A special thank you to the Wave Gotik Treffen organization.
Day 1
Another year in this beautiful city of Leipzig for another Wave Gotik Treffen festival. After picking up the credentials and looking at the program for that day, we decided to cover the shows of Miranda Sex Garden and Anneke van Giersbergen at Schauspielhaus in the city centre.
As we walked through the centre, we came across a performance by Molllust, a local band that mixes classical music and metal music using string instruments and piano, playing in front of the Petersbogen shopping mall on a stage set up for that purpose. Many people gathered in the middle of the street watching the show, and the band members didn´t hesitate to give an excellent performance outdoors with great joy.
Molllust
Arriving at Schauspielhaus, a beautiful and large theatre in the city centre, we went in and sat in the front row, since the theatre does not have a pit where you can take photos. After the row of chairs comes the stage, with no space to take photos, also, it would also block the view of the people who were seated.
The first performance of the night was by the French band Lisieux, an electronic dark folk band which draws its roots from the ethereal, proto-gothic scenes of the 80s and is nourished by both liturgical & medieval imaginaries. It was a very interesting performance, centred on haunting atmospheres and chants. Unfortunately, one of the guitars decided not to cooperate, and technical problems with this uncooperative guitar meant that the band had to shorten the set by 2 songs. Even so, songs like “The Veil”, “Quicksand”, Lys Noirs”, “Chant de Fer”, “Tududu”, “Malicorne”, “Shedu” could be heard and enjoyed by the audience.
Lisieux
Then came Miranda Sex Garden, a legendary English band from the 90s that mixed gothic rock and dark wave in its repertoire. A powerful and sober performance, visiting several classics that made Miranda Sex Garden a reference within the genre. Songs such as “The Wooden Boat”, “Peep Show”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “Without Trace”, “Stardust”, “Escape From Kilburn”, “Velventine”, “All There Is”, “Broken Glass”, “Are You the One?”, “Ever & Ever” echoed in the theatre (which was full) to the delight of the audience. In the middle of the show, the singer and only member of the original line-up Katharine Blake went backstage to change into a bold hot pink dress. Two more songs were heard during the encore: “A Fairytale About Slavery” and “Wheel”.
Miranda Sex Garden
Next up on stage was Andy Sex Gang, founder, singer and main songwriter of the gothic rock band Sex Gang Children, which played a very important role in the 80s. He performed solo here, accompanied only by a guitarist with a classical guitar. Perhaps since the songs were stripped down to their simplest form, they didn’t seem to have as much of an impact on the public. As the show progressed, with Andreas sometimes singing and sometimes reciting, some people left the room. Perhaps for those who were not fluent in English it would be a little difficult to follow the performance, since the concert model was more simplistic: acoustic guitar and voice. Even so, Andreas was energetic and towards the end, he even picked up a guitar, and the show gained liveliness.
Andy Sex Gang
The last performance of the night at the Schauspielhaus was given by the charismatic Anneke van Giersbergen. Accompanied by 4 members with string instruments and a pianist, Anneke gave a very entertaining show. Songs such as “From Out of Nowhere”, “The Trooper”, “Still Loving You”, “High Road”, “Nothing Else Matters”, “Supercrush!”, by several well-known international metal artists, with a new musical style and Anneke’s crystal clear voice, were heard in a room that was full again after the Andy Sex Gang concert. In the middle of the show, Anneke put on a pair of big glasses, picked up some sheets of paper, and performed a theatrical skit in which she was the teacher and the audience were the students and began to “teach” the audience the number of genres and subgenres of metal that exist. The end of the theatrical sketch coincided with the beginning of the famous “Thunderstruck” intro (this time not played with drums but with the sound of violins), Other musical covers followed such as “Kashmir”, “South of Heaven”, “November Rain” and for the encore “Changes”, “War Pigs” ending with “Love Is All”, a positive message.
Anneke van Giersbergen
Day 2
On this day, we decided to cover the concerts in Heidnisches Dorf, the medieval village that is set up every year for the purpose of the festival.
For logistical reasons, we only managed to arrive in the middle of the afternoon, but before the Irdorath show started. This Belarusian folk rock band was one of the highlights of the day that we wanted to see. After the members were imprisoned for two years just for participating in the 2020-2021 demonstrations in Belarus against the dictator in power, in which they accompanied the protesters with bagpipes, the members came to live in Germany and reformed the band. We were curious about their first show after the renovation. And as the saying goes: what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. What an extraordinary concert they gave. Full of energy, and this was felt in the public. Songs like “VaukalaK”, “Dimna Juda”, “Varazheya”, “Serca Raskolata”, “Rusalka”, “Adde Duas”, “Lojma”, “As Bas”, “Zorami”, “Sunrise”, “Drachen” presented the audience with excellent folk music produced by this formation.
Irdorath
Always increasing in intensity, the next band that played and made everyone in the venue dance was Mr. Irish Bastard, a German band that plays Irish folk punk. As expected, with the sound of banjo, violin, accordion, tin whistle, electric guitars and drums, the venue quickly became a hub of dancing and head-shaking. To the sound of “Mc Gregor Irish Hooligan”, “New Yorks Irish Navy”, “Mike Malloy”, “The Bar’s Out of Beer”, “Wolfpack”, “All My Friends Are Idiots”, “Soundtrack of My Life”, “My Love is Back”, “We Are the Drunks”, “Captain O Captain”, “Beer in Hell”, many beers were drunk and many were spilled. Judging by the reaction of what we saw, many faces showed joy with smiles of camaraderie.
Mr. Irish Bastard
Time for things to calm down a bit. Next up was Plantec, an electro-folk trio from Brittany. If at first the audience seemed a little suspicious, they soon surrendered to the rhythmic sounds played by the band, If at first the audience seemed a little suspicious, they quickly surrendered to the rhythmic sounds played by the band, largely due to the electronic sounds played by DjiBriL and the folk sounds coming from the bombarde played by Odran.
Plantec
The last band to perform in Heidnische Dorf was Eihwar, a French duo that quickly gained notoriety for their blend of Viking folk, paganism, shamanic trance and industrial. Incorporating tribal and martial percussion into their sound, the audience was quickly surrendered to the hypnotic sounds and dances of the vocalist as she played the bodhrán. Some of the songs played among others were “Völva’s Chant”, “Ragnarök”, “Yggdrasil’s Renewal”, “Berserkr”, “Valhalla”.
Eihwar
Day 3
On the third day we went to Felsenkeller. Of the various shows spread across many places in the city, this seemed to us to be where our target audience would identify the best.
The opening band was Morphium, a band from Spain that does a fusion of gothic/death and metalcore. They had the thankless task of opening to a venue that wasn’t very full due to it being a little early. Despite this, the band, with a lot of determination, showed that they were there to give their best. As the show went on, more people arrived and towards the end the space was almost full. Interestingly, the fuller the venue, the more receptive the audience was to the songs played. The set-list was based on the band’s last two albums, the ones sung in English. Those who watched the Morphium concert from the beginning could hear the songs “Everybody Is Dead in This House”, The Truth”, “Parasite”, “Victim of Your Shame”, “All You Are”, “Black Soul”, “Made of Scars”, “Insorcism”, “Dance of Flies”, “What Lies Behind Words” and “You’d Rather Be Blind”.
Next up on stage was Enemy Inside, a German metal band that has been gaining popularity. Since the band is relatively new and has only two albums, the tracks presented were from those two albums. Despite this, from what was seen from the public, many people knew them. “Crystallize”, “Alien”, “Angels Suicide”, “Lullaby”, “In My Blood”, Bulletproof”, “Seven”, “What We Used to Be” (this one a new single), “Release Me”, “Falling Away” and “Black Butterfly” echoed inside the Felsenkeller venue and thrilled the audience. Finishing the show, perhaps as a premonition of what could happen in the next releases, a rebirth into something different, they played “Phoenix”. The future will tell.
The third band of the night was Sirenia, a Norwegian band from Symphonic/Gothic Metal from the early 2000s that needs no introduction for lovers of the genre. A band that, having undergone several changes over time, has stabilized its formation in recent years and this was evident live, not only in the cohesion of the musicians on stage, but also in the choice of the set list in which the songs were mostly taken from the last 4 albums (with emphasis on the album “1977” released last year) featuring vocalist Emmanuelle Zoldan. “Dim Days of Dolor”, “Into the Night”, “In Styx Embrace”, “Deadlight”, “Lost in Life”, “A Thousand Scars”, “Nomadic”, “Wintry Heart”, “My Mind’s Eye”, “The Other Side” and “The Path to Decay” were some of the songs played. In between, one of the songs that got people moving the most was the metal cover of the Desireless song “Voyage Voyage”.
The fourth band on the show was another band from Norway but in a totally different style: Keep of Kalessin, legendary black metal band from the 90s. With a very powerful sound, they distilled fast songs, visiting almost the entire discography (except the first two albums): taking a song here, another there.The songs “Dragon Iconography”, “Hellride”, “Dark Divinity”, “Crown of the Vikings”, “Introspection”, “The Divine Land”, “War of the Wyrm”, “Katharsis”, “Dark as Moonless Night”, “Come Damnation”, “The Wealth of Darkness” and “Ascendant” raised the bar for the last band of the night.
And the last band of the night were the Swedish Tiamat, a band that everyone in the metal universe knows (or should know), with the charismatic Johan Edlund entering the stage wearing a Che Guevara t-shirt and an Ottoman hat on his head. Basically the show was the album “Clouds” played in full plus some songs taken from the album “Wildhoney”. Basically the show was the album “Clouds” played in full plus some songs taken from the album “Wildhoney”. Then, after “In a Dream”, “Clouds”, “Smell of Incense”, “A Caress of Stars”, “The Sleeping Beauty”, “Forever Burning Flames”, “The Scapegoat” and “Undressed”, the mood slowed down and became a bit more melancholic with the sounds of “Whatever That Hurts”, “The Ar”, “Do You Dream of Me?” and “Visionaire”. There’s still time to listen to “Cain” and “Phantasma de Luxe” before finishing with “Gaia”. The high point of the concert came when Johan Edlund came down from the stage and went to the railings next to the audience and, establishing a dialogue with a spectator, began to sing a song with him. Good show with excellent sound.
Day 4
On the fourth and last day we returned to Felsenkeller. Schwarzer Engel and Megaherz deserved our attention (and we thought our readers would be equally interested in the report).
Opening the show, Stoneman, a Swiss industrial, dark rock band, began to play. Just like the previous day, the show started with a half-full house. But soon it began to fill up. This band with 20 years of experience showed that they are a well-oiled machine. After He-Man’s intro they opened the show with the song Eiskalt, a strong and danceable song. “An die Geräte”, “Marie”, “Niemandsland”, “Lolita”, “Wer Ficken Will”, “Liebe, Liebe”, “Goldmarie”, “Der Rote Vorhang” and “Mord ist Kunst” followed. A good start to an afternoon/evening that promised to be strong in more danceable rhythms.
Next up on stage was Maerzfeld, a German industrial metal band that takes some of its influence from Rammstein sound (perhaps that’s why the public’s support was massive). Songs like “Still”, “Alles anders”, “Die Welt reißt auf”, “Es bricht”, “Tief”, “Wach auf”, “La petite morte”, “Erleuchtung”, “Plötzlicht tut es weh”, “Ich bin der Tod”, “Lange nicht”, “Zorn”, “Schaedling” and, closing the show, “Schwarzer Schnee” – which seemed to us to be the band’s best known song due to the amount of audience singing the chorus – livened up and got a lot of people dancing and moving.
The third band of the night was the German Gothic Metal band Schwarzer Engel. In an interactive concert between band and audience, with a pulpit set up on stage, Dave Jason showed that he is a frontman with a lot of experience and, like a priest, he guided his followers (the public). Of the almost 20 songs played, we highlight “Götterdämmerung”, “Halb-Gott”, “Geister und Dämonen”, “Sinnflut”, “Götterfunken”, “Meine Liebe”, “Himmelwärts”, “Königin der Nacht”, “Ewig Leben”, “Tanzende Schatten”, “Schwarze Sonne”, “Paradis”, “Unheil”, “Psycho-Path” and, the last, “Endzeit”.
The fourth band of the night was Schattenmann, a German industrial rock band. It was a concert where the visual and lighting aspect was quite important. With strategically placed auxiliary lights on stage, the show was a spectacle of light and color. The band members showed up with fluorescent paint and when they turned off the lights and it got dark in the venue they glowed in the dark. As for the musical component, it was a very intense concert, giving the audience no rest, who moved a lot with the strong, harsh guitars and industrial sounds. Songs like “Dämonen”, “Jeder ist Schlecht”, “Brennendes Eis”, “Epidemie”, “Generation Sex”, “Chaos”, “Dickpic”, “Nadel & Faden”, “Licht an”, “Amok”, “Cosima”, “Komet”, “Spring”, and, supposedly ending with what has already become a classic of the band “Dia de Muertos”. They returned to the stage for an encore with “Hände hoch” and “Ewigkeit”.
Closing the show and the most anticipated band of the night was Megaherz, another German industrial rock-metal band. The euphoria of the previous bands didn´t fade with this one, on the contrary. The bar was successively raised. Some of the songs played after an “Intro” were “In Teufels Namen”, “Menschenhasser”, “Roter Mond”, “Horrorclown”, “Vorhang Auf”, “Amnesie”, “5. März”, “Nicht in meinem Namen”, “Rabenherz”, “Engelsgesicht”, “Freigeist”, “König der Dummen” and “Miststück”. One of the funny moments of the show was when Lex Wohnhaas, the lead singer, dropped the microphone into the photographers’ pit. The band continued playing as he jumped from the stage into the pit, grabbed the microphone, climbed onto the grids and invited the public to sing into the microphone. They also returned for an encore with the songs “Jagdzeit” and “Himmelsstürmer”.
And that’s how WGT happened in 2024, or what we decided to follow for our readers. Let’s see if next year we have the opportunity to return. We thank the organization for allowing us to attend this festival for another year.
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