“Feel like a little old school?” asked singer Brian Molko during the set. He summed up the basic feeling of the second day of the festival, as the main focus was on the songs and not on exaggerated effects. However, Placebo embedded their dense carpet of sound in appealing visuals. The group has to be credited for not resting on their laurels, but bringing many numbers from their new album “Never Let Me Go” with them. However, classics like “Bionic” and “The Bitter End” might not be missing.
Speaking of old school: Even young bands know how to play real rock. Maneskin came to Nova Rock, put on a perfect performance and swept away. The Italians were the secret headliners at Pannonia Fields. The quartet, which made a name for itself last year by winning the Song Contest, proved impressively that it is not a flash in the pan, but has the potential for something really big. “It’s regarding having fun and sharing the energy with the audience,” singer Damiano David told APA.
And they kept their word: Maneskin fired off the breakthrough hit “Zitti E Buoni” as an opener. You have enough other popular hits in your quiver: whether the musicians danced down the catwalk to “Gasoline” or threw powerful rhythms and guitar licks across the area to “I Wanna Be Your Slave”, it was the perfect rock concert with glam, hardness and verve.
The mood didn’t die down at Kraftklub, it was really tight in front of the Blue Stage, people danced and sang along. The mix of indie, rock and rap with German lyrics still works. After a long break, East Germans haven’t lost any of their social criticism. Singer Felix Brummer warned once morest right-wing extremists who had infiltrated the “Schwurbler”, as he said, at Coronademos. There was also a reunion with the Sportfreunde Stiller, who served up their “soft pop” (self-definition) with relish. There will also be new material this year, made the single “I’m Alright!” with reggae vibes but looking forward to the upcoming album.
And the metal heads? Were served by Korn on the Red Stage, although the US band initially struggled with a mixed sound. Singer Jonathan Davis and company knew how to make up for such small things with a lot of enthusiasm, used their big hit “Falling Away From Me” as an introduction and gradually played themselves into a frenzy. “Everyone has the same vision,” guitarist Brian “Head” Welch said of his team before performing at the APA. That’s right, everyone pulled together here.
A unit was also healing: The German-Danish-Norwegian group was certainly the outlier on that day, if not on the whole festival. The mix of folklore, occult symbols and tribal aesthetics may not have attracted the masses, but it was able to captivate you from the start. Nearly two dozen skinned people crowded the stage, wielding spears and shields, banging drums and skins, while ritual chanting pervaded the night. Anyone who wasn’t touched by it wasn’t listening.
On the other hand, Dog Eat Dog experienced a different kind of journey through time, as the 90s crossover legends have not lost any of their power and, as headliners on the Red Bull Stage, knew how to take their fans with them. “Rocky”, “Isms”, “No Fronts” – no hit was left out, no throat remained silent. “It’s really give and take,” said bassist Dave Neabore of the band’s shows, definitely not over-promising.
While She Sleeps wanted to test how many people can practice crowd surfing at the same time: The British metalcore band created a great atmosphere in front of the Blue Stage for the first time in the followingnoon, with shouter Lawrence “Loz” Taylor not getting tired of encouraging the crowd. Hard guitars, massive breakdowns and lots of movement in the pit were a guarantee for sweaty, but also happy faces. rain and tiredness? were long forgotten by this point.
The day had started with girl power, with the charismatic, cheerful Spanish indie girl formation Hinds rocking on the Blue Stage. Then, with The Last, international singer Delila Paz radiated a lot of energy with her roaring voice and willingness to run. Guitarist Edgey Pires hurled fat guitar solos over the Pannonia Fields. The band has one intention: “Our message is radical, we hate the status quo, we don’t like these politicians, whether left wing, right wing or chicken wing.”
Left, right, middle? Anyway, tomorrow, Saturday, people will shake the Pannonia Fields once more. In addition to old warhorses like Bad Religion or The Offspring, the Danes Volbeat will present their Elvis Metal, while Seiler and Speer bring Austropop up to date in their own way. If that is too straightforward for you, you can practice Dadaism and party ecstasy at Deichkind. Life has to go on – and so does the festival.
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