Bang Your Head!!! 2017 (Day Two) – or How Vince Neil Took the Festival Organizers for a Ride!

Arhiv Arhiv Last updated 11 June 2026

Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik

Location: Balingen / Messegelände / Germany
Concert date: 14.07.2017
Attendance: 11000
Ticket price: 109,00€

Day two of the Bang Your Head!!! festival. The clock struck half past eleven, and Balingen started to crackle with old-school Thin Lizzy notes, courtesy of Swedish hard rock revivalists Dead Lord. These guys, by the way, have been kicking around in this four-piece format since 2012. They also played this year’s Winterdays of Metal festival in Slovenia at the end of March. The band, driven by vocalist and guitarist Hakim Krim and drummer Adam Lindmark, with guitarist Olle Hedenström and Enforcer bassist Tobias Lindkvist rounding out the crew, had already played BYH!!! once before, back when they only had their debut studio album out. This time they came back with the follow-up »Heads Held High« in their pocket, and the set featured, among others, Deuce, Hammer To The Heart, Onkalo, Reruns and I’m Rocker. The quartet came across as a seriously tight and confident unit, well-oiled and utterly convincing in delivery. Damn, what power, what stage dynamics, what perfectly tuned kinetics. The morning hours were accompanied by rain, so Dead Lord sadly didn’t get the massive turnout they deserved, but the bunch of people in ponchos definitely did more than just enjoy their set.

The revivalism and Sweden thing carried on when Bullet took the stage. They’re another young band that plays a hell of a lot and records plenty too. Their style leans heavily on AC/DC, and they often sound like them precisely because of the extremely loud screeching of their hell-raising vocalist Dag »Hell« Hofer. Bullet are no longer total strangers to BYH!!! either, having already played it both in the hall and on the main stage. The band was presenting their still-current »Storm of Blades«, which they also brought to one of the editions of the Rock Batuje festival in Slovenia. The quintet keeps delivering what we’ve gotten from them at our previous live encounters. A high level of untamed wildness and adrenaline-fueled speed, still powered by the excellent Klang/Lyrbo guitar tandem, while Hofer, on top of his usual theatrics, treated himself to sharpening blades on stage, with a proper grinder that sent sparks flying. Bullet also showed up with one more cosmetic tweak. Bassist Adam Hector has been replaced in the lineup by his cousin, the curly-haired Gustav, who confidently swung around a white Rickenbacker bass.

The next set went down as one of the most sentimental, if not downright moving. The stage was taken by Grim Reaper, or more correctly in the new era Steve Grimmett’s Grim Reaper, legendary representatives of the NWOBHM days. As is well known, the band’s leader and one of the finest heavy metal singers of the eighties, Steve Grimmett, had part of his leg amputated above the knee early this year because of health problems. It was a matter of life and death. The man pulled through and stood his ground. And as he had officially announced beforehand, his promise to play live was not broken. Grimmett performed just as he said he would. Either with a prosthesis or in a wheelchair. In the end it was a combination of both. He rolled up to the microphone in the wheelchair and got through the show partly standing, partly sitting. He instantly won everyone over with his trademark, striking voice, which once again showed a fascination with the character and work of Ronnie James Dio, even though his health condition, or rather the handicap of adjusting his body posture, didn’t allow his vocal power to develop optimally. Still, Steve nailed all the highs and lows with flying colors. Alongside the current studio album »Walking in the Shadows«, the band of course filled the set with material from the infamous »Rock You To Hell«, from which Grim Reaper played four songs, namely the title track, plus Lust For Freedom, Rock Me Till I Die and Night of the Vampyre. Steve kept thanking the crowd from the bottom of his heart, the weather had already cleared up completely during his set, and strong heat took over the grounds. A special moment came when Steve announced a song by his great role model Ronnie James Dio, Don’t Talk To Strangers, which he delivered with remarkable vocal sophistication and feeling. Hats off to the legend and the crew. For stubbornness, faith and defiance. That’s the most, and the best, a musician can give their audience, along with creative honesty. When you remember that farce with Volbeat at Metaldays the year before last, you just write off an act like that when you compare it to the lion heart of Steve Grimmett. There, the »wannabe pint-sized Elvis« Poulsen »coughed a little« into the mic and the band immediately canceled the show. Here, the man is missing a leg, yet he doesn’t give up and doesn’t give in. Steve Grimmett and his crew rounded out the set with two older songs, namely the title tracks of »See You In Hell« (which closed the show) and »Fear No Evil«. Unforgettable.

After Steve Grimmett and Grim Reaper, the festival kept the interesting stuff coming. Lee Aaron definitely brought one more especially attractive moment to the festival. Surely one of the surprises of this year’s BYH. The Canadian singer is 55 now and is again performing more often on European stages. Last year she self-released a new studio album, »Fire And Gasoline«, with which she returned to her rocker roots. Lee Aaron, whose real name is Karen Lynn Greening, maintains high vitality and stage liveliness. The bouncy singer delivered a great surplus of positive vibes and energy, and with her temperament and charm proved she’s still dressed to kill for the stage. Vocally too! The listeners were of course waiting for the more prominent rock-flavored moments of her career, meaning the eighties material. And they didn’t have to wait long, since Lee opened the show with Hot To Be Rocked from her third album »Call of the Wild«, followed by Hold On from »Bodyrock«. Then she gave some attention to the new album’s tracks, and the rest was dedicated to the legendary days, with Powerline, Watcha Do To My Body, Diamond Baby, Barely Holdin’ On, and the closing and all along quietly anticipated Metal Queen from her second (and self-titled) studio album.

An excellent set from Riot V followed. They are essentially the legendary New York metallers Riot in their new era, without the late Mark Reale in the lineup. Riot V played Bang Your Head two years ago, when the new studio album »Unleash the Fire« was brand new. Two years on, the band is carrying on in an unchanged lineup of Don Van Stavern on bass, Mike Flyntz on guitar, Frank Gilchriest on drums, Todd Michael Hall on vocals and the young and promising Nick Lee on guitar. There was nothing to fault in Riot V’s set. Pulled off? Superbly. From the sheer tightness to the use of stage space. There was no shortage of precision in the hair-splittingly polished solos, with the seasoned Flyntz naturally taking the initiative. Special mention goes to the top-notch Todd Michael Hall, who actually delivered an absolute vocal gem. The band kicked off with Rock Hard Live Free from the current studio album, then quickly switched over to the cult album »Thundersteel«, when Flyntz and Lee dug in with their guitars on Fight of the Warrior. The first great surprise came with the choice of the third song. Don’t Hold Back from the album »Fire Down Under«, which the band hadn’t played since 1981. After it Riot V cemented their stage invincibility even further as they cut loose with the »folk-hit« Johnny’s Back, which most of the crowd joined in singing, followed by Road Racin’, the only track from the album »Narita«, then the fantastic and unforgettable Bloodstreets (album »Thundersteel«), the new Take Me Back and a big finale, opened by the long-awaited Swords And Tequila (album »Fire Down Under«), escalated by the »Rock City« classic Warrior and closed by a ferocious onslaught, namely the title track of »Thundersteel«. A Riot V show is a must for every insatiable fan of old-school heavy metal. The band is phenomenal on stage. That’s why it felt like the show was over in the blink of an eye, which in this case is simply a fact. Shame. Riot V need to be seen at a show with the full running time, meaning a show that lasts a little under two hours. Let’s hope the right opportunity comes up for that soon.

Magnum are big veterans of rock’n’roll. The Brits remain indestructible and keep putting out new studio albums regularly even in their golden years. The current »Sacred Blood »Divine« Lies« came out last February, and the band is already announcing its successor for this year. Well, to be honest, not much more could be expected from the set. Even though the band skillfully masked a not exactly stellar day-of performance feel by integrating cult classics from the album »On A Storytellers Night« (the title track, All Englands Eyes, Les Morts Dansant, How Far Jerusalem), you simply couldn’t shake the feeling that Magnum were radiating fatigue and wear. That was especially true of singer Bob Catley, who has been noticeably fading vocally for the past few years and has long since lacked the desired vocal power and range. Even though the band refreshed its lineup this very year with new keyboardist Rick Benton, who replaced the retired Mark Stanway, and drummer Lee Morris, who replaced longtime Magnum member Harry James (James quit because he’s too busy, and things are going really well for him again with his Thunder), you just couldn’t shake the feeling that the band hadn’t caught the right form on the day. Catley seemed tired, and the band as a whole like it wanted to bring its set to an end as soon as possible in a routine fashion. Maybe the slot in the middle of the day took its toll. The heat and the mugginess took their toll. The band did pleasantly surprise at the start by bringing back into the setlist, after a long time, Soldier of the Line from the record »Chase the Dragon« (1981), followed by two songs from the current album »Sacred Blood »Divine« Lies« (the title track and then the less interesting piece, the newly released single Crazy Old Mothers), then a bunch of tracks from the cult »On A Story Tellers Night«, cut in the middle by the newer Unwritten Sacrifice (album »Escape From A Shadow Garden«), and the band closed the set with Vigilante (album »Vigilante«).

Even before the legendary Swiss hard rockers Krokus, at exactly six in the afternoon, the thunder started rumbling in the hall, where Almanac kicked off their set, a new band led, after his departure from the legendary Hamburg power metallers Rage, by Belarusian multi-instrumentalist, composer and guitar virtuoso Victor Smolski. A hint. The very same Almanac played Ljubljana this February in front of barely a dozen people (maybe 20, and no more, probably fewer). In the hall, though, Almanac got much more substantial support from the crowd, with at least 600 to 700 people. The band works like a mini operetta-style metal orchestra. And so is the album »Tsar«. Smolski uses three lead vocalists. One female (Joanette Marchewka) and two male (David Readman of Pink Cream 69, Andy B. Franck of Brainstorm). A power metal odyssey, heavily laden with arrangements inspired by operatic and orchestral elements. And Victor? Victor remains Victor. An outstanding guitar master and acrobat. His soloing and playing remain guitar poetry and a unique masterpiece of command over the six-string bible, or theory.

Still, I turned most of my attention to Krokus, who have long since been no strangers to the Bang Your Head festival. The legendary Swiss hard rock outfit performs with no fewer than three guitarists: Mark Kohler, Fernando Von Arb and returnee Mandy Meyer (Unisonic, ex-Asia, ex-Gotthard). The band, active since 1975, no less, is rounded out by the unique and trademark vocalist Marc Storace, founding member, former drummer and today’s bassist Chris Von Rohr, and the only slightly younger member, drummer Flavio Mezzodi. This year the band released a covers album, »Big Rocks«, so Krokus played a few covers this time. They play regularly across Switzerland, and then more in the remote corners of Germany. Fortunately, though, Krokus didn’t overdo it with »Big Rocks«. They fired off American Woman (The Guess Who) at the start, closed with the »Dylanesque« Mighty Queen, Rockin In A Free World (Neil Young) snuck into the middle of the set, and after that there was enough »stealing« of minutes. The band filled the set with the demanded eighties classics that have sold over 14 million studio albums around the world to this day. So we got Heatstrokes, Fire, Bedside Radio (all from the album »Heavy Metal Rendez Vous«), then Headhunter and Screaming in the Night (album »Headhunter«). The show was opened by Long Stick Goes Boom from »One Vice At Time«, during which they allowed themselves the opening verse of the Who classic Pinball Wizard. Krokus didn’t skip the albums »Hardware« (Easy Rocker) and »Heart Attack« (Rock ‘N’ Roll Tonight) either. Of the post-millennium output, only Hellraiser (from the album of the same name) made the set, otherwise it was nothing but eighties classic after classic, and in a word: phenomenal. The band is incredibly experienced and routine. Storace remains an outstanding commander, and on top of everything a very funny and theatrical little guy. The guitars sang, sang and sweetly moaned. Krokus remain incredibly agile and convincing even after all these years of defiance, which are more than enviable. Okay, Storace no longer has that range, but he’s cheeky, roguish and sharpened up on stage like a potent little scorpion. A great set, then, from legends of European hard rock.

Just as Krokus were wrapping up their set, German heavy metallers Paragon climbed onto the stage in the hall. This is a cult German band from Hamburg that has been active for over two decades and a half. Last year Paragon released their eleventh studio album overall, »Hell Over Hell«, and in the available running time they presented, besides the new album, a really nicely balanced setlist of older material. The lineup features guitarists Jan Bertram (today the only member of the original lineup) and Martin Christian, singer Andreas Babuschkin and bassist Jan Bünning, while Soren Teckenburg wields the drumsticks, the man with the shortest tenure in Paragon. So we got Abducted, Palace of Sin, Armies of the Tyrant, Law of the Blade, Across the Wastelands, Rising Forces, Hypnotized, Hell Beyond Hell, Impaler, Hellgore Play in Thunderstorm. We had to cut short this extremely mature and tight set, because everything on the main stage was already ready for the exclusive appearance of the Australian rock’n’roll veterans Rose Tattoo.

They hadn’t been in Europe for nine years. After all that drought, they finally came back to Europe, and right here at Bang Your Head, with one and only European show in 2017. Exclusive. Ladies and gentlemen, the Australian rock’n’roll troublemakers Rose Tattoo, active since 1976. The devil only knows why they always stayed in the shadow of their big brothers AC/DC, but this is a band that definitely deserved a big breakthrough, which sadly never came. After it looked like it was all over, since, with the exception of the flinty, roaring, pint-sized Gary »Angry« Anderson, the main musical protagonists in the band had passed away, news of a reunion and reactivation of the band trickled in last year. A new live document followed, and more. An announcement of a new studio album. So it was no surprise that most of the festival was eagerly waiting for Rose Tattoo on stage at eight in the evening. They certainly didn’t disappoint. The setlist was made up mostly of moments from the first three albums, with an emphasis on the debut »Rose Tattoo« (1977) and the third, »Scarred For Life« (1982). Interestingly, material from the album »Southern Stars« (1984) was left out. In the lineup, lead guitar duties went to the seasoned Dai Prichard, who has played in the band since 2007, and his slide coaxed out some truly sweet-sounding moaning from the guitar as he artfully roamed up and down the fretboard, adding that recognizable protective sheen to the band’s sound. The other three building blocks of the crew joined Angry only this year, namely bassist Mark Evans, drummer John Watson and guitarist Bob Spencer. Angry still wins you over with his famous voice and sheer stage presence. Maybe the band could have been tuned louder. That’s the only remark. The sound, that is. Otherwise, one after another: Out of this Place, Assault & Battery, Tramp, Who’s Got the Cash, Juice on the Loose, Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaw, The Butcher and Fast Eddy, One of the Boys, Bad Boy for Love, Rock ‘n’ Roll is King, Branded, Scarred for Life, We Can’t Be Beaten, Black Eyed Bruiser (album »Blood Brothers«, 2007) and the closing Nice Boy. Rose Tattoo are riding again, then.

Rose Tattoo were just finishing when the excellent Spanish thrash metal revivalists Angelus Apatrida stepped onto the hall stage; they also played Ljubljana’s Orto bar last December in the company of Vector. At this show in Balingen too, the quartet of Guillermo Izquierdo (vocals, guitar), David G. Alvarez (guitar), Jose Izquierdo (bass) and Victor Valera (drums) presented their fifth and latest studio album, »Hidden Evolution« (2015), without overlooking the older era of their career. So, among others, we got Immortal, Violent Dawn, Vomitive, Of Men and Tyrants, End Man, Give’Em War, Serpents On Parade and You Are Next. Angelus Apatrida are an excellent band. Incredibly wound up and razor sharp, and really it’s all Guillermo doing the job on his own. He’s an excellent soloist and an incredibly penetrating, charismatic vocalist. The curly-haired vocalist and guitarist can at times bring his vocal tone remarkably close to the legendary Dave Mustaine, even though he mostly sings in his own voice and style. Of all the performers, they were probably outdone in on-stage kinetics across the entire festival only by the Belgian »maniacs« Evil Invaders the next day, but otherwise Angelus Apatrida are a band that is outrageously aggressive and doesn’t skimp on energy and heavy artillery, firing from every position at their audience. Merciless. Tightness, exceptional power, incredible penetration and a convincing delivery that doesn’t let the listener breathe for even a moment. We sadly had to cut this outstanding performance short because the big stage was getting ready for the headlining set of former Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil and his backing band.

So the main event of the festival’s second day was the headlining set by Vince Neil and his backing band. Just before the start you could spot Jeff Bland, guitarist of Slaughter, adjusting the sound on stage. In the style of a head stage manager and sound tech. What does that mean? »Blando«, Dana Strum and Zoltan Chaney are in fact Slaughter, and they had already played the day before as Slaughter, and a day later they played again, this time as Vince Neil’s backing band. Well, »Blando« and Strum have been forming the core of Neil’s backing crew for a while now, so that wasn’t even a surprise. The show wasn’t even an hour long. Including the encore, Vince Neil blasted through ten songs, and in the middle of the set he disappeared backstage, with Jeff Blando taking over as lead singer and boring the crowd for fifteen minutes with hackneyed run-throughs of covers of prominent moments from the rock era: Whole Lotta Love, Heaven And Hell and Stairway To Heaven (only Smoke On The Water was missing). So. It’s known that Neil is a theatrical character. There’s no doubt about that. He was in Motley Crue, and not just anyone can say that. He’s charismatic, he’s a seasoned performer and he knows how to create theater. But this time his »boyish punk rock« vocals just couldn’t satisfy everyone who had rushed to the front to enjoy Motley Crue standards. Vince and the crew played: Dr. Feelgood, Piece of Your Action, Looks That Kill, Home Sweet Home, Shout At The Devil, Kickstart My Heart, Girls, Girls, Girls, Wild Side and, in the encore, Live Wire. No matter that Chaney, Strum and »Blando« were seriously straining and squeezing out their maximum, it was all too little. Plain and simple. The show should have lasted at least an hour and a half. That’s why this set brought bitter disappointment not only for the festival’s second day, but for the entire festival. Regarding this debacle, the official organizer also issued an official apology and explanation in the days after the festival, saying it was a misunderstanding between the band’s management and the organizer. The devil knows. Nobody deserves a swindle like that, least of all the reputation and stature of a festival of Bang Your Head’s caliber. So it was no surprise to hear the demanding German crowd say after the show that Vince Neil needn’t bother coming back to Balingen. The German music community is critical, and that criticism is definitely authoritative. And why so? Because he can. Simply, Vince Neil can afford it. Not everyone was in Mötley Crüe. A show you forget in a heartbeat. Vince Nil.

Well, since I personally have never been a particular fan of Motley Crue or Vince Neil either, I didn’t have high expectations for the show, so what happened wasn’t much of a surprise to me. Luckily, as soon as Neil left the stage for the first time and the backing crew condemned the Balingen audience to listening to covers, I ducked into the hall for the show by the great Angelus Apatrida, whom I listened to with great pleasure until the end of their set.

The grand finale of day two was handled by Entombed A.D. , Entombed until 2014 and Entombed A.D. since, which means there are now two Entombed lineups on the scene. Entombed A.D. are the faction fronted by the charismatic and always entertaining Lars Göran Petrov, who lent his voice to most of the band’s Entombed studio albums. Under this name, Entombed A.D. have strung together two new studio albums over the last three years, from which we heard three songs, namely Midas In Reverse, Dead Down (both from the album »Dead Down«) and Second To None (album »Back to the Front«, 2014), but most of the setlist consisted of tracks Petrov sang under the Entombed name. That means fans of this cult death ‘n’ roll band definitely got their money’s worth. Not just because of the repertoire, but also because of how they reinterpreted it. The band confirmed what we enjoyed last year here at home too, when they played Slovenia twice (most recently in November 2016 together with Voivod). Toward the end Petrov faded a bit, as the stage lights were visibly wearing him down, but he defied them like a lion right to the end of the set. The band strung together the following Entombed classics: Stranger Aeons, Eyemaster, Living Dead, Out of Hand, Chaos Breed, Revel in Flesh, Wolverine Blues and Left Hand Path. Confident and convincing. The crowd hungry for »extremes« was delighted. With Entombed A.D.’s set, the second day of the festival was finally reborn into the new one, the third and last day of this year’s Bang Your Head festival.