Acts: Blind Guardian, Kissin’ Dynamite, Gamma Ray, H.E.A.T, Dynazty, Axxis
Date: Friday, December 13, 2024
Venue: Schwabenhalle, Augsburg, Germany
Kai Hansen trying to breathe new life into Gamma Ray? Where better to catch that than in Augsburg, Bavaria, where the elder statesmen of European power metal were keeping company with Blind Guardian and the other acts mentioned above. Why not?
After 500 km on the road (I’d set off from Vienna, where a work Christmas dinner had wound up in the early hours at a metal bar with the apt name Battle Axe), I joined the black-clad crowd streaming into the Schwabenhalle on the edge of town. Entry was swift and smooth, true to Germany’s well-known organizational precision. From the cloakroom you walk into a metal canteen (where I later ate what was probably the worst sausage of my life — All beware the currywurst!!!) and then down a corridor into the hall. The band merch was pretty uninspiring, so I — in my first-ever stint as an official photographer — nervously made my way down to the front of the stage to get ready.
Axxis
Axxis are heading off into retirement, doing the festival circuit as special guests and billing the whole thing as a farewell tour. Of the original lineup, only vocalist Bernhard Weiß and keyboardist Harry Oellers remain. Back in the day I listened to the first two albums quite a bit, but I soon grew tired of Bernhard’s nasal vocal delivery. There were quite a few Axxis faithful in the hall, and the band earned a loud reception with a fairly energetic set. Two tracks apiece from the first two albums and from the latest, Coming Home (Rockline review), plus one more thrown in as an encore. Played tight — Living in the World landed particularly well, its chorus “Living in the world of shame and glory, Living in the world of shame and lies” painting a pretty accurate picture of today’s world.
You can find the setlist here.
Dynazty
These pretty boys, fronted by powerhouse vocalist Nils Molin (also of Amaranthe), overnight transformed from modern-day sleaze glamsters (the first three albums) into über-bombastic symphonic power metallers, and with a string of quality records have fought their way into the second tier of power metal bands. Three of the eight songs played were from the upcoming album Game of Faces, due out on Valentine’s Day next year. A super-energetic set full of stage antics and (too?) polished vocal harmonies that left nobody cold. The last three songs were definitely the highlight of the show. That said, this is yet another band whose music leans heavily on keyboards but has no keyboardist in the lineup — or on stage. Sadly it seemed like the guys had quite a bit more running off the disc than just the missing keys.
You can find the setlist here.
H.E.A.T
Then another set of Swedish pretty boys took the stage, with returning vocalist Kenny Leckremo back at the mic. The band’s music barely qualifies as metal, but live they make up for it with extreme energy and completely over-the-top vocal theatrics. Kenny was throwing himself all over the stage as if trying to make everyone forget about Erik Groenwall, with whom he has already swapped positions twice. In the photo gallery you can also check out his stage outfit, which was a genuine throwback to the ’80s. Worth mentioning that an ill Dave was replaced by one of the Dynazty guitarists, and it barely showed. An excellent show, packed with melodic power-pop tunes.
You can find the setlist here.
Gamma Ray
The band most of the Slovenian HM fans at the show — and there were quite a few of us in Augsburg — had come to see. Kai Hansen, following his return to his home band Helloween, has been trying to breathe life back into Gamma Ray with a run of live dates in 2024. The setlist looked promising and I could hardly wait to see the band in action after many, many long years. The last album, Empire of the Undead, came out in 2014, and the band’s last live shows were in 2019. So how did it go? To my dismay, the goddamn sound engineer needed 7 songs to sort out the vocal balance between Kai and the replacement/auxiliary/lead vocalist Frank Beck. Both were straining so hard their neck veins were popping, but out of the speakers came an indistinct, unbalanced mumble. The biggest casualties were the classic One With the World from the second album Sigh No More and the power metal masterpiece Dethrone Tyranny from New World Order. And the guys seemed somehow tired to me — though I was probably still riding the high of the Swedish youngsters’ stage madness from earlier. Standing in for the injured Henjo Richter — hurt in a traffic accident — was Kasperi Heikkinen from the Eurovision metallers Beast in Black. The stars finally aligned somewhere between Somewhere Out in Space from the album of the same name and the unforgettable pop-power-metal treat Heaven Can Wait from the debut. The vocals cut through the mix with devastating force, and I can only mourn the missed opportunity for the whole set to have sounded like that. Personally I came away slightly unsatisfied, and I missed the sense of real unity and cohesion the band once had — with only Kai and the indispensable Dirk Schlaechter on bass remaining from the original crew.
You can find the setlist here.
Kissin’ Dynamite
I wasn’t the only one puzzled that German Kissin’ Dynamite were slotted after the legendary Gamma Ray, and a few days before the festival the official page actually announced they had co-headliner status. Come again? The fact is the guys are massive in Germany — with their latest album Back With a Bang! they shot all the way to number one on the German album charts. After their set, a sizeable chunk of the audience — mostly female — called it a night and headed home.
I have to admit I didn’t know their music going in. They opened with the title track Back With a Bang!, followed it up with the supremely catchy DNA, then came an ultra-melodic affair with the suggestive but perhaps misguided title No One Dies a Virgin. A truly bombastic, high-octane entrance! Now it was easier to understand where the band’s popularity comes from — these are meticulously crafted, sweetly melodic compositions packed with gang backing vocals, instantly memorable choruses, and straightforward rhythms. Double bass drums are naturally part of the package — after all, this is a German band! A kind of pop glam rock version of Sabaton, then. Vocalist Hannes Braun commanded the crowd with confidence, and his old-school hairdo did its part to widen the ozone hole. Definitely not a band you’d put on regularly if you’re any kind of metalhead, but the songs simply refuse to leave your head. You’re Not Aloooooooooooooone… Damn!
You can find the setlist here.
Blind Guardian
Aaaaahhhh, the power metal elite — Hansi and crew. Plus a bassist. Plus a keyboardist. No backing tracks. Or so it seemed. André’s flub in Majesty proves it. Hopefully.
Elite vocals. Elite guitar duo. Elite drummer (once upon a time). Elite albums (ditto). Elite setlist. Yep. Elite setlist. Sure, with a shortened festival set you always miss about 15 classics, but what are you gonna do. Sound massive. Hansi’s screams laser-precise. André’s lead melodies masterful (Majesty aside). A barrage of percussion and double bass drums. Inaudible bass. Motionless keyboardist. Ecstatic crowd. That’s how you do a festival headline slot!
Any gripes? Maybe the Bard’s Song was sung a little quieter than usual. And maybe the chant of “Valhalla, deliverance, why’ve you ever forgotten me?” didn’t last quite as long… Minor things.
You can find the setlist here.
Eight hours of metal will wear you out. But the organizers did justice to Germany’s reputation for precision and efficiency. Between bands there was plenty of time for a (godawfully watery) beer and a chat with acquaintances and friends, and there were enough seats in the stands to rest your legs. What’s sad and worrying is that a festival like this, with a lineup like this, in the heartland of Teutonic heavy metal, drew only somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000 people. The hall was completely empty on both sides, which at least made getting to the bar and the toilets easy and fast. But where is the metal scene heading these days? Toward stadium spectacles where Metallica, AC-DC, Gn’R and the like feebly entertain with 35-year-old hits?
Personally I genuinely enjoyed the performances; the only thing that got on my nerves was the sound problems during Gamma Ray. I’d hoped Hansi would join Kai during the opening Land of the Free and Kai would return the favor during Valhalla (which did happen the following day at a similar festival), but I wasn’t that lucky. The lineup was stylistically varied enough that boredom never set in — well, except for one person who had to listen to thrash the whole way home to get the power metal yodeling out of their head. Noch ein Bier, Bitte!
Event rating: 8/10
Text and photos: Igorac
