Festival: Rockstadt Extreme Festival 2024
Place: Rasnov, Romania
Date: 30 July – 4 August, 2024
Live Correspondent: Jordan Kapandais

Prologue

This year Rockstadt Extreme Festival, which takes place in central Romania, celebrated its 10th anniversary. For this reason, the organizers managed to gather the strongest line-up from all the other festivals in Europe for 2024 (including Wacken, Hellfest and Graspop), in a Metal party that would last for 6 consecutive days! Consequently, twice as many people were expected than last year and it was estimated to reach around 13.000 Metalheads per day.

Judging by what we experienced on the first day, the organizers were not prepared for such a large turnout, resulting in a great deal of inconvenience for the public. Huge queues were formed at the entrance and inside the festival area in the afternoon hours of the first day, with the delay reaching up to 2 hours in order to enter the festival, where the wristbands were placed. I personally waited for 90 minutes to enter. There should have been many counters to get the wristbands in a quick and easy way, just like at Graspop and other big festivals, avoiding all the problems and delays…

One of the biggest advantages at Rockstadt Festival (apart from the great line-up), was the very cheap price for beers, drinks and food, comparing to the big European Metal festivals. Another positive thing was the great variety in everything and the very helpful employees at the ticket office, who spoke English perfectly! Also excellent were the security guards in front of the stage, being very attentive to the crowdsurfers and quite interactive with the audience!

On the negative side of the festival, apart from the huge queues that were formed on the first day, was the lack of phone/internet reception for those using roaming at their mobile (mostly foreigners), while the Romanians had no issues. This should be fixed in the following years… Also, poor was the hygiene in the toilets, which were hardly cleaned at all, compared to the major festivals of Europe, where they were impeccable and cleaned constantly…

Rockstadt 2024: Day 1 (Tuesday, July 30th)

As a result of what I described above, I missed the first bands in the opening day of the festival, such as the Folk Metallers EIHWAR from the Faroe Islands, the American corrosive agroteck COMBICHRIST, the Czech atmospheric Black Metallers CULT OF FIRE, and the first half of the English Metalcorers LOATHE!

Fortunately, with great relief, I enjoyed my favorites CATTLE DECAPITATION, who literally warmed us up for good, in the cool atmosphere that reached 12 degrees Celsius, high up on the mountain where the festival was taking place. The Americans played songs mainly from their latest albums, “Terrasite” (2023) and “Death Atlas” (2019).

This was followed by the headliners of the first-shortest day BEHEMOTH, with their well-known majestic show, which is a guarantee for the Black Metal fans everywhere! The Polish are now a great Black Metal machine, having anticipated every last detail for their show, which is really very impressive! Backdrops, lights, theatrical performance and many other elements, make them stand out on all levels!

Rockstadt 2024: Day 2 (Wednesday, July 31st)

The day started with the pretty good Italian Psychedelic Stoner Doomsters UFOMAMMUT. Straight to the main stage, watching the Norwegians KVELERTAK with their special Black ‘N’ Roll style and then to the well-known American Deathsters SUFFOCATION in a very solid set!

Then back to the small stage with D.R.I. to reminisce our student days, where I really got goosebumps and then back to the main stage to see (for the third summer in a row), TESTAMENT, with an incredible setlist including songs only from their first two albums!

This was followed by THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN with their “artfully chaotic” music to finish the night with headliners AMON AMARTH, whom I enjoyed for the second summer in a row, after their show last year in Graspop, where they prevailed with their full set performance!

Rockstadt 2024: Day 3 (Thursday, August 1st)

On the third day of this great festival, we had a Thrash Metal holocaust! That’s because the leading four of the German Thrash Metal scene did something we have been dreaming of for years, playing all together at the same festival! This was one of the main reasons for many people to visit the Romanian festival this year. KREATOR, SODOM, DESTRUCTION and TANKARD were there, smashing everything! But let’s take things from the beginning…

The day started with the excellent Portuguese band GAEREA, with its Black-Metallic aura and the theatricality/dance show of their singer on stage, really gave me goosebumps, despite the midday time and the sun hitting on our heads!

Somewhere there, the Thrash Metal party started! First with the crazy TANKARD and their beer-Thrash that was quite enjoyable, especially with the frontman Andreas Geremia giving his best, having a special “love” for the female gender!

Then followed the Australian DESTROYER 666, with its special Blackened/Thrash Metal, heading on to the exceptional Thrashers DESTRUCTION, who gave a great show! They were followed by the really strong British Metalcore band BURY TOMORROW who, although I had recently seen them at Graspop 2024, excited me even more and made me do the first crowd-surfing in this festival!

After that, I went directly to the smaller stage at the back (Andrei Calmuc), to enjoy the legends of Death Metal MASSACRE, playing the whole “From Beyond” album with the huge Kam Lee behind the mic! A really loud show, with many people gathered!

Directly back to the big stage for SODOM, who literally smashed everything with an incredible setlist from their first albums, “Christ Passion”, “Agent Orange”, “Blasphemer” and I left there with a paralyzed neck…!

They were followed by the excellent American Metalcore/Hardcore band HATEBREED! There somewhere I had to go further back, as there was a massacre in front of the pit, and my strength was exhausted from the flattening caused by the previous bands!

After the Americans, I returned to the front of the big stage to see the beloved Swiss Folk Metallers ELUVEITIE, who had an excellent stage presence and acted as a calming “injection” literally, after the Thrash holocaust that preceded! My neck is still numb…

The night ended with the headliners KREATOR who had an excellent sound and a great stage presence, unfortunately with a very indifferent setlist (unlike their last year’s appearance at Graspop, where they had played all their old songs). Their concert contained mainly songs from their latest album “Hate Uber Alles” and generally from their most recent releases, except for three songs from their first albums. The final picture of the day though, definitely had a very positive impact!

Rockstadt 2024: Day 4 (Friday, August 2nd)

My day started late with the Americans CYNIC who, for those who don’t know them, play Progressive Metal of a higher level…

I was rewarded on the small stage for the supreme Danish SATURNUS, leaders of the Doom/Death Metal scene! They played one song from each album, starting with the new “The Storm Within” with the title track, continuing in order with “Forest of Insomnia”, “Empty Handed”, and “I Long” and closed as usual with the masterpiece “Christ Goodbye”…

The day continued with the Swedes IMMINENCE and their special style of Metalcore with violin, who are quite good, I would say… A break for food and a bit of German ORDER OGAN at the end of their performance…

After that I headed to the delightful Swedes DARK TRANQUILLITY, who had their singer Mikael Stanne in a great mood, performing an excellent setlist!

Directly after that, I went to the much loved DEICIDE on the small stage, where they played all their classic songs from their first albums… “Once upon the cross”, “Children of the Underworld,” “Dead by Dawn”, without bothering with their recent release, “Banished by Sin”! Glen Benton classically didn’t say a word, apart from the lyrics of the songs!

Then on to ABBATH where they played songs from IMMORTAL’s discography. The band was flawless and the setlist was awesome, with beautiful effects on stage!

A short break in the day’s mischief with the old school Metallers SAXON, having an excellent performance and stirring up the community with their classic songs, “Crusader”, “Ride like the wind” and “Denim And leather”.

The night continued with the headliners DIMMU BORGIR being splendid, playing many classics from their first albums, celebrating with this way their 30 years of existence. “Mourning Palace”, “Spellbound By The Devil”, “Stormblast”, “The Insight and the Catharsis”, “Raabjorn Speiler” performed among others, in a magnificent show!

The day ended at the small stage with the Icelandic band SOLSTAFIR, from 01:45 till 02:45 in the morning, giving their best, even playing songs from the past! The incredible Tryggvason came down to the crowd at the end, singing with the fans, as he did in Greece recently…

Rockstadt 2024: Day 5 (Saturday, August 3rd)

The fifth day of Rockstadt Extreme Fest. Due to extreme fatigue from the thunderous previous four days, I went to the festival in the afternoon to start with the Americans LEFT TO DIE on the small stage. They had a great show, sharing thrills with songs coming from the first two albums of DEATH! In fact, it made me a huge impression when Mikael Stanne suddenly walked past me to join the audience, enjoying the concert!

Directly to the main stage to see LEPROUS, who played songs from their latest albums since “Congregate” and onwards, plus 2 singles from their upcoming album “Melodies of Atonement” which is out on August 30^th 2024. They had a pretty good stage performance, but they left me disappointed because they didn’t play songs from the much-loved “Coal” and their first 2 albums…

After that, I headed to THE HALO EFFECT’s show, who I enjoyed for the second year in a row after their performance at Graspop last year. Amazing performance, with Stanne putting his heart and soul into it!

As soon as they finished, I literally ran back to the other stage to catch (even at the end) the legends of my childhood THE EXPLOITED! They made the crowd get crazy and at the end pf the show, everyone went up on stage singing together!

Then back to the big stage to see (for the first time in my life) the much loved OPETH playing their old songs and Akerfeldt with his usual sarcastic/cynical style, maybe talking more than he needs to…?

I had to skip SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, to see for the first time the beloved British Doom/Deathsters PARADISE LOST on the stage at the back side. This is where the sound issues began and a 20-minute delay in the start of their performance took place. The band’s performance continued with a very bad sound on many classic tracks, and the set ended 15 minutes earlier, with the band leaving the stage clearly upset, without even greeting the audience…

The closing of the day for me was with Blacksters 1349 until 01:00 in the morning, without being particularly impressed…

Rockstadt 2024: Day 6 (Friday, August 4th)

The last day of the festival started for me with the excellent MISERY INDEX. Then I headed to the small stage with the Post-Rockers MAYBE SHE WILL and immediately continued with INCANTATION, who were pretty good!

Then on to the big stage with the Australian Post-Hardcorers, THE AMITY AFFLICTION and after them, the big band of the night (for me) NAPALM DEATH, who gave their best with an INCREDIBLE performance, playing classic songs! “Suffer The Children” was a blast but when “Scum” came up, literally everything was smashed!!

Then a shot of relaxation with the very good Italian Gothic Metallers LACUNA COIL on the next stage and the first big rain of the festival!

The incredible EXODUS followed with a great setlist and an unforgettable performance, starting with “Bonded By Blood” and playing classics, like “And Then There Were None”, “A Lesson In Violence”, “Piranha”, “The Toxic Waltz”, amidst heavy rainfall, which didn’t reduced our energy though! The crowd was truly enthusiastic, making endless crowd-surfing and a huge mosh pit!

Because of the rain that didn’t stop, we went under a tent to see the Finnish INSOMNIUM, who played mostly songs from their latest album “Anno 1696”, while lots of fireworks were falling down to mark the end of the festival.

After that, we left due to heavy weather (ps. rain and cold). I neither saw FEAR FACTORY, who followed (I had already seen them at Graspop recently), nor PENDULUM and WATAIN, who played later. I didn’t have the strength to see them due to the accumulated fatigue from the six consecutive days of an excellent festival!

All in all, this was my experience at Rockstadt 2024, an experience definitely worth living! See you next year…

Live Correspondent: Jordan Kapandais
Translation/Rendering in English language: Vasiliki Kalogera
Cover Artwork: Rockstadt Extreme Festival
Design, Editing & Text Correction: Alexandros Soultatos
Photos: Rockstadt Extreme Festival
Videos: Jordan Kapandais
External Links: Rockstadt Extreme Festival – Official Page
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