Waldrock - Bergum
June 12th & 13th 2009

 

Below you will find an impression of the Waldrock festival that took place in Bergum (The Netherlands). The organization decided to make it more of a 2 day festival instead of one. So, on Friday-night there were about 2500 metal fans enjoying the music they all love. The festival kicked of with Existence Denied. A local band that did a good job and of course were very happy getting the opportunity to play the festival.

Personally I came for the next band: Legion of the Damned. They came, the saw and they conquered. The band has done so many gigs that it is an oiled machine. The riffs are as heavy as on the album and the vocals are as aggressive. It's no use spending more words, just enjoy the pictures.

Next bandNapalm Death created a big pit and was very loved by the crowd. Personally it's not my cup of tea, but the people liked it. Dragonforce had the honour to play last and did an excellent job. The fast sometimes over the top power metal was played well and the band enjoyed the gig. With some standard metal-poses and the running around on stage it sometimes was a bit overdone, but nevertheless a good show with a good sound.

 Existence DeniedLOTD

   

Legion of the Damned

Dragonforce

On Saturday the festival kicked of with Disintegrate, but at 12.30 I wasn't there yet. We were still on the way driving to Bergum. We arrived just after the Pilgrimz finished their gig and I entered the site at the moment Wolves in the Throne Room started playing. I guess I also missedBlindsight, so no pictures of them either.

Everyone who stayed at home made a big mistake. It was perfect Summer-festival weather and the over 6000 metal fans enjoyed their stay. With 20 Celsius, almost no wind and the sun shining all the time, the beer never tasted better. The food was good, the whole organization was excellent, there was a good balanced bill and the metal fans all had a happy face. Compliments to all the volunteers who have made this again a festival to remember.

I'm not going to write what songs the bands played today, but I will stick to telling you what the best gigs were in my opinion that day. Surprise for me was Wolves in the Throne Room. Good music, good sound and a pleasant act to watch. Delain on the main stage did not overwhelm me, but didn't play bad either. Meanwhile in the tent-stage (there were 2 stages, Main-stage and tent-stage) The Black Dahlia Murder already had started their performance. A good band. On the main stage Voivod played (without Jason Newsted) their set and I must admit that they did disappoint me a little. Perhaps I expected a few heavier songs, but in vein. At almost the same time the youngsters of Bring Me the Horizon did their thing in the tent stage. This band is very popular by the younger women; they were cheering loud and clear at the front of the stage. The crowd enjoyed their gig a lot.

NextTrivium on the main stage. They were one of the better bands that they and they showed the crowd that they have matured and are far more than just a few youngsters cloning Metallica. Nice to see and listen to are the 3 members all doing their vocal parts. To me the winner of the day was Epica. The excellent singing and the heavy tight riffing in combination with the orchestral parts made them do it. The crowd reacted superb and the atmosphere couldn't be better. On the main stage Killswitch Engage showed the fans that they are one of the inventors of metalcore combined with clean singing. There is no question about that.

Papa Roach is hot and they made the people in the tent stage jump up and down. Again a lot of younger fans stood front row to scream at their heroes. Good performance! Next Motörhead, I guess this must be the fourth (??) time they play Waldrock. I have seen the band too much the last years and I hope they won't play Waldrock again in the next few years. Motorhead gets a bit boring. Back are Carcass, in the tent stage they played a real heavy show and the grinding death metal tasted good. Not every song was immediately recognizable to me, but maybe that's because I am becoming deaf. Good act and welcome back guys. Last but not leastHeaven and Hell. I was very curious about what to expect. I had high expectations about them. In the whole they disappointed me. The new songs are not as good as the old ones and in my opinion you can hear that time did not stand still. Although the band doesn't want to hear it, but they are getting older too and the real enthusiasm and energy is a little gone.

Ps. thank you Gabriël for the excellent driving, you are an angel!

Below the pictures that give you an impression of the acts that played.

Wolves in the Throne Room                                         Delain

The Black Dahlia Murder                                                      Voivod

Bring Me the Horizon                                                         Trivium

Epica

Killswitch Engage                                                                   Papa Roach

Motörhead                                                                              Carcass

Heaven & Hell

Attending: Reinier de Vries