8/11
[Weimar]
Rain, but not actually raining, is decent enough. Odds are I'll be able to get the tent down unmolested.
[Bad Berka]
Party.San = richtig Party. Several CDs out just on the trip to and from and to the festival again, and Donny, Oscar, Jesse, Susi, and Julia, among quite a few others, heartily partied with. Rewind before this pen runs out.
442. Getting in; seemingly even earlier than last year.
443. This one looks like it's going past.
444. So fucken glad to be back in the East, for real. Have I mentioned I love this fucking festival?
The notes and pictures are sparse from this day because after taking the above, I ended up moving my tent across to hang out with several of the peeps mentioned above. I had a 24-can (12-liter) slab of Radeberger that mostly vanished in this time, probably evaporated by German, Swedish, Israeli, and American dudes, with occasional help from passers-by. What exactly went down, though, is not completely clear -- how you know the party was up, on the last day of the festival with uniformly good weather.
8/12
[Bad Berka]
For the first time since like winter 2007, I have my kutte buttoned up to protect against the elements. It is really raining like a bastard here.
445. Bonus video - the grounds and the rain. This was kind of taken by mistake, but it actually came out.
446. A better view, being an actual picture.
Fortunately, the breakfast tent and beer wagon are open; that's my until-festival basically sorted. Maybe go into town to get a backup pen (this one's dying) around midday; sun-in-my-eyes delusions can wait until the bands start.
Dudes were jamming Landser out over the campground at 7:30 this morning. Someone was desperate to go home early.
Beers after breakfast ended up leading on to many more beers (and thrashing around to Nachzehrer, Nachtmystium, and Fiddler's Green) with Daniel, organizer of Mordfest, who at least at the time wanted to bring Nachzehrer over for a couple dates in November. If the flights can work, it might happen; the audience is definitely there for black thrash in Germany.
This then led on to more drinking through the afternoon -- no bands and it's raining like a bastard, what the fuck else was there to do? -- and Daniel and I lugging Jesse into town to introduce him to the doner kebab. Even vegetarian, Turco-German food kicks ass, and no traveler should be allowed to miss out on it.
447. The dudes in the international party tent.
Eventually, though, we got back, in time for....
Merrimack [5/7]
Slashing, kickass black metal from France, but nationality doesn't matter here if you can pump the fuckin metal out. I was up front here mostly for Devourment, then back to take in the spectacle of Watain.
448. Merrimack, at last!
449. Whole band in the smoke.
450. The singer pumps up the crowd.
451. Action shot, most of the band.
452. The guys on the other side of the stage.
453. Full band in full cry.
Devourment [7/7]
I know they're the originators, but this felt, at least to me, acculturated to my own scene, like nothing so much as Dysentery up on the big stage. Sooo many fuckin slams -- and more besides, but fuckin slam dood! SLAAAAAAM!!!
454. Devourment setting up in shitty light.
455. Chris tuning up.
456. Full band on soundcheck, before the light died.
457. The band storms the stage.
458. Ruben crushing.
459. Mike and Chris brew shit up.
460. Lens was a little too long, but as it was.
461. Full band hammering the crowd.
Monstrosity [6.5/7]
This was one of those sets that really reminds you why you love death metal. Nothing too fancy -- brutal parts, mosh parts, good solos -- but almost perfectly put together at a uniformly high standard of execution. Fuckin hell man -- fuckin death metal.
462. The band emerges.
463. Storming the stage.
464. Full fuckin death power.
The Devil's Blood [6/7]
The normal songs, not much to write home about, but the solos man, the fuckin solos! These guys get how to play rock'n'roll lead guitar, and the amazing instrumental work gets the extra point here, more than the revival of '70s occultism.
465. The Devil's Blood being spooky awesome.
Watain [7/7]
It was a bit of a slow start, and the audience, more heavily death metal this year (Autopsy and Cannibal Corpse as the other headliners), was giving them a bit of aggro, but once "Sworn To The Dark" started (second song), all was right, and both band and audience in fine form. At least while I was down front (exhaustion and a LOT of beers catching up with me), they didn't do anything bloody, but as the pictures show, fire, fire, everywhere. All in all, this was about as true a Watain set as modern animal protection laws will allow, and a terrifically cool musical experience as well.
466. Techs set up Watain's props. Excuse the light, this set was a midnight start.
467. Ritual candelabras burning in the gloom.
468. The intro starts....
469. The band, hidden in a funeral fog.
470. Watain strike!
471. Tridents burn as the band swears the audience to the dark.
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