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When we woke up, we already knew the day would pass without Fields Of The Nephilim, one of the main reasons we embarked on the M'era Luna journey - although we still didn't know why, only that the band didn't appear at Hellfest either - speculatively due to line-up issues. Mono Inc. filled in instead Fields Of The Nephilim, as the day before, Girls Under Glass replaced another UK-based formation, The Cassandra Complex (at least the two bands share two members: Volker Zacharias and Axel Ermes). And, the USA-based dark rock music project London After Midnight also didn't appear on the club stage, scheduled on Saturday at 22.15 (due to schedule conflicts and health issues). If we knew all this before, we would most likely replace the M'era Luna festival with some other. There were also other downsides of (this year's) M'era Luna - later, though.
It was almost noon when we had occupied "our" table in the press tent. We had an agreement with a German photographer Fred, whom we met the day before, that whoever comes first reserves the corner table. And there he was in full swing already. I started writing the report, but since I caught myself only staring into space, I gave up and had another coffee instead. Then (at 13.15), it was time for the Gothminister's show. The Pandemonium's King started with what else but Pandemonium's tracks: "Pandemonium", "Demons", and "Star", followed by the freshly released "I Am the Devil" from the upcoming Pandemonium II: The Battle Of The Underworlds. The King took his work-of-art crown off his head right after the first song, but there were plenty of other requisites anyway. Then "The Sun" from 2017's The Other Side was on and made me think of switching the sun off for some time (it was hot like hell). All I could do (and did) was to retreat into the shadows - coincidently or not, right in time for "This Is Your Darkness". After that, two tracks from Happiness In Darkness: "Darkside" and "Dusk Till Dawn". I felt happy, too (or at least much happier) - the sun really is overrated. Then "Liar" came (instead of "Solitude", which I wished for - while at the Anima Inferna album already). Gothminister offered not only a gig but, with all the requisites and striking energy, a true spectacle, concluding in Pandemonium style with the yet unreleased track "The Battle Of The Underworlds".
A little break followed for us, and then gothic rock long-runners: The 69 Eyes. We were looking forward to this gig but were, after two or three songs, "interrupted" by the interview with Mono Inc. So we followed some people to the artists' village, where we met up with Mono Inc.'s bassist Val Perun. After the interview, we caught some more of The 69 Eyes. "Devils", "Feel Berlin", "Betty Blue", "Drive", "Gothic Girl", "Death Of Darkness", "Never Say Die", "Brandon Lee", "Dance d'Amour", and "Lost Boys" were on the setlist, and for what we heard and saw, it was a very energetic and top-level performance.
I took some more time off while Tomaz attended Peter Heppner's gig. Former lead singer of the German electronic/synth-pop duo Wolfsheim embarked on his solo career within the same genres, though with a pinch of dark wave. He offered nine songs, out of which three were Wolfsheim's and "Was bleibt" in a duo with Joachim Witt - to return a favour from Joachim Witt's performance on the previous day.
We skipped Subway To Sally to be in good shape for Mono Inc., which gathered far the largest crowd. German alternative/dark/gothic rockers/metallers, who in January released their 12th studio album, Ravenblack, surely know how to engage the audience. The band started with its 2020 The Book Of Fire album's tracks: "Louder Than Hell" and "Where The Raven Flies", well, with "Arabia" in between, which provoked an even higher level of enthusiasm. The scenery was fantastic - gigantic raven wings behind Katha Mia, of which even Daedalus and Icarus would be proud. And they were moving, too. Then two tracks from Ravenblack followed: "Princess Of The Night" and "Lieb Mich", and two covers: Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" - only with "M'era Luna" chant and Iggy Pop's "The Passenger. Right after - Katha Mia, who never ceased to amaze with her drumming and, even more, drumming and singing simultaneously, and her "Drum Solo".
The last three songs Mono Inc. graciously served were: "Voices Of Doom", another Ravenblack's, "Heartbeat Of The Dead" and, of course, "Children Of The Dark". Mono Inc. definitely delivered the most interactive performance (with some sound system issues, though), with the band members showing affection toward each other and the audience, which didn't miss many opportunities to sing along. OK, more about Mono Inc. is coming with the interview out in September.
At 20.45, we escorted the M'era Luna festival 2023 to its end with Within Temptation, mesmerizing as always. "Our Solemn Hour", "The Reckoning", "Faster", "Paradise (What About Us?)", "Wireless", "Entertain You", "Raise Your Banner", "In The Middle Of The Night", then at the time yet unreleased "Bleed Out" from the same-titled album (coming out in October), and "Stand My Ground", "Supernova", "Angels" and "Mother Earth" for the final cut. I would prefer to hear some other songs since many of them I already heard at last year's Summer Breeze festival, but I enjoyed them anyway. Well, Within Temptation has always been one of my favourite bands.
After the last gig, and since it was only about 22.00, something (to me) unusual happened. It was almost like an emergency exodus of a Gothic nation. Bars and shops started packing, and the about 25-thousand-headed crowd disappeared sooner than seemed possible. So, that was it. While sitting in front of our tent for a few hours, we heard music playing in the other camp, though not appealing to us. Therefore, we went to sleep.
As much as I'm thankful to the M'era Luna festival promoters for giving us accreditations and all the free coffee, I don't find this whole M'era Luna concept quite figured out. The gig schedule is overcrowded, which is no news with festivals but more disruptive with festivals of specific-genre orientation. For this and people also coming from afar, it would be better if the festival lasted for at least one more day - with the same number of gigs but more apart. And I couldn't help feeling the promoters wanted to get over with the festival as soon as possible. The atmosphere was somewhat dance, especially in comparison to Summer Breeze. Speaking of, we landed there on Monday evening. It was not in the original plan, but since we had a few more days off, budget yet unexhausted, accreditations, and most relevant, we didn't feel like driving over a thousand kilometres in one day again, so why not? Although we couldn't get the accreditations before Tuesday morning, we headed to the VIP camping area, determined to spend a night in the car outside the fence. Luckily, a nice security guard let us in, and we pitched a tent in the same spot as last year. Call it nostalgia... We got accredited in the morning and then spent the day wandering around, drinking 2-€-beer and socializing while preparations for Summer Breeze 2023 were coming to an end and people started filling up the place. I wished we could have stayed. Instead, we headed the road home at about half past four in the morning with mixed feelings and regretting a little for choosing M'era Luna of all other German festivals. On the other hand, if it weren't this year, it would be some other year, so it's OK... The following report will be of the event yet to come: Messa, Katatonia, Lacuna Coil and Megadeth at AMA Music Festival. Stay tuned! Regards, Jerneja
Report by Jerneja
Photos by Tomaz
Links: Gothminister, Peter Heppner, Mono Inc., The 69 Eyes, Within Temptation.
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