Darkfall - Belphegor - Grave - Keep Of Kalessin - Insision - Disastrous Murmur - Poppy Seed Grinder - Ravenous - Svarta - Vinegar Hill - Days Of Loss - La Resistance - Senntus

Second day kicks off with a comprehensive Austrian squad including :: LA RESISTANCE ::. The band shows up in very interesting way, captivating my attention with alternating Thrash Metal and a decent rocking groove. I appreciate to have a break in The Secret Room: this song got the certain something featuring a catchy refrain and taking grooves. I like speed in Metal, but some borne passages early in the morning are enriching – well done!

:: DAYS OF LOSS :: take the next step to ameliorate the mood with powerful and melodic compositions. The band confirms the nice impression of the CD Our Frail Existence and finds the way to every Melodic Death Metal fan’s heart and brain with egregious guitar melodies and catchy as well as demanding tracks.

:: VINEGAR HILL :: get on stage and all female visitors seem to participate in the front row ? to pay tribute to this kind of modern melodic metal. I think that the band sold a lot of shirts, because some reverses are decorated with the memorable logo. The guitar harmonies are good, but in all, the music seems to be a little bit sterile and some features are not played live, so that I am not really grabbed by this “100% live feeling”.

:: SVARTA :: cause very different emotions, this kind of atmospheric and harmonious Black Metal flows conveniently and lets the listener drift away. Many visitors have to deal with the insane acute and cutting voice, the ardently screeched croaking leaves a lasting trace apart from overlong compositions which use both monotony and variable songwriting as stylistic device.

The primitive rocks :: RAVENOUS :: are introduced by the host Richard Metfan, who comes into operation every now and then during the next days. In case of RAVENOUS, we learn about the band’s history including a short break, ere moderate Thrash Metal takes on the lead. Many visitors are looking forward to this event, but I miss the captivating element and Sergeant B. stumps the landscape in quote unspectacular style. Nevertheless I pay respect to this effort after all these years of silence!

:: DISASTROUS MURMUR :: are well-known for Death Metal with mordacity, oftentimes played in mid-tempo, touching the neck and feet immediately, but I can only enjoy the last minutes of the show…

No place for humor in course of :: INSISION :: . Hardcore-like attitudes and mosh-pits change the disposition, caused by the not very sympathetic front man Carl, but in all, the slightly miffed approach fits the Swedes’ sound at best – brutal cudgeling and partly melodic Death Metal steamrollers the quiet surroundings.

I think the conditions for :: KEEP OF KALESSIN :: are ideal, the artificial Black Metal matches the pictorial ambience…nevertheless, the performance seems to be aloof, and everything is a little bit too perfect and swollen-headed. Songs like Dark As Moonless Night (can’t suit better!) unfold their beauty and complexity, but the triggered drums dominate the scenery in annoying manner and draw the curtain over the guitar lines unfortunately.

I don’t know why, but the groaning, slightly Hardcore-like Death Metal of :: GRAVE :: cannot touch my heart and soul this day, although crushers like Winds Of Chains electrify the crowd. All songs disperse this morbid, cult stench, but this evening the rotten sound constructs do not detonate strongly.

For the devil’s sake, :: BELPHEGOR :: let the music speak in self-explanatory way. The new album Conjuring The Dead has a knack for acoustic breathers and throttled sequences apart from common cudgeled orgies. Hellmuth is quite monosyllabic and does not affront the crowd – what’s wrong? I hope he does not get grown-up? The music convinces including new stuff like Gasmask Terror, caused by this certain variability. Throttled compositions like Rise To Fall And Fall To Rise broaden the spectrum and are effective. Less posing and more music – that’s the way it should be!

Local heroes :: DARKFALL :: come up with first-class sound and a special show, applying a condign last point. The band wrote a lot of ear candies like Rise To Dominate or Echoes From The Past. These felicitous tracks enjoy in dust-dry but playful style during the last hours of the day. In course of the song The Gods Await, three knights deliver a hard-as-a-bone sword-fight and the excellent guitar lead acts as acoustic cherry on the cake. Finally, Spiwi and his warriors pay tribute to Lady Gaga (Pokerface) and Manowar (Hail And Kill) – a fine conclusion!

story © Leo • Photos by courtesy of Raffael (Rotting Hill & Noisepit)