Live Coverage || Wacken Open Air 2022

Welcome back to Wacken, Unraveled gang! After a 2-year delay, Wacken Open Air is back like never before, and with some improvements and some physical changes to the Holy Grounds. Fans were a little surprised to not see the bullhead city covered with its famous tent which left the WET and HEADBANGER stages in total open air; as the organization explained, not only did the tent limit the capacity of people, but it would have also been pretty uncomfortable to manage in case of a storm. I personally think it was a great improvement: in the past we experienced a lot of big queues to access the stages and it was almost impossible to get a drink. Well done, organizers, to listen to the people and make it better for all!

As expected, the big change was starting to take place already in 2019, when they started to reduce the production of the metal bag and all the free merchandise. This year the festival introduced for the first time bag allowance, so every area of the infield is fully accessible with your own bag. This did increase a bit of queue entering the Infield but I truly think it was a great move to avoid waste of goods and save money for better facilities. Considering the 2 years we just had, there was a big focus on mental well-being with an area dedicated to services that offers advice and support.

A lot of emotions came through this particular year as many friends we encountered in our previous editions were all waiting for us in the press area.

But let's get the party started, shall we?

Words: Sabrina Schiavinato

Photos: Peterson Marti

Wednesday

Wacken got a special start this year, as the Louder stage opened this edition with additional tickets to access Epica, Avantasia, & Gloryhammer show, which extended the duration of the festival by one day.

In classic Wacken fashion, Wednesday is dedicated to the famous Metal Battle with bands from all over the world. We managed to catch a few just before the dry soil hit us and we needed a bit of camera clean up (bloody sand!). The ones that stood out for us were Orca, Kryn and V.i.d.a (who won the second place), all bands with different characters from each other with a lot of energy in common and a lot of passion for their music and the country they are representing.

The majority of the acts happen to be in the Wasteland stage and it started with Vulture; the band played in-house and brought Wacken some old-school speed metal which lit up the stage and started the circle pit. Whilst trying to survive the hot and dry weather, Gloryhammer and Epica both delivered great performances. Unfortunately Gloryhammer due to delays caused by flight cancellations didn't manage to perform their entire set list, consequently letting down a legion of fans. Worth it the waiting thought, closing down with "The Unicorn Invasion of Dundee".

Shortly after, Epica took over the stage, on time. This gig was part of The Omega Tour that started early this year, following the "Omega" album launch, and in September they will celebrate their 20th anniversary with a special show in Tilburg, NL.

Let's stick to the desert vibes of the Wasteland for now. We started to look more like those characters out of Dune, the dust was so intense that we had to wear masks and bandanas.

So in Wasteland Stage. It was Cadaver's, first time performing at Wacken; the band lead by Anders Odden (Satyricon, Celtic Frost) hit the stage with some old school death metal and excite the crowd with some of their oldest songs dated early 1990s and from their latest album "Edder & Bile" with “Don’t Give A Fuck”. A big shout to this Norwegian band to keep the stage hot just before the fire machines start lighting up the roof.

Before the last act of this Wednesday we managed to catch Onslaught on the very same stage. The band from Bristol opened the act with “Let there be death” and the pit got on fire with “The Sound Of Violence” & “A Perfect Day To Die”.

We finished Wednesday with Avantasia, a supergroup founded by Tobias Sammet ( Edguy), who gifted us with a mesmerizing performance. Avantasia has been on tour since June, promoting their new album “A Paranormal Evening With The Moonflower Society” which is expected to be out October 21st by Nuclear Blast. We also had a great chance to see Tobias and Ralf Scheepers singing “The Wicked Rule the Night” from the upcoming album.

What a first day, expectations fulfilled!!

Thursday

Day 1 started with some corpse painting; Mork and their true Norwegian black metal, which brings their raw melodies to the sweaty crowd in the Headbanger stage. The band from Halden, performed some tunes from their latest album, “Katedralen”, and invited on the stage Dolk from Kampfar to perform a stunning version of “Fodt til a hersake”. More black metal vibes going on in the WET stage with Gaerea. The Portuguese band was clearly the most awaited band of the festival: starts the show with “Conspiranoia” from their latest album and continue with the latest release “Salve”.

In the meantime, the mighty Grave Digger is warming up the metalheads with some of their oldies, “Excalibur” “Heavy Metal Breakdown”, just to name a few but also some new ones from their latest album “King Of The Kings”.

Back in the WET stage, change of vibes slightly with death metal from Pestilence; the 36-year-old band opened their performance with “The Secrecies of Horror”, “Twisted Truth'' and finished with “Dehydrated”. Very hard to describe how the mosh pit was, but it was a dusty one for sure.

In the meantime the big stage is preparing a surprise: the guardians of Asgard are coming! A massive horde of vikings and shieldmaidens populate the main stages and welcome a surprise performance from Amon Amarth, which inaugurated the first time of a band playing in between the faster and harder stage on a suspended stage. This surprise gig was actually the announcement of the band's newest album launch “The Great Heathen Army” which happened the very next day.

And it's finally time for Mercyful Fate. The legendary band, who has been the starting point for many other bands in their genre, delivered an astonishing show with King Diamond's brilliant performance and eye-catching costumes. The crowd was singing along to all those legendary tunes, including “The Oath”, “A Dangerous Meeting” and the breathtaking performance of ‘Melissa’, where we saw the mighty Hank Shermann, former guitarist, delivering a petrifying solo.

Whilst Judas Priest is performing on the big stage, Rotting Christ and Belphegor brought hell on earth with their engaging performances back on the Bullhead city.

We finished the night with Gwar and their electric performance in the Louder stage, starting with “Let Us Slay''. With “Sick of you” raincoats are on! In their classic style, Gwar starts by decapitating the US President character, spraying the crowd with fake blood. 

Friday

Day 2 started with an exciting band lead by Fernanda Lira (ex Nervosa), Crypta! The band, which was practically born during the pandemic, delivered an amazing first show at Wacken, with a hint of emotions flowing in the stage too (you see, it was also the first time that the band performed on the Wacken stage). The death metal tunes lit up the Headbanger stage with such a great new and powerful sound and left the crowd wanting for more after the last song, “From The Ashes”. We weren’t expecting anything less from them and fans really recognize the work this band have been delivering during the pandemic with support from all other the world.

Next was Freedom Call, bringing their power metal to the Headbanger stage, with the sun finally out after a rainy morning…The German band, lead by Chris Bay, after 12 albums is now in the process of releasing a new one at the end of August.

But let's see what is happening in the infield.

After their last show at Wacken in 2017, we got to see Lacuna Coil in full-throttle mode, opening their act with “Blood, Tears, Dust”. The Italians recently announced the relaunch of their classic album, "Comalies", as "Comalies XX" an action which, as Cristina Scabbia said, meant a lot to them.

American acts take over the Wastelands with Cattle Decapitation and Blood Incantation. The band from Denver recently released a new album with a powerful bass line, heavy blow riffs and their fresh death sound.

Going back to the Wackinger area. Couldn’t be a better place for Wind Rose who made their Wacken debut, to perform. People sang along to their dwarf metal, “Wintersaga” “Drunken Dwarves” “The Art of War”.

As the evening approached, it was time for the most controversial band of this Wacken edition, Behemoth, to get on stage with their legendary “Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer” and “Wolves of Siberia”, just before playing some of the newest songs off of their recent release “Off to War!” “Ov My Herculean Exile”. Nergal and friends have been non-stop during the Covid period, keepping the fans warm with 2 new albums and livestream shows.

Before the main act, we also managed to watch Tribulation. What is there to say, this band never disappoints; their stage presence, their act is just so different and entertaining.

First time in 23 years for Slipknot to play at Wacken, and a performance we wouldn't miss. The band opened their act with “Disasterpiece”, while “Wait and bleed” “Sulphur”, ”Before I Forget” made the crowd go crazy. In all our years going to Wacken, never have we seen before so many fans go mental for a band, cementing that Slipknot is one of the bands that branded the history of metal and left a mark to everyone. Just before some other big oldies, the band also played the latest release, “The Dying Song”, from the upcoming album. As Corey Taylor explained, this new album is not the end of the band but the beginning of a new chapter.

After Slipknot, everyone rushed back to the wastelands to catch the two German bands, Mantar and Imperium Dekadenz.

Saturday

The final day of this year's festival starts with a bit of rain, in the classic Wacken style, but just before Bleed From Within started the sun sneaked out from the cloud.

A powerful start this morning with a few big acts from the metalcore scene, and we also managed to see Neaera performing on the Faster stage. So far they have been the most engaging metal band of the entire festival, with the singer unable to resist to throw himself into the pit and sing from there for almost the entire show. We had so much fun watching them and I reckon we weren't the only ones. Well done Neaera!

Life of Agony took us back to 1993 with “River Runs Red” and “Bad Seed”. The band from Brooklyn brought their sludge sound to the faster stage in the early hours of the final Wacken afternoon.

Last couple of shots of the crowd before heading to the WET stage to check Attic, who took us back to early heavy metal tunes.

Straight after, Hate brought the darkness of their sonorities to the headbanger stage opening the act with “The Wolf Queen”, and kept playing other big ones like “Sovereign Sanctity” and “Erebos”.

Second time for us to see Audn at Wacken, and every time it was more magical than the previous; the band represents the Icelandic black metal scene and their performance is on point.

Arch Enemy was one of the many headliners for the last day of this edition. The band has a new coming up, but Alissa and Co. give us a sneak peak of the latest single “In The Eye Of The Storm”.

In the Headbanger stage, we were able to catch the energized performance of Infected Rain, who brought their strong presence on stage and their electric tunes.

Just before our last act for this edition, the stage is getting ready for the Organization announcement: the doors of hell open and a demoniacal figure releases a horde of zombies that takes over the main stages and brings the terrors above all. But no fear! The Vikings are here! In no time all the zombies get killed by shield maiden and Viking warriors, who announce the next year theme: Vikings.

Call the fire brigade! Powerwolf is on stage! Strong opening as usual for the German band with “Faster Than the Flame” and the stage was meticulously curated in all details in classic Powerwolf style. The band performed most of their new singles and the latest release, “Call Of The Wild'', to then continue with some of the old tunes that made them such a remarkable band.

And that's a wrap, Unraveled gang! We made it to another great year of this festival edition with the hope there will be no more delays.

Stay metal! See you at Wacken 2023, rain or shine!

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