JUDAS PRIEST / SAXON / YNGWIE MALMSTEEN / GRAVE DIGGER / OBITUARY / TANKARD / LIZZY BORDEN / ONSLAUGHT / BREAKER / SECRECY / AGE OF EVIL

Saturday morning wasn't at all as heavy as the morning before but I still had problems getting out of bed. But I almost got to the festival in time for AGE OF EVIL, I caught the last three songs and I regret I didn't drag myself out of bed a little earlier. These youngsters know how to rock with their American Metal that was brutally shaking people back to life. They were absolutely fun to watch and took on that huge stage with such an attitude that I couldn't do anything but just smile and enjoy. No one else served a guitar solo including a backward somersault for example. Not even Yngwie managed that!

Then came the fastest change over in history! The schedule said 15 minutes between bands but SECRECY actually started 10 minutes ahead of their time. And old German Cult Prog-Rockers SECRECY had a little hard topping AGE OF EVIL's energy. They looked mostly awkward to start with but sounded good though. It still took them a little more than one song to wake up and get on with some really nice riffs. It really felt like a different band after ten minutes on-stage. The music is perhaps a little hard to get into but that's the thing with Progressive Metal; the more you listen the better it gets. The really weird thing here, was that the guitar player Manny Meccyca (a.k.a. Manfred Dubbert) pretty much stole the show and took the mid-position from singer Peter Dartin who kindly had to move to the side. Peter's voice was just at the edge of winey and that bugged me a little on a few occasions, but that's rather a question of my taste than bad performance from his side. Overall, this was a really good gig and I hope this wasn't a one time thing. I sure as hell want more of SECRECY.

One dose from BREAKER at the pre-party and I was already hooked. A lot of people were looking forward for some straight forward Metal at the festival too, no doubt about that. The area in front of the stage got more and more crowded the closer it got to their gig. I tried to get hold of BREAKER's releases Get Tough and Get Tougher before the festival but that wasn't an easy task so I was really glad they brought them to the show and I could buy them directly from the band. I also got my hands on the brand new Peace Love Death that shows that this band not only is history, they also have a bright future to look forward too.

They managed to serve the same intensity and energy on the big festival stage in daylight as on the Club Show at the very sweaty WOM. Vocalist Greg Wagner (also in SHATTER MESSIAH) made sure to explore every corner of the stage, running forward and back and made it quite impossible to catch him with the camera. Greg has a really rough voice that normally doesn't appeal to but to this Guitard riven Attitude Metal it worked perfectly. It all got really dirty and mean when both Don Depew and Michael Klein together with the third guitarist Nick Giannakos (also in WRETCH) took over the stage.

I have no clue why did they split the guitar duties on the pre-party; Nick played the main part of the set and Michael stepped in for the last couple of songs. Not that I mind, since Nick is a great player and really fun to watch, it just seemed a little strange. The next time I will get a chance to see BREAKER I can do my homework and listen to the records before the concert and make a more in depth review. Now all I have to say is that this was two killer-shows!

On to some Old School English Thrash Metal then! A strong opening line on a record always appeal to me and every hair on my body stood straight up when ONSLAUGHT kicked their off set with Killing Peace. That Spitting Blood In The Face Of God is one angry text-line and it hits like a ten ton hammer. I couldn't help myself and screamed along to it, the other people in the pit looked a little surprised but joined in the next time.

Singer Sy Keeler looked so cool with his long black hair and has just enough of that raw and angry attitude combined with the Rock'n'Roll spirit to make a great frontman. He's awesome to watch and he sure as hell knew how to boost a crowd. A little further into the set came the second somersault of the festival; guitarist Nige Rockett apparently forgot about the monitors behind him. It was a little funny to see the panic in his eyes when he realized things was going to hell and a second later the soles of his shoes was the only thing visible for the crowd. He was back on his feet in seconds with a little surprised look on his face. But this wasn't done intentionally so it doesn't qualify as a guitar stunt. ONSLAUGHT was a lot of fun to watch and the old material got a completely new attitude nowadays. There's nothing neither nice nor neat about this, just raw attitude. The way Thrash is supposed to be.

No one can say that LIZZY BORDEN is lazy when it comes to put on a good show. There were reaper-cloaks, masks, various weapons and a hell lot of energy. If a theatrical show is not your cup of tea there's also a great Metal Band behind it all, so, if that's the case just look past the show and outfits and listen to the music. But I just don't get how many great bands that's been out there over the years (and still are) that never gotten any recognition at all. LIZZY BORDEN is absolutely one of them that deserves more than they've got during the years. Both Menace To Society and Deal With The Devil are great albums and the latest one Appointment With Death is absolutely really classy metal too!

LIZZY BORDEN started off in a furious speed and never ever slowed down, there were so many things to watch on stage all the time so it really took effort to pay attention to both that and the music. Lizzy was changing outfits and toys for every song and I suppose_hope that the rest of the band members have really good health insurances. Because the axe looked so real and the way Lizzy was swinging it, just inches away from his musicians... At least I would have been nervous being up on that stage. Bass player Marten Andersson showed off with a bass-solo containing the famous melody from Pippi Longstockings and reminded everyone of his Swedish roots. He and guitar player Chris Sanders are almost spitting images of each other so it's good they have different instruments, else it would have been really hard to tell them apart.

After a little break this sexy girl took on the stage, danced away stripper stylish. That's nothing you get away with if LIZZY BORDEN is around, after a small attack and some showing of adult oriented body parts the blood started dripping from her neck. There Will Be Blood Tonight and the crowd absolutely loved it. You want blood too? Lizzy jumped off the stage and started smearing blood on the front lines. A party-trick that worked excellent! Lead Guitarist Ira Black ended the set with a mean guitar solo, throwing the guitar across the stage and attacking it like a predator and squeezed the last notes out of it. (No worries, I know that guitar has survived this kind of treatment before). Afterwards, with all the bloodstains made people look like they had been going face down on some running track though since the blood had more that brick-red color rather than blood-red. Not that it mattered, the effect it had on the show was perfect but it looked a little ridiculous afterwards. Everything I've seen this day has been great and this party-rock gave me new energy and not even the burning sun could drag me away from stage.

With the party-mood set on high TANKARD took on the stage. They didn't really make it easier for me with the beer-filled tankard on the backdrop. The burning sun dried my throat out and I decided to listen to TANKARD from the shade in the bar instead. I mean, what could have been a better band to have a beer to? It's always amazing to see TANKARD though, few bands can deliver that type of energy both physically and musically. This day was no exception and it was a great build up for what was coming later. I couldn't have been in a better mood.

Some time before ONSLAUGHT they announced that OBITUARY had switched time with HARDCORE SUPERSTAR. In the end HARDCORE SUPERSTAR canceled the whole thing and history was written. LIZZY BORDEN became the first band to ever play twice in one day at 'Bang Your Head'.
But first OBITUARY did what they're good at; play Florida Death Metal. They delivered quite simple music with a lot of attitude and aggression. The thing that kept them from getting boring is the creative and rhythmic riffing that only OBITUARY manages to spit out record after record. And now, for the first time I had the opportunity to see the demon guitar player Ralph Santolla live too. I was so surprised when he joined DEICIDE a couple of years back, that's not really his style of music so to say. And then moving on to OBITUARY... But I'm glad he did, because he pulled this off with grace and did some really interesting guitar solos. I haven't really listened to OBITUARY since Cause Of Death (besides Xecutioners Return) and frankly, just analyzing the music it is quite boring but still I had a smile from ear to ear in the end.

GRAVE DIGGER or Metal Market? Metal Market was the choice and I managed to break my budget in a few minutes. But what shall I do when I find CD's that I've been looking after for a really long time or can't get at home? Watching GRAVE DIGGER would have been the cheaper choice but now I have a nice new doze of the finest US-Metal to listen to when the festival season is over!

Yngwie who? Yngwie fucking Malmsteen, that's who! But how the hell would Tim Ripper Owens fit into Yngwie's music? He sure is a lot more brutal and powerful singer than the ones normally appearing in this band. So this was absolutely one of the most exciting moments of the festival. I'm a huge Ripper fan and really nothing he's done before has been bad, in fact everything has been really good. But would his voice fit to the music? Yngwie started off with Rising Force and showed off like only he can with guitar acrobatics and stage-moves that would make any ballerina jealous. Why shouldn't he, he's an awesome guitar player and all the rest is HIS style. As well as throwing about a million guitar picks out in the crowd and the spinning of the guitar around his neck. I would be disappointed if he skipped the whole show and just played guitar. I like Yngwie the way he is. And the massive wall of Marshall amplifiers (18 heads and 16 cabinets) behind him wouldn't fit as well in if he was standing still either.

The biggest difference this time from last I saw him was the more dynamic feeling in the songs, it was a lot more heart into it this time. It felt more passionate, controlled and very inspiring. Like this fresh lineup brought some new energy into everything. The one complaint I have is that it felt really short, a lot shorter than many other bands and that was a little unfortunate. It's not always a band or artist makes me feel like wanting more and more, especially not after a few days at a festival. I guess a lot of people agree with me, because the entire crowd's attention was at the guitar-maestro every second of the gig, watching his every move.

What about Ripper then, could he pull it off? Well, it can't be bad when he's involved but this was beyond that, completely impressive. It showed a whole new side of Ripper, a lot softer than usual but just as controlled as always. Ok, the Halford-screams broke through a little in the highest notes of You Don't Remember, I Never Forget but that's not a bad thing. I Am A Viking and Rising Force sounded awesome. But it must be a little strange for him this summer, to share stage with both ICED EARTH and JUDAS PRIEST.
I might be spoiled by now with bands getting a lot of time to play like they do at Sweden Rock Festival because the SAXON gig felt very short too. Here I easily could have copied the report from Sweden Rock, not much change in 2 weeks time but how good SAXON were (and always are) needs to be told over and over again. I've been totally amazed with SAXON's latest records, or really everything they've released in the last 15 years and I'm sure they'll blow me away again in October.

You want a slow one or a fast one? Biff waited for the audience's response. A slow one? The crowd screamed NOOO. Ok, you get a slow one then! Biff smiled, Here's 20.000 Feet. I think this was my 25th SAXON concert but I'm still as excited as I was the first time. It's very enjoyable to see a band deliver a great show time after time, always with some small variation from the last concert and with a lot of energy and passion for the music. I wish more bands could have as much fun on stage as SAXON seem to have.

Again SAXON delivered a cavalcade of hits, Crusader, And The Bands Played On, Motorcycle Man and Wheels Of Steel to mention a few. The sun started to set behind the trees and made the else pot-like and very hot festival area really comfortable. It doesn't get much better than this, a great band on stage, the bar just behind my back and a lot of cool people around me. Ok, the show could have been even better with the eagle even if it was daylight all the time but I doubt that JUDAS PRIEST would have appreciated that one on the stage in their set.

I'm sorry to say this but JUDAS PRIEST didn't stand one chance against SAXON. Of course they sounded good, looked massive and very impressive. But A few times I found myself watching the lights and stage-set rather than the band, that's a small sign it was not enough action on stage. The connection with the audience was almost none. Of course, the effect of mystique gets lost with too much talk between songs but there's other ways to interact with the crowd. After SAXON's show this felt more like a pre-recorded film. There's a huge difference between a SAXON-show and a PRIEST-show. Of course and the mighty JUDAS-machine was great too; it just felt a little still after the treatment from their compatriots. Compared to Sweden Rock though this felt more alert and convincing but they still have a bit to go before they can match themselves from past times.

I really like JUDAS PRIEST new material, both from Angel Of Retribution and the new Nostradamus and actually the setlist was great this tour. It contained a very nice mixture of both new and old material. As expected the obvious hits have to be there but that they added songs like Sinner and Dissident Aggressor were awesome. I hope the rumors are true, that they will do a few concerts and play the entire Nostradamus album. JUDAS PRIEST seem very excited about their new album and perhaps, performing that material live will trigger them a little more and they find their old live-energy again.

Another festival completed. As usual 'Bang Your Head' has been really nice and thank god it wasn't as hot as it usually is, and no other weather tricks either. One concern I have though is the new buildings popping up on the Festival-site and out on the camping as well. I wonder how much longer Messegelande Balingen will be open for a festival. I hope I'll have at least 6 more chances to mess up Balingen but there are similarities to 'Dynamo Open Air' that had to move to new sites year after year and eventually just disappeared. I don't want that to happen to one more great festival. Kampftrinker, Kampfschwimmer or just Party-animal? 'Bang Your Head' festival is the place to be!

(photos by 'Motorcycle Woman' Erika)

SECRECY
BREAKER
ONSLAUGHT
LIZZY BORDEN
TANKARD
OBITUARY
YNGWIE MALMSTEEN
SAXON
JUDAS PRIEST