Friday

I Got into the nineteenth edition of Wave Gotik Treffen unusually early. And not to waste the extra time, I went straight away to visit the festival area to take some photos of interestingly dressed people. Of course, as usually, everyone willingly expose themselves in front of an objective, so this year’s gallery abounds in pictures of various untypical persons. But let’s come back to merit of the festival that is music and concerts. On Friday I’ve managed to see five of them:

Zeromancer as the first band pulled up a crown of fans towards Agra Halle, which is, I must say, untypical, because normally bands playing in early hours do not draw too many people. Zeromancer presented probably all best known and liked songs of their artwork. At the end as a relish they presented a new composition, which immensely made the gathered audience happy.

Setlist:
Doppelgänger I love you
Clone your lover
Need you like a drug
Sinners International
Ammonite
The Hate Alphabet
It sounds like love but it looks like sex
Photographic
Dr Online
Houses of cards



Samsas Traum is a next band bringing the public to the hall – the number of spectators didn’t decrease at all despite a solid rotation. The project was a mystery to me, a vocalist dressed in jeans and green T-shirt roaring to the microphone for almost an hour, because the songs did not really differ in sound, after a few tracks I went out of the hall leaving the noise behind. What’s interesting, there was quite an amount of people who had come to the concert, that must had been drawn to the band with something. I wonder what it was…



Conjure One will remain to me equally positive revelation of the festival, as Spectra*Paris was two years ago. Good female vocal combined with interesting compositions gave a really quaint effect. Although there wasn’t too much happening on stage and the concert was quite static, it didn’t interfere with its reception in any case. It was nice to see and listen to Conjure One, especially because I didn’t know their repertory before and now I know that after coming back from the festival I will have to make up for this backlog.

Setlist:
Endless Dream
I Dream In Colour
Sleep
Extraordinary Way
Premonition
Pilgrimage
Run For Cover
Forever Lost
Center Of The Sun
Tears From The Moon



Kirlian Camera is a legend band and even if their artwork isn’t highly varied with sound, it isn’t a negative point in any case, as each spectator knows what to expect from them. As always, the band presented a high level and certainly didn’t disappoint anyone. Anyway, one could see it after the amount of the gathered people – the hall was bursting at the seams and people were reveling for the whole concert sprinkling themselves from time to time with beer and other liquids trying not to faint from the heat in the hall.

Setlist:
Neither Honour Nor Glory (Intro)
Winged Child Sitting On A Bench Watching Obscure Clouds Getting Closer While People Look For A Shelter
E.D.O. / Europa Drama Orbit
Edges
Your Face In The Sun Version 3
Megamix 2010 (Incl. The Immaterial Children+Absentee+Coroner’s Sun+Dead Zone In The Sky)
Hymn
K-Pax (Version)
Eclipse (Anniversary)
Blue Room (Eurotech Vision)
Heldenplatz (Mission Walhalla)
Odyssey Europa



As we menton the legends… After one and a half hor break on stage appears Brendan Perry, that is half of the legendary Dead Can Dance. It’s wonderful to listen and watch the old-school bands where we won’t experience any electronic "succours" of sound or vocal. For one and a half hour I am a witness of indeed a master show composed of a fantastic vocal and the music accompaning. The concert ends up with thunderous applause which shouldn’t surprise anyone. We couldn’t expect a better ending.

Setlist:
The Arcane
Love On The Vine
The Carnival Is Over
The Golden Rule
A Passage In Time
Dream Letter
This Boy
Tree Of Life
You Never Loved This City
Wintersun
Medusa
Eros
Utopia
Voyage Of Bran
Spirit
Severance




Saturday

The second day of the festival welcomed me with heat(despite at night the temperature fell down to few centigrades). Having some time I went to see a nearby pagan village located in an old castle. As always, the place gave the impression of slightly torn out of time, which built incredibly likeable atmosphere letting people, no matter what music they listen to, have a great time… and gorge themselves with many titbits baked and served in a truly medieval style (yes, there was a roasted piglet too).

After exploring the castle I went to Werk II to some goth rock projects concerts. Waiting for Joy Disaster I saw two lesser music projects: Raum 41 and Luxury Stranger. Both brought some people (however some of them probably took up better places for Joy Disaster) and played similar not too long sets with a slight difference - in Raum 41 there’s a woman singing, and in Luxury Stranger – a man. Not dwelling on I’ll say that I enjoyed both concerts, yet still didn’t impress me much.



Raum 41:
Arabesque
Jack O’Storm
Ocean
Earthquake
Stamina
CrescendoMoon

Luxury Stranger:
Korruption
Paradise Untouched
Making Becci Laugh
Precious for Evermore
Dreaming Our Lives Away
Frozen
Where You've Gone
On&OnandOn

Waiting for Joy Disaster is on and on… Finally after a 20 minute delay I find one of people coordinating concerts in Werk II and I ask if Joy Disaster will play. Unfortunately, I find out that the band didn’t reach Leipzig on time and the concert won’t take place. Hard luck.

After returning to Agra I still have some time to the concerts so I hunt strange people. Finally it’s 18.50 and Rabia Sorda’s concert begins, that is a solo project of one of the founders of the legendary Hocico. Frankly speaking this Erk’s side-project never suited my taste so I’ve watched the concert out of pure curiosity and not trying to assess it in any way because I wouldn’t have found too many positive musical aspects.

Setlist:
Today in Mexico (Intro)
Save Me from my Curse
Get your overdose
Radio Paranoia
What U get is what U see
Misery
Dibujando el veneno (Instrumental for improvisation)
Out of Control
Breaking Through
Heart Eating Crows
Walking on Nails



Rotersand’s concert promoted their newest album "Random is resistance", though during the concert, besides new tracks, we heard many smash hits from earlier recordings. And that was very good! People really quickly caught lively rhythms of Rotersand and raved for the whole concert. I saw a few shows of this project and this year’s concert at Wave Gotik Treffen went equally well, and maybe even somewhat better comparing to previous ones. I would even give a small plus for adding to stage design three big screens on which during concerts the visualizations were displayed, picturing consecutive tracks. Maybe it’s a detail but still gladden the eye.



Having the Agra Halle 4.2 near I went to see the concert of Ambasador 21. Unfortunately they ran short of German precision beacause it turned out that the concerts are 40-minute delayed. I don’t regret it in any way as by accident I had opportunity to get to know power-noise project with a graceful name, Twinkle. Just two inconspicuous guys behind consoles going crazy on stage more than the public in front. Obviously in such situation they don’t play too much because this type of concert is rather a dj set, however, in case of this music and this project it didn’t interfere at all. All the room was trembling from vibrating low tones and noise "rumble". What’s funny, at Rabia Sorda’s concert I had a headache. During Twinkle’s show it stopped...

Setlist:
Intro
Les Passages Oublies
La Victime Volontaire
Joue Avec Moi
Le Passage Atemporel
Le Dernier Vivant
Tu As Perdu

I didn’t wait to Ambasadoa 21 cause I had to run for X Marks The Pedwalk’s concert. To my surprise there was a delay here either due to 3 gigantic telebims being constructed on stage. After a longer break and making the audience laugh with accidently emitted sound of "shutting down Windows ;)" the concert begins. As I expected, it is a form over content. One can see that the band was collecting material to their concert DVD because In some places there were cameras located, and visually the concert was organized with in grand style. But what i sit all for if besides this "graphic" performance of the whole the vocal and all music is poor. I thought that this day I won’t see anything worse than Rabia Sorda, but I got surprised. The guys from "X-s" should solidly work on their music, and not on visual side of the concerts.

Setlist:
Seventeen
Wipe no tears
Missing light
Desolation
Runaway
My back
Never look back
Abattoir
Never dare to ask
Facer

Disgusted with X Marks The Pedwalk’s concert, again I went to the small stage located in Agra 4.2 to the concert of well known to me Dexy Corp. Unfortunately I didn’t see much because In some miraculous way they managed to catch up the delays. On the basis of two last tracks I can’t say too much. The band did quite well on stage, the public also happily received each industrial rock pieces they played. After "X-s" it was an ear-pleasant springboard.

Next on small stage I watched Punish Yourself – a project which doesn’t musically differ as much from others, but its visual side makes up for it with interest, which you can see yourselves on photos. On stage we have a Chance to see, well, how to actually call this "something" - "cyber-zombie"? Anyway, not only the band did quite well musically serving successive harsh pieces with which they solidly made the public move, but also on stage we are witnesses of a specific show with attendance of the mentioned zombies. Good idea and good realization – a plus for the band from me.

Setlist:
Intro (Brighter Than A Thousand Suns)
Shiva Only Is God
Suck My Tv
Zmeya
Mothra Lady
See Ya Mater Aligator
End Of The Western World
Las Vegas 2060’s
This Is My Body, This Is My Gazoline
We Shall Be The New Messiah
(My Name Is) Legion
T4 Song
No One To Talk With
Blast Off Siddharta Junkie
You Ain T Got Me
Gay Boys In Bondage



For the end of the concert day there’s a show left of a one-man project, Leather Strip. The project with many years’ stage experience and many released albums brought a huge mass of people to the hall. Contrary to exaggerated performance of X Marks The Pedwalk, Leather Stip popadł fell into visual ascetism. And it’s really good because good music stands up for itself. In my opinion it’s better not to present by force some unconsidered stage show than present oneself such a anti-advertisement as the excommunicated by me this evening X Mark The Pedwalk. The concert finishes with, similarily as Brendan Perry’s one the day before, a solid applause. It was definitely due.

Setlist:
Desert Storm
Introvert
Evil Speaks
Hate me
Japanese bodies
Strap me down
Black Gold
Dont tame your soul
Black Candle
Sex dwarf
Adrenaline rush
Body Machine Body

Sunday

After regenerating accumulators of devices and my own I start going towards Werk II where I’m going to spend the whole day because as every year Sunday in Werk means industrial atmospheres – that’s something for me.

By the way I have a Chance to see a part of Endless’s concert in the hall of Agra. The band didn’t touch me completely so I went out after 3 tracks, anyway, the amount of people (small group) under the stage suggested that the band could have got onto smaller stage than the main one.
In Werk II as the first one on stage appears Schallfaktor who with a solid impetus forces considerable gathered crowd to move their bones. While it’s true that the vocal was slightly shaky and didn’t sound as it does on records, but I think nobody except myself really cared. The band played probably all their hits so In the end it wasn’t that bad.

Setlist:
Friss Mich
Glaskastentraum
Seelenfresser
Mir
Promiskuitiv
Suicide Confession
End of Love



After Schallfaktor’s koncert the hall visibly became deserted because a one-man harsh-noise project The PCP Principle came on stage, and they successfully swept away the people with their music. Indeed, it took some strong will to survive some pieces cause the level of music was different than more beat ones, as it was really harsh-noise. I think if the band puts some work to the next productions, they’ll have a chance to equalize their style and aim at either one or another side, which in my view will turn to their account.

Setlist:
Annihilation is The Only Option
Resolution
Travesty
Tiny Mind
Apocalypse When?
Nothing to Me
Flatline



When on stage appeared the next single-man project, Flint Glass, people shyly started to return to the hall. If someone who likes industrial sound didn’t have opportunity to see this project live, they should make up for it as soon as possible. Each time I see Filnt Glass’s performance I fall into some kind of musical euphoria. Simply a piece of good music. Out!

Setlist:
Zahrim / Collaboration Track With Ah Cama Sotz
Contagion & Rebirth Collaboration Track With Prospero
Circumpolar
Cthulhu Dawn
Hierakonpolis
Middle Kingdom
Angular Space

I curiously awaited for the project MS Gentur because it’s a band I haven’t known before. Onto the stage there again appears one person surrounded with a mass of electronic samplers and effectors. The concert began quite noisily and the audience crumbled out a bit. But but… It was enough to wait a moment and MS went into more rhythm-noise side! The power and sound of resounding bass lines caused quite a resonance of the hall together with everybody inside it… Later it was only better! The tempo speeded up, and with it the madness among spectators. I can put down on my list another good concert that I’ve seen In my life and I must get familiar with MS Gentur’s works in details when I’m back from the festival.

Setlist:
Schwerkraft (Intro)
Ashes
Stemcell
Hausschlachtung
Final Fantasy
Physis
Poly Tox
Manimal
Beefeater
Ind. Area (Encore)
Nataraja



I was going to omit Ext!ze’s performance with a minute of deathly silence, but I’m not able to because the bitterness that stayed inside me after this concert is too great. I would forgive much if this "shiny boysband" was opening the line-up in Werk II, but it was placed In quite a high position, thus my expectations also became more demanding. There’s no point to mention the music because it’s not worth any comment from my side. Whoever had a hard luck to listen to the pieces of Ext!ze, they know what I’m talking about. I’ll only add that if these "boys" want to achieve something, then there’s a vertical wall in front of them with the sign "hard work". If they overcome it, then maybe someday I’ll come to like them. In the end it’s unacceptable to lose the sound for three times during three tracks coming one after another. Ok, that’s enough – maybe someone from the band will read my words and take them to heart, if not – hard luck, unfortunately currently on dark-independent stage there’s no lack of fans of such "artwork". Alas!

Setlist:
Aerial Zombies
Poser
Electronic Revolt
100% Pure Cocaine
Red Water (Rusted Land Edit)
Hellektrostar
Gothic Pussy (Horrorporn Edit)
Boyz Love Girlz



After the musical disaster mentioned above the stage becomes abandoned and another one-man project appeares on it, named Mono No Aware. Summing up this performance in one sentence, it’s another portion of very good music under the sign of industrial-noise. For variety’s sake on stage besides Leif appears a well known Greek dancer Zirconia who even plays a sampler during one of the songs. In my opinion this wasn’t a necessary konieczny procedure because Mono No Aware’s music stands for itself, but I won’t interfere the artists’ concept. The most important thing is that it didn’t destroy the concert in any way. This performance was a perfect antidote of earlier Ext!ze’s show.



Leif writes about his show like this:
"I started with the 2 tracks "Ganbare" and "After the Experiment" in one.
Followed by "hinin" and "Sora". After this "Spodni Zeme" and "AK". Than came "Hanbaagaa" and "odoroku" to the end. Thats probably my list on the WGT."

Modulate gave the audience a 40-minute set. I would say, a pity that it was only a 40-minute set. This project proves that if someone doesn’t have a good vocal, they can focus on making fantastic music sampling various films and other sources. The concert of this Belgian project was a true energetic bomb that led the raving crowd to the boiling point, which after MS Gentur’s show seemed almost impossible. I’ll sum up the concert with one word: revelation! From the sound, through technical realisation and performance, to the contact with the audience. Professjonalism of execution and also perfect contact with the public was the key to success, which fruited with a splendid concert. The best evidence of it was the fact that despite movement limitations (in that moment I was wearing about 12 kilos of photographic equipment) I couldn’t stand and idly watch the Belgians’ show. The next successful concert comes onto my list!

Setlist:
Buzzsaw
Electronic Battle Weapon
No Good
Faktory
Skullfuck
Tweekin n Funkin
Dirty Girls
Bass Alert
Revolution
Hard and Dirty
Geoff



I saw the project This Morn ‘Omina for the first time 7 years ago exactly at Wave Gotik Treffen. Since that time I’ve listened dozens of times to their whole discography and I appreciate them till the day. This concert was fully satisfying to me. An hour, while I’ve heard many great compositions of the project including the new track named "Enuma Elis", lasted 30 minutes too short... The whole performance was classically ended with the legendary piece "One Eyed Man" and maybe I’ll repeat myself, but I really think that this is one of these projects that must absolutely be seen in your life. I was lucky to see them for another time. Once again I am satisfied!

Setlist:
Momentumi
Epoch
Enuma Elis (New Song)
Fp52500
Nuraghi
The Immutable Sphere (Ccf)
Shiftwind
(The) Ninth Key (Ccf)
(The) Worldtree (Ccf)
Mainomai(Ccf)
One Eyed Man (Ccf V3)

There was one more concert left for me so I leed my footsteps to the main stage in Agra, to to see the headliner of the evening, Alien Sex Fiend – a British band which will soon celebrate thirtieth anniversary of existence. The 6-thousand Agra Halle became upfilled almost to capacity. Preparations for the concert slightly pulled through because they were installing a dark, spidery scenography that can always be seen at ASF’s concerts. It was worth to wait. To my mind the band In the course of over one and a half hour concert did their best. I am not well aquainted with British’ discography, but I got to know a few tracks that I’d heard before. While I watched the performance of the legend from the distance but curiously, then a crowd of the band’s fans relived the concert in truest euphoria, screaming with joy after a few first samples of each song. It was nice to see this legendary group and for what they showed on stage they deserve really great recognition and respect. Anyway, the crowd clapped their hands after the concert for much longer time after leaving the stage by the vocalists...

Setlist:
In & Out Of My Mind
I Walk The Line
Smells Like...
Get Into It
E.S.T. (Trip To The Moon)
Gotta Have It
Bun Ho
One Way Ticket
Isolation
Now I'm Feeling Zombiefied
Ignore The Machine
Hurricane Fighter Plane



This i show another day of the festival ends. There would be no Wave Gotik Treffen without rain and here the tradition comes true. During Alien Sex Fiend’s concert a solid rainfall begins, so after the concerts some people, instead of the tents, heads to a party to the nearby Agra 4.2. What’s left for me is to wait through the rain and get to the tent which, I hope, is still dry ;)

Monday

The rain took leave of me on Sunday and the rain welcomed me on Monday, and storms were surprising all attendants of the festival for the whole day. After dealing with ubiquitous flood I went to Kohlrabizirkus, where I’ve spent the last day of the festival.
Running away and Whiting through the next coming storms I didn’t manage to get to the two first bands. I saw the last two songs of Stereomotion.

Setlist:
Lernen durch Verlust (Intro)
Forgiven (Club Version) -unreleased-
Schuld und Sühne
Addicted
Filth
On your knees
Without you (forever) -unreleased-
Pride



After a technical break on stage appeared a single-man project, Monolith which, in my view, should have been located the day before in Werk II among the other industrial projects (for example instead Ext!ze). A solidna doze of energetic beat caused a wave of joyful shouts and general delight of the gathered public. The concert would be really great, if not constant technical problems that faced Monolith. From time to time the sound was breaking, and as I’ve mentioned before, it is unacceptable.

Setlist:
Karma (unreleased)
Shot
Tribal globe V2 (unreleased)
Amplitube
Seven Sins
Indistar (unreleased)
Biosphere
Discobuddha (unreleased version)
Dance Macabre (unreleased)



A rotation of the audiencje takes place and on stage appears Kiew. This psychodelic trio served a 50-minute set of their most eminent productions. Of course not everybody must like Kiew, which could be noticed, as the hall became deserted a bit and during the concert one could see that a part of people was even running away from the hall from the industrial sounds coming from the stage. For the other part it was definitely a successful show that was rewarded with rousing applause.

Setlist:
Melancholie
Exit
Graograman
Kaeferfruehstueck
Therapiegespraech
Zimmer 72
Fernsprecher
Tanz Debil
dcdisk (Lenny Dee Remix Version)
Staub
Stille/Stimme

I was trying to convince myself somehow to Trial but I didn’t succeed with this work. The band simply made me tired. However, a considerable part of the public accompanied the vocalist during each track so I must have been one of a few displeased people.



I’ll admit that I am partial to In Strict Confidence, so I watch their concerts with uncritical satisfaction and this time it wasn’t different. Denis and co. played my favourite songs including "Seven Lives", they made a fire show and displayed their visualisations and clips synchronized with what they played at the moment. Then it was a classic example of a good concert performed by In Strict Confidence. As I’ve said in the beginning, the concert was, to me, very good and I’m glad that I could see their show for another time.

Setlist:
Intro
My despair
Promised land. clubmix
Seven lives
This is all
Forbidden fruit
Set me free
Away from here
Silver bullets
Closing eyes
Herzattacke. clubmix
Zauberschloss
Engelsstaub



For the end of the festival there was a concert left of the Belgian ebm band, The Klinik. Unfortunately tiredness and awful weather let know of themselves and after "Black Leather" I left the hall leasing behind the crown of ebm maniacs, raving to the rhythm of the cult compositions, which combined with charismatic vocalist and fantastic visualisations picturing each track caused another euphoric reactions of the audience. Possibility to see at least a fragment of such concert is a good ending of the festival...

Setlist:
Surviving In Europe
Braindamage
Murder
Walking With Shadows
Quiet In The Room
Black Leather
Pain And Pleasure
Mindswitch
Obsession
Sick In Your Mind
Moving Hands
Memories
Lies
Hours And Hours
In Your Room
Go Back



As every year, I leave Wave Gotik Treffen with a smile on my face humming one of just aquired pieces whose name I don’t know. I’m glad that as each year I could Discovery something new, see some legends and listen to some good projects. I hope that the next edition will be equally successful as this one was. This I wish to the organizers, you all and myself...