When a day is a fever dream – Rockharz 2025 Day 2

Zur deutschen Version geht es hier. 

As some of you will have seen in the vlog (available on Instagram and TikTok), the second day of Rockharz was something very special for us. It was a day that literally made us float and that I still haven’t fully processed yet. I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to the sweethearts from DELIVER THE GALAXY for putting their trust in us and taking us along. Read below to find out exactly how this day went, what made me laugh the most and what crazy things we experienced!

Thanks again to lightinmirror.de, without whom this would absolutely not be possible!

The ticket to happiness

The festival day started for me in the morning when I was doing my make-up: a WhatsApp message popped up. The sender was Rocky, the guitarist from DELIVER THE GALAXY! The content of the message? “I have stage passes for you!” Ok! That’s what I call a statement! A few phone calls and the realization that I was once again too late later, I was on my way to Ballenstedt as quickly as possible (observing the generally applicable traffic rules, of course). 

Once we arrived at the festival site, we got our stage passes and went backstage. Julia has done this before, but for me it was the first time and it was super exciting!

Behind the stage, the hustle and bustle is not unlike that of a beehive. Each band has an area before their performance, invisible to the audience, where a few instruments and other utensils can be temporarily parked. However, the Dark Stage was noticeably smaller on this day because KING DIAMOND’s equipment was already partially set up there. You may have noticed the huge staircase with the icicles in particular. But why you have to drive around with such a staircase all the time was beyond me… (Elsterglanz fans know what I mean!)

Before the performance, however, we went back to the so-called Artist Village, the actual backstage, where the artists have all the facilities they need to adequately prepare for their performance. In small wooden huts, which you can also rent when Rockharz is not taking place, the musicians can store their things and also find some drinks there. The Artist Village also has very nice showers and a catering service that I’ve only heard good things about!

DELIVER THE GALAXY put on their make-up and changed in the Artist Village before we went back behind the stage.

It was DELIVER THE GALAXY’s first time at Rockharz, which made their tension almost palpable. I really love what the guys are doing and so it was a bit hard for me to see that because I couldn’t help them. But sometimes every word is one too many and it was better to just let them do their thing! While Julia was taking photos, it was my job to make a few videos. I don’t know why I was qualified to do this from the band’s point of view, but I think it could have gone worse overall. The DELIVER THE GALAXY recap video is already online and you can check it out on their social media channels!

Before I talk about the gig as such, perhaps the following things: The stage is not high when you’re standing in front of it. When you stand ON it, it feels like it’s 300m high. I can only take my hat off to all those who routinely jump around here and deliver their show!

Secondly, I just have to say again how great it was that we were able to share this experience with DELIVER THE GALAXY! It was such a wonderful pleasure that they not only played a brilliant set, but that the infield was also incredibly well filled for an opener! Thanks also to those who attended the signing session!

Who’s up for some guitars?

And what can I say? I’ve been to quite a few DELIVER THE GALAXY gigs, but my perspective alone made this one something really special. The set began, as you might expect, with the song Bury Your Gods, which, thanks to its brilliant opening, gave singer Matze the perfect opportunity to impressively storm the stage. Unfortunately, DELIVER THE GALAXY only had about 30 minutes to play, so they had to push hard to finish the set on time. If you knew the band’s last album, you were definitely sure of the lyrics and from the stage it seemed like a lot of people were sure of the lyrics, which made me really happy for the guys. Especially during the song Live. Die. Repeat. the audience really showed the band how much they were up for it! In short: A band’s debut at a festival of this size couldn’t have gone better! DELIVER THE GALAXY were definitely the headliners of my heart on Thursday!

As is so often the case at a good festival, one highlight quickly follows the next and so it was time for the berserkers from ASENBLUT to take the stage. As we were busy with DELIVER THE GALAXY that day, as described above, I watched the first songs of the set from the stage and I really regretted not being able to experience it in the audience! The first two songs of the set alone, Das Ende der Götter and Entfesselt, are absolutely fantastic live! Judging by the roar of the audience, I was not alone with this opinion. During the third song Seite an Seite, we unfortunately had to move on, so I couldn’t watch any more… But the next ASENBLUT gig is definitely coming up!

I missed KUPFERGOLD and MISTER MISERY simply because we were at DELIVER THE GALAXY’s autograph session, which was followed by two interviews. So unfortunately I have to pass. I was only a bit surprised by the lyrics of KUPFERGOLD. But damn, the singer was wearing a wonderful outfit! I was very jealous!

The next stop was THE GEMS. Like a phoenix from the ashes, this group has emerged from the remains of the desolate THUNDERMOTHER group and anyone looking for handmade and genuine rock sounds will find it here! The sound of THE GEMS is heavy, full of passion and knows how to inspire with its unbridled joy of playing. The voice of singer Guernica Mancini in particular gets me every time! I for one am very happy that this band with this talent is conquering the stages of the metal world. This was definitely not the last time you read about THE GEMS here. Regardless of the fact that the interview with these diamonds awaits you here!

Now you’ll have to bear with me again, because during the sets of THE NEW ROSES, GREEN LUNG and MEMORIAM I had interviews no. 3 and no. 4 on this day and afterwards I had to eat and drink something, because there was almost no time for that in between! Admittedly, I wasn’t really interested in these three bands, but I always try to see as many bands as possible. Unfortunately, it’s always a trade-off between doing an interview with a band you’ve admired for a long time and seeing a band on stage. When you see which other bands await you here in the interview, you will hopefully be able to understand my decision! A little tip: Home is a key word for this band this year!

I was back at it again for J.B.O.! There’s certainly a lot you can say about this band, but I think it’s a good thing in between! After all, you go to a festival to party and J.B.O. are perfect for that. I’m certainly not going too far out on a limb when I say that we probably won’t be going to a concert by this group. Ultimately, however, their long career proves them right and, as I understand it, a new album is also in the starting blocks. So if you’re thinking: “Wow, I think I need more Pink in my life!” then you know where to look!

The party continued, even if it was rather undead: it was time for WARKINGS! Anyone who has ever seen a show by these warlords knows that you can expect brilliant fire interludes, catchy melodies and lots of guitar. The whole thing is garnished with excellently placed female vocals of all kinds by Morgane LeFay. And so the group around singer The Tribune set out to conquer the stage of the “Rockus Harzus”. With songs such as Armageddon, Hephaistos and Fight, the atmosphere quickly reached boiling point. This was not least due to the well-tried fire interludes of the band’s own smithy god Hephaistos. He also brought a girl, aka the “future of metal”, on stage. It was a truly heart-warming moment for the band, the audience and the little girl, which many will probably remember for a long time to come. My only criticism is that I would like to know what liquid Hephaestus actually shot into the audience… I sincerely hope it was water, but somehow it felt a bit funny on my skin… Soap bubbles also came out of the “water pistol”, maybe the soapy water somehow crept in!

The Rockharz booking team also seems to operate according to the motto „Contrasts are everything! There’s no other way to explain why they let SODOM play first and then VERSENGOLD. Admittedly: Both bands don’t appeal to me at all, but do you really have to put such different bands one after the other in the line-up? In any case, I used the time to relax a bit and let the stress of the day fall away from me. The fact that, for whatever reason, bands are given spots at Rockharz that don’t really fit or where there are really stark contrasts in the style of music really left a bad taste in my mouth. In my opinion, that’s not fair to the bands!

I was really looking forward to KING DIAMOND, despite the stairs being in the way! I’m also a big metal history nerd and so it was long overdue for me to see the King himself live. I only watched the show from afar because I don’t feel comfortable in big crowds, but it was a blast! Anyone who opens their show with a song called Arrival not only wows the crowds, but also satisfies my inner Monk. You can expect professionals who have been in the music business longer than I’ve been alive to deliver! I was also very happy to see my personal KING DIAMOND favorite Abigail close out the show.

But no matter how good KING DIAMOND was, he ultimately couldn’t keep up with the furious power of headline act HEAVEN SHALL BURN. The set, which opened with overwhelming force, impressively demonstrated to everyone in attendance why HEAVEN SHALL BURN have more than earned their place in the line-up. It was a bit of a shame that singer Marcus couldn’t be on stage himself, but in Britta Görtz from HIRAES they had found at least an equal replacement. I would also like to emphasize at this point that I only use the word “replacement” for lack of a better word, because Britta is simply in a category of her own!

Anyone who, in light of the fact that she only took over the vocals at short notice, blasts Godiva at me in such a way that I have to question whether this is really happening, simply deserves their own place in the Metal Olympus. I can honestly say that it was probably the most awesome HEAVEN SHALL BURN show I’ve ever seen. However, I was a little surprised that the current album Heimat was only represented with two songs, Empowerment and My Revocation of Compliance. I would have expected more, but that’s really complaining on a high level!

But after HEAVEN SHALL BURN I was honestly just dead for the day. So I decided against NACHTBLUT and NON EST DEUS and went to sleep, which meant that day 2 was history. As usual, I’ll be back soon with the remaining two daily reports and the interviews!