as Otte and his crew. For many who were there, and also for us, it was sometimes one of the first festivals after a very long time. Because of Corona, so many concerts were canceled and festivals cancelled, it was no wonder that the anticipation was high. Also for some of the bands, it was one of their first gigs they played this year, which of course meant that we are not just talking about a normal festival, but a demolition party. In addition, there was a diverse line-up of different genres and nine bands that filled the festival with their music. These included: Rauh, Dead Mans Soul, Angel Grove, Druckphase, Sober Truth, NMAC, Am Limit, Lautstärke and finally Mazed. Best conditions for a successful evening. After checking out the first bands, we grabbed some fresh air and met Druckphase and N.M.A.C., who were playing outside.

of the many highlights at this year's Escalate Festival. Among the highlights mentioned, however, are not only the bands that played on site, but also the entire atmosphere and location. In the hall, where the concerts took place, there were smaller merchandise stands of the bands in indentations, where they sold their t-shirts, stickers or even new EPs as well as albums. This proved to be a good opportunity to get to know new artists and their music, because you could meet them directly after the concert at their merchandise stand and talk to them. The relationship between the audience and the bands is always close at the Escalate Festival, which is why it is always possible to meet people from the scene and make new contacts. A trait that we really appreciate at Escalate. When Sober Truth had finished their set, we already wrote about them in our last Live report.

Not to miss N.M.A.C. at their next live performance. It's worth it! Escalate Festival became even more crowded as Mazed (one of the headliners) finally reached their destination and brought not only their crew, but also had their entire fan base arrive in a bus. It immediately drew people inside, where Am Limit were already waiting for them to play their farewell concert. There were moshing and loudly bawling along to the individual songs, including a cover version of the Wolfgang Petry song "Wahnsinn, warum schickst du mich in die Hölle."
This year's Escalate Festival brought a successful mix of different sounds, musicians as well as spectators, which together created a memorable evening that we will be so happy to repeat next year.