| Festival: | Party.San 2024 |
| Location: | Schlotheim, Thuringia |
| Date: | 8th to 10th August |
| Organizer: | Party.San GmbH |
For the last two years we have been able to report on what is probably the best extreme metal festival in Germany. Of course, we are talking about the Party.San Open Air. With a perfect mix of underground and established bands from the black and death metal scene (but also a few exceptions) it feels a lot like Christmas for a lot of metalheads.
Thursday – Day One
After quickly setting up my tent, I went straight to the main stage to catch Bastard Grave. Vortex of Disgust is a damn cool album and I was hyped to finally hear songs from their latest record. The Swedes definitely had a lot of fun in front of such a big crowd. Death metal with a punk attitude was a great choice as the opener for the festival. Bastard Grave came and conquered the main stage in just a few minutes. A powerful performance with an unbelievable heavy sound. Don’t sleep on this band!
Next up were Eternal Champion. Musically, they were probably the outsiders among all the death and black metal bands, but holy shit, what a great show. They simply had riffs for days. Tracks like “Skullseeker” or “The Armor of Ire” clearly show how gifted the musicians behind this band are. The audience (including me) had a lot of fun during their set. “I Am the Hammer” probably silenced even the last critic. What a banger track.
Wilt was the first band I saw on the tent stage. The German answer to Entombed and Dismember absolutely wrecked everyone standing in front of them. At the same time the band was very grateful to get the chance to play in front of so many people, which was well received by the audience. Especially songs like “The Tank” or classics like “Rise from the Grave” made the crowd go wild.
After a little delay it was finally time for Sadus to fuck shit up. It didn’t take long for the first small pit to form in front of the main stage. Even at almost 60 years old, Darren Travis put on an incredible show, especially when it came to riffs and vocals. The setlist could certainly have been a bit better, for my part I would have liked to hear more off Swallowed in Black or Illusions.
Things got much more emotional with The Black Dahlia Murder. Back on tour in Europe for the first time since the tragic loss of their former singer, Trevor Strnad. Classics like “Statutory Ape” or “What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse” turned the crowd into a warzone. Also new tracks such as “Mammoth’s Hand” were well received. The Black Dahlia Murder are definitely back and their new (or maybe we should call it old) line up looks and sounds majestic. Radical, dude!
It almost felt like travelling in time when Left to Die hit the stage. They played songs from the legendary Death albums in the form of Scream Bloody Gore and Leprosy. A performance that surely would have made Chuck Schuldiner proud. One banger followed the next. However, I was a little sad that a song like “Pull the Plug” was probably cut due to the limited time. Nevertheless, Left to Die kept the spirit of Death alive.
There was a lot of hype about Terrorizer when the Party.San announced a special World Downfall set. Especially when Pete “Commando” Sandoval and David Vincent, two absolute legends, are involved. However, after the first few songs my positive mood had already completely evaporated. For me, their performance was an absolute low light. Maybe I had wrong expectations, but Brian Werner doesn’t fit into this band at all. Both in terms of his vocal performance and his attitude. Terrorizer seem more like a cash cow than a rough grindcore band to me. What a shame.
Then it was time for Thursday’s headliner, Abbath. Just like Terrorizer it was also a special set from Abbath, because he performed songs from his older band Immortal. While the atmosphere was very subdued during the first two tracks, the black metal icon won the audience over with tracks like Sons of Northern Darkness very quick and changed the dynamic of the show in a positive way. It almost felt like a cold wind was blowing over the mainstage during At the Heart of Winter and Blashyrkh. Truly mystical and a great ending for the first day.
Friday – Day Two
In the blazing midday heat Afsky were the first band I saw on the second day. Already praised by many of my friends beforehand, the Danes won me over very quick. The mixture of raw black metal and melancholy was bittersweet. A performance that felt like having a knife rammed into your heart piece by piece. Incredibly atmospheric. One of my absolute highlights at Party.San! Another band that you should definitely shouldn’t sleep on.
Kraanium embody pretty much everything when it comes to brutal death metal and slam. A household name in the scene and the let the audience made sure why. It didn’t take long before the first pit opened up and fans started swinging their hammers. Classics like “Double Barrel Penetration” or “Midget Fucker” should of course not be missing on any Kraanium set list. A guarantee that many people would go nuts, which they did. Slam might not be the most innovative genre but at the same time it doesn’t need to be. This was a fun ride for sure.
The most beautiful moment of the festival was provided by Incantation, who performed under a gigantic rainbow. You really can’t get more metal than that. At the same time, the band impressed with their brutal riffs. This is Incantation, of course the death metal veterans know how to write killer songs. With a setlist that goes deep through their discography, you really realize what an absolutely deep bag of banger songs they have created during their career. The true kings of death metal, and Incantation proved it with a stunning performance.
Between all the death and black metal bands, Sólstafir seem very out of place at first glance. But sometimes you just need something like this. Even though I’m not that familiar with the Icelanders’ more recent releases, the band completely captivated the audience from the very first song. Tracks like Fjara radiate an unbelievable amount of energy. Absolutely beautiful how Sólstafir made a whole crowd smile. Never have I seen so many happy people during a metal show.
Saturday – Day Three
The last day of the festival started quite early in the hot midday sun. Ulthar kicked things of at the main stage and their show felt like an alarm clock early in the morning when it’s time to go to work. Nobody was ready and probably woke up with a headache. With this brute sound of dissonant black and death metal, you definitely didn’t need any more coffee. Even though there weren’t too many people in front of the stage yet. Which was certainly also due to the heat, Ulthar quickly played their way into the hearts of the audience. Songs from albums such as “Helionomicon” or “Anthronomicon” were extremely well received and duly celebrated. An absolute demonstration of power!
Without wasting much time, Necrot tore down the entire main stage. Especially the songs from the new album like “Lifeless Birth” or “Drill the Skull” felt like the incarnation of a wrecking ball. One hard riff followed the next. At the same time the unbearable heat made some fans sweat profusely, which didn’t stop them from beating the shit out of each other in the pit. Necrot breathe and live death metal, which was very clear from the second the hit the stage. Pure madness!
Of course, I was a little surprised about Ultha’s time slot. This band thrives on atmosphere, but does this atmosphere also arise when they play on the main stage in the early afternoon at almost 30 degrees? Spoiler: Yes, it does. “The Night Took Her Right Before My Eyes” was their opener and Ultha won the audience over within the first few seconds. The whole set felt like an incredibly bittersweet movie. Musically an absolute masterpiece and for me by far the best performance of the whole festival. One track in particular, “The Avarist (Eyes of a Tragedy)”, was just the perfect closer for their set. You can’t get better than that.
Phantom Winter got off to a furious start on the tent stage. At least for 10 seconds, because their drummer needed a new bass drum pedal. Fortunately, everything went smoothly and the band was able to continue their show after just a few moments. The raw and dark sound literally wore the audience down. It was like standing in front of a wall of noise and suffering. If David Lynch wanted to join a metal band, it would be Phantom Winter. Even though it was extremely hot in front of the tent stage songs like “Wintercvlt” provided a brief drop in temperature. At least for a moment.
Disentomb are probably among the absolute elite of brutal death metal. The Australians were able to prove this impressively when they shook up the tent stage with their brutal slooms. It didn’t take long before the first pit opened up and fans ran wildly around in circles in typical Slam manner. Hits like “Your Prayers Echo into Nothingness” and “Vultures Descend” provided the maximum of brutality. Hopefully the guys from Down Under will be back on tour in Europe soon, because this gig definitely whetted the appetite for more.
Party.San is and has remained one of the best festivals in Europe. The mix of selected underground and established bands makes the line-up stand out in comparison to other festivals. As mentioned last year, there were simple to many people with questionable merch. Unfortunately, this was also the case for this year’s edition. In my opinion, people with right wing t-shirts or patches have no business at this festival and should be expelled at the entrance. So please make sure that this is guaranteed.
Leave a Reply