For the 33rd time the gates of Wacken Open Air opened up, on the 28th of July 2024. This year was the first time they added a new access pass so that they could keep control of the amount of people that were going to the festival each day. This of course is because of last year’s announcement that due to the weather a lot of people were not able to make it to the festival.
When driving up to the festival you had your designated arrival path, and those were all within the theme of this year’s festival Witches & Warlocks. On the main road there would be signs and ours was the book of spells. After driving the path we got at the campsite and the setting up of the campground began. At Wacken you are allowed to keep your car next to your tent in certain areas (there’s also a tent only campground) so in some cases this would lead to extreme campground setups. We have seen stages where bands preformed a few times a day and entire living rooms complete with a bar and free schnapps. It’s safe to say there’s such a lively campground feeling at Wacken and everyone is always in for a party or two.
After we unpacked our cars and set up our campground, it was time to make our way around the marketplace and the outer field. The outer field contained a few stages, a Wasteland Area where people would live like they are from a post-apocalyptic world, t(his was inhabited by the Wasteland Warriors) where you could get food, drinks, merchandise from various stalls and they also had more than enough entertainment with music and fire shows. There’s the beer garden stage where the first bands started to play on the Sunday and at night there would be movies played on the big screens next to the stage. It was all surrounded by market, food and drink stalls and everyone was happy to be back at Wacken. After the Sunday more things started to open up around the festival ground. The Farmers market where you could get locally produced food and drinks, but also a festival shop where you could get snacks, alcohol, games, camping gear and even the new Wacken Perfume (and no, the perfume doesn’t smell like the Wacken mud). If you were out of drinks, you could order online and pick it up at the farmers market and it also included entire trays of beer, apple wine, cola and so on. This was a little bit more expensive than you would buy it for in a supermarket, but it was decently priced for a festival.
To make it even better it seemed that the weather gods were favorable at this year’s Wacken. It’s been a while since we have been to Wacken without days in rain or a lot of mud, but for the first few days there was only sunshine and the warmth of a thousand suns. Our camp made up their minds and we were dedicated to finally go to the swimming pool that was located in the town of Wacken itself; only to find out that the shuttle that takes you to the swimming pool was not going there anymore because it was already full. People were being notified that the swimming pool was full and that there would be no more admission for that day or as my friend would say to everyone “
SCHWIMMBAD IST GESCHLOSSEN”. Luckily we came prepared and had loads of water guns with us and we decided to make our own water party. It always puts a smile on my face when you see metal heads run after each other, water guns and balloons. After a well fought battle we thought it would be time to go check out the other activities that were going on around the campground. When over 80 thousand people from all over the world get together you can only imagine what kinds of fun chaos it will bring. There were groups that were playing bingo, twister, board games and of course the great festival tradition of Flunky Ball, where you stand with 2 groups of people on opposite sides with drinks with a bottle in the center. The goal is to throw a ball at the bottle and make sure it falls over and you get to drink until the bottle is put upright and the other team is back between their line, this continues until your entire team finishes the drink and you start the next round. This game can be seen played everywhere around the campground and it’s a fun way to interact with new people and make new festival friends.
Wednesday
The days creep by and you can feel everyone getting really excited for the holy ground to officially open. Thousands of people were waiting for the gates to open so they can take a sprint up to the two main stages Faster & Harder. We were lucky to capture a nice shot of this but first there was a group of Witches and Warlocks to hype up the crowd for the opening. The crowd started running to the bars on the infield that just opened or just wanting to get to the front of the stages so they can see their favorite bands from up close. The weather was a nice 27 degrees Celsius with the sun shining and no clouds in the sky. It really started to look like this year was going to be the year of just Shine instead of their usual slogan Rain or Shine.
We made our way to one of our favorite spots at the festival, the Wackinger Village. A medieval/Viking themed area where you can get all sorts of foods, themed drinks and everyone is selling their handmade items including jewelry, clothing, hats and also smithed cutlery. The food in this part of the festival is amazing and we always go back to get the Fleisch spiess which is just meat on a stick but it’s really tasty and there are always big queues at the stand. Then we got ourselves some drinks and made our way to the Wackinger Village stage where American/Dutch band Jaya The Cat would be playing. Their mix of Ska, Reggae and Punk accompanied by the warm weather made this show perfect. The crowd was taking in the music and almost everyone was dancing and singing along to the music. Back in the days when I went to go out in Amsterdam, seeing Jaya The Cat’s singer Geoff Lagadec used to be my indication that a day would be awesome. Wacken was no exception to this, and the show was amazing. During the show they also turned on the bubble machine and the everywhere you could see had floating bubbles and everyone was smiling. Towards the end of the show, they asked some people to come up on stage after asking the security it was okay to let a few people on. The security however did not think this through, and the entire stage was filled with people and they were even crowd surfing on the stage.
The Faster stage was hosting British band The Darkness, and although I do really like the band and their hit song “I believe in a Thing Called Love” something about it just didn’t feel like it was worth to stand around and watch them. It was crowded in front of the stage; however it just felt a bit flat. Maybe the reason was the sound mixer, or because of the weather, but it really wasn’t for me that day. We decided to take a walk and go to the W:E:T Stage to see some of the metal battle winners preform. French Metal Battle winner Carbonic Fields their style was a bit of thrash but with power influences but also some polka in there too. The band members were wearing the same outfits with red ties, black dress shirts covered in powder and face paint. They were different but a very fun experience and after seeing them I actually started to listen a few of their songs back at home as well. After a few more minutes soaking in the sun it was time for the folk punk legends Flogging Molly on the Faster stage. We made our way up through the crowd because there were a lot of people standing in front of the stage to see them. “We are Flogging Molly and now for something completely different” Dave King said to the crowd before starting one of their biggest hits “Drunken Lullabies”. This was met with cheers and screams from the crowd and everyone started jumping around, dance circles started forming and beers were flying through the air. Flogging Molly is always an amazing party band and after feeling the energy from the band and the crowd you could keep yourself from partying too. Because a festival is not only enjoying yourself and getting drunk in a field with new friends sometimes, we do interviews too. The first interview we did this year was none other than thrash band Evile. I sat down with OL Drake to discuss their show, their 20th anniversary and more. Check out this interview here.
After the interview it was time for a food break. There’re so many different kinds of food on the festival and also so many options for people who are vegan or vegetarian. The fact that they think of this while other festivals just stick to the same burger and fries recipe always makes me happy. While we had just finished our food the slot machine came on the big screens at the infield. It was time to see one of Germany’s own bands, medieval metal band In Extremo. The infield filled up really quick because everyone wanted to see the show. It’s hard to describe this because it was an awesome show. Loads of pyrotechnics, fireworks and drone shows, it was really something to behold. In Extremo is about to release a new album called “Wolkenschieber” and they played a few songs from the new album mixed up with some classic songs like “Kuss Mich”, “Vollmond” and a special live debut of “Unser Lied” that featured Bjorn Both from Santiano. For me it was time to slowly head back to enjoy the thrashing sound of Evile as they played their headline set on the Wasteland Stage. The darkness already fell, and the stage was lit up with so much fire around it. Fire cannons were constantly going off and it made this show from Evile extra special. It was really crowded at the stage making me think that maybe it would’ve been better to put them somewhere else. But all in all, the crowd was happy, I was happy and the band sure seemed happy. Tired but very satisfied I went to bed on my first day of the festival (but my 4th day at Wacken).
Thursday
“Dear diary, I woke up today and there’s still no rain. I’m starting to think this is not even a real Wacken”. Feeling refreshed, it was time to go on the hunt for some awesome bands today. At festivals this big I usually tend to go for a few of the bands I really like to see but also discover completely new music/bands. Thursday was a day where I had to run around a lot at the festival. A lot of bands playing in different places just barely leaving any time for error or slow walking people. Keeping the legacy of Ronnie James Dio intact and passing his music on to people who may have never seen Dio live, the Dio Disciples walked up to the stage and were ready to give us a show. Dio Disciples are picked and managed by Ronnie James Dio’s widow Wendy Dio, and they all had a connection with the singer himself. The classics passed the revue “Holy Diver”, “Rainbow in the Dark”, “Heaven & Hell” and “Long Live Rock n Roll”. The line up on stage was made up of keyboardist Scott Warren (Dio, Heaven and Hell, Warrant), drummer Simon Wright (Dio, AC/DC, UFO), vocalist Oni Logan (ex-Lynch Mob, ex-Racer X), bassist Bjorn Englen (ex-Yngwie Malmsteen, ex-Quiet Riot), guitarist Ira Black (Bulletboys, ex- Lizzy Borden, ex-Vicious Rumors, ex-Vio-lence) and Anthrax vocalist Joey Belladonna who made his live debut at Wacken. Staying in the same spot after the show ended because none other than British rockers from the 70’s Sweet were giving Wacken their “Ballroom Blitz”. For a band that’s celebrating their 50th anniversary they still rock out and keep the crowd going with amazing energy. All the people singing along to “Ballroom Blitz” and “Hell Raiser” while the sun is still burning. It was good to finally see them live.
As press there’s always something special to do at Wacken. Think about press conferences, new bands that are being promoted, special visitors who like to talk about their role in metal. This year we had the privilege to see a live acoustic show by Saltatio Mortis in the VIP area. Everyone was really surprised when they showed up with their bagpipes and drums. It was a short set but being able to see them up close and personal in this setting was amazing. I’ve been listening to them for a long time and this kind of felt like a dream come true.
Metal battle winner from Belgium Poseydon stepped on the Headbangers stage to show the world what they were made of. Their mix between Thrash, Death and even a little bit of metal core solidifies their brutal sound, and the crowd doesn’t know what hit them. Everyone was cheering and the energy that came of stage shows you why they won the metal battle in Belgium. Though the set was short it was nothing less than awesome. Later in the day I had the pleasure to speak to two of the members Tom and Leander about winning the metal battle, the line up changes, their self released album and their new plans. You can watch that interview here.
There can be no Wacken without Skyline. Headliner from the 1st year Skyline made an appearance on every Wacken since and even having their own songs about the festival. It does help that the organizers used to be in the band but that doesn’t stop the fact that it’s always a fun show to see. Playing a lot of cover songs and having guest vocalist Joey Belladonna for “Wheel in the Sky” and “Sperate Ways (World Apart)” by Journey (yes he was everywhere during this festival and we couldn’t get enough). Because of the weather we decided to take a little break and just relax for a moment while walking around the campsites. I can’t describe how awesome it is and how welcoming people are at this festival. It just makes you feel like a big happy family where everyone is that weird uncle or aunt. If you don’t have a drink, don’t worry about it and you make new friends along the way. One of the bands I was excited to see, Mr.Big were about to embark on the stage with their rock and ballads. However, I quickly went away from the show. For me it didn’t sound good and for a farewell show it’s nothing short of a letdown. I’m sorry to say this but I think the time has gone for this band and I was really sad about that I didn’t get the proper send off.
One of my surprises this festival was black metal band Uada. The ominous band dressed in hoods on stage, the immense sound that comes from the stage. It was absolutely packed, and everyone was looking all serious and enjoying the music. If you have never seen this band, you should really check them out when they are on tour. The sounds come over you and there’s nothing you can do about it. Totally made me forget about the bad shows I saw.
Now for something completely different, the psychedelic hard rock band Gaupa. On the wasteland stage we were treated to a mix between blues, rock and metal while the fairy like voice of singer Emma Näslund swept you of your feet. Dancing around on stage on her bare feet totally in her element accompanied by some amazing riffs and psychedelic features it really felt like you were somewhere else. From the fairy tale lands we go straight back into the real world with Trelldom, this black metal band by black metal legend Ghaal played one of their first shows ever even though the band already exists since the 90s. Very excited to be one of the first to see this band live and they did not disappoint one bit. Ghaal was amazing with his voice and the sounds were mixed incredibly. Getting hit in the head with a big giant hammer of sound it brought a little tear to my eye. It was already late in the evening and the atmosphere from the darkness that surrounded us and the intensity of the show it was epic. I don’t know if they will play longer seeing as they only play four shows in 2024 but if you have the chance to check them out. DON’T HESITATE AND GO!
The night ended with some good old dancing and partying at the after party with the legendary party animal Mambo Kurt and a DJ that played all the metal classics so we danced the night away and were ready for what the next day will bring us.
Friday
Waking up and hearing a light drizzle on the tent made me want to stay in bed, because there’s nothing more relaxing than hearing the rain softly drip on your tent. However, I couldn’t do that and had to run over to the infield to see the voice of The Runaways Cherie Currie who made her holy ground debut. In the rain that lasted for about 30 minutes Cherie and her band played songs from The Runaways like “California Paradise”, “American nights” and of course “Cherry Bomb”. There were a lot of people having fun and singing along to these classics even when it was raining. But for me the proudest moment was when I saw my good friend Dennis Post (Warrior Soul, Flush The Fashion, Shameless, The City Kids) making his Wacken debut, playing guitar for the band. They absolutely slayed it and gave the rock n roll vibe everyone was looking for. I was standing there like a proud uncle with a grin from ear to ear. Afterwards we had some time to catch up with my friend and walked around the festival grounds for a bit. Beast in Black was about to begin so I made my way through the infield to get a good spot. The sun was already starting to shine again, and the ground was already drying. Power metal and Wacken always go hand in hand with Beast in Black taking no prisoners. Blasting riffs, shattering drums and power vocals mixed with a sunny and warm day and you will get a great afternoon party going.
Whoever wasn’t in a party mood already would soon be taken away by Feuerschwanz German folk metal with some amazing cover songs. Have you ever wondered what would happen if a metal band, who dress like warriors and raiders, covers “Dragostea Din Tie” by O-Zone. Well don’t wander any further as we watched 80.000 metal fans jump up and down singing it along with Feuerschwanz. Their mix of folk metal with humor is amazing and they really play with the crowd to give that extra party boost. When the band said ‘and this song is a cover of Miracle Of Sound’, I already knew what time and was and they were about to play “Valhalla Calling” and the crowd went nuts. The final cherry on top was when they were about to play “Warriors of the World” by Manowar, when Alea der bescheidende from Saltatio Mortis joined them on stage to deliver this belter of a song.
Kiss legend Gene Simmons was playing the holy ground once more, after the final final final tour of Kiss. The bass player decided to round up some musicians and form The Gene Simmons Band. The crowd loved the Kiss songs that passed through the speakers and the occasional cover “Communication Breakdown” by Led Zepplin and “Ace of Spades” by Motorhead. There were some awkward moments on stage where Simmons took some kids upon the stage and pronounced their names wrong but in the end it’s all about the music and he still gives the people what they want.
Power metal giants Blind Guardian are a well-known name in the festival scene and also a well-known name at Metal Exposure. I can honestly say that I have never seen a bad Blind Guardian show in my life and Wacken was no exception. Taking the fully filled infield on a magical journey with dwarfs, elves, hobbits and dragons. It always impresses me that when Blind Guardian plays “The Bard’s Song(in the forest)”, every single metal head is quiet and they all start singing along. It’s amazing to be there when it happens. Through our journey we are taken through “Imaginations from the Other Side” with “Skalds and Shadows” all the way to looking on with “Bright Eyes” passing the gates of “Valhalla” and end up looking in the “Mirror Mirror” (yes I am very proud of myself). The show ended and there was a little sadness that they didn’t play any longer. For me a big dilemma started around this time, two of the bands I came to Wacken for played at the same time. On the one hand we had Tobias Sammet’s Avantasia with their power metal opera style and it worth watching every minute. On the other hand, we have a band I never saw live and are one of the godfathers of goth rock The 69 Eyes. After taking some advice I decided that I would go for the band I had wanted to see for years and after that walk over to the other stage. I did not regret my decision. The 69 Eyes are freaking amazing. Hailing from Finland the goth rockers made sure to bring a certain darkness with them. On what is their debut on Wacken they show why they belong here. Deep vocals accompanied by doom-sounding riffs and a darkened stage mixed with an all-black wearing crowd (not counting that one guy in the pink shirt) the perfect mixture to even bring a smile on the serious faces. “Feel Berlin”, “Gothic Girl”, “Lost Boys” and even a cover of “I Just Wanna Have Something to do” by The Ramones. After singing out loud while dancing in my pink shirt it was time to make my way back to the infield to see the rest of the Avantasia show. As always Avantasia delivers a strong show. This time with the world premiere of their new stage and featuring some new faces in the lineup. I arrived when they had already played a quarter of their show but just in time to see Geoff Tate arrive on stage. Preforming “Alchemy” and “Promised Land” and he sounded amazing. The show was amazing, lots of pyrotechnics, fireworks and a band that’s solid as a rock. Tobias Sammet told the crowd about the new coming album and European tour that was announced that day and with a mix of “Sign of the Cross” and “The Seven Angels” with all the singers came on stage. This year’s lineup Tobias Sammet, Ronnie Atkins (Pretty Maids) Geoff Tate (Queensryche), Bob Catley (Magnum), Adrien Cowan (Seven Spires), Chiara Tricario (Ravenworld) & Kenny Leckremo (H.E.A.T). When the show was over it was time to find our way back through the crowd to the campground for another night’s rest.
Saturday
“Will today be the day that the heaven’s open up and cover us with wet stuff” is what I thought to myself, I should have kept my brain shut. 22 years ago, there was a band that had to cancel Wacken but they are here and ready to bring their style of NWOBHM. Raven is here and everyone couldn’t be more excited. The clouds were slowly turning grey, and the first notes set in. After 50 years, they still show why they are one of the godfathers of thrash. Mosh pits were forming, circle pits and the energy that these guys still have is very awesome. Now it was time to make my way back to the press area for something special. I had the pleasure of interviewing a band that would be playing later in the evening, Mister Misery. They just released their 3rd album, and this is their 3rd time at Wacken, but we talk about that in the interview. You can find the interview here.
When the interview was over and I looked up at the sky, I was met with dark clouds and that weird wet stuff again. The heavens opened up and the weather gods stopped blessing us. There was a lot of rain so I had to run back and had to miss 2 shows I wanted to see. Luckily, I could hear Sebastian Bach from the place I took shelter and it sounded great. Skid Row classics like “18 and life”, “Monkey Business” “Youth Gone Wild”, “Slave to the Grind” and “I Remember You” were played and it felt my heart with joy to see Sebastian Bach still play these songs live. All it all it was two hours of heavy rain and thunder and it was back to being sunny again. The weather is always a bit weird at festivals this summer, but luckily it didn’t do a lot of damage on the festival with delays or too much mud.
Blackened Death giants Behemoth brought back the fire and the sun, unleashing the hell out of their instruments and into the holy ground. Behemoth are on top for a reason, everything about this show is great. The show and the vibe they create and still being brutal. In an instant the show was over, and I stood there gasping for air. Amon Amarth sailed down on their big ships to raid and pillage Wacken. Viking metal from the highest order straight out of Asgard, playing with the Norse Mythology with heavy guitars, strong growls and rhythmic drums. Take your drinking horns out and take a big sip because it’s time to attack. They pull out all the magic tricks in their arsenal with “Guardians of Asgard”, “Deceiver of the Gods”, “As Loke Falls” and even treating us to something special with “The Last With Pagan Blood” (they didn’t play this song in 7 years) and “Twilight of the Thunder God”. Running through the dense crowd at the show I rushed over to be in time for Mister Misery. One of the biggest surprises for me this week. There’s not a word to describe their music because there are so many styles in there. It seems like they play a different genre every song while still keeping their original sound. Counting this as their album release show as the album released on 2/8/2024 you could hear the excitement from the crowd along with the fires shows and cannons that were going off during the show. WOW I really really really enjoyed it and can’t wait to see them again on their upcoming tour.
Every year at the end of the festival the promoter comes on stage to have a little talk about the festival and thanking the festival goers and crew. They always leave us with an end show that announces a bit of next year’s line up. Drones light up the dark sky and a portal forms, while on the screens a movie starts playing. The Wasteland warriors are tasked with delivering the lineup for 2025 when the drones in the sky change into multiple UFO’s. Unveiling the theme for next year ALIENS. This was a very epic way to announce a lineup and if you can, you should watch it. 2025’s lineup has a few great bands and some surprises. Headliners are Machine Head, Gojira, Papa Roack and a special 25th anniversary show of Saltatio Mortis. Other bands playing at the festival include Celeste, Grave Digger, Apocalyptica, August Burns Red, Dool, Dimmu Borgir, Tarja & Marko Hietela, Within Temptation, Saxon, Wind Rose, Ministry and many more.
For me it was over, and I took one last look at the crowd, the food and the stages. Surviving seven days of Wacken made me feel really old and tired but we did it and I can’t wait to do it again next year.
Tickets for Wacken 2025 are still available so get yours before they sell out
