Ranz - Pain Is - Vader - Darkfall - Hate - Omnium Gatherum - Skalmöld - Mantar - Bloodphemy - Madog - Lost Vital Spark - Camp Chaos - Justice Lost

:: Pics ::

12:30 13:00 - JUSTICE LOST - It is exactly 12:35, it has 28 degrees and already it is time for the first mosh-pit! Unbelievable but true, some early risers are totally fine. Driven by Annihilator-like guitar harmonies, the sometimes charmingly bumpy songs, accompanied by a slanting voice, encourage a handful of fans (also known as "Kernöl-Grinders") to the early workout. Personally, I get a bit angry at titles like Giftgas or Napalm Attack, because such songs are only striking to the max, but the cover version of In League With Satan reconciles me.

13:20 13:50 - CAMP CHAOS - Tough attitude meets melodic riffs, a roaring singer and tons of grooves – does this work? The vocalist hopes that the guests are already lively because of a vitamin-rich breakfast (vodka orange or barley juice), but the reactions indicate that the crowd is rather half-asleep. Therefore, the sung Killer Instinct almost vanishes unnoticed in the dust-dry air. I appreciate the quiet intermediate part, surprisingly spiced up with a harmonica solo. Later, there is still a pirate number to be heard, where the riff sounds suspiciously borrowed - the troop may well know Edge Of Sanity's Black Tears...

14:10 14:40 - LOST VITAL SPARK - Metalcore does not seem to be the main attraction at the KOA, because the terrain is almost swept, but so you have no problems to claim the first row for yourself. The guitarists show fine tappings, and the last song, named a "commercial" one, is quite good - but the high bloom of this subgenre is definitely over.

15:00 15:30 - MADOG - Now a bloody newcomer act plays for us and a handful of Power Metal fans is stunned. Unfortunately, the band rips a delay of ten minutes (and this delay should increase during the day/evening). A rocking version of Hammerfall is offered with easy-to-digest lyrics including "demons, dragons, blood and fire"; Thomas Spiwak, the organizer of the event, would be pleased with this direction, because Manowar is (almost) played during the breaks. The first rows celebrate the mixture in any case and even call for an encore.

15:50 16:30 - BLOODPHEMY - Death Metal from Holland guarantees quality but in this case it is rather a monotonous variant; influenced by the American way, the tenacious compositions recall to the mucous primordial soup of the brand Morbid Angel or Incantation, fully focused on rhythm and only marginally melodic, so that only slow motion banging is possible at the maximum.

16:50 17:30 - MANTAR - My clear soundcheck winners in the negative sense are torn apart by their perfectionism, but the madman and drummer are anyway far from the norm. Guitarist Erinc seems to be totally crazy, provides latent insane grimaces on the running band and intensifies the pitch black lava flow. He acts like a defiant, upbeat child who does not care about anything; he lives in his own (sound) world and uses his songs as a therapy, in order not to get completely rested. This garagepunkrocknrollsludge music hits us inconveniently and is absolutely nothing for those longing for harmony.

17:50 18:40 - SKALMÖLD - The Icelanders I only hardly notice while the troop spreads good mood with their happy swaying songs. A lot of lucky dancers can be seen in front of the stage. This is no wonder, because the mead horn swing sounds are about such extraordinary themes as Gorgonzola. A good choice to boost the mood at a festival, no question!

19:00 19:50 - OMNIUM GATHERUM - At the KOA 2017, hardly any other band grabs me more than the Finns in melodic aspects, front-man Jukka animates the audience, but does not exaggerate with his cheering. Unfortunately, the sound-man will find the right mixture not until the second song, but hits like The Pit, Frontiers or the In Flames-heavy Skyline hit the bullet and the guitar melodies crown an enthusiastic performance.

20:10 21:10 - HATE - After that, Polish Death Metal reigns without compromise, but many groovy parts loosen the inferno. Powerful drums, sturdy vocals and a lot of blasts dominate the appearance of the already long active squadron. Unfortunately, a few "fans" right next to us are taking the martial attitude too seriously and march like soldiers with these special steps- we only wonder about this kind of such aberrations, which cloud the spirited mood.

21:30 22:30 - DARKFALL - Next long-serving metal heads replace Destroyer 666, who had to cancel their show because of illness – and the local heroes round Spiwi deliver a strong gig. Well-known tunes like Peacemaker or Echoes Of The Past get combined with new pieces of the coming record At The End Of Times. The fans get Jägermeister and beer cans for free and it is clear that the mood barometer rises continuously, additionally supported by a lot of pyros.

23:00 00:10 - VADER - The veterans' meeting is completed by the berserkers from Poland, who have been furious for three decades. The Ultimate Incantation celebrates its 25th birthday and the quartet offers a few pieces of this work. Unbelievably loud, Peter and his comrades blow everything to the ground, unfortunately only little space for tons of heavy grooves and rhythmic headbanger parts remains. It is time to mobilize the very last conditional residues to be able to withstand the intense attacks. Thus, VADER also represent our final point in musical terms, the following PAIN IS and RANZ are only perceived from afar.

Dear KALTENBACH family, it was a pleasure for us to be there as always! We hope that in the coming years it will be that relaxed, well organized and friendly again. Starting from the largely peaceful fans over the usual smooth procedure up to the always competent and loose stewards, everything is perfectly matched here - so see you soon, we look forward to a hopefully so sunny celebration next year!

story © Leo & pics © Julia