Klash Of The Ruhrpott

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: Summer in Germany.

There was a to be expected rush for drinks and it took ages to get some. On a day with over 30°C, getting water should not be a problem. There was definitely room for improvement in that area. On the other hand the toilets were surprisingly clean and short-queued, so I am not complaining too loudly.

Next up was Destruction. Schmier & Co. delivered their set professionally and quite flawless. I was happy to hear "Thrash Till Death", but somehow they didn't spark as much as Tankard had done. There were noticeably fewer people in front of the stage. Maybe most were still trying to get some drinks. Out of the four bands yesterday, Destruction was the weakest one for me. Next up was Sodom and I even ventured down from the stands to get a better view of the stage. But I didn't last long. I stood in the front row on the far right just long enough to see Sodom coming and stage and hear the first two songs, then I gave up. Standing directly under the sweaty armpit of a shirtless middle aged thrash guy, who was very adamant to defend his territory and somehow saw it fit to argue with the sound engineer on stage with various waves and gestures, took the joy out of it for me. So I marched back upstairs. But at least I stood close enough for a bit to see that Frank Blackfire has really good hair. By now, the stands had filled up considerably and finding a place with a view of the stage wasn't easily done. We listened to most of the gig without seeing anything, which wasn't what I'd hoped for.  Sodom ended with "Ausgebombt" and again the crowd was happy after getting what they had craved. I think I saw Ricardo from The Night Eternal walking by me, but not entirely sure?

It was time for Kreator now, the black curtain was hung up and the demons inflated and you could feel the anticipation rising. Now all the places were occupied, everybody had come in front of the stage. The sun was gone and it started to feel a bit more bearable. Kreator started with "Hate Über Alles" and to my absolute joy, "Phobia" was up next. Seeing the Teutonic Four in a row of course made it hard not to compare. While Tankard, Destruction and Sodom were all roughly on the same level, Kreator really raised the bar. It was my second time seeing them and again, they totally delivered. I am such a fan of Frédéric Leclercq and his stage presence, he is such a joy to watch. Kreator went all in. Inflatable demons, pyrotechnic, confetti guns... the first wall of death was instigated in song two already. People were having the best time and I felt my spirits rising as well. After five hours feeling my inner vampire turning to dust, Kreator made up for it.

We had left our rain coats at home as each and every bleedin‘ weather forecast said there was no rain to be expected that evening. Well summer said "Hold my beer" and decided to throw in a surprise thunderstorm. When the first drops fell, it felt great, but it soon turned to downpouring rain and we were soaking wet in no time. When the first lightning struck, we decided to leave. We made for the exit and by the time we had been picked up, the rest of the concert had been cancelled and the crowd evacuated for security reasons.

Anticlimatic as fuck, but on the other hand, we will certainly not forget this show anytime soon. Soaking wet, we bundled into my husband's aunt's car, got shuttled home like teenagers, had a hot shower and a change of clothes and sat on the porch with a glass of wine and some re-heated food from leftover lunch. It wasn't a bad way to end the day. I'll  be seeing Kreator again in December on their tour with Anthrax and Testament and hopefully, I'll manage to get the full set then. Fingers crossed!