Zur deutschen Version geht es hier.
When I titled a daily report “Hot, hotter, Rockharz” in 2023, I wasn’t prepared for the fact that there would be an even hotter day at some point. But you’re always smarter in the end and Rockharz Wednesday 2025 will certainly stay in my memory for a very long time because of the Sahara-like weather conditions!
As always, my eternal thanks go to the wonderful lightinmirror.de, who always delivers the best pictures despite the most adverse conditions!
Forest fire, bark beetle and other things.
I would like to start this year’s first daily report with a topic that is as repetitive as it is important: the Rockharz, as the name suggests, borders on the Nationalpark Harz. As a native of Aschersleben, I still see this natural paradise as part of my home. It is therefore particularly important to me this year, and especially looking back on what was probably the hottest of all Rockharz days so far, to talk about what climate change is actually doing to the Harz Mountains.
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in severe weather events. With the warming year-round climate, the bark beetle has found new ways to multiply, which has led to a large-scale forest loss in the national park. Anyone venturing up the nearby Brocken mountain these days will not fail to notice this. A few years ago, the hiking trails were still shady and idyllic, but today they are a place of devastation caused by nature. The dead and dry trees are repeatedly the source of significant forest fires, as was the case at Rockharz in Thale.
Anyone who stopped by the booth of the Nationalpark Harz during the festival (and not just to collected the special stamps) was able to obtain even more competent expert opinions than I can present here. My aim is simply to make you out there aware that the world as we know it today will no longer be the same on this course in a few years‘ time. Days when it’s over 40°C on the Rockharz will no longer be the exception, but the rule. It’s a solemn look I’m taking at the places where I spent my childhood and which can probably no longer (or only with difficulty) be saved.
Long story short: we all have to do our bit for a sustainable approach to our environment. The fact that my Caprisun tastes like a math book is as annoying as it is necessary. My hope for the future, and especially for Rockharz, is that we can celebrate together for many years to come. Preferably with temperatures that don’t exceed the 40°C mark. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all once again for following the Rockharz team’s fire prevention rules and regulations so conscientiously!
Turn up the beat!
In the heat, every move was certainly one too many for all of us. But that didn’t stop APRIL ART from putting on a really killer Metal sports session. I didn’t like the song selection as much as the set from their last visit to Rockharz, but that didn’t affect the fun-o-meter much. There was a lot of power, a lot of joy and a lot of colorful palms on stage. It almost reminded me a bit of the video they shot for Jackhammer in Miami! I can only repeat what I wrote about them last time: If you like power, good music and a lot of fun, APRIL ART is the right band for you! (By the way, seeing red is not optional here)
Due to the heat, I skipped PRIMAL FEAR and RHAPSODY OF FIRE. I hope you can forgive me!
Next on my schedule was INSOMNIUM. If you’ve seen my little vlog about the day on Instagram and TikTok, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of their One For Sorrow album and this album had a major influence on my taste in music today. Unfortunately, all the releases after Heart Like A Grave weren’t really my cup of tea anymore and I was hoping to get some of the old feeling back for the gig. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. I was very happy about the performance of the songs from Shadows of the Dying Sun, especially about the German live premiere of Lose to Night. Overall, however, it left me a little unsatisfied.
DARK TRANQUILLITY, on the other hand, had more to offer! The energy that singer Mikael Stanne presents on stage is simply electrifying and it’s a privilege to witness it every time. The set also included pretty much all my favorite songs and what more could a fan want? From Phantom Days to Misery’s Crown, the band got everything they could out of the set. Rarely has a band made as much out of the 55 minutes they were given as DARK TRANQUILLITY did here! Anyone who missed this should be really annoyed! At this point, however, I would also like to say that I would have liked a different slot for INSOMNIUM and DARK TRANQUILLITY. These are simply bands that you have to see at dusk or in the dark!
We used the playing time of CLAWFINGER to fortify ourselves for APOCALYPTICA.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen the band around musical genius Eicca Toppinen live and damn, I regret it so much! The band’s energy was so out of this world good! The set consisted of all the METALLICA evergreens we all know and love. Of course, the fact that APOCALYPTICA released their Plays Metallica Vol. 2 in 2024 had absolutely nooooooooothing to do with it! (Well, it did, but you know what I mean!) However, with Master of Puppets I was a bit afraid that Vecna would appear on the infield… Instead, APOCALYPTICA actually conjured up the wind, which I gratefully accepted!
I then skipped SAXON because they’re just not my cup of tea. But you might have guessed that from my preliminary report for this year! Without wanting to manifest any negative energies, it has to be said that it was probably one of the last shows of the band around Biff Byford. I wish everyone who saw it that they enjoyed it to the fullest!
The crowning finale of the day was SOULFLY with a truly bombastic set! You really can’t begrudge the Cavalera family that they simply have a lot of good musicians. The energy that could be felt on stage and in the audience was absolutely electrifying given the extreme temperatures of the day! However, I couldn’t take it all, so I went to bed halfway through the set.
This was however only the prelude to a series of articles on Rockharz 2025, that really are something else! Stay tuned for the coming days and whatever awaits you there!
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