This summer has been a miserable one for festivals, with many being affected by the incessant rain earlier this year. However, the summer sunshine seems to have finally set in, just in time for us to catch the last few festivals of the season. Not least among these is Party San Open Air, a festival renown both in Germany and internationally as being the home to absolutely ball-breaking festivals over the years. With a slew of warm-up parties having taken place throughout Germany over the last few months, thousands of fans are gearing up for "the hardest metal open air in Europe". This year will see the festival in it's 20th instalment. Running from Thursday 11th August to Saturday 13th August, the festival will host some excellent local and international bands, making the festival a must see for Metal fans.

Starting off the festivities on Thursday evening is the War Anthem Record Label night, with several gems in their collection taking to the stage to start the festival off with a bang. Following on from this, Friday and Saturday are marked with a star-studded line-up guaranteed to have something for everyone. With a strong emphasis on Death and Black Metal bands, it's small wonder that this festival is touted as the hardest in Europe. Over the course of the festival, 50 bands will set the stage on fire with their bombastic performances. Particularly decadent morsels to look forward to include bands such as AT THE GATES, CARCASS, PARADISE LOST, OBITUARY, SODOM, EXODUS, TAAKE, DYING FETUS, SUICIDAL ANGELS, EQUILIBRIUM, and GRAVE. My personal highlight of the festival is SVARTTJERN, a relatively unknown Norwegian Black Metal band who all too rarely play shows in Germany. So be sure not to miss this opportunity! Party.San Open Air will also have an underground stage, which will showcase 5 lesser known bands per day, allowing you the opportunity to discover tomorrow's stars for yourself.

With the festival taking place on the grounds of an airfield, there will be little shade. So be sure to pack your sun-screen! And in order to ensure that you have plenty to drink in the heat, Party.San Open Air will feature their very own festival pub, the "Se7en Lords", where you can find, amongst others of course, the finest whiskeys and beers. Speaking of great beers, Guinness Irish Stout, Kilkenny Irish Ale, and BEHEMOTH's Sacrum Belgian IPA will all be available exclusively in the "Se7en Lords" pub this year, and will undoubtedly go down well. Other food and drink stalls as well as merchandise stands will of course also be available.

Those of you who don't want to lug around your own tent to the festival and back again can arrange rented tents which will already be set up on the camp-site (details on the festival page), so all you have to do after arrival is just throw your stuff inside before heading out to celebrate. Hell, you can even rent your own portaloo. Because let's face it, there's nothing worse at a festival than using the full portaloos in sweltering heat. And for those who would prefer to keep up a semblance of civilization by sleeping in a hotel, there are several nearby, which have easy access to the festival grounds.

As well as obviously being reachable by private transport, getting to Party.San via public transport has also been made as simple as possible. There will be shuttle buses going between the festival grounds and several nearby train stations (see here for details), making getting to the festival as easy as possible.  So there are absolutely no excuses! Come enjoy some fantastic bands, with some gourmet beers, and enjoy Party.San Open Air. Metal Temple looks forward to seeing you there!