For some reason it feels quite wrong to write about how good or bad the bands did on this event since it was a great way to honor one fallen brother. Chris Witchhunter (Aka Chris Dudek) passed away September 8th 2008 due to vital organ failure only 42 years old. To celebrate his memory the SODOM-Squad brought together the people from back in the days, with their old or new bands and put together one hell of a party. How could that better be done than with one hell of a party together with good friends from the past and present?

Old SODOM guitarist Frank Blackfire was first out on stage this sunny Easter eve. BLACKFIRE as a band was quite far from SODOM musically both in quality and style. They were quite muddled but still raw. The thing was though, that they were really charming, delivered a good drive and were actually pretty amusing to watch. The hippie attitude felt like a soft way to start off the day. Guess a bunch of catchy songs counts more than perfection. Could be it was the start of the day too that the level of tolerance was pretty high. It was still a little bit odd with the Hippie feeling over both the performance and music. Not that it was a bad thing. It just wasn't what I expected. Still a very nice surprise!

Second up on stage was old SODOM-guitarist number 2, Grave Violator (aka Josef "Peppi" Dominic) with his WORTMORD. Technically they were far better than Frank & co but it still felt quite anonymous. Straight forward Thrash Metal when it's not really clear if it's Modern or Old School can be that sometimes. There was nothing to complain about in the performance, tight as hell really and a lot of fun to watch. Perhaps a little too perfect compared to many of the other bands on the bill and that, if the songs aren't strong enough it tends to fall flat. One more thing that speaks for that is that the level rises 100% when Tom Angelripper joins in for "Bloody Corpse". After that it struck me that the vocals wasn't the best. In fact the sound was very rough overall and I'm not so sure the sound guy had much to work with here. If they manage to sort out the music and deliver that with the same conviction and grace as they do visually this will be kick-ass though.

Sometimes the reaction to certain bands amazes me so much. Who knows about PROTECTOR in Sweden? Sure, a handful of Old School Metallers know exactly what they're about. They would understand the question too. Ok, the cult-status of the band would draw quite a bunch but not 500 people. Or perhaps THE PROTECTORS as they are named today due to arguments over the name and the Swedish version of the band isn't allowed to use the original moniker. No matter what it was absolutely amazing to see the respond they got. The crowd was non-existent when BLACKFIRE started to play, people dropped in during WORTMORD and there was no question about who was the first main attraction of the day. Martin Missy controlled the crowd like they were marionette puppets responding to his tiniest wiggle of any limb of his body. Hell, that doesn't happen for any band in Sweden, not even IRON MAIDEN. Even if THE PROTECTORS did everything they were supposed to I think they got a little too good response from the crowd compared to the effort they put in. I wouldn't have minded a little more action on stage but that's a trifle to complain about. But it is Martin that is 95% of the show. Perhaps he should be the puppet master of the band too?

PARADOX had the tough job to get up on stage after THE PROTECTORS and going from a very pleasant (still very primitive though) sound to one of the worst ever experienced in Germany was painful. Sure, the style between the two differs but not THAT much. Still PARADOX managed to get the crowd moving. Instead of crowdsurfing here people jumped around bouncing into each other. Guess PARADOX's music suites that better. And one thing is sure, they know what they're doing with their instruments. When the sound was straightened out they sounded amazing. It's always nice to watch a band that really gives it all to get the best out of the crowd. PARADOX was probably the band with the hardest job on the bill. First since they played right after THE PROTECTORS. Second because they were the odd band of the bill. Sure, from the same school as the others but they're not as German as the rest, they're more towards the American West Coast style of Thrash. Of course it's a matter of taste which one you prefer but since the evening was dedicated to the German version PARADOX had it a little harder than the rest to get the same response. Hard work pays off and PARADOX did a great gig, perhaps they deserved a little more than they got though.

At events like this one there's always at least one band not as familiar as the rest. With DARKNESS I've mainly seen pictures of their records, haven't gotten closer than that. Listening to others talking about them I sure was intrigued to check them out. The first thing noticeable though was the very unforgiving guitar sound. Is it even possible to set the sound with too little distortion on an Engl? Apparently it is and in the photo pit the sound was horrible. Every little floss or mistake grew out of proportion and I couldn't for my life understand the response they got from the crowd anyway. Out on the floor it was something completely different though, the guitar sound was still the same but fitted really well into the whole picture. Also, the balance between the guitars erased most of the extremely sharp edges. The negative first impression was erased song by song and in the end I could easily have taken another round of DARKNESS.

Apparently ASSASSIN has a lot of cult status in the Thrash Metal Scene. However, it's absolutely too Punky for me. They are fun to watch but when the music doesn't appeal it's harder to appreciate the concert. Vocalist Robert Gonnella starts everything off with soaking himself in water and it's always nice to watch when a band flirts with the audience. And I suppose ASSASSIN is a good live act. People went crazy and the full blown Mosh Pit was on again. Of course it's impossible to dig everything all the time and especially when an event offers 12 hours of pure Thrash Metal, a break is a must. Since ASSASSIN didn't fit my taste I took my chance to rest. ASSASSIN though was probably one of the best bands, when it came to sound, performance and so on on the bill. Just not on mine.

The latter half of the evening turned in to a real clash of the titans. It was only KREATOR missing to complete the line up, but since they were out on a tour of their own they couldn't make it to this event. HOLY MOSES did though. I admit I started to get tired at this point. Only for a second though, HOLY MOSES made sure to change that. Last year's "Agony Of Death" is an absolute killer album and HOLY MOSES holds the same standard live. Sabina Classen is amazing to watch. HOLY MOSES as well as the rest of the bands on the bill has been around for 20-25+ years now and they still kick ass. It's so cool when the only thing you can think of when a band starts to play is to sleep and that's gone within seconds. When they finished playing I felt tricked from the goodies, the HOLY MOSES gig were over way to quick. Sure, they played for nearly an hour but it still felt very short and I could easily have taken another hour. HOLY MOSES could have delivered that too. Everything felt very energetic and super in all ways, tight as hell.

Excited after the HOLY MOSES show off I really was looking forward to see ARTILLERY still I had this gnawing feeling that they would disappoint me again. ARTILLERY always sounds perfect, the music is always very much alive, they're tight but the shows are never more than vocalist Soren Adamsen. Well, what can I say? Not much difference this time either but still there were a difference. ARTILLERY has started to wake up a little. It will still take a lot before they're a kick ass live act but any small step in the right direction is always something. I still think it's a little bit of a shame that they don't bother more about their appearance. I doubt I'm the only one turned off by the bored faces of guitar duo Morten and Michael Stόtzer. New songs, title track from new album "When Death Comes" and "10.000 Devils" proved to hold as high standard as the old material and if they only could delivery an ounce of the energy they have in the music in the live shows they would be on a good way to be that kick ass band they should be.

The disturbing arguments about size of logos and who were to be on the top of the poster seemed to disturb the crowd still when Schmier, Mike and Mark hit the stage. To most it seemed like a very dumb thing to comment about, this was a night of SODOM and to argue over the size of the band logo on the Festival poster don't seem like a good way to celebrate a fallen brother. At least all issues were solved before the show and DESTRUCTION was back on the bill a few weeks before the concert. The stage looked very mysterious with the dim lights and massive Metal skulls fitted to the mike stands. A thing like that really raises the excitement about what's to come. Stage props, no matter how small they are always increase the anticipation. The words after the concert was that DESTRUCTION were forgiven for everything. And yes, their gig was exceptionally good. For a trio they sounded very massive. Well, I must say that the end of the evening was the clash of the Power-trios but with a set list like that and an excellent performance I'll be damn if DESTRUCTION didn't win that fight. I mean, a set including "Curse The Gods", "Bestial Invasion", "Life Without Sense", "Nailed To The Cross" and "Mad Butcher" CAN'T fail.

One thing that TANKARD has a lot more of compared to DESTRUCTION is charm. The German Beerdrinkers of course knows how to get the crowd started too but they're still a huge contrast to both DESTRUCTION and SODOM's a lot darker lyrical topics. Even if the music is quite similar it's a nice break with some happy faces on stage for a change. Because TANKARD do have a lot of fun on stage and that affects the crowd too. Gerre always seem to have a high spirit that is very contagious for good and bad. The bad effect is that it's a lot of fun to drink beer while TANKARD is playing and that can sort of dim the rest of the night. No matter what TANKARD is an amazing live act and they're always fun to watch. It's with horror filled delight I wait for the moment when Gerre starts to strip. Oh, well at least show off his hairy belly and strut around a while on stage with his shirt rolled up under his chin. But of course there's more to TANKARD than that, they've too been around for about twenty five years and has released a whole bunch great albums. "Zombie Attack" and "666 Packs" are songs that will stir up any crowd. It feels like I'm repeating myself over and over here but TANKARD too are a great live band and it's great to see three so similar bands as DESTRUCTION, TANKARD and SODOM are, they're still very far apart.

A few empty tankards worth of beer later SODOM hit the stage and closed the bill. It's sort of amazing that the crowd could take 12 hours of Thrash Metal and still stand straight up. After a day this long people normally look bored and want to go home and it wasn't like people were resting during the day, taking it easy in the back. No matter how great the last bands on the bill are after a day this long people will get tired. Well, everyone was ready for yet another doze of German Thrash and everyone in the venue went stir crazy when the first recognizable parts of "Napalm In The Morning" blasted from the speakers. SODOM sure ended the evening grand, with special guests and simply a really good time. Old SODOM guitarist Andy Brings showed up on a few songs, "One Step Over The Line" and "Der Wachttrum" for example and Frank Blackfire joined in for "Ausgebombt". The only bad thing with these German events with German bands is that they persists to speak English between the songs, most of the tributes to Chris were lost for me since I only
understood a small part of them. I can only blame myself for that but it's still a bit unfortunate. Besides the whole list of guests it was pretty much like any SODOM evening. This trio also (repeating again, I know) always deliver a great concert and you always know what you get when going to see SODOM, as steady, heavy and powerful as a steam-locomotive. That was at least what I felt the morning after, like I'd been hit by one but that's another story. Of course, it was bound to be a great night, SODOM stood out, they delivered more than ever musically and they gave a set that really sucked the last drop of energy out of the crowd. "Outbreak Of Evil", "The Saw Is The Law", "Obsessed By Cruelty" and "Agent Orange" are great songs and live, in a beer soaked venue they really get justice. "Remember The Fallen", what song could have been more suitable this evening? Music should be experienced live, period and most of the bands on the bill this evening are living proof of that.

I guess this was a party Chris Witchhunter would have loved and what better way to honor him than to do a great thing of the evening. The atmosphere was filled with respect but no sadness and I think this was a very good way to celebrate his memory.

(photos from "napalm in the morning" Erika)