Zur deutschen Version geht es hier.
If you followed this blog last year, you may also have read the report on Helmfest 2023. This ended with the intention that if we were welcome to attend again, we would be happy to come back. Now guess what happened! We were back at the Helmfest for a day and it was something very special again.
You can read what the day was like below. But perhaps this much in advance: it is something incredibly valuable when a group of people get together and organize something for the region. Something like this is not without risk and I love what has been created here!
But first of all, thanks again to lightinmirror.de for the photographic power!
Family get-together and Metal Festival
The main reason why we decided to come again this year is simply the general atmosphere. You arrive and it’s like coming to a big annual family reunion. Do you know everyone personally? Not necessarily! But you know that you somehow belong together here and if everyone is up for it, then it’s a really cool thing.
Speaking of family: this year I also had the feeling that there were more children on site. I’m sure I could be wrong, but I think it’s so wonderful that even the little ones can be introduced to what proper music should sound like! The area is also big enough for them to let off steam. Maybe a bouncy castle would be a cool idea next year! I have it on good authority (i.e. from me) that not only children would use it excessively!
Overall, the set-up from last year was kept and that was totally ok! Everything is small but nice.
On Friday it was sunny all day after it had rained quite a bit in the morning. Maybe there is still the possibility of creating more shady spots here, apart from those that are already there. This would certainly be well received, especially during the conversion breaks.
I would also like to say a big thank you to the person who made us such great sandwiches! They were really great and you could really taste the love!
The bar in the backstage area was also run by super nice people, which even made the ice in my water bottle melt extremely quickly. Hopefully the fridge is still usable if it has already frozen the bottles this year…
Let’s get this party started!
But the first band was just as cool as the water (brilliant pun, I think). We arrived a little late because I got lost with my GPS, but we still got to experience the full power of the Czechs from EWENAY. With 8 people on stage, it was a bit cramped, but the Folk melodies were a more than successful start to the day!
We continued with DELIVER THE GALAXY. Curiously, I’ve seen this band live before, but it was so long ago that I wasn’t even allowed to drive back then! So the expectations were high and I’m always very behind the Melodic Death Metal bands. But I just loved it! The already short set had to be shortened a bit due to technical difficulties, but what they played was awesome. Especially the songs Bury Your Gods and Live.Die.Repeat. increased the anticipation for the new album, which will be released in two weeks, enormously. Personally, I wouldn’t necessarily have told the audience that they were leaving out a song, but would have skilfully played it over, but beyond that I have absolutely nothing to complain about!
Next up was a true world premiere! TRISTAN HARDER’S TWILIGHT THEATRE played their very first gig ever. What sounds like a more upbeat Power Metal version of AVANTASIA on the recording was quite good live. You could tell that frontman Tristan is often on stage, as he was last year with his other band TERRA ATLANTICA, but the other band members were still a bit reserved. I admit that it didn’t really appeal to me now, but with a bit more live experience it will definitely get better!
I have to admit that I only listened to GODSNAKE a little at the beginning… I’m just not a thrash metal fan… We used the time to come down a bit and do an interview. But the atmosphere in front of the stage was great, so I’m pretty sure that the audience enjoyed it!
A festival day like this goes by quickly, but sometimes there is chaos. That somehow led to me missing BEDLAM BROKE LOOSE completely…
What really caught me off guard was PRAISE THE PLAGUE. Black metal is not for everyone, but how awesome was this gig? 10/10, no notes, simply brilliant! It was simply a party full of cacophonous, dark sounds, underpinned by bitter, nasty vocals that really gave you goose bumps! If the guys now remember to get white and/or silver Eddings at some point, then nothing will stand in the way of a great career!
The evening progressed in leaps and bounds and it was already time for the eastern metal band MACBETH. I had heard a lot about this band beforehand, especially in the context of metal bands from the former GDR. At this point I might also recommend Nikolai Okunev’s book „Red Metal“, which deals with this topic in an excellent way!
The set itself was very powerful and included songs such as Krieger or Maikäfer Flieg. There were some MACBETH Ultras in the audience and the band was able to use the energy of the crowd very well. In this respect, it was a successful gig that many will certainly remember for a long time to come.
I was particularly looking forward to WINTERSTORM. Ever since I saw them live for the first time 8 years ago, I’ve known that the Bavarians are a sure guarantee for a good atmosphere. This expectation was also reinforced by the fact that they had just played a few tour dates with WARKINGS in the spring and therefore had to be well-rehearsed.
There were plenty of opportunities for me to sing along to songs such as Kings Will Fall or Into the Light. The audience cheered along, even during the songs from the current album Everfrost, which I don’t think is quite as good as Cube of Infinity. But that’s really irrelevant at this point, because I’ve rarely seen the Helmfest audience so energetic. In perspective, however, I would like to see WINTERSTORM play a little more together. There’s no doubt that all the band members know their parts, but at times it seemed a bit pieced together and not much like having fun together. In the end, however, everyone got their money’s worth and it was a good end to our day.
Due to vacation plans and our relatively long journey, it was already over for us at this point. It was another wonderful day and it’s always a pleasure to come to the Helmfest. With so much dedication, joy and great organization, I can say with certainty that we have not been there for the last time!
Shieldmaiden's Voice 