ROCK AM RING 2024 with MÅNESKIN, COREY TAYLOR, MACHINE HEAD and many more. (Part 3/3)

Sunday, June 09, 2024 – a strong final day!

Once again, we had to protect ourselves from the midday sun. While I thoughtfully applied sun cream and wore a summer hat to provide shade, the recklessness left some festival visitors with various types of sunburn. One foolish ring rocker even taped the abbreviation “RaR” to his free back. The result is a red souvenir with white lettering.

Rumor mill

My honey cake horse mode continued on the final day. In general, a cloud of happiness seemed to hover over the entire site. Although a certain “Malle flair” is attached to the audience by laypeople who have never been there, this rumor can by no means be confirmed. There was a very pleasant atmosphere on the premises. People laughed, celebrated and danced together. Strangers were once lovingly adorned with sparkling glitter decorations. Poking around? Out of place. Behind the main stage, the chic Nürburg Castle stands proudly on a hill. This view was particularly enjoyable as the sun gradually set and the evening sky showed its most beautiful side. What’s more, the view of all three stages is really good. At the Mandora and Orbit stages, the terrain is even slightly sloping, so that the view is pleasantly unobstructed.

Without shyness

Speaking of the stage – on the Mandora stage, a high bridge was erected on the last day, which extended far into the middle. With “Sandstorm” by Darude, a truly unexpected trance intro heralded the performance of Atreyu The guys introduced themselves to the crowd and announced that they only had one rule for the day and that was to have fun, and the Californians knew how to make use of the stage – only their drummer was forced to stay in place. The rest of the metalcore combo took turns or stayed on the additional stage element at the same time and the band visibly enjoyed their proximity to the crowd. This was not enough for singer Brandon Saller. Without warning, he made his way into the audience and casually announced “Circle pit around me, my friends!” No sooner said than done. Numerous visitors eagerly surrounded the courageous frontman. The track “Battle Drums” was dedicated to Atreyu cheeky and provocative to a special personality: “Put your middle finger in the air. This song is for Lars from Metallica.” Generally speaking, the splendidly cheerful band went down very well with the audience. Even after saying goodbye, guitarist Dan Jacobs didn’t want to leave the stage, so Brandon gave him a piggyback ride and picked him up.

Full broadside

Of Mice & Men – also from California – hit the same musical note. Aaron Pauley alternated his charismatic clear vocals with powerful screams and the band’s fans reliably demonstrated their confidence with the lyrics. The only pity was that the musicians remained faithful to their usual places on stage and their frontman only made tentative forays onto the catwalk in the course of the gig. Nevertheless, the boys delivered a strong set. Hanabie brought a wonderful breath of fresh air to the Orbit stage. The third stage was unusually busy for the afternoon. The female quartet from Tokyo played a successful mix of metalcore and J-pop. Incidentally, her colorful Harajuku outfits were specially made by bassist Hettsu. Songs like “Girls Talk” or “Tousou” really sparked the audience. All the positive energy of the Japanese women was simply infectious. Their Rock am Ring debut was a complete success for everyone involved.

Heads or tails?

On Sunday you were once again spoiled for choice – bands of the same genre such as Landmvrks and While She Sleeps, but also Fear Factory and Machine Head overlapped. In the first duel, Landmvrks from Marseille had significantly more crowdsurfers. The securities team really had their hands full here. Every few seconds, the euphoric fans had to be hoisted over the boards. Lawrence ‘Loz’ Tylor, singer of the English band While She Sleeps, didn’t let himself get carried away either. To boost the number of crowdsurfers there, he simply threw himself into the crowd. He rolled around on his own axis several times over the heads of his followers and even knelt down to be held up in the air. You really couldn’t accuse him of lacking commitment. Numerous pyro effects impressively rounded off the band’s fireworks display of hits.

Repeat offenders

Just how spontaneously the festival organizers were able to react to a crazy idea was demonstrated by another surprise appearance by the Donots. They drew attention to their campaign with a self-painted flyer via Instagram. They also handed out flyers for their Hauruck campaign on the site. The band name was quickly immortalized with black spray paint on an oversized white sheet. Then the show started and during a changeover break, the Donots boarded a mobile scissor stage next to the Utopia Stage, which transported them high into the air. With the excuse that they hadn’t played an encore the day before, the alternative rockers once again thrilled the crowds. With cover songs such as “Song 2” by Blur and “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister, the audience immediately joined in the fun. On this election evening, the people of Ibbenbüren also showed a clear stance against right-wing extremism.

New era

The industrial metallers from Fear Factory were now ready to set the Orbit stage alight. Their performance, including their new singer Milo Silvestro, earned a lot of respect. If you thought beforehand that the huge footsteps of former frontman Burton C. Bell might be a size too big, you were quickly proven wrong. It was a pity that the area in front of the stage was rather sparsely filled. But those who decided to give the gig a chance were handsomely rewarded. As a fan of the band, it was a dream come true for the Italian when he was asked to take over the microphone for Fear Factory. Now it was time for us to “Welcome to the new era of Fear Factory.” Milo not only suddenly lowered the average age of the combo – he also had a lot to offer vocally. The fun factor was really high from the very first minute. The sound was brute as usual. Milo showed his presence and was in no way inferior to his fellow musicians. As soon as he switched to clean singing, it went through your bones. Just like Dino Cazares on guitar and Tony Campos on bass, the newcomer quickly found his way into the audience. Those who were there could truly count themselves lucky and party hard to bangers like “Demanufacture”, “Zero” or “Replica”. The desire to see the boys on tour again one day quickly arose. Fear Factory are back and their performance was one of the unexpected highlights of the festival.

All in

Fat, fatter, Machine Head! Next door on the Mandora stage, things were already hotting up. Here the show of the metal veterans was already in full swing. And the Californians have come up with a lot. Matt Alston’s lavish drum set stood on a gallery, countless spotlights put the band members in the ideal light and the men themselves wore elaborately decorated, dark denim outfits with patches, rivets, ribbons and feathers. The boys’ show was accompanied by several bursts of fire and columns of fog. “It is time for the biggest circle pit on this weekend. Spread out, push back! This is ‘Chøke øn the Ashes øf Yøur Hate’.” In the middle of the gigantic pit, a disguised chef swung his imaginary wooden spoon. The ring rockers went on their turbulent rounds to the sound of lightning-fast drumming and rock-hard guitars. To cool down, Matt threw his beer mug into the heated crowd. During “Is There Anybody Out There”, two buddies opened their pigtails in front of me and swung their waist-length hair around violently. Robyn Flynn addressed the crowd with heartfelt words: “There is some time in this life when you feel lonely, when you feel lost. Just look at the person beside you, behind you or in front of you. ‘Cause they feel exactly the same way!” and the chorus continued, supported by several voices from the crowd. “Hey, Rock am Ring, are old-school motherfuckers here tonight? Mr. Reece Scruggs is taking you back to 1999!” Departure with “From This Day.” Red confetti shot up to accompany the gifted guitar riff. All hell broke loose in the crowd. The enthusiasm ignited like wildfire. Moshpits led to moments in which the metalheads raised their fists enthusiastically. “Holy shit! That’s the Germany, I remember. We have one more song for you. I need everybody. This is called ‘Halo’. It’s time to get loud my friends!” And how loud it got – in front of and on stage. Streamers, confetti and a shower of sparks also joined forces. The atmosphere was at its absolute peak. As a fitting farewell, the musicians threw heaps of plectrums into the crowd, which were specially made for their gig at Rock am Ring. That was a fantastic performance! And thank you very much for the little memento.

Crowd puller

After Corey Taylor had to cancel a few concerts at the beginning of the year because he wasn’t feeling well mentally, we were all the more reassured that he was now able to get back on stage. As an intro, we heard “The Box” – the first track from the current album – as an interlude. Corey’s fabulous voice rang out to the gentle sounds of the mandolin: “Cause all the eyеs are smiling, take a breath, enjoy the show.” The US rocker and his musicians stormed onto the stage and shot a load of mineral water into the crowd. The singer really got going with the killer song “Post Traumatic Blues”. Angry, guttural vocals led into a clear chorus that immediately swept the audience away. “Thank you, my friends. Good evening Rock am Ring. How are you doing? It’s so good to be back. Let me see my fucking family. We are ready to have a good fucking time. I need you all to help me fucking sing!” Stone Sour songs were mixed in with the tracks from his solo project. Again and again, the frontman had to interrupt shouts of “Corey Taylor” in order to continue with his set. With “Beyond”, he rocked his way straight into our hearts. A few smash hits from Slipknot were not to be missed either. “Before I Forget” really got the crowd moving. The fans sang along to the well-known lyrics with all their might. “Are you ready kids?” Of course, the short homage to Spongebob at his concert was also part of it – as was the touching acoustic version of “Snuff”.

Depressing confession

But anyone who thought that these moments were enough to get to the heart of the matter had no idea what was to follow. “This next song is dedicated to the woman of my dreams: Alicia Estelle Antoinette Taylor. She has been my angel for longer than you will ever fucking know. And six months ago, she saved me from the darkest fucking point in my entire life. Without her, I would not be here! Without her, my life honestly would not be worth living. It’s the very first song I ever wrote for her. She’s my queen, she’s my home.” His shocking words had to be processed first. No one was probably aware that things were so bad for the popular musician. But now he was here. And although thousands of fans were standing in front of him, he turned to his wife, who was standing at the edge of the stage, for the entire song. He looked at her emotionally and sang “Home” for her. What an incredible demonstration of love. At the end, he threw her an air kiss and the show went on. Without any distracting special effects, there was simply 100% Corey to see. And that was phenomenal. With “Duality”, he demanded everything from us once again. While he was escalating on stage, we received the news that the first headliner for Rock am Ring 2025 had already been announced. And who was that? Slipknot! The festival organizers couldn’t have found better timing. Corey Taylor was bid farewell to never-ending cheers.

The Italians brave the cold

In the meantime, it was bitterly cold again at the Ring, but the headliner didn’t care. Nevertheless, Måneskin entered the main stage scantily clad. And this despite the fact that they were given a full concert length. The career of the former Eurovision Song Contest winners went rapidly uphill. Two years ago, the Italians were still playing in the late afternoon, but now they are one of the biggest bands on the rock scene. The younger generation in particular celebrates the band’s erotic attitude. In terms of fashion, the four are always meticulously coordinated. Outfits, style and color schemes fit together perfectly for every appearance. But the band itself also harmonized perfectly on stage. Nobody was completely in the foreground. Damiano David may be the singer, but everyone knew how to polarize and shine in their own way. Måneskin were also close to the fans as usual. After all, bassist Victoria De Angelis and guitarist Thomas Raggi love to be carried through the crowd with their instruments by their faithful companions.

Fresh blood

Twice the crowd also bounced to Damian’s tune “Put your beautiful asses on the ground!” Once everyone had settled down, they jumped up again together to enjoy the final party. It is also always part of the experience that their fans are allowed to share the stage with their idols. Dozens of young rock fans rocked the stage together with the Italians to “Cool Kids”. The singer with the unmistakable voice and the accent typical of the country went into the photo pit to be close to even more fans. Thomas threw himself onto the stage floor and Victoria squatted on top of her colleague with provocative movements, while both continued to skilfully play the strings. For the encore, the talented guitarist entered the Utopia stage all alone and with his upper body bare. For an extensive guitar solo, he took to the long catwalk amidst the crowd of fans and enjoyed the moments in the spotlight, which was directed solely at him. Once again, everyone came back and performed the rest of “The Loneliest”. Many fans were moved and hugged each other. “We fucking love you!” In a modified version, they performed “I Wanne be Your Slave” again. Together they spurred their audience on one last time, jumping around exuberantly and proving that even a very modern band was rightly allowed to rock the main stage.

Outlook

Rock am Ring celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2025. The organizers have come up with something very special for this event. There will be a fourth stage and you can look forward to a total of 100 bands. Further innovations will be announced gradually. Once again, the festival was a complete success. This is also reflected in the initial sales figures. Pre-sales have already started and over 30,000 tickets have been sold within a very short space of time. We are excited to see what awaits us. But now it’s time to let all the impressions from this year sink in. Good night, Rock am Ring!

Text: Nadine Kloppert
Photos: Michael Gamon

Click here for the first part.