A short review of the Rockwave Festival [Warning: awesomeness & wall of text inside]

It was the first time I attended such a big festival. Both in the days it lasted (2 :P ) and in the number of people that attended it (reports state 8,000+ in the first day and 30,000+ in the second day). Unfortunatelly there are no official figures, because "reasons". It was also the first time I saw live all of these bands.

Day 1 (19/07)

I drove from Thessaloniki to Terra Vibe Park (the place where the festival was being held) in Malakasa, a distance of ~520km in 8 hours (with the much needed stops to rest and grab a bite). I started the trip at 8:30 in the morning and arrived at 16:30 in the room to abandon my things and all hope to get some rest. The room was 14km away from Terra Vibe, as Malakasa is very small and I couldn't find anything to rent there. I parked my car near Terra Vibe 17:20, almost 1500 meters away from the nearest entry point. Yeap, a lot of people already there. I grabbed a beer just in time to see Accept get on stage.

Accept

While Accept were making the crowd headbang in the Terra stage (the main stage), on the Vibe stage (the secondary stage) the Sabaton crew were setting up the Tank. At this point I have to say that I was disappointed. Not by the band, but by the sound. The sound was super shitty, and this is the kindest way I can express it. The sound on the right part of the stage was getting cut off at times.

A few songs, some interaction with the crowd, a lot of headbanging and 1 hour and 10 minutes later, Accept left the stage and with a small break (to re-set the stage), Saxon came in to rock. To be honest, this was the highlight of the evening (from the "support" groups at least).

Saxon

Why, I can hear you ask me... Well, I couldn't expect this, and noone did, but the way Biff Byford was interacting with the audience was mindblowing. He asked to take the jacket from someone in the audience, put it on, and started singing "Denim and Leather". After finishing the song, he kindly took it off, signed it and gave it back.

Sabaton

The time for Judas Priest to appear, was pretty close. But we still "had to see" Sabaton. The sound was getting progressively worse, and I was starting to regret every single euro I paid. But I was thinking "hey, it's not only about the music, you can listen to the music on your own at home. You came here to see them perform, see how they interact and support them".

Broden's mic was being cut off without any apparent reason at many times. Also, the interaction between the band themselves, as well as with the audience, seemed a little bit forced (and this was verified by a friend who saw them twice in the past)

Judas Priest

Judas Priest were absolutely f'ing awesome. Halford is 66 years old, and considering this, his appearance was pretty much great. No bullshit inbetween songs (telling the audience how they are the greatest they've ever seen etc). Minimal interaction with the audience, but a lot of power contributed towards a great show.

Various media outlets reported 8.000 people attending the first day. It was Thursday, so not everyone could get a day off for Friday in order to enjoy. Judas Priest finished the event around 00:30 if I remember correctly, and it took me 1 hour to drive 14km!

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Day 2 (20/07)

Still struggling to comprehend what I saw, how awesome and energetic it was, i had to put it aside for the second day of the festival. Unfortunatelly, I only saw 2 out of the 7 bands that played on the second day. I needed to rest, and eat something nice to keep me powered.

I arrived outside Terra Vibe and parked my car almost 1,5km away from the nearest entrance again, at 4:00. Iron Maiden were headlining this day, and Terra Vibe was already pretty much at 70% capacity. I grabbed a bite and entered Terra Vibe at 18:00. It took me 20 minutes just to pass security checks and grab a beer and some water.

I started my second live day with...

Tremonti

The sound was a little bit better than the previous day, but it was nowhere near perfect. I knew Tremonti from his other projects (Alter Bridge, one of my favorite bands, and Creed), however I never gave his solo work a try. I was amazed, so I'll be doing a thorough research on all his solo albums soon! 10 minutes in, a cousin of mine appeared! And just before the end of Tremonti's appearance, my brother and a friend showed up. Terra Vibe got even more full, there still was room to sit down and rest a little bit, but it was clear that if you left the Terra Stage where Tremonti just played and Iron Maiden would play 1,5 hour later, you wouldn't be able to go back there!

Volbeat

We decided to enjoy Volbeat from a distance. They put up a very energetic show, however in the middle of their performance the sound got cut off for 30-40 seconds (and we could barely hear them from their on-stage equipment).

Terra vibe was getting fuller and fuller. There was no wind, and the 30+ temperatures made it difficult -but not impossible- to enjoy the show. It was still awesome! After all, Iron Maiden would be on stage soon!

Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden were supposed to get on stage at 21:30. However, because people was still coming in (and there were also a lot of people stuck on their cars), they decided to postpone it for 40 minutes. Terra Vibe was full when they came on stage. Bruce was jumping up and down on the stage like a young boy, Steve Harris looked like he was enjoying the show a little too much, everyone was singing along, and that's when it all took a downturn...

Nope, not regarding Iron Maiden, they were awesome as you can see on the videos. People started flashing torches, the atmosphere was getting a little to heavy from all the people smoking pot around.. Maiden got off stage around Midnight.

After the show ended, it took me 40 minutes just to exit Terra Vibe park. A lot of people got injured (burn marks, broken hands, torn skin & muscles). There were around 10 injuries from what I gathered. It may not sound a lot as there where 36000 people in the park (according to Bruce Dickinson), but they were a lot as we all got there to enjoy our favorite music and get mental "traumas" from the awesomeness of the shows - not get to the hospital!

I got to my car, and I patiently waited from 0:30 until 3:30 to start my car and go to the hotel. In the meantime I slept in the car for 10-15 minutes, I watched an episode of one of my favorite TV series, drunk one bottle of water, vaped 2ml of e-liquid... But hey! I saw Iron Maiden, and it was worth it!

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I returned yesterday in the evening, pretty much exhausted from all the standing in the sun & the heat, driving in the heat, not eating/sleeping well (because, let's face it... no-one cooks in a 2x2 room without a kitchen, nor sleeps a lot while being overloaded with awesomeness :P ) and the whole awesomeness of this experience.

However I would do it (and I probably will do it) again! It was 100% worth it. My calculations showed this:

€320 in expenses (Festival tickets, gas, tolls, food & drinks)
Almost 1100km driving
More than 10 hours of standing to enjoy my favorite music
A lot of headbanging
A hurt throat from the sing-along
3 painkillers (not including the Judas Priest song)

What I'll remember from this? That Saxon gave the greatest show in a 2-day festival, Judas Priest rocked my world like it was the first time I listened to them and Iron Maiden brought tears of joy in my eyes while singing (or should I say, screaming) along to "The Sign of the Cross", "The Wickerman" and "The Trooper" (among others). My throat is still a little bit sore though :P

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Sorry for the long post! Here's another Iron Maiden song if you made it here:

None of these recordings are mine, I found them in Youtube.