When the smoke clears, stand by for........Destructor!!! Wow, these guys from Cleveland literally ran onstage in the same goddamn leather, spikes and chains outfits they used to wear back in the 80s!! Following the murder of their bass player Paul Warhead they faded away even before they were discovered so this was a rare show indeed! To their credit their new songs like ‘Sonic Bullet’ sounded just the same as their old classics like ‘Pounding Evil’. These guys gave it their all, playing with reckless abandon and afterwards it was all too much for vocalist / guitarist Dave Overkill (a top chef I hear) who collapsed backstage from euphoria, exhaustion (and no doubt heaps of good German beer).

Now Betsy of Bitch is something else. I remember a plump gal heaped in make up and decked out as a trashy dominatrix outfit fronting a band that captured the sleeze of 80s LA and for these sins bore the brunt of many a press jibe. 23 years on and I’m facing a lean, toned sultry lady - hot damn, Betsy looked real good for her age and sounded powerful on songs like ‘Skullcrusher’. I loved the way she kept teasing the drunk guys in the crowd (one of whom was waving a strap on dildo until Betsy asked him to get on all fours so she could use it on him - he refused!) before brandishing and expertly twirling her whip for ‘Be My Slave’ - I got the impression she had enough practice with it on guitarist (and boyfriend) Dave Carruth!

Taking a break from Rob Rock, Amon Amarth, Axxis, I returned to catch the tail end of Norwegian rockers TNT (thankfully minus their furry boots and scarves!) before the onset of the devastating Annihilator. Intense is an understatement to describe an Annihilator show and respect an insult to credit the achievements and capabilities of Jeff Waters - the man is a borne riff master! The entire crowd can only stare in disbelief as Waters confidently stomps around the stage churning out riff after goddamn riff until they can no longer resist and just go hysterical. Fuck yeah, Annihilator is in the house!

Dokken seem almost static with their mid tempo LA rock though this offers the crowd a nice break before old German faves Sodom hit the stage. Playing much of their material from their M-18 album, I actually prefer Tom’s side band Onkel Tom but there’s no denying Sodom’s place in German metal history. So is eating bratwurst more enjoyable that watching Hammerful - I would’ve preferred to see a real power metal act like Germany’s own Freedom Call.

As the sun sets an orange haze appears in the horizon and coincidentally Ronnie James Dio also appears onstage to orange backlights (yeah I know Dio means God in Italian but...). The heavy duty riffs courtesy of long time guitarist Vivian Campbell herald the sound of ‘Stand Up and Shout’ and I’m back to 1982 when I first saw Dio!! ‘Straight Thru the Heart’, ‘Holy Diver’, ‘Children of the Sea’ and mega bonus for me ‘Mob Rules’ are all delivered with precision and most of all, the incredible voice of Dio. The man himself looks pretty much the same despite being close to 50 (?) and judging by the crowds similar approval Dio deserves his headliner status and the bringing this days proceedings to a grand finale.



Sat 28 June 2003

It’s 10AM so wake up cos its Hirax time!!!!!! I don’t know if Katon de Pena and his crew had heard about Destructor’s entrance from the previous day but they simply refused to let Balingen sleep. Quite simply, the amount of energy put out by these guys was awesome (and painful so early in the morning). The crowd was trickling and about 30 people were gathered to see Hirax. After the first song it was 50, then 100, then Katon called out to the crowds still waiting to get in and a huge roar came back. Katon is the frontman (and one of the original tape trading metalheads from LA that spawned the likes of Metallica, Slayer, Dark Angel etc) and he’s now backed up by a band that shreds!! Hirax took BYH by the scruff of the neck and shook it until it begged for mercy. Whaaa - if that wasn’t enough out walks Jack Starr (Virgin Steele) to jam out a coupla numbers at the end, and even he was gasping for air to keep up with their intensity! I’ve attended many festivals in different countries over the years but never, ever have I seen an opening act get a hungover festival crowd going like this (not forgetting that Katon is a black guy complete with an 80’s afro!). I will look forward to seeing Hirax again - they are quite possibly the consummate opening act.

With Hirax setting the pace (i.e. overdrive!) Angelwitch thankfully matched it pound for pound! ‘Angel of Death’, ‘Atlantis’, ‘Baphomet’ - Angelwitch have steadfastly held onto their NWOBHM heritage with their new material continuing that tradition, earning much respect from the audience judging by the sheer number of ‘Witch banners and people singing along to their songs. Both Hirax and Angelwitch have shaken Balingen and left the audience and myself in need of some Viking wine!

But before anyone can move a thunderstorm hits and everyone runs for cover causing me to miss Masterplan, Brainstorm, Pink Cream 69 and some of Hypocrisy’s set. Come hell or high water however, there was no way I was gonna miss the next band.

“Ladies and gentlemen, BYH is proud to present all the way from San Francisco - Y&T!!!”. I was so pissed off I missed seeing these guys in California in late 2002 but this more than made up for it. Y&T knew exactly what the crowd wanted and delivered it all with ‘Open Fire’, ‘Mean Streak’, ‘Forever’, ‘Rescue Me’. Man, it was 1 hour of musical heaven and clearly I wasn’t alone in my ecstacy (and appreciation of the bands technical ability) as some Japanese chick behind me kept squealing like a stuck pig everytime Dave Meneketti launched into a solo! Like a good whiskey, Y&T’s outstanding performance proved to be another highlight reinforcing the view that BYH pulls the best bands.

If Y&T were class with talent, then Overkill were no class with talent. Personifying the whole New York badass muthafucker attitude, they were in direct contradiction to their west coast counterparts. Should the band disband I would expect a number of them to become taxi drivers or perhaps that’s where they learned to be so obnoxious in the first place. 20 years on, they’re still (af)fronted by founders Bobby ‘Blitz’ Ellesworth (a short guy with a big mop) and DD Verni (a short guy with a big badass bass). Bobby’s chest was all cut up as he proudly displayed it while DD taunted the crowd to give them the finger while screaming ‘fuck you’ as he swung around his evil looking bass. Overkill left the stage with the crowd baying for their blood - and at last I saw a wry smile on DD’s face.

With Udo ballooning in size to near bursting point, I’m glad he still has his air raid siren voice. He’s definitely a fave here with the Balingen faithfull as he draws a big crowd and everyone (including myself) sings along to classics like ‘Princess of the Dawn’, ‘Metal Heart’ and one of my all time songs ‘Fast As A Shark’.

While many of the crowd opted to take a break before the grand finale with Twisted Sister, I was more interested in seeing Thin Lizzy, a band who I had passed up on many an opportunity to see until Phil Lynott’s untimely death. Like Y&T, I found Lizzy a class act whose experience and talent ensured that songs like ‘Rosie Lee’, ‘Jailbreak’, and ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’ were delivered effortlessly. John Sykes has proved to be suitable frontman for Phil even though his voice is very much reminiscent of his famed predecessor. Those who stayed were truly rewared with a magical experience.

Having seen the original Twisted Sister line up (with make up) about 5 times during the 80s, their set for me was more nostalgic than the big event that had everyone close to orgasm. Having played at BYH 2002 as Dee Snider, it was strange but enjoyable to see Dee again this time with make up although the crowd and some of the other bands no doubt lapped up every minute of TS’s set. Once again, I left to the sound of 'We’re Not Gonna Take It’ ringing in my ears.

Once again, Bang Your Head has proven to be a worldclass festival attracting international acts and a diverse audience even as far as South America as it delivers the metal that others cannot!