Photo Credit: Maryleen Guevara
The sun shines bright on Nürburgring for the 39th edition of the legendary Rock Am Ring Festival. A delightful surprise – SPF50 in the pocket, harness on the shoulders and off we go to shoot our first act of the day. The excitement is palpable. The scale of this festival is clear: massive. Big breath, let’s get the party started!
Texans Fit For A King open the Mandora stage with incredible energy. The crowd is massive for such an early slot and the flow of crowd surfers never lets up for the whole forty minutes. Tracks from 2022 album The Hell We Create and 2020 release The Path make up the majority of the set and prove a great start to the weekend for everyone watching. 7/10
Off we go, jumping into another pit. This time it’s third stage for James and the Cold Gun. The Welsh alt-rockers bring their riffs to Rock Am Ring for the first time, following the release of their debut album last year. With former members of Holding Absence and Arcane Roots in their line-up, the band are used to smashing festival slots, and today is no different. Those who turned out early are treated to forty minutes of the best riffs of the day. 7/10
Back to Mandora stage for the heaviest band of the Friday, ASINHELL. Just two years ago Michael Poulsen was headlining the Main Stage at Rock Am Ring as front man of the very successful Volbeat. Today, he is playing an early slot on the second stage with his side project, but gives it every bit as much of his energy. Asinhell bring the festivals first taste of traditional metal and are an early treat for fans camped at this stage for Kerry King and Kreator later in the day. 8/10
Without catching a break we walk like there’s no tomorrow to get to main stage, the iconic Utopia stage, to catch Royal Blood. The stage is so high that if you’re in the first few rows you will probably have no idea what the drummers in bands even look like. Lucky for us, Royal Blood’s duo set up makes sure we can all see Ben Thacher smash those cymbals until he decides to jump into the crowd and mosh at song two! The setlist draws primarily from the bands self-titled debut album, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, and gives the audience everything they were hoping for. 8/10
We can’t catch a single breath today! Shooting back down to third stage for Wargasm! The band are lead by the stunning Milkie Way, who captivates the crowd with both her stage presence and vocals. The set is non-stop energy from start to finish and it’s impossible to not have fun whilst watching them. They drew a great crowd – everyone was having the best time. 7/10
Up we go again to main stage for English sweethearts Enter Shikari! The sun is burning through our skull as we wait but it all feels worth it the second the band hit the stage. Singer Rou Reynolds takes to the stage looking like he’s ready for a day at the lake but no, he’s ready to blow everyone’s mind at main stage. When the show kicks off the air changes. This is a band who knows what they’re doing. They’ve worked hard to achieve their level of success and for them a stage that big is not scary – it’s a blessing. For those of us used to the laser filled production of their UK tours, seeing them playing in full blown daylight is definitely a different experience but it’s just as exciting because in technical jargon: the tunes go hard! 8/10
Off we go again racing across the festival site to arrive just in time for Scene Queen to start her set. This was the highlight of our day, we loved it. Scene Queen brings an incredible energy. The songs are great, the performance is on point, the atmosphere is fun and safe. The crowd loves every second of it. Scene Queen is known for her all pink stage outfits and her fans are doing their best to match her in the insane afternoon heat. The best outfits and make-up for any audience by miles! A massive and well deserved success. 9/10
Anyone who has been to a festival in the UK over the past decade will have seen Skindred live at least once, and they’re as brilliant as ever today. With their big riffs and frontman Benji Webb’s even bigger personality, Skindred are the perfect festival band. They never fail to get the crowd moving. The band draws the biggest crowd of the day to the Orbit stage and the vibes were immaculate from beginning to end. We finally have a spare hour to head back to the media centre to sit, eat and drink for the first time since 14:00. What’s coming next is one of our favourite bands, we have to hydrate to face that nightmarishly high main stage! 8/10
It’s coming up to 2 as Queens of The Stone Age hit the stage and open their set with No One Knows. Opening a festival set with your most known song is a move too bold for most bands but when you have as many bangers as QOTSA you can fill a 75 minute set without a second of fat. The band sounds amazing and Josh’s voice is like honey in tea. The crowd is happy, the band is happy, we are happy. It’s sunset while QOTSA dominate utopia stage, an incredibly beautiful view that brings tears to our eyes. A magical moment. 9/10
Following that QOTSA set would be difficult for any band but Beartooth are an amazing surprise. Taking to the Rock Am Ring stage for the first time since 2019, the band are not scared by the huge occasion. They rise to it and prove they belong at the top of these festival bills. Beartooth brought everything they had to make sure the crowd had an amazing time. A band who definitely recognised the opportunity to shine, they really went for it – fire everywhere, confetti and beautiful fireworks! We were so impressed by their set, it left a big smile on our face. We love to see bands shine like that, respecting the crowd and their time. 10/10
That’s the end of day one at Rock Am Ring! Stay tuned for day two and day three!
Written By: Maryleen Guevara
