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THE ARCHIVES
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Morrigan's Pit has closed down as of November 2006. The site and its articles will stay online as an archive until September at least, but probably longer.
The Archives
2002-2006
» CD REVIEWS
» INTERVIEWS
» LIVE REVIEWS
» SPECIALS
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EARTHSHAKER FEST 2004
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Geiselwind (D)
July 23rd/July 24th 2004
http://www.earthshaker-fest.com
When we arrived on Thursday evening, we discovered a dream come true. Not only was the campground nearly empty, so we could freely choose where to put up our tent, on the grounds of the festival was a 24h McDonalds, a BurgerKing and a Trucker Restaurant with a Butcher-Shop. There was never a problem to get something to eat, drink or whatever you could wish for.
On the festivalsite itself were enough stalls for food and drinks and non-food, even a tattoo-artist did his business there and definitely enough toilets were there too. The prices were very moderate, one could buy a 0.4 l beer for 2.50 Euro and a big piece of pizza for 3.00 Euro.
FRIDAY
Finally on Friday the festival itself started with beautiful sunshine at first, so I was up to the stage in the afternoon to see the bands.
The first band on stage was 16 HELL VENTILER. Although there were hardly any people in front of the stage, the band gave its best. It was just perfect to get ready for the evening and really enjoyable. Well done lads!!
Next were THE TRACEELORDS. It was hot as hell in front of the stage, still not many people at 5 pm in the afternoon, but there was party on the stage. The band with Andy Brinks seemed to enjoy themselves and played as the last song a coverversion of "Daddy Cool". This finally made the people get up and join the party. Great fun it was and great fun we've had.
The festivalsite started to fill up a little when DISBELIEF came on stage. This was absolutely smashing, deathmad. A maniac behind the drums, fast guitars and bass and a singer with a voice like a rusty chainsaw. This was stuff for headbanging. Everybody in front of the stage was moving despite the heat. The sound was just perfect and everybody was literally warmed up after that.
MNEMIC, I had been wondering where I had heard that name before. When finally they started to play I discovered it was nice, loud and heavy thrash, so I was sorry that the last time I had the chance I didn't go and listen to them. For me it was the 
perfect follow-up to Disbelief. There was no time to get rest and all of a sudden there were people all around me. So finally the place in front of the stage was getting full and the people started to party even more. I made a mental note to myself to go and see this band again next time I have a chance.
It was getting hotter and dark, but this was not just the night coming in, it was the heavy dark clouds building up, so everybody could see there was a storm coming. PRIMAL FEAR came on stage. The crowd went berserk and I went to sit down and have a drink in the background after the first few words. In my opinion, after (too) many times I have seen the guys, they could think of changing the words between the songs and the introduction of the band. Why not surprise the fans for once? Still the real fans have not been disappointed and definitely had fun.
The clouds were getting even darker than the night when it was annouced that the next band, Rose Tattoo had changed place with FEAR FACTORY, so they would play last tonight, as Fear Factory had to leave early in the morning for the airport. Fear Factory came on stage and the storm came from above, like somebody did not want me to see them, finally for the first time in my life. With the first song it started raining like somebody had left the tab on somewhere above. Everybody was soaked within seconds but the band kept playing and the people kept banging. Hardly anyone left. What a sight, it was the best lightshow of the day, with thunder and lighting from above and it lasted for nearly three songs. Then there was no eletricity on stage anymore. The band was also soaked to the bone and it was decided to stop for the moment for security reasons, with the hope that the storm will be over soon. We decided to go to the press-area, which was just besides the stage in a big, dry hall. Everyone that was outside looked like he or she had gone swimming with the clothes on. It was not long before it 
was decided to call it a day and to try and save from the equipment whatever possible. I met Fear Factory just before they went to change from the wet into something dry and they said they've been sorry that it had to stop this way, and that they hope that they will be able to repeat the gig next year. But for me Fear Factory was definitely the band of the festival. Short but great!!
Outside the hall the people tried to get some shelter from the fury of nature and so finally the organisators decided to open the doors and let the people in an empty section besides the press-area. Shortly after the weather calmed down again and it was time to check what was left of the campground. Surprisingly there were only a few bigger pavillons destroyed and some people had a swimmingpool inside the tent. Fortunately we had everything, dry clothes, a working BBQ and dry sleeping bags. So after warming up it was time to get rest for the next day.
SATURDAY
After everything was cleaned up from the stormy night and a defty breakfast, I started up to see the first band of the day DREAM EVIL. I was fortunate to have some rain gear with me because it started again with rain, but not as heavy as the night before. It also did not rain on stage, so the silvery make-up of the guys was safe. The guys around fronter Niklas Isfeldt played mostly songs from the new album "Book Of Heavy Metal"and they had the luck of a perfect sound. Even the backing vocals and the tiny drumset could be heard perfectly. The fans liked it and it was a great start for the second day of this festival.
The second on the billing for this day were LEAVES EYES, the new band around Liv Kristine. I expected something goth and I got it. The band looked a bit disappointed when they came on stage and nobody showed any reaction. We heard the first tunes of "Norwegian Lovesong" and Liv jumped on stage with a big smile. Everybody, especially the male viewers, woke up instantly. For the second song Liv was joined by her husband Alex Krull from Atrocity. The combination of the two voices was something special and really enjoyable. For the rest I must say, for me it's too slow and too lame on this time of the day.
A complete different story was the next band JUSTICE. The local band is usually known as a coverband in this area, but this time they played their own songs. It was real oldschool thrash and great fun. The rain had stopped and with the sun came the party. Justice is fun when they are playing coversongs, but Justice playing their own stuff is something to be heard of in the future. Singer Mitch announced the new CD "The Descendant" and said: "Please buy a lot of our CDs and t-shirts so we will get rich". The band made an honest impression and the fans just went as loony as the band. I'm looking forward to see them again.
I have seen DEW-SCENTED the first time as support act for Annihilator and Overkill and I thought they where great. Now after a good while it was clear that the band has worked a lot. The quality has improved even more and what was not bad before is even better now. The sound was great and everybody could see that the band really enjoyed playing at this festival. This impression sent the spark flying over to the fans and so in no time every thrash fan was banging away and having fun. I'm sure this is another band to be heard of in the future.
First I did not think anything special as I heard the bandname MANTAS. I just thought they might be fans of Venom, but as they entered the stage it dawned on me what was going on. Everybody that was expecting something like Venom would be disappointed. The songs from the album "Zero Tolerance" seemed at first very different but after one got used to it, it was not bad at all. The people in front of the stage seemed also not too enthusiastic but as soon as the first tunes of "Black Metal" could be heard they woke up. Followed by "In League With Satan", the best live version I've ever heard, everybody seemed to enjoy it again.
Since ROSE TATTOO were not able to perform on Friday night (because of the storm), they had decided the night before to perform on Saturday. This is what I call rock'n'roll!!! The organizers had been able to shorten the change-over from 20 to 10 minutes and so there was time for Angry without having to cancel anyone else. The tension was getting stronger and then there he was with his usual "Hello brothers and sisters"
and it just rocked!!! Rose Tattoo is a band I knew at the same time as AC/DC so it belongs to the memory of my youth. The younger audience was a bit unsure what to make of the band first, but this changed shortly after. Rose Tattoo is the name for good old dirty rock'n'roll with heart and soul. This is was the old men did on stage. To see this band live on stage is always a pleasure!! As I met Angry shortly after the gig he told me that Pete Wells could not come to the shows because of his cancer and that he wasn't too well. So this goes out to Pete: Get well again, brother!!!!
Then it was time to get "Sodomized" when SODOM entered the stage. It seemed that the soundcheck for the band was not to the complete satisfaction of Tom Angelripper as the looks he gave to the background during the first songs were not very pleasant. But nonetheless, the crowd enjoyed it and with songs like "Der Wachtturm" and "Bombenhagel" they went completely mad. The version of "Ace of Spades" was something else, and as Andy Brinks from The Traceelords joined his old bandmate on stage the fun was even bigger. This was a solid 
as usual gig, nothing especially new but nonetheless great fun.
Another blast of thrashmetal! Schmier, Mike and Marc have been as solid as a rock. If somebody was shaking the earth at this early evening it was definitely DESTRUCTION. It was the perfect mixture of old and new songs. Be it the "Butcher Strikes Back", "Bestial Invasion" or "Metal Discharge". The song "Thrash 'til Death" explains everything.
Finally - it was shortly after 8 pm when Udo Dirkschneider and band, known as U.D.O., entered the stage. This man does not seem to get older. For me he is the German version of Angry Anderson. He's got energy and he knows how to entertain his audience. The man knows which songs the people want to hear and he plays them. From "Metal Heart" to "Balls To The Wall" and "Man And Machine" everything was played. As encore followed "Princess Of The Dawn", "I'm A Rebel" and "Fast As A Shark". This was no new performance but it was never boring. If anyone has a doubt that U.D.O. is not as good as Accept then go and see them live, you will not be disappointed.
Disappointing is the best description for the next band. HELLOWEEN has set a milestone with "Keeper Of The Seven Keys" but this was long ago it seems. The last couple of performances I have seen of Helloween have been bad and this one was not better. Songs like "Starlight" and "Keeper Of The Seven Keys" are fantastic songs but on this evening with Andy Deris on vocals it was in my opinion just torture. His ability to sing the newer songs written for him is surely great, but those old songs are just not made for him. Michael Weikath seemed to be bored on stage and to 
be honest this was surely my last Helloween show for a long time.
What a surprise was the last band of the festival. IN FLAMES, this time back in black, gave the best I have seen in a good while. Comparing to the gig at the Summer Breeze festival last year this was first class, there was fun on stage. They have been completely mad and it was like someone had hit you with a hammer. It was a perfect show with perfect pyros, perfect sound and perfect vibes. Comparing to the first few gigs I have seen of In Flames this was the masterpiece. Solid as a rock!!!
All in all it is to say that the second Earthshaker Fest was a well organized and great festival. I will definitely be there again next year. Friendly security and
fast reacting organizers. This is what we want at a festival!!
The only thing that gave it a very bad touch was that a completely drunk, so called metalhead, who, without a drivers licence, had reversed his friends car not very slowly over a tent with two girls inside. The girls had to be brought to hospital care and it was pure luck that they were not dead. The last news I've heard is that they will recover again.
submitted by Evi 05.05.2005
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