Germany’s biggest metal festival returns to the Nürburgring on the first weekend in June from 5th to 7th and what a line-up we have in store this year for the forty-first edition! Let’s take a day by day breakdown of what’s on offer for the sold-out festival.
Friday
Loathe open the festival on the Mandora Stage and looking down the list there are some exciting bands on here. Gavin Rossdale brings his band Bush along, formed in 1992 they disbanded in 2002 but reformed in 2010 with a changed line-up, these guys have been on our bucket list to see for years. Mastodon is another name that is instantly recognisable for any fan of metal music, Friday is certainly shaping up to be a great day of music. Let’s hope that the weather Gods shine down on us this year! After a recent successful UK tour Don Broco will play the Orbit Stage with Architects and Within Temptation clashing with this one a decision will have to be made by fans of what one to see, there will always be clashes at festivals for sure.
Papa Roach, Trivium and Malevolence are also in the same situation on the Utopia, Mandora and Orbit stages respectively. Linkin Park have been given the main slot on the Utopia Stage to close off the first night on that stage, Emily Armstrong has been a solid addition to the band since they reformed and this is a performance to look forward to. Alternatively BABYMETAL will bring some Japanese style to the festival on the Mandora Stage while anyone with any energy left can see late performances by Danko Jones or Limp Bizkit. What a first day this is going to be!
Saturday
Ecca Vandal has moved up the music ranks fairly quickly and deservedly so, we haven’t had a chance to catch her live yet but she is definitely high up on the ‘must see’ list. Another UK band The Subways did a tour of some smaller venues around the UK in November and we were lucky enough to catch their show at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow, we wonder what singer Billy Lunn will find to climb up at Rock am Ring!
Milkie Way and Sam Matlock make up the duo that are London band Wargasm, we always expect the unexpected at their shows whilst hardcore punks High Vis are a band you won’t want to miss, the band are led by Liverpudlian Graham Sayle, this music grabs hold of you and takes you on a journey. We caught them supporting USA giants Turnstile at the tail end of last year and you can expect mayhem and moshpits galore. German hardcore/metal boys Electric Callboy will no doubt pull one of the biggest crowds of the weekend with their eclectic mix of dance music and metal, this band knows how to get a crowd moving. Boston metalcore monsters Ice Nine Kills are just off a very successful UK and EU tour and will offer a decent alternative to Electric Callboy. VOLBEAT have also been on the road last year and they close off the Utopia Stage for the night with Bad Omens and Palaye Royale offering 12.30am sets for the late night revellers.
Sunday
Bad Nerves, Mouth Culture and Black Veil Brides are a few of the artists to play early on the final day of Rock am Ring while Bloodywood continue to gain in popularity, the New Delhi nu-metal band are the biggest metal export from India and we are hoping to see them live for the first time this year. Texans Catch Your Breath will play a tea time slot on the Orbit Stage while The Offspring and President offer up another stage clash, we would think that the fans would be split between the two for this one.
Iron Maiden are on their 50th anniversary tour and if their performance in Germany is anything like any of the shows in the UK last summer the fans are in for a real treat, they are billed as 9pm-11.20pm, that’s well over two hours for the fans to honour a metal band that will surely be on everyone’s list to see. The stage theatrics from Bruce Dickinson during the UK tour were nothing short of jaw-dropping at times! Just as Iron Maiden leave the stage Swedish metal band Sabaton will close off the Mandora Stage for the weekend with a set billed to run until 1am.
It is shaping up to be another full-on weekend of metal, rock and punk music for the 90,000 capacity festival, we can’t wait to get amongst it.
Find out more about the festival HERE and check out the line-up below.
Written by: Alan Brown
