Reflections of Darkness - Music Magazine - Summerbreeze Festival

Details: Written by: Julienne Schrauder; Published: 21 September 2008

Dinkelsbühl, Germany
14th to 16th August 2008
Summerbreeze Festival Day 2: Megaherz, Korpiklaani, As I Lay Dying, End of Green, Six feet Under, Kataklysm, Subway to Sally, ASP as well as pictures of 3 Inches of Blood, Eluveitie, Exodus, Jesus on Extasy, Madsin, Schelmish

After a very cold and loud night, it was time for part two of this year's summer breeze. I was looking forward to see some more great bands. Fortunatly the weather was playing along so it was just fine to stay outside.

Megaherz

MEGAHERZ is a Neue Deutsche Härte band from Munich, Germany, where they started making music in 1993. 10 years after the founding, singer Alexx Wesselsky quits the band to form EISBRECHER. His replacement Matthias Eisholz leaves the band only two years later. In 2007, the band re-forms itself and gets Lex Wohnhaas as new singer and hits the studio to record their new album ‘Heuchler’, which is out since end of July 08. http://www.megaherz.de/ / www.myspace.com/megaherz

Music & Performance
The years in which this band has had so many line-up changes have left no traces: MEGAHERZ rocked the stage as if they had never done anything else. Surprising enough but the voices of Lex and Alexx are also very similar. The focus was on the new songs, but they also played some of the older songs like ‘Miststück’ and ‘5. März’. And after all the time I had wished to see them live, I must say I was very content with their performance.

Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 9
Sound: 8
Lights: - (daylight)
Total: 8.7

Korpiklaani

In 2003 KOPRIKLAANI was formed in Lahti, Finland as follow-up band to SHAMAN. The lyrics are both Finnish and English and their style is a very unique way of folk-metal. They released their fifth album ‘Korven Kuningas’ (= king of the woods) on March 21st at Nuclear Blast. http://www.korpiklaani.com/ / www.myspace.com/korpiklaaniofficial

Music & Performance
The first thing that met the eye was the decoration, which could have been directly from a Finnish Moekki. With their jovial nature they met the audience's sense for partying especially when they played their song ‘Beer, beer’ which pretty much described the motto of many attendees, but they did not forget to present their current single ‘Keep on gallopping’, which was (as all the other songs) taken-up very good. To cut it short: When this band played there was no one who was not having a great time. I only wished they had played their ‘Hunting song’ and ‘Tervaskanto’ but there were too many other great songs to complain about this little lack.

Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 9
Sound: 8
Lights: - (daylight)
Total: 8.7

As I Lay Dying

AS I LAY DYING come from San Diego / California. They are signed to Metal Blade Records and often are defined as Metalcore band. In 2007 they won the Ultimate Metal God Award and they were nominees for a 2008 Grammy Award for “Best Metal Performance”. http://www.asilaydying.com/ / www.myspace.com/asilaydying

Music & Performance
Although they were technically very good, I wasn't that much into them. Anyway, the band and their fans had obviously fun, I have seldom seen so much energy on stage and at points it seemed they didn't know how to stand still, there was a constant moving on stage. With such a performance the fans didn't stand still either and even started a little circle pit in the back. But sometimes there was too much fog - they wouldn't have needed it. And I must say their nomination was actually deserved.

Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 9
Sound: 8
Lights: 7
Total: 7.7 / 10

End of Green

END OF GREEN is a German band from Stuttgart. They began in 1992 and had their first record deal four years later. Their lyrics deal a lot with loneliness, pain, death and depression which led them to calling their style "Depressed Subcore", which is a very adequate description. Their new album ‘The sick sense’ was released this very day they played at Summer Breeze. http://www.endofgreen.de/ / www.myspace.com/endofgreen

Music & Performance
Since they just released their new album, the band focused on their new songs, which stylistically tied in with their old stuff. The audience wasn't jumping around for once, but they rather listened, some really touched by the depressing yet somehow cheering songs. They were the one band I wasn't quite sure about whether they fit into the setting or not, but rock they did none the less.

Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 8
Sound: 7
Lights: - (daylight)
Total: 7.3 / 10

Six feet Under

When SIX FEET UNDER was started in 1993, it was first only a side project for Chris Barnes (singer), who used to be part of CANNIBAL CORPSE these days. But when he left CANNIBAL CORPSE two years later, he completed the line-up and got started for real. And it did not take too long for them to become a special death metal band. Their next album is supposed to be released in November. http://www.sfu420.com/ / www.myspace.com/sixfeetunder

Music & Performance
After the more rock-sounding END OF GREEN, SIX FEET UNDER were something for the metal heads. They did a little best of for their fans, who were more than content with what they were offered. The singer seemed more than natural growling and screaming, but highlight was without any doubt their cover of AC/DC's ‘TNT’. But there was one thing they should have done: moving a bit more. But then most people seemed to be too busy with head banging to mind it anyway.

Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 9
Sound: 7
Lights: 6
Total: 7.5 / 10

Kataklysm

KATAKLYSM is a Canadian death metal band. They come from Québec and were signed to Nuclear Blast in 1993. Ever since they have been re-signed there for four times and released eleven albums, two of them live and two of them at Hypnotic records. They are best known for their aggressive drum parts. http://www.kataklysmrocks.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/kataklysm

Music & Performance
Although they had lost their equipment, they put on a great show with help from ABORTED and ELUVEITIE, or let's say with their equipment. And although they were one of the most "brutal sounding" bands at this year's Breeze I must say their music had this subtle smoothness that made it pleasing to listen to them. They also had a surprising skill in elating their audience and bringing them to their maximum.

Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 8
Sound: 8
Lights: 9
Total: 8 / 10

Subway to Sally

On Valentine's Day 2008, SUBWAY TO SALLY won the “Bundesvision Song Contest” with their song (and single) ‘Auf Kiel’ and hence made themselves a name even outside the black and medieval scene. They also brought out a Live-DVD plus a compilation of their LPs ‘Engelskrieger’ and ‘Herzblut’. http://www.subwaytosally.com/ / www.myspace.com/subwaytosally

Music & Performance
As usual SUBWAY TO SALLY’s performance was one of the highlights; it was both entertaining and stirring, "a late celebration of their winning in South-Germany" as front man Eric Fish declared. And he was right, not only had they a great show with their mandatory fire-breathing, they also could gather one of the largest audiences of Summer Breeze 2008. And they gave it their all to raise their viewer's jollity with songs such as ‘Henkersbraut’, their winning single ‘Auf Kiel’ and of course ‘Julia und die Räuber’, which seemed to be the most longed for song in their setlist and since there is no SUBWAY TO SALLY concert without it, the fans were not let down when after quite a time the band played it as their encore - and they even over-ran their time.

Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 9
Sound: 8
Lights: 8
Total: 8.7 / 10

ASP

ASP is a German gothic standard act from Frankfurt (Main) with a unique way of writing music. They are signed to Trisol and their earlier works rotate about the black butterfly. In 2008 they released two LPs, their official best-of ‘Horror Vacui’ and their lyrical album ‘Zaubererbrüder - Der Krabat Liederzyklaus’, based on the German novel ‘The satanic mill’. http://www.thetalesofasp.com/ / www.myspace.com/thetalesofasp

Music & Performance
ASP was the perfect choice to play after SUBWAY TO SALLY because they managed to keep the viewer's attention. They surely used their last show with rock line-up to really rock out. As most bands before them, ASP also played a "safe" Setlist containing all their previous hits such as ‘Ich will brennen’, ‘Werben’ and ‘Schwarzes Blut’ and of course some songs from their newest album.

Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 9
Sound: 9
Lights: 8
Total: 8.8 / 10