My experiences from Wacken 2008 will forever stay with me. Not bringing trousers was THE worst mistake of my life. Apparently, the only trousers they sell at the Wacken markets are leather and I wasn’t about to fork out the dosh for a pair. So I shivered the nights away. Next time, I thought as I was moments away from freezing to death (I’m being dramatic of course, it makes for a good story) I am not going to put myself in that position again. So now I am going to be smart about it and take my years of festival experience into consideration and PACK ACCORDINGLY.

Metal fashion is completely male-centric. That usually leaves us with shirts that are too big or we go the complete opposite way — fishnets and tits. I’m totally fine with women doing either but I don’t. I don’t believe that looking trashy is necessary (because not everyone loves seeing that pimple on your ass being squeezed through those fishnets). On the other hand, looking and dressing like a dude shows complete lack of self confidence.

So ladies, I hereby introduce to you someone you may know. Her name is Sarah Connor. Not Sarah Connor Terminator 2. Or even Terminator 1. OH GOD NO — THE HAIR. I’m talking Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Why? Because it’s a little more modern, it’s not slutty and it’s not too manly. It’s a perfect example of how you CAN dress at Wacken. Not just for looks but for practicality. That’s right, I’m not a completely shallow woman. If you’ve never watched the show, I suggest you activate some downloading action now. And if you have watched the show and perhaps have a few episodes legally or illegally lying around on your computer have a quick look at them now.

Sarah’s clothing is quite military (which is apparently super-duper in right now): boots, trousers, tank top and sometimes a leather jacket. There are always variations, there may be belts here or there. Her boots change but they are always boots. And she’s either wearing jeans, leather pants or pants with lots of pockets depending on the day. So here’s what you can take from dressing like a fictional character and convert it into Wacken Wear.

• Layers: These will save you from the crazy weather which has been known to go from boiling hot to freezing cold and raining in not much time at all. A couple of tank tops, a shirt, long sleeved top and jacket. Easy to carry around with you and stops you having to go to your tent during the day to make (what I like to call) costume changes.
• Bottoms etc: Jeans are only practical when it’s not raining. Otherwise, if it looks like rain I suggest trousers that dry easily or work the tights-under-shorts combo. It’ll also help keep your undies dry if you don’t have a garbage bag to put over yourself.
• Boots: Boots are a must and the higher up your leg, the better. If it rains, you could very well find yourself in mud. Sarah usually wore boots with buckles or exposed zips but over-the-knee options are always fun. I would stay away from PVC or patent leather unless you want to look like a stripper. Sarah’s boots are always FLAT. Don’t wear heels unless you want to help aerate the grass or sink in the mud. Wedge/platform boots to be worn at your own risk (the ground isn’t exactly flat). And most importantly, make sure they are comfortable as you will be standing for long periods of time. Ones that you can pull on or zip up are the most practical.
• Accessories: I am not really one to accessorize at Wacken because this requires effort and more luggage. Also, no one cares. But if you must, I would stick with belts and very minimal jewelery.
• Bags: Bags at festivals annoy me but if I’m going to be out all day I need a place to keep my water, medication, passports etc. And I am NOT one to wear pants with lots of pockets. Make sure it’s a bag that goes over your shoulder and you can keep it close to your body so you don’t bash people with it. Sarah rarely uses bags (she’s cool like that) but if she does, it’s a brown leather messenger bag.

Yes, you can look awesome and be practical at Wacken. It just takes thought, consideration, multiple tank tops and episodes of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Wacken wear for the ladies is a post from: hell bent for metal

Stu and some randoms at the Hamburg Ballroom prior to Wacken 2008

Beer and metal go together like… err… well they go together well. A fair amount of it is consumed at metal festivals, or so I’ve heard.

A little while ago some of the Metal As Fuck team got together and built One Million Beers For Metal, a blog and Flickr group to try and document no fewer than one million beers being drunk in the name of metal. Anyone can submit photos and we post ‘em up and keep a tally.

We have a long way to go – we’re not even up to 1% of the way so far — but I’m guessing the Blitzkrieg tour will get us well on the way. Bottoms up!

A Whole Lotta Beer is a post from: hell bent for metal

First up, let’s see what I consider as an absolute MUST SEE at Wacken. I would crawl through the mud, broken glass and possibly the piss ditches to see these bands. As long as I didn’t spill my beer. There are 96 bands on the bill at the moment, which is just mind blowing. There are also quite a few headliners this year, so unlike previous festivals where the headline acts played on a particular night, we now how big shows over all 3 evenings.

• 1349 
• Arch Enemy
• Alice Cooper
• Candlemass
• Cannibal Corpse – interestingly, CC have been to Perth twice, and on both occasions we have missed them due to a scheduling conflict with another band… In Perth?! I don’t know how that happens either.
• Despised Icon – they’ve recently announced their breakup, so this will be the last chance to see them.
• Endstille – totally kicked my ass at Wacken ‘09, so I will definitely not miss them again. Hopefully they don’t get a midday show again thought, that shit aint right.
• Fear Factory – really can’t wait for this, especially as it’s a night show.
• Frei Wild – this is an odd choice, but any band with antlers in their logo makes me interested.
• Gojira – oh yeah, this will probably be the standout act for me this year. Strangely they are playing the tiny WET stage, but who knows, it might just work.
• Grave Digger
• Immortal – anything can be made better with Immortal
• Mötley Crüe – they’re old and saggy, but it should still be a good fun show.
• Rotting Christ
• Slayer – I’m predicting violence from the hardcore Slayer fans on this one. Slayer fans scare me.
• Soulfly
• The Devil’s Blood
• Tiamat
• UDO
• Varg

Yeah I know – that’s only 20 bands – leaving another 76, but I had to cull the list down to what I consider an essential watch, and anything else is just gravy (on the delicious €3.50 steak sandwich from the Wacken Nacken meat tent). There are bound to be overlaps and scheduling conflicts, but tough decisions always have to be made – beer makes decision making much easier. \m/

Wacken 2010 band shortlist is a post from: hell bent for metal

At some point in the last few months our epic three festival tour has developed the codename Blitzkrieg 2010.

Current Blitzkrieg Tour status:

• festival tickets: Wacken, Party.San, Summer Breeze: check
• flights: booked and paid for: check
• tent and backpacks: check
• accommodation between festivals: still to be sourced
• car hire: still to be sourced

The Festival buddy system is in full swing, with Charp set to actually attend his first Wacken after bailing out on his two previous attempts. Zoe Zombie and uh, “Roger” will be at the Holy Grounds on their Full Metal Honeymoon, and Vagrant is making it two Wackens running as well as joining the full Blitzkrieg-in-a-bus experience (as honorary pastry chef) and rocking on for a week of post-festival alcoholism in Krakow. The motley English crew will be in attendance in some configuration or another as always, and we’re trying as hard as we can to get Metal As Fuck’s Biodagar on board. She totally fucking needs to do it.

And who knows, there will probably be other randoms that we know as well, including the dude who works at our local computer store (*waves*), Alex, a hot chick from Sydney I’ve been talking to that found us via this blog, and the Perth peeps joining the Soundworks Metal Travel tour.

As of this evening, 144 days to go!

Blitzkrieg Tour 2010: all systems go is a post from: hell bent for metal

In 2008, we went to Slovenia to stay with a friend – sadly, it was only for three days. It took less than one day to fall in love with the place – the breathtaking natural scenery, the history that is all around you, the friendliness of the people, the pivo – oh yes, the beer. Lasko, I miss you.

In Slovenia, not far from where we stayed, they have a five day metal festival, Metal Camp. It looks fucking awesome but five days is a very long slog. However, I just read a report from Metal Rules about Metal Camp 2009 and from their (14 page!) account, it actually sounds really good, much more laid back than Wacken or some of the other big festivals. (If you can’t be bothered reading all of it, skip to page 14 for the summary).

Notably, bands don’t start until early evening, which means that there’s time to relax and if you feel like it, visit some of the local attractions during the day. Much more civilised than trying to simultaneously deal with a hangover, excessive light, queue for breakfast food and watch black metal bands at 11am!

Unfortunately the dates for 2010 are in early July, which means it’s a bit too early for us to consider trekking to. But it’s worth considering for future years I think!

Has anyone been? What did you think?

Anyone been to Metal Camp in Slovenia? is a post from: hell bent for metal

Wacken is set in stone. Party.San is looking good.

Would adding Summer Breeze, the week after Party.San, be too ambitious?

Pros: Obituary are playing.

Cons: After two festivals we’re likely to be a bit worn out and ever-so-slightly meh. Not to mention probably broke.

What do you reckon? Over-ambitious or are we being emo?

Is three festivals too many for one trip? is a post from: hell bent for metal

The Metalbeast and I have been now to two Wacken festivals. We are of course in possession already of tickets for 2010 – but are thinking it’s time to expand the festival itinerary and take in another event while we’re in Europe.

There’s so many to choose from that it’s going to be a hard decision. Obviously stuff that is close to Wacken – both in distance and timing – is one of the key factors. We might be able to extend our trip to four weeks this time around, and whatever else happens we definitely want to spend time in Poland at the end.

Top contender for our second festival in 2010 is, at the moment, Party.San. It’s only a few hours from Wacken and is a week after. They have announced a handful of bands already and as their lineups are typically all black and death metal, it’s looking very appealing indeed. We could hire a car after Wacken, drive down there in half a day, and use the vehicle as a place to store all the crap we will have accumulated by then. We will probably have at least three other Aussies with us so hiring a van might be an economical and cool option.

Because we have mates in the UK, there’s also the possibility of Bloodstock. It’s also the week after, although it’s slightly more complicated to get there. The only thing going against it are the fact that it’s quite expensive to eat and drink there, even more so as the Aussie dollar is not as strong against the pound as it is against the euro. On the plus side, they’ve already announced Behemoth (Dave’s favourite band) and Obituary (my favourite band) for 2010. Given that both those bands are touring in 2010 it’s likely they’ll end up on other bills too, so that’s not too compelling a factor just now.

A certain person also would like us to go to Headbanger’s Open Air. It’s the week before Wacken, and also in Germany, but it’s all thrash and as such, not our cup of tea, so to speak.

Where to go, where to go? Ideas anyone?

Expanding the festival itinerary is a post from: hell bent for metal

So Wacken came, went and fucking destroyed.

My full festival diaries will be coming soon to Metal As Fuck, so I’ll link them here when they’re published. For now though, we just have the inevitable feeling of sadness that it’s over for another year

Sometime while we were recovering from the festival in Hamburg (festival recovery involves numerous hot showers, drinking beer that is actually cold, eating things containing vegetables and sleeping) special “X-mas package” tickets, limited to 10,000 and including a t-shirt, went on sale for Wacken 2010. A mere ten hours later, before we’d even noticed it had started, the X-mas package sold out. That’s nuts.

Fortunately the day we came back an Australian friend noticed that regular tickets were on sale so we snapped ours up. Wacken 2010 here we come!

Over for another year… is a post from: hell bent for metal

I’ve been chatting with Markus, the dude who built the planning tool, and he’s just alerted me to the weather forecast for Wacken for the festival… and it’s lovely! Low 20’s, partly cloudy. Awesome.

Last year the weather was schizophrenic — 31 degrees and then the next day it rained like crazy. 31 degrees is too hot (yes, an Australian is saying this) and while the rain was good for bringing out the mud we can do without it.

62 hours till we leave!

Sunshine, but not too bloody much of it is a post from: hell bent for metal

Later that day you move your butt down to the stages, watch some bands and drink some more. You start stumbling back to your tent… now where the hell was it? Ah wait, was it left at the rubbish pile and right at the third passed out metalhead, and across the second ditch? Or was that right at the pile, and across the second metalhead?

It may seem simple, but put on your beer goggles, make it dark, and put up 65,000 tents and try again.

This small gadget is awesome – it’s a GPS locator, allowing you store up to 3 places. Press a button, and the arrow will point you in the right direction, along with the distance. No maps, no fancy features, just a “go this way” pointer and a battery that lasts for ages. Too cool…

http://www.firebox.com/product/2387/ECCO-GPS-Keychain

PS: Don’t ask what is actually in that ditch, chances are you will fall into it in the dark.

Where the hell am I? is a post from: hell bent for metal