Zeppelinfeld, Nürnberg, Germany6th to 8th June 2025
Rock im Park 2025 Day 2 with Jerry Cantrell, The Ghost Inside, Korn, Sleep Token
Day 1 with its frequent and heavy rainfalls had already turned the storied Zeppelinfeld into a swampy chaos, and the weather forecast for Saturday did not look much better. However, the upcoming gems on the line-up more than justified braving the rain.
Jerry Cantrell
First up on my to-see-list was ALICE IN CHAINS founder and Grunge Rock mastermind JERRY CANTRELL. The ever-present rain continued its relentless assault, turning the festival grounds into a soggy landscape, and likely contributing to the noticeably lower number of spectators present for his afternoon slot. Despite the challenging conditions and the somewhat diminished audience, Cantrell, known for his seminal work with ALICE IN CHAINS, exuded a quiet confidence. He and his band effortlessly conjured a dense, melancholic soundscape, leaning into the darker, more introspective corners of his solo material and, of course, a handful of the 90ies uber grunge band classics.
The distinctive, often haunting harmonies that are a hallmark of his songwriting felt particularly poignant against the grey skies. Tracks from his recent solo album, ‘I Want Blood’, such as ‘Afterglow’ and ‘Villified’, translated beautifully to the live setting, showcasing his unique guitar work and introspective lyrics. And when he launched into iconic AIC cuts like ‘Would?’ and ‘Rooster’, a collective surge of energy rippled through the gathered fans, who sang along with passionate reverence. The raw, emotional weight of these songs seemed amplified by the intimate setting, creating a powerful connection between artist and audience. www.jerrycantrell.com
The Ghost Inside
Positioned on the Mandora stage right in between JINJER and LORNA SHORE, the five-piece THE GHOST INSIDE from El Segundo, California had a perfect spot. Not only the musical surrounding was favourable, but also the weather gods had mercy, and instead of pouring rain, the sun came out. Those who came to the party had no reason to be disappointed, as THE GHOST INSIDE came out firing on all cylinders with the opener ‘Death Grip’, which is also the first single of the new album.
The crowd immediately responded by firing up huge mosh pits everywhere, and THE GHOST INSIDE were more than up to the task to keep things going. The energy levels they unleashed in the crowd certainly did not fail to impress. The people kept things crazy - but in a solid, responsible way. Crowd surfers were carried towards the stage, and security did its best to pluck all of them from the hands back to the ground. Circle Pits were opened and people went wild, but stayed classy. Last but not least, the music live performance and song selection were epic.
Time flew by as the band drew a best of-selection from their albums. While the new album made up the majority of the setlist, it was the older hits that got the crowd going. Hymns like ‘Dear Youth’, ‘Avalanche’, or ‘Pressure Point’ sent the crowd over the edge, and made everyone lose their shit in the circle pit. The end of the main set came a little early after only 60 minutes of playtime, but with the last song ‘Engine 45’ the crowd got a farewell, and afterwards hundreds of sweaty spectators were blessed with the feeling of having witnessed an up close and personal show with their idols. www.theghostinside.com
KoЯn
The actual culmination of the night for me was the scorching performance of the band with the most innocuous sounding name: KORN, the Californian band formed back in 1993 and notable for pioneering and popularizing the Nu Metal genre. With the stage being hidden from peering eyes by a large black curtain, the anticipation of the approximately 50,000 people in front of the largest Utopia stage was building sky-high. From the moment the distorted bass lines of Fieldy kicked in and Jonathan Davis’s distinctive vocals tore through the night for the opener ‘Blind’, KORN had the massive crowd in the palm of their hand.
The setlist was a brutal homage to their influential career, delving deep into classics from their self-titled debut, ‘Life Is Peachy’, ‘Follow the Leader’, and ‘Issues’. Anthems like ‘Blind’, ‘Twist’, ‘Freak on a Leash’, and ‘Got the Life’ ignited furious mosh pits and sent a wave of raw energy reverberating across the field. Jonathan Davis, clad in his signature kilt, was a mesmerizing presence, his guttural screams and tormented singing captivating the audience. Brian “Head” Welch and James “Munky” Shaffer’s synchronized guitar riffs provided a thick, oppressive wall of sound, while Ray Luzier’s drumming was a percussive powerhouse. Even the familiar bagpipe intro to ‘Shoots and Ladders’ felt fresh and impactful, adding a moment of eerie calm before the next storm of aggression.
KORN’s visual production was equally impressive, with a dynamic light show that emphasized the band’s dark aesthetic and enhanced the sheer power of their sound. They connected with the audience on a primal level, transforming the festival grounds into a unified mass of headbanging and catharsis. The only downside was that I unwittingly sacrificed my rain poncho to the mosh pit gods, a loss for which I had to pay dearly on the following day. Their headlining set was a stark reminder of KORN’s enduring impact and their ability to command a stage, leaving the Rock im Park faithful exhausted but exhilarated. http://www.kornofficial.com/
Sleep Token
What came next posed a heightened challenge: After the gig of KORN, a large percentage of the audience made the pilgrimage to the second largest Mandora stage to check out the (not so) “secret” headliner of the evening SLEEP TOKEN. Problem: While the numbers of Rock im Park visitors have increased significantly over the years, the space on the festival grounds as well as the well-known chokepoints have not changed, so this led to huge queues building up well beyond the starting point of SLEEP TOKEN’s performance.
For those who braved the journey, there was a significant reward: The most spectacular stage production which I have seen so far at Rock im Park. The Mandora stage was converted into a fairytale medieval castle church, which - as it turned out during the performance - even featured a live waterfall. For the opener ‘Look to Windward’, confetti cannons filled the air above the whole front area with pink rose-like leaves, which - paired with the visual projections on the two large screens lent a fairytale-like air to the whole gig. Needless to say, the whole stage production was complemented by a perfectly choreographed musical part of things.
SLEEP TOKEN showcased their enormous spectrum of acoustic art - from the most delicate a-capella performances by Vessel to thunderous breakdowns with brutal guitar riffs. Although SLEEP TOKEN kept it more on the delicate side. This even led to instances of fans reprimanding other groups of visitors, as these kept talking to each other over the music, which was also a first for me in such a setting. Fittingly, the whole atmosphere was much more clerical than metal, which was also emphasized by the long and frequent interludes, during which the stage went pitch black, and the focus was directed to the dream-like visual projections gothic cathedral interiors overgrown with pink flowers on the side screens. www.sleep-token.com
Summary of Day 2
Saturday was a blast in the Park. Although the weather was far from perfect, the team from Rock im Park did their best by covering the muddy areas with chopped wood and straw mulch. The only downsides were the time wasted and the claustrophobic feeling during the transitions between the different stages. But the enormous growth of visitors comes at a price.
Pictures by Christian Beyermann
