The biggest meeting of the dark culture 2024

This year, I will break new ground and visit the M’era Luna for the first time. Already since 2000 the festival of the dark culture is taking place at Hildesheim on the airport and is besides the Wave-Gothik-Treffen at Leipzig one of the biggest of its kind. Also this year there will be up to 25000 people coming for sure when the big ones out of Gothic, electronic music, alternative, medieval-rock and other genres will play on the stages.

On Saturday there will be at first the shows of Lacrimas Profundere and Oomph! with their, at least to me, new front man Daniel Schulz interesting to me. Besides that I am also looking forward to see the Schwarzer Engel live for the first time. On CD it was already quite exciting but we will see, whether he can confirm this good first impression of him live. Hämatom I only saw once during their gig on the Wacken Open Air 2011. Unfortunately, last year they were hit very hard by the tragic death of their bass player West and so it will be quite interesting to see how successor Rose will do. The more so as 2024 is a very special year for the band as they celebrate their 20-year anniversary. Besides that I am looking forward to Deine Lakaien, the old hands of the Dark Wave that I could already experience live once on the 2015 Gelsenkirchen Blackfield Festival, and also to ASP. Already several times ASP played on the Wacken Open Air when I was there too but somehow it did not happen that I could join one of his gigs. It will be a special year for him as well just like as for Hämatom. Also ASP is celebrating a stage jubilee this year and for him it is even the 25-year one.

Highlights on M'era Luna 2024: Epica, Schandmaul and Hämatom

The Sunday will continue not less spectacular. The big headliner for me are well known ones like Lord Of The Lost or Epica that I have already seen numerous times with their superior live shows. With VNV Nation, that I up to now know only from M’era Luna FM, the Sunday will certainly be closed. Especially the numerous extreme stylistic differences like between Gothic, symphonic metal, electric sounds with EBM beat or Neue Deutsche Härte is what makes this festival so exciting. This year also all friends of medieval sounds will get their money’s worth. Were Saltatio Mortis already one of a party on Saturday, so will be Dartagnan and Schandmaul on Sunday. At this, I am quite keen whether Schandmaul front man Thomas Lindner will be recovered from his cancer disease so far that he is able to sing some songs by himself or whether his momentarily replacements Georgij and Till Herence will be on the microphones. But there will be more to come on Sunday. Also Die Krupps, Combichrist, Welle:Erdball, Stahlmann and many others will be on stage and enthuse the audience.

Also being on it: Saltatio Mortis and Deathstars

I am as well much curious on all the trappings because different to “normal” metal festivals on festivals of the dark culture the dressings count for much as well as to see and to be seen. This will be really exciting and again a completely different experience compared to other concerts or festivals that I visited up to now. Already the Blackfield Festival at Gelsenkirchen nearly 10 years ago gave me a small insight although if you have a look at pictures of the former M’era Luna that will for sure be a completely different story. I am anyhow really looking forward to it! There are still some tickets left, but who knows for how long this will remain like this. So, do not wait for too long if you are still undecided!