Disappointing popularity for doyens and Japan-day

The final day at Graspop was shaped by two things: Japan and veteran bands playing to disappointingly small crowds. At noon, Crossfaith from the land of the rising sun made it immediately clear that the audience was expected to move and with countless circle pits and nonstop jumping, the crowd followed that call without hesitation.
Afterwards, the Marquee tent offered some classic thrash with Angelus Apatrida. This genre was unfortunately a bit underrepresented at this year’s edition of the festival. Back outside, thankfully under a sun that wasn’t quite as merciless as on previous days, the next Japanese guest took the stage: SiM (Silence Iz Mine). They were just as skilled at firing up the crowd as their compatriots from Crossfaith, even though they took a different musical approach by weaving reggae and ska elements into their metalcore. Rise Of The Northstar from France continued the Japanese theme in both their stage design and their songs. Once again, there was plenty of movement on and in front of the stage.
Then came the first case of weak audience turnout. Krokus from Switzerland can look back on a 50-year history and were one of the defining bands of hard rock, yet large gaps in the crowd marked their performance. It was a different story for Heaven Shall Burn, who had to perform without their vocalist Marcus Bischoff due to illness but found an excellent replacement in Britta Görtz. What followed was a full-on demolition job that left both band and audience breathless. Back over at the South Stage, the issue of low attendance continued with Savatage. They, too, would have deserved a much larger crowd, as their show was excellent and they remain one of the genre-defining bands of progressive power metal. And it didn’t stop there: black-metal legend Triptykon (built largely on the remnants of Celtic Frost) also had to make do with a half-filled Marquee tent. Fischer’s ritual was in no way inferior to Nergal’s a few days earlier, at least musically; show-wise, Behemoth operate on a different level. With Alcest, the festival offered a moment of calm shortly before the end, wonderfully relaxing blackgaze before Lindemann hurled all sorts of provocations and disgusting antics at the audience, sometimes quite literally in the form of showers, cakes, and fish.
All in all, though, it was once again a fantastic festival with plenty of great performances and a few surprises. After four days, it certainly took its toll, so in a way I was also relieved when it was over. Still, I can wholeheartedly recommend this festival to anyone.

Article:

22.06.2025 Crossfaith
22.06.2025 Angelus Apatrida
22.06.2025 SiM (Silence Iz Mine)
22.06.2025 Rise Of The Northstar
22.06.2025 Krokus
22.06.2025 Heaven Shall Burn
22.06.2025 Savatage
22.06.2025 Triptykon
22.06.2025 Alcest
22.06.2025 Lindemann