Saturday noon and the last day should start in the tent in front of the WET stage with the Swedish newcomers of The Murder Of My Sweet. They were really happy an announced directly in the beginning that they finally signed a record deal at a German label for the production of their next album.
Last year the Finns were the surprise act and played Thursday afternoon on the Red Bull coach where I missed them. This year I should be able to see them the first time live. The four Finns enered slowly the stage completely drowned into dark blue light where that background was decorated witht the current album cover of "7th Symphony".
After a long festival day I needed a break and so after Judas Priest I first went over to the press area to take a seat for some minutes and fill up with new energy for the final. Thinking that Airbourne would start as scheduled at 0:45 I started 15 minutes before that towards the True Metal Stage.
What was following now was something very special. At least Judas Priest was looking back not onto a very successful 40 year lasting carreer but were also allowed to play the by far longest set on this year's Wacken Open Air with 140 minutes.
Let's stay musically at the same area as directly after As I Lay Dying the Thuringian of Heaven Shall Burn entered the stage. As usual uniformly dressed in red shirts they directly from the start made you aware that they would get straight down to the nitty-gritty.
Up to now I only knew As I Lay Dying of CD. Therefore it was high time to take a closer look at them live. They seemed to have planned to keep the stage covered by a smoke screen as the smoke machines were running on high level during the whole gig. But the wind was ruling out their plans.
It seemed a little bit like the gig of the trash metal band Sodom together with Roberto Blanco dwarfed their main show on the True Metal stage, but you have to say: wrongly. Tom Angelripper, Bernd "Bernemann" Kost and Markus "Makka" Freiwald not only had lots of songs of their current album "In War And Pieces" with them (the name giving song was also the opener) but additionally a lot of old stuff.
After their concert on the WET stage two years ago and their guest performance as background choir for Grave Digger last year they may show their skills this year on the increased Party stage. That they have made a name for themselves in the metal scene although they "play" a-capella metal showed the fact that it was extremely crowded in front of the stage.
OK, right after the Finns extremely reviving you it continued at the Black Metal Stage. For me it was only a stopgap until the Van Canto concert but the Californian founders of crossover were even more than that.
Oh man, 12:00 is quite early in the morning, but anyhow. Quickly wolfing the breakfast and afterwards back to the festival area again. There the Finns of Ensiferum were on my schedule.