On Wednesday 1st August 2012, myself and Mike once again boarded a plane to take us to Germany. We left from Heathrow's Terminal 5, which is very nice although apparently it can take over 30 minutes to get to your gate if it is located in C section. But ours was in A, so that didn't bother us.
One helpful thing about returning to a foreign festival is that travel in that country is so much easier. So, we took the underground from the airport to the central station of Hamburg and then boarded the train to take us to Itzehoe. Once there we bought our shuttle bus tickets and were directed straight onto a waiting bus. This was turning out a lot easier than normal.
One small sidenote to make is that, before the festival we had kept an eye on weather forecasts and it wasn't looking too good. The reason for telling you this will become apparent later on.
The first difference to previous visits to Wacken happened once we were queueing to exchange our tickets. Normally, they would tear the barcode off and give you your wristband. This time, however, they scan your ticket and returned it to you. Then you walked to the side of the stall to exchange for the wristband. I don't know why they have added this ticket scanning but it didn't add more than 2 minutes to our waiting time so it didn't overly matter. Once we had our wristbands and gift bags, we went to look for a spot to set up our tents. We went back to the area we had used the past two times we had been to Wacken and set up. By the time we'd got the tents up, we were sweating in the bright sunshine and temperatures that must have been pushing the high 20s.
So after a little chilling out time we ventured into the Village to grab our festival shirts, watch the football tournament and just have a general look around. We then headed to where the new tent and 3rd stage was located just to test how long it would take to walk from the arena to the tent and found it would be roughly 5 minutes to re-locate. Deciding against going into the tent we strolled back to watch the conclusion of the football tournament. After a stop at the local supermarket for water, orange juice and a sandwich, we spent the evening chatting and chilling out in the tents. A very calm and quiet start to the festival.
Stage Key: True Metal = TM, Black = B, Party = P, WET = W, Headbangers = H. (WET & Headbangers were both situated in the Bullhead City Circus Tent). All ratings out of 10, 10 being the best score a band can receive.
MB = Metal Battle (Battle of the bands) winner from that country.
Thursday
Awoke Thursday to some more glorious Wacken sunshine. We strolled to the Bullhead tent to watch the first bands of the festival. We planned to see the end of Russkajas' set but ended up getting there a little too late, wasn't the end of the world since neither of us were bothered about seeing them. We both knew that it was the biggest tent in Europe but the closer I got to it, it really wasn't that impressive. That was until we walked inside. Just wow! It was gigantic! With two decent sized bars, two Relentless bars and the two stages side by side.
Danko Jones (Spoken Word) - H - 7 - Lead singer of the band, Danko Jones, had an hour slot in which he spoke about KISS. Danko is a huge KISS fan and every year sends in a new character idea for the band. This was a very funny segment and the pictures of himself dressed as each character was very good. The only nag I had with this part was when he stated that he had never had a reply from the band. OK, so we now know you haven't had a reply, he then told us that after every one of the 20 times he has done it. That got on my nerves a bit. However, then he spoke about a cover up he has found, that drummer, The Cat, Peter Criss died in 1978. This was quite funny as he had amassed a lot of "evidence" on future albums and tours that the drummer had passed away and KISS were trying to cover it up. I found this to be a very enjoyable start to my festival, although maybe an hour was a bit too long to be talked at, still, a solid 7 for Danko as it was very funny and entertaining.
FaaneFjell - MB Norway - W - 5 - The first music of the festival was delivered courtesy of some viking metal. Never a bad way to start. They were good and very entertaining.
Dead By April - H - 8 - I was quite confused for this band, as they drew a fairly large crowd. I asked Mike where they were battle winners from to discover that they are an actual band and that the MB winners were only on the WET stage that day. Any band that can get a bunch of metallers to make hearts in the air with their hands is doing something right! They were a very good band, with 1 screamer and 1 singer. I really like acts that use both vocal styles and will definitely be keeping an eye out for these guys again.
Exuviated - MB Belgium - W - 5 - These death metallers were great at what they do. I just didn't overly enjoy it.
Wolli & Die Band Des Jahres - H - 6 - A German festival has German speaking and singing bands, who knew?! A great cover of Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire helped their cause as I understood what was happening during this song.
Hone Your Sense - MB Japan - W - 6 - Some melodic death metal followed and they were the first ever winners from Japan to play at Wacken. They were fairly enjoyable and looked very happy to be playing at the festival.
Skyline - B - 8 - This band played at last year's festival and were enjoyable then. I found them even better this time. Mainly because they played a cover of Rammstein's Engel. They were joined by Doro Pesch when they covered 2 of her songs, We are the Metalheads and Raise your Fists, these songs I find are like the anthems of Wacken.
Jim Breuer - TM - 7 - Didn't catch all of this comedian/singer's set, but what I did hear made me laugh a lot. He turned the children's song BINGO into a metal tune for the next generation of metalheads. He had help doing this from Ozzy Osborne (Black Sabbath), James Hetfield (Metallica), Angus Young (AC/DC) and Rob Halford (Judas Priest). Obviously these metal icons didn't join him on stage, instead he did fantastic impressions of each. This set was perfect for the Thursday afternoon after some fairly intense metal to begin the festival.
Sepultura & Les Tambours Du Bronx - B - 8 - We had made the decision to leave this set early as we saw them here last year and they were overlapping with a band that I really wanted to see. However, what we did see was fantastic as this year there was a difference...... 16 extra drummers on the stage, hitting metal drums and it fits in with Sepultura's sound perfectly. The songs they have written together are sounding very good and it would be great to see this combination again.
Winterstorm - W - 5 - Got into the tent a little bit early and caught the end of this band's set. They are the Metal Master winners for this years festival and sounded pretty good. The mid-range score reflects the fact that I only heard one song.
Amaranthe - H - 10 - 3 vocalists sounds very overkill on the small headbangers' stage but it works beautifully. 1 screamer, 1 male singer and a female singer. There were some sound issues at the start of the set but these were quickly sorted out and one of the main bands I was looking forward to seeing at the festival played an incredible set. They only have one album so were able to play a fair amount of them and it was just brilliant. I hope they release a new album soon and tour the UK.
U.D.O - TM - 9 - Got back into the arena to see this set. And I'm really glad I didn't miss it. Although not knowing many UDO or Accept (lead singer Udo Dirkschneider's first band) songs, the entire set was very enjoyable and it was great to see Doro out on stage again. An appearance by Mr Lordi, in full monster gear, was .......interesting.
Saxon - B - 10 - Just WOW! Saw them in May and they were amazing then. This set blew that clear from my mind. Saxon were simply, totally and completely on form. Most metal bands really enjoy playing at Wacken and for Saxon it just seems to be home for them. From the opening storm of Heavy Metal Thunder, all the way through to a medley of 747 and Princess of the Night (as they ran out of time to play them both in full), they were stunning. Biff Byford announced that when they retire, they will play their final show at Wacken. I need to be there for that! A drum solo saw Nigel Glockler's stage lifted into the air before the band came back out. At the beginning of the encore, the bassist, Nibbs Carter played along the crowd barrier on someone's shoulders. The whole set was awesome and it was obvious that the band thoroughly enjoyed themselves too.
Volbeat - TM - 10 - Michael Poulsen kept asking the crowd to 'bring the noise', but I think that is a more apt thing to help describe Volbeat's headlining set, they were phenomenal! I was so happy when these guys were announced to play on a Night To Remember, even though a lot of people didn't think they were the right choice. Personally, I think they proved those doubters wrong. They had special guests in the form of Barney from Napalm Death, Mille Petrova from Kreator & Michael Denner from Mercyful Fate. Showing that genre doesn't matter in metal, as long as you have a good time and enjoy the show. Volbeat blasted through a 20-song set and it would've been great to see them carry on for longer. For me, this was the perfect way to end the first full day of Wacken 2012.
Friday
Some more sunshine and high temperatures on Friday morning made the decision simple: shorts and trainers. We made our way into the arena slightly later than planned as the first band on that day weren't a major draw and so we decided to just catch some of it.
Betontod - P - 7 - They were a very enjoyable band to start the day with. Again, speaking very limited German, I didn't really know what was going on. However, seeing as they were quiet at times I could hear what was happening on the Black stage. The main reason we went to see Betontod, was so that we didn't have to see Endstille. I stick by that decision.
Sacred Reich - TM - 8 - This was a very enjoyable band and set. They haven't released a studio album since 1996 and yet all their old stuff was played as if they had just written it. They had a huge mosh pit and told everyone not to do a wall of death but instead a circle of life, before starting to sing the Lion King. And then a moment of unexpected genius, a cover of Black Sabbath's War Pigs. They have been playing a few live shows since they reformed in 2007 but it doesn't look likely that there will be a new album, which is a shame based on what I saw.
Oomph! - P - 10 - I saw these German Industrialist metallers at Rock AM Ring in 2008 and they were good then. This time, they all came out on stage dressed as sailors with the lead singer also plastered in Dark Knight-inspired Joker makeup. And blew away the sizeable crowd they had received. A lot of clapping and jumping throughout the set and Oomph! clearly enjoy what they do. The set ended with a mass singalong to Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life - that was very unexpected!
Kamelot - TM - 9 - Saw them at Wacken 08 with their previous vocalist. This time, the new singer seemed just as good. He was able to carry all the notes of the old songs and it was a great show. Some awesome pyro was used and they played my favourite Kamelot song, When The Lights Are Down. An awesome set from an awesome band.
However, during this set it began to rain. And continued to rain. And then the lightning (& thunder, I presume - the band was LOUD) started. And then the rain got ridiculously heavy. We found out after the festival that in half an hour, 50 litres per square metre had fallen! So, as you can understand, we were soaked to the bone. This made the decision quite easy, go back to the tent and dry off. Annoyingly it stopped raining the second we got to the tents. This was when I found that my tent wasn't as waterproof as I had hoped.
After drying out my tent and putting duct tape along every seam, we decided to chill out for a couple of hours. It was a shame to miss bands, who were: Overkill - Seen before; The BossHoss - No Idea; Coroner - Just to miss Opeth. So nothing too bad. Obviously it's always annoying to miss bands but after that amount of rain I was in a bad mood and wouldn't have enjoyed anything.
Hammerfall - TM - 8 - Went back into the arena in clean, dry clothes in time to see Hammerfall. The Swedish power metallers blasted through their 1 hour set in glorious sunshine and were a great band to see.
It was great to see that the Wacken crew were already starting to pump some of the standing water out of the arena but the mud had already claimed the ground and people had already started to wrestle in it. Why? I hear you ask. That is a good question! The Holy Ground of Wacken is a farm throughout the year when it isn't a festival site. So I wouldn't want to know what was in the under soil. Not only that, at festivals, people aren't the cleanest either. So rolling around/walking barefoot in this mud is clearly not a good idea!!
Dimmu Borgir & the Czech National Symphonic Orchestra - B - 10 - This was one of the main draws for Wacken 2012. Dimmu always put on incredible shows, including when I saw them in a 450 capacity room in November. But this was something else! This was truly superb! I know that metal can be fused with classical but surely Norwegian black metal would be a step too far? Not at all. The sounds blended perfectly and Dimmu seemed very grateful to the orchetra and choir for doing it with them. Even some of the orchestra had corpse paint on! This really was an incredible set and I'm glad the weather cleared up so that I could enjoy it.
We planned on seeing In Flames and Kobra & The Lotus after Dimmus set. But with the earlier weather, the facts we'd seen K&TL two months previous and that I am not a massive fan of In Flames, we decided to call it a night.
So, on day 3, some awesome bands and some awful weather! Here's hoping that the final day of bands would be truly special.
Saturday
I was awoken at 7am on Saturday morning by idiots riding round on quad bikes. After I had stuck my head outside of my tent I saw that it was the police that were making so much noise. And were, in fact, flattening the mud with their wheels and there was also a tractor following them to help compact the mud down. This was, in principle, a great idea. However, on Saturday morning it continued to rain on and off and by the time we went into the arena it was coming down fairly heavily. This meant that the Wacken staff were delaying letting people into the arena, presumably as they were laying hay and pumping the ground. So the first band we were seeing started 10 minutes late, this wasn't the end of the world, I'm just glad I didn't miss them.
Delain - B - 7 - I think it's safe to say that symphonic metal is my favourite of the genres. And Delain did not disappoint. A great set to start the final day even though we cut it short to see the next act we wanted to. One of the reasons they got a lower rating than I would usually have scored them was the fact it was still raining and I was in a fairly bad mood due to this.
Walking through the Wackinger village we walked past the small Wackinger stage and caught a little bit of Santiano's set. They seemed pretty good and made use of a digeridoo, which was cool to see.
Manticora - W - 6 - As we walked into the Bullhead tent we caught the last song from these Danish metallers. They sounded really good and if it hadn't been for Delain in the arena, I would probably have caught more of their set.
Henry Rollins - H - 10 - Saw this guy doing spoken word at Reading festival 2008 and he was extremely funny then. This time he was even better. He spoke about his childhood, emails he receives and his work for National Geographic. This was the perfect way to cheer me up and I haven't laughed so much in a long time. If you get the chance to see this guy, please do. He is fantastic at what he does and I hope I get the chance to see him again.
Napalm Death - B - 8 - After seeing Barney sing with Volbeat on Thursday I was really looking forward to this band and they didn't disappoint. Extreme metal in the sunshine really does blow away the cobwebs on the final day of a festival. I was glad they played their Dead Kennedy's cover of Nazi Punks Fuck Off, Wacken have a very firm metalheads against racism policy and it was a great song to send that message across.
Axel Rudi Pell - TM - 8 - I thought this band were German, they're not. I thought it was a random name, it's actually the name of their guitarist. Anyway, this was a good set and a very enjoyable melodic metal band to see. I did find myself becoming bored during some songs, however the solos were nigh on perfect and so they keep a high score.
Sick Of It All - P - 9 - The hardcore punkers from New York delivered a fantastic set and made the Party stage their own. An hour of their best songs and a great way to spend an evening. I think their own headline shows would be fantastic and hopefully they will tour with their new album later this year.
Testament - TM - 10 - I had opted to give Testament a rating of 9. But the more I think about their set, the more I think it was one of the best of the festival. They had a giant pit for the entirety of their time and blasted out all the songs I wanted them to play. Including Into The Pit, Practice What You Preach and Over The Wall all back to back. Testament ended their set in brutal fashion. They have been going since 1983 and they don't look like stopping anytime soon.
During their set they pulled down banners emblazoned with 'Free Randy', in association with the Lamb of God frontman's incarceration in a Czech jail with charges of manslaughter against him. When lead singer, Chuck Billy, returned to the stage he announced, "Randy is free", eliciting a giant cheer from the crowd. Turns out that on Friday August 2nd, a second appeal to bail Randy was granted and he is now back in his hometown in America.
Cradle Of Filth - B - 4 - A very generous 4 at that. The band are good at what they do and very entertaining. The growling vocals of Dani Filth and Caroline Campbell are very good. And then, unfortunately, there is the other thing that Dani Filth does that makes Cradle of Filth one of the worst bands I have ever had to endure. He produces a sound that would make dogs run for cover. This high pitched screeching sound that makes you wonder what has happened to his testicles that makes him want to torture everyone listening. Even just remembering it is giving me earache. And it's not like it would totally ruin the songs if it was the odd one dotted around the set, it's just that it's at the beginning, middle and end of every fucking song! So, for that, fuck you Dani Filth!
I really needed something epic and fun to repair the damage that awfulness had bestowed on me. And what better way than with Viking metal!
Amon Amarth - TM - 9 - One of the original announcements for this year's festival and one of the reasons for purchasing a ticket so early on. And they did not disappoint. The band looked really happy on stage and played a strong set. I really enjoy this band's music and am glad I have had the opportunity to see them.
Scorpions - B - 8 - It was great to see these guys on their farewell tour. But I felt there was something missing. I don't know what I expected from them but they just didn't seem to 'bring it'. However, what I saw was enjoyable and the instrumental with all the band members simply rocking out was awesome to see. They had some incredible pyro and a tv screen instead of a back drop that always makes live shows look more spectacular.
Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a cloud sandwich, in the middle of these two clouds there was a fairly constant flashing. I came up with 3 options to what this could be: 1) The lights from the Black and Party stage were being reflected between the two clouds; 2) The clouds were over the Trash of the Titans field which hosted fire and electricity shows, so this could be reflections from that; or 3) There was a massive thunderstorm on the way. Sure enough, four spotlights were directed skywards as one of the clouds slowly planted itself over the top of the arena and then began to throw sheets of rain down onto us festival goers. It wasn't even a light sprinkle that grew, it was literally as if someone had knocked over a bucket. We had decided not to see Ministry or Edguy in favour of a little extra sleep before travelling home the next day. But this change of weather made up my mind to not bother hanging around for Machine Head who I had seen just two months before. So we headed back to the tents when, rather annoyingly, it decided to stop raining. No matter though, I was able to hear the last three bands of the festival in between bouts of sleep. They sounded very good.
It was a shame to finish the festival like this but I still had a great time and saw some amazing bands.
Sunday
Awoke to warm sunshine once again, which was slightly annoying after the previous night's ending. But we packed up our stuff and made our way to the shuttle buses. The journey back to the airport seemed much easier and less busy this year. We had a 45 minute wait at Elmshorn which seemed unnecessary but still got to Hamburg airport six hours before our flight.
Something Mike took advantage of last year was the showers at the airport so I decided to copy that idea this time. Anyone who has been to a festival before will know how incredible the post festival shower is. And having it before you travel home is just completely glorious!
We then spent our time wandering the airport, using the internet room and buying a few presents. The flight home was simple enough (with a spectacular aerial view down onto the Olympic Park and the Shard) and then we had to get a bus from the plane to Heathrow's terminal 5. This isn't a problem but I was surprised that we weren't able to dock at the gate. After collecting our bags and meeting Mike's parents we set off for home.
That was when I discovered the awful and shocking news that there had been a death at this year's festival. It appears to have been a tragic accident but nonetheless upsetting. My thoughts and condolences go to the victim's family and friends.
The first band's announced for next year's festival are: Deep Purple, Anthrax, Nightwish, Sabaton, Arch Enemy, Doro - 30th anniversary show, Lingua Mortis feat. Rage, Amorphis & a special acoustic show and Subway To Sally.
And so that was my take on Wacken 2012. Thank you very much for reading.
