival proper.
FRIDAY?Sort of surprising to see ALESTORM up so early, given the recent spate of press, however the single guitar quartet is still a bit rough onstage. That doesn’t stop the self-proclaimed Scottish pirates from having fun, the scruffy-bearded Chris Bowes leading his men through the paces, his portable Roland keyboard slung over his shoulder like a guitar. After beginning with ‘Set Sail And Conquer’, it was an almost non-stop parade of ‘Over The Seas’, ‘Nancy The Tavern Wench’ (one of the few slow-downs), ‘Old Spice’, ‘Wenches & Mead’, ‘Pirate Song’ (the latter pair sardonically introduced by Bowes using just the titles), ‘Keelhauled’, ‘Captain Morgan’s Revenge’ (last verse dedicated to Jacko, who died overnight, not that many campers had heard/cared about the news) and what appeared to be the set ender, ‘Wolves Of The Sea’. They left the stage, incidental music came on, only to stop as ALESTORM returned for the near thrash intensity of ‘Terror On The High Seas’.
KISSIN’ DYNAMITE are confused youngsters, not sure whether to embrace the hard rock/traditional metal stylings that comprise a good portion of their set, or to capitalize on the feminine-appealing looks to re-create an ‘80s Sunset Strip sound, which they occasionally attempt (unfavourably): ‘Freaky’. From youth, to senior statesman, ROSS THE BOSS. Hats off to the onetime Manowar guitarist for slugging it out on his own merits, leaving the “known” anthems until the end (apart from ‘Death Tone’ and ‘Gloves Of Metal’). One thing’s for sure, the Boss learned facial expressions from Joey DeMaio, a scowl affixed from the opening ‘Blood Of Knives’, the riffing intro of ‘We Will Kill’ and when necessary (‘Immortal Son’) Freidman doubles on keyboards. ‘Thor (The Powerhead)’ seemed lost on the crowd, even when singer Patrick Fuchs (Ivory Night) strapped on a (second) guitar. It seems that time constraints bit the set, forcing an abrupt decision to air the closing Manowar classic ‘Hail & Kill’ earlier than they wanted, but the audience responded in kind, singing and clapping along as only the Germans can do. An ending that sent everyone away (band included) happy.??It was too early, sunny and warm for VOIVOD. Beginning with their signature tune, a beefier Snake (Denis Belanger) fronted the avant-garde French Canadians through a greatest hits set that was interrupted, for me, by an U.D.O. listening session. A couple dozen journalists joined me in the artist village, populated by a patio surrounded by potted ferns, palms, yucca and assorted greenery, meant to replicate a more exotic island locale. The industry hob-knob over, returned in time to see the final number by folk-tinged black/pagan metallers PRIMORDIAL, with only front man AA Nemtheanga decked in corpse paint.
??Backstage, I had talked with SACRED REICH front man/bassist Phil Rind, who related being thrilled to talk to other artists (particularly Harley Flanagan of the Cro-Mags at another festival) and was floored that fans still care after all these years. Opening with ‘The American Way’, they also tore through ‘Independent’, ‘Administrative Decisions’, their signature tune and ‘One Nation’ before dedicating ‘Crimes Against Humanity’ to a seven-year-old standing at the barricade. SACRED REICH always had a political streak running through them, so their cover of ‘War Pigs’ seemed appropriate as ever, followed by the ‘Surf Nicaragua’ finale.??Speaking of political anti-war mongers, SODOM were up next, the first band to get a full hour (others had 40 minutes). Under a blazing sun it felt like opener ‘Napalm In The Morning’, before launching into a stream of old material (perhaps buoyed by the Witchhunter tribute show just two months earlier): the likes of a started slower than normal ‘Outbreak Of Evil’, ‘Blasphemer’ and ’Agent Orange’ peppered with ’Axis Of Evil’, ‘The Saw Is The Law’, ‘Ausgebombt’ and a set-closing ‘Bombenhagel’. Powerful, lethal festival fun.
Have to admit, was anxious to see LITA FORD, my male ego revving despite the presence of Mohawk, well-tattooed husband Jim Gillette (ex-Nitro) and their two kids, all of whom are featured during the show. Kind of forgot how pedestrian her biggest hits were and the set only picked up pace three songs in, with ‘Can’t Catch Me’. Lita did her best, running across the stage, dropping to her knees with and without guitar (‘Die For Me Black Widow’). ‘Back To The Cave’ began with exaggerated drum rhythms, ‘Falling In And Out Of Love’ and since, in her words, “Ozzy’s not here; I’ll need you to sing along,” ‘When I Close My Eyes Forever’, complete with double neck guitar , was sung from the shortened gangplank/walkway that thrust into the audience, preceded the obvious ‘Kiss Me Deadly’ finale.
??Finished hanging around with well-wishers and journalists backstage, it was time for Udo Dirkschneider and crew to rock the house. De facto headliner, since many saw JOURNEY as a mismatch for the lineup. The diminutive frontman not only entertained those gathered, but served notice to the reunited “Accept” with nearly half the setlist consisting of selections from his time singing for that band. To that end U.D.O. heightened the competition by opening with ‘Metal Heart’, one of Accept’s biggest hits. ‘Midnight Highway’, ‘24/7’ nipped at their heels, sort of a Germanic AC/DC pumping out anthem after anthem. ‘Vendetta’, a sing-along version of ‘Princess Of The Dawn’, ‘Living For Tonight’, ‘Man And Machine’, ‘Thunderball’ and ‘Animal House’ from the original solo effort concluded the proper set. The encore began with ’Holy’, ‘Balls To The Wall’ with obligatory call and response from the crowd, and ‘I’m A Rebel’ before exiting the stage (although he hung around backstage all day Saturday too).??Like myself, was unsure how invested the metal community was with JOURNEY headlining Friday night. In nine years, I’d never seen a full scale piano onstage at BYH. The last time I’d “witnessed” Journey live was 1980, as they were booed off the stage in front of nearly 80,000 at the old JFK stadium in Philadelphia, PA where they were supposed to open for the Rolling Stones. A couple of years ago, BYH hosted Foreigner (in support of headlining IN FLAMES), who concentrated on their first two/three albums, which were FM rock staples of the late ‘70s/early ‘80s. Journey, at best, has always been pop. Many believe that band should have been on the Rock Of Ages festival (produced by the same people as BYH) as it diluted the metal quotient. You’re up against it when a portion of the crowd doesn’t care about the headliner (or worse, think it’s a total mistake). Look at 2008. OK granted a celebration of ten years outdoors, but the top of the BYH bill was populated by Queensryche (performing both Mindcrime discs back-to-back), Iced Earth, Saxon and Judas Priest! Part of the reason for the reduced attendance, victim of your past success. In ‘09 it was controversial Journey, W.A.S.P., Blind Guardian and the aforementioned U.D.O., but many Germans consider the last two as local acts and unworthy of shelling out extra $ to see them at a festival. Despite opening with ‘Separate Ways’, ‘Stone In Love’, ‘Ask The Lonely’ and ‘Wheel In The Sky’ in the early part of the set, couples kissed and the crowd was polite, but there was little headbanging, although head and banging might have gone on in separate (ways?) later in the evening.
SATURDAY
The day began in a pouring rainstorm that threatened to last all day. Only the devout and waterlogged braved the front of the stage for NWOBHM veterans CLOVEN HOOF, who as Englishmen should have been accustomed to the deluge. Singer Russ North yelped his way through ‘Dominator’ with its military cadence drumming and a closing ‘The Gates Of Gehenna’. LAAZ ROCKIT fared no better, in terms of (not) amassing waterproof punters. As rain condensed on the footlights, steam could be seen rising from the hot bulbs. No worry, they stormed (pun intended) through the likes of ‘Forced To Fight’, ‘Last Breath’ and ‘I’m Electric’ before concluding with ‘Fire In The Hole’, the oldies saved towards the end of the set.
The theatrical, corpse-painted POWERWOLF avoided running mascara in the rain. Their stage featured scrims depicting stained glass windows and the keyboardist made frequent forays to the soaked gathering, whenever his Hammond liturgy wasn’t deemed necessary. Standouts included the priest-blessed ‘Resurrection By Erection’ and the energetic ‘Kiss Of The Cobra King’ sendoff. More comic book Kiss, than Scandinavian brand of black and white face-painted evil.
Shame more didn’t witness a rare live appearance by DRIVER, as much that guitarist/producer Roy Z and Impellitteri/Drive/solo career vocalist Rob Rock were both out of the studio simultaneously! Towards the end of the set, the rain diminished and ultimately it became a sunny day (can you say divine inspiration?). Onstage, Z-Rock opened with ‘Sons Of Thunder’, added ‘Fly Away’, an old MARS: Project Driver chestnut ‘Nations On Fire’ and off Rock’s Rage Of Creation solo debut (which Roy Z produced and played on) ‘Judgment Day’ where Z stood on the walkway, back to the audience and played the guitar behind his head, single-handedly! They ended with ‘Warrior’ a track Rock has adopted (since the ‘90 Driver EP) in almost every band he plays.
Speaking of WARRIOR, the Cali band Rock helped out at one point, they came on next, with original vocalist Parramore “Perry” McCarty back in the fold. The band was decked out in post-apocalyptic army fatigues. With McCarty re-enlisted, the set was heavy on the ‘85 Fighting For The Earth debut, including ‘Ruler’, ‘Day Of The Evil’, ‘Tonight We Ride’ and a bluesy jam that led into the title cut, which saw them joined briefly by guitarist Roy Z. PINK CREAM 69 was a last minute fill-in for Tesla, who cancelled when travel plans made it impossible to play Italy and mid-day in Germany on back-to-back days. They were followed by HARDCORE SUPERSTAR, four tattooed gents who try to recapture the attitude of latter-day Motley Crue (i.e. not make-up), even making hyperbolic Motley-like statements introducing, “the best guitar player in the world.” Hardly. Like their obvious mentors, the drum sound and vocalist are prominent in the mix.
EXODUS has taken some drubbing for re-recording one of metal’s masterpieces Bonded By Blood. Undaunted, originals Gary Holt (guitar) and Tom Hunting (drums), along with the rest of the band, boarded my US Airways flight from Philly to Frankfurt, bent on proving this “new” lineup can compete with the ‘80s memories. Opening with ‘Bonded By Blood’, Lee Altus (Heathen) gives the thrashers a legitimate guitar tandem to rival the vaunted H-Team (Holt matched with original axe partner Rick Hunolt). Rob Dukes sported sunglasses and American flag shorts that displayed his well tattooed frame. He even got the respectful crowd to start a mosh pit. ‘A Lesson In Violence’, ‘Strike Of The Beast’ and the nearly drowned out by the audience ‘Toxic Waltz’ were expected. ‘Iconoclasm’ wasn’t. Prior to ‘War Is My Shepherd’, Dukes chided the crowd, “Would you like us to play some slow shit, to catch your breath? Good, cause we don’t have any fucking slow stuff!”
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Y&T were almost the antithesis of Exodus, but that’s what’s so cool about these festivals. Fans/bands love/thrive on the seeming dichotomies, especially from these sonically and personality-opposed outfits from the same town (albeit almost a generation apart)! ‘Open Fire’ was an apt kick off, quickly followed by ‘Lipstick & Leather’, which produced a “Y&T” chant upon completion. Thoroughly enjoying himself, Dave Meniketti (guitar/vocals) removed his sunglasses and switched from his worn-from-excessive use red and gold Les Paul to a blue one. ‘Dirty Girl’, ‘Meanstreak’ and ‘Rescue Me’ came in succession, including an instrumental/solo from Meniketti. Not to be outdone, the thump from Phil Kennemore’s bass reverberated off everyone’s chest, including a couple ample ones of the female form down front. ‘Eyes Of A Stranger’, ‘Black Tiger’, the emotive ‘I Believe In You’, complete with six-string sickness from the elder statesman Meniketti, and a closing ‘Forever’ rounded out the set. Amazing and hard to comprehend, but a band celebrating their 35th year, old enough to be grandfathers to a good portion of the crowd, can not only sustain interest, but garner such praise, across both the age and stylistic spectrum. Long may Meniketti, Kennemore and Y&T continue to tread the boards!
Over the last few years, bad luck has befallen W.A.S.P., many a mishap forcing cancellations or abbreviated appearances by Blackie Lawless and Co. Thankfully, no such jinx in Balingen, although bassist Mike Duda was wearing a medical boot onstage, apparently having injured his ankle at some earlier date. In mirrored shades, NY Yankees shirt and fringed, calf-high Native American moccasin/boots, Lawless kept his banter to a minimum, delivering the goods, from the opening medley of ‘On Your Knees’/’Inside The Electric Circus’ and ‘Hate To Love Me’. The Dominator backdrop featured a world map, focused on North America and Europe, each letter in the album’s title encircled by a targeting crosshair. ‘L.O.V.E. Machine’ and ‘Wild Child’ were eaten up, but upon announcing a Dominator track (‘Take Me Up’), several headed for the bathroom, food stall, or more likely, a refill. They came back once they heard the call of ‘Chainsaw Charlie (Murders In The Rue Morgue)’, then ‘The Idol’, the audience participation-rich ‘I Wanna Be Somebody’ and a closing ‘Blind In Texas’. Just a question: why is “security” an English word, when fireworkers and EMT/ambulance squads (all equally important concert personnel) are not Anglicized? Odd.
Last, and certainly not least, Germany’s own BLIND GUARDIAN, pulling out some Euro-gems. After opening with ‘Time Stands Still’, it was a speedy ‘Another Holy War’, Hansi Kursch in waist-length leather coat (it wasn’t cold). In addition to the leather merchant, it looks like he’s recently seen a stylist, or the Hair Club For Men, as he’s sporting more “coverage” than a couple years back. ‘Nightfall’ and the stage bathed in yellows and reds for ‘Traveler In Time’ marked an early old-timers trio that heralded more “modern” sounds (just two studio efforts in the last 11 years!) to come. Witness the Celtic-flavoured ‘Turn The Page’ and ‘Blood Tears’ book-ending ‘A Script For My Requiem’. The staging and lighting was first rate, sure to show up somewhere, if even just the annual BYH compilation. Switching the tactic ‘Goodbye My Friend’ and the glorious ‘Valhalla’ surrounded ‘This Will Never End’. The final third of the 17 song set was a fanatic’s paradise, running through a clap-along ‘Time What Is Time’ which got bombastic after the lull, then ‘Lord Of The Rings’, ‘Imaginations From The Other Side’ (YES!), ‘The Bard Song (In The Forest)’ and ‘Mirror Mirror’ which portent the BYH-closing skyward fireworks display.
Hope to see you there next year!
To see more visual evidence from Bang Your Head, click the following links: Day 1, Day 2
