Italy's WOTAN were up first and they started around 8.45 P.M., for what was to be a 50' set. WOTAN are a quintet and they're in the true epic metal vein. They've been around since 1988 already, but nevertheless they have only two releases under their belts : Thunderstorm (1993) and 2000's Under The Sign Of Odin's Crowns. I myself was only familiar with a couple of mp3 versions from the latter. My impression on the evidence of those was that WOTAN are okay, but they are missing something that makes them stand out. And the same can be said about their live performance on this occasion : not bad at all, but nothing worldshocking either. I do recall Lord Of The Wind and Dark Centuries, but quite naturally the emphasis was on their soon to be released Carmina Barbarica full-length debut, which of course I was totally unfamiliar with. I have to admit that the crowd seemed to love them a lot, even resulting in an encore.

We had seen Greece's BATTLEROAR last September in Köln already, when they supported JAG PANZER & co. Also in the epic heavy metal vein, BATTLEROAR's material just seems to convince me a lot more, even though their performance was plagued with plenty of technical difficulties. Once again they raged through songs from their selftitled debut CD (Swordbrothers, Victorious Path, Mourning Sword, Egyptian Doom, Almuric) as well as a new tune. Then MANILLA ROAD's Mark Shelton joined them on stage and he provided vocals during the band's cover version of The Ram. Their set was concluded with Morituri Te Salutant and Battleroar. And after BATTLEROAR's performance was completed, HALLOWEEN got on stage and performed two newer songs that wouldn't be included in their festival set the next day : Fighting Words and Wake Up Screaming. Not bad, but not really as good as the band's previous stuff.

The second Italian band tonight was none less than BATTLE RAM. Having seen the band twice before already, their setlist has hardly any surprises for us. A combination of songs off of their selftitled demoCD (The Vow, Burning Lives, Dark Command), a couple of new songs (Behind The Mask, Behated + one more) and high-quality cover versions. Tonight's cover picks included MEDIEVAL STEEL's anthem and CIRITH UNGOL's Join The Legion. The band was planning on playing a couple more tunes but they had to cut their set short, due to time regulations, and thus they concluded their entertaining set with a MANOWAR covertune, during which all five members changed places and instruments.

Germany's RITUAL STEEL were the headliners tonight. By the time that they hit the stage it was past 0.45 A.M. already, resulting in a fairly short set, only just over 30'. Not surprisingly the emphasis was on the upcoming Blitz Invasion CD, which is set for release in June through Hellion Records. The likes of Metal Beasts, Blitz Invasion and Victory came across as being more mature than most of the band's previous legacy, being more variable and including improved vocals. This warm-up (?) show came to an end with Armageddon Symphony (from the band's A Hell Of A Knight debut), followed by a new tune, called Bitterblood. And then it was time to escape the cold and hit the sack, in order to be ready for the festival itself.