Photo Reports
There was Nothing to Gein Friday in Ohio except metal bands that absolutely melted our faces off!!!
Mudvayne’s first headlining tour since 2009: Psychotherapy Sessions, made a stop at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls on Friday August 4th, 2023. The lineup did indeed, melt our faces off and then some. Between 5 metal bands that completely rocked this amphitheater set in the hills of Northeast Ohio, the humidity and the energy of the crowd, it made for an amazing night! Butcher Babies, the always energetic NONPOINT, the entertaining GWAR and high-octane Coal Chamber were supporting bands for this tour. As each band took the stage, the excitement, and energy began to build as everyone anticipated the long awaited headliner Mudvayne to hit the stage.
Frontman Chad Gray spent much of the concert singing in the pit or at the very front of the stage. You can tell he really loves his fans, as does the rest of the band. Each band member hit the stage with a unique look that is true Mudvayne style, but with a unique twist compared to past years. Heavier metal shows such as this can be a real soul shattering experience, and this was no different. It is really hard to describe the feeling, but it was electric. Chad talked about the metal community as being a family and that this music is our therapy, and it is so true.
Friday night at Blossom was one for the books, one I will truly hold near and dear to my heart for a long time. It was truly what my soul needed. Get to a Psychotherapy Sessions tour stop if you get the chance! It just might make you “Happy?”.
Rammstein came to Brussels (Belgium) and everyone was aware. Three days in a row, the streets around Koning Boudewijnstadion turned black with metalheads. Rammstein did not disappoint. Do they ever? The music, the lyrics, the show, the fire, the explosions: everything was excellent as always.
Our love for smaller and somehow different festivals is growing. I had the chance to visit one of these gems: Stars In Town – which takes place right in the heart of the old town in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. The festival spreads over 2 weekends (Wednesday-Saturday and Thursday-Saturday the week after) and offers a wide variety of music styles and genres. It starts with a special called ‘Super Wednesday’ as opening day and in 2023 it was a ‘Rock’n Roll Super Wednesday’ and the main reason for me to go there.
The venue itself is located on a larger public square called ‘Herrenacker’ with the great advantage that the stage is set at the end of a slightly downhill side, guaranteeing a perfect view for almost anyone (please see our photo impressions further down). Surrounded by a number of bars and food stalls, only very short waiting queues are seen. In addition with the kindness, happiness and overwhelming hospitality of the organization as well as the Swiss people, this event is something very special. Every visitor was offered free noise protection and due to the expected rainfalls later in the evening received a free rain cover. Simply unique – never have seen this before.
The ‘Super Wednesday 2023’ – as well as the festival – was opened by DANKO JONES. A guarantee for a full throttle show of straight and pure rock’n roll. Starting at 6:30 pm on time, the sun was still shining right onto the stage on a hot and humid day. Danko Jones, J.C. and Rich Knox added to the sweat of the audience and themselves on stage by performing a set mixed of old and new songs, including some stuff from their new album (e.g. ‘Guess who’s back?’ which was already #1 in German Rock charts). The result was a crowd engaging directly with the band; you always can see the fun the band has on stage when they play, and this spark jumps over to their listeners almost immediately. Funny thing this time was that the band ‘lost its identity’ during their set when a stiff breeze did blow into their backdrop, and it falls down behind the backside wall of the stage. Danko wouldn’t be Danko if this was not giving him the opportunity to some funny words about it live on stage. Their fantastic set ended after a full hour with ‘My Little R’nR’, simply classic and a good opportunity for a sing-a-long.
Next band to excite the audience: ROYAL REPUBLIC from Sweden. This 4 piece combo originating in Malmö is another highlight of Sweden’s vast rock scene. Adam Grahn, Hannes Irengard, Jonas Almén and Per Andreasson entered the stage dressed in black-leather jackets, white shirts and their trademarks: every band member is wearing a pearled necklace. The level of action on stage was pulled up another notch. Singer Adam Grahn is whirling around on stage and the conductor of the audience. Funny dance moves and grimaces all over through the whole set. This show was highly entertaining, even though their last full studio album was released in 2019 (Time for new stuff, guys!). Even the rain that started in the middle of their set couldn’t stop the good mood in the crowd. That was a worthy second highlight for this night.
Wasn’t there another band? Yes, there was. We are very sorry to say so, but the management of the German rock-band with punk-roots that was the main act for this night had decided to cut out a number of media representatives and photographers. GRIMM Gent was part of this cut-off media along with others for reasons unknown to us. Due to these circumstances, we do not bring up photos or text for this band here. Instead, you’ll find some impressions of the venue as the third gallery of this article.
But anyway: a visit of Stars In Town in 2024 is highly recommended.
Raskasta Joulua has long become a well-known and beloved part of Christmas in Finland, and not just for the metalheads of the country. But unfortunately Christmas is only once a year, so what to do in the meantime? Raskasta Iskelmää is the answer. The band around Erkka Korhonen and Marko Hietala takes some of the world’s most famous schlager and pop classics and turns them into metal.
We got to see one of those live shows at the sold out bar Hönö in Tampere. In addition to Marko, also Antti Railio and Ville Tuomi provided vocals. The show had such a high demand that they had to add a second show for later that same evening.
Beast In Black is always a bit of a party live. Combine that with some nice brews and you’re in for a really fun night. They played at one of the nights of the Coolhead Live concert series and brought with them a lot of fire, smoke and energy. And of course Metal De Facto to warm the crowd up a bit before they took over the stage…
Always an absolute pleasure to catch Go_A on a stage. Ever since their stint at Eurovision, the world has been turned onto their highly engaging mix of traditional folk and electronic music and it seems that this Ukranian outfit has conquered a special place in the hearts of many Finnish people. So here they are yet again, ready to play a show at Coolhead brewery for one of the Coolhead Live concert series…
Lost Society and Amorphis gave their fans a little preview of what to expect on the upcoming ‘Halo‘ European Tour, when they did a show together at Logomo’s Terassikesä in Turku, Finland last Friday. Unfortunately, there were some sound problems during Amorphis‘ performance, but that didn’t dampen the mood too much.
After already bringing the photo-sets of TollRock Day 1 to you – there is not much more you can say about Day 2 except it was a wonderful day, had awesome music, driven by an exceptional crowd and resulting in a fantastic summer festival vibe that you simply can’t beat.
The second day started with the TollRockerz Band Contest 2023 for newcomer bands. After which the legendary crossover veterans from New York, DogEatDog, entered the stage in bright daylight to get the audience moving, jumping and dancing for the first time of the day. Following were PotHead, a classic stoner rock trio originating from Seattle, but somehow they got stuck in Berlin, Germany in the early 90s. The heated up masses, heated by the weather with record high temperatures and heated up by the fantastic line-up, then got some more heat on stage: Thundermother! These ladies do fight for rock’n roll, and they did again that night. The band’s line-up change has grooved in now, really kicking in, and the performance is just stunning. No nonsense or bling-bling. Closing up the festival were Guano Apes – a jewel of the German rock scene. After a long break now back on stages since 2022, the four-piece still shows that they haven’t lost power and still blow the crowd away. It was fantastic.
Please enjoy our photo-set selection of TollRock Day 2!
There is WACKEN OPEN AIR…. There is GRASPOP METAL MEETING…. There is HELLFEST….
And there are the small and family-like festivals that we all love as much as the biggest ones on the planet – one of these is TollRock. Located in Nideggen, Germany – a place usually well-known in the German biker scene for its curvy roads. A place with the most beautiful view upon lake Rur and probably the best scenic view I’ve ever seen at the location of a festival. Organized by a non-profit organization, staffed with all local people and organizations that drive this event by heart for almost two decades now. It has its special, really wonderful charm. It was pure pleasure to be part of this atmosphere, but still being at a 100% professionally organized event.
Around 3500 people were able to enjoy this year’s sold-out edition of TollRock and the amazing line-up. Day one listed the following artists: Stitchmachines, Mötorblast, Ragetrack, Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons, Völkerball – Rammstein Tribute.
Please enjoy our photo-set selection of TollRock Day 1.
Mötorblast bringing back the good ol’ Mötorhead times to the stage, not only the music but the looks too. They are amazingly good at it.
No need to say more than 100% pure rock’n roll and metal is what Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons stand for. They deliver as promised every single time.
At the end of day 1 it was time for some fire-action: Voelkerball, the Rammstein tribute band, bringing a perfect even though smaller copy of Rammstein to the stage with their own fire-zone.
There are no Belgian festivals for Iron Maiden this year. Instead, their “The Future Past Tour” makes a stop in Antwerp to fill the Sportpaleis venue for an amazing concert. People are excited to see their heroes. Long queues, all the way from the street to the entrance, are lining up to enter. The venue is already quite crowded when the support act The Raven Age opens the show. When the show of Iron Maiden starts, the crowd is going wild; singing along, screaming and waving their flags. This ambiance will last the whole evening. The energy coming from the stage is stunning and unbelievable.
The pictures of this amazing evening can be found here:
