Luckily, we arrived just as our fellow countrymen Mindtaker were about to enter the W.E.T Stage. Coming from Redondo, a small village in the south of Portugal, they played some old-school thrash combined with crossover, a kind of "Tankard meets Suicidal Tendencies" combo. They opened the set with There Off in front of a mostly quiet and curious crowd, managing no more than a few headbangs. With titles and lyrics revolving around the usual cliches of the genre - as seen moment later with the song titled Into the Pit - they hardly managed to capture a lot of the crowd's attention, as most just stood there lazily watching as the set eventually came to an end with their final song Welcome to the Toxic War.

As the curtains closed in the W.E.T Stage, the ones at its sibling Headbangers Stage were about to disclose some guys wearing sombreros over their heads. Coming from Mexico, Tulkas played thrash metal and were immediately greeted as several hands and mexican flags were held high. Their set was mostly fast and somewhat furious, and although they got some more reaction from the crowd than Mindtaker did, most of the people were still watching calm and quiet.

We moved left once again to the W.E.T Stage to check Audn, from Iceland. The quintet appeared all somberly dressed in black as their Atmospheric Black Metal quickly won the public's attention. The genre's been gaining a lot of adepts - and bands - lately, but Audn played their part quite well, with some interesting-sounding tunes and a fierce performance, keeping things interesting and wisely not over-the-top. This would become one of our favorite Wacken Metal Battle participants of this year, so we were quite happy when they turned out to win the 3rd place in the competition. Congrats, guys!

Vimoksha, from Japan, were next, with some unusual props on stage - a japanese drum, as we learned later - and a strong bass line that fueled things over. They started quite well, but as the initial surprise wore off, I became more aware of a generally-confused sound coming from the stage. There were some different genres combined with some tribal melodies and rhythms, but the overall result was a muffled, confused mix that left me wanting for something different.

It was time to leave the Bullhead City Circus and move towards the Wackinger Stage, enjoying some sun as we watched Vogelfrey. They are one of the many folk acts that would be playing almost on a daily basis on this stage, and they are a really fun act to watch. They have a great time with the audience, and everyone sings along, reminding me once again that I really, really, REALLY should learn how to speak german to understand what they're saying and be able to sing along with everyone. As always, a very entertaining show, it's always a pleasure to watch these guys. As a side note, they'll release a new album soon so you should go and check it out!

Although the Metal Battle would only resume tomorrow, we moved back indoors to check Bliksem, from Antwerp, Belgium. They were fronted by a red-haired, bare-footed and very energic lady and they played thrash with a 70's rock feeling, grabbing a lot of cheers from the crowd.

On the W.E.T Stage, one of the most anticipated show of the day as the jazzy-metallers Panzerballet entered the stage with your weird combination of jazz and metal. Although the outcome of such an unexpected mix might not be aimed for your average metalhead, one can't deny the enormous proficiency of these guys, as they played a set full of odd time-signatures, unexpected breaks and weird melodies like a perfectly oiled machine but somehow making it sound hot and organic, and not cold and robot-like. Songs played included titles such as Vulgar Display of Sauerkraut or their very own version of the Pink Panther theme song.

The warm-up day was almost over, but before we made our way back to our tent there was still time for one more show, back in the Wackinger Stage. Eric Fish, from Subway to Sally, took the stage with some selected friends and played an acoustic set that took us away from the now cold night and warmed us up a little bit.

Rain greeted us in the morning, so we quickly jumped into the Bullhead City Circus for some solace and for more Wacken Metal Battles. Pain Is, from Austria, were playing in the W.E.T Stage and let me tell you, if there was a prize for the best clothing, these guys would surely win, immaculate shirts, ties and vests on top! They played metalcore, resembling a more melodic Heaven Shall Burn at times - specially with that red shirt! They ended up winning 5th place in the competition.

We moved right to the Heabangers Stage where Annihilator's Jeff Waters was announcing, from Greece and playing for the first time outside of Greece, Tidal Dreams a classic heavy-metal band with some folk elements. They opened with Argonauts a set of catchy songs highlighting the singer's high-pitched voice and some smart harmonies, and later on they would also include some bagpipes, for the epic finale of a day that they will surely remember forever.

The W.E.T Stage brought us some sludge from Ireland. zhOra stormed the stage with some brutal and progressive riffs. The crowd just stood there watching and the band seemed to be in a world of their own, turned into themselves as they played a very angered - yet, very personal - set.

Lepergod were next, from Argentina. The quartet played death metal with a obscure, Behemoth-like approach, with some facial/body paints and singing in spanish. Later on they were joined by a female singer, adding some more melody in one of the songs. There were a lot of hands in the air but I felt the overall sound could use some polishing to remove some rough edges, sounding too raw.

Closing the Wacken Metal Battle marathon, coming from South Africa, a band with the coolest band name ever: Zombies Ate My Girlfriend! They were wearing some different outfits, including one that looked like a priest, and presented us with a powerful metalcore set, although they refer to themselves as playing "Violent Scream Metal"! As we've seen many times here, this is a genre that's very well received and has many adepts, and this was one of its best representative, as they ended up winning 1st place in the Wacken Metal Battle competition! Congratulation, guys!

We left the huge Circus tent for some fresh air and checked Reliquae in the Wackinger Stage. As usual with this stage, it was a folk rock band including several instruments as bagpipes, violin and whatnot, as also as usual, it was a fun show to watch and jump around while trying to sing along to word we don't understand! Damn, I really need to learn how to speak german!

And all of a sudden, it was time to make way to the Main Stages area for the traditional official opening show, by Skyline, the band that was responsible for Wacken Open Air's existence, 27 years ago! As usual, they entered the Black Stage to play a set consisting of covers of some of the greatest metal classics, so this year we got homages to Lemmy and to Dio, and classics such as Stargazers, Crazy Train, I Don't Believe In Love, Bang Your Head and Killing In The Name Of.

Since the True Metal Stage was reserved for Iron Maiden's show later in the evening, we had to wait for half an hour so the Black Stage could be changed and ready for Saxon. They entered to the sound of AC/DC's It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock'n'Roll) and opened the set with Battering Ram, off their latest album with the same title, released in October, last year. It was followed by Motorcycle Man, Sacrifice, Power and Glory, The Eagle has landed, among many other songs, all of them accompanied by the numerous crowd covering Wacken's "Holy Ground". One of the highlights of the show was Heavy Metal Thunder, from the album Strong Arm of the Law, a song that Bill Byford dedicated to Lemmy. The show would end with another great classic, Princess of the Night, and it's just incredible how, after nearly 40 years on the road and 10 shows at Wacken, these guys can still play here with as much devotion and energy as if it was their first time here.

Frankfurt punk rockers Serum 114 brought some action to the tent. The band led by Christian Eschweiler didn't play a very long set, but still he found some time to stop singing for a little bit and have some fun, crowdsurfing during their version of Deichkind's Illegale Fans. I'm sure they'd hoped for a bigger crowd but that didn't stop them from giving all they had to the ones that were there for them.

Foreigner was also one of the highlights of this first official day at Wacken, and we could see there was a lot of people waiting for these rockers. The mood was building up with their rock anthems but rain was about to return so after a couple of songs we headed back to the Bullhead City Circus.

Vader was next. The Polish death metallers hadn't been here since 2003 and opened the set with Wings, from their 2000's album Litany. They also played some songs from the more recent Tibi Et Igni, including Triumph of Death, and promised a new album for later in the year, in November. Going back in time, they remembered their debut album, 1992's The Ultimate Incantation, with the song Dark Age, and the circle was completed as they returned to Litany to close the set with Cold Demons, leaving the stage to the sound of Star Wars' Imperial March, sang along by the whole crowd.

When went back to the W.E.T Stage to check Tsjuder. They entered the stage to the sound of Ennio Morricone's A Gringo Like Me, I'm not sure it they do that regularly since this was the first time that I saw them live. The Danish trio, with corpse paint and long-nailed bracelets, played a powerful show, even though they only had about half the number of people watching comparing to Vader's show. Their set included some tracks from their latest album Antiliv, and I found this one of the most interesting performances of this 1st official Wacken day. The closed the set with a final farewell message: "See you in Hell"!

Coming from New York and celebrating the 25th anniversary of their debut album Dawn of Possession, Immolation played next, and for the first time here at Wacken! They opened the set with A Spectacle of Lies, from their 2013 album Kingdom of Conspiracy. From their aforementioned debut album, they played Despondent Souls, Kingdom of Conspiracy , Dawn of Possession and Immolation, which they dedicated to Marduk and to Vader, for sharing the stage here with them.They ended the set with All that awaits you, from the album Kingdom of Conspiracy.

I've been somewhat curious to see Marduk live ever since I heard the stories shared by Moonspell about the times share by both bands, so here I was to finally check them out! Just like Tsjuder, they entered the stage to the sound of A Gringo Like Me, and the crowd was also fewer in numbers than I expected, but of course, Iron Maiden were playing at the main stage, at this time, and even with the unexpected help by St. Peter - yes, it was raining cats and dogs, yet again - people just didn't seem to care and wouldn't search for shelter from the rain here in the tent, at least for the moment. Their opening track was Frontschwein, the title-track of their latest album, from which also came their following song The Blond Beast. The set was a brutal one, and the lights were mostly red or flashing wildly. Later, they also played Still Fucking Dead, among several other songs, as the crowd finally started to welcome some newcomers and the rain continued outside, relentless and seemingly unstoppable.

The Black Dahlia Murder were also one of the bands that I was curious about. Since they described themselves as a Melodic Death Metal band, I was counting on a good show with a lot of energy. They entered the stage and taunted the audience, saying to "Show me your muscles. Let me see how stuff you are!" and the response was outstanding! Trevor Strnad was an amazing frontman and led the band through a set that included some songs off their latest album Abysmal, which included its title-track. On the other hand, they had a new guy on the guitar, but he was hardly noticed. The crowd... well, the crowd was fucking amazing! The crowdsurf was non-stop, from the beginning and up to the very end of the set, I fail to find words to properly describe it. The poor security guys were almost overwhelmed by the continuous waves of metalheads moving onward, over everyone's heads. Also, the circle-pit was one of the widest that I saw here in the tent. I was hoping for a great show, but this was HUGE!

Hugo: As I walked a bit through the Wackinger Village, I noticed a show starting at the Wasteland Stage, so I took some quick shots of Monstagon.

Hugo: Since Iron Maiden decided to allow only a very limited number of pre-selected photographer in the pit, preventing most of us from taking photos of their show, I immediately decided I wouldn't stay to watch and review the show, so I made a run back to the Medieval area and right to the Wackinger Stage, where the always fun Folk Rock act Feuerschwanz was about to play. With their funny clothings and fantastic performances, they soon had the crowd cheering and laughing, and even though the rain returned a couple of minutes later, no one had any thoughts of leaving all the fun, singing and jumping to songs such as Sex is Muss or Krieger des Mets.

Therapy? have been around for quite some time. Formed in Northern Ireland in 1989 by singer/guitarist Andy Cairns, they play an alternative rock somewhat unexpected for a Metal festival. There wasn't a lot of people watching the show, but still I was hoping for a fun show and that was indeed the therapy that they brought us. They opened the set with Knives, from their 1994 album Troublegum that served as the main base of the setlist with songs such as Die Laughting or Nowhere, even though they have released a new album last year, entitled Disquiet. They also played a cover of Isolation, by Joy Division, and Ace of Spades, in yet another tribute to Lemmy.

The night was almost over but there was still time for an unexpected surprise. I knew nothing about Michael Monroe, so I had no idea what to expect of this show, so I was stunned by the very energic entrance and the power of his glam rock sound. Jumping all the way through the stage and upfront, over the huge amps sitting in front of the stage, he won the crowd in no time and everyone had a blast watching all the stunts performed by the Finnish rocker. Great songs such as This Ain't No Love Song, '78 or Ballad of the Lower East Side were some of the many highlights of the show, but the star was most definitely Michael Monroe. He jumped, he ran, he joined the crowd, hell, he even climbed all the way up through the stage's side scaffold, right up to where the stage light were, and stayed there for some time! Great entertainment as the 1st official night was almost at its end.

And, closing the night, Blue Öyster Cult. What can I say%u2026 whenever I hear the band's name, the song that immediately comes to mind i, of course, their classic (Don't Fear) The Reaper, the song everyone in the crowd was expecting. The band's been around since 1967 and hasn't released a studio album since 2001, but with a total of 14 albums, they'll hardly run out of songs. They opened with Dominance and Submission, from their 1974 album Secret Treaties and passed through their discography, including of course the aforementioned classic. The rhythm was not very fast and the sund was also not very heavy, but there was a lot of people checking this legendary band, and making the most of the last few moments of this 1st official night at Wacken - which ended with the encore, Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll. Time to go back to the campsite for a well deserved rest. And remember, whenever you feel old and tired, just remember these guys and think back to yourself that You're Never Too Old to Rock and Roll!

The second day opened with Pyogenesis in the Black Stage. The band from Hamburg was presenting their new album A Century In The Curse Of Time, the first in more than a decade, but the number of people watching was much shorter than I had ever expected. One could blame it on the weather, but looking to our right side, we could see a lot of people in front of the Party Stage, where Orden Ogan was playing, so I guess Pyo just had a lot of bad luck with their time slot. They opened the show with the new album's opener Steam Paves Its Way (The Machine) and things looked promising, but when they were starting to warm things up, rain started to pour heavily and unrelentless, and the ground quickly turned once again into a huge mud pool. They tried their best to capture everyone's attention, jumping around and using some fire cannons, to great effect, but it was just disappointing the scarce audience. They also played This Won't Last Forever, but unfortunately they weren't right on this one, since the rain actually continued to fall through the whole show. They also played Twinaleblood, an oldie, and announced they'd be touring soon.

While Pyogenesis were playing for an almost deserted Black Stage, I made a quick run to the Party Stage where a huge crowd was having a lot of fun watching Orden Ogan's show. Hugo: Unfortunately, rain started to fall after a couple of songs, so I didn't stay long and quickly had to run for cover.

"No wants get out alive"
The Haunted brought some action to Wacken's Main Stage area, with the band's frontman Marco Aro always on the front of the stage, one side to another, constantly urging the crowd to move around and go wild. Visibly happy, he dedicated the song Undead to all the people that was here watching and singing even with all the rain and mud. Later, he would also dedicate Hollow Ground to all the ladies! Apart from that, everything else was a blur with fast powerful songs one after the other right up %u2018til their final Hate Song and leaving with a "Thank you, we are The Haunted!"

My debut at the Party Stage this year was to check the phenomenon Beyond the Black. Last year we saw them play to a completely full W.E.T Stage so this year they returned and played a bigger stage where everyone would be able to watch them. That is, if they ventured onto this mud-wrestling-like territory, with lots of mud and some ankle-deep brown-colored rivers scattered all around. Still, I managed to pick up a spot where my feet wouldn't start to sink through the ground and checked their show mostly by using the 2 huge screens that sided the stage. Although these guys have only been around since 2014, they have already an enormous legion of fans so there was a lot of people watching them open the set with Lost In Forever, with fireworks and all! The set included songs from their 2 albums, Lost In Forever and their previous Songs of Love and Death, leaving also room for the Motörhead cover Love Me Forever, with the beautiful Jennifer Haben singing and playing the piano. The end brought us also one of the highlights of the show with Running to the Edge. Although I can't totally get what all the fuss is about with these guys, with such a fan-base they are certainly a force to be reckoned with!

Dutch thrash/death speedsters Legion of the Damned brought a lot of action to the crowd, with a lot of crowdsurfing to accompany the always headbanging performance of singer Maurice Swinkels and his bandmates. They were celebrating the 10 years of their debut album Malevolent Rapture so they played it in its entirety, opening with Legion of the Damned and playing it straight right to Killing for Recreation. Closing the set, there was still time for their classic Son of the Jackal.

Japanese heavy-metal legends Loudness were next, at the True Metal Stage. These guys have been around since 1981 and played a light-hearted show, replacing the heavyness of the previous shows with some wild guitar solos. They opened with Crazy Nights a set that would also include Got To Be Strong or The Sun Will Rise Again, the title track from their latest album, from 2014, or, towards the end, another song with "crazy" in the title, Crazy Doctor. Their lack of energy, comparing to previous show, left the stage a bit lifeless and was not one of my favorite shows, but they still played a good enough show to please their fans.

Equilibrium always put up some amazing shows, with their frontman's Robert Dahn enormous energy and their fast folk metal usually causing some wild reactions from the crowd, including lots of circle pits and crowdsurfing. And, even though they were playing in the mud-filled Party Stage, the crowd took no notice of that and partied their asses off. One of the hightlights of their show would be their huge hit Blut im Auge, with the whole crowd jumping, dancing and running through the mud while singing along the whole time. Also worth mention would be Prey and Born To Be Epic, 2 songs that would be released 1 week later with their new album Armageddon. As usual, it was a set filled with a lot of great folk tunes, in their own unique style. I left the Party Stage with a heart-warming sensation - and 1 pr 2 extra kilos of mud in my pants.

Time for some rockin' with Axel Rudi Pell. The veteran german guitarist hit the True Metal Stage with Fire, with the band's singer Johnny Gioeli immediately moving upfront and making contact with the crowd and grabbing everyone's attention. Nasty Reputation was one of highlights of a show that also included a short keyboard solo by Ferdy Doernberg right before Game of Sins and a drum solo by the legendary drummer Bobby Rondinelli immediately after. Rock the Nation brought the show to an end and included a cool prank when right after the "the lights turned off" part all the lights and sound were really turned off, leaving the crowd wondering for a couple of seconds, resuming the song a few moments later.

I was a little bit curious and fearful of Eluveitie's show. The Swiss band had been suffering some lineup changes in the last times, and one of the bandmembers that had left was the fan-favorite Anna Murphy. Since my past Eluveitie experiences were a mix of good and not-so-good show, I was really anxious, not knowing what to expect. They opened the set with King, from their latest album Origins, and then visited most of their past albums on the following songs, warming things up and winning the crowd. Anna Murphy's absence was noted, of course, but was well compensated by the violinist Nicole Ansperger's growing importance and visibility. In a surprising move, they invited the gracious Liv Kristine to join them onstage for The Call of the Mountains. She started a bit fearful but became more confident soon enough, continuing through to the next song, A Rose to Epona, which was sang also by thousands of people from the audience, in what became one of the highlights of the show. Helvetios made everyone go crazy, and moments later Kingdom Come Undone stirred things up with a massive circle pit. The show continued to move onward towards its end, but of course, no Eluveitie show is complete without Inis Mona, and finally there it was, closing the show with everyone singing, a great conclusion for what turned out to be a great show.

I think that by now one single hand is no longer enough to count the number of Orphaned Land concerts that I've attended, I just can't get enough of them and their always captivating shows. Against all odds, Israeli singer Kobi Farhi weren't wearing his white tunic not was he barefoot when All Is One opened what turned out to be one of my prefered concerts of this year's Wacken. Always with his open message of peace and unity through music and of political and religious tolerance, they managed to receive some very long and loud cheers from the massive crowd that gathered around the Headbangers Stage. Ocean Land and Birth of the Three brought us back to the amazing album Mabool and then the phone rang and we all knew it was time for the Lebanese belly-dancer Johanna Fakhry Najda to perform onstage during Sapari. She is a regular presence in their shows, a Lebanese amidst Israeli, another living proof of their message of peace and union through music. This was the first time I'd seen Orphaned Land without Yossi Sassi and Matti Svatizky but their absence was well compensated by the new guys Chen Balbus and Idan Amsalem. For the song Norra El Norra, there was a surprise guest singer, Noa Gruman, and Johanna returned to dance once again while all the crowd was jumping through the whole song, pushed by Kobi's contagious joy and energy. The set came to an end soon with Ornaments of Gold's ending chorus and everyone singing and waving their arms in the air, leaving just enough time for one last photo together with the crowd, with Kobi asking everyone to put up those flags so they could all be seen.

Hugo:
There was a lot of curiosity about this show. Kai Hansen is one of the most well-known names in the heavy metal scene and he was about to play a special set with some friends, consisting of songs from his Hansen & Friends album XXX - Three Decades in Metal along with some classics from his other bands. The set opened with Born Free, one of the new ones, and then the crowd went wild with Wall of Jericho, the intro that would of course lead into Ride The Sky, an oldie from his past time with Helloween. Kai Hansen was visibly having a blast, always smiling in the center of the stage, as the band accompanied with some guest participants here and there, such as Clementine Delauney in Fire & Ice or Michael Kiske in the Helloween classics I Want Out and Future World. Overall, it was a cool show with everybody singing along and having fun.

I love the French band Alcest, so when I went to the Bullhead City Circus I was already expecting a good show. The former Black Metal band has been moving to a more atmospheric sound for some time now, and were about to release a new album, so I was hoping they would also show us a glimpse or two of the new masterpiece.
Well, that didn't happen%u2026 They opened the set with the Pt.1 of Écailles de Lune's title-track, followed by the Pt.2. From the same album was also played Percées de Lumière, a song that always sounds wonderfully when played live, right after Autre Temps. The end came with Là oú naissent les Couleurs nouvelles. Sadly, no new songs, but the few old ones that were played made up for that, what a great show!

The biggest show of Day 2 here at Wacken was about to begin. The rain had already stopped but the ground was all slippery with water and mud everywhere, but nothing would prevent the audience to completely fill-up the Main Stages area and watch Blind Guardian's show. They opened with The Ninth Wave, from their latest album Beyond the Red Mirror, and everything was set for an amazing evening. Next, a journey back in time to 1995's Imaginations From The Other Side. The Script for My Requiem had everyone singing along, and so did Nightfall next, the remarkable song from 1998's Nightfall In Middle-Earth that works out really well live. Hansi Kürsch seemed quite happy and at ease today, urging the crowd to sing along with him - he was preaching to the converted, of course, who wouldn't sing along to such memorable songs as Lord Of The Rings, Time Stands Still (At The Iron Hill) or Imaginations from the Other Side, just to name a few of the songs played from their long career? And then, the moment that we can never be prepared for. The Bard's Song - In the Forest is one of their most loved songs, but Every Single Soul in this crowded Main Stages area sang their hearts out through the whole song, all their hands in the air, waving and clapping, in a perfect, magical moment, one of those Wacken moments to remember! The show was now moving towards its end, closing with Mirror, Mirror and then Valhalla, a great ending for an excellent show, flawless and magical! In the end, Hansi Kürsch thanked the crowd in several languages - so we got to hear him say "Obrigado!"

After Blind Guardian's fantastic show, it was time to move a little bit to the left, towards the Black Stage, where Ministry would be playing next. It's been a long time since I'd seen them for the last time, in 1999. Back then I remember being a little bit anxious and the show being a bit crazy, but it's been so much time since then that I didn't know what to expect from this show. They opened the set with Hail to His Majesty (Peasants), with Al Jourgensen entering the stage with a gas mask, but soon he was moving around and making headbang with his dreadlocks during Punch in the Face. This had been a long day and some people started to leave for some rest, but the remaining still formed a big enough crowd through the rest of a set that would end with Stigmata and then So what[/song. A cool trip down memory lane.

The day had been very long, but there was one last show that we had to attend. Kampfar would be the last band playing at the Bullhead City Circus and though I'd heard about them for quite some time, I'd never had the chance to see them live, so here I was at 02:20, after a 15 hour long marathon of metal shows, waiting for their folk/nature-influenced Black Metal. Their set was short but they played with a lot of energy for the brave lot that was still awake at these late hours. Some torches were placed in the stage, bringing some light to a darkened set, just as Kampfar's frontman Dolk took control of things. With a spiked bracelet in his arm and lots of headbanging, he urged everyone to accompany them through a set that included several songs from their latest album Profan, such as Gloria Ablaze and Tornekratt. Mylder, from Djevelmakt, was also one of the highlights, with [membe]Dolk gesticulating through the calmer parts. Time flew by and as the set came to an end, we dragged our tired corpsed back to the camping site. Tired as we were, it was well worth remaining there for this last show, what a great way of closing this second day!

After the usual morning rain, that fortunately was only a quick one, this time, we ran to our first show of the day. DragonForce played a good show, with a lot of funny moments and their usual gimmicks, jumping around, doing some stunts with the guitars and playing some syncronized high-speed riffs and solos. There were already a lot of metalheads in front of the stage, even at this early hour and after the very long and tiresome previous day. They opened with Holding On and some of the highlights were My Spirit Will Go On, Herous of Our Time and, of course, Valley of the Damned and their closing song Through the Fire and Flames, with the guest appearance of the Norwegian singer PelleK.

Just before leaving back to the Bullhead City Circus, I made a short detour to give a quick check at Mambo Kurt in the Beer Garden Stage. It's always fun to watch and listen to some classic metal songs played in his very special and unique way!

What the Hell has just happened here?!? Amalie Bruun is such a gentle figure and show sings and plays Black Metal? Well, I must say that I was delighted by Myrkur's show and I'm now deeply regretting the fact that I skipped, out of pure laziness, their show when they passed by Portugal a couple of months ago. Well, getting back to the show, the first I noticed was the wooden mic stand with two microphones. It looks like she's using on for her clean - almost siren-like - singing and the other for her deep growls and otherwise harsh singing. Also, not only does she sing brilliantly but she also plays the piano and even a guitar! And always maintaining a look of complete control over everything she's doing, either angry and full of rage or at other time with a quiet, introspective visage.
The set opened with the band's latest single Den Lille Piges Død, and then jumped to Hævnen, from their only full-length album M. From then on, the set mostly followed along in order through the album's track list, with Amalie leading the performance without many words between songs but captivating every one of us with her strong presence. I usually like it when there's some dialogue between the band and the audience, but for some reason it just felt that it wasn't necessary this time, as if we were in a perfect magical place of our own, just watching and listening quietly, without any distraction. Closing the set, there was still time for a cover of Bathory's Song to Hall Up High. What a great show, go check it in YouTube in WackenTV's channel, it's well worth it!

After failing to attend a couple of Borknagar shows in the past, I decided that this time there would be no way I'd miss their show in Wacken. They had just released their new album Winter Thrice in the beginning of the year and had been touring to support it, and so the opening song of the set was, quite naturally, the album's opener The Rhymes of the Mountain. The also played a lot of old songs, including Universal , Ad Noctum or Frostrite, these two with ICS Vortex on the vocals, and even included a drum solo by their young-looking but terribly gifted drummer Baard Kolstad. Towards the end, the inevitable Colossus, followed by the new album's title-track Winter Thrice. It wasn't a bad show, but I felt something was lacking... I'm not sure if I simply prefer them in studio version or if I feel they'd work better in a smaller venue instead of a huge festival, or if it was simply too much sunny a day for their sound, but I expected something different from this show. I guess my expectations were set way up high for this one, and it turned out to be "just" a good show.

Describing a Snowy Shaw show is something quite difficult to do, as words fail to fully explain what really happened. Snowy Shaw is more than just a musician, he sees the whole package - the music, the visuals, the whole shebang - so we were in for a real treat on this one! And even though I only knew him from his work with Therion and none of those songs were played, I was stoked by what would be one of this year's best shows here at Wacken! So, the stage was looking great right from the start, with his huge logo in the back, reminding of old horror movies, while the drums were in the back, surrounded by a cage. Suddenly, he enters the stage, taller than expected and advancing through the set without moving his legs while Whether With or Without started. His robes were hiding some sort of segway, of course, but it was an intriguing sight, I couldn't take my eye from it. All the other band members wore some monk-like costumes, just like the sentinels on the sides of the stage, with high, spiky hoods and no faces visible. Snowy leaves for a moment and returns after a quick change, now with his legs fully at work and guitar in hand, ready for some Heavy Metal, as Dream Evil's The Book of Heavy Metal followed, just to make us sing along with his falsetto in his next interpretation, Mercyful Fate's Come to the Sabbath. The show passed in the blink of an eye, 45 minutes were too short to fully enjoy this performance which also included songs like Fire, from The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, or Dimmu Borgir's Progenies of the Great Apocalypse, with some snow-like stuff falling about. Other great gimmicks included Swony using some huge drums onstage, separating the crowd right by the middle or using a megaphone. Black Funeral marked the end of this truly remarkable show, Snowy turned out to be a great entertainer and really, this show deserves to be back soon, and in a bigger stage and lengthier timeslot". Thank you Snowy Shaw!

We were about to leave the huge tent back to the Main Stages area, but before we left we still took just a couple of photos from Year of the Goat as they started to play in the Headbangers Stage.

Therion's show opened with Rise of Sodom and Gomorrah, sang by father and daughter (Thomas and Linnéa Vikström). Although I didn't like her style, it didn't start bad at all. However, the stage was unexpectedly stripped of decorations, based on previous shows I expected something more than just the drumkit and bare mic stands. Cults of the Shadows followed, sounding a little different than in the album, in a way that I wasn't expecting. The third song brought us a surprise with Snowy Shaw, whom we'd just seen playing at the W.E.T Stage, joining the band for Typhoon, from the Secrets of the Runes. I wish he'd stayed longer than just one song, because he brings life to the show, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. The set continued onward, with the other female singer Chiara Malvestiti showcasing some powerful vocal skills in songs like Lemuria. The following Wine of Aluqah brought some extra animation with the presence on stage of the Lebanese belly-dancer Johanna Najla. Another great moment happened later, when during Son of the Sun the crowd sang along and the sun also finally decided to appear, shining a little brighter over everyone. The set advanced quickly to its final moment, that brought us their 1996 hymn To Mega Therion, another great moment. Although the show made me miss Therion's old shows, with Lori Lewis, it was good to be able to see them again live, and some songs surely took me away, back in time.

After the show, the video-walls announced the first bands that would attend next year's edition of the festival, and what a massive announcement, with a lot of fan-favorite acts like Amon Amarth, Avantasia, Kreator, Saltatio Mortis, Heaven Shall Burn or Powerwolf along with some special shows like Mayhem playing a De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas set or Hämatom, who played here this year in an completely overcrowded Bullhead City Circus, returning next year for a show in a bigger stage and enough room for everyone. The crowd cheered to each name appearing in the screens and these first 12 names are already making me crazy when I think I'll have to wait a whole year to return here for what will surely be another amazing festival!

From the United States of America, Steel Panther! The glam rockers were back for yet another parody, I mean, show at Wacken! The opened with Eyes of a Panther with their frontman Michael Starr very active on stage, always accompanied by his bandmates and their 80's style, full of glamorous (well, at least one of them, Ahahah!) The last time we saw them was 2 year ago on this same stage, and they managed to surprise us by not repeating their show from Loreley, that we had seen just 2 months before that, but coming up with a whole set of new jokes. This time, however, things worked the opposite way and this show turned out to be simply a clone of the one from 2 years ago - in such a way that they even joked about it, saying that their jokes would be the same. Of course that something that they would also repeat would be their requests for the girls to "show us some titten" throughout the set, and particularly reinforced before their hit Party Like Tomorrow Is the End of the World.
Before 17 Girls in a Row they also replayed the same request from 2 years ago and called several girls from the audience to climb up to the stage, but I guess this year they were less lucky, and there were a lot more clothes in them than there was back then! The crowd didn't seem to care much about the rehashed jokes and cheered most of the time, but I was certainly not convinced by their show. Their final song was also a classic, Death To All But Metal, with everyone singing along!

The sun was setting and the sky was slowly becoming black when Triptykon entered the candle-lit stage. The band fronted by the former-Celtic Frost member Thomas Fischer revels in the dark and this was a perfect setup for what would be a perfect dark celebration. The show opened with Procreation (of The Wicked) from his aforementioned former band, and continued with Dethroned Emperor and The Usurper. The 4th song, Goetia, brought us finally to Triptykon's 2012 album Eparistera Daimones, but soon the set returned to Celtic Frost's discography with Obscured, wonderfully played with the help of a special guest, Simone Vollenweider. She continued on stage for Boleskine House, from Triptykon's latest album, 2014's opus Melana Chasmata. The overall feel during the set was amazing, with so many heads banging to their songs, almost in a ritualistic way, as if we were all in a huge dark mass, hypnotized by Thomas Fischer's performance or Vanja %u0160lajh's mysterious looks. As the night fell completelly over Wacken, the set eventually came to an end with The Prolonging.

Twisted Sister... now, where do I begin? These guys have been around for 40 years... I mean, they even named their tour after that, "Forty and F*ck It", bringing to several stages around the globe the final and definitive Twisted Sister concerts ever - and Dee Snider would be adamant on that, later in the show, stating this wasn't just another stunt like Ozzy's No More Tours back in the 90's or any of the other fake goodbye shows by the likes os Scorpions, Kiss, and several other acts. This would be the very last time that Twisted Sister would play live in Germany, the only country that got 2 "farewell shows" instead of one.
Getting back on track, after the intro with AC/CD's It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll), they took the stage with Stay Hungry and then The Kids Are Back, with the crowd screaming and singing along the whole time. Dee Snider is one hell of an amazing frontman and kept talking with the audience, recalling some old stories and making practical jokes between songs. Burn In Hell brought in some pyro and red lights, and then we went back to their first album for a heavier moment with Destroyer. The crowd cheered and continued to sing during Like a Knife in the Back's chorus and then sang and danced through You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll. After a heartfelt rendition of The Fire Still Burns, things got pumped up to 11 with I Am (I'm Me) and then, the hymn - We're Not Gonne Take It! The crowd was wilder than ever, singing loudly and repeatedly, completely crushing any attempt of getting a "I can't hear you" reply by Dee Snider. Instead, he just came with a "Are we in a Rammstein show" when Wacken's flamming skull, on top of the stages, spat some fire. And then the crowd started once again, out of their own will... "We're not gonna take it! No, we ain't gonna take it! WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMOOOOOORE!" to Snider amazement and enormous amusement. After that, to other most amazing moment: The Price, dedicated to all the ones that had passed away, and specially to their late drummer A.J. Pero and to Lemmy Kilmister. After telling to shutdown the stage lights, he asked everyone to hold up high their lighters, cellphones, or even flame-throwers during what would be a tear-dropping, highly emotional rendition.
After that, we returned to some good old fun with I Believe In Rock'n'Roll, with Dee Snider bringing the Church of Twisted Sister to Wacken and having a rant during the sing-along part, and eventually laughing out lout, while stating that "I don't even know what I'm fucking saying!". I Wanna Rock would close the set, another anthem sang by mostly everyone in the crowd, but they'd return for a final encore with Shoot 'Em Down, Tear It Loose and then finally closing for good with S.M.F.. This was my first Twisted Sister show and I already regret that I'd never seen them before, now that, according to Dee Snider, I'll never see them again. Well, at least I got to see them live once, and here in Wacken, of all the places, right? #FuckYeah!

We returned to the Black Stage for one final show before driving back to the airport. Arch Enemy were about to storm the Black Stage, and what a Stage!!! They had transformed it completely with a huge decoration that resembled an old church and a huge backdrop that would change throughout the set. The show opened with the intro Khaos Overture followed by Yesterday Is Dead And Gone, with the restless Alissa White-Gluz immediately capturing everyone's attention, always moving around, jumping and interacting with the audience. War Eternal was next, continuing the fantastic production, perfect light work and powerful performance, and then Ravenous also added some fire to the mix. And then, newsflash everybody: this amazing stage had a very special reason, this show would be recorded for a dvd release, a revelation that made the crowd go wild! Things moved onward in a crazy colorful blur, the crowd continuing the never-ending crowdsurfing as the band continued their amazing performance with songs such as You Will Know My Name or No Gods, No Masters, one of the best moments of this last night at Wacken. At least, it felt like it for a couple of minutes, because soon Nemesis crushed the competition and brought down the house, with everyone singing their hearts out during "All for one and one of all!". What a fantastic way to end our Wacken 2016! And what a wonderful dvd this will be! We sadly started to make our way back to our car and drove back to the airport. The feelings, as always at this time, were mixed and battling amongst themselves... for once, I was sad that these last 4 days had come to an end and I would go back to the real world, but at the same time I had to be happy, since it had been such a great time, with so many great shows and so many great memories and stories to tell. Damn, Wacken 2016 is gone... are we there yet, Wacken 2017??? :-)