It all started on a very hot Friday the 13th in June on our way to the Into The Grave festival in Leeuwarden. Normally the festival is held in the city centre of Leeuwarden at the Oldehoofsterkerkhof (Which is an old clock tower built in the 16th century) and the festival itself is in front of the tower on what used to be the graveyard. Because of another cultural event happening this year that would take a longer occupancy of the grounds, the festival moved out of the way for a one time change of location. This location was near the train station and was just on the outskirts of the city in the parking lot of some office buildings.
After some traffic queues because of the railway strikes in The Netherlands, we finally arrived at the campsite only to discover that the campsite was actually full. Luckily we were able to find ourselves a little spot and we started our walk to the festival (20 – 30 minutes).
We walked up to the gates for the tickets and it was very easy to access with loads of volunteers ready to get you your wristband and scan your tickets and because of the heat you were able to take in (empty) bottles so you could fill them up at the water station.
From the entrance you could walk straight up to the main stage and if you walked to the left of the entrance it would lead you to the reaper stage. Finally it was going to happen 12 years after their last European show, 3 Inches of Blood were back together and playing the festival. Damn ! This was nothing but exceptional and definitely worth the 12 year wait. Blasting straight through the gates with “Destroy The Orcs” they got the crowd going from the moment they got onto the stage. With songs like “Battles and Brotherhood”, “The Goatriders Horde” and my personal favorite “Deadly Sinners” it was truly an amazing show and I can’t wait to see them again when they play The Netherlands again on the 14th of August in Doetinchem. Friday was the day of firsts and lasts when Orange Goblin took the stage and told everyone that this would be their final show in The Netherlands. Putting on an amazing final show in the heat of the day that left everyone satisfied but sad that it was the last one. Exodus was amazing as always blasting away everyone who would dare to defy them. Another return to the European stages was the mighty Savatage who hadn’t played since 2002 but without Jon Oliva. The crowd went nuts hearing all the classics like “Gutter Ballet”, “Power Of the Night”, “Edge of Thorns”,”Jesus Saves” and “Hall Of The Mountain King” . It was a perfect way to end the night and leave me satisfied until the next day.
Saturday was way too hot as well however we got surprised by a nice refreshing shower from the skies which cooled everyone down a bit. Getting into the groove with Slomosa the stoner rock band from Norway who were added to the line up later after cancellations by Municipal Waste and Revnoir. It was a chill and nice way to start our second day in the blistering sun around the parking lot. Rotting Christ sounded amazing and played with all their might, musically they were great and the audience was buzzing but because of the location and the time of day it just felt a little bit off for me. Thrash metal giants Death Angel are no strangers to play Into The Grave and it was nice to see them greeted as old friends. With Death Angel you get exactly what you ask for a no nonsense thrash show with some funny crowd interactions and moshing your ass off. With a mix of old songs from former band Motorhead and new songs by Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons the crowd was entertained from beginning to end. It’s always fun to hear “Ace of Spades”, “Born to Raise Hell” as the classics and “We’re The Bastards”, “Hammer and Dance” and “Strike The Match” to turn this night into a complete rock n roll show ! The crowd gathered round and the pickaxes were starting to show throughout the entire audience, this meant it was time for some dwarven metal by Wind Rose. Another crowd favorite was about to unleash their dwarven ancestors upon Leeuwarden. From the vibration of the ground you would think there was not a single person not dancing or jumping around from the happy sounds that came from the stage. Especially with the audience participation with “Rock and Stone” or the instant classic “Diggy Diggy Hole” with an added dance remix which saw everyone jump up and down with their pickaxes (all plastic of course)and turn it into a small Into The Rave.
W.A.S.P doesn’t need an introduction. Blackie Lawless took the stage and showed everyone what he was doing over 40 years ago can still rock today. Playing the entire album W.A.S.P on their album one alive tour, from start to finish this was a masterpiece to behold and finally see this entire album played live. from “I Wanna Be Somebody” and “L.O.V.E. Machine” all the way through “Tormentor” and “The Torture Never Stops” it was a no nonsense show with a nice encore that ended with “Wild Child” and “Blind In Texas”. What kind of was a surprise for me is that before the show it was promoted that it should have been a greatest hits show instead of the Album One Alive tour but that didn’t mean we didn’t enjoy it and it was a great way to end off the second day.
Although the temperature didn’t feel like you were stepping into hellfire, as soon as you heard the sounds of Vader you knew exactly where you belonged. playing their set on Fathersday the day quickly was dubbed Vaderday the polish grandmasters showed everyone exactly what they were worth. Blasting riffs and brutal screams took over the parking lot and mosh pits started forming all through the audience. Feuerschwanz knew exactly what they had to do to turn the crowd into a big “Knightclub”. Countless smiles, dancing and all hands up in the air when the German medieval metal band played through their repertoire singing about zombies with “Untot im Drachenbot” or fighting dwarfs with “Kampfzwerg” and even leaving us with a little bit of nostalgia by doing their cover of “Dragostea Din Tei” which put a smile even on the biggest doubters face. This was one big party from beginning to the end. From knights we take a leap back to princes, unicorns and hootsforce with Gloryhammer, another well known name in Into The Grave history. The party continued from the first power metal riff that came off stage with crowd surfing unicorns and big blow up animals, they played nothing but hits with “Universe on Fire”, “Hootsforce”, “The Unicorn Invasion of Dundee” and “Angus Mcfife”.
Now it was time for the final band of the night, also a well known band in the history of the festival Powerwolf. Powerwolf showed everyone why they earned their headline spot with an amazing show with lots of pyro and showmanship. It is always amazing to see so many different people in the crowd at their shows, for instance I was standing next to a 7 year old screaming from the top of their lungs with all the songs that passed the set, participating in every single crowd interaction and finally being very sad that the show was over. Their set spanned songs from their entire career and included almost every crowd favorite so far, the audience was singing along with every song. “Army of the Night”, “Amen & Attack”, “Incense & Iron”, “Demons are a Girl’s Best Friend”, “Sanctified With Dynamite” to finish it off strongly with the amazing “We Drink Your Blood”. For me this was one of the absolute highlights of the weekend. What a show and I really loved all the extras that were done on stage including flamethrowers. Leaving satisfied with an amazing weekend of metal bands it was time to go back to the camping and wait until the next Into The Grave which will be back at the old location in the city centre next to the Oldehove.
