Just got back from Germany this morning from the W:O:A. This was my second year at Wacken. Once again it was fuking amazing. As apposed to last year's glorious sunshine, this year was a complete washout. Not even this spoiled the festival. Knee deep in mud but fuckin good times.
The lineup this year was slightly inferior to that of last year but still pretty strong. Highlights of the lineup for me were:
Marduk:
Complete with new vocalist, Marduk are better than ever with Mortuus then they ever were with Legion. Marduk's set was really nice and the new vocalist was grim as hell. He poured a trinket of blood over his face for the final song. Really tight performance.
Machinehead:
This was the second time that I have seen Machinehead, the first being a small venue gig in Dublin 3 years ago. I was supprised by how well recieved they were by a mainly european black metal audience. Pulled off a great performance against the odds in pouring rain. Topped off their set with a medley of songs included covers of Pantera's "Walk" & "A New Level".
Apocalyptica:
What can I say, this band blew me away. While at first I thought thier Metallica covers were a little cheesy, as soon as they broke into their own stuff it was quite apparent that these guys fuckin rocked. Real crowd pleasers and amazing musicianship. They closed their set with a "metalled up" version of a norweigen classical music piece. Who would have known that 3 cello's would make a great metal band!
Obituary:
These were amazing, really got the crowd going like nobody else. Absolutely stunning. Kicked everyone's ass.
Sentenced:
On their farewell tour supporting their final album, Sentenced were beyond belief at Wacken. Their setlist was perfect for the occasion of their final German gig. "No bullshit, just music" were the words from the carismatic frontman at the beginning of the set. Sentenced truly lived up to that with a fast paced set that was relentless. The crowd sang along and really got behind the band. With 53,000 people in attendence this was an amazing fealing. I was about 20ft from the stage for Sentenced and my ears are still ringing.
Honourable Mentions:
Dissection
Accept (not my scene but they fuking rocked)
Zyklon
Primordial
A thorougly enjoyable festival despite the washout. I will have some photo's developed soon and post more. One of the best organised festivals I have ever been to. They handled the whole mud issue excellently. German efficiency
I've been waiting for someone to post about this. I wasn't aware of who was playing, but that does seem pretty dismal, especially in light of last years. The only bands I like from the ones you mentioned would probably be Zyklon and Machine Head, providing we're thinking of the same MH.
Post the pictures you got anyway. What other black metal bands played?
