Wacken Open Air starts in all its glory – report of the first day of the festival 31.07

There is an event that comes only once every year, and many people in the world wait for it because of its meaning and its importance. No, I’m not talking about Christmas, the event is Wacken Open Air! Although, for all the 85.000 metalheads there, it could be considered just like Christmas. I know I do! So when we stepped into the Holy Ground for another year of music, madness and mayhem, you could bet that the Chaoszine team was over the moon. Let us take you into this first day, where the gates of Wacken have opened for the first time in 2024.

The Warning

The first band that I saw this year was the Mexican trio The Warning, which played at the Louder stage at 17:00. Very punctual, which is something that is greatly appreciated after last year’s schedule disrupted by the heavy rain. The Villarreal Vélez group is solid and delivers a good performance, whilst it is a bit too static for my liking. They gathered quite a big crowd for them, which shows how much these incredible artists are growing in the music industry. With songs in English and Spanish their music appeals to a variety of people, and the crowd has lots of Mexican flags just showing off. A nice start to the festival!

Photo: Sabrina Ramdoyal.

Anneke Van Giersbergen

Then I decided that all the steps I had taken were clearly not enough, so I walked about 1,5 kilometres to the Metal Church. The Metal Church is not in the infield near the biggest stages, you have to exit that and walk in the streets of the city of Wacken. Which is a pretty nice walk, considering that every corner is filled with drinking and eating corners, people blasting music and metalheads everywhere. That being said, you have to queue quite early if you want to have a spot inside this magnificent building. Or be a media person (like us). I got in very soon and managed to get a spot right in the front, so I was super happy to see Anneke Van Giersbergen play in front of my very eyes. I have followed her career for so long and had no opportunities to catch a live show of her or of one of her projects, and this timing could have not been more perfect. The Metal Church is the smallest of all the stages in Wacken, but it was filled to the brim for her. She included in the setlist many of her own songs, songs from The Gathering, Ayreon and covers too, which made the performance even more special. Her voice, with bright and full high notes as well as deep and lower ones, is simply enchanting. There is nothing else to say, rather than that if you missed this, I’m not sure if it will be repeated.

Photo: Silvio Colombo.

In Extremo

From the Metal Church, it was about another kilometre and a half to return to the infield, just in time to catch the headliners of the first day, In Extremo. The German medieval band wanted to show us what they could do on the Faster stage, and at 22:00 their show began. They had pyrotechnics, fireworks and explosions other than their usual charm on stage, and the whole crowd was simply ecstatic to see them. Many people were dancing and singing along to their tracks, giving us proof that they deserved their spot. A very nice thing was the live debut of “Unser Lied” with Björn Both, which made the performance even more spectacular. From “Feuertaufe” to “Spielmannflusch“, the group did not give a single sign of weakness, maintaining a very high standard for all the following bands to come. So like them or not, they are legends, and we were there to witness this.

Photo: Sabrina Ramdoyal.

Blind Channel

Chaoszine is an international website based in Finland, so it would be a crime if we did not report the bands that are from this marvellous country. And the first one of them was Blind Channel, playing at the Headbangers stage at 23:15. This is the first (and only) thing that was absolutely wrong with their performance. For their movements and performance, the stage was too small and it felt like they were being forced. Except this, their show is simply unmatched. Their energy, passion, commitment and their overflowing talent are visible even to people that have never seen them before. They graced us with many tracks from their latest record “Exit Emotions”, as well as some covers. They couldn’t have picked better tracks: “B.Y.O.B.” by System Of A Down, “How Much Is This Fish?” by Scooter, “Everybody” by Backstreet Boys and Tenacious D‘s rendition of “Baby One More Time“. These Finnish artists need to be placed on a better stage next time because the crowd that they gathered there was bigger than some playing in the three main stages. I said this before and I’ll say it again: Blind Channel is an addiction for me, and I’m happy never to recover from it!

Photo: Sabrina Ramdoyal.