< Previousby Andrea Leim here are moments in a band’s history that its musicians will likely remember forever. Being asked to perform at one of the biggest metal festivals in the world surely is one of them. That’s the case for this four-member band from Hamburg: Amalgam. They’ve been getting together for a good five years, rehearsing, jamming and writing songs. However, they’ve only per- formed together four times. “Wacken will be our fifth show”, says Cajetan Ebel, a so- cial education worker and pas- sionate musician. He was the last member to join the band, while guitarist and singer Daniel was involved right from the start: “Daniel writes almost all the lyrics, his wealth of ideas is virtually in- exhaustible”, reports Cajetan. “But we develop the melodies and configuration of the songs together.” Songs with titles such as ‘Stinktier’ (“skunk”), ‘Naturgewalten’ (“forces of nature”) and ‘Rauchmelder’ (“smoke alarm”) are inspired by bands such as Kvelertak from Norway or Kills- witch Engage from the USA – in other words: heavy, noisy stuff –, but also by more me- lodic role models such as Avantasia. Daniel and his bandmates are professional musicians and are usually involved in several projects of the “barner 16“ centre. It’s part of the protestant Al- sterdorf Foundation, an in- clusive network of creatives in Hamburg for people with and without so-called disabilities. Amalgam’s members have performed in front of an au- dience with their other groups many times, just not with their loudest project. Three of the band’s four members live with a disabili- ty, but that doesn’t stop them from passionately and pro- fessionally making music. As one would expect, they’re all eagerly awaiting Thursday’s performance on the Wack- inger Stage. Drummer Nick has been a regular at Wacken Open Air. “It’s really cool to be in the same line-up as Amon Amarth and Alligatoah, ob- viously”, says Cajetan. “That’s a special feat to ac- complish!” He’s not wrong… Credits: barner 16 Amalgam is comprised of Mike, Nick, Daniel and Cajetan (L-R). All four musicians are part of “barner 16“, an accessible network of creative artists Patches ready, set, go! Amalgam, a four-piece from Hamburg, will be playing Wacken Open Air for the first time. Their songs are inspired by bands like Kvelertak and Killswitch Engage, but also by Avantasia.by Timon Menge ASTER:HARD- ER:GREENER! Count- less people partying and camping generates waste – obviously. To make sure its impact on the environment is reduced each year, Wacken or- ganisers are putting a growing emphasis on sustainability. One of the sustainable in- novations for 2024 is that the festival team will sweep the Holy Ground with two six-me- tre-wide magnets after the site has been cleaned completely. This will remove any remain- ing metal objects from the meadow, such as tent pegs that have been left behind. “We’re very excited about this“, reveals W:O:A Sustainability Manager Insa Trede in an interview with Harry Metal. But before the magnets can do their work, the “Ack- er“ needs a little TLC. That’s where the festivalgoers come into play: Since 2019, the campaign Green Wacken has called on all campers to leave their campsite as clean as they found it. Wacken fans can then upload picto- rial proof of their success to Instagram and use the hash- tag #GreenWacken – and the most efficient band of clean- ers has the chance to win a reward. More information can be found on the Wacken website and app or on social media. When the last chord has faded and the last tent has been dismantled, the work of the world’s most hardcore cleaners begins. But they can’t do it without the support of Wacken’s metalheads. That’s why W:O:A is once more mobilising for this year’s #greenwacken campaign. Metalheads – passionate even during clean-up Foto: W:O:Aby Andrea Leim elicate acrylic brushes sweep across the can- vas, drawing microscopical- ly fine lines, while the artist looks through a magnifying glass to place his tools in exactly the right spot. What sounds like open heart surgery is in fact Andreas Marschall’s creative process. The world-famous cover designer captures the tiniest details in his images, turning them into visual experiences. For precisely this reason, bands such as Kreator, Blind Guardian, Sodom and Obitu- ary have been among the Berlin native’s high-calibre references for years. He gave albums such as “Imaginations from the Oth- er Side”, “Violent Revolution”, “Agent Orange” and “The End Complete” their iconic appear- ance. Marschall’s latest work has just been released. This time, however, it doesn’t adorn an album, but an elixir: Andreas Marschall has created an exclu- sive design for the Gerolsteiner W:O:A bottle “Zwischenwass- er-Elixier”. “I was hooked straight away because the concept convinced me on a narra- tive level: The hero Gerolt’s fight against the hangover is a very catchy story,” ex- plains Marschall. The picture he created shows two contrast- ing scenes: On one side, the red, barren realm of the hangover complete with suffering metal- heads; on the other, a refreshing, revitalising scenery with hap- py festival-goers. At the centre there’s Gerolt, fighting the nasty hangover with his water sword. Whether it’s internationally renowned bands or Germany’s leading producer of sparkling Andreas Marschall is one of the most recognised cover designers within the metal scene The special edition Gerolsteiner water bottles at W.O:A Cover designer Andreas Marschall is known to expert metalheads for his work with Blind Guardian, Sodom and Kreator, among others. Now he has designed the label for the new Gerolsteiner W:O:A special edition – and staged an epic battle between good and evil, between carefree partying and a nasty hangover. At the centre: fearless hero Gerolt and his hydration creation “Zwischenwasser-Elixier“, the „water in between“.water, Andreas Marschall ap- proaches every job with the same precision: “I work with a watch- maker’s magnifying glass, very fine brushes and acrylic paints. I also use a lot of airbrush tech- niques,” he explains. He usually works for around three hours at a time over an extended period. Back in the eighties, when he was painting full-time, he had to complete two covers a week. “As far as the basic idea is concerned, bands usually approach me with their vision.” On some records, however, the lyrics already tell enough stories to base his work on. “Images start running through my head, which in turn lead to more ideas taking shape.” The design for Gerolsteiner is another example of the art- ist’s storytelling. Marcus Ma- cioszek, Head of Marketing at Gerolsteiner, adds: “As you would expect from one of Marschall’s artworks, there are many details to marvel at that definitely warrant a closer look!” The project is a perfect fit for the 33rd annual Wacken Open Air and the festival’s third year of collaboration with Gerol- steiner. Because as much as metalheads love a cold beer, they also value a regular dose of water for essential rehydration. Or as Gerolt calls it: the “Zwischen- wasser-Elixier”, the hydration creation for in between alcohol- ic beverages. As a matter of fact, one li- tre of Gerolsteiner contains one third of your daily re- quired calcium and one quar- ter of your daily required magnesium. “This magical elixir could have helped me on many occasions back in the 1980s,” says Marschall, himself a metal fan. In his eyes, the gen- re is defined by durability and resilience. “Metal defies trends and lasts for generations. That’s what I like most about the mu- sic.” Andreas Marschall will be at the festival himself and will speak about his work as a cover designer on the Wel- come To The Jungle stage on Friday. Andreas Marschall’s original artwork for Gerolsteiner Drawing with the finest brushes, the artist often uses a magnifying glass for this purpose King Diamond “A Dangerous Meeting” Sodom “Agent Orange” Running Wild “Black Hand Inn” Dimmu Borgir “Godless Savage Garden” Blind Guardian “Imaginations From The Other Side” Kreator “Violent Revolution”No band has played Wacken Open Air more often than Skyline. They were the first festival headliners in 1990 and continued to open the Infield for many years after. A conversation about old friendships, new songs and standing front row with a beer, just like the old days. by Timon Menge o doubt about it: Sky- line are a fixture at W:O:A. The hard rockers will be performing twice during this year’s loudest week. We caught up with drummer An- dreas “Gösy” Schlüter and guitarist Lars Jacobsen to talk about their new album “Human Monster” – and of course about Gösy’s connection to Wack- en bosses Holger Hübner and Thomas Jensen. You were the very first W:O:A headliners in 1990, with Thomas Jensen still on bass and a setlist that consisted exclusively of cover songs. How did you come to write your own music almost 30 years later? Your first album didn’t come out until 2019. Skyline L-R.: Andreas Laude-Schwedewsky (bass), Dietmar Wulfgramm (keys), Joey Castellini (guitar/vocals), Dan Hougesen (vocals), Andreas “Gösy” Schlüter (drums), Lars Jacobsen (guitar) – Gösy: For the 30th anniversary of W:O:A, we figured we had to record a few Wacken songs. We wanted them to be our own songs, written by us. Then we noticed: This is totally awesome. Our singer Dan runs a music distribution company in Denmark and our guitarist Lars works as a producer in a studio. So the conditions for doing something of our own were on our side. Your second album “Human Monster” will be released this year. Back in 2019, did you know that you wouldn’t stop at your debut? Gösy: Yes, we knew, but the band had to take a back seat for a while. Skyline isn’t our main job and the Covid pandemic was another factor. But at some point, Dan and Lars started writing really good stuff again and we started working on the second album. Your album won’t be released until after this year’s W:O:A. Will you still be bringing the new songs to the festival? Lars: For sure! Thomas hasn’t been with Skyline for a long time now, but he still appears on stage with you every once in a while. Gösy, how is your relationship with him and Holger these days? Gösy: I used to spend more time with Thomas, nowadays I’m closer with Holger. During Guns N’ Roses’ last tour, for example, we travelled to a lot of gigs, even to Australia. We don’t book any seats, we hang out in the front row with a beer, just like we used to. We’re not acquaintances or mates, we’re friends. Holger always remembers my mother’s birthday. For “Human Monster” you worked with Volbeat producer Jacob Hansen. Gösy: He has a completely different perception of our music than we do and I think that’s good. It’s like back in the day: Bon Jovi called Bob Rock because he would make the killer records. Jacob takes our music to a whole new level. Lars: He is very pleasant to work with and very respectful. Sometimes it’s difficult, though: The music I produce for Skyline is quite far along in the process. You already have a certain idea of how everything should sound. But when you hand over the mixes to a producer like Jacob Hansen, you also hand over your ideas about the sound, because you know that he will put his mark on the music. But you also know, of course, that the end result will be good. Who is the “Human Monster”? Lars: There are two ways to look at it: The “Human Monster” could be the tyrants of this world such as Putin and Orbán. Those in power who appear humane to their people but are actually callous monsters. The other possible interpretation is that we all have a monster inside us. That we are all human and manage to show it often. But that we suppress this monster at the same time, which is a good thing. But it’s still there. You’ve been opening W:O:A for many years now. Wouldn’t it be nice to headline the festival once more? Gösy: I look at it this way: We are the only band that plays Wacken every single year. Lars: Exactly, we wouldn’t even exist without Wacken. We are infinitely grateful for that. Who else has the chance to perform in front of tens of thousands of people on such a regular basis? Gösy: This year we’re also playing a set on the LGH Clubstage on Sunday since the arrival time has been moved up a day. We’ll be performing after 5th Avenue, who also played the very first Wacken Open Air. We’re the last band on stage that evening, so you could say that we’re basically headlining again. (laughs) In 1990, Skyline headlined the first edition of W:O:A. One year later, they’re back again Almost 30 years later: Skyline at W:O:A 2019. Skyline bassist Andreas Laude and founder Thomas Jensen (guesting on bass) Humble beginnings: Skyline at W:O:A 1991 The W:O:A crew in 1990. Tagged: Skyline drummer Gösy Schlüterby Timon Menge years ago, when the first edition of Wacken Metal Battle saw the dark of day, Thomas Jensen and Holger Hübner had no idea what the contest would one day become. “At the be- ginning, we had no clue that the Metal Battle would become as big as it is today,” Hübner admits. Back then, shows were played on the W:E:T stage only, and the awards ceremony was a small affair. “Nowadays, the press tent almost spills over with the sheer amount of contestants, media crew and fans,” shares an enthusiastic Sascha Jahn, Metal Battle organiser. A second stage was added for the growing lineup in 2012. Avi- hay Levy remembers that year – it was the Israeli photographer’s first time on the Holy Ground, after all. “I was taking pictures of Shredhead, Israel’s Metal Bat- tle entry that year. Hammercult also attended, having won for Israel the previous year.” Some years down the road, Avihai himself would enter the hottest battle in metal with his band. He describes his home country’s metal scene as tight-knit: “There are maybe 100 active bands back home, and we all know each oth- er. We always work together to set up shows or tours. And any- Back in 2004, only German bands took part in Wacken Metal Battle. Today, budding musicians from 77 countries form the world’s biggest band contest in metal. Festival founding fathers Thomas Jensen and Holger Hübner’s dream is to one day welcome all nations across the globe to their Metal Battle. in 2009 Crisix won Wacken Metal Battle at age 17 In 2024, they will be back on the Holy Ground… one who wants to join that fami- ly is more than welcome.” Crisix from Spain, mean- while, are true Metal Battle veterans, having won in 2009. “That was 15 years ago? Wow!” guitarist Marc Busqué marvels and adds: “I was 17 then, and the band had only been founded the previous year. We may not have been mature or technical- ly brilliant, but we had a ton of fire. That was our advantage.” An enduring one: Crisix kept at it and were invited back to the Holy Ground a decade later. “We played the Wasteland stage that year,” Busqué remembers. “For 2024, we have a great slot on the W:E:T stage and people are gonna have a blast – and so are we!” The musician knows without a doubt that the Metal Battle victory was an essential first step in Crisix’s career. Now, they get to return to Wacken as a professional band, with their sixth album scheduled for release in 2025. They’re not the only band under that impression: Avi- hai Levy and his Walkways entered the Metal Battle in 2015 and came in second. “That opened a lot of doors for us. We signed a record deal with Nuclear Blast and went on tour with Avenged Seven- fold, In Flames and Disturbed. That would never have hap- pened without that Metal Battle strategic edge.” Said edge also earned the Walkways a slot dur- ing Wacken World Wide, the Covid-induced digital W:O:A party, in 2020 as well as a phys- ical return in 2022. This year, they’ll be back once more: “This will mark our third time on the Holy Ground and another visit to the W:E:T stage – just like in the good, old Metal Battle days,” Avihai reports excitedly. It’s connections like these that make the competition so special. Each year, the com- munity continues to grow and unites previously un- touched corners of the metal map in darkness. “There’s more room to grow, though,” Holger Hübner thinks. “The scene is a global phenomenon and we’re al- ways pleased to welcome more countries, more bands and more fresh blood to our Metal Battle.” Poseydon (Belgium) Beguiler (Canada) Black Tooth (Caucasian Republics & Turkyie) Fleshless Entity (Central America) Five Penalties (China) Junkwolvz (Greece) Türböwitch (Hungary) Kasck (India) Rain (Italy) Paramena (Japan) Griefgod (Lithuania) Æonik (Luxembourg) Wasted Land (Middle East) Inherited (Netherlands) Tessia (Norway) Aquilla (Poland) Voidwoomb (Portugal) Doomsday Astronaut (Romania & Rep. Moldova) Etterna (Slovakia) Sunken State (Sub–Saharan Africa) INFO (South America Northern Region) Karabiner (Ukraine) Corbian (Germany) Carbonic Fields (France) Kill The Phia (Indonesia) Uragh (Ireland) Shvriken (Philippines) Cascade Effect (USA) Graufar (Austria) Thus (Denmark) 77 nations are already part of Wacken Metal Battle, but the map leaves plenty of room for even more “Bullheads“ Walkways from Israel had many doors open for them thanks to the Metal Battleby Andrea Leim nyone who witnessed Doro Pesch’s perfor- mance last summer will certainly remember the spectacular appearance of the unforgettable Lemmy: smoking a cigarette, he hovered above the stage and turned his head towards the stunned audience. The person behind this tribute was Trudy Grussinger from the USA. She works for Verge Aero, one of the world’s lead- ing companies when it comes to the stunning images in the sky. This year, Verge Aero will be at Wacken Open Air for the second time. In The Bullhead, Trudy reveals what to look forward to, discusses chal- lenges associated with these shows and tells us what colour a drone should never be. Trudy, were you aware of the emotional impact the drones would have on the fans once they formed Lemmy’s head in the sky? Last year’s drone show was definitely one of the festival’s highlights. Now the pros at Verge Aero are returning to the Holy Ground. With them is drone show designer Trudy Grussinger who creates the fantastic images seen in the night sky Last year’s festival slogan above the two main stagesAre wind or birds ever a problem for drones? Trudy Grussinger: I don’t think so. With wind, I’ve seen them fly in crazy weather conditions like rain. They’re perfectly fine. If it’s really pouring, we shouldn’t fly. But they’re pretty sturdy, honestly. How big is the variety of colours you get to choose from? Trudy Grussinger: You can do pretty much anything. Black is something you obviously should avoid. (laughs) One of the shows you’ll be designing is that of the Growling Creatures. What can you tell us about that? Trudy Grussinger: I can’t reveal too much. But we will probably have around 500 drones. Everything will be coordinated between the drones, screens and the band’s show. I’m not gonna say any more than that… Will you have time to catch some bands and check out more of the festival this year? Trudy Grussinger: I hope so! I need to go see some bands. I want to see Korn, Opeth, Scorpions and Dragonforce. But even if I end up not seeing them, it’s fine. I mean, I’m in Wacken, that’s enough! Trudy Grussinger: Yes, I’m a metal fan myself. I was grateful for being able to help put that together, and it even made me tear up a little. Were you nervous before they went up? Trudy Grussinger: When people see my work, I always get nervous. But witnessing the crowd’s reaction from behind the stage was probably one of the coolest things in life. How would you explain your job to someone who doesn’t know a thing about drones? Trudy Grussinger: Whatever you’re looking at in the sky, I’ve built – like the Wacken skull or Lemmy. The software that I use is really similar to 3D programs. Where are you while the drones are up in the air? Trudy Grussinger: I can be pretty much anywhere. Last year, I was in front of the stage for the announcement show, because I hadn’t really seen my work. Once Peter, our drone technician, uploads the show to the drones, there’s nothing more I can do. What are some possible mistakes that can happen? Trudy Grussinger: The drones have to find themselves in the space they’re in. They link to satellites and find their spot. One or two drones might not launch, but most of the time 100% of them show. They’ve streamlined the system so well that there really aren’t any common mistakes. Does it influence the other drones if there’s a mistake? Trudy Grussinger: No, it doesn’t. All of them know where they’re supposed to go and can’t really run into each other. Credit: WOA, Trudy Grussinger, Verge Aero The Verge Aero team in Wacken (L-R): Chris Lutts, Trudy Grussinger and Peter Smiatek Small but mighty: one of the drones from Verge Aero Trudy uses a computer to design the images that the drones later display in the night sky – like the Wacken skull shown here Drone show designer Trudy Grussinger has long been a metal fan herselfNext >