Issue 13 2009

It is an unfortunate fact that here in New Zealand we have it pretty crap when it comes to Summer festivals. This is partly to do with our isolated location and partly the fact that the general populist has some pretty bad taste in music (sorry New Zealand, its true). To celebrate the start of June and the start of the European music festival season I have decided to go over some of the festivals that make Big Day Out look like a small gathering.
Whilst there are hundreds of festivals taking place in Europe over the Summer months, many of which feature the odd rock or metal act due to its intense popularity, I’m going to focus on the ones the specifically cater to those who prefer things heavier.
What better place to start than the God of metal festivals, Wacken Open Air. Wacken Open Air started off in the small German town of Wacken way back in 1990 as a small gathering for some German bands, but by the late 90’s it had grown into a colossus featuring over 70 bands from around the world and attracting fans from just as far. Its capacity of 70,000 over the three days now sells out months in advance, with the 2009 edition setting a sales record, selling out over 200 days before the start of the festival. 2008 saw names such as Iron Maiden, Nightwish, Children of Bodom, and Holy Moses grace the stages, with 2009 already boasting acts such as Motorhead and Doro its set to be just as big and successful as its predecessors.
Next is a personal favourite, Tuska Metal Festival, held in the middle of Helsinki Finland every year for the last 11 years. It focuses somewhat on Scandinavian acts, which nowadays isn’t that hard as they now dominate the metal scene. Along with the rest of the European metal scene, Tuska has grown steadily each year since its start and has found added success from the metal-crazy Finns. 2008 saw it sell out for the first time in its history, hitting its capacity of 36,000 attendants who got to see Amon Amarth, Dimmu Borgir and Slayer.
To finish on a lighter note you can find Rock am Ring and Rock im Park, two festivals run simultaneously normally with the same line up. Usually counted as just one festival, together they form one of the largest music festivals in the world with an attendance of over 150,000 annually. Rock am Ring and Rock im Park have the most mixed acts of the festivals I’ve talked about, featuring alot more American and rock acts than Wacken or Tuska, but still getting in a large amount of metal acts like In Flames, Iron Maiden and Strapping Young Lad.
If you are ever in Europe during Summer and fancy some hearing some awesome music, I highly recommend you check out atleast one of these festivals. They are value for money compared to the Big Day Out and will be the experience of a lifetime.



This is the last column of the semester. There will be new ones in about a months time. Stay tuned!!