Day 3

Had to wake up really early again for the last part of this traditional Metal fest; setting clock alarms to head on for live _Metal music is not something ordinary, huh...

[Maria] Being the first band in the last day of the festival is something risky for a group of musicians. In the case of ZED YAGO it was risky for the band and the fans. Well, let's say that the vocal abilities of Yvonne Durand did not impress me at all. Could it be assumed that the band's performance was reflecting how tired we were after 2 days of headbanging in the rain? At least it will help you to get the picture. This band is known for its two albums back in the 80s. The first two songs came from the From Over Yonder album Spell From Over Yonder and Rockin The Nation. Yvonne tried to 'wake up' the crowd, but it was not possible. I do not know how much did the band try to have this outcome, but finally it was not even good. Approaching the end of their set, ZED YAGO presented a cover of Burn from DEEP PURPLE, and probably that was the highlight for us as far as that band is concerned.

ZED YAGO setlist:

01. Intro
02. Spell From Over Yonder
03. Rockin For The Nation
04. Merlin
05. Warrior Of Fantasy
06. Black Bone Song
07. Fear Of Death
08. Burn
09. End Of The World
10. Born To Rock

[Greg] Fuckin' Metal weather, all the way! From sun to rain and the to sun again, I could run back to my exhausting army days...what the hell...PORTRAIT prepared their stage equipment while -more or less- there were not more than 500 faces willing to check out the Sweden traditional Metal quintet's trial. Having seen them performing as the opening act at 2009's 'Up The Hammers' fest (Athens, Greece) there was not much more to expect for, except maybe for insisting on looking out for a better -for the songs' requirements- singer and sweat more on the rehearsals side of their music. Songs from their one and only debut album (2008) did build up a mediocre performance even if the songs are quite catchy and their JUDAS PRIEST-meets-MERCYFUL FATE attitude is always a winner in front of 'true' crowds. The band surely deserves more onstage; they just have to work on it...

[Harry] Ok, SCARAB may had to cancel and probably some of the metalheads at 'Headbangers Open Air' wanted to see them, but for me it was nice to hear that CLOVEN HOOF would be the replacement band. If only you could see the mail texts between me and Greg (which you won't...).

The band was in terrific shape, and the sound was again very good, as in most of the bands. The only problem, again, was the weather. It was raining at the start of their set but this didn't stop the fans to have a great time with tunes like (in no particular order) Nova Batlestar, Laying Down The Law, Return Of the Passover, Road Of Eagles and The Gates Of Gehena, with Roxx Kalli from ROXXCALIBUR in the second guitar. And as the icing on the cake, Terry Dark (singer of the legendary NWOBHM band JAMESON RAID) came onstage and sung Getting Hotter from the one and only EP this band had released back in 1980. Can't say that it was the best part of their set as far as the performance concerns but it was an emotional one for all the old school fans. Another great gig from CLOVEN HOOF and surely they run their second youth. Last but not least, I'd like to mention that the voice of Russ North was simply amazing. It's not easy to sing like him and his is making it look childish. Thumbs up for the Hoofs.

CLOVEN HOOF setlist:

01. Inquisitor
02. Nova Battlestar
03. Mutilator
04. Getting Hotter (Terry dark on vocals)
05. Return Of The Passover
06. Road Of Eagles
07. Laying Down The Law

[Greg] OK, it was time for some rain again...Sneaking into anything named as 'shelter' in the muddy yard, one of the bands capable of melting my brains over two decades now was soon ready to unleash its force. Or so I'd hope, in other words. There were not more than 50 lunatics in the front rows with Taste The Hate bursting out; TYSONDOG's horsepower was ready to deliver some smoking British Metal muck. Two albums and one EP back in the 80s was the outfit's brute force and with a non-recognizable lineup -to be honest- it was a matter of time to check out if the setlist had something to say. Woah...check below and taste TYSONDOG's hate...An impressive high-octane set by the Englishmen was received with a great applaud and some notorious headbanging by a willful clan of soldiers confirming their loyalty to in-your-face bulldog Metal.

TYSONDOG setlist:

01. Taste The Hate
02. Dog Soldiers
03. Blood Money
04. Dead Meat
05. The Machine
06. Painted Heroes
07. Eat The Rich
08. Don't Let The Bastards Grind You Down
09. Hammerhead
10. Demon

[Harry] After running to refill fuel (aka sausages and beer) I became really anxious to see PARADOX live again. I had the opportunity to see them almost four months ago in Athens so and it was nice to have the chance to see them again, at their home this time.

So, thrashers -and not only true metalers (really don't like this label)- gathered in the front to experience an hour of pure Thrash Metal. The only problem? It was quite early for a band like PARADOX but their fans, myself among them, didn't seem to bother. With a crystal clear sound and with the appropriate connection with the audience, they made their fans playing mud wrestling in the front rows and further back the only thing you could see was heads going up and down. Especially during the opening self-titled track someone might say that we were drilling! The mosh pit was there during the whole set. Charly was playing at his field and he was talking to his native language, so I didn't understand anything, but he won the majority of the crowd. Unfortunately, they had less than an hour to play, so we listened to only nine songs. During the last one, Pray To The Godz Of Wrath, Charly said everyone could jump on stage and the band played among its fans. A great way to close your set!

PARADOX setlist:

01. Paradox
02. Death, Screaming And Pain
03. Collision Course
04. Heresy
05. Path Of Denial
06. Infected
07. Kill That Beast
08. Crusaders Revenge
09. Pray To The Godz Of Wrath

[Harry] Ok, let me see my check list: Not going into the mosh pit, check. Had already rolled some cigarettes, with tobacco only, check. Have some liters of beer beside me to consume, check. Then I'm ready to see TANKARD in action! Personally, having my time to the bench just before TANKARD hit the stage (I missed KILLERS but I'm not a fan anyway) it was a wise choice.

What can someone say about this band? Even though, they got a bit more serious at their last album, TANKARD will always be the band we love. The sound once more was almost perfect, despite the heavy rain, and the whole band performed as good as they could giving a brilliant show. (Empty) Tankard, Die With A Beer In Your Hand and Zombie Attack are some of the songs they played, and everyone -most of them drunk already- sung along the lyrics with Andreas Gerre Geremia. He had a great interaction with the German fans, since they could communicate in their native language just like PARADOX, and that gave even more confidence to the band. In the front lines the mosh pit never ended and everyone seemed to have a great time, since even quite at the back -but in front enough to see what's going on stage- we got the vibes of the band and its loyal fans. One hour is never enough listening to Thrash Metal, but we had four more bands to see. So, TANKARD left the stage on time with all of us with a big smile and even more drunk!

TANKARD setlist:

01. The Morning After
02. Zombie Attack
03. 'Slipping Rom Reality
04. Stay Thirsty!
05. Die With A Beer In Your Hand
06. Need Money For Beer
07. Chemical Invasion
08. Octane Warriors
09. Rectifier
10. 666 Packs
11. Freibier
12. (Empty) Tankard

[Maria] Two days ago the same people were Q5, today they were presenting another band, a band which was formed after Q5. NIGHTSHADE, which for some people was Q5 under another name, hit the stage and I was more than satisfied with their stage appearance and sound arrangements just like with Q5 two days ago. So, I had some hidden excitement that NIGHTSHADE would not let us down. Jonathan K. was always in motion, but with Madness he offered us a slice of theatrical moment. Dead Of Night, Speedburner, We Will Fight, Curtain Falls, Strange Aeons and Into Nightshade were heard as well. Rick Pierce was intimidating the crowd with every riff and in general the band was quite tight and achieved to offer a great time. The sound was good enough and this one hour flew by nicely. The last song was, once again, Steel The Light -after tons of requests as the band said- and it was the best way for NIGHTSHADE to leave the stage.

[Maria] ANGELWITCH was one of the first N.W.O.B.H.M bands I ever heard. Having the chance to seeing them was something I would not ever imagine. The time was 21:30 and the notes of Sweet Danger from the Angelwitch album made the start and as I expected, most tracks from the self-titled album paraded for us. After Sweet Danger came White Witch, Sorceress, Gorgon, Confused, Angel Of Death, Atlantis, and of course Angelwitch for the encore. In between those hymns there was some time left for Baphomet as well. The sound was adequately arranged and I admit that the set list was quite good, but sadly I have to underline as well that the band was sounding tired enough for me to notice. There were times the vocals were out of tune; what the heck, probably it will be difficult seeing this band again in the future, thus it is better to make the best out of it.

[Greg] I never imagined I'd have the chance to see THE RODS live in my life; maybe the most respected US Hard_Heavy power trio in the 80s, these furious NY comrades were absent for many many years- we should recall, yet, David Feinstein's Third Wish remarkable CD in 2004- and to the hearing of such a participation two were the crucial questions running all over: a) what would the band's vibe be like after ANGELWITCH's cult set, b) how many people would be ready 'n' willing to cry out let them eat Metaaaaaal!?

The band stormed in as soon as the infamous 'HOA' yard was fully packed; first of all, Carl Cennedy still is an amazing drummer in an astounding sound; nuff said... Honoring the early works of their discography, THE RODS delivered nasty lessons of American hardhittin' Rock the NY way (see setlist below -most of what I can remember, anyway). David exchanged vocal roles with Gary Bordonaro and in 70 minutes of thunder and lightning it was evident that the night was moon magic again. OK, the band was not a household name even in their heyday and many of the spectators simply watched some old lads rocking hard -because they did rock hard- backed by a powerful sound, but the closing summary was that THE RODS proved to be too hard to be stopped that evening.

THE RODS setlist:

01. Raise Some Hell
02. Hurricane
03. Devil's Child
04. Let Them Eat Metal
05. Born To Rock
06. Get Ready To Rock 'n' Roll
07. Too Hot To Stop
08. Violation
09. Waiting For Tomorrow
10. Hot City
11. Cold Sweat And Blood
12. Wild Dogs
13. Nothin' Goin' On In The City
14. Crank It Up
15. Power Lover
16. The Night Lives To Rock

[Greg] This was another weird choice for a headliner; Ok, the legendary Canadian Speed/Thrash Metal merchants had not been performing in Germany for the last decade or so but someone would expect something more rational and unifying for a wrap up main act.

So what? After 80 electrocuting minutes we'd express our gratitude for another fuckin' hostile Canadian export. With Bob Reid (the band's second vocalist in the late 80s and afterwards) RAZOR featured three critical things in their set: a) a bastard sound the way it is needed for this band, b) a singer without long hair anymore but rather vicious in his singing and c) a less-than-average-height man playing simple riffs but with such hatred few guitarist can be compared to in the whole extreme Metal arena. Hello Dave Carlo...

Speed, speed, speed...almost everything off the monumental Evil Invaders piece of art and - see below - a wicked anthology of nearly all their albums. A great, in-your-face dominant appearance in front of an exhausted yet bewitched crowd; the front rows had their own party going, of course. Trying to keep my feet on earth ground, I would generously say RAZOR proved to be an ideal choice for closing the 'HOA' festivities. They delivered a helluva set, full of fury and malevolent sinister spirit, and they successfully transmitted the 'traditional Metal party' feeling of this year's 'Headbangers Open Air' fest.

RAZOR setlist:

01. Instant Death
02. Iron Hammer
03. Take This Torch
04. Violent Restitution
05. Shotgun Justice
06. Tear Me To Pieces
07. Free Lunch
08. Parricide
09. Cut Throat
10. Speed Merchants
11. Nine Dead
12. City Of Damnation
13. Behind Bars
14. Electric Torture
15. Concussion
16. Brass Knuckles
17. Soldier Of Fortune
18. Nowhere Fast
19. Cross Me Fool
20. Evil Invaders

[Greg] A fest owing its guest some more space plus a better variety in food from the next season and onwards is what I'd ask for; else, I think -having a quick nap prior to catching the first flight early morning way back to Greece- few would complain for the bands and their sets. Ah, speaking of bands: already announced acts for the next installment sum it up to ASKA, BATTLE AXE, BLOODFEAST, (a night of) CIRITH UNGOL (feat. Greg Lindstrom), CULPRIT, FALCON, DER KAISER, JAG PANZER, OMEN, RAVEN, ROCK GODDESS, ROXXCALIBUR, TRENCH HELL and VIRGIN STEELE. Have mercy; here we come again...

P.S.: We fell really sorry we had to take a break during the KILLERS set...

(photos by the lost in the mud Erika)

ZED YAGO

PORTRAIT

TYSONDOG

PARADOX

TANKARD

NIGHTSHADE

ANGELWITCH

THE RODS

RAZOR