Seven days of Metal, Seven days of Headbanging. Headbangers Holiday. Hell over Paradise. I'll just leave you with the only picture I took with my phone:


Then you add that there's a beach bar just to the left, with huge speakers blasting Metal 24/7. Ohyes.

And then there's of course everything else you expect on a festival! This was an totally awesome experience, and MetalCamp is easily my new favourite festival! I recommend anyone to go there, even if you're not really interested in the bands!

But I am interested in the bands! And here's what I saw!


Tuesday

After arrival on the Monday and the pre-party it was finally time to see some bands! One thing that's really cool with MetalCamp is that the bands doesn't start until 16:00 in the afternoon, so you have plenty of time to just chill out during the days and you don't have to torment yourself by standing in the heat if you want to see the bands that plays early!

Divine Illusion
First band on the bill was this Slovenian Power Metal band! I can't say that they really stood out that much as I barely remember them after a week, but they did have a good singer!

Doomed
Next up was some more Slovenian Metal on the second stage! Death Metal this time, and this was really nice stuff! Really tight and it was one of the highlights of the day for me! Definitely going to check out these guys (and girl) more!

Svartsorg
After that came some Austrian Black Metal. Quite atmospheric, but really it was way too early in the day for this kind of music. They lost quite a lot by playing in daylight I think, but still a pretty nice show!

Brujeria
Then the first band I watched on the mainstage! And by this time I realized why it was even more awesome that the bands were starting so late in the day... because the mainstage was in the sun. The sweat was running down my back even if I was just standing still... However I suppose that was just fitting since Brujeria is from El Mexico! Grindcoreish Death Metal with two singers. They were quite entertaining, but not quite my style. Also pretty funny how they only spoke in Spanish...

Moonspell
Ah, atmospheric vampyric doomish stuff from Portugal! I think they would've been better later in the day as well. But it was an allright show, not quite my style though.

Arch Enemy
Never been a big fan of Arch Enemy, but I saw them at Hellfest last year and then they were really good so I decided to see them again expecting more of the same. But I don't know, I'm not sure about the new songs in the set really. These "video-game solos" are sounding so weird in the songs I think. So I wasn't really enjoying the first half of the set, but it got better towards the end. Not as good as last year though, but it was all right!

Christian Epidemic
Then back to the second stage again for some Black Metal from Hungary! And this was quite an great show! So damn much energy they delivered! Kind of blew me away as I had no idea what to expect. So this was a really nice surprise!

Airbourne
I've seen them before so wasn't too interested in them really. But I did go to see the first few songs, and it was pretty much the same stuff as the other times when I've seen them. They did seem a bit more energetic than last time I saw them though, so that's good! But after a few songs I got back to the second stage to find a place to sit down!

Cold Snap
So while I was resting my feet I ended up seeing Cold Snap. Some Nu Metal. Not interested at all. But I really did need the rest, so I stayed anyway. :P

Winterfylleth
And the reason I was resting at the second stage was because I wanted to see Winterfylleth! Black Metal with folky elements from England! And it was totally worth the wait, as they were awesome! Super tight and a great atmosphere during the whole set. Really enjoyed this gig!

Death Angel
After that I went back to the mainstage to catch the end of Death Angel. When I saw them with Kreator last time they surprised me by being awesome live so I was hoping for more of the same here - but I got to see some strange song choices I think. It was kind of slow songs, and even one ballad. So that was a bit odd. But at least I did catch Ultraviolence, so it was all right!

And that concluded the bands for day one, and down to the beach bar to relax some before bed!


Wednesday

Algebra
After the experience of super-hot mainstage during the day I started this day at the second stage where this technical/melodic Death Metal band were playing. It was rather nice, and very well played stuff! Good kick off!

I actually wanted to see Brezno as well, but the sun stopped me... I did catch the last song after Algebra at least. And that sounded cool, so too bad I didn't see the rest of the set!

Rest in Fear
Then I was just hanging out and eating some around the second stage while this band was playing. It was very Gothenburg-sounding Death Metal. Nothing to interesting.

Brainstorm
By this time there was some shadow at the mainstage so time to check out Brainstorm! Really wanted to see how Andy would sound live! And he did deliver for sure! They sounded awesome really. Very very well played! I would've liked more songs from Soul Temptation though, but alas! Still a nice show!

Katatonia
And then time for Katatonia. Again. Seen them quite a few times now, and they're doing pretty much the same thing every time. Nothing new, but still a very solid set.

Legion of the Damned
After that however it was time for one of the bands I was really looking forwards to! Holy Shit! Pure Thrash Energy for one hour! They had one of the biggest moshpits going at the whole festival! And it just kept coming! The set was awesome, mixing the super intense songs with slightly slower headbanging tunes... and barely any breaks. They just kept playing! Pure ace!

Wintersun
However good Legion of the Damned were it was finally time (no pun intended) for the highlight of the whole festival! I've waited for this since 2006 so I was super excited and of course I had to stand in the front row! And I was not the only one... when Jari came on stage to soundcheck the crowd started singing all ready! Just the fact that they only have one album and still can headline a festival tells the story I think!
When they started playing it was just pure euphoria! So fucking awesome! There was a few minutes of bad sound on the vocals for the first song, but after that it was just perfection. No mistakes, nothing to complain at. It would of course have been awesome to see Sadness & Hate and Beautiful Death - but with a limited amount of time, what can you do?
That of course brings me to the new song - The Way of The Fire! I had heard it on Youtube beforehand (I just couldn't resist), but that did not prepare me for this! Let me put it this way: If you've heard it on Youtube, you haven't heard it at all! So much stuff going on! If this is anything to judge from the new album will be mindblowing!
Not even the endless stream of crowdsurfers could annoy me. It was just perfect!

Also, I thought the Slovenian sun was hot during the day, but the Wintersun... after the show I had to take a cold shower and go sit down at my tent for a while!

Mastodon
Which meant that I was listening to Mastodon from there (because I was camping very close to the festival area) and only went to see the last song or so. Wasn't too impressed really. But then again, Wintersun clouding my mind.

Keller
And the last band of the day was Keller who plays the German style of Thrash Metal! Nothing that stood out, but really solid Thrash! Great way to end the day.


Thursday

Rising Dream
By this time I had started to get used to the sun I guess, so I went to see the first band at the mainstage. This was some Death Metal from Croatia with a girl on vocals! Quite nice, but didn't stand out too much really.

The Ocean
I saw these guys when they were supporting Opeth a while back, and then I thought it was quite nice! But they're another of those bands that doesn't really fit on a sunny day, as they were a lot better in a dark venue. It's hard to get the right dark atmosphere with the sun in your eyes!

Trollfest
Another of those bands that I really wanted to see! I was a bit sad that they played so early, but that didn't stop people from showing up! This Norwegian Folk/Black Metal band is just awesome. They're really funny and have loads and loads of energy on stage! And it spreads to the crowd so easily. I just couldn't help myself from bouncing to the music! There was also a huge conga-line at one point and people doing ring-dances! There was even one guy who was crowd surfing, despite the fact that there were not enough people to stand so close together... so what happened was three guys picked him up in the far back and then they just carried him all the way to the front and threw him over the fence! XD
Awesome performance by the band however, and it would've been great with a longer set!

Thaurorod
Then it was time for some Power Metal. I don't really remember what they sounded like to be honest, the one thing I remember from their gig was that in the beginning someone in the crowd threw a banana to the singer and he just caught it and went on to eat it like that was something that usually happened at their shows! At least he said thank you!

Die Apokalyptischen Reiter
More Power Metal, from Germany this time! I saw them from a distance at Wacken a few years ago and thought they seemed funny so wanted to check them out now as well. But I was a bit disappointed. Not that much really happened, and they seemed a bit off really. So I went to the second stage instead.

Visions of Atlantis
There was some other Power Metal playing, with one male and one female singer. It was quite nice, and both vocalists were really good!

Kalmah
Then back to the mainstage to catch Kalamah. I've never really listened to Kalmah and never really understood the big fuzz about them. And after seeing them... I still don't understand. I think it was an allright show though, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Hate
Polish Death Metal has never failed me before! And not this time either! This was definitely one of the best shows I saw at the whole festival! So much energy! So much power! This was just headbanging non-stop! Awesome!
It's a bit unfair, but I have to compare them a bit with their Polish buddies Behemoth - because they have a lot of similarities. That's no bad thing however, and Hate definitely has their own version of the style! The electronic elements were a bit tuned down in the live show though, but that's totally okay. More power!

Slayer
They were playing at the same time as Hate, but being a headliner they obviously played longer! So yeah I checked out two songs or three while waiting fot Taake! And what to say? It was Slayer. Tight as hell and they seemed to have a really good day as they actually moved around for a change!

Taake
Then it was time for another bands that I really wanted to see! I have not listened that much to Taake beforehand, but what I've heard has been really nice... and it transfers to the stage perfectly! Another highlight of the festival for sure! True Norwegian Black Metal at it's best! Hoest himself was truest of them all! And only speaking Norwegian for the whole set (except when he dedicated the last song to Hellcats), and he even entered the stage wrapped in a Norwegian flag! And he really got the crowd in his hand, despite the fact that most of them didn't even understood what he was saying... And I really liked his trademark punch-kick in the air, like it just isn't enough to just punch the air! And a cool thing Hoest did that I've not seen before was taking the backing vocals microphone and sang in both at the same time which created a really cool effect for one chorus! Just a great show!

Then I went back to the mainstage to see Watain, but to my surprise Slayer weren't done yet so I got to see Angel of Death as well.

Watain
Then Watain finally started however. With their usual stage set up with lots of burning candles and all that. It's a bit hard not to compare Watain with Taake here, as I saw them back to back and it's a bit funny where one is TRVE Black Metal and one is considered sellouts... It is a bit unfair however since they play different styles really. In either case Watain didn't have a good night I think. They felt slightly off all the time and I couldn't quite get into it this night. And when they started having sound problem in the middle of the set I just couldn't be bothered anymore and left for the beach bar to hang out instead. Better luck next time!


Friday

Kreation Kodex
First band of the day was this Croatian Death Metal band. They did not do very well. And it's not cool when a band starts pleading for the crowd to do something.

The Scourge
On the second stage there was some Slovenian Death Metal who were just crushing! Not many people there but they just rocked on and it sounded quite good!

Hellcats
After that it was time the all-girls Slovenian Heavy Metal band! They played a really solid style of Heavy Metal, oldschool style! I quite enjoyed their set, but had it been longer I think I would've been bored because of lack of variety. But as it was it was really nice! And they also returned the favour from the day before and dedicated a song back to Taake!

Arkona
Back to the mainstage to see Russian Folk Metal! This was a really nice show, with lots of energy and a great connection with the crowd! Really enjoyed this show, even though I only recognized one song. Really cool stuff!

Suicidal Angels
This was a bit of a slow day for me, as Suicidal Angels were pretty much the only band I was looking forwards to see, so by now I was quite pumped for these Greek Thrashers! And actually a lot of people showed up despite the sun scorching the mainstage! I think they played pretty much the same set as when I saw them supporting Kreator, with perhaps one extra song or so. And it was really good! They're actually really good at connecting with the crowd, and at mixing the superfast songs with the slightly slower ones, and they totally control the crowd. They ask for a huge circle pit - they get a huge circle pit! Not as big as during Legion of the Damned perhaps, but considering the amount of people there it was a really big one! Needless to say, non-stop headbanging for me!

Powerwolf
Then it was time for the Rumanian vampires... I've seen them before and they're allright but don't really stand out too much. The talk in between songs was quite funny though!

In Extremo
Bag pipes are cool. In Extremo knows this, so they had not one, but two bag pipes! Except for the bag pipes I don't think this German Power Metal band was too intersting though.

I left halfway through the set to catch Vanderbuyst at the second stage... but then they had swapped places with the band playing before them in the last minute! I even checked the line-up changes in the morning to make sure this wouldn't happen (as the lineup on the second stage did change a bit during the days)... but oh well! Nothing to do about it, and I think this very thing has happened to me at every festival I've been to now! Ahwell, I went back to the mainstage and saw the end of In Extremo instead.

Blind Guardian
The headliner of the day! Not much to say really. I was a bit surprised to see that Hansi had cut his hair, it makes him look 15 years older... but other than that it was a quite solid set! I'm no big fan of this band, and they didn't really play the songs from the albums I like but I did get to see Welcome to Dying at least! Very nicely performed in either case!

Imperium Dekadenz
After that I went to the second stage to check out some atmospheric Black Metal. It was quite nice, but doesn't stand out too much in my memory.

I decided that the seat I managed to find after that show in front of the second stage was worth more than seeing Mercenary on the mainstage however. I really like 11 Dreams by them, but since then the two most important members have left and their new sound doesn't appeal to me at all. So thank you tree for letting me rest my feet instead.

Alestorm
Last band of the day was Scottish pirates! Surprisingly they played on the second stage, but judging by the amount of people they could've easily played the mainstage. I guess it was an organizing issue! I've never gotten into this band however, but they were quite funny to see for a few songs! I didn't see the whole set however, but rather chilled out at the beach bar before going to sleep instead!


Saturday

Avatar
Last day of the bands started with Swedish radio Metallalers Avatar. I don't like this style very much at all, but I had found a bench in the shadow far to the back where I had a good view of the stage so I checked them out. What I really remember about the show is how silly fireworks looks in daylight...

Virgin Steele
Still sitting at my bench relaxing it was time for these legends! DeFeis does have one amazing voice and he can sing live as well! I was a bit surprised to see that they didn't have a bass player, but handled that with the keyboards instead. It was a nice show, but since they didn't play a single song that I knew I couldn't enjoy it too much. I guess that's what happens when you have to squeeze in 12 albums in a 30 minutes set!

Morana
After that I went to the second stage to check out this Slovenian Death Metal band with folky influences! It was really cool actually and I loved some of the riffs. I really liked how they often would start a riff with one guitar and finish it with the other, it created a really cool effect! Quite enjoyed this set!

Steelwing
Hello 80's! Yes, this is 80's Metal all the way from the tight pants to the sound! Quite enjoyable for a while!

Belphegor
Then some Austrian Death Metal. The monoliths. They just played as always, droning on. It was all right but nothing special.

Warlike Deathstrike
Instead I went to the second stage and checked out this band that was quite cool. They had some sound issues though, and often I couldn't hear the lead guitar at all and I'm not sure that I ever heard the keyboards. But that's all right, keyboards doesn't really have a place in Death Metal after all! :P

Deicide
They did not cancel! Biggest surprise of the whole festival! The second surprise was that they didn't have a bassist either. So second Amercian band without a bassist on the same day! Seems like there's a shortage of them American bassists, so if you play the bass you might consider moving there... And then just avoid touring in Sweden, because that might end up badly... :P
But back to Deicide! Oldschool Death Metal! Really cool stuff, and it worked quite well even without the bass. And Glenn Benton is one funny guy. The first thing he says after 4 songs is "Well, this is one fucking big barbecue party - just look at you all!". Then he took off his sunglasses - "Oh now I can even see you. No, I better put these back on again - you were looking pretty scary!". Great show anyhow, but no Biblebasher in the set! At least we got to hear Deicide though, a song they rarely play!

Asator
After that I checked out a few songs of this folky Black Metal band on the second stage. The singer was actually wearing a bearskin in the heat. Maniac. Didn't stay too long though as I was off to see...

Amorphis
Third time I see them and they really are a talented band! They perform their stuff perfectly. But still they're kind of lacking the presence on stage I think. They just stand there playing their stuff. This time even Tomi on vocals was kind of slow. So it was not much to look at, but instead you could kind of close your eyes and just listen. Really nice set! I did miss Perkele in the set though - I guess the guys in the frontrow didn't know they should scream for it! :P

Accept
Legends! Even so my relation with Accept is pretty much Balls to the Wall, and I've seen Udo solo play that one. And now Accept doesn't have Udo anymore... so... Couldn't really connect with this show. The new singer does fit with Accept and he does a good job, but I just couldn't get much interest for it so I only saw a couple of songs.

Varg
Instead I went to the second stage to watch Varg. More Black Metal with a folky theme to it! At first it was really nice! But after the third song I was starting to get a bit bored since every song sounded exactly the same to me. Every song was an Black Metal onslaught for a while, followed by a folky melody. And that's a fine concept, but they could've at least have had different folky melodies for each song I think...

Kreator
Back to the mainstage and the mighty Kreator! I've never been disappointed by Kreator live, and this was the fifth time I saw them and they still rock! This night they seemed to have a really good night as well as they were a bit extra, just a bit more into it somehow. I mean, they're always full of energy and tight as hell, but tonight it felt like they had just a little bit of extra punch! Really cool stuff!
They of course had the biggest moshpit at the whole festival. When Mille asked for a Wall of Death he got one that stretched from the frontrow all the way back to the sound-tent. Huuuge! However I left before the obligatory Flag of Hate and Tormentor, because I really didn't want to miss the last band and Kreator did start a bit late...

Moonsorrow
And the last band was Moonsorrow! One of the bands I went to the festival to see! And it couldn't have been more perfect conditions for them! Fullmoon in the sky and easily the biggest crowd I saw at the second stage! And then they just played - it was pure perfection. Not many bands can get away with only playing 4 songs for 45 minutes, but Moonsorrow is one of them! I would've gladly seen more than that though, but it was still an amazing set! They really manage to capture the atmosphere of the albums and the energy. The crowd was a bit like in trance, flowing in tune with the music! This was the perfect ending of a great festival!


So, that's my week of Metal. This festival is just amazing. The lineup might not be the best around, but the area and the tempo... everything is just so cool. No stress, just relax and enjoy it all. I will definitely go there again at some point! And then I might even go kayaking or walk the amazing mountains... and that wouldn't mean I'd miss anything, because you have so much time to do everything you want!