July 14-16, 2016 @ Neukirchen-Vluyn , DE

Photo report and text by Jeanny Petrocchi

This 16th edition, with the theme ‘INTO THE POTT’, was an absolute blast – just like like the previous years. Dong Open Air is one of the most interesting small festivals in Germany, in a breathtaking scenery. At this festival there is ample opportunity to get to know underground bands. Many and various were the opinions concerning the performances of several bands, that’s why we’re not going into details. For such is mainly a matter of personal preference and taste. However, we will emphasize on the atmosphere in general.

Amorphis

There was a great variety of metal genre this year, trash, death, folk and melodic deathmetal. Many of the visitors came to see the big boys such as AMORPHIS, FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, BLOODBATH and TESTAMENT. But there were also other fine underground bands that rocked everyone’s socks off, like CAN OF WORMS, RAVEN WOODS, apRon and DUSTBOLT! One band that stood out was KRYPTOS, an old school metal band from Bangalore, India.

Kryptos

Their show was very energetic and entertaining. They needed no warming up at the start: they trashed every second! Currently they are having their ‘In for the Kill’ tour in Germany, until August 13th next. Kryptos is the first metal band from India to be signed by an international label. Their new album ‘Burn up the night’ will be released on September 23rd. We had a little taste of this new album at Dong Open Air. I’d say: check out their single ‘Full throttle’ and be prepared for old school metal madness!

Compared to other festivals, there were not only greasy bites to consume, at DOA. There was a large variety of delicious foods to choose from. And not to mention the large cold beers that were being served! DJ Benne should not be missed neither. Like every other year he was THE man of the afterparty. The visitors were headbanging on Glam metal hits, dancing on schlager music and screaming their lungs out on Slayer tracks.

Dong Open Air_audience

A large improvement compared to the previous years was the service of the shuttle busses, kuddo’s to that.
We thank the whole Dong Open Air crew for all the hard work in organizing such a great festival.

Click on the links below to view the full photoreport of:

Thursday: RAGE, AMORPHIS

Friday: KRYPTOS, ANOTHER PROBLEM, DELIRIOUS, BURDEN OF GRIEF, GLORYFUL, FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE and BLOODBATH.

Saturday: KADAVRIK, CAN OF WORMS, RAVEN WOODS, APRON, DUST BOLT, HACKNEYED, SKYCLAD, HAGGARD and TESTAMENT.