I finally emerged out of hibernation after a winter that seemed to never really end in mid-May, and it still wasn’t exactly summery weather for the most part either. This time round I was off to Germany, to another festival I had heard amazing things about: Dark Troll, which took place between May 18-20, with folks arriving and departing on the days either side. This festival did not disappoint me in the least as I made new friends and enjoyed some great bands. It also made a change to not be sheltering from the searing heat like with last summer, and thankfully it stayed dry. I arrived with a friend on the Wednesday, having got the train down from Berlin to Eisleben, getting some cheap but impressively tasty beer from the nearby Lidl, and then getting a bus to Bornstedt before walking to the site, where we subsequently ended up befriending the person who pitched near us, who was travelling solo after his own friends had to cancel. But it was the following day when things started to get going, with the first bands playing, and also when our friends from the UK arrived. The first day of bands included old favourites Saor, which I fully fell in love with at Metaldays last year, alongside Jarl, Depressive Witches, Fimbulvet, Firn, Kromlek, Istapp, and Enisum:
Top row: Jarl, Depressive Witches, Fimbulvet, Firn.
Lower row: Kormlek, Istapp, Saor, Enisum.
It took me a while to get revved up for the next day after the indulgences and excesses of the first night, but I emerged in time to discover a new favourite of mine, the Northern Irish folk metal band Waylander. Our group painted ourselves in woad for the occasion, and I joined in the fun:
Me in suitable markings for Waynlander.
In short they were amazing, another one to add to my library of folk metal awesomeness. Later on that evening I saw XIV Dark Centuries, Necrophobic, and Fuath.
Top row: Waylander and XIV Dark Centuries.
Lower row: Necrophobic and Fuath.
The final day of the festival was a delight, featuring old favourites Heidevolk (who headlined Kilkim Žaibu last year) and Irish extreme metal stalwarts Primordial. Earlier on were Morgarten, Vanaheim, Bezwering (who are fronted by former Heidevolk vocalist Joris van Gelre), Frost, with the evening closing off with Afsky.
Top row: Morgarten and Vanaheim, Lower row: Bezwering and Frost…
Top: Heidevolk, Bottom: Primordial…
…and finally Danish black metallers Afsky closing off the festival.
Overall it was a very enjoyable festival, in spite of coming down with a festival lurgy afterwards which really put a damper on my journey home (like with all my European festivals last year, I got the train – a 13 hour journey from from London to Berlin, and the way back was fraught with issues), with some great bands and a great atmosphere, and the festival food was pretty impressive too, archetypically German with local sausages and burgers, and I particularly enjoyed the mustard. I will be in Germany again, not too far from where Dark Troll takes place in July for Rockharz (I’ll be flying there this time though!) and will endeavour to fill you in about it in due course.