Arriving at Hamburg's Central train station, I realized I was in a different country. Everything was different signs, language & currency. However, in the mist of the German people these dark figures begin to emerge, people dressed in leather, spikes and denim. I see familiar words on T-shirts such as Immolation, Sodom, Dark Throne and Manowar. At that time a realized I was among my own. These dark figures with backpacks were on a pilgrimage to the ultimate Metal Open Air Festival, WACKEN (W:O:A). I took this special journey with my friend Armando "Nalga" Molina another old school headbanger such as myself. Arriving to Itzehoe on Tuesday (7-31-01) we see more headbangers drinking beers & listening to Metal with portable stereos. The day was overcast with periods of rain as we waited for the bus to Wacken we begin to meet Metal fans. It was not until we arrived at Wacken that we saw all these headbangers in their tents drinking and listening to Metal with the massive double stage in the background, but this was only the beginning.

Once we arrived at Wacken our first priority was to get some good real estate for our tent. We were close to the entrance to the main stage. My friend and I placed the flag of El Salvador in front of our tent. My friend lives in El Salvador, while I grew up there but now live in the USA. A lot of people approached us since most metalheads were from Germany. They were very surprised to find out we were from El Salvador. Many people asked us how we had heard about Wacken and were surprised we had traveled such a long distance. The first night at Wacken we were invited by many headbangers to their tents for drinks, as a result I got wasted that first night. I met a lot of people, Germans, Italians and Australians. They were interested in El Salvador & our local scene. We talked and drank as we headbanged to Possessed and Razor (old school). The next day we found out the showers facilities were not ready so we headed to Wacken's local supermarket. They had a wide selection of beers. This supermarket became the central point for beer and food. I would see people walk out with grocery store with carriages full of beer, as buses and cars drove packed with people going drove to the camping area. This night was the inauguration of the "headbanger's ballroom" (or party stage). The DJ (for lack of a better word) played all types of Metal, from Manowar to Slayer. When we first walked into the tent, it was incredible to witness the number of people all tougher in a room. I have been to bars, but I never have seen so many headbangers in one place. We met up with friends from the previous night, who looked a tad wasted.

The next day more people continued to arrive, I think this was one of the most impressive things about Wacken, it was sheer number of people. That night was the first concerts, the first band was Knight Errand from Turkey, and I had met the drummer & his dad at this fast food place. His show was good; the band played Power Metal with a violin player that makes the band sound melodic. The next band blew me away, FINTROLL, I have heard of them but seeing them live was a totally different experience. After a long wait the next band was pure crap, Impotent Sea Snakes. A friend of mine had mentioned this band to me. He told me I had to see them live. Other than the nudity & kinky sex act simulation, I did not see anything special about this band. Crematory had been postponed until Saturday; this is what I gathered, at the time since the announcement was made in German. W.A.S.P. was up next. I have been a big fan of theirs through out the years. They played classics like "Electric Circus", "Wild Child", "L.O.V.E." and others. The new guitarist was excellent he sounded like (and also looked like) Zakk Wilde. The show was great it does not seem to have changed much from the 80s. Blackie still had his trademark saw blades on his wrist. I can just see Blackie forgetting he has them on and tries to wipe the sweat of his forehead...that would be a memorable show.

Next day we got up early to witness the Deceased... I have been a fan of the band since the "Nuclear Exorcist" demo. This band is highly underrated; they played an excellent set of technical and brutal Metal. I was surprised to find King Fowley off the drums and just doing vocals, when did this happen? They played a great set that included Kreator and VoiVod covers. We watched a bit of Carnal Forge that played next, I am not big on this type of grind/death metal the music was OK, it was definitely "cut throat". We almost forgot that Soilwork was playing at the Wet Stage. I have heard this band and I wanted to see them live. The band was excellent. Unfortunately Soilwork cut into my time watching Lacuna Coil. In between Soilwork songs I could hear Lacuna Coil open with "Heir of a Dying Day". Once Soilwork ended I quickly ran to see Lacuna Coil, I was kind of far back I could not see to well. But I could see the vocalist Cristina Scabbia sensually move to the beat of the music. She has to be one of the best female vocalists. Her voice almost brought tears to my eyes, she definitely sings to your soul. The band played songs like "My Wings", "When a Dead Man Walks", "1:19" and others. I missed Holy Moses, which sucks, because I will never see them tour the USA. Next band up was Napalm Death, I was so far back I could bearly see the band, they sounded terrible, maybe it was because the type of music they play does not lend itself to open air festivals. I like Napalm Death, so I will have to say they gave it their best under the circumstances. We actually left before Napalm finished their set. We left to get a good spot for the next band, which I was looking forward to seeing and hearing, EXCITER. Definitely one of the bands that I grew up listening to during the 80s. I saw a lot of old school guys in the crowd. The band played a lot of songs of the "Dark Command" CD. I hate to say this but I just wanted to relive my youth by listening to the classics from "Heavy Metal Maniac" and "Violence and Force", I didn't want to hear new songs. The band played a couple of songs from that era like "Pounding Metal" and "Stand up and Fight", but they seem to have concentrated on newer CDs. John Ricci still can belt out those Whammy bar solos. The next band was totally new for me, Primal Fear. I was actually surprised by to find this band was good. They played Power Metal, but more on the heavier side similar to Hammerfall. I liked the song called "Eye of an Eagle". The next band was a disappointment, Paul Di'Anno. When Paul first came out he looked just like Fred Durst (except old and heavier). I actually felt sorry for the guy his life is dedicated to doing covers from Iron Maiden. I say doing covers, unlike Ozzy Osbourne, Bruce Dickinson, and Rob Halford who played songs from their respective bands but at the same time distanced themselves musically from the past and created their own songs. Paul just played classic songs from the first two Maiden albums. The crowd seem to love it, I did kind of get into the band when they played "Murder's in the Rue Morgue". The next band was also very good Nevermore; the crowd seems to love this band. My friend and I were discussing how in the states they would play rather small venues, and here they have this huge crowd. By this time I think everyone was at the concert area I would look back and see a crowd of people. I did not even see this kind of turn out at the Milwaukee Metal fest. Having been at Wacken I see the difference between these two festivals. Anyway I have gotten of track... Nevermore were excellent but the next band blew me away. Overkill brought a taste of the Rotten Apple to Germany. I had seen them a while back at a local club, but it seems that this time they fed off the large crowd and blew me away. They played songs like "Fuck You", "In Union We Stand", "Hello From The Gutter", totally awesome. We decided after Overkill to stay were we were and skip Therion because we wanted to have a good stop for Helloween. I did hear many of the songs from Therion, very operatic, not the stuff I want to blast on my car stereo. It sounded like a Black Mass. We were in the first row right in front of the "Metal Guard" (bouncers) ready for Helloween. The crowds were a little restless; the crowds were singing "Happy Happy Helloween". I noticed that European crowds like to sing a long more than US crowds. I figured we had a couple of thousands of people pushing behind me. The band came out with full energy. Playing classic tracks. Their show was packed with explosions and lights. Helloween are awesome live band. The next band up was Saxon, I never thought I would see this band live. I remember I was living in Los Angeles (USA) at the time Iron Maiden released "Piece of Mind" and there was this big show called the British Onslaught it was Iron Maiden, Saxon & Fastway. I regretted not seeing it. Anyway here we are 2001 and Saxon still forging on. Seeing this band live you could certainly see that Biff Byford is a veteran and a total professional that has been around for a while. He got the crowd participating in songs. Saxon plowed thew songs like "Power and the Glory", "Crusader", "Metalhead", "Denim and Leather", and "Motorcycle Man". I felt like I was back in the 80s in the hey day of Heavy Metal. Saxon's show was also marked by the return of the eagle a 7ft tall and 10ft wide eagle with bright lights that descended over the band during the song "The Eagle Has Landed". My friend and I were in the front row toward the left and we had our flag of El Salvador, Biff actually came up in front of us and stood at the pedestal for the camera boom. I have the picture of him looking down at us and squinting to see the flag, absolutely awesome. Biff even indicated that the show was being recorded for a DVD. After that show we called it a night, although the music continued with Dimmu Borgir, we kind of waited around for them to start playing, I believe they opened with the first track from the new CD "Puritanical Euphonic Misanthopia".

The next day we had to get up early to pick up rental vehicle at Itzehoe since my friend had an early flight on Sunday morning. We picked up 3 Italian "hitchhikers" going back to Wacken. If I understood them correctly they said they slept in the train station at Itzehoe because it was too cold for them at Wacken. I must admit that at night it got colder than I would expect during summer time. We got back at the time Crptopsy was playing; we missed Deströyer 666 from Australia, which a couple of people told me were very good. I did not want to miss Dark Tranquility. The band was Excellent Mikael Stanne was giving a 108%. It sounded to me like the synthesizer was a little off. Mikeal even went into the crowd, he was right in front off me. The band played songs such as "The Sun Fired Blanks", "Not Built to Last", "Punish My Heaven", "Zodijackly Light", "Wonders at Your Feet" and "Haven". Check this band live and buy their music, they are excellent. After Dark Tranquility we saw a little bit of Metallium, nothing special. It became kind of confusing this point which band was next since I think that Crematory was actually going to play, but Annihilator was scheduled...it was confusing because I never heard an announcement but maybe I did but it was in German. The bottom line was that the schedule had been rearranged so Rage and Annihilator were playing at the same time. Which sucked. We decided to see Rage, since as far as I know have they not toured the US (in a long time...ever?). I wasn't impressed with the band I liked a couple of songs, the guitarist was excellent. We caught a little bit of Subway to Sally, which various Germans had told me were excellent. The Name Subway to Sally throws you off, but from what I heard the music is similar to In Extremo. As a result of the schedule change, or something else Arch Enemy did not play or we missed them, let it be know that we searched all the stages and ask around. So I settled for the next best thing Tankard (my friend went to see Grave Diggers, which someone said it was their last show under that name), I actually wanted to see these guys live. They are the German version of Gang Green, all beer songs. The vocalist reminded me of Billy Millano, except a little more crazier. They played classics like "Chemically Invasion" and "The Morning After" as the vocalist took gulps of bear and threw the rest of the beer into the crowd. Before the set was over I waited in line to get a Hammerfall autograph for my cousin. My friend actually went in thought the exit and got our flag signed by 3 of the members. I quickly ran to get a good spot for the best band at the moment In Flames. If there is any band that can make it as big as Metallica that's In Flames, I just hope they do it without compromising their sound. The band opens with "Bullet Ride", and the played through the other In Flame standards "Beyond Space", "Gyroscope", "Episode 666", "Clayman" and my favorite "Only for the Weak". I remember jumping up and down so high I could see everyone. I think the crowd enjoyed In Flames. I was headbanging to every song with some guy in the crowd, I did not speak German and he might not of spoke Englis. It did not matter where we were from we were both united by Metal. That's the good thing about Metal, people are into bands from all over the world, Brasil, Sweden, UK, etc. The next band up on the double stage was Nightwish; again I am not into opera style Metal so we remained in the same place to get a good spot for Hammerfall. The band came out blazing. I will be the first to admit I am not a Hammerfall fan. My two cousins love this band and this type of music. I have heard "Renegade" and I only liked a couple of songs. Seeing them live actually convinced me this a band to be respected. They played songs like "Renegade", "Hammerfall", "Templars of Steel" & "Raise the Hammer". The next band was the mighty Motörhead; my friend did not want to leave his stop at the front of the stage because he wanted to be in front for Sodom. So I decided to stay with him there. I could here Motörhead play classics such as "Killed by Death", "No Class", "Bomber", It seems that the Bomber came down similar to the cover of "No sleep 'till Hammersmith". I do regret not seeing Motörhead because I am a big fan of Lemmy's, that man has dedicated his life to Rock 'N' Roll. Anyway I had good spot for Sodom's 20th anniversary celebration. WOW! 20 years of Sodom, I guess it pays off to learn to play your instruments. I was listening to "In The Sign of Evil" before I went to Wacken, It's a big difference from "Code Red "or even "Persecution Mania". As Motörhead is playing they prepare the stage with a camouflaged background with a big skull that says SODOM. Even before the Motörhead show ends the crowds begin to fill up behind us. Eventually a green (red?) smoke begins to fill the air; the crowds are yelling "SODOM, SODOM!"I was about to witness Sodom in their home country. I had seen them before at the Milwaukee Metal Fest, but the crowds were especially wild this time. The band opens with "Code Red" and continues with classics like "Agent Orange". What I found special was the cameo appearance by the original Sodom guitarist Grave Violator when Sodom played "Outbreak of Evil". During songs I could here the crowd ask for "Bobenhagel" which they closed their set with and the Wacken festival.

I was very impressed with the whole festival. The crowds were totally cool, the band selection and location were awesome. The whole festival could have benefited from more restrooms, but overall the level of organization was outstanding. It is unfortunate that we don't have festivals like this everyday, but we probably wouldn't appreciate them. I look forward to visiting next year and I hope more of you are encouraged to go. Obviously I can not describe everything I saw and heard. W:O:A is something you have to witness yourselves at least once in your life. I guarantee you will not regret it.

JC/GC