The cult status of the W:O:A has been unbroken for years and was able to attract 75,000 enthusiastic fans of harder music to the far north of Germany just in time for its 30th birthday. The fact that Wacken was once again sold out is hardly worth mentioning. With over 200 bands in their luggage, a total of 11 stages and a diversified as well as well-known line-up, the anniversary should be a complete success, even if one or the other metalhead would have hoped to see one of the big names on stage for their birthday. Among others Sabaton, Demons & Wizards, Slayer, Parkway Drive, Powerwolf, Body Count feat. Ice-T, Saxon, Within Temptation, Anthrax and much more.

Also, this year on Wednesday, the Warm-up Day, the smaller stages were used to get the hungry audience in the right mood for the festival. Beside the Metal-Battle Bands also other acts like Burning Witches, The Damned, The Adicts, Sweet, Rose Tattoo or Sisters of Mercy came to the stage and provided a good atmosphere on the first unofficial day of the festival - despite a short time to clear the area because of a storm warning.

After the first intoxication had slept in and one or the other counter beer had restored the festival visitors, the first official festival day (Thursday) could begin. If you wanted to get into the right party mood in the early afternoon, TuXedoo at the Beergarden Stage was the right place for you. When it comes to appearances in Wacken, the likable Austrians are already old hands, which is why they didn't torch for a long time, but rather hit the bell. It's always a pleasure to watch the guys on stage because you rarely experience so much passion and physical effort. It doesn't matter if Johannes grins from one ear to the other as a drum kit that has become human or singer Christoph jumps around like a bouncer and roars his soul out of his body, they simply give everything and have 200% fun. Original Austrian Alpencore, which directly infects the audience with its uniqueness and good mood.

Late in the afternoon, the next act on the program was Testament, which repeatedly proved to be a guarantee for a successful show. As experienced musicians and one of the most important bands in Bay Area Thrash Metal, they are not only known to die-hard fans, which is why an extremely hungry crowd was already waiting for them before the Louder Stage. She was rewarded with a balanced mixture of old and new songs, each of which hit like a bomb and quickly created the first Mosh Pits. For those who preferred to concentrate on the stage, it was a real pleasure to watch the band and especially Chuck Billy with their passion, because, despite 33 years of stage experience on their backs, the guys just don't get tired, they just keep on accelerating. A relief for the ears, which as always was over much too fast.

According to will is before Hammerfall - so at least in Wacken. Even if the genre change is quite daring, the Swedes turned everything upside down and were able to keep the mood high with classic melodic heavy metal. Almost every single song turns out to be a classic metal anthem that will haunt you for hours or even days to come. Correspondingly fast the mood was boiling up and battle cries were started. The singer and frontman Joacim Cans was also infected by these exuberant emotions when he told the crowd how long his best piece was and how a guest musician was very fixated on the man's lower region. But he put his money on it and postulated that Wacken was the best festival ever. Ironically this followed right after their song "Sweden Rock". So the performance of the Metal titans raised more questions than he could answer. Nevertheless the musicians were bursting with passion and showed clearly where the hammer hangs. After another heavy metal performance by Airbourne, something happened that was last done by Savatage and Trans-Siberian Orchestra in 2015, namely that both main stages were played at the same time. This honour was bestowed on Sabaton in 2019, as the band has a decade less to celebrate than Wacken themselves, namely their 20th anniversary. The Swedes were allowed to use this occasion to celebrate on a grand scale and to give the anniversary edition of W:O:A a personal touch. But how exactly this should look was of course kept top secret in advance. De facto Sabaton played on the left stage during the first hour and then completed their show on the right with the original line-up of the band, which had left the band a few years ago. Reunions like these are indeed a rarity in the music business, which is why the surprise was definitely successful and met with positive reactions from the audience. On the other hand, there was no real added value for the show, except that there were twice as many musicians on stage, so the enthusiasm was short-lived. All in all their show was more a quickie than a long-lasting love play, as the Swedes had shot their powder again right at the beginning and things were going downhill rather than uphill afterwards. Evil tongues would also speak of the Volbeat effect. But let's leave subjective opinions aside - there was a crash, there was fire, the crowd was beside themselves (even though the backfield was getting thinner and thinner) and the show did exactly what it was supposed to do: make die-hard fans happy.

Friday started a little earlier for us to be at the Louder Stage at 11 o'clock in the morning. There it got really cuddly already, as word had got around that it was worthwhile to visit Jinjer. In surprisingly good weather the musicians from Ukraine had the best conditions to deliver a decent performance. The first indication of this was already singer Tatiana, who entered the stage completely wrapped in gold and for a moment triggered associations with a rescue blanket. But let's leave outward appearances aside: The musicians swept the present metalheads away with a full 200 percent and bribed them with unbelievable precision and passion, which they radiated with every fiber of their being. Passion is evident in the composition of their music alone, as seldom does a band bring this multitude of musical influences to a highly interesting crossover composition based on Metalcore. But the main part of devotion is still to be attributed to Tatiana, who fascinated every single person in front of the stage with her incredible stage presence and hammer voice - and that at the latest with "I Speak Astronomy", because this song caused a mass goose bump, which Nightwish or Within Temptation can only dream of. An all-around brilliant and thrilling show, which surely could bring a lot of new fans to the band.

A little more dignified was the situation afterwards at Queensrÿche, who were received loudly by a thirsty pack. Unspectacular but solid, the Americans showed themselves to be quite willing to move some heads to fear punctually at noon. And they succeeded at the latest when they unpacked typical classics like "Operation: Mindcrime" or "Eyes of a Stranger", which are not only known to die-hard fans and function as a firework at every gig, because these exemplary songs are simply the main character of the band for which their fans love and celebrate them.

Before it could continue with Black Stone Cherry, the meteorologists played a trick on the festival once again, which is why the whole area was cleared for an indefinite time due to another storm warning. Fortunately, the weather god was once again on our side, so Black Stone Cherry could start with only 35 minutes delay. (Attention spoiler alarm) The one or other shifting of bands to other stages in combination with a shortened change on the main stages finally made sure that the program was true until the end of the day. But let's stay with the hard rockers of Black Stone Cherry: Good-humoured and unimpressed by any thunderstorms, the musicians made it their business to compensate the audience for the interruption as soon as possible. They were supported by a young lady who simultaneously translated the performance into sign language and surpassed herself by performing authentically and with a lot of dedication. But she didn't steal the show from the musicians, because Chris Robertson and his crew are a well-rehearsed team, who know exactly how to put on a performance worth seeing and hearing.

If you wanted to bring some variety into the metal everyday life of Wacken, you were right at the Bullhead City with the alternative rockers of Die Happy, who got the opportunity to do their first Wacken show this year. And the musicians were very happy about it, how they chatted out of the sewing box. Although the band didn't quite fit into the classic image of the festival, the metal community warmly welcomed Marta and her band mates and celebrated them as if Destruction were on stage. This was certainly due to the incredibly powerful performance of the singer and front woman Marta. With each of her movements and poses, you could feel that they were completely authentic and un-placed, which is why people liked to watch her. The fact that she performed in a completely normal everyday outfit didn't attract any attention at all thanks to her energy and proves that in the end only the performance counts and the look is in doubt only the icing on the cake. A more blatant cut was made by the Running Order directly after Die Happy, as Venom Inc. was on the program afterwards. The band is a reunion of the legendary Black Metal band Venom, but they are not completely comparable to each other, because the new constellation of the musicians gives out comparatively rockier tones and different musical influences are reflected in their sound. Accordingly hard and gloomy the artists presented themselves and delivered a solid show.

Parallel Anthrax started on the Faster Stage in a good mood and full of energy and fired their fans mercilessly with the hit "Caught in a Mosh". With this musical announcement, they had the crowd firmly under control and literally swept across the stage as if there was no tomorrow. Their triumphal procession should continue with all-time classics like "Madhouse", "I Am The Law" or "Indians" and give the Thrash fans a memorable performance, where it was a miracle that the stage was left behind in one piece. It became a bit more leisurely and melodic after that with Within Temptation. Musically the Dutch showed their best side and gave everything to give their fans a good time. Also, singer Sharon convinced with her mad-opera voice, which regularly gave goose bumps. However, she failed mercilessly with regard to her performance, as she basically only went from right to left and constantly held up the French fries fork. And that really shouldn't be the performance of a front woman of this caliber. So far, every single front woman at the festival could deliver a better performance. At this point it's not about posing artificially or something similar, but about picking up the audience and transporting the music in a different way. And that's exactly what she simply didn't succeed in doing. Musically top, but next time she should urgently work on her performance in order to give the fans a completely successful experience.

On the last day of the festival (Saturday), it was a bit darker at the Bullhead City because it was time for Primordial. Musically promising they heralded their appearance with "Where Greater Men Have Fallen", the title track of their 2014 album. A prime example of their unique music, which you have to fall in love with within seconds. The basis for this is solid Black Metal paired with melodic, even atmospheric parts that create a certain drama. So their music proves to be unmistakable and incredibly engaging and at the same time provides a roller coaster ride of emotions. A true delight to listen to the performance and at the same time to give yourself mentally completely.

The Harder Stage, which was taken over by Bullet for my Valentine, became a bit more modern. As usual, the British presented themselves strongly and heated up their audience with a successful show. Their melodic metalcore was responsible for this, which was catchy and engaging for the pleasure of the ears. Especially classics like "Four Words" or "Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow" stood out positively, which grab you again and again even after years of abstinence. The crowning finale was to choose "Tears Don't Fall", which was the icing on the cake and made the performance a perfect, round thing.

Right on time for sunset, it was time for Avatar. In front of the Louder Stage, a waiting fan horde had already formed, which was fond of Scandinavian metal. If you weren't familiar with the concept of Avatar yet, there was a lot to discover optically. The lettering was strikingly staged in glowing letters on stage and was reminiscent of the cinema lettering from good old Paris. The band itself presented itself optically like chic circus artists from old England, who in between ran against a few clowns crossed with Black Metallers. In short, the band looks like an angry card game brought to life. But let's turn to the musical side: There are rumors that it could be Melodic Death Metal, but it's difficult to verify because the musicians play with different musical elements in each song and their sound is therefore difficult to grasp. What the trained ear doesn't miss, however, is the "Paint Me Red" that falls completely off the grid and sounds like a metal version of a Britney Spears song. Extremely unusual, but tastes are different.

The keyword Britney Spears, however, also applies to the parallel playing Powerwolf, if you look at the crowds and the screeching in front of the Faster Stage. With their unbelievable presence in the concert and festival scene, the Saarlanders have built up an immense reputation and fan base over the past decade that many an old hand can only dream of. Their secret lies in the simple and quickly catchy songs, one like the other catchy caliber has the finest. The fact that their appearances resemble dark party fairs, where everything is torched and Pyro-like almost Rammstein competes, completes the concept of success. Their appearances prove this again and again, when even the old grandma in the last row loudly screams "We Drink Your Blood".

Before Parkway Drive could continue, Matt Heafy of Trivium had the honor of performing a solo while he was surrounded by dancing tribesmen and the skull above him was brightly lit by flames. Why all this? Of course, to heroically announce the first acts for Wacken 2020. Blown away by this announcement, Parkway Drive moved in to match the feeling. Instead of the usual way on stage, the musicians chose a more unconventional way, through the waiting crowd. Here they were escorted by dedicated securities as well as uncanny masked torchbearers, who should perfectly accompany their almost majestic production. Impressive, but a little less majestic was the show of the Australians, who admittedly stated that they belonged to the big caliber, but did not unpack the hoped for bangers, which should make their show a unique experience.

As the crowning finale, no one less than Saxon appeared on stage to conclude the festival with a good portion of heavy metal and the legendary iron eagle. The fact that the metallic primeval rock had this honor might have something to do with Saxon's 40th anniversary, which Biff Byford and his companions celebrated appropriately in Wacken. Like a steamroller made of steel, they cut down everything and created a bombing atmosphere with all-time classics like "Wheels of Steel" and "Princess of the Night". A venerable conclusion for another successful edition of W:O:A!