By Mark Gromen and "Metal” Tim Henderson

Wacken! One word says it all and despite the half naked guys in pink tutus, or equally dorky attired members of both sexes portrayed in magazine photos and on German television, the massive annual gathering, just south of the Danish border, is a brother/sisterhood of metal fans, in all their sub-genre loving forms. For despite the oft perceived animosity between the extreme and more lightweight ends of the metallic spectrum, Wacken has more in spirit with the original Woodstock, acceptance of all, than any of the violent touring rebellions found in North America. Since most of the Europeans are crocked off their asses before midday, the lack of arguments, a fisticuffs, or worse, is downright amazing and in a dozen years of attending, we’ve never seen any such incident!

While the majority of the 75,000 attendees camp, showing up early in the week to get a premium spot (late arrivals might be forced to trudge a couple of miles, just to get to the main festival gate), Wacken starts in earnest on Thursday. That afternoon the likes of DORO PESCH and UDO DIRKSCHNEIDER offered one of their own tracks, along with a cover, backed by a thrown together band. Like Doro last year, Udo penned the official WOA anthem for 2010 and his visage was featured prominently in the promotional literature. Was but a teaser of the evening’s main event, a triple bill of long established artists: ALICE COOPER, MÖTLEY CRÜE and IRON MAIDEN. Unfortunately, special photo credentials were required (above and beyond the normally restrictive pit pass). What’s this? Mr. Cooper, playing at 5pm, beginning with some of his best known songs: a snippet of ‘I’m Eighteen’ to open (!), ‘No More Mr. Nice Guy’ and ‘School’s Out'! Certainly not a typical (let’s keep the hits till the encore) concert set. Backed by an aggressive, young band, Coop ran through nearly 40 years of music, highlighted (as always) by ‘Go To Hell’, ‘Billion Dollar Babies’ and the surprising inclusion of ‘Nurse Rozetta’. Odd seeing him in brilliant sunshine though.

GHOST BRIGADE and GOJIRA both got lost on this day, playing smaller stages opposite the main attractions, but such is the case with four stages and nearly 100 bands. The Crüe started like a house afire. In fact, the stage resembled the shell of a post-apocalyptic landscape, punctuated by flame cannons pulsing skyward. ‘Kickstart My Heart’ was an aptly entitled opener, followed by ‘Wild Side’, ‘Shout At The Devil’ ‘Looks That Kill’ and ‘Live Wire’ were delivered virtually without taking a breath. Vince Neil wore a tank top that exposed his tattoos, Mick Mars with a wide brimmed hat and Nikki Sixx danced around his bizarre/ornate mic stand, some HR Giger artistry come to life. A long period of newer stuff was broken by the concluding ‘Dr. Feelgood’ and ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’.

Perhaps not a better "venue" than Wacken to watch Iron Maiden with nearly 100,000 of your closest friends all screaming in unison and pledging allegiance to arguably the greatest metal outfit of all time. The same set-list that the band has been gracing audiences with since The Final Frontier Tour began, a mish-mash of epics leaning to the latter era of the band. 'The Wicker Man' begins the festivities with the good ol' air-raid siren Bruce Dickinson running around madly, vocals intact. In fact there are no less than four Brave New World tracks ('Ghost Of The Navigator', 'Brave New World' and 'Blood Brothers' as well) displayed making one think that the band are trying to find more creative ways to keep their sanity live! Personally I still love the record, but one-quarter of the set dedicated to the reunion album? Bizarre. 'Wrathchild' was thrown in early for good measure, but then we fast-forward to Dance Of Death and A Matter Of Life And Death where the bulk of the set leans. 'Fear Of The Dark' and 'Iron Maiden' was followed by a pair Number Of The Beast staples and the basic DiAnno masterpiece 'Running Free' was a perfect fit for the retro crowd. The masses politely accepted the new frontier of the band 'El Dorado', but overall Maiden's presence left one winded as it plodded along. Why not throw in a surprise like 'To Tame A Land', 'Sun And Steel', 'Flash Of The Blade' or say 'Caught Somewhere In Time'. Complaints aside, Maiden continue to be an unstoppable force.

Friday, August 5th

Finnish summers might be 24 hours of light, but what German joker thought having AMORPHIS (celebrating the release of their initial DVD, Forging The Land Of A Thousand Lakes) onstage before noon was a wise idea? The sun shone brightly on a mix of old and new, including ‘Towards And Against’, ‘Against Widows’, ‘House Of Sleep’ and the one-two final punch of ‘Black Winter Day’ and ‘My Kantele’. From there it was ASTRAL DOORS, in the hotter than blazes tented WET stage, but only could stand it for a little while, hearing ‘Of The Son And The Father’, ‘New Revelation’ and ‘Time To Rock’ before moving on. After a bit of liquid refreshment, hiked to the remote Party stage and met up with Metal Tim for VOIVOD. Wicked start, with their signature tune 'Tribal Convictions', then ‘The Unknown Knows’. Later with ‘Nothingface’, ‘Nuclear War’ and the closing PINK FLOYD cover, ‘Astronomy Domine’.

Back to the tent for Auburn Records artist ETERNAL LEGACY, who thrashed out, despite a small crowd. Later, LIZZY BORDEN played the same stage, people spilling beyond its confines to hear classics like ‘Red Rum’, ‘American Metal” (Lizzy draped in the Stars & Stripes, as well as the Deutsche flag), ‘We Got The Power’ and a concluding homage to Ronnie James Dio, their rendition of ‘Long Live Rock N Roll'. There was a stretch of main stage “talent” that was of no interest to many. I know organizers try to cover all the basis, but ILL NINO, the German tongued, danceable folk of DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER (thrilled the locals, who sang along boisterously) made us foreigners stick out, the countrified (I kid you not! Made the crowd yell “ye ha”.) BOSS HOSS and ENDSTILLE provided a long stretch to search the vendor stalls, hit the metal market, grab a much needed bite to eat, drink and socialize. All are an essential part of Wacken, as much as the bands. For some, who (sadly) never make it beyond their campsite, it’s most important.

Finally, it was time to wait in line, to photograph KAMELOT. There are so many legitimate photographers at Wacken, that for main stage acts, they send in waves at a time. Instead of the standard three songs, it might only be a song and half, due to the sheer magnitude of photogs and no band wants someone shooting throughout their entire set (well, apart from a select few for Immortal). With a masked female back-up singer standing alongside drummer Casey Grillo, the Floridians opened with ‘Karma’, peppering the performance with fire, sparklers and explosions throughout. Singer Roy Khan wore an elaborate, floor length embroidered jacket, looking like some Hun general. On guitar, Thom Youngblood surveyed the huge crowd, easily 40,000 or more, with an appreciative smile, undoubtedly remembering the club shows and years of anonymity that he and I had discussed years ago, hanging out in Ybor City. ‘Karma’, ‘Ghost Opera’, ‘Forever’ and ‘March Of Mephisto’ stuck out of a set that avoided any vintage material, the only (personal) drawback of a successful day.

Former Nightwish frontwoman TARJA and ARCH ENEMY were scheduled to play simultaneously. As a photographer (and male), a sad situation! Opting for the rarer opportunity, it was off to the smaller Party stage, for the operatic Finnish songbird. She’s backed by Mohawk drum monster Mike Terrana (RAGE, AXEL RUDI PELL) seated on a kit with cooper fixtures (as opposed to the usual polished chrome). In heels and sheer/mesh overlay that exposed the half-shirt beneath, Tarja Turunen ran through her solo material, throwing “the horns” in appreciation of the considerable throng amassed. After a few tracks, attempted double duty, running to the giant Black stage, with hopes of snapping a couple of last minute pics of Angela Gossow, in red tank top, bouncing around like some satanic cheerleader, fronting Arch Enemy. Sadly, the pit was closed by the time I’d maneuvered between the drunks, upright and prone. Grabbing a draft beer from the roving Becks salesmen (dispensed from a refrigerated backpack) still got to listen to ‘Dead Eyes See No Future’ and the proper set closing ‘We Will Rise’, before they came back for a two song encore: ‘Nemesis’ and ‘Filed Of Desolation’.

GRAVE DIGGER were one of the main reasons I was interested in attending the 2010 show, as it was to be a celebration of 30 years. Although Chris Boltendahl pre-announced their intention of playing the Tunes Of War in its entirety (which didn’t really make sense to me, a tale of Scottish history?). Nothing could hint at what was in store. Beneath a backdrop of the forthcoming (The Clans Will Rise Again) album artwork, a fully uniformed (kilts) Scottish marching band, with bagpipers, stick twirling drummers and tartan aplenty stretched across the stage, playing ‘The Brave’. A trio of similarly attired back-up singers flanked either side of the skull masked keyboardist. Actually, those five guys and one woman was the band VAN CANTO! Boltendahl came onstage in warrior garb, straight out of Mel Gibson’s Braveheart (down to the war paint), belting out ‘Scotland United’. He conducted all his stage banter in German, which might hamper future international DVD sales, but that was the only misstep. Flames accented ‘The Dark Of The Sun’ and just as it was starting to become predictable (as a fan, I knew what was on deck), it was time for ‘The Ballad of Mary (Queen Of Scots)’ featuring the queen of metal, Doro Pesch (in a dress!), returning the favor of when he appeared at her 25th anniversary concert. A few songs later, for the shower of sparks augmented ‘Rebellion (The Clans Are Marching)’, Boltendahl was joined by another German luminary, BLIND GUARDIAN’s Hansi Kursch (in kilt)! For the three song encore, they finished with ‘Ballad Of A Hangman’, ‘Excalibur’ and the ubiquitous/requisite ‘Heavy Metal Breakdown’. Backed with some vintage footage, should (hopefully) make for a nice video package.

SLAYER saves. Period. A perfect headlining moment as the band promoted their latest album World Painted Blood, while celebrating the seminal Seasons In The Abyss. A Slaytanic sea of people as far as the eye could see, red and purple lights engulfing the crowd as hell opened up to the blood-curdling title track of their newbie. Massive walls of Marshalls on each side of the stage, guitarist Jeff Hanneman with beer label guitar that utilizes his surname instead of Heineken and the ferocious Kerry King standing heavier than metal wearing truck chains. 'Hate Worldwide' was up next as Tom Araya proclaimed 'I stab you right between the eyes!' The rarely heard 'Expendable Youth' and 'Spirit In Black' was a refreshing addition, but 'Chemical Warfare' and 'Hell Awaits' (which followed 'Seasons In The Abyss') took the crowd by storm. The roller-coaster of thrash versus more moody moments of Slayer's catalog was effective as the final triumvirate took hold; 'Raining Blood', 'South Of Heaven' and the feeding frenzy of 'Angel Of Death' toppled the crowd. Tom Araya's healing barely a blip, while Dave Lombardo truly holds this machine together. No better live band on the planet.

No doubt Canuck thrash legends ANVIL benefited by following Slayer as the masses pretty much stayed in their place to see what Lips and Co. could deliver following the overwhelming hype of the documentary. The trio kicked off with the famed Metal On Metal instru-metal 'March Of The Crabs' which was met with immense uproar, while '666', 'School Love' and 'Winged Assassins' followed in a frenzy. 'This Is Thirteen' slowed things down a notch until Lips grabbed his vibrator and told us tale of the fictional beast 'Mothra' complete with an extended solo, massaging his string with aforementioned tool! Lips, bassist Glenn Five and drummer Robb Reiner make a helluva noise for a three-piece (MOTÖRHEAD anyone?) and more remarkable, they were in the zone like ol' pros, not a hiccup or a stutter as they strutted around the stage. Two staples sealed Anvil's fate; 'Forged In Fire' and 'Metal On Metal'. This moment had to be Anvil's crowning achievement as tens of thousands prayed at their altar. More icing on the cake as the long-troubled trio continue to ride a massive wave of success.

Friday night was in the bag. Now off to the pub beside our hotel to celebrate the evening/morning!

Saturday, August 6th

We both agreed that Saturday had more “must see” bands, although not until later in the day. All this talk of the Big 4 (ugh!), always felt OVERKILL deserved the slot over Anthrax and one can make the case Blitz and DD are the only ones of the aforementioned who never “sold out.” Regardless, the Wacken set was not just testament to their longevity, but a reaffirmation of their classic material, including newbies from the current Ironbound: ‘Rotten To The Core’, ‘Wrecking Crew’, ‘Hello From The Gutter’, ‘Hammerhead’ and ‘In Union We Stand’ alongside the new title cut, ‘The Green And Black’ and ‘Bring Me The Night’. Must not have been that hot, as Blitz kept his shirt on, teasing the audience about the lack of precipitation (a good thing, no mud), while guitarist Dave Linsk in shorts and aviator shades looked like a younger Jeff Hanneman (Slayer). The obligatory finale, ‘Elimination’ morphing into ‘Fuck You’ was augmented by the inclusion of Motörhead’s ‘Overkill’. Still something special!

With "Metal" Tim in search of yet another merchandise treasure, I headed to the WET stage to witness Estonian pagan metallers METSATOLL. Initially turned on to their Hiiekoda CD via my annual journey to Helsinki, was really the first opportunity to see them live. Mixing a variety of instrumentation with a thrashy base, they brought out what appeared to be bag pipes, bowed single string instrument and other unique sounds (which is part of my fascination). Not alone in appreciation, people were dancing around to the infectious rhythms, all delivered in their native tongue. After a couple of songs (only afforded 30 minutes anyway), it was off to wait for W.A.S.P.

Blackie Lawless has had a lot of bad luck in Europe the last couple of years, frequently cancelling appearances. Not for such a sea of humanity. The set is basically the same, although the cover of THE WHO’s ‘Real Me’ second in the set (following ‘On Your Knees’) is a bit of a buzzkill. Dressed in his namesake color, head to toe, with white fringed boots and chrome saw blades on each wrist (which reflected the late day sun), Lawless led his merry men through ‘Love Machine’, ‘Wild Child’, a medley that touched on ‘Hellion’, ‘I Don’t Need No Doctor’ (I don’t need any more cover tunes either!) and ‘Scream Until You Like It’ before finishing off with ‘Chainsaw Charlie’, ‘The Idol’ and a crowd sung ‘I Wanna Be Somebody’. No ‘Blind In Texas’ is a shocker, but then maybe they were short on time.

Watch your feet, those aren't cow-pies, it's human feces from the last time CANNIBAL CORPSE had the Wacken faithful in the palm of their hand waiting to be crushed. As mentioned before, whether or not you can handle these Tampa death metal legends on record, the band's live presence is tremendous and awe-inspiring. And looking at the size of the crowd near dusk, they are a one-of-a-kind entity here. 'Unleashing The Bloodthirsty', 'Savage Butchery' and 'I Cum Blood' are all fine headbanging fare until suddenly George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher blurts madly: "We have a new album out. Well, actually it’s a few years old and if you don’t go crazy for this, I’ll come out there and kill you myself," as the band threw knives out to the crowd via the title track to 2009's Evisceration Plague. The brutal backbone of bassist Alex Webster and the precision of drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz meant 'The Time To Kill Is Now'! But the Chris Barnes staples 'Staring Through The Eyes Of The Dead' and 'Hammer Smashed Face' (which the band are now allowed to perform here) make for a pit frenzy. Heaviest band of the fest no doubt!

STRATOVARIUS were on the Party stage at the same time the Cannibals were ravaging the masses. That said, there were still plenty of non-death heads interested in the Finns. Starting fast, with ‘Hunting High And Low’, they soon followed with ‘Speed Of Light’ and ‘Kiss Of Judas’, the slower pace allowing keyboardist Jens Johansson to steal the spotlight from singer Timo Kotipelto and spider on the bass Lauri Porra. ‘Against The Wind’ was an old school surprise, preceding a latter day four pack, before ultimately finishing off with ‘Paradise’ and ‘Black Diamond’. Good stuff.

It wasn’t all that many years ago that EDGUY were playing first thing in the morning, despite being Deutsche. Now, in part due to the recognition outside of Germany, they’re a global headliner, thanks in no small part to the comedic talents of singer Tobias Sammet, the closest thing to vintage Diamond Dave (Van Halen) I’ve run across. Much of his humor is self deprecating, but he’s not above poking fun at things that need to be deflated, even if his entire monologue was in German. Fair enough, he tried to get the non-speaking fans to raise their voices, but when that failed, he opted for his native tongue (apparently not offending that many). The stage was adorned with the stonewall set utilized on the Tinnitus Sanctus tour and the band opened with a pair from that disc (“Dead Or Rock’ and ‘Speedhoven’) before opting for a string of hits. In a sunglasses and flashy, adorned jacket, complete with epaulets, that could have been a Michael Jackson hand-me-down, Sammet laughed and mugged his way through ‘Tears Of A Mandrake’ and ‘Vain Glory Opera’. He introduced the latter, saying, “There was a band from Sweden called Europe and we wanted to make some money. So instead of writing our own songs, we stole one of theirs. This is ‘Vain Glory Opera!” HELLOWEEN bassist Marcus Grosskopf joined ‘Lavatory Love Machine’, the audience sung competition seeing the “losers” (ie. Less boisterous) identified as “Magic Circle 2010”, while the triumphant side christened “Wacken 2010.” That Tobias, what a card! Appropriate they would end with ‘King Of Fools’.

We all gathered one-by-one for Norwegian black metal giants IMMORTAL, a band most certainly larger than life these days and strangely crossing over into varied fan-bases more so than say Dimmu or Cradle. A helluva lot of fire from below created solely by frontman/guitarist Abbath, bassist Apollyon and skin-pounder Horgh as they greet us with 'All Shall Fall' and the blistering 'Sons Of Northern Darkness'. Flames herald ‘Damned In Black’ as the crowd sang along to the anthem of anarchy! Although the moon was visible in the sky, there was plenty of smoke throughout show while Abbath played to the cameraman in the wings with a devilish smirk and maniacal glare. These more 'personal' tactics resonated through the crowd as the At the Heart of Winter staple 'Withstand The Fall Of Time' and the Sons Of Northern Darkness epic Sons Of Northern Darkness engulfed the crowd with black metal rhythms and near-proggy escapades. ‘One By One’ ended the ritual even though there was time left in their slot. No worries, we were all winded and in dire need of a beverage!

Rob Lowe of CANDLEMASS had some problems with the lyrics to ‘At The Gallows End’, even apologizing to the crowd. He had been fronting Solitude Aeturnus just a week earlier, at Headbangers’ Open Air, so perhaps the quantity of songs overwhelmed him. No such difficulties with the closing ‘Solitude’, in a late night set that also included ‘Mirror Mirror’, ‘Hammer Of Doom’ and ‘Emperor Of The Void’. Later, TIAMAT performed their entire classic Wildhoney, start to finish. While the band no longer bears any resemblance to the one who created said platter, anyone not familiar with that slab of melancholy should definitely check it out. Only at Wacken is it considered an honor to start at 2am, as U.D.O. (remember, he penned the 2010 WOA theme song!) was blessed.

Next year is already in the planning stages, with APOCALYPTICA, BLIND GUARDIAN, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and AVANTASIA confirmed. The 22nd celebration takes place August 4-6, 2011. For more info visit Wacken.com.

A pictorial representation of Wacken 2010 can be found here.