---------------  July 08 – 09, 2005, Brande-Hörnerkirchen (GER)  ---------------

I’ve been telling people about this festival for five years now – ever since my first experience with this amazing event in 2001. The festival started back in 1998 with only 3 bands when Thomas Tegelhütter (owner of Hamburg’s “Headbangers Ballroom” back then) invited a couple of friends over to his house in the middle of nowhere (but pretty close to Wacken) for a Metal party. Basically, not much has changed since then. The handful of friends from those days multiplied to approximately 1000 pilgrimaging to Brande-Hörnerkirchen at least from all over Europe. The official festival lasts for 2 days and the bands are coming from all over the world. But still every year hordes of headbangers ruin Thomas’ lawn, drink loads of beer and hail the “Biggest Metal Barbecue in the World”. People who went to small events in the 80s, like the early days of Dynamo, already mentioned to me it feels like in those days and I surely believe ‘em. For several reasons I couldn’t show up at the warm up gig in Thomas’ pub called ‘Cantina’ where bands like PRIMORDIAL and NWOBHM legend AVENGER played in front of a crazy, rather old school crowd. Actually, I heard that PRIMORDIAL - Alan talked enthusiastically about the H-O-A fans later on. I also missed MITHRIL on Friday but according to what I heard, that’s not quite as tragic as one might think: solid early METALLICA - soundalikes. The first real highlight was already the second band, MAVERICK from Hokaido, Japan. They surely have a few European Metal records at home, especially old German stuff. Pretty heavy at times, they came up with memorable melodies, hooklines and chorusses combining the best features of old and new traditional Heavy Metal therefore. Singer / guitarist Katsuhiko Hotta also tried his best being a good Metal fronter and entertainer. Unfortunately it was really hard to understand what he said and so even the singalong part at ‘Son Of Wonder’ didn’t work out at all. Still, the Metalheads loved MAVERICK and wouldn’t stop crying for an encore for quite a while. Up next were BLACK MAJESTY from Australia. Concerning both his looks as well as his voice, their singer somehow reminded me a bit of Ronnie James Dio and the band managed to sound not too soft despite of their keyboard. Still, their songs were not accessible enough for me listening to them for the first time. Good musicians but I confess it got a little boring as I got into one of those moods for the first time at the festival. In a way INNER WISH from Hellas were like a typical Greek traditional Heavy Metal band: solid, not too original, with Metal in their hearts. A week later I don’t recall much of their set but they were good enough to make me stay. I think NECRODEATH started their set with ‘Mater Tenebrarum’. Somehow I waited for something that didn’t come, though: I don’t have a single NECRODEATH record at home and after Frank’s rave reviews I pretty much waited to be blown away, set aflame and be determined to get a hold of their back catalogue after the festival. It was a little strange: the music sounded alright to me but the band did not move a bit and singer Flegias’ vocals were simply weak. At least he tried to be a good Metal fronter. Looking in his eyes one could sense he felt awkward on stage – at least in the beginning. But the slightly smaller crowd (in comparison with the more melodic acts) helped him quite a bit to get over the distance: there were people singing along each and every word! The next big surprise were NWOBHM daddies WEAPON. Back in the 80s they only released a 7” and a 12” with the same content, toured with MOTÖRHEAD and disbanded quickly afterwards. There was a short lived reunion back in the 80s as far as I remember but except for a couple of warm up gigs around London, this was their first gig for well over 20 years! And those old farts rocked the place almost as massive as FIST in 2004! Those who have their single or own that NWOBHM sampler presented by METALLICA’s Lars Ulrich knew 1 or 2 songs but their other stuff was pretty good as well! So it’s time to get familiar with their 2003 “Set The Stage Alight” collection of unreleased tracks. Danny Hynes proved to be quite an entertainer, constantly flirting with the women in the audience. Definitely a memorable way to celebrate their 25th  anniversary. Hope to see ‘em live again some time! My next downer came when RAVENSTHORN hit the stage. Typical US Power Metal with high pitched vocals and quite a rough edge to it. In retrospect it’s a surprise I didn’t care because usually I like that somehow obscure old school style with a somewhat chaotic touch to it. Maybe it was the singer’s silly Batman – or rather Dracula – cape or maybe I was just too tired with no alcohol running through my veins. I decided to change that for the second day. Around half past ten, RIVAL kicked my butt so massively I was in Heavy Metal heaven for the first time that day. I mean, one surely can’t call them Thrash Metal but in a way they deliver more energy than some of the most extreme bands I ever saw. They’re fast and singer John Johnson’s raspy voice always reminds me of OMEN’s J. D. Kimball. It’s a mess these guys didn’t get a tour with their Metal Blade contract and so their European fans had to wait much too long for the band’s return. I admit, their material from “State Of Mind” didn’t enter my mind as well as their earlier stuff but that’s what a tour is for, right? I saw the band in the US in front of just a handful of fans bursting with energy but in front of a fanatic crowd they simply can’t be beaten! Anyway, it’s amazing how many “hits” they already have: I was always waiting for the title track of the “Modern World” album which didn’t come. Still, almost every song they started with was like: “oh, yeah, forgot about that one. Great to hear it again”. So probably the most depressing part of the festival for me was not to have a RIVAL CD in my car! It was hard to believe that HEATHEN would survive after the inferno RIVAL had unleashed but Lee Altus and Co. did their best (which is quite a bit) and the fans partied along with them as much as they could after a hard festival day. HEATHEN played their classics and presented a couple of promising new songs but somehow the magic wouldn’t capture me until they dug out THIN LIZZY’s ‘The Holy War’. Unfortunately, the band asked Götz Kühnemund from Rock Hard magazine to join them on stage. Götz is a nice guy but he simply can’t sing – and he didn’t even remember the lyrics! Despite this assault on my ears, I managed getting high on Metal again. The last song, ‘Death By Hanging’ surely did its bit as well. Saturday’s first band and local heroes CARPEDIEM had performed three times in the history of H-O-A already, the last time on my first visit to Brande-Hörnerkirchen. I didn’t recall the band at all. Rumors were that Sascha “Sir Lord Doom” Maurer from RITUAL STEEL had been their singer in ancient times so I prepared myself for a “True” Metal act with high pitched vocals and sort of epic songs. Big mistake: Their current singer’s barking nicely fit to their rather modern Thrash Metal approach but somehow I wasn’t yet in the mood and the band didn’t deliver anything memorable anyway, so I joined my record dealer and the other guys for a second – liquid - breakfast. This year I had prepared myself a little and – among other things – had surfed the MYSTERY BLUE homepage. Their biography reads a bit like the WEAPON bio: early succes in the 80s with tours supporting MOTÖRHEAD, SAXON and DEF LEPPARD and two full length LPs led to internal problems within the French band which caused their timely end. Now with a new line-up they’re back with an incredible singer called Nathalie – the only female performer of the whole festival. What a voice! John Arch going aaaahhhhh! The nice thing about Nathalie’s vocals is that she never sounds like a hysteric banshee but always like H.E.A.V.Y. M.E.T.A.L.! And she wasn’t the only MYSTERY BLUE member who spoke German fluently. In a way, the band’s sound was typical for the H-O-A: traditional Metal with a crunch. Apart from AC/DC or ROSE TATTOO I’m not into that Rock’n’Roll style very much so I took a break when GUN BARRELL shook their booties. Just in time for German Doomsters MIRROR OF DECEPTION, the heavens opened their gates and spilled all the rain they had in just half an hour. So the tarpaulin over our heads hanging from the trees in front of the stage proved to be a good shelter not only against the blazing sun. I like MOD’s traditional Doom Metal because they pretty much keep out Stoner Rock influences but I think guitarist and singer Michael Siffermann should rather concentrate on the six strings. But, of course, finding somebody like Messiah Marcolin might get a little problematic. Drummer Jochen Müller wasn’t able to show up at the H-O-A so SACRED STEEL’s Mathias Straub replaced him for that day and did a pretty good job, except for one song he simply didn’t get across. Up next was the other NWOBHM act – GASKIN. Nice songs, a little unspectacular and not half as energetic as WEAPON the other day. Time for a break. That one got almost too long so I almost missed UNDERCROFT from Chile. Those Thrashers were quite hot, a bit like a mix of early SEPULTURA and SLAYER with lots of energy. Somehow, the songs didn’t catch me, though, so I guess I rather concentrated on my beer instead of what should have been my duty. The second Doom band on doomsday was ALL SOULS DAY from Italy. A bit distanced but their songs were perfect for my ears and their singer was simply amazing! SOLITUDE AETERNUS style – so the CANDLEMASS cover tune was a bit of a surprise. Really good! Out on Doom Symphony (=Underground Symphony). I never really understood German speedsters WARRANT and after ALL SOULS DAY I simply had to take a break under which German Powerheads WIZARD had to suffer as well but I simply saw them too many times already. Of course I was back for ATTACKER. They seemed to have a few technical problems in the beginning so before everything was fixed their bass player simply screamed at the audience without a microphone and the crowd happily responded. Don’t ask me for the set list – I have no idea but ‘The Lords Of Thunder’ also played a few promising tunes off their upcoming album “The Unknown”. Singer Bob Mitchell didn’t get quite as breathless as at the Keep It True festival because over here the stage was simply smaller. Of course, his vocals were just as good. Finally, a reunion that truly makes sense! Hadn’t I spent all my money I would have gone to see the club show on Sunday where ATTACKER were supposed to play the entire “Battle At Helms Deep” record! Almost equally intense was TYRANT’S REIGN’s set. It’s a mystery why they never really made it big in the past but maybe now they’re even better than in the old days. Karl Miller’s replacement Jeff West did an excellent job on the guitar as well and singer Randy Barron is simply impressive. Can’t tell you much about their set list once again because finally the beer did its job but they pretty much played the material from their CD of course. Definitely a must have for people into aggressive Speed / Thrash the American way. For old DAMIEN THORNE fans their first European trip ever might have caused some difficulties. First of all, original singer Justin Fate had been replaced by Joe Martin which actually prevented the band from playing the H-O-A in 2003. Well, Joe’s voice simply can’t compete with Justin’s but as I saw DAMIEN THORNE 2001 in the US I can tell that Mr Martin is the better performer. Another point is that Mike Browz (brother of bassist Rick Browz) took over the drums. He’s a rather modern drummer and uses the double bass quite frequently so on the one hand the band gained quite some drive whereas I had problems recognizing the old classics. Maybe they played more recent material or maybe I was too drunk already but I sure had some fun. So let’s give ‘em a chance, right? I never get tired of telling my enthusiasm’s unfortunate victims that I’d even join the H-O-A if Thomas started booking cheap cover bands for the H-O-A again but of course I’m glad I get to see billings such as this one. It’s already a pleasure seeing those old (and young) underground freaks go wild but experiencing all those old and new underground bands that never get enough promotion elsewhere simply makes this festival perfect. In contrast to events like Wacken, Bang Your Head or With Full Force a small festival like this doesn’t seem to attract the common assholes and that’s not going to change because there is not more space left in Thomas’ garden and he and his partner in crime, Jürgen Hegewald from Hellion Records, agreed on not moving to a different location. So now we can concentrate on screaming for certain bands, I guess. What about MANILLA ROAD or DEMON in 2006? In the meantime: check out the following links!

www.headbangers-open-air.de, www.mithril-metal.de, http://natural-born-steel.com, www.blackmajesty.com, www.innerwish.gr, www.necrodeath.net, www.weaponrock.com, www.ravensthorn.com, www.rivalmusic.net, www.heathenmetal.com, www.portossun.de/carpediem, www.mysteryblue.com, www.gunbarrel.de, www.mirrorofdeception.de, www.undercroft.info, www.allsoulsday.it, www.legion-of-doom.de, www.attacker.tv, www.tyrantsreign.com, www.damienthorne.com

Ramon Claassen