Invasion of the rubber ducks – Rockharz 2024 Day 3

Find the English version here.

Click here for Day 1 and Day 2

All good things come in threes and so Rockharz Day 2 is now followed by Rockharz Day 3. Overall, this was the day that had the most to offer for me in the lineup. I’ll also say a bit about the merch situation and the click-and-collect process. Perhaps this much in advance: On this day, the “small” bands almost outperformed the big ones…

Thanks again to the incomparable lightinmirror.de for the fantastic pictures! Without you, none of this would be possible!

To Merch or not to Merch

Anyone who has read my (albeit slight) displeasure in recent years will know how long you sometimes had to queue for the festival merch – both on the infield and on the area in front of the festival. This year, for the first time, it was possible to pre-order a certain selection of merch and then pick it up during the festival. 

Due to the fact that I am very busy with interviews and generally find it very undesirable when I have to queue for ages for something, this was just the offer for me! Compared to previous years, I had a bit of trouble deciding on a shirt design because somehow everything didn’t match my taste 100%, but in the end I opted for the Swords design. I then ordered the shirt from the Rockharz store in the size I wanted. Although I couldn’t pay via PayPal, everything went smoothly with pre-payment and I also received a pick-up slip very promptly. I then took this to the click-and-collect station on the forecourt, where a team of nice girls took care of everything else. When I picked up my shirt, there was no one else in line, so I received my order straight away. I would have liked the pre-order offer to be extended a bit more, because I also collect the flags, but for a first run, which was certainly also a kind of test, I am very satisfied. I also see a clear advantage in the fact that pre-orders give you an indication of how much of what you need to have made. This allows you to reduce surplus and ultimately be more environmentally friendly.

Of course, you might think that this would have improved the waiting situation at the regular merch stand! Well… wrong guess… The waiting times were enormous again and when we queued up on Thursday, there was hardly any progress at all. That was a real shame! I have to take this opportunity to thank my brother-in-law because he took care of the flag for me when he went to get his merch. 

Although the situation at the merch stand has improved considerably due to the barricades being set up, making it necessary for queues to form, I had the impression this year that two or three more people could have been deployed on each sales side. Due to the many, sometimes limited, offers, the rush was very high and could not be absorbed by the click-and-collect option. I would like to see improvements here in the future. To increase the attractiveness of pre-ordering, you could think about a pre-order shirt similar to the early bird shirt, for example. I also think it makes sense to expand the click-and-collect offer. Ultimately, it makes little sense if you can pre-order a shirt and jacket but then have to queue again for the flag, patch and other items. The aim is certainly to take the pressure off the merch stand and this will be better achieved by expanding the range.

I can’t fault the quality of the merch and I was also very pleased that the Swords motif was a little greener in real life than in the pictures. 

It’s all in the mix

Musically, as mentioned above, there was a lot more for me on Friday! My day started with the Heavy Metal band THE NIGHT ETERNAL. We had already seen the band from the Ruhrpott in 2021 in Halle together with STALLION and VULTURE and I knew it was going to be good! And since I’m always right, it turned out that way! During the first song, you could still notice a bit of restraint in the audience, but by the second song, In Tartarus, it had been decided. Personally, I was impressed by the sheer musical ability of this band. Catchy melodies that sound like they come straight from the origins of Heavy Metal, mixed with the absolutely unique voice of singer Ricardo. 

On the other hand, this band simply has a thrilling stage presence that doesn’t rely on big effects or costumes, but results solely from their love for and skill in playing their instruments. Anyone who has the chance to experience this group live should definitely take it!

The show continued with LEAGUE OF DISTORTION. The band around singer Ace had caused quite a stir recently, at least in my circle, and I was curious to see how they would perform on stage. I wasn’t really a fan of the outfits, but musically I always find it fascinating when bands dare to leave the predetermined genre paths. Overall, the atmosphere was absolutely great and you could tell that the band really enjoyed the gig and their music. They could have been a bit more relaxed on stage, but I’m sure that will be a thing of the past after their headlining tour in the fall!

After that it was time for me to organize something to eat and then go to my interviews feeling well recharged. I was back again for BENEDICTION, which made me very happy! The Brits are simply legends in the field of Death Metal, so this was an absolute must-see. The gig was completely okay and cool, but nothing more. Considering the time of day, maybe it just wasn’t the most suitable occasion. 

We continued with DYING FETUS, who I couldn’t really get anything out of… But it was a very cool pit that was created!

I was particularly looking forward to UNLEASH THE ARCHERS. The Canadian band caused quite a bit of controversy with their last album Phantoma, for example with their AI-generated video for Green & Glass, so I was really looking forward to their live performance. Although frontwoman Brittney didn’t jump around the stage as wildly as other bands of a similar genre, I was impressed by her vocal perfection. UNLEASH THE ARCHERS is a band that can impress enormously live, especially through the presentation of their music! I was a bit in love!

If you were a teenager in the 2010s like me, you might have had a rough KISSIN‘ DYNAMITE phase! That was a really wild time for me! All the better that they are still around and that they released their new album Back With A Bang on Friday. To be honest, I didn’t know the newer songs, but they actually played Sex is War, I will be King and DNA. That took me straight back 10 years and it was brilliant! These are also the moments when I realize that I’m actually getting old!

I had a “Oh, I have to eat something, otherwise I won’t make it through my interview and the rest of the evening” break, which ended when AMARANTHE still had about 10min left to play. I have to say that I was pretty unimpressed… I’ve heard from many sides that they have a cool show, but that really didn’t convince me… Especially since I also thought Nils Molin was great with DYNAZTY the day before! Well, you can’t always like everything.

But then it was pure party with ALESTORM. The band around Chris Bowes is simply iconic and fun and whoever was still standing still wasn’t going to be helped. From Drink to Fucked with an Anchor, Uzbekistan and Keelhauled, there was something for everyone. The group didn’t miss the opportunity to bring Patty Gurdy along as a special guest. So it goes without saying that Voyage of the Dead Marauder was also on the setlist! All in all, it was a super fun gig that created a real party atmosphere. The Rockharz was simply hijacked by a horde of squeaky duck-worshipping people in neon green and I thought it was absolutely brilliant!

The last band of the day for me was DIMMU BORGIR. If you like hard cuts and stark contrasts, this line-up of bands was just right for you. Even though I’m a big fan of DIMMU BORGIR and thought the gig was just incredible, I was still so hyped about ALESTORM that I couldn’t really enjoy it… Somehow it didn’t really fit together and that was a real shame because DIMMU BORGIR are always an absolute experience… It was a bit like last year when TRIBULATION played before MR. HURLEY AND THE PULVERAFFEN…Booking bands is extremely complicated and a logistical nightmare, so the festival shouldn’t be blamed for that. Next time it will be better!

Speaking of next time: We still have a daily report and I can promise you that I haven’t experienced anything like Rockharz Saturday for a long time! So stay tuned!