Report: Heavy Metal Festivals Proliferate Across Europe

Bryan Reesman of Grammy.com reports: It's summertime, so plenty of heavy metal and hard rock festivals and tours are rolling across America, shaking the rafters with loud guitars and screaming fans. But for all the hoopla surrounding Ozzfest, Warped Tour, Sounds Of The Underground and other traveling rock and roll circuses, not to mention the steady growth of annual events like the New England Metal And Hardcore Festival, there are even greater numbers of heavy music festivals in England and across Europe that are attracting tens of thousands of fans per weekend and making an even greater cultural impact. Volume-driven events like Wacken Open Air, Download and Graspop have become the major destinations for headbangers of all persuasions.

"The festivals are getting more and more important because the people come together from everywhere, and the open-airs are becoming a real happening for the fans from different places and countries," declares ATROCITY frontman Alex Krull. "Actually the audience is becoming the 'star' and not just the band playing on stage. Some festivals last for several days, and the people are celebrating together, joining the metal markets, or making new friends."

Singer Doro Pesch, who is based both in New York and Düsseldorf, Germany, believes there are more festivals overseas because the demand is greater. "I think that people are really into metal and rock again, almost like it used to be in the '80s," she observes. "The festivals are sometimes sold out in a couple of days. The time is good for our kind of music again. It's really, really great."

Read the entire article at Grammy.com.