Concerts · 04/08/2024
Like our arrival, the departure goes without a hitch. We are able to leave the campground without any problems whatsoever. We are not the only ones departing, but not as many cars as I'd have thought are on the road. The way to the motorway is perfectly signposted and guides are strategically placed at all crossings. We reach the motorway in no time and would have been home by 1 AM. If it hadn't been for the Elbe Tunnel. Three lanes are being merged into one and even in the middle of the night,...
Concerts · 03/08/2024
Day 5 starts early again after a very bad night. Our newest tent neighbours have treated my ears to some of the worst music shit possible until half past 2 AM and I fell asleep with my noise cancelling headphones on, only to wake around 4 AM with the chills and nausea. It is day 5, the last official festival day and I have to admit - despite drinking responsibly and not overdoing it; despite glamping; despite best possible weather circumstances - I have reached my limits physically. I am fed up...
Concerts · 02/08/2024
Day 4 starts with AC/DC from somewhere on the campground at 7 AM. It is cold and damp and I feel knackered. My feet hurt and look like they won't fit into any kind of shoe any time soon. Slippers it is. I beat the morning rush for showers and toilets and it's not a very pleasant experience. It is getting increasingly harder to find anything remotely clean. By 8 AM I am again treated to Bavarian brass music. It starts to rain and we move our stuff into Jan-Hendrik's tent.
Concerts · 01/08/2024
Wacken day 3 starts with Bavarian brass music from the neighbouring plot. It is half past eight when I roll out of my tent, very grumpy. The toilets are no longer clean and there is a queue for everything. This is the first morning I am not loving being here. It gets better after the first pot of coffee, though. Marie uses Chris' multitool to puncture my blister (don't try this at home!). Always good to have a doctor at hand. I had planned to go and see the Dio Disciples at noon, but I can't...
Concerts · 31/07/2024
My first proper Wacken day starts earlier than expected. Around 6:30 AM we have some kind of construction or cleaning vehicle on the campground, which is doing some pumping and it is not possible to ignore it. I have slept a deep and exhausted sleep and I am happy to announce my back is not killing me. The camp beds were a wise investment. As we are up so early, there is no queue at the toilets and we have a very relaxed morning with some fresh coffee out of a plastic cup as I've forgotten to...
Concerts · 30/07/2024
Wackeeeeen! Did I really make it this year? I bloody well did. And I did better than I expected. Let me take you through my Wacken experience, starting with Day 1, which was for me on Tuesday, 30th of July. I am getting up at an ungodly hour after a sleepless night in my daughter's pink bedroom. Our bedroom is already occupied by my parents, who will be looking after the children the rest of the week. Marie is testing her brandnew airbed in the living room.
Concerts · 21/07/2024
Klash Of The Ruhrpott - For nearly a year, I've had the tickets for this legendary event sitting neatly sealed on my desk. Announced in August 2023 (remember, when I DIDN'T go to Wacken), it was sold out within days. The Teutonic Four of Thrash Metal planned a show together. The chance to see Tankard, Destructrion, Sodom and Kreator the same day - well, there was not much to think about. I had immensely high expectations and a lot of anticipation for this event. What I didn’t count on was:...
Metal-Adjacent · 02/06/2024
This is a personal blog after all, so today I am feeling obliged to write something personal. It is my birthday. I am turning 39. Really bad age and to be honest, I don't feel like celebrating. I haven't celebrated my birthday for years and if I have the choice, I prefer to be out of town for my birthdays. I hate the fuzz about this day, I hate being the birthday girl and yet it makes me sad when certain people forget my birthday. Welcome to my very twisted mind full of social insecurity....
Concerts · 19/02/2024
Oh boy, I am all over the place. What a weekend. I went to see Skálmold in Bremen last Saturday, which is exciting in itself. But it was also the first time I went in a semi-official capacity for Stormbringer. And because having to write about a concert isn't enough, I also set my mind to taking pictures. Great idea. Did I have any ideas how to take pictures? No. Did I have a camera? Of course not. I was lucky enough to have very supportive people in my cirlce of friends and could actually...
Doom Metal · 08/02/2024
On to another metal sub-subgenre I haven't yet explored: Funeral doom. Doom metal comes with its own set of stylistic divisions like Black-doom, Death-doom, Gothic-doom, Epic doom, Progressive doom, Sludge doom, Stoner doom or Drone doom. Emphasis on the doom here. Characteristics of doom metal are slow tempos, low-tuned guitars, repetitive rhythms and a lyrical focus on, well - doom. Funeral doom in particular is a form of death doom. Very slow, dark ambience and mournful vocals, often growls....