Wacken Open Air 2022 – Friday Review

A typical Friday of any week is where you get the chance to recharge. Here at Wacken Open Air it’s not unusual for this particular to embrace a jam-packed experience of bands and capturing many more memories from holy ground.

Taking the charge for the team of bands on the roster, one may recognise that certain Finnish troupe instigating interest since being marked at a grand fifth place in 2021’s edition Eurovision Song Contest. With their refreshing blend of nu metal and straight to the point energy, Blind Channel pulled out all the stops of energy thrown on their territory. There was not one single frown in sight while their itinerary consisting of their stirring introduction “We Are No Saints”, “Alive or Only Burning” “Over My Dead Body” and their unique take on Anastacia’s cover “Left Outside Alone”.

Strolling across to the Headbangers Stage and rumbles can be felt by Brazil’s newest thrill from Crypta. Despite an early start to the festivities, the death metal crew certainly drew a large crowd ready to witness the brutality of riffs, beats and vocal power. Taking many sounds from their debut album ‘Echoes of the Soul’ such as ‘Kali’, ‘Starvation’ and finishing gripper ‘From the Ashes’ gave their death metal presence a new contender in the genre.

Metal bands from the more rarely heard of countries are always embraced by fans who only get to see their performances at Wacken Open Air. In this case, progressive metal outfit Scardust all the way from Israel have made an everlasting impression from their soaring melodies and complex progressive sounds at the Wackinger Stage. From seeing the sights of their masterful set in the only rain shower, the Israeli quintet will be the ones to bring more to the table with their  plans for new music.

The W.E.T. Stage was ready to bring on the Finnish quartet Lost Society with “112” as their first blasting through the speakers giving their fans chanting their chorus ‘carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders’ whilst a moshpit was carried on behind them. Throughout their show, some notable songs such as their debut ‘What Have I Done’, their sombre ballad ‘Into Eternity’ and ‘No Absolution’.

TotalRock made on the path to the Harder Stage to welcome Lacuna Coil back and. commencing their barrage of  recognisable hits over 25 years. Their army were ready to get the mid-afternoon party started and fill up the arena to hear those hits. Soon, it kicked off with the song “Blood, Tears, Dust’, which soon followed with their well-known anthems ‘Heaven’s a Lie’ and ‘Our Truth’. Observing the Italian legends was a sight to behold with the crowd enjoying every moment.

The theme of positivity has truuly settled on the grounds while the power metal Finns Stratovarius entered the Louder Stage. To give fans a taste of what’s to come, the band blasted ‘Firefly’, ‘Survive’ and ‘World on Fire’ from their upcoming 17th album  “Survive”. To all who were present, it was like a birthday present that was gratefully accepted. The set proceeded with mega loud classics “Phoenix” and “Hunting High and Low” that gave an overall good overview of the band’s achievements.

Being in two bands is one thing. Getting to perform two different sets of polarising genres on the same day takes a lot for one body to do. For the first part of the afternoon, Adam ‘Nergal’ Darski allured spectators with Me And That Man on the W.E.T. stage, bringing their dark folk/blues/Americana influences to their fans, first time listeners and for the curious. “Got Your Tongue” and “On The Road” were a duo that matched the apt energy of the crowd. As more fans were transfixed with their tracks “Coming Home’ and “Losing My Blues” which had guest vocals from Frank the Baptist it had the right amount of time to relax before setting off for more metal madness.

Next to take charge on the Harder Stage was the Swedish metal legends At The Gates. As ‘Blinded by Fear’ began, the horns were in the air and the cheers from the crowd created an atmosphere brilliant to witness. Throughout their faultless set, the melodic death metal icons performed the entirety of their 1995 album Slaughter of the Soul but snook in their 2014 riveting song ‘The Night Eternal’ to end the show.

Lucifer have made their way to the Wacken fields to present their dark heavy rock in the sharp warmth. Although it may be their musical collection was more effective in a smaller and darker club. However, delivered an excellent show of such commanding stage presence that impresses their eager viewers. From the supergroup, it was the music that shows that it was more than just notes being strung together. It was felt, present and alive.

Now, for the Faster Stage, TotalRock had the pleasure to be amongst with another Swedish presence. Hypocrisy blasted through their set like a swarm of wasps with ‘Worship’ along with “Impotent God”, “Don’t Judge Me” and “War-Path” in which the blast beats kept pummelling the Wacken grounds.. Their energy in the music and performance from the legendary quartet was unmatched and for the watching eye to appreciate.

If you were to look at the masses before the Italian power metal quintet took to the Wackinger Stage, it was safe to say that a large following was respectfully made. After their splendid set, it was set to increase even further! Wind Rose announced themselves to conquer the heart of the Wacken fans and they did just that with powerful ease. A thoroughly great selection of songs spanning the course of five albums, including their recent opus ‘Warfront’ album, gave special attention to the warm evening. How did the troupe boil in their attire and not breaking a sweat during their performance was irrelevant, but the overall aura was infectious!

Shuffling over to the Harder Stage to witness the Polish goliaths Behemoth was the right call to wake up Hell with their thunderous triple threat ‘Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer’, “Wolves Ov Siberia” and “Ov Fire And The Void”. Becoming the new tradition of displaying the Ukrainian colours before “Off to War!” marked for all screaming to the skies. Followed into “Ov my Herculean Exile”, their army were in for a treat when the sounds of “Decade of Therion” and “Chant for Eschaton 2000” unleashed a fire before the flames calmed for “O Father, O Satan, O Son” ending their set on a collective high.

The English metal traditionalists Venom were more than ready to take over the Louder Stage and dominate the evening session with their signature heavy thrash metal resonances. Starting off the proceeds with their influential tune “Black Metal” before throwing in “Bloodlust” and the list continues with “Antechrist” and their extremely huge “Welcome to Hell”. The UK trio threw everything they had at the Wacken and their horde reflected their catalogue back with heavy quantity of crowdsurfers, pitters and the many horn gestures.

Tribulation were wrapped in the light of the sun setting in midst of the evening. The Swedes succeeded in manifesting a gloomy marvel, despite having to perform against In Extremo on the Faster Stage. From an overall perspective, fans were rewarded on the W.E.T Stage with one of the rising bands of recent years to have delivered a great catalogue of dark metal music.

Wondering through the Wasteland Stage, TotalRock were met with one of the more distinctive acts to embrace their viewers. Hailing from the culturally rich Mexico, The Rise Of Mictlan carried through the Aztec/Maya-based black metal ritual, which offered curiosity and intrigue to their festival folk. Mystical and yet uncanny with tradition draped through their presence, it peaked interest gaining a respect from their debut festival appearance.

23 years. Let that moment sink in. For the Harder Stage to close with the world premiere of the crazy Nine, the very thought would be hard to believe. Slipknot were more than ready to tear the Wacken place down! Falling nicely to a curtain drop for “Disasterpiece”, the holy ground was crammed to the edges of hungry spectators to craft a worthwhile commemoration. The exemplary “Wait And Bleed” was to follow with “All Out Life” all the while witnessing the anthemic “Before I Forget”. The commotion kept on coming no matter if there was available space. The vigour didn’t run out and it was not going to for some time. Following on through their set, the Iowans supplied immediate crowd pleasers such as “Sulfur”, “The Heretic Anthem” and “Psychosocial”. What made the experience felt like reaching cloud nine was when “Duality” successfully ended with one of the decibel breaking calls, the Nine did not allow the crowd to breathe for “Custer” and “Spit It Out”, bringing the traditional jumpdafuckup leap that might have broke the charts. Ending their triumphant performance with “People=Shit” and ‘Surfacing’, labelling Slipknot as a highlight on their first ever Wacken Open Air appearance would almost be an understatement.

As everyone was trying to catch their breath from that outstanding moment, closing the Faster Stage was an exciting cast who were thrilled to get back on stage with a high level of experience. The Halo Effect were a great addition to ending the evening in style. Right from the word ‘go’, their riffs flowed like sweet honey from their title track “Days Of The Lost” (same name as their debut record released this year) and “The Needless End”. Unleashing even further into their recognisable Swedish melodic route was “In Broken Trust” and with their excellent closer “Shadowminds”, it made their German debut a warm hug from an old friend.

With the night feeling alive, it has come to realisation that the final night of separable celebrations are yet to be fulfilled. This happens when TotalRock has fun on holy ground. The last set of musical reporting will go live soon and the team cannot wait to reveal all!

 

Review: Phillip Krawiec

Photos: Sabrina Ramdoyal – TotalRock photo gallery