75.000 metalheads were gathered yet again at the holy land for the 29th annual Wacken Open Air in Wacken, Germany which was held the 1-4th of august 2018.
Wacken Open Air has a history of changing weather and very fluctuating temperatures, therefore the term "Wacken rain or shine!". This year though was certainly not like those the years before, mud, mud and mud, but rather sun, sun and sun! With several days of burning temperatures well over 30 degrees and no cloud in sight, the go to solution was the official Wacken pool not too far from the main entrance. Getting to the pool site couldn't be more simple, €1 for the shuttle bus (one way) and €3 for the entrance to the pool area. Once inside you can all the things for a succesful pool experience: food, beverages. a 3 meter diving board and all the beach balls you could ever need!
Pro-tip: Instead of taking the shuttle bus back, take the opportunity to walk through the main street of Wacken and experience all the biergartens, shops and whatnot along the way.
Pictures from Wacken Open Air 2018 can be seen right here.
Wednesday:
With almost 30 minutes of delay, Heilung finally entered the Wackinger stage and brought in everyone on their shamanistic ritual. An intense 30 minutes that felt like just a few minutes. Luckily we get to witness Heilung again when they return for the 3rd edition of Wacken Winter Nights the 22-24th of February 2019. Tickets can be bought right here!
Thursday:
Thursday was the first day of the main stages and as usual Skyline brought in their arsenal of metal hits to jump start the crowd. Always a great start!
For the first time ever, US own dream warrior, Don Dokken arrived at Wacken to bring us some of the best heavy/glam metal from the mid 1980's, and what a show! Don Dokken and the rest of the band were on fire, bringing us hits after hits of their old material. Simply amazing.
With the sole purpose of keeping the spirit of the US Death metal legends Death, and their particular old school sound alive, Gruesome entered the Headbangers stage with one job, to crush some skulls by extreme headbanging, and man did they deliver! The front man Matt Harvey was unstoppable with his shear ferocity and explosive energy!
Including a set mainly focused on their older material, Behemoth has definitely proven to be one of the bigger names in extreme metal these days and for a good reason. With such a turn out from the audience and such dedication from the band with their no bullshit attitude, they blasted through one song after the other. To our surprise Behemoth performed two new songs "God = Dog" and "Wovles ov Siberia" from the upcoming release "I Loved At Your Darkest" out October 5th, and we can't wait to see what they have in store on the rest of the record.
Helmut & co. were back with a true horror show that consisted of several animal corpses displayed on stage. With their new album 'Totenritual' from 2017, a killer setlist, dark moody lighting and a tight performance, Belphegor delivered one entirely evil show, just like it should be! Hail Belphegor
Why fix something that already works like it should? That is exactly the deal with Watain. They delivered exactly the same as they always do, pure satanic inferno, both audial and visual with an energy rarely matched by others. Absolutely amazing!
If there was ever a moment at Wacken where a band manages to completely destroy an audience and the tent included, even when a major headliner is playing, then Dying Fetus is the one! With such energy and technicality they managed to turn over the tent and left no one unharmed. Let's hope Dying Fetus returns to the holy land soon again! #WhyNotDyingFetus #Headliner2021
Just after midnight Gaahl & co. was back again after a decade as the last act of 'A Night To Dismember' to bring us 45 minutes of good old Norwegian church burning black metal classics like 'A Sign of an Open Eye' and 'Carving of a Giant'! Why? For the glory of Satan of course! During the short set we were exceptionally presented with both older and newer Gorgoroth and God Seed material, while they were closing the lid on this unholy Thursday night.
Friday:
As Amorphis brought their newer material 'Queen of Time' and 'Under The Red Cloud' on the set, people went berserk even though it was early Friday afternoon. Tomi Joutsen's vocal was splendid throughout the show and gave it all he could. The rest of the band lacked some of their toughness and energy. With the early time they got a lot of people showed up and it was a good way to start the day.
With Korpiklaani's marvelous setlist they started the show with a lot of happy and dancing fans. What would a Korpiklaani show be without 'Vodka', 'Beer Beer' or 'Tequila'.. they were all there at last and it was a party. The best thing about watching their show is that every single member is happy and has lots of energy that affects their audience.
The Dutch symphonic metal band Epica entered Wacken Open Air with their third performance at the festival. Simone Simons's very unique makeup and clothes as she performs also featured this time with a glittery look that could be spotted all the way back in crowd. The setlist was mixed between old and new song so there was something for all fans.
As the trolls came to the stage, people knew what they were going to experience. Despite the cramped stage conditions, Trollfest gave the festival's most entertaining and passionate concert. There was no time to stand still, the party lasted to its end with 'Toxic' a cover of Britney Spears and a crowd ending with a huge conga line to 'Solskinnsmedisin'. What a way to start Friday's party!
As many of us had hoped for, Nightwish was announced for this year's Wacken. With a couple of stops into their Decades: World Tour, they came to the stage and gave their all as much as their last visit back in 2013. Floor Jansen came on stage and shined like a star, as well as the rest of the band that was so hugely smiling under the whole show. There was no more to extend from the setlist, everyone was overjoyed and gave everything they could to show how happy they were for the return. And with the songs 'The Greatest Show on Earth' and 'Ghost Love Score' as the end to an extraordinary show.
The time had finally come to the last headliner of Friday. Ghost released their 4th studio album Prequelle earlier this summer, and the setlist of the concert was also characterized by this. Out of the 13 songs performed, 4 were taken from the new album. At 01:45 AM, the show started with the album intro Ashes. The excitement was to be felt in the audience, well-known songs like Year Zero and Cirice were played this evening. The whole mass was completed with the inevitable Monstrance Clock and the never-ending introduction about the (female) orgasm and the encouragement for people to have sex with each other. The first time Ghost played Wacken was in 2011, not even a year after their first album release, where they played the (at that time) small W.E.T. Stage/Headbangers Ballroom.
Saturday:
Early saturday Wintersun was smashing the stage with their magnificent energy and melodic sound. Many people showed up and it wasn't disappointing. They made a clear impression on the audience so it wasn't a performance they should forget easily. Playing a selection of older and newer songs made the people who knew them very cheery. The band was welcomed with open arms all the way through their set. Just the right way to start the day.
The Finnish band Ensiferum was able to get a lot of metalfans into the crowd when they played at Louder on Saturday night. While playing some new songs the audience went entirely wild. With songs like 'In My Sword I Trust' and 'Lai Lai Hei' they gave everything their fans needed from this concert. With a lot of sing-a-long the party went absolutely marvelous.
Helloween A Tale that WAS Right!
Being at the worlds biggest, metal festival, the setting was more than set for
this concert and with all our hopes way up high, when the sun came down, we
were ready for a treat, and what a treat we got!
Helloween are still marching on with their enormous "Pumpkins United"-tour,
with which they are bringing the world their endless classics served by some of
the 3 best vocalists in the entire power metal genre ever has seen. All united (all
the puns!) and ready to gather arms amongst fans and friends alike! They still
manage to wrap their audience completely in a trance and rock the shit out of
everybody and age clearly has not slowed down these guys! Seeing the 3 main
characters of the show on stage together and the love they share, it is so inspiring,
and you can't help but share the feeling - this is a tour of love! Even still
proving their worth and rightful place amongst the legends, they continue to
captivate us through NEW SONGS! Or at least "song", which is of
course their famous "Pumpkins United", a clear blast-from-the-past
and of what's to come!The majority of Metal To Go can't wait to see Helloween again, when they play in their home town of Hamburg, December 22nd as their final 'Pumpkins United' performance surrounded by friends and family, before they enter the studio in 2019 and record the next masterpiece. We're red hot!!
Tickets for the Hamburg show can be bought right here!
Dimmu Borgir The Symphonic Black Metal Band returned to Wacken after their appearances in 2012. What a phenomenal set! With gloomy lighting, fire and incredibly detailed props, they gave an all-round surprising, wonderful and funereal show. With these guys in top shape and out with their new album, the rest of their trip can only be a huge experience for their fans around the world.
What more is there to say? 29 years of this incredible Wacken feeling. A place that feels so much as home to tens of thousands of metalfans. Every year, the organizers are just one step ahead with every little detail. It's a lifetime of experience to be at Wacken, and you can only see people keep coming back year after year. The experience is one you can only experience here. It will not get bigger in heavy metal. With next year coming up, the 30th anniversary, everything can happen.
With this year's lineup, there was no need to think about whether or not to go with it, it was for sure we should go. But it's not just the lineup that attracts, it's the atmosphere, the people, the feeling, the air and the personality and kindness of the festival. All in all, we can't wait for next year!
Information about the sold out Wacken Open Air 2019 can be found here.
IF you cannot wait until August next year, why not come back to the holy Wacken land in February already for the third installment of Wacken Winter Nights for an epic weekend. Read more about the winter festival here and purchase tickets for it here.
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