As I Lay Dying (Impericon Festival)

We did not see too much, but As I Lay Dying was a blast, and we liked it a lot. Great crowd in Zürich, all ages with good energy.

 

Kaltenbach 2023 - Day 2

My first visit of this fabulous extreme metal festival in Austria. It did not disappoint.

What we saw on this day:

Kanonenfieber
Mishyrming
Warbringer
Archspire
Nargaroth
Rotting Christ

Rating: 5/5

Buddies: Stolli and Richard

Merch: a nice Tee

Again: I hope so!

Jinjer

This gig was Stolli's birthday present (at his very birthday). What we did not know then was that this would be our last gig prior to the shutdown.

Buddies: Stolli, Tom, Lorenz (i.e. Wacken 2019 formation)
Rating: 4/5
Merch: none
Again? Yes

After their glorious Wacken 2019 performance, visiting Jinjer in Vienna at a full gig was a must. They did not disappoint.

And then, it was suddenly the end of all gigs for a long time...

 

Behemoth (At The Gates)

You will hardly experience a higher intensity performance of Black Metal than this one.

Score: 5 out of 5

Buddies: Tom and Rainer with a friend

Merch: was too crowded 

Again: for sure

Discussing "Metal" can be difficult because its proponents can become quite strict about what it means and what not. With the emergence of "True Metal", the topic became delicate, if not a bit ludicrous. Take Steel Panther (though I truly adore them for what they do) and of course Manowar (they overdid the term until they became redundant, in particular if you are then even caught in playback performances).

If you look at it from distance, these discussions are mostly about how the style of Metal changed through time. Proponents of "the real thing" are sometimes unwilling to accept  these changes. By this, they also ignore that "Metal" has been so much about change, rebellion, but not establishment. And the name tells it all: "True Metal" ends up in establishment or satire.

But if "True Metal" refers to a band that really means it, then Behemoth is clearly True Black Metal band you must see live.

To me, Behemoth is THE artistic statement of this genre.  If you want to get an idea of what Black Metal is all about, just see them live. Yes, they wear mask and they are celebrate satanistic rituals on stage, but at least to me, it is neither too artificial, nor does it mean that I have to be a satanist to enjoy the gig (and I am clearly not :-). Similarly to e.g. Laibach in their genre, this band performs art for their audience. When they tell us during the gig: "Our joy is that you have joy!" - it tells you a lot. This does not sound like somebody that wants to convert you to satanism. Therefore, and as so often in art, the messages told here are far more sophisticated than the bold satanic symbolism would indicate. Just the same as with Laibach, who were so often mistaken as right wing fanatists. And for a reason, both bands are from the former COMECON region, where art is traditionally put into covert messages. Counter culture.

Besides this issue of what a Black Metal band actually wants to tell you, their musical performance was nothing less than exceptional. Also a very decent band, such as the supporting act At The Gates, just cannot match the intensity of the main act. The efforts put into all aspects of a stage performance fit to a perfect result.

What about the other guests besides me? As so often, polite and just enjoying the music.

Setlist

Wolves ov Siberia
Daimonos
Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer
Bartzabel
Ov Fire and the Void
God = Dog
Conquer All
Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica
Dacade of Therion
Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel
Slaves Shall Serve
Chant for Eschaton 2000
---Encore---
Lucifer
We Are the News 1000 Years

Diamond Head and Guests

Back to the roots with Diamond Head. We liked it a lot. Viper Room is finally smoke free.

Buddies: Werner, Richard and Rudi
Rating: 4 out of 5
Merch: two guitar picks
Again: yeah 

Wacken 2018 - When There Is No Mud

Compared to the previous two years, this Wacken became entirely different due to different weather conditions: no rain meant no mud, but a lot of sun meant hot temperatures during the day and very nice ones after sunset. 

This year, both Werner and Lorenz joined, and we certainly did not regret these three days.  Probably the best Wacken experience so far.

We already purchased the tickets for next year - the 30th anniversary - and will be joined by a fourth ruthless guy ;-). As of writing this, Wacken 2019 has sold out entirely.



We saw an awful lot and missed out on even more again. So let's see how these three days evolved.

Day 1 - Old School rules

Thursday has always been focused on Old School - also this time. Some vicious stuff rounded up a very nice starter into the festival.

Dokken: Still Eighties Metal, but vocals became a bit more bluesy which I liked. The music has a quite sad tone, in particular their hit Alone Again. All in all, a nice surprise start.

Vince Neil: No surprises here. Some newer stuff, some old sh*t from the Motley Crue times, including 'Shout At The Devil'. Lorenz particularly liked the guitar roadie ;-).

Udo Dirkschneider: The two prior acts caused a slight Eighties Metal overdose on my side. So Lorenz and me skipped Udo. For Werner it was the highlight of the first day. We continued with ...

Vallenfyre: The first sinister tones of the day, still an opportunity to cool down from the blazing sun outside of the tent. Founded by ex-Paradise Lost Gregor Mackintosh, this music stands quite in opposition to what his former, more famous band developed. In your face metal, blazingly fast, rather sinister. Then back into the sun, but this time...

Behemoth: My personal first highlight of the day, though my two friends did not share this view. With the benefit of having prepared with two albums, I was highly impressed how intense and good these live versions actually were. A perfect start with "Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel". Also "Ov Fire And The Void" and "The Satanist" left no doubt that this band is a live monster - power and perfection. New songs also to be published in August were on the setlist.

Behemoth - Stage 1

Behemoth - Stage 2

Behemoth - Final Stage

This set left me definitely with the wish to hear more from that incredible stuff. See you again live!

Danzig: High expectations - not met at all. Unfortunately this gig failed in nearly every respect. Sound problems, band not really in sync, vocal problems. We skipped it after the third song and went into vicious area...

Watain: Never heard of them before Waken 2018. These guys set the stage on fire - virtually.

Watain - all on fire

Musically and performance-wise in best Black Metal tradition, it was all in all the creepiest performance of the day. They are definitely masters of their business. And clearly the tent is always better for such type of music than the open air stages - I would have loved to see Behemoth here actually.

Judas Priest: Typically for the first day's headliner, the only set where the Infield was completely packed. No chance to reach the front of the Infield, and though far away still rather claustrophobic.

Judas Priest - much light&visuals

Priest, my heroes back in the Eighties, now live for the first time. I even had bootleg vinyl of their gigs. Will I like them?

Two things that I found surprising this day: First, Rob Halford not really communicating with us (why not?), so the band stayed somewhat in distance to the crowd. Secondly, too much light and visuals, movies all the time, which really distracted from a more than decent musical performance. The two new guitarists being impeccable and well placed, and Glenn Tipton joining for the last two or three songs. I would not call this gig bad at all, but the spark did not jump over to us. Somehow too artificial and distanced.

All in all, Day 1 was more or less the performances to be expected, with only Danzig disappointing.

We missed out on: Tremonti (due to Dokken), Belphegor (due to Danzig), Gaahl's Wyrd (too tired)


Day 2 - Long, Hot & Busy

Friday was the hottest day, and we started already around noon at the Infield. It was our planned busiest day.

Cannibal Corpse: No regrets to start early at noon with them - quite the opposite. They were as good as expected, also in blazing sunlight ruthless and tough, still very artistic.

Cannibal Corpse in blazing sunlight

Rogers: We did not plan to see Rogers, but the heat forced us into the tent. This was a good decision, their punk was tough and very well received.

Rogers - great guys

Mr. Big: Really? We headed for Mr. Big was more due to the impossible Epica on the main stage. Nothing to expect, and, well, it was just fine, nothing for me to listen to.

Firewind: Back to the tent, already rather exhausted from the sun. Firewind's power metal was a good contrast to Mr. Big and brought us back into Metal. As expected, incredible licks from another guitarist that Ozzy Osbourne identified as metal talent. The second guitarist, also keyboarder, from time to time playing on both instruments simultaneously. Sadly they missed out on the genius cover version of the Eighties hit 'Maniac' of the Flashdance Soundtrack (Michael Sembello) - actually this song fits perfectly into Power Metal, hearing Firewind's version is believing!

Firewind

Dool: The first major positive surprise. Already promising when listening to the band on Spotify, their live performance was impressive as well. This was one of the few bands that did not quite fit into the regular Wacken categories (similar to the great Alceste two years ago at exactly the same stage). Dool name Sisters of Mercy and Sonic Youth as major sources of influence, and I buy into this description. It was a very welcome and much needed musical enrichment, similar to Rogers, but much more according to my own taste. I will definitely follow this band further, and you should too. 'Oweynagat' or 'Golden Serpents', for example, are these songs with a great drive as we love it from The Sisters Of Mercy or also The Mission.

Dool impressed me

Destruction: A legend on stage, first time for me. I still remember the moment I bought their first Mini-LP 'Sentence of Death' back in 1984, so quite some time passed, now finally live. They were impressive, and fans contributed with rather ruthless circle pits. They also played the very old stuff from the old times in very powerful versions. One of the best gigs of the day, for sure, and very nice guys.

Destruction

Clawfinger: Another big 'hello' to one favorite band of the past, a bit forgotten through time. Clawfinger rocked and reminded us of how good 'Deaf Dumb Blind' was. They also seem to know, since they first played every single song of this album - and nobody complained. The loops did not age through time, the guitar is as great as ever, so were the rap lyrics. 'Rosegrove' - if I may name one song - is one of this very special irresistible songs that keep you moving. Many thanks guys, so nice to hear you again!

Clawfinger - yessssss

Bathing in the crowd

Lee Aaron: Well, it seems that Lee Aaron goes back to the roots to play some Metal, along with radio-compatible songs of typical US rock style. Compared to the Eighties, her voice seemed much better than back then, so all in all, just fine for us to hang out to her songs.

Lee Aaron

Mantar: Mantar had impressed us in flex/Vienna as support act of Kadavar, and Wacken saw them performing even better. When two guys (guitar/vocals and drums) form one band and perform looking at each other, it is always special. This time, a kind of bass guitar effect supported the guitars and provided for a quite significantly better sound. All in all, the band progresses further, and Wacken seemed to like it as well.

Mantar - two guys, one band

In Flames: Something like the main act of the second day (probably along with Ghost that started only at 1 a.m. in the morning, which was too much for us). After a long day, we preferred to stay at the rear end of the infield, and it provided a similarly impressive view to the set. Professional as always, no disappointments, just In Flames as we know them.



Otto & Die Friesenjungs: Well, though a lot of people seem to like it, we did not stand it - at all. When Otto started to perform 'Born To Be Wild', the thing was done for us at that time of the night. Sorry, nothing for us. Good night :-).

We missed out on: Amorphis (too hot), Children of Bodom (due to Dool), W.A.R. (due to Destruction), Ghost (too tired)

Day 3 - Highlights & Relax

Saturday brought much more relaxed temperatures, but on the third day, we (as many others) took it easy. Therefore the list of missed acts rose, which is just fine.

Wintersun: Power Metal Shredding at the outset of Day 3 - not everybody's darling. Since Alex (my friend and guitar teacher) really digs into Wintersun, we headed for them. First impression: They wore long sleeve skirts at these temperatures! It was a perfect Power Metal performance. I quite liked "Time", which has a lot of interesting musical ideas.

Wintersun

Skindred (seen from the Jägermeister Deer): One of the bigger surprises of Wacken, very powerful, quite distinct sound and style, and a very strong live performance. They easily became the favorite of Lorenz this year. It would have been good to be down at the stage.

Gojira: One of this year's favorite gigs. We were in the middle of the madness, Circle Pits all around, with Gojira playing the heaviest of their heavy songs. When 'Flying Whales' started, I suddenly during filming was hovered into a huge Circle Pit - one round running, and just fine. But it was a rather ruthless Circle Pit. Maybe I will upload this video later on.

Mighty Gojira

Steel Panther: Another clear favorite of this year (again). They are just hilarious and ridiculous. They are extremely rude and impolite, they play Hair Metal without compromises, and everybody celebrates a big party. Many thanks Steel Panther, you still rule - Death To All But Metal :-).

Power Rangers love Steel Panther as well!

Mambo Kurt: I was not aware of Mambo Kurt - until we saw him at the Beergarden Stage. He clearly rules, plays songs on a version 1 Gameboy or other vintage synths, and it sounds just great. Hail to Mambo Kurt :-).

Mambo Kurt

Helmet: Very nice to see Helmet again, still remember their great gig in Szene Wien. They did not disappoint. An intense gig with little speaking (this will follow then, unfortunately), and another great version of my all-time favorite 'Unsung'.

Helmet

Halloween - Pumpkins United: Actually the title of this show should already have raised eyebrows with us. We headed for the 3 1/2 hours' (!) show with a lot of talk and even more talk in order to see some songs from the 'Walls Of Jericho' album - and we ended up in receiving a medley (yes, A MEDLEY) of three songs from this album. We immediately had to flee. That's not worthy of Wacken, come on guys, please stop such nonsense - immediately.

We missed out on: Arch Enemy (due to Helmet), then already too tired for all of the following: Alien Weaponry, Solstafir, Eskimo Callboy, Zeal & Ardor


What Else To Mention
This festival is not just about the music. Every year, it is worth to explore the vast area for nice surprises. Some photos explain best.

Very funny in German

Well, yes :-)

Wacken Ice Cream - my favorite

Lorenz takes a shower, Wacken style

Wacken Infield - from far behind

For sure, this year was the best of the three Wacken events for me, everything is just so much easier without the mud. The overall atmosphere became even more relaxed, which is very important if you are here for three days in a row.

Even if statistics speak against it, we already booked for next year - which will be the 30th anniversary - and hope for another year without mud. But as a t-shirt slogan says: See you in Wacken - rain or shine! 

Kadavar (Mantar)

One of the most credible incarnations of the Black Sabbath legacy. I had missed Kadavar twice, now finally.  (FIRST DRAFT, WILL BE EDITED FURTHER)

Buddies: Stolli and Simon

Rating: 4/5

Merch: a very credible Kadavar Patch

Again: yes \m/

For me young bands playing old style music became credible with Wolfmother. Their first years as a trio was pure retro, and very good. Kadavar are heading for similar aims, but with a slightly different twist. Finally at flex after quite some years, and it's the place as always to feel at home.

Mantar first. A band of two, playing to each other side-ways. It is for sure quite unique, but also really convincing.

 

The guitarist/shouter is some hell of a guy, very tough and energy driven. The drummer could be his father, but is by no means less tight. The guitar goes through a long effects route, which makes sense in such a band constellation.

Despite being only two of them, there is a hell lot going on here. 

Kudos to you guys, you were great!

Kadavar rocks the crowd from the very first moment. Though they apparently did not take the sound check that seriously, resulting in a very low volume that cranked up just some two songs later. Also their appearance is peculiar: The drummer takes the front of the stage, the guitarist/singer (the combination I adore most) on the left and the bassisst on the right side.

Oh my god, this drummer. I cannot help, but he seems to be also the human incarnation of The Animal (Muppets). The looks, of course the hair, ventilated by a fan all the time into the air, and the looks - his eyes staring into the crowd. 

So hilarious, still completely credible as a drummer. Means that he plays in the center for a reason. Rock on, Animal!

Kadavar's music is pure Seventies. The guitar riffs, while no mock-up of something heard for a thousand times, are spot on from that area. I mean that in a very positive sense - like with Wolfmother, their interpretation of Seventies Hard Rock feels just right. 

(to be continued)

Artillery and Onslaught

Thrash Metal revisited, at its best

Buddy: Stolli

Rating: 4/5

Merch: Fear of Tomorrow Tee and Badge

Again? Anytime

Back in the Eighties, the famous Metal Hammer magazine wrote a stellar review of Artillery's debut 'Fear Of Tomorrow', and I went for it. Compared to the heroes of that time, such as Metallica, it turned out to be one of the more sinister albums. It definitely had an impact on me but remained quite unknown in my small Metal community.

When Stolli asked me to join this gig, there was no need to think about it. Of course I took the vinyl from that time with me, hoping to get somebody sign it. Escape Met

Wacken 2017 - Introduction of a New Apprentice

Yes, Wacken again - quite unbelievable. Bust just as last year, a rather last-minute approach bought me into that thing once again. This time with Lorenz as a truely new apprentice, and it was a blast, again. 

Rating: 5/5 - for the mood, for the fun, and for all the music, whether we liked it or not

Buddy: Lorenz, a true metalhead, because he was never really into metal (besides Halloween's Keeper of the Seven Keys), but did not hesitate to join

We met there: Richard and Rudi (again in a tent under quite unbelievable conditions)

Merch: the unavoidable Wacken T-Shirt

Again?  In the very first week of the new sale, we bought three tickets for 2018 - Stolli, Lorenz and myself. Wacken will continue - and the setlist is already a feast.

Opeth

Simply the best band in the world


Buddies: Stolli, David

Rating: 5 out of 5

Merch: none

Again? anytime

Volbeat (Airbourne)

The very first gig of my son became one of my loudest ever.


Score: 4/5
Buddies: my son, Herb (downstairs)
Merch: just popcorn
Again? Hopefully (with my son)





If you wanna do a gig with your children, I am quite sure that you need to be fast. Otherwise 'being on a gig with your child' means that you drop her/him off the place in order to pick her/him up later again (while not being seen, cause that would be uncool for them). The Wacken experience told me that it's about time to head for my son's first gig. He is now (nearly) ten, and @Wacken there were considerably younger kids with their parents.

Step 1 - Choosing the right band: Despite my son's preference of rather electronic acts such as Skrillex, I chose Volbeat. It was a rather spontaneous choice, they are big enough to be in Wiener Stadthalle, so they provide seated places as well. They are melodic enough, and there would not be any advanced things, such as Circle Pits (Volbeat actually asked for a Circle Pit, but got none) or Walls of Death etc. And the date just fit.

Step 2 - Preparing the right equipment: What I learnt from Wacken was that you have to take great care of ear protection for the young headbangers. DIY superstores are best for getting workers' ear protection, and I ended up with a two layer solution, i.e. in-ear and over the ear protection.


Since the gig ended up being very loud, this was the exact right thing to do - we used both protection layers simultaneously. So this will be the standard equipment for further gigs.










Step 3 - Going there, Experience: I admit that I was a bit unsure about how this will turn out. My son hardly knew any of Volbeat's music, and I expected him to be one of the very youngest there, so I was unsure about whether there will be questions about his age. None of these concerns were grounded. While he definitely was one of the youngest, there were also other kids there, and the personnel of Wiener Stadthalle was particularly friendly to us. Probably also because my son already had the full ear protection attached outside of the venue - just to be on the safe side. That was nice.

(more to follow)

Animals As Leaders/Plini

Just after Wacken the opposite - a prog metal gig at (szene) Wien. As it turns out, the support acts were the real thing for us.

Buddy: Tom (great that you could step in   or Stolli)

Rating: 4 out of 5

Merch: signed Plini Trilogy CD

Again? yes, anytime

 

The "Sold Out" sign at the entrance surprises us for the first time. I do not remember to see (szene) Wien so packed like this evening. However, the real surprise is Plini, the first support act. It seemed that we were the only guys in the room that did not know them - and they were incredibly good. I immediately bought the fabulous 'Trilogy' CD during the gig and even got a signature on it - many thanks! Compared to Plini, Animals As Leaders, though being the main act, sounded this little bit too complex and the sound seemed muddy. I do not remember any gig, in which I liked the support act that much better like at this evening. Don't get me wrong, AAL were not bad at all, but Plini just rocked the place tonight. This is why I close this post with a YouTube version of Plini's brilliant 'Selenium Forest'. Cheers!

Wacken 2016 - An Apprentice's Perspective

It all began during the At The Drive In Gig: Stolli got hold of two tickets for Wacken 2016 and asked me to join. Seriously? Through all the years, I have been avoiding festivals, and although Stolli knew this, he asked me. So Hell, yes, let's do it!

My ticket survived ;-)

Buddies: Stolli - we also met Richard and Rudi (real heroes in a tiny tent)
Score: 6 out of 5 (seriously, see Final Words)
Merch: official T-Shirt in green (at these very reasonable prices, you are tempted to buy even much more)
Again? This is it, for sure. Also no Wacken Cruise or Wacken Winter Event.

Special thanks go to Richard for the tickets, in which we could step in (as of writing these words, Wacken 2017 is again nearly sold out with just some 10.000 tickets left).


And of course, very special thanks go to Stolli, who was so persistent and made me going there. 

Omnium Gatherum, Draconian

Two amazing bands from Sweden on a tiny stage.

Rating: 4/5
Buddy: Tom
Merch: none
Again: Yep






The professionalism of today's bands even at small gigs is amazing. Escape Metalcorner's stage is 'very cozy' (Omnium Gatherum) and nearly fails to provide room for the entire band. But this band performs like standing in Gasometer (of course moving too much would be dangerous for everybody). Same applies to Escape Metalcorner, the sound they manage to provide in this small cellar is more you can expect.

Omnium Gatherum rule the evening. Apparently most visitors are here because of them. I can't help but imagine whether Amon Amarth would be able to perform that well here like they do.



Draconian is a different ballpark. Slow Doom Metal with very intense riffs and impressive vocals. Some riffs could directly come from Tony Iommy's axe. I liked them a lot and chose one of the photos as new Blog header.

I wish both bands much success in the future and hopefully another gig at a larger stage in Vienna.

Crowbar, Kielkopf, Throes

SMOKING @ GIGS SUCKS COMPLETELY

Score: 2.5 out of 5
Buddy: Tom (Rob was also here)
Merch: none
Another Gig: no smokers' gigs anymore!

Call me a sucker, but I no longer can stand this. It seemed that everybody smoked as it was their last day on earth. Anything to mention about the support acts? No, we just left out to get some fresh air. During Crowbar, I wondered all the time how the band can actually stand this. I hardly did.

Not the best start into a new gig year.

Crowbar were decent anyway, and the sound was the best sound you can get at Viper Room, a remarkable good job this evening.

Cannibal Corpse/Revocation/Aeon

It's been a blast, and it was the must-see.

Buddies: Stolli and Tom

Score: 4 out of 5

Merch: signed CD

Again? *growl*

Merch that pays off:

To be continued...

In Flames (Wovenwar, While She Sleeps)

Metal gigs can be strange animals. Sometimes you leave the venue in a cheerful mood, but without really lasting impressions. This has been my personal experience at Amon Amarth. But sometimes, metal gigs can ignite an inferno, and this was what happened here.

Buddy: Tom (all photos courtesy of him, thank you!)

Score: 5 out of 5

Merch: Wovenwar Hoody

Again: yep :-)

Metallica, Alice in Chains, Children Of Bodom, Kvelertak

Kriau Rocks expects 50.000 Metalheadz, and I actually did not plan to attend. Surprise: After a month of missed gigs, I step in for a friend's friend that did not feel well (well, thanks Dude!). So, Metallica once more, after this brilliant gig back in 1992. As a huge fan of the band at that time, it was clear that I will be very picky with them at this evening.

 

Buddies: Rainer, Tom, Rene (as well as Stolli and many others in the crowd of 50.000)
Score: 3.5 out of 5
Merch: nope, but I really like Tom's AIC shirt
Again: Well, I was wrong once...


It is my first time in the Golden Circle. It's big money but it makes much sense at this huge venue. As Stolli told me, the sound was quite bad further behind due to the strong wind. So good choice, Rainer, and thanks for this.

We miss Kvelertak. Tom and me just arrive in time for Children Of Bodom. It's a bit strange to see this Death Metal band playing in the blistering sun. As it turns out later, they play at approximately 20% of the main gig's volume. Just the last two songs start to groove a bit, but then it's over.

With Alice In Chains, the volume reaches serious levels. Leaving aside that their music is not the best support act for Metallica, they impress me quite a bit. Impeccable musical performance and very good vocals. They play into sunset with sun glasses on, and it just feels right. It's rather laid back music than heating up for the main act.  I do not care, and I like it. If they should be in Vienna again as a main act, I would try to be there.

But of course, everybody is here for Metallica. And frankly, I have two (expected) issues with this gig (and please don't get me wrong, this is me complaining at very high levels):

1. 80% of the setlist I know by heart, and
2. Nearly all of these these songs they played much better before.

Why? Because Metallica seem to play their old songs faster and faster - with nearly all exactness left behind. For me it's more of a jamming experience than precise playing, mixed with much experience (as one journalist put it 'auto pilot playing'). But I strongly believe that speed metal lives from being played exactly. Slayer, for example, still does it damn right, they play their stuff fast, but exactly. So no excuses for Metallica here.

But I do not want to over-emphasise this, this performance was just as nice as expected. At least in the Golden  Circle, the sound was great. Not every band can cope with huge venues - Metallica for sure can. They are able to reach the audience here, and this is really a big plus. The old songs from 'Kill 'Em All' and 'Ride The Lightning' still kick ass. The guitar/bass section is great and vocals impeccable. In the mid-part of 'Enter Sandman', the sleep verse is played from tape - in original speed - and the last 'Pray The Lord My Soul To Take' is lost - because the band is already through it.

Nevermind. The show ends very nicely with 'Seek And Destroy' and a very long 'Thank You' from the band. Metallica is still one of the best live bands - but to be picky, they could do even better.


Bang that Head that doesn't Bang' :-)
Photos courtesy of Rainer.