The 19th, and undoubtedly the biggest edition yet of the world's premier metal event, this year welcomed among others, the worlds greatest live act to the small Northern German village from where it takes it's name. Wacken Open Air, set up by 2 metal starved teenagers in 1990, has established itself as the highpoint of the European festival calendar, thanks to it's laid back, fun filled atmosphere, along with a who's who of heavy metal and hard rock gracing it's 4 stages each July/August.

With 10,000 tickets sold almost instantly back in July 2007, as the festival organizers announced the debut visit of Iron Maiden to Wacken, and another 60,000 sold in the 12 months following, WOA 2008 promised to be bigger, and with a band of Iron Maiden's quality on show, better than ever.      

The festival organizers hit the nail on the head when they say that the festival is the headliner, and the bands go to perform its greatest hits. A dull moment at Wacken is non-existent, with metal discos, karaoke, an almost 24 hour beer garden, and of course over 70 bands to pass the time with, not to mention the all night campsite party atmosphere which for me is the shining light of Wacken's appeal.

Thursday saw a 4pm kick off, as opposed to the midday starts on the following 2 days. Australian rockers Airborne deliver an absolutely fantastic, energetic display of hard rocking fury to the eager multinational audience, thoroughly justifying their inclusion in what many purists believe should be an exclusively metal event. Due to being part of Iron Maiden's touring package, both Lauren Harris and Avenged Sevenfold have been included in Thursday's Wacken line-up, a cause of much apprehension to both, who are perhaps out of place theoretically, at such an event. Thankfully such worries are all in the head, as both bands receive extremely warm welcomes. It is somewhat strange to gaze at the "Wacken Black Stage" to the sound of Lauren Harris' poppy and upbeat tunes, but it's a combination which seems to be enjoyed by most of those who have assembled to catch the daughter of Steve, the bassist in this evenings headliner.

"Your Turn", "Let us Be", and "Come on Over" all sound great, and hopefully a few extra copies of her debut album "Calm before the Storm" will find their ways into the CD collections of the Wacken faithful, definitely a worthwhile purchase. Playing only their second show in Germany, Orange County's Avenged Sevenfold play through a set longer than that on the rest of their European tour with Iron Maiden, which to my now appreciative ears was an added bonus. Consisting mainly of material off their latest album, the likes of "Almost Easy" and "Gunslinger", along with older tracks like "Bat Country" and "Beast and the Harlot" don't fail to get a few extra heads banging, as anticipation for the headliners rises.

Playing to the largest crowd on their groundbreaking "Somewhere back in time World Tour", Iron Maiden have come armed with songs some of which are up to 25 years old, as well as their legendary stage show. As "Churchill's speech" rings out among what is a painfully oversold venue, the chants of Maiden lead into "Aces High", and the transformation back to the World Slavery Tour of '84/85 is complete. A 2-hour set made up of the greatest heavy metal classics ensues, and Iron Maiden's status as the greatest of all live bands is sealed. "Wasted Years", "Revelations", and of course the return of the "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" make up only a small part of what is truly a triumph in the existence of the festival which started out with a few local German bands 18 years ago.

A bad mark on an overall flawless evening was the overly dangerous crowd movement throughout Maiden's set. With 70,000 people all focused on Wacken's True Stage, and not so much as a t-barrier to break down to the crowd, it's a miracle that nobody was killed in the frantic pushing and shoving during Maiden's set. Perhaps the introduction of something along the lines of a t-barrier should be considered in the future, should a band of Maiden's size again be booked.

Day 2 for me featured 2 of my favorite bands, although both delivering performances of contrasting quality. Kamelot took to the stage in front of a rain soaked crowd, who, including myself, had made our way painfully out of the drier confines of our tents to catch the Norwegian/American opera metal act. Personally, I wish I'd stayed in my tent. While a really poor sound, as well as Roy Khan's lack of onstage charisma can both be overlooked, the fact that Kamelot's performance was just lazy and sloppy cannot.

Frequently forgetting words, Khan just seemed like he had got out of bed on the wrong side, racing into the chorus of Ghost Opera halfway through the verse, although if the sound onstage was anything like it was in the crowd, it wouldn’t surprise me if he was struggling to figure out what song it was. Even the introduction of Epica's Simone Simons onstage for guest vocals on "The Haunting" could not save a disaster of a performance, which hopefully was just a one off, a rainy afternoon slot is definitely not where Kamelot should be experienced.

It wasn’t long, 15 minutes in fact, until Sweden's Sabaton took to the adjacent Party Stage. They are quickly becoming one of the most enjoyable and exciting bands on the European metal scene, with their tales of war, history, and in the case of "Rise of Evil", sex! Clearly a dream come true for the Swedes as they experienced their Wacken debut, "Primo Victoria", "40 to 1", and their recent number 1 single back in their native land "Cliffs of Gallapoli" get the crowd going to such an extent that even the German audience members can be heard screaming "Berlin is Burning!" Friday night's headliners were for me one of the main attractions in this years Wacken.

Announced at a special press conference during Wacken 2007, Edguy front man Tobias Sammet's "Avantasia" made their sole German appearance here at Wacken. Propelled into the European charts following the release of "The Scarecrow", Avantasia's popularity is showcased as a strong crowd sing along to opener "Twisted Mind", following into the albums title track. Criminally, some technical difficulty resulted in Jorn Lande's microphone remaining switched off for the duration of "The Scarecrow", resulting in some of his finest vocal work not reaching any ears other than his own.

Such technical difficulties were quickly smoothed out, as Bob Catley, Andre Matos, and Amanda Somerville complete the cast of Sammet's Metal Opera. Visibly emotional as hands sway from side to side during "Farewell", Tobias Sammet is truly a hero returned, a huge star in the eyes of the Wacken faithful. Closing with "Sign of the Cross", running into an extended chorus of the bands masterpiece "The Seven Angels", all 10 or so members of Avantasia take to the stage for the climax of a truly triumphant performance.

Day 3 saw one of the most highly anticipated acts of the weekend, the return of Britain’s Carcass. Playing to a packed house, the band storm through a punishing slab of grinding riffs and vocals, as well as inviting ex drummer Ken Owen onstage for a farewell to the band he was forced to leave due to continued medical difficulties. At one stage 3 members of Sweden's Arch Enemy perform, following a guest appearance from vocalist Angela Gossow, to join Michael Amott and Daniel Erlandsson, who now make up Carcass along side Messers Jeff Walker and Bill Steer.

Playing one of their final gigs for the foreseeable future, Killswitch Engage tear up Wacken's true stage in fine form, inviting crowd surfers and circle pits galore, as the likes of "Rose of Sharyn" and "The end of heartache" roll off the lips of the assembled faithful. Closing with their now infamous cover of Dio's "Holy Diver", as the rain begins to fall, Killswitch guarantee themselves a welcome return to Germany, to follow up this debut appearance at Wacken.

As the day, and indeed the festival draw to a close, Nightwish take their place as Saturday's headliner, playing to at least 50,000 on the true metal stage. For me personally, they were a disappointment, again going to strengthen the feeling in my mind that Annette is nothing on Tarja, and the band just become duller as each classic Nightwish track is butchered by this Swedish replacement. I wish I could say that I enjoyed tonight’s versions of "Ever Dream" and "Wishmaster", but it will take a lot more than this generic Swede to get a smile out of me at a Nightwish show in the future.

Watching both main stages being stripped after the masses had gone back to party the final hours away at the campsite, I can't help but look forward to the next installment of WOA, while feeling a bit emotional that again it has come, and so quickly gone. It is a festival to be experienced by any fan of metal/hard rock, the atmosphere alone justifies the trip to Northern Germany, and a great line-up is an added bonus. After Iron Maiden this year, how can the Wacken organizers follow on for next year? We'll just have to wait and see! Here's to Wacken Open Air 2009!

* Review by Shadow Warrior.