Here we go .... Some kind of report follows ... 1) Here is the URL for the web-gallery / the full photo-set:

[url:9e14aw9f]http://mellon.topcities.com/wff2007/[/url:9e14aw9f]

And here is but a tiny taste of the 3 day fantastic mayhem

BRUJERIA !!!


Cannibal Corpse


Lamb of God


Pro-Pain ... business as usual


Ill Nino


... Slayer






Note on the camera : I didnt dare to take that 18x zoom thing (in Germany they are sometmes a bit strict about the size of cameras), so I used Lumix 6x zoom ... you cant use the ful zoom very often, but at least the result is slightly better tan with my old Olympus 3x zoom ...

I will test the 18 zoom thing on punks at Rebellion festival next month though.

Right it took me some time to sit down my ass and provide at least some feedback / comments on this year With Full Force.

The thing is that - as always - I returned around 9 am on Monday (our tour bus leaves up to 1 hour after the last gig on Monday morning, which in this case was c. at 4 am) and set to wash everything in the first place . then I had to attend to some family duties that involved traveling, then I was called into my office in the evening and came home around 10 PM . and the next day back to work and usual mess . I was happy enough to work on the photos and upload everything onto server + send out the package over to WFF webmaster (Btw. The guy works really fast - it took him les than one hour to put the whole set onto their web !)


Anyway - why WFF again this year? The fest gets better and better every year. It is of reasonable size - though this time it seemed packed more than usual, there must have been well over 30.000 people (I read somewhere that the capacity goes around 40.000). They even added facilities like paid toilets + showers (alongside with the regular equipment that is). When it comes to all other useful facilities - plenty and sufficient, although when it comes to Metal market tent, it felt less rich than last year, Century Music tent was entirely missing, there was only Nuclear Blast tent + some indie CD tents when I browsed for German punk and some obscurities.

There are traditionally 2 stages : the main and the tent stage for more alternative stuff + late night / early morning gigs. In general, the sound is excellent, only when you attend the tent gigs you must be careful with your stationing because there are parts where the sound from the main stage clashes.

So much for technicalities.

Music.

The bands I checked out are marked here:




So who were the bands I really wanted to see this time: Slayer, Brujeria, Hatebreed, Cannibal Corps, Satyricon, Sworn Enemy, Ill Nino, Sick of it all,.

DAY 1

All in all a very good day . however for me it really started with AS I LAY DYING [url:gc138ac1]http://www.myspace.com/asilaydying[/url:gc138ac1]. EKTOMORF from Hungary [url:gc138ac1]http://www.myspace.com/ektomorfofficial[/url:gc138ac1] is a strange case, by the way - they are brilliant live, the pit went mad straight from the beginning; however when you turn to their CDs, the ^influence^ of Soulfly strikes you as almost sickening . it is a plagiarism of the worst sort .. And yet, as I said, the guys can actually play. Sad. Although I speak on the basis of the earlier CDs . maybe the new stuff is different.

BRUJERIA : [url:gc138ac1]http://www.myspace.com/brujeriaoficial[/url:gc138ac1] and [url:gc138ac1]http://www.brujeria.com/[/url:gc138ac1] . now, I would never believe to have chance to see these guys live. No need to explain - check out their myspace as there are videos also from WFF. These guys from Mexico / USA are legend. If you consider getting their CD, Mexecutioner! The Best Of Brujeria, Brujerismo, Raza Odiada is a good start. They also played Marijuana, which is from some kind of EP-CD, Macarena .. All crazy stuff.

CANNIBAL CORPSE - [url:gc138ac1]http://www.myspace.com/thedeathmetalbandcannibalcorpse[/url:gc138ac1] - my first time seeing them live (I missed them last year when they played Prague during No Mercy tour) - great and definitely worth seeing anytime again.

HATEBREED: [url:gc138ac1]http://www.myspace.com/hatebreed[/url:gc138ac1] : I know them fairly well, however never before saw them live (missed them in Prague in June :-/ ) . they were what I expected but what I did not expect wasthe fact that it was the wildest gig, mosh during the whole festival !!!!! Just unbelievable . I was standng front-line, but not in central position . I couldn't take a shot (well save for some 3 shaky ones) as there were people constantly moving above my head . in fact, I worked throughout the gig pretty hard helping to prevent the swimming buggers from falling . I also earned some direct hit onto my nose, but it did stop bleeding soon . LMAO, it was actually fun.

KORN [url:gc138ac1]http://www.myspace.com/korn[/url:gc138ac1] . Again, my first time seeing them live. However I was happy enogh to see / hear them from some distance to avoid the crowd. They were OK, interesting tunes, but not exactly the thing I couldn't live without. If I see them on some occasion again - great, if not - it does not really matter. :- )

SATYRICON from Norway [url:gc138ac1]http://www.myspace.com/satyricon[/url:gc138ac1]. Fine late night gig at the tent, they played their most famout stuff nd they made an excellent ^good night^ . I didn't last long after them, went to the tent . and actually walking the area for an hour or so as I couldn't find it due to strong blindening counter-light + changed ^setup^ - more tents and cars all around. It was hell but at the end I somehow managed to find it. Next night I brought the torch.

Oh btw. It was raining ..

DAY 2

The next day started a bit slowly for me, BENEDICTION [url:1tnsnr6g]http://www.myspace.com/benedictionuk[/url:1tnsnr6g] were really good, only that I was a bit sleepy and was actually falling asleep standing. It changed with the LAMB OF GOD [url:1tnsnr6g]http://www.myspace.com/lambofgod[/url:1tnsnr6g] . excellent stuff which put you back on your feet.

Then I moved to the tent to see SWORN ENEMY [url:1tnsnr6g]http://www.myspace.com/swornenemy[/url:1tnsnr6g] . I saw them live last year at Jillys in Manchester, and they are just fine US hard / metal core worth checking out . they have a new CD out, which I got at WFF but didn't listen to it as yet as my discman is currently taken by TOXOPLASMA (another WFF purchase) .

Next followed German CALIBAN [url:1tnsnr6g]http://www.myspace.com/calibanmusic[/url:1tnsnr6g]
. IMO they are better if ^heard^ rather than ^seen^ . They ^visuals^ are not exactly my cup of coffee but again - the band (hardcore / metal) is great enough to be worth checking out.

AMON AMARTH [url:1tnsnr6g]http://www.myspace.com/amonamarth[/url:1tnsnr6g] . these vikings can never fail you . fine death metal, Pursuit of Vikings, Victorious March, Death in Fire . all good headbangable stuff.

SICK OF IT ALL [url:1tnsnr6g]http://www.myspace.com/sickofitallny[/url:1tnsnr6g] . NY hard core at its best and for me the peak of the day. As always (I stopped counting how many times I saw them long ago) they were fantastic and the pit was adequate to their performance.

CHILDREN OF BODOM [url:1tnsnr6g]http://www.myspace.com/childrenofbodom[/url:1tnsnr6g]. Now this is a tricky subject. I saw them last year at Wacken, however, I didn't pay real attention to them since I was stationed at the other stage waiting for the Celtic Frost. So I thought I would check them properly this time. Front line, yet alas - there were two couples straight in front of me climbing on each other as it were . how shall I describe it . basically, if they had the courage they would be f**king througout the whole gig .. Now when I turned my head in the opposite direction, almost breaking my neck, the same . other heated couples . JFC . I don't know whether it was the band that made them do it, but in few minutes I really hated the buggers and I found it extremely difficult not to throw them over the barrier. Give me Hatebreed, Sick of It All crowd anytime . you get punched, hit, smashed by people falling on your head, but at least no one is salivating sticked on you.

Music : COB are apparently superb musicians, lots of (unnecessary, empty) solos and guitar riffs displays . as a matter of fact, some of us call this style ,guitar masturbation^ so that may be related to some people's need of f**k during their music. I don't know - technically speaking the concert was excellent, yet to me this kind of music is rather empty. Perhaps I missed some important message there .

I went to the tent stage just for one more band and off to my tent to get some sleep.

Again : it was raining during the day now and then.

PRO-PAIN [url:2dixntq4]http://www.myspace.com/propainspace[/url:2dixntq4] came onto stage. I simply love this band and will never get tired of seeing them again and again. Genuine hardcore / metal at its best.


The other band I really wanted to see live were ILL NINO [url:2dixntq4]http://www.myspace.com/illnino[/url:2dixntq4] . I like especially their first two albums and when it comes to live performance, they were what I expected. Fine gig !!

DROPKICK MURPHYS [url:2dixntq4]http://www.myspace.com/dropkickmurphys[/url:2dixntq4] were a kind of ^misfits^ between Ill Nino and Slayer . but of course, they were fantastic and btw. Marc Orrell is one unbelievable jumper : he made it down and up on the barriers and created real chaos in the front line. Nice punkish event !

SLAYER [url:2dixntq4]http://www.myspace.com/slayer[/url:2dixntq4] No need for comment I guess, they set off with the Disciple, Angel of Death and ran through their major things over to Christ Illusion. Fanstatic, rough, brutal and friendly gig at the same time. Give me Slayer any time - they simply never fail you. After all, my shot taken by my neighbour directly after the concert speaks for itself. The only complaint : 1 hour 15 minutes is simply too short a Slayer gig.


Then I moved slowly to the tent to check out Finnish TURISAS [url:2dixntq4]http://www.myspace.com/turisasofficial[/url:2dixntq4] black/death/ battle metal (as they describe it) of Scandinavian grandeur . fine stuff to enjoy after midnight !!! Unfortunately, CREMATORY cancelled their gig so instead we got German ^horror metal^ VISION BLEAK [url:2dixntq4]http://www.myspace.com/thevisionbleak[/url:2dixntq4] : I never heard them before and they simply made a good surprise. As for the closing PAIN from Sweden [url:2dixntq4]http://www.myspace.com/officialpain[/url:2dixntq4] . I had to move on to finish packing and put down my tent.

Btw. During Sunday : sun and heat !


All in all, an excellent event with almost no sleep as usual. As in the last years, I used the services of Pilsen-based travel agency ^Ozzy a Potkan^ / Ozzy and the Rat . the bus left Prague at midnight on Thursday, we arrived at the place around 7am, and we were able to put up our tents in already packed camping area. With the concerts starting early in the afternoon it means that there was - as always - only limited sleep during the 4 nights.



As for the next thing - it is going to be Rebellion punk fest in Blackpool. I am considering Summer Breeze following my return to Prague, but it all depends on workload etc. Speaking of Rebellion punk fest - it was a difficult decision this time because [url=http://www.brutalassault.cz/:2dixntq4]Brutal Assault[/url:2dixntq4], which is going parallel here in CR is really good this year ! But you just cant be everywhere at the same time. BTW: Sorry for the length !

coool dude....thx for all those photos!!!

great review and photos AS ALWAYS! looks like you enjoyed the show.

ehehehe...coool....the reviews are awesome..and the pictures too..eehehe..unless...my countrie chile appear in two things there..ehehe..the brujeria t-shirt..(that i have..fuck yeah!)...and TOM ARAYA!!..ehehe...

awesome interview ! you should've seen dagoba!

nice pictures as always

Thanks for feedback !! As for Kampfar and Moonsorrow, I hope to see them at another fest in Germany which I hope to make it to still this summer (e.g. Summer Breeze with Soulfly) ... work permitting,

Dagoba did not show up at the end - they just did not arrive, which was kind of a very late announcement. This year there were several late cancellation at this fest.


As for Chile - yeah I know: Hails to Chile ! Must be a tough country !!!





Btw. I just noticed that along with the summer festivals, Soulfly are adding some club gigs in Germany, like in Chemnitz, which is very close to my "quarters".

makes me so sad to read this review i was suppose to be there. its the festival i go every year!damn uni stopped me this time!glad you had a good time man!ill see you there next year!