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We have been keeping an eye out for Rockstadt for a few years now as their line-ups kept growing in size and the curation of the bands selected was always top notch. Finally in 2024 we managed to fit this festival into our schedule and it was definitely one of the most awesome experiences we have had in a while. Nested in the mountains of Rasnov in the heart of Transylvania, this festival is probably the Eastern-most festival in Europe. We have traveled multiple times to Romania in the past, and to festivals like Dark Bombastic Evening, but the atmosphere in Rasnov was very different as it gathered fans of many different types of Metal. And by different, we mean that for a big festival, it still was warm and engaging, full of friendly and very helpful people, all there to have fun and headbang non-stop for a few days.
Originally listed as a five day festival, the organizations announced a warm-up day with crushing bands like Behemoth, Cattle Decapitation, and Cult of Fire, which we sadly could not rearrange our trip overseas to accommodate. So, the following chronicle will be of the five original days full of intensity, excellent music, great food, cold beer, and all kinds of weather.
Wednesday July 31st, 2024 - Day 2 (full gallery)
We decided to stay in Brasov, Romania, a city that is better connected to Bucharest and other larger cities in Europe, and it is also a very short cab/bus ride from the festival venue in Rasnov. Our first bands of the day were the always great Stoner/Doom Metal Italian outfit of Ufomammut and the now widely popular and always intense Kvelertak. The setup for this festival is perfect, and very compact. It features two main stages in the larger main area of the event. Due to the site incline, there are no bad places here to be able to see whatever band is performing. The third stage is a smaller one, located on the back of the grounds, but it is also at enough downward incline for everybody to be able to see the performers perfectly. This setup makes for a very comfortable festival in terms of avoiding towering giants that stand in front of you, or being late to a band’s set and not being able to see anything while being too far away.
Anyways, back to the music, next up we had Death Metal icons Suffocation and the crowd went completely nuts, with wave after wave of crowd surfers and some vicious mosh pits. Here, we immediately noticed how relaxed and friendly the crowd was, as everybody was helping the crowd surfers and taking care of the fallen moshing participants.
As the sun was setting, Brutus was unleashing one of their signature high-octane sets that had all the crowd mesmerized as they all mellowed out to their lush music. Following right after, the change of pace was palpable with Herman Li and Dragonforce taking the stage to deliver their ‘video game’ Power Metal. The band’s intensity didn’t go unnoticed as they nailed their high-octane and highly technical tracks with perfection and a very lively disposition. On our way to the main stages again, we stopped by the smaller stage to check out a few songs from the legendary Terror providing some extreme contrast to our previous band.
Finally getting back to the main stages, we had a double treat with Kreator, and the always great Thrash Metal icons Testament led by Chuck Billy. Closing the day we had the return of The Dillinger Escape plan and their very intense set, with all band members going nuts and delivering a punishing set, while the Amon Amarth vikings and their pyro had one of the largest audiences of the day as they headbanged and riled up the crowd.
Overall, day 2 was a great appetizer of what is to come in the next few days and we were looking forward to continuing this adventure in the heart of Transylvania.
Thursday - August 1st, 2024 - Day 3 (full gallery)
After a nice and breezy first day, for us, the second day was starting to be a scorcher with high temperatures and blazing sun. Staying in Brasov allowed us to have early lunch in the city before heading for another 12 hours of Metal. The day kicked off with Portugal’s Gaerea and their highly melancholic and energetic Black Metal. Always giving their all, we can’t help but wonder how hot it was for the band in their all black outfits and masks while facing the sun directly. Next up, we moved to slightly cooler territories to the third stage area where it was shaded and nice, just to catch Norna and their Sludge/Doom riffing onslaught. This three-piece is sheer power as the amps and PA were rattling from their crushing sound.
Back on the now blistering heat, the main stages delivered energetic, and quite sweaty, performances from Tankard, Destroyer 666 and German Thrash legends Destruction. The fire truck made its appearance as they were spraying all the moshers with some water to cool them down. We also saw some people taking out a raft and doing some intense crowd surfing, all in good spirits with the security people being quite tolerant and helping them out stay over with the eager crowd.
Next up, Bury Tomorrow and Baroness delivered some groovy tunes, keeping the intensity quite high and all people engaged with their performances. Baroness in particular with their Sludgy mixture of alternative and progressive Metal, really riled up the crowd as they delivered some fine headbanging moments.
As the day started to cool off and the darkness was setting in, we made our way to catch the legendary Sodom. Tom Angelripper and company always give an intense show, and the crowd in Rasnov was all up for it. One would think that the band would have slowed down by now, but they have only gotten tighter and more intense than ever. Back on the third stage, hardcore stalwarts Comeback Kid took the stage with their commanding presence and to a large crowd. We particularly like how fans of other genres were always checking out bands that they necessarily wouldn’t listen to, and might have discovered some new favorites.
Back at the main stage, Hatebreed had a huge crowd waiting for them to come out, and when they did, the whole place was raging with intensity. While we are not huge fans of the band, we can recognize that they give one hell of a show and that the crowds usually go nuts with their aggressive music and raw stage presence.
One of our favorite bands to watch live has to be Amenra and their punishing Post-Metal. With their super dark, smokey and intimate shows, the third and smaller stage, early in the night, was the perfect setting for another astonishing Amenra ritual. We have seen these guys many times in different settings, and while a club show is more effective for their smoke filled shows, they can also roar on a larger and open air stage.
We closed the night with a lighter and more lively Folky tone with the indisputable intensity of Swiss outfit Eluveitie and their engaging Melodic Death Metal with tons of folk elements and the dual vocal onslaughts of Chrigel Glanzmann and Fabienne Erni. Always a pleasure to see thes guys live, particularly with Chriegel as he missed out on the band’s most recent North American tour. As the only outfit that came out later than announced, Faroese Eivør and her mesmerizing mixture of Folk, Rock, and some more electronic and atmospheric elements.
Another day of excellent music, great food and beer is finished, and we are slightly tired, but ready for three more and a few of our favorite bands.
Friday - August 2nd, 2024 - Day 4 (full gallery)
Age is starting to take a toll and now after two days of festival, we are already slower than yesterday and a bit sore. However, no rest for the wicked as we have plenty of beers to consume, bands to enjoy (and photograph). We again had some nice Romanian brunch and headed to Rasnov for another dose of Metal. We started the evening with the legendary Paul Masvidal and Cynic, delivering a dreamy and highly technical performance. No matter how many times we see these guys, they always nail their songs to perfection, even with the balzing sun right in front of them.
Next up, it was time to get our Doom on, with the masters: Saturnus. This Danish band has been a long favorite of ours since their early days and we are quite glad that they have made it a point to start touring more. This means we can slowly headbang to their highly melancholic music. Never a dull moment, the early Doom session was brilliantly balanced out with the intensity and the madness of Anaal Nathrakh. These Brits know how to make noise and bring the house down with their intensity, as well as the funny commentary and contributions of their permanently drunk singer, Dave Hunt. While we only caught a piece of their performance, it was totally bonkers and had the crowd going insane with crowd surfers and moshing.
While we have seen thousands of bands live and review music on a weekly basis, it is always nice to find a band we never heard of on a festival lineup. This was the case with Metalcore outfit Imminence, while slightly different than your average band of the genre, these guys incorporate a violin and some more refined elements to their music, with sharp guitars and a very melodic nature. We were quite surprised with their sound and loved their set, making us check out their studio releases once we got back home.
One of our guilty pleasure bands has to be Germany’s Power Metal outfit Orden Ogan, a band that is very solid technically and writes some superbly catchy songs. We have seen these guys live almost ten years ago, and they have come a long way, delivering a Sabaton/Powerwolf caliber performance without the extra flair (ok some flair) and gimmicks the other outfits take advantage of. There is a band that we have seen live probably a hundred times, in many different countries around the world, including the USA, and we always go out of our way to not miss them, because of how good they are. Of course we are talking about Swedish greats Dark Tranquility and their timeless Melodic Death Metal. While many of the original members have long departed, Mikael Stanne is a highlander that does not age and always delivers one hell of an intense show. Always delivering a quality show, even with a big stage these guys are intense and in your face.
Being fans of Symphonic Metal, Delain is one of the bands we enjoy the most in the genre. Their new vocalist infused them with a different kind of live energy, and their shows are always very dynamic and engaging. The only downside of their show at this festival is that the lightning was awful at the beginning, hence our less than stellar pictures. However, you can click on their name in our galleries and see our shots from this (and their older) lineup in other venues to get your fix. After a long while of not seeing them live, Death Metal legends Deicide have been doing the rounds, promoting their 2024 “Banished by Sin” release. We have seen the band many times over the years and sometimes they have been a hit or miss, with Glenn Benton sounding like he is possessed by the devil, or like he should be finding a spot at a nursing home. In this Romanian show, the band channeled their 20-something year old selves and did deliver a hell of a performance. Crushing and precise, perfectly satisfying all their fans while captivating anybody hanging out by the third stage.
As one of the figureheads of Norwegian Black Metal, Abbath is always a great band to watch, particularly now that they are playing Immortal songs. Filled with a new found energy and a riffing onslaught unlike no other, this band had people going wild at the main stage, giving one of the most intense and also entertaining performances of the day. One of the big classic Metal bands that we actually never seen live before was Saxon and their signature NWOBHM sound. Some of these older bands that have been around for a while definitely know how to give a show and these guys were no slackers, with Biff Byford giving any young Heavy Metal singer a run for their money.
Closing the night, for us, we had Norwegian Symphonic Black Metal masters Dimmu Borgir, a band that we haven’t seen live in quite a while. While their latest releases have been greatly criticized, we still enjoy them and their live renditions of these songs are quite polished and intense. Also playing their greatest hits like “Mourning Palace” and “Progenies of the Great Apocalypse” the band had the crowd going nuts while their stage presence was commanding and impressive. It is worth noting that this one was one of the last shows with Galder as he left the band soon after.
All in all, another hell of a day as we got to enjoy many different bands for very different genres that we greatly enjoy. We are definitely feeling quite old as we were pooped at the end of the day.
Saturday - August 3rd, 2024 - Day 5 (full gallery)
Every day we are slowly getting up later and later, but there is no rest for the wicked and we managed to get early-ish to Rasnov to catch a few bands we never heard (much) before like Emmure and Stoned Jesus. But a revelation for us was Crownshift, a Finnish outfit, that after some research features members/ex-members of bands like Children of Bodom, Nightwish, Finntroll, and MyGrain. With an interesting and very engaging brand of Melodic Groove/Power Metal, these guys commanded the attention from the crowd, even if it was early in the day.
Bringing old-school Melodic Death Metal to Rasnov, Rick Rozz and Left to Die drew cheers and plenty of headbanging from the crowd with their Death covers filled with technicality and polish, not disappointing a single person at their show. Considerably changing the pace, Norway’s Leprous brought their Progressive Metal/Rock and touched people in a different way than the heavier outfits. We particularly enjoy that the band still plays some of their older and more technical stuff from their “The Congregation” and “Malina” days.
Back to the heavier stuff, Humanity's Last Breath and their oppressive Deathcore has been slowly gaining a foothold on the scene, with their punishing music and very bleak and powerful performance. The younger crowd definitely appreciated their set, and so do we, since they constantly keep getting better and better with time.
Superstar Swedish Melodic Death Metal outfit The Halo Effect has been circling the festival circuit and delivering some of the most polished performances, bringing back the genre front and center while getting newer generations into it. The combo of Mikael Stanne and Niclas Engelin have greatly defined the genre and the paths of bands like Dark Tranquillity and In Flames, so partnering up again and creating some brilliant tracks has been a treat for any fans of either band.
As one of those Metal bands that has grown exponentially over time, Jinjer has brought Progressive Metalcore/Groove/Djent Metal to the masses as they conquer audiences one concert at a time. We have seen Tatiana Shmayluk and company in many different settings, from their earlier club shows, to now very high on festival bills, and it is nice to see how their hard work has paid off. The band’s show was lound, intense, and very engaging, making the crowd at one of the main stages go completely bonkers as their first song started.
We have been cursed to always manage to miss Swedish Black Metal greats Dark Funeral, but finally it happened at Rockstadt and we were completely crushed by their pummeling sound, mysterious and expertly crafted live imagery, and brutal rendition of their powerful music. The band has been around for a while and they have polished their sound to a level that seems easy for them to always unleash sheer brutality and dark magik. Sadly, we got too into the band’s set that we completely missed out on getting back in time to catch the start of Opeth’s set, missing our chance to capture it for our readers. However, we did listen to a few tracks, particularly some of their older material, which we prefer.
Closing the evening for us, Suicidal Tendencies delivered a highly energetic performance, with Mike Muir looking a lot sharper than the last time we saw him a few years back. Sadly, Paradise Lost had some technical issues that delayed the proceedings, but they bounced back and also delivered one of their signature sets, filled with classics and newer stuff to masterfully balance pleasing their hardcore fans, while promoting their newer releases.
Finishing dead tired and a bit cold after the temperature dropped, we are kind of glad that there is only one more day of music to go. This is a statement that we would have never said in the past, but as old-folks, this has been quite intense for us. So, we need to make it back to our hotel to replenish our energy to close down the festival with style.
Sunday - August 4th, 2024 - Day 6 (full gallery)
We made it to the finish line of this excellent marathon of Metal, Beer, and friendly people. While we are immediately sad that this experience is coming to a close, we are also glad we get to have a few days to rest and unwind after such an action packed week(end). We again made our way to the event venue, and the day was seemingly going to be another scorcher as the previous ones, but we were in for a rude awakening.
First up, we had Heavy Metal Armored Saint and their timeless core, led by John Bush and Joey Vera. The band seems to be completely defying time, with their animated stage presence and their high-octane intensity under the blistering sun. Another legendary Death Metal band that has been doing the rounds this 2024 is Incantation. As one of the first bands that completely hooked us into Metal, we haven’t seen these guys live in quite a while, so it was fun to catch them in Romania.
Australia’s post-hardcore The Amity Affliction is one of the few bands that has eluded us over time, and we finally managed to cross them off our list today. Filled with energy and plenty of stage antics, the band delivered a very intense performance that won over the crowd and made many of them come out of the shade to enjoy their set. As one of the few bands that we didn’t really get into, Urne gave an inspired show and many people seemed to enjoy them, but we just didn’t. Maybe next time.
Legendary Grindcore/Hardcore Punk Napalm Death is another band we have seen a million times, but they never get old. Shane Embury is always the consummate professional and nails his hectic sections perfectly, while madman Barney Greenway just wails at the microphone and paces back and forth from one side of the stage to the other. It is always fun to see younger people and their impressions of the band, with some being utterly disappointed, and others (with more punk tendencies) nicely impressed and engaged by them.
With the rain starting to pour, the Lacuna Coil set was intense and even more rewarding. The band didn’t shy from the elements and performed with all the intensity they had. You can even see some of the band members more wet than others, but did this not get in the way for Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro delivering their intense vocal sections. While we liked their earlier Gothic Metal/Rock sound more, their transformation to Alternative Metal/Rock was gradual and well crafted.
Being from the Bay Area, Exodus is one of the starters of the Thrash Metal scene and we almost never miss a chance to check them out. Gary Holt and Steve Souza are a deadly duo and they give it all on their live shows. With the rain subsiding a bit, we managed to enjoy most of their set before it started pouring again as we made our way to catch God is an Astronaut.
One of the band’s we really wanted to see at this event was KK’s Priest, as we have heard they had an excellent stage production for outdoor festivals. Needless to say, Ripper Owens and company unleashed one of the best performances of the whole festival weekend. K.K. Downing has struck gold with this line-up and with their over the top production and pyro, their show was one of the most engaging we have seen in a while.
With the rain returning, we still could not miss watching Insomnium. We have seen these guys so many times, but their melancholic Melodic Death Metal is just too hard to pass. Also, we managed to get some excellent photos with raindrops being highlighted by the stage lightning. On again and off again outfit Fear Factory was one of the headliners of the day, with all their legal woes solved and Milo Silvestro as their new vocalist. Dino Cazares and Tony Campos carry the torch of the band and their revolutionary releases over the years. Their live show was quite engaging with pyro and intensity galore. They are definitely a band to catch on a large stage, as their smaller stage shows are less explosive.
As a band that always causes controversy and delivers some intense live rituals, Watain, and all the fire they have on stage is always an experience to witness. We have seen Erik Danielsson hurl a torch to the crowd without warning to security of the stage managers, and it passed over our heads in the photo pit. We were glad that things were better planned and still as intense here, with a loyal fan holding the torch while the band tore through their pummeling set. Their live shows are definitely something to witness, as they feel quite ritualistic and piercing. Definitely the best way to end our festival as we had to catch an early train from Brasov to Bucharest the next day.
Overall impressions:
We are quite amazed by how great our experience was at Rockstadt and how friendly and talkative people were. We have been to festivals all over the world and this has definitely been one of our favorites. All bands went out exactly on time, the sound was perfect most of the time. While the weather was a bit crazy at times, it was comfortable enough to really enjoy the event. Few things could be improved such as the placing of benches in the same area for the beer lines near the main stage, creating a huge bottleneck during the hotter parts of the days. The food options were pretty solid, with something for everybody and some nice ice cream to cool off. The toilet facilities were sufficient and mostly clean, unlike most festivals, and the prices for food and beer are definitely some of the most accessible in Europe.
We personally would like to thank the organization and Paul Voicu for making this coverage possible and handling the photo pit in an extremely professional way, everybody being able to do their job comfortably with zero chaos. To all the other photographers and journalists that were super friendly and we made friends with. In terms of organization, this has been one of the better run events that we have covered and attended and will definitely be returning for more.
All galleries:
Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6
More info:
Below you will find the final confirmed line-up:
