Today we would like to share with you our first Best of 2022 list. We start with our best live moments – more precisely with our 3 favourite festivals of the year and our 3 favourite concerts (We cheated a bit here, sorry). Basically, it is almost impossible to make a selection, because we have experienced so many wonderful festivals and concerts. Not least the meetings with friends made all these experiences very special.
We would like to say a special thank you to:
Ansgar, without whom the Epic Metal Night would not have been possible. To all the bands that performed at said event: Reinforcer, On Atlas’ Shoulders, Don’t Drop The Sword and Hürlement.
The time we spent together with Seven Sisters and Gravety was especially nice – you both enriched our concert year very much.
We would also like to highlight Wheel, because the doom giants from Dortmund enthuse us again and again – on stage, but also in personal encounters.
A big thank you also goes to Thronehammer – we were also able to see you live twice this year. It was always fantastic. Musically and because of your clear stance on social and political issues, you are a huge enrichment for our scene.
And a final thank you goes to the almighty Kodex, who put our vocal chords to the test enormously. As you can see from the pictures, the best epic metal band of our time was a constant companion on our journey through the republic.
Festivals
Aidan
1. Wintermelodei (Münster)
2. Hammer of Doom (Würzburg)
3. Wolfszeit (Crispendorf)
André
1. Wintermelodei (Münster)
2. Hammer of Doom (Würzburg)
3. Epic Metal Night (Oberhausen)
Concerts
Aidan
1. Atlantean Kodex (Hammer of Doom)
2. Spectral Wound (Dortmund)
3. Horn (Wolfszeit) / Thronehammer (Hammer of Doom)
André
1. Atlantean Kodex (Hammer of Doom)
2. Blind Guardian (Rock Hard Festival)
3. Thronehammer (Hammer of Doom) / Blaze Bayley (Dortmund)
Festivals that we have visited together this year
Epic Metal Night (25.02.2022)
Mead & Greed Festival (01./02.04.2022)
Rock Hard Festival (04./05.06.2022)
Wolfszeit Festival (27.08.2022)
Metal 4 Meinerzhagen (15.10.2022)
Wolfsfest (11.11.2022)
Hammer of Doom (18./19.11.2022)
Wintermelodei (03.12.2022)
Concerts that we have visited together this year
Primordial, Swallow the Sun (08.04.2022)
Seven Sisters, Riot City, Gravety (07.05.2022)
Havukruunu, Slaughter Messiah (22.05.2022)
Thronehammer, Wheel, Cross Vault (27.05.2022)
Manowar (16.06.2022)
Blaze Bayley, Absolva (18.08.2022)
Spectral Wound, Hellripper (24.10.2022)
Angel Martyr, Savage Blood (05.11.2022)
+ one more.
Adventure of the year
It was in the summer. Aidan visited me in Dortmund. For the first time, he had watched a match with me at the Westfalenstadion, we had a delicious Hawaiian meal and then spent a relaxed and, as always, funny evening. At a late hour, Aidan had the idea of spontaneously going to Thuringia in two weeks to see Horn and Gernotshagen at the Wolfszeit Festival. More than 800 kilometres in total, no chance to book a hotel nearby – so camping would be the order of the day.
Well, it has to be said that Aidan and I rather enjoy the advantages of a hotel room and don’t necessarily like sleeping in a tent. However, as my young colleague always has a healthy talent for persuasion, we decided to embark on this trip. It was indeed going to be a little adventure: Since Aidan had already joined me in Dortmund the day before the festival, we started from there in the direction of Crispendorf. The car ride was very relaxed – soundtracked by albums by Horn and Black Messiah. The festival site in the pampas was not easy to find, but we should succeed – I am still proud of that now, because Aidan and I tend to be disoriented. We even managed to set up our tent in time before the first band. Well, I have to admit that it was mainly Aidan who managed to do that – I am the typical humanities scholar who is happy if he can hammer a nail into the wall without any serious accidents.
The Wolfszeit Festival started with a good performance by Totenwache, and Gernotshagen also convinced us. After that it got … wet. The heavens opened and it rained so hard that Horn‘s performance had to be postponed for some time. We were soaking wet, but braved the forces of nature in the front row. I can say without exaggeration that this was probably the heaviest rain shower I have ever experienced…
The nice thing about trips with Aidan is that he doesn’t let his good mood be spoiled easily (unless there is nothing to eat, then it gets VERY delicate). We were not to get dry on this day, my Cross Vault shirt didn’t survive (what a drama)… – but as a reward we had a brilliant performance by our personal headliner Horn. More highlights followed thanks to Black Messiah, Thyrfing and the real (!!!) Batushka. Unfortunately, we were so tired when Watain played that we had to leave for the tent after only 2 songs.
However, we walked past this tent so expertly set up by Aidan, because we had long since decided to sleep in the car. The weather had improved a bit, but the idea of being swept away at night with the tent on a tidal wave towards Saxony was not very uplifting. The return journey the following day was relaxed despite the somewhat uncomfortable night. Aidan steered us to Dortmund, where he then got a tasty lasagne as a reward (no, I’m not going to pretend that I made it myself). All in all, this little adventure involved plenty of stress, but it was always positive stress and I wouldn’t want to miss a second of it. As a “holistic work of art“, you could safely conclude that it was the “real“ highlight of our festival year. (André)
