Summer Breeze, Dinkelsbühl, Germany
17th – 19th August 2006
Summer Breeze Day 3: The Other, Perzonal War, Lumsk, Gojira, Visions of Atlantis, Legion of the Damned, Necrophagist, Carnal Forge, Totenmond, Psychopunch, Corvus Corax, Thyrfing, Negative, Bloodflowerz, Unleashed, My dying Bride
The last night at the camping ground has been unbelievable cold and so I was already waiting for the coffee stall to open. It was going to be a long day again. Yes, I know why I like hotels.
The Other
This band was founded out of the former Misfits cover band The Ghouls. In 2002 they began to create their own songs and so they opened a new band for this. The members are Rod Usher (vocals), Sargeant von Rock (guitar), Andy Only (bass) and Dr. Caligari (drums). They released two fulltime albums as CD and even as coloured vinyl. Currently they are supporting Bela B. http://www.the-other.de/
Music
That’s a perfect mixture of Death Rock, Psychobilly and Punk. These 25 minutes were just not enough, but it was a good incentive for a full show. It was energetic, funny and rocking. Some people already knew that they had to come to this early concert and so there was a considerable crowd in front of the stage.
Performance
This band is worth to look at. Their concept of kind of zombie band is matching with the extravagant make-up and styling. Together with the appearance of Rod Usher as something like an un-dead Elvis this was a pleasure to look at. They were my hot tip at this festival and this was proofed to be true.
Rating
Music 8
Performance 9
Light –
Sound 7
Total 8.2
Perzonal War
The German band was founded in 2006 and after one change the line up is set as Matthias Zimmer (vocals; guitar), Martin Buchwalter (drums), Sascha Kerschgens (guitar) and Sven Krautkrämer (bass). They released their first album in 1998 and with the album “Faces” (2003) they reached rang 10 in the Metal-DJ charts. They did a video for the song “My secrets” which went on heavy rotation at “The Box” in Holland. http://perzonalwar.musicground.de/
Music
This was hard stuff early in the morning. It’s hard to rate their style. It is pure metal with trash metal influences and even crossover attitudes.
Performance
They all pushed themselves and the audience to the limit. Especially Sven Krautkrämer went all out for the show. It was the total opposite after The Other but the audience liked it a lot. It was shown that the band has a strong fan basement after 10 years of existence.
Rating
Music 5
Performance 6
Light –
Sound 7
Total 5.7
Lumsk
The Norwegian band released the first demo in 2001. The line up is Stine Mari Langstrand (vocals), Vidar Berg (drums), Ketil Sæther (guitar), Espen Warankov Godø (piano, hammond, synth), Eystein Garberg (guitar), Siv Lena Waterloo Laugtug (violin) and Espen Hammer (bass). Their last album “Troll” told some stories out of the Norwegian folklore. http://www.lumsk.com/
Music
It is shown that singer Stine is studying classic music. Her trained voice lost never the melody, but it got a little bit boring during the concert. Maybe the adding of some male vocals would bring some diversion. There were some good keyboard melodies which made the songs catchy.
Performance
This was really a big band and they were the first one who needed the capacity of the main stage. Especially Siv Lena with her violin was an eye-catcher. Singer Stine animated the audience and she supported the songs with wide gestures.
Setlist
01. Intro
02. Nøkken
03. Dunker
04. Åsgårdsreia
05. Trolltind
06. I trollehender
07. Fremad
08. Langt Nord I Trollebotten
Rating
Music 6
Performance 6
Light –
Sound 7
Total 6.2
Gojira
The French band started in 1996 as Godzilla, but they changed their name right before the release of the first album. They released three albums and a DVD. http://www.gojira-music.com/
Music
They are called “one of the most extreme bands that the French metal stage has ever known” (Wikipedia) and this was proofed. They are based on death metal, but they were presenting it in a hard way.
Performance
This was the typical metal performance again. They were banging and rocking and doing their grunts – nothing very special, but the hardcore metal audience liked it a lot.
Rating
Music 4
Performance 4
Light –
Sound 7
Total 4.5
Visions of Atlantis
The band was originally founded in 2000 and after some changes there are only two founding members left. With Melissa Ferlaak (ex Aesma Daeva) they got a new singer in 2005. Mario Plank, who joined the band as the male singer in 2003 and Martin Harb (keyboards since 2006) are the youngest band members with the age of 20/21. They released two fulltime albums and a new one is announced for the end of this year. http://www.visionsofatlantis.com/
Music
They are often compared with Nightwish, although they work with female and male voices. Their style reminded me more of the early Theatre of Tragedy. The classical education of singer Melissa Ferlaak is immediately shown. Only Mario lost the melody sometimes. With melodic guitars and catchy keyboards they are not an innovation but still worth to watch.
Performance
Melissa has really a good stage appearance. She supported all songs with wide gestures and her charm. Mario based his show on the typical banging action. The audience partied and especially the well known song “Lost” was celebrated by the crowd.
Setlist
01. Pharaoh Repentance
02. Send Me A Light
03. Cost Away
04. State of Suspense
05. Lemurion
06. Lost
07. Last Shut of Your Eyes
Rating
Music 6
Performance 6
Light –
Sound 7
Total 6.2
Legion of the Damned
The band was formed as Occult in the beginning of the 1990ies in the Netherlands. They changed their name just in 2004. They released five albums as Occult and in 2006 the debut album “Malevolent Rapture” as Legion of the Damned. The former singer Rachel Heyzer (new: Sinister) left the band already in 2003. Since then there are only male members. http://www.legionofthedamned.net/
Music
That’s hard stuff. This band offered fast and heavy metal music. Singer Maurice works between deep growls and screams.
Performance
Maurice had a strange way to sing. He had nearly always hanging his hair in front of his face. Sometimes the microphone wasn’t even seen.
Setlist
01. Intro
02. Werewolf Corpse
03. Death's Head March
04. Demonfist
05. Taste of The Whip
06. Into The Eye of The Storm
07. Killing For Recreation
08. Malevolent Rapture
09. Bleed For Me
10. Legion of The Damned
Rating
Music 4
Performance 5
Light –
Sound 6
Total 4.7
Necrophagist
The German band was founded in 1992 and they recorded their first demo tape that year. After some changes the line-up is now set as Muhammed Suicmez (guitar, vocals), Stefan Fimmers (bass) and Hannes Grossmann (drums). Their last album “Epitaph” came out in 2004. They will be supporting Canibal Corpse this fall. http://www.necrophagist.de/
Music
They are known for their progressive death metal. Seeing them live on stage I just heard brutal fast death metal, which was even hard to stand. They played their instruments very well, but their songs showed no diversion.
Performance
There wasn’t nearly any performance on stage. They just played theirs songs, but there was no interaction between them.
Rating
Music 3
Performance 3
Light –
Sound 6
Total 3.5
Carnal Forge
The Swedish band was formed in 1997. The finishing line-up was set with Jari Kuusisto (guitar), Lars Lindén (bass), Jens C. Mortensen (vocals), Petri Kuusisto (guitar) and Stefan Westerberg (drums). They released five albums, the last one in 2004. http://www.carnalforge.com/
Music
Although they are from Sweden this was not the “typical” melodic death-metal. This was really trash-metal with some Grindcore influences. It was typically fast and angry. There were some good and even melodic guitar sounds in it.
Performance
After the still Necrophagist this was the total difference. Especially singer Jens threw his Rastas around like a devil. In my opinion he looked a little bit like Ice T, although he was singing in a total different way.
Rating
Music 5
Performance 6
Light –
Sound 6
Total 5.5
Totenmond
The German band was already founded in 1984 as Wermut and they changed their name in 1990. Their first fulltime album “Lichtbringer” was released in 1996 and the last one “TonbergUrTod” in 2005. http://www.totenmond.de/
Music
I’m sorry, but this was truly the worst band I have ever seen. They just scratched their instruments and grunted nearly without any melody. Additional there was a bad sound with a flickering bass monitor and this just caused pain in my ears. The vocals were so bad, I just realised that they were singing in German after three songs.
Performance
Matching to their bad appearance there was no show. They just seemed to be very bored and not interested in the concert or the audience! They only thing I liked about them were their straight statements against Neo-Nazism.
Rating
Music 2
Performance 1
Light –
Sound 4
Total 2
Psychopunch
The Swedish Band was formed in 1998. All members played in different punk, death-metal and rock´n´roll bands. Now the band is set with JM (lyrics, guitar), Joey (guitar), Mumbles (bass) and Peppe (drums). Their last album “Kamikaze Love Reducer” was released this year. http://www.psychopunch.com/
Music
They were announced as a rock´n´roll-metal-band, but the metal attitudes prevailed. The classical setting with two guitars and a bass produced a fat and melodic sound with lots of speed.
Performance
After the very boring performance of Totenmond this was a pleasure. They had lots of fun and animated the audience. Although it began to rain there were many people in front of the stage. The funny outfit of the bass-player Mumbles was a highlight.
Setlist
01. Poison Alley Groove
02. Fingerlickin´ Good
03. I Want Out
04. On The Stereo
05. Nothing Ever Dies
06. Everlasting
07. Pleasure Kill
08. Overrated
09. Black River Song
10. Back In The Days
Rating
Music 5
Performance 6
Light –
Sound 6
Total 5.5
Corvus Corax
The medieval band was founded in 1989. Already in 1991 they played in Japan and other foreign countries. Since their foundation they released twelve fulltime albums and a DVD. Their last project was a production of the “Cantus Buranus”, which was an opera, set to the original lyrics of “Carmina Burana”. Their new album “Venus Vina Musica” came out this summer. http://www.corvuscorax.de/
Music
In contrast to Saltatio Mortis, Corvus Corax concentrated to the original medieval instruments and melodies. Because they are known for building all their instruments themselves, everybody knew what kind of special band they are. Unfortunately they based their set nearly completely on their last album.
Performance
It is always something special seeing this band live on stage. Their instruments and outfits are so unusual, but I thought they could not convince the metal audience. I was wrong. Although it was hardly raining before the concert there were many enthusiastic listeners in the crowd.
Setlist
01. Suam elle ires
02. Oro se vie
03. Skudrinka
04. Ballade de mercy
05. Venus Vina Musica
06. Douce dame
07. Albanischer Tanz
08. In taberna
09. Ductia
10. Saltarello
11. Shou Shou Sheng
---
12. Platerspiel
Rating
Music 7
Performance 7
Light –
Sound 7
Total 7
Thyrfing
This Swedish band was named after a royal sword of the Norse mythology. They were founded in 1995 and they released their last album “Farsotstider” in 2005, which was recorded at the EMI studios. The line-up is set with Thomas Väänänen (vocals), Patrik Lindgren (guitar), Henrik Svegsjö (guitar), Kimmy Sjölund (bass), Peter Löf (synthesizer) and Joakim Kristensson (drums). http://www.thyrfing.com/
Music
That’s strange music again. They call it Viking metal and it’s really hard rocking metal with folk influences and weird melodies. Unfortunately singer Thomas is one of the grunting ones.
Performance
What is so special about corpse paint? Although this wasn’t “corpse paint” as 1349 used to look like. The whole band was covered in paint, artificial blood and mud and stuff like that. Especially Thomas Väänänen looked like he had a bad accident right before the concert.
Setlist
01. Intro
02. The Voyager
03. Mjölner
04. Migerdöden
05. Far åt helvete
06. Jag spår fördärv
07. Höst
08. From Wilderness Came Death
09. Kaos återkomst
Rating
Music 4
Performance 5
Light –
Sound 6
Total 4.7
Negative
This special Finnish band was founded in 1997 and the actual line-up is set with Jonne Aaron Liimatainen (vocals), Larry Love (guitar), Sir Christus (guitar), Antti (bass), Snack (keyboard) and Jay Slammer (drums). They got into the heavy rotation on nearly all music television channels all over the world and are known especially for their glam rock style and their androgyny outfits and styling. Their new album “Anorectic” just came out on 27th Sept. 2006. http://www.gbfam.com/negative/
Music
Although they are known for their glam rock style and through out the German music channels they are really hard rocking. Their hits are just the smoothest ones of their songs. With good and catchy keyboard melodies they even convinced this audience although there were some metal heads who didn’t like them.
Performance
They must have had a long and hard way to the location. Especially Sir Christus seemed to be in very bad mood and physical condition. Although the whole band looked very tired and burnt out they did a solid rock show.
Rating
Music 6
Performance 5
Light –
Sound 7
Total 5.8
Bloodflowerz
The German band released their debut in 2002. After some problems and changes their last album “Dark Love Poems” came out in 2006. The current line-up is Jan (bass), Jogi (guitar), Kirsten (vocals) and Tim (drums). Although Kirsten is pregnant actually they are planning a tour in spring 2007. http://www.bloodflowerz.de/
Music
Their combination of hard metal guitars, catchy bass lines and melodic keyboard sounds were a little bit too much “Pop” for some metal heads, but all in all this was a good concert. Only Kirsten’s voice did not work sometimes.
Performance
Although she is pregnant, Kirsten jumped over the stage and banged her head. Sometimes I cared a little for her baby. It was getting dark during their show and this was the perfect set for them.
Rating
Music 7
Performance 6
Light 5
Sound 6
Total 6.3
Unleashed
The Swedish band was founded 15 years ago. They released seven studio albums. The last one “Midvinterblot” will come out in fall. http://www.unleashed.se/
Music
They are proud to be a true Death Metal band. Fast guitars are changing with angry lyrics. The presented a show through their whole band history with some views of the new album.
Performance
The crowd nearly went mad during the concert. The band is one of the founders of the Viking metal genre and there were many fans in the audience. It was hard for the security to keep the control.
Setlist
01. Never Ending Hate
02. To Asgaard We Fly
03. Don’t Want To Be Born
04. Death Metal Victory
05. The Longships Are Coming
06. New Dawn Rising
07. Winterland
08. Defender
09. Into Glory Ride
10. Before The Creation of Time
Rating
Music 5
Performance 6
Light 3
Sound 7
Total 5.3
My dying Bride
The British band was formed in 1990 and they became one of the three well-known English Death Metal Bands together with Paradise Lost and Anathema. They didn’t play live from 2001 to 2004. Their new album “A line of deathless kings” will be released in October 2006. Their drummer Shaun left the band just in August. Now the line-up is set with Aaron Stainthorpe (voices), Ade Jackson (bass), Andrew Craighan (guitars), Hamish Glencross (guitars) and Sarah Stanton (keyboards). http://www.mydyingbride.org/
Music
Although they started as a death- or doom metal band they developed themselves to a unique style. There are still parts of the typical doom metal, but their songs are even slower than this. With their keyboard they content a tragic and melodic instrument, which gives their music a special depth.
Performance
For many visitors they were too depressive and hopeless, but for me this was the perfect ending of the festival. With their special sounds and atmosphere they brought the festival to a peaceful and quiet finale. Aaron was deeply sunk in his melodies and lyrics. I especially liked the some kind of orchestral melodies.
Rating
Music 7
Performance 7
Light 5
Sound 7
Total 6.7
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