[Greg]: Joined by a setting sun it was time to meet Erika and head on to an indoor building_venue right next to the main outdoor fest area. Time was slipping fast and the first act for the pre-show gig was already on stage. SNAKE RIDE RODEO did make enough noise while performing their filthy hard rockin' Metal set, with enough appetite to tear the house down and - omitting the average sound - a notable appearance in brief. Featuring the one and only Preacher (ex-RUNNING WILD) on guitars, the quartet delivered a 45-minute set of 'BLACK LABEL SOCIETY meets PANTERA meets Southern Rock meets modern ALICE COOPER' music. Distorting guitars, a visible vibe for a good time, nice chemistry...bearing in mind SNAKE RIDE RODEO has released one full-length CD (plus some kind of an EP last year?) there's really space for some more music from them; and a boozin' tour with fellow vagabonds GUN BARREL would not be out of the question either.

[Greg]: These young thrashers had already made some impact while releasing their Enter The Grave official debut back in 2007. Even if performing on the SLAYER/(early) METALLICA patterns (mainly) they kinda do show they have their own identity both in the song-making and - as being lucky to witness - on stage. Soon to release their sophomore Infected Nations CD, via Earache Records again, EVILE left a generous dose of fans gathered at the time completely satisfied. With a very good sound backing their sonic massacre, the quartet showed they have the nerve and potential to scream for even more, while Ben Carter (drums) ensured we're talkin' bout a helluva skins destroyer. Cannot recall a specific setlist right now, but I can remember cuts like Enter The Grave, Bathe In Blood, First Blood and a new track called Now Demolition. And, no, they did not seem stressed at all paving the way for that evening's headliners...

[Erika]: Sometimes I really hate to work at the festivals. Sure, it's nice to have a sanctuary in the backstage bar and it's absolutely great to have the opportunity to abuse the camera in the photo-pit. But on occasions, it's just complete torture to be there having to behave. JON OLIVA'S PAIN was such a moment. Jon Oliva himself is a true character and it was great to see him in his normal shape again (the flu he caught just before the show in Copenhagen was completely gone now).

There's no one that can enter the stage like Jon. He looks completely mischievous like only he can and then some grimaces that looks exactly like the Size Does Matter shirts. And when Jon's voice is back to top notch again he won't leave anyone unaffected. I had goosebumps all over my body the second he started to scream, I mean, what an opening of a show, two classics as City Beneath The Surface and Sirens and then over to the more recent The Eyes Of The King.

To serve a whole bunch of SAVATAGE tracks can't fail though. The thing though, to me the JON OLIVA'S PAIN albums hold as high standards as SAVATAGE and it is unfortunate that the major part of the set is SAVATAGE. But to hear Jon sing the Zak Stevens era songs, like Edge Of Thorns and Chance was truly amazing. Of course, much about PAIN revolves around Jon but it's not fair to neglect the rest of the band. With three albums in the bag and a fourth on the way they really deserve a lot more credit than they've gotten this far. Perhaps they can be a bit blamed for it themselves, they are putting SAVATAGE tracks in prior to their own material on the bill. Two JON OLIVA'S PAIN tracks are a little scant but to get the chance to hear Walk Upon The Water live was amazing. Still don't understand why they cut the solo though but still that was the absolute highlight of the show. And with Jon back in shape again, his voice was better than ever. It's amazing to hear what he's able to do tour after tour and for each tour everything just gets better and better.

01. City Beneath The Surface
02. Sirens
03. The Eyes Of The King
04. Chance
05. Edge Of Thorns
06. Gutter Ballet
07. Tonight He Grins Again
08. Hounds
09. Walk Upon The Water
10. Believe
11. Jesus Saves
12. The Hall Of The Mountain King

[Greg]: Not digging KREATOR's post-80s stuff, I had to get served a couple of fine (local?) German beer and fool around the indoor arena while the stage crew was setting things straight for the long-running Thrashers' recital. Smoking outside the venue did not let me be in time for the Choir Of The Damned intro heard from the speakers...woah. Backed by some excellent sound, it was cool to have a video screen at the background adding vibe to the band's setlist: enough songs from their latest discography plus a respected number from good ol' thrashing tunes. KREATOR still is a good band on stage and I don't thing anyone suffered a bad time listening to songs like Hordes Of Chaos, Phobia, Extreme Aggressions, Betrayer, Enemy Of God, Pleasure To Kill, Violent Revolution, Flag Of Hate and Tormentor. This band seems to be too 'pro' onstage and Mille possibly tries to imitate his malevolent past at times, but - truth is - there's not much of a chance you'll be let down in a KREATOR gig.

It was after 01:00a.m. the time the pre-show gig was over. Trying to find a way out of the parking lot (that's what happens when you park your car in a Hyper Market private parking area and the barriers close down at 9:00p.m. - but I escaped) there was not much time to sleep in order to get armed and dangerous for the main dish next morning.

(photos by the horde of cameras Erika)

EVILE

JON OLIVA'S PAIN

KREATOR