NOVA ROCK FESTIVAL 2015 REVIEW
Entertainment for the Thursday was provided by bands and DJs playing to an eager audience at the small and somewhat crowded Jagermeister stage. The Grill & Chill area, true to its name, was a great spot to relax in a hammock or fire up a barbecue while listening to some mellow acoustic tunes being performed live on stage. A simple idea that was executed perfectly and made a very welcome addition to the festival. Many merchandise and market stalls were also open on the first day, as well as the fun park with a fair selection of nausea-inducing rides.
Nova Rock festival took place just outside Nickelsdorf from the 12th to the 14th of June 2015. With an extremely diverse line-up featuring many genres you don't typically see grouped together at the same concerts, the 11th edition of the Austrian festival featured something for everyone. Everything from hip-hop to hardcore, grunge to groove metal and rock 'n' roll to rave could be heard at this eclectic event.
This was my first time attending Nova Rock and – despite having quite a few festivals under my belt – I was a little unprepared for both the weather and the festival terrain. We arrived early on Thursday afternoon and were met with scorching heat and dusty fields strewn with more rocks than grass. Carrying our gear from the shuttle drop-off location to the campsite and pitching our tents was a rather challenging experience.
Fortunately, cold beer was readily available at the extremely reasonable price of €1 for a 0,5 liter can of Ottarocker. Beer could also be bought by the case, but in the terrible heat this was only a useful option for campers who brought cooler boxes. A variety of food stalls catered to all tastes and the average price of a meal was anywhere from €5 to €7. Showers were free and the queues for them moved along fairly quickly. My only real grievance is that there weren't nearly enough water points to accommodate all the thirsty festival goers and I spent a good portion of my time standing in line under the hot sun, waiting for my turn at the taps.
Early Friday afternoon saw Austrian rock band Mother's Cake opening the Red Stage and setting the bar high for all subsequent performers. Deathstars and Backyard Babies were enjoyable but somewhat disappointing at times, with neither getting too much of a reaction from the crowd. Godsmack, Guano Apes and the Eagles of Death Metal were all surprisingly good and were very well received by the audience. Other bands playing on the day included Mastodon, Lamb of God and Rise Against. The headliner for Friday evening was none other than Los Angeles glam legends Mötley Crüe. Playing only a handful of European dates on their farewell tour, their appearance at Nova Rock may very well have been the last chance for many fans to see the band in action. They played an explosive set featuring all their hits, with plenty of impressive pyrotechnics and Nikki Sixx literally setting the stage alight with his flamethrower bass. Definitely one of the highlights of the weekend! Almost hilariously out of place on the bill, German dance group Scooter were the late night entertainment special and last act of the day. Seeing a rock and roll crowd suddenly shift into a massive rave party complete with glow sticks was a humorous experience to say the least.
German punk band Die Toten Hosen were the headliners for Saturday evening, but as their set overlapped both In Flames and Nightwish we missed their entire performance. Nightwish, touring to support the release of their latest album Endless Forms Most Beautiful, were as much a visual treat as an aural one. Their impressive show was backed with elaborate backdrops and continuous bursts of smoke and flames from the stage. With her perfect vocal delivery and strong stage presence, newly-joined singer Floor Jansen proved that she is a perfect addition to the band. Sadly - apart from one or two songs - the band did not dig very deep into their catalogue and mostly played songs from their most recent releases. Despite this, it was an unforgettable experience.
Sunday, the final day of the festival, was relatively quiet with only a handful of bands getting my attention. German bands Beyond the Black and Powerwolf were both very good but had disappointingly short sets. Switzerland's folk metallers Eluveitie were excellent and had the crowd in the palm of their hands, even playing the Swiss German version of their hit The Call Of The Mountains.
The festival came to a brief, abrupt halt when a storm broke out in the early evening, right at the start of Five Finger Death Punch's set. In complete contrast to the sunshine and blistering heat that had prevailed for most of the weekend, the skies turned dark as a storm seemed to appear out of nowhere. In an instant, whole tents were swept away by the wind as the rocky soil made it difficult to properly secure tent pegs. Rain poured down and hail battered festival goers as they scrambled to get to shelter. The storm dissipated just as quickly as it came, leaving behind a splendid muddy mess and a landscape strewn with destroyed tents. Bands resumed playing shortly thereafter, but the storm had introduced quite a delay in the schedule.
Saturday was packed with excellent bands, with The Answer and Blues Pills proving that old school rock and roll is still alive and well! The all-female grunge band L7 were very disappointing, but things kicked into high gear with energetic performances by Epica, In Extremo, Papa Roach and In Flames. Unfortunately, I was only able to watch about 3 minutes of In Flames as I had to spend the rest of the time carrying a never-ending sea of crowd surfers. I had to turn my back to the stage to avoid getting kicked in the head by wave upon wave of morons flailing their limbs wildly while being carried to the barricade where we were standing. Most major European festivals have issued a ban on crowd surfing and Nova Rock's decision to allow it is probably the single biggest critique I have of the festival.
Motörhead played their trademark brand of straight to the point, no-frills rock and roll to an eager audience. Lemmy seemed to struggle with some of the vocals, but at 69 years of age and with recent health troubles that is completely 100% forgiveable. Apart from some humorous quips on stage, the trio powered through their set and delivered an intense, no nonsense performance. We could only see half their songs as Californian band Orchid were playing on the Red Bull Brandwagen stage at the same time. Orchid were absolutely excellent live and it's a terrible shame that they could only draw a tiny crowd away from Motörhead.
Slipknot was the final headliner and the closing act of the festival. I did not have the energy to watch them play and instead listened to them from my tent. From what I could hear, they did put on a very good performance and I'm told they had a very impressive stage show.
All in all, Nova Rock was a rather unique experience and I would gladly attend another edition if they can keep bringing bands of the same quality.
The three biggest tips I can give to people looking to attend for the first time:
1) Leave your cheap tent pegs at home and bring proper tent stakes and a rubber mallet.
2) Shade is essential. If you can't bring some form of shade, make friends with people who did.
3) Make sure you have plenty of water at your campsite. Bring a large container so you don't have to queue to refill it every day!
Written & photo by Dylan du Toit
