Bang Your Head!!!

Horst Franz (Horst Odermatt), the organizer of the legendary Bang Your Head!!! festival, which took place every year in the German town of Balingen, has died at the age of 60. For many years (since 2006, to be exact), Horst also organized…

"Two soggy thirds of Bang Your Head 2019 are in the books, and now comes the last one. Day three! And this one was finally dry. The program that day was carved out mostly in the old-school metal mold, with a few welcome detours courtesy of…

"If you're a true fan of 80s glam metal, the kind that grew up around the Sunset Strip, then you know nothing but pure bliss at a Steel Panther show"

"Day one's headliner at Bang Your Head, Michael Schenker, and his musical rondo that took us from the very beginning right through to the end of his career. Hands down the highlight of the day!"

location: Balingen / Messegelände / Germany date: 14.07.2018 Last day! Two bands fewer on the bill than the day before. Kickoff at half past eleven. Yep. The lineup keeps shrinking. Year after year. More and more, and the organizer isn't…

location: Balingen / Messegelände / Germany date: 13.07.2018 Day two of the big Bang Your Head!!! festival had arrived. This time the headliner role went to the legendary Accept, who had cooked up something exclusive for the festival's…

location: Balingen /Messegelände / Germany date: 12.07.2018 It was day one of the new Bang Your Head!!! festival. The jubilee edition, the twentieth in a row. Old friends in the old spot. Everything pretty much the same. Everything stays…

location: Balingen / Volksbankmesse / Germany date: 07/11/2018 Another Bang Your Head!!! festival in Balingen, Germany! A temptation you just can't resist, because it's practically impossible. Once you get down there, you're an energy…

With the Pretty Maids and Hexx sets, the most interesting part of the festival's third-day program was effectively over. For plenty of people, Pretty Maids played the headliner role, and that was before Powerwolf even showed up.

The headliner role on this day went to the legendary Accept, who cooked up something exclusive for the festival's 20th anniversary and promised a spectacular show. A bunch of other seriously tasty treats made the bill too, including…

Day one of the jubilee twentieth Bang Your Head!!! festival mostly rang out in hard rock tones. The high point came courtesy of the day's headliners, Sweden's Europe, but before them Black Diamonds, Burning Witches, Reckless Love, Eclipse,…

This year's edition of Bang Your Head!!! was, lineup-wise, a bit on the thrifty side. You could feel it on the warm-up day too, which served up acts with a permanent festival home in Balingen, and the evening was even closed out by a…

Location: Balingen / Messegelände / GermanyDate: Saturday, July 15, 2017 The third day also brought a heap of metal subgenre deviations to Balingen, though the emphasis was clearly on traditional old-school craft and power metal, which…

Lineup: Almanac, Angelus Apatrida, Bullet, Entombed A.D., Krokus, Lee Aaron, Magnum, Riot V, Rose Tattoo, Steve Grimmett`s Grim Reaper, Vince Neil, Paragon, Dead LordLocation: Balingen / Messegelände / Germany Date: July 14, 2017 …

Location: Balingen / Messegelände / GermanyDate: Thursday, 13.07.2017 The nineteenth Bang Your Head festival is here, and with it a new RockLine expedition to Balingen, Germany. One of Europe's most important summer festivals, known…

Day three brought a heap of metal subgenre deviations to Balingen too, though the emphasis was clearly on old-school traditional craft and power metal, which the closing stretch of the program confirmed with a set from Sweden's HammerFall

Day two brought excellent sets from the bands, with the bigger letdown being the meeting with former Motley Crue singer Vince Neil and his backing band. The highlights of the day have to be Riot V, Steve Grimmett's Grim Reaper, Angelus…

The nineteenth Bang Your Head festival has arrived, and with it a new RockLine expedition to Balingen, Germany. It's one of Europe's most important summer festivals. It prides itself on an always colorful mixed bag of mostly classic heavy…

"Day three of the legendary Bang Your Head festival 2016, closed out by Iced Earth!"

Location: Balingen / Messegelände / Germany Date: 15.07.2016 And so the second day of the 21st edition of the legendary Bang Your Head!! festival in Balingen, Germany, rolled around. The night was fresh and the morning properly cold,…

Performing: Stallion, Babylon A.D., Candlemass, Carcass, Dare, The Dead Daisies, Dragonforce, Equilibrium, Ektomorf, Slayer, Leartherwolf, Battle Beast, Debauchery vs. Blood God, Voodoo XLocation: Balingen / Messegelände / Germany Date:…

Performing: Death Angel, Angel Dust, Stormwarrior, Sanctuary, BloodboundDate: Wednesday, 12.07.2017Location: Balingen, Volksbankmesse (Messegelände), Germany As it does every year, this year's Bang Your Head!!! 2017 got its warm-up…

The third and final day of the 21st Bang Your Head!!! festival in the German town of Balingen finally brought a completely dry, sunny day. Iced Earth headlined, followed by Dirkschneider, Uriah Heep, Grave Digger, Great White, Tankard,…

Another outstanding lineup of top-tier bands, each with a unique artistic character, all belonging to the realms of metal and hard rock, with day two's program happily centered on thrash metal.

With their butchery mission, Carcass gave Slayer a proper warm-up, so the day-one headliner had no trouble burning the venue to the ground. Standout sets from Leatherwolf, Babylon A.D., Dare, Voodoo X

Performers: Anthrax, Ektomorf, Europe, Hirax, Mad Max, More, Obituary, Rob Rock, Stryper, Twisted Sister, UnisonicLocation: Balingen / Messegelände / Germany Date: 12.07.2014 Day two of Bang Your Head!!! 2014 got off to a slightly…

Lineup: Axel Rudi Pell, Accuser, Traitor, Sebastian Bach, Exodus, Kissin' Dynamite, Michael Schenker's Sonic Temple, Vain, Warlord, Riot V Location: Balingen / Messegelände / Germany Date: Friday, July 11, 2014 This year's Bang…

Performing: Grave Digger, Victory, Stormwarrior, Bullet, DynamiteLocation: Balingen / Messegelände / Germany Date: Thursday, 10.07.2014 Another year has rolled around and a new edition of the Bang Your Head!!! festival is right on…

The second day of Bang Your Head!!! 2014, closed out by the indestructible kings of glam metal Twisted Sister.

The first day of the 19th Bang Your Head!!! festival was all about celebrating the first 25 years of music-making by famous German guitar hero Axel Rudi Pell, who often gets tagged as the German Blackmore.

Another year has flown by, and a new edition of Bang Your Head!!! is right around the corner. It's the nineteenth one already. As tradition demands, no festival year can kick off without a warm-up day, held the day before the official…

"By now night had fallen over the grounds, and Accept used the backdrop to serve up their iron-clad repertoire, which of course included Fast as a Shark, Metal Heart and Balls to the Wall. Experiencing the Accept march in front of a…

Performing: Saxon, Lordi, Pretty Maids, Stratovarius, Masterplan, Entombed, Lake of Tears, H.E.A.T., Die Apokalyptischen Reiter (hall), Onslaught (hall), Artillery, Dream Evil, Fleshcrawl (hall), Exumed (hall), Crazy Lixx, Wanted Inc.…

"Still, we can safely say that the handful of Slovenes who caught Vicious Rumors at Balingen with Tilen Hudrap in the lineup witnessed a whole new baptism by fire for Slovenian heavy metal"

Accept, the unbreakable standard-bearers of the most traditional heavy metal heritage, delivered the grand finale of the seventeenth Bang Your Head.

In the spot Saxon found themselves in that night - a band with tremendous mileage, experience and a battle-tested game plan that lets them hold their own on any stage in the world - victory was there for the taking.

This year's warm-up show was called »Milestones Of Rock 'N' Roll History«. It served up five bands from different eras in the evolution of rock, or more precisely, metal.

Location: Messegelände / Balingen / GermanyDate: Friday, 15.07.2011 And so day two of BYH!!! 2011 rolled around. Let me just hint that we were freezing in our tents at night, with the temperature hitting a measly 6° C…

Lineup: Accept, Crimson Glory, Cripper, Crystal Viper, Death Angel, Human Zoo, Overkill, Quiet Riot, Stormwarrior, Portrait, Asphyx, Amorphis, Legion Of The DamnedLocation: Messegelände / Balingen / Germany Date: Friday, July 14, 2011 …

Performing: Axel Rudi Pell, Brainstorm, Eternal Reign, Kissin' DynamiteLocation: Balingen, Messegelände, GermanyDate: Thursday, 13.07.2011 The year flew by, and the traditional German Bang Your Head!!! festival is back on our…

Author: Urban BoltaPhotos: Aleš Podbrežnik Location: Messegelande / Balingen / GermanyConcert date: 15.07.2011Attendance: 14Ticket price: 80€ (two-day ticket) And so the second day of BYH!!! 2011 rolled around. Let me just hint that…

Author: Urban BoltaPhotos: Aleš Podbrežnik Location: Messegelande / Balingen / GermanyConcert date: 14.07.2011Attendance: 14000Ticket price: €80 (two-day ticket) Bang Your Head is one of Germany's biggest traditional festivals. This…

Author: Aleš PodbrežnikPhotos: Aleš Podbrežnik Venue: Messehalle / Balingen / GermanyConcert date: July 13, 2011Attendance: 2000Ticket price: €25.00 The year has flown by, and the traditional German Bang Your Head!!! festival is upon us…

Location: Balingen / Messegelände / GermanyDate: Thursday, July 15, 2010Performers: 10:00 - 10:40 THE NEW BLACK 10:50 — 11:30 ENFORCER11:40 — 12:30 GRAND MAGUS 12:40 — 13:30 FORBIDDEN 13:40 — 14:30 SABATON 14:40 — 15:30 LOUDNESS 15:45 —…

Author: Urban BoltaPhotos: Aleš Podbrežnik Location: Messegaelande / Balingen / GermanyConcert date: July 16, 2010Attendance: 14Ticket price: €85.00 Day two of Bang Your Head!!! 2010 greeted us thoroughly soaked! The moment we'd wheezed…

Author: Urban BoltaPhotos: Aleš Podbrežnik Location: Messegelande / Balingen / GermanyConcert date: 15.07.2010Attendance: 14000Ticket price: 85€ (two-day ticket) The wild warm-up night with Saxon, Demon and Blitzkrieg is behind us, a real…

Author: Aleš PodbrežnikPhotos: Aleš Podbrežnik Location: Volksbank Messehalle / Balingen / GermanyConcert date: July 15, 2010Attendance: 2Ticket price: €25.00 (presale) / €30.00 (day of show) Another year had rolled around, and the sacred…

"Just Priest are a crew of seasoned old tomcats. The lineup features vocalist Udo Welz (Agent Orange), guitarists Tom Naumann (ex Primal Fear, ex Sinner) and Stefan Barth (Agent Orange), bassist Thomas "Huyz" Mössinger and drummer Didi…

"Then they come back out with Horst E. Franz, the festival's head organizer, and sum up their impressions in front of an ecstatic crowd that just wouldn't stop singing the chorus: "Valhalla, deliverance, But you ever forgot me,..." Not even…

" Journey were a chapter all their own on day one, and the next day people were still talking about them in nothing but superlatives!"

"As is tradition, the organizers laid on a "warm-up" show again this year. But unlike last year, when the warm-up gig went down in nearby Hechingen with Frobidden, Breaker and Firewind, this time it found its home in the brand-new Voklsbank…

Author: Aleš PodbrežnikPhotos: Aleš Podbrežnik Venue: Loft / Balingen / GermanyConcert date: June 27, 2009Attendance: 400Ticket price: €5.00 When the second day of this year's Bang Your Head!!! festival wrapped up in the little German…

Author: Aleš PodbrežnikPhotos: Aleš Podbrežnik Location: Messegelande / Balingen / GermanyConcert date: 26.06.2009Attendance: 20Ticket price: €85.00 (two-day ticket price) The first day of Bang Your Head!!! had arrived, the fifteenth…

Author: Aleš PodbrežnikPhotos: Aleš Podbrežnik Location: Messegelande / Balingen / GermanyConcert date: June 26, 2009Attendance: 20,000Ticket price: €85.00 (two-day ticket) The second day of the festival didn't exactly start on a rosy…

Author: Aleš PodbrežnikPhotos: Aleš Podbrežnik Venue: Volksbank Messehalle / Balingen / GermanyConcert date: June 25, 2009Attendance: 4500Ticket price: €25.00 Another year has rolled around, and it's time for a fresh Bang Your Head…

"What is there to add after the 10th consecutive Bang Your Head!!! festival in Balingen, Germany? Mission accomplished. The festival ran smoothly, with no delays. Apart from Hardcore Superstar canceling and Rob Halford's worn-out vocals,…

"The first day of the festival had no trouble earning the flattering nickname "Operation: Balingen". It made plenty of people's dreams come true, even though Queensryche already played the whole of "Operation: Mindcrime" live in Balingen…

Author: Aleš Podbrežnik Concert date: 28.06.2008Attendance: 2806Ticket price: 15.000 AGE OF EVIL: 09.30-10.10 On day two my head was seriously heavy thanks to a healthy dose of alcoholic derivatives. I staggered onto the grounds a…

Author: Aleš Podbrežnik Concert date: 27.06.2008Attendance: 2706Ticket price: 15000 This year's traditional Bang Your Head!!! festival, held on the outskirts of the little town of Balingen in the state of Baden Württemberg, in…