The very first item to buy, and I can not stress this enough, is the ticket for the Metal Festival you are going to. Some festivals sellout very quickly, and even though there are anywhere from 1,200 tickets (in example, ProgPower USA) to 50,000 to 70,000 tickets (in example, Wacken), they go EXTREMELY FAST (depending on the festival). Again, I can not stress this enough, and to prove my point, here's a list of sellout scenarios that have happened in the past:
- The 2013 Edition of Wacken Open Air selling out in over month from the first day of sale.
- The III (sold out in just 6 days after tickets went on sale), IV (sold out in 3 months in advance, in other words, before going on sale) & VI (sold out in 3 days after tickets went on sale) Editions of ProgPower.
- Hellfest Sold out its 2011 Edition in Advance.
To take a personal story from my own experience, for the 2009 Edition of Wacken, I bought my tickets around Christmas time (Late December 2008), I paid close to $400 on Get Me In ( http://www.getmein.com ) instead of the regular price of €130 (Approximately $185, as of September 2, 2009) from http://www.metaltix.com, and this is because I procrastinated until later, not the last minute, but later, and because they were sold out on Metaltix, I had to go with the Get Me In scalper who made a good profit out of the ticket he sold me.
Even if the festival has not announced the bands yet, I still suggest buying the tickets first and as quickly as possible. As a suggestion (and from experience), when the current year Metal Festival is over, the following day of the last official day usually begins the sale for the next year edition of many Metal fests. As for the lineup of the bands, don't worry to heavily who's playing and who's not playing, because while this plays a major role in your adventure, this is not the end all of the be all. Usually (if you pick the correct festival(s)), and to take a saying I read on No Official Capacity about traveling to Wacken Open Air, if you don’t like at least 5 of the 70 bands on the bill, than there’s something wrong with you.
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IMPORTANT: Before buying your airline tickets, make certain you have your PASSPORT READY TO GO (meaning, it is still active and you know where its whereabouts are). If you don't have a passport, or need to order a new one, give yourself plenty of time (at least 1 year from the targeted festivals first day) to make that arrangement happen. Without your passport, you aren't getting past the Metal Festivals host country border control agents. For more information on obtaining an American passport, click here.
The one item that will eat your travel budget the most is the airline ticket. The price for a round-trip plane ticket from the East Coast of the USA to Europe is roughly $960 (example cited from my 2011 trip, Miami to Düsseldorf) to $1100 (example cited from my 2009 trip, Miami to Düsseldorf), and may (more like guaranteed) go higher than the aforementioned price.
The secret to the successful accomplishment of this task lies in the following scenarios:
- Give yourself plenty of time: Booking a flight with an arrival date that is the same as the first official day of the festival is a guarantee that it will ruin your plans and essentially turning a positive experience to a very negative experience. The idea behind planning a trip like this is to have as much wiggle room in terms of time with your itinerary as possible. Instead of cutting it close, arrive to the host country a couple days before the first day of the festival in the event something goes wrong, you have just bought yourself some extra time to deal with it. What can go wrong can be something as simple as the flight getting delayed by a couple of minutes to hours or even a day for whatever reason(s) may occur, but the idea behind this recommendation is to prepare you for that scenario should it play out. The best part is that if you leave on the designated time and make it to your host country as originally planned, you will be able to explore more of your host country and throw in some Metal Night Clubs and Metal activities to the mix to make the trip even more \m/ HEAVIER \m/!
- Buy a plane ticket that will take you directly to the host country where the Metal Festival is taking place: Bonus points if you are able to land within striking distance where the festival is located. Taking this route will essentially guarantee (almost) your arrival to the festival on time, and you can avoid taking connecting flights. A good example is landing in Hamburg for Wacken Open Air, since Hamburg is roughly 40 miles away and a good number of options are available to get you from the city to the festival grounds and back (more on that later).
MAJOR NOTE: Buying a series of plane tickets (aka connecting flights) to get where you need to go. This option is probably the most tempting since some of you are going to try to save money by going this route, but what you save in money you more than make up for it in the risk factor. The risk is essentially in the reliance of the planes making their schedules. For example, if you booked a series of flights from Miami to New York to London to Hamburg, and should one of these flights be delayed or you miss one of these flights for any reason, it will ruin your trip IN THE WORST WAY POSSIBLE. The only exceptions to this rule is if you 1) booked a flight to the host country, and took another flight to your final destination inside the host country with 2) THE SAME AIRLINE CARRIER. If anything should happen in the recent example, the airline staff have a better chance of dealing with the majority of issues within their same company versus the staff being limited to dealing with another company (which they will only do under very rare and extreme circumstances). For example, on my 2009 trip, I took a direct flight from Miami to Düsseldorf with AirBerlin, and took a regional flight from Düsseldorf to Hamburg with AirBerlin again (Approximately $40). If something goes wrong while you are inside the host country, at least you are within striking distance and a quick (and cheap) train ticket purchase away from resolving that issue.
With a flight that lasted approximately 8 hours from Miami to Düsseldorf, having key items in your carry-on bag will help you survive a long flight. The airline provides movies and TV shows during flights, but don't rely on them to provide quality entertainment. Even though you might sleep in the plane, at some point you will wake up and only have what the airline is providing and what you have with you. I HEAVILY recommend having the following in your carry-on bag:
- Mp3 player: If this has to be explained, than you really aren't living in the modern times. Key advice, the more memory, the better.
- Book: Don't try bringing a plethora of magazines as this will add dead weight and you'll have more than enough "small items" to worry about. Just bring 1 book (Suggested Reading: Lemmy White Line Fever, Iron Maiden Run to the Hills the Official autobiography).
- Portable Videogame Device (Nintendo DS or PSP, but not both): Try not to bring too many games, and have a small organizer for the Game Device, Games, and Charger.
- Tablet: With today's technology, the tablet is a gift from the Technological Gods. I recommend purchasing a cheap tablet since it is better losing a $100 tablet versus a $400 tablet. Make certain the tablet is as small as possible, has WiFi (to connect to the internet at the festival grounds and hostels/hotels) and an external memory slot (for the movies and TV shows of your choice and you can burn A LOT of time in this manner in the plane and the train portion of the trip plus eBooks (This is what you call taking out 2 birds with 1 stone, so you don't have to bring a paperback book)).
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You will need the following camping equipment:
- Camping Backpack: To store your camping gear, Metal Merchandise, water/hard liquor and clothing. The bigger the bag, the better, I suggest the ones from JanSport. Approximately $80 to $120 depending on the model.
- Secondary, Smaller Backpack: Like the one from high school/college. This is mainly to take with you on the plane as a carry on to have your things like a book, electronics (See below), and when you go in the festival market area and want to buy some things and store them. Again, JanSport is the way to go because we all know what they are capable of. Approximately $25 to $50 depending on the model.
- 2 Person Tent: I recommend the ones from Coleman because they have ventilated windows, are durable, and can be used again and again, unless you plan on setting your tent on fire. Make sure you buy a tent as small as possible and able to accommodate you and your camping backpack as well as having a tarp-type bottom to keep the water out during those rainy moments (and they do occur A LOT). The only time to get a bigger tent is if you are traveling with a companion (who will also help split the load haul. I.E. one person takes the tent, the other takes the air mattress) Approximately $25 to $75 depending on model.
- Portable Bed: I recommend going with an Air Mattress because they are easy to set up and more compact to pack up. As for sizes, it all depends. If your someone as big as I am (I was 6’2”, 285 lbs, when I first went into Wacken 2009), you’ll need a Full Size Air Mattress, but if you can do a Twin Size Air Mattress (or even smaller), even better, as this will reduce the dead weight significantly. If you are going to get an air mattress, you also need a Portable Inflator (Battery Operated) that works with the air mattress you are buying. Example, if your air mattress is from the Coleman Company, you need to get the inflator from the Coleman Company as well. Also, stay away from King and Queen Size Air mattresses, they may be bigger and comfier, but they are also more bulkier and heavier, hence adding dead weight on your gear, unless you have a boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife to share the load of a bigger tent and air mattress. Approximately $20 to $25 for Air Mattress depending on size, and $10 for the portable inflator (MAJOR NOTE: When you travel with the portable inflator, it is very important to remove the batteries from the inflator when ever it is inside a bag being transported, or it will turn itself on via the movement inside the bag, and it will break, this happened to me after Wacken when I went to visit my friend in Emden).
- Lighting (Flashlight & Tent Lamp): For the Flashlight, I suggest the 2x AA flashlights from Maglite because they have good lighting, are very durable, are the perfect size and have a strong sheath that can loop on your belt that can hold your flashlight and be within hands reach. DO NOT GET the flashlights with 3 or more batteries as that will eat up lots of space and will be a pain to carry around. Most Metal Festivals at night will be almost pitch black, and to get back to your camp site in a sea of tents will be impossible without a very good flashlight at night. Approximately $8. For Tent Lamps, I suggest getting one of the multiple LED lights that can hook to the top part of the interior tent so you can see everything inside your tent and spread the battery use between the 2 devices. Approximately $10 - $20.
- Portable Alarm Clock: This is to keep track of the time inside your tent, and, if you want to see certain bands or events and be on time, but most importantly, when you leave the Metal Festival, you need to know when to wake up to catch the bus/train/car group/etc. so you don't miss your ride out of the campgrounds. Make sure you get the alarm clock as small as possible, but louder than everything else, as Lemmy would say. Approximately $10.
- Towels: This is something I recommend if you plan on taking your showers at the Metal Festivals or go to a pool (if this option even exists at the festival of your choosing). Buy the towels at the festival site so you can have one of many souvenirs of the fest. I also heavily recommend bringing a small towel to wipe the dirt as well as soak up the small puddles of water inside your tent whenever it rains and wring it out of your tent because rain is a constant threat to campers. Once Wacken is over, you can throw away the dirt and grime infested towel.
- Flag: It can be an Iron Maiden flag, a flag from your country, a pirate flag, a state flag, a Domino's Pizza flag, just about any kind of flag. You’ll need this because you need something to identify your tent from the rest, and make sure it is either on your tent or hoisted on a pole where it can be visible both day and night. $15 to Free (Depending if you’re willing to risk going to jail for swiping the Domino's Pizza Flag from your local pizzeria).
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It’s time to talk about personal items to take with you to the Metal Fest. These items can vary from one person to another so use this part as a reference to gauge what you might need.
- Itinerary: As strange as this sounds, having a printed itinerary of your plans will help you a great deal, because you need to be as organized as possible, and it would be almost impossible to remember every detail of your trip while your mind is focused on the Metal Festival/Metal Night Clubs/Etc. Try to be detailed right down to the minute.
- Plastic Folder Organizer: This is the item to have all your paper work (Hostel/Shuttle Bus Reservations, Festival Map/Bands & Activities Time Slots/Ticket, Passport, Airline Tickets, Train Tickets, Itinerary). Make certain to clearly mark each divider, as this will make it easier for you. Also, have this with you either in your locker or with you at all times, this is your trips central nervous system.
- English/Foreign Language Foreign Language/English Dictionary: I know this will make you look like a tourist, but it will definitely help you because you may encounter somebody who doesn't speak English, and the dictionary will come in handy. Also, make certain to have the dictionary that has words and definitions in both languages, hence the title of this section, and try getting it as small as possible. You can either buy the paperback or a digital copy (another benefit of having the tablet and/or smartphone with ya). Approximate cost $10 (paperback).
While you are at a Metal Festival, you need to be able to change into 2 different types of clothing: Summer Clothing and Winter Clothing.
1) Summer Clothing: This is for the hot part of the day. Aside from the heat, the amount of walking will add to the heat, so be prepared to deal with hot temperatures.
2) Winter Clothing: One lesson I took for granted by a lot of people who tried to warn me about how cold Europe can be even in Summer, is to be prepared for the cold weather at night. My experiences in European Metal Festivals got cold enough to the point that I had to wear both my denims and fatigues at the same time, as well as 3 shirts and a sweater that I bought at the Metal Market in the festival, and 2 socks plus a bandana over my face with the hoodie up to keep me warm so I could sleep (all of this didn't work by the way). As a person who had to go through a rough couple of nights in Wacken and Brutal Assault, bring a sweater or leather jacket and sweat pants, you will not take it off when night time comes. Electric thermals may help, but make certain your air mattress can handle it and if your not sure, put some kind of layer between yourself and the top of the air mattress. Also, and something I learned while at Brutal Assault, you may be able to use your air mattress as a makeshift bed-sheet/duvet, and bring some thermal blankets (approximate cost $10).
- Head Gear: Recommend a boonie hat to keep the sun and rain out of your face as well as sunglasses. A bandana can also come in handy for the following reasons: you can wrap it around your head and look like a pirate during a Swashbuckle/Alestorm show, wipe the sweat off your head, or wrap it around your nose and mouth to keep the cold air out of your face at night.
- Shirts: I suggest not bringing many of them, because you want to travel as lite as possible, and even though you want to represent the bands you like, its better just to bring around 4 shirts, and make sure it isn't a old tour shirt that you've had with you since the 70's/80's/90's/etc. or a shirt you value very much because it may get lost/stolen/destroyed. You can also buy the shirts at the Metal Market, this decision is up to you.
- Pants/Shorts: Denim jeans and camouflage fatigues, maximum 2 (1 of each suggested), and 1 military style cargo shorts.
- Shoes: The most important footwear to have with you at Metal Festivals are Boots. I recommend the Altama Combat boots because they will do the following: Keep the water and mud out of your feet. Also, and VERY IMPORTANT, if you buy boots, make sure to get some Dr. Scholls Gel Work Boot Insoles, these will definitely keep you comfortable when you are walking all day and night. I forgot to get insoles for my boots (for the 2009 trip) and there were times when the pain on my feet was becoming unbearable. This is one lesson I hope nobody has to learn the same way I did. Make sure you put the leg of your pants inside your boots, this will help keep your pants clean from the mud. Bring at least 2 to 3 big plastic bags (I.E. grocery bags, glad lock bags, etc.) where you can fit your combat boots in, because once they are done in a rainy Metal Festival, they will be extra muddy with a side of Holy Metal Land on them, and they will be impossible to keep inside your tent clean. Approximately $100 for Boots, $10 for the Insoles. Bring Sneakers and Sandals, because when you are walking in boots all day and night, they can be quite exhausting, even with the Dr. Scholl’s insoles, and it’s always good to have a change of footwear on stand by, plus the sandals are good to have should you either need to slip into something quick to walk outside of your tent, go to the showers or to the pool.
- Disposable Underwear: This might sound weird, but believe it or not, this is one way to cheat on space inside your bags. Say for example you are going to a Metal Festival/Europe for 7 days overall, there’s just one problem, what to do about the cleaning of your tightie whities and socks? One solution is to wear them once a day and throw them away. Unless you have access to a washer and dryer after the festival, which most likely you won’t because either you’ll be too tired to do laundry in a foreign country or you want to do something else. It is recommended to go this route if you’re not up for a laundry day in Europe. Also, you can do the wear underwear/socks for “X” (I.E. 2, 3, 4, etc.) days than dispose, but this is something I leave up to you the reader as to how far you are willing to push your under garments.
- Miscellaneous: A Bathing Suit if you plan on going to the festivals pool/beach (if the festival has either or both), and a Rain Poncho, so when it rains, you want to cover up as best as possible, especially for your backpack. Approximate cost is $10.
When you are at a Metal Festival, there are many ways to approach this dilemma:
- Showers: Some festival have shower facilities, but don't expect privacy, and they are a bigger pain in the ass to use than sharing 1 bathroom amongst 5 roommates in an apartment, they’ll charge you for the use, but it's not expensive. If you choose to shower at the festivals, make certain you know if the water has a time limit, since this will determine how you are going shower. If in doubt, just put the body wash all over you and than turn on the showers.
- Antibacterial Wipes: I utilized these during my 2009 trip. I suggest using the Antibacterial Wipes (Approximately $5) in the “sensitive areas” so you can try to stay clean.
- Shaving: Especially guys, I suggest staying away from that until you get back to civilization after the festival because shaving, like showering, is a pain in the ass that will just make you waste time. Ladies, I leave you to decide your fate regarding your fine pretty legs.
- Deodorant, Body Spray, Sun Tan Lotion, Hand Sanitizer, Toothbrush and Toothpaste: These items are a given, but make sure you stick to the trial size/travel size you find at Wal-Marts/Targets/Walgreens/etc. because A) The whole airport security deal (Visit the following link for more information,http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/make-your-trip-better-using-3-1-1 .), and B) They are small to carry. Approximate cost for each of these items is $1 each.
This is up to you what you want to bring, but remember this; common sense should be taken when bringing electronics.
- Digital Camera: Make sure you have this with you at all times, for those “Kodak Moments” that show up when you least expect it. Make sure you have 2 fully charged batteries of the digital camera you are bringing and plenty of memory for your digital camera because you will go through them like nuts (Like the video option most digital cameras have these days. I suggest getting three (3) 2 GB xd/sd/etc cards). A Camera pouch that can carry the Camera, Extra Memory and Spare Battery that loops on your belt is one of the greatest conveniences you can have at a festival.
- Chargers: Whatever electronic device you are taking, you will at some point need to charge it before or after the Metal Festival. Bring an electric converter (approximate cost $10) so your chargers can fit in the outlets of the host country. Have a dedicated bag/plastic container for all your chargers and converter. Just make sure it is flat and/or small as possible for space and organization.
- Charge Stations: Some Metal Festivals have charge stations, but I recommend against using them since there is typically a long line to bring and take your device you need to charge. They also charge to charge, like pay to play.
- Buying CD's: Like with the schwag mentioned earlier, sometimes buying CD's at the Metal Festival Markets can get you those imports with the fancier artwork, exclusive bonus tracks, and foreign language that the CD's are printed with, but like with anything, make certain you pace yourself and you have space in your bags for everything else. As for the CD player, bring it at your own risk, but I would recommend against it (see mp3 player).
- Vinyls: Let's be frank, we are one of the last societies that still listens to vinyls (more specifically, we collect them like Pokemon, gotta catch 'em all \m/), but if you plan on buying vinyls at the Metal Markets, you must have an option to ship them from the festival grounds to your home. If this option does not exist, don't even attempt to buy vinyls and expect to make it back in one piece.
- Laptops: For those of you who are tempted to bring a laptop, don’t even think about it. It’s like bringing a bull inside a China shop, meaning, this is one terrible event waiting to happen. Instead opt for a cheap tablet (or better, a smartphone with WiFi capability) so you can communicate with the outside world at Metal Festivals with WiFi accessibility and hostels/hotels before & after you are done with the Metal Fest.
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For anybody going to a Metal Festival, there is a staging ground before going to the festival, and it is usually a major city near the festival (I.E. Hamburg to Wacken, Prague to Brutal Assault, etc.). One \m/ HEAVY \m/ recommendation I suggest is visiting the local Metal Nights Clubs and any other place you are interested as this is the part of the trip that spices up the experience.
I know this is something many of you might be hesitant to try, but I suggest getting accommodations at a hostel since they provide decent accommodations at great prices (Approximate cost of a Hostel is $25 to $35 a night depending on availability) and excellent locations. For those of you who don’t know what a hostel is, it is like a hotel, but you are sharing a room with complete strangers, but it is not as bad as it sounds. Taking an example from my past experiences, for my 2009 trip, the people I shared my room with the first 2 nights in Hamburg were pretty cool or just very quiet, and the second time I came back from Wacken I shared a room with a family from Denmark. If you pick your hostel correctly, you may also hang out with other Metal fans from all over the world who are going to the same festival as you are. MAJOR NOTE: Try getting a hostel/hotel near a train as this will help reduce obstacles and are EXTREMELY CONVENIENT for travel to the festival and to visit other parts of the city during your trip. Typical precautions need to be taken in the securing of your items in hostels, so if you have something really important you need to keep safe, make certain to utilize the lockers some hostels provide (bring a small chain and lock). There is a possibility of being able to rent the entire room to yourself, as long as the hostel provides the option and you are willing to pay for all the beds in the room. Some hostels will have a restaurant and/or bar inside their facilities or are very close to the aforementioned establishments. They also have other facilities (like a washer and dryer, game area, computer/phone area) to make your trip as convenient as possible.
As for hotels, European hotels tend to be on the expensive side of things, but if you can run with this option, I would recommend it as well.
Make sure you give yourself plenty of time before the festival, at least 2 nights, because you never know what might happen during your trip, and it gives you a chance to enjoy the city you are visiting before the festival, as well as pick up any last minute provisions in the local stores.
Iceland. A country that was the Vikings pit stop to pick up last minute provisions before continuing their voyages. Speaking of picking up last minute provisions, I suggest you buy the following items at the local supermarkets in the staging ground city:
- 4 to 5 bottles of 1.5 Liters Water: Make sure you pick up the one that has no gas, unless you don’t mind drinking Perrier/Club Soda style water. Approximately $1 each.
- Hard Liquor: It’s more affordable and convenient to pick it up at the local supermarkets in a major city versus picking it up at the only local supermarket in the festival, although it’s still fun to see a bunch of Metalheads overtaking a small town supermarket and spilling out into the street. I6Z6A6N SUGGESTION: Don't be afraid to try something new because sometimes it can lead to a major discovery (I.E., before going to my European Metal Festival Tour 2011, I read on Wiki Travel about a Czech Rum called Božkov Tuzemský, and this was one of the best discoveries I encountered during the Czech Part of my trip. MAJOR NOTE: The local supermarkets in most Metal Festivals are closed on Sundays, so double check in case you need something on that particular day.
- Any Variety of Things: Towels, toilet paper (very important to have this as port-a-pottys tend to run out of TP, usually a result of fans needing to throw something), snacks, etc. If you forgot something at home, this is the only opportunity to get it without the hassles of long lines, not being available at the Metal Festival, or just costing too much at the festival, so make sure to get everything you need before heading into your chosen Metal Fest.
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Metal Festival organizers have figured out excellent ways to get the fans from most major cities (staging grounds) to the festival site, and that’s why it is essential for anybody going to a Metal Festival to go to a major city near the festival first.
To find out if the festival provides the transportation service, make certain you visit their official site since, like with everything else, will provide the crucial information about getting to their festival grounds.
Earlier I mentioned staying at a Hostel/Hotel near a train station, and the reason is it will get you to all parts of the city (including the airport in a majority of cases) and usually it will get you to where the shuttle buses are located. The majority of the times the buses are located near or around the airport, but also in other major train stations a well.
For Wacken 2009, I did the following: First, book a shuttle bus ( http://www.metaltravel.de ) from Hamburg Airport to Wacken and Wacken back to Hamburg Airport before going to Germany. Make sure you do this as early as possible because like with the Wacken tickets, they only have so many seats and time slots for the shuttles. Approximate cost for each one way shuttle ticket $25 (August 2009). When I departed from the A&O Hostel for Wacken, I went to the Hamburg HBF Train Station, and than took the train to Hamburg Airport (approximate cost $4). Once I was at the Hamburg Airport, I looked for the Wacken Open Air Shuttle buses, and I stayed there until my bus arrived. Instead of taking my original bus, I took an earlier bus as that bus had empty seats and the field agents responsible for the shuttle buses allowed this arrangement. Plus the staff that were responsible for the shuttle buses were both at the airport site and Wacken site to answer any “on the field” questions regarding the shuttle buses. I did all of this backwards when I went back to Hamburg after Wacken and the same thing happened when I left Wacken.
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Once you arrive in the festival site, the very first thing you need to do is find a camp site as close to the festival area as possible and set up camp. Word of advice, you will be sharing the Holy Metal Land with about 3,000 to 70,000 legions from all over the world, so space will be tight on the outside, and you’ll have plenty of neighbors, most will be very noisy all day and night, and some might come crashing down on your tent, so don’t take it personal if someone falls on your tent, they are probably drunk.
After you get yourself settled on your camp site, the most important item you must buy is the official festival shirt (The one with all the bands on the back part of the shirt) from the merch booths, and you must do this quickly, because like with the festival ticket mentioned earlier, they will go fast, and there is a mob of people standing in front of the merch tables for this very reason, so get yours ASAP.
In regards to thefts, it is possible for someone to come by and slice a door on your tent and take what ever they please, but for the most part, thefts rarely occur at Metal Festivals. A word of advice though, sensitive items like your Passport, Paper Forms (Airline/Train/Shuttle Bus/etc.), Electronics, and the stuff you buy at the Metal Market should be placed inside one of the lockers at the festival (if they provide it) because the last thing you want is to lose them (Especially your passport), and they only cost about $7 a day, plus a $14 refundable deposit (Wacken 2009, prices may vary depending on the festival).
Make sure you print out a map of the festival grounds, the band/event line up, and your preferred select bands time list you want to see (some festivals have a band time generator so you can pick the bands you want to see and the program will automatically tell you if the specific band you want to see is overlapping with each other); this will make your stay at the festival much easier. As for what aspects of the Metal Festival are important, that’s up to you, because in most Metal Festivals, aside from the plethora of bands performing, there are many things going on, like wrestling events, medieval events, and activities, and it is up to you to determine what you want to do at the festival, but if I were to give any advice on this matter, it is to give yourself plenty of time to rest between bands/events/activities because Metal Festivals are physically exhausting, and the last thing you want to do is burn yourself out and skip on some of the things you want to do at the festival.
I6Z6A6N SUGGESTION, if you have seen "X" band 20x times versus "Y" band 0x times, its best to go with "Y" band as seeing "X" band has already been on your previous agendas for some time and "Y" band probably has not played in your country (yet...).
- Food Consumption: The only suggestion is to eat what’s available at the festival grounds, because lugging food from Hamburg for 3/4/5 days can be a major pain in the ass, plus having ants in your tent is not exactly a comfortable way to camp. The food at the festival grounds is actually pretty good, with a diverse selection, and each meal will set you back around $4.50 to $7.25, depending what you eat and how much you consume.
- Alcohol Consumption: This depends what you are willing to spend, so make sure you bring enough money for what ever you feel is enough for 3/4/5/etc days. You can also "cheat" by buying the booze from the staging ground before the festival. MAJOR NOTE: If you try to bring booze or any kind of beverage into the main part of the festival area, essentially any area that requires you to go through the gated and security check point, the staff will not allow it, so finish up before going in and don't give the folks guarding the entrance any trouble.
- The Metal Market: this is something that depends heavily on what you want to buy as well as how much you are willing to spend, but know this, if you are coming from another country, you want to take advantage of the merchandise that’s available there versus having to pay import price for items like shirts, patches, jewelry, etc, because an opportunity like this will rarely come if your somebody who can only do this trip once in your lifetime. For Wacken 2009, I took $600 spending money, which got converted to approximately €400 (Late July 2009). This was spending money for everything, from the food, alcohol, and items I bought in Hamburg, to the food, merchandise, and alcohol I bought in Wacken, and to the food and items I bought when I came back to Hamburg.
- ATM's: For those of you who want to take money out of the ATM’s at the festival site, I suggest against this for many reasons:
- There will plenty of long lines and long waits.
- The ATM’s will run out of money.
- It is just one of the worst inconveniences you’ll have to go through.
- The festival site may not have an ATM at all.
Speaking of ATM’s, it is also suggested to have a reserve of money in your checking account if in the event you need it, because you never know when your going to need extra cash before and after the Metal Festival.
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For an approximate amount of how much a Metal Festival trip costs, I'm going to use my Wacken 2009 trek as an example. Even though these figures are rough, you need to give some room for other costs, such as visiting another country, like I did when I went to Belgium, or as the majority of Wacken festival goers did, and to quote Butt-head: "Huh-huh, huh-huh", went to Amsterdam. Keep in mind these prices come from both the years 2008 and 2009, so for those of you going to Wacken (and any other Metal Festival) afterwards, the price might change, unfortunately, for the higher.
Here's a rundown of the detailed invoice and take note that I am rounding off to the higher price from the previous listed prices that were underlined.
FIRST SECTION, METAL FESTIVAL TICKETS: $185
SECOND SECTION, AIRLINE TICKET: $1140
THIRD SECTION, CAMPING EQUIPMENT:
- Camping Backpack: $120
- Secondary, Smaller Backpack: $50
- 2 Person Tent: $75
- Portable Bed: $25 Air Mattress & $10 Portable Inflator ($35 total)
- Lighting (Flashlight & Tent Lamp): Flashlight $8 & Tent Lamp $20 ($28 total)
- Portable Alarm Clock: $10.
- Flag: Approximately $15.
THIRD SECTION SUB TOTAL: $333
FOURTH SECTION, PERSONAL ITEMS:
- English/Foreign Language Foreign Language/English Dictionary: $10
- Boots: Approximately $100 & $10 Insoles ($110 total)
- Rain Poncho: $10
- Antibacterial Wipes: $5
- Deodorant, Body Spray, Sun Tan Lotion, Hand Sanitizer, Toothbrush and Toothpaste: $1 each ($6 total)
- Electric Converter: $10
FOURTH SECTION SUB TOTAL: $151
FIFTH SECTION, ONCE YOU ARRIVE
- HOSTELS: $35/night (3 nights total $105)
- 4 to 5 bottles of 1.5 Liters Water: $1 each ($5 total)
FIFTH SECTION SUB TOTAL: $110
SIXTH SECTION, SHUTTLE BUS & TRAIN: $25 (SHUTTLE BUS) + $4 (TRAIN), $58 ROUNDTRIP
SEVENTH SECTION, WHAT TO DO IN THE FESTIVAL
- Lockers: $7/day (4 days), Plus $14 refundable deposit ($42 total)
- Food Consumption: $7 a meal x 8 = $56
- The Metal Market: $600 spending money
SEVENTH SECTION SUB TOTAL: $698
Here is the final tally of all the aforementioned items:
| Metal Fetival Tickets (First Section): | $185 |
| Airline Tickets (Second Section): | $1140 |
| Camping Equipment (Third Section): | $333 |
| Personal Items (Fourth Section): | $151 |
| Hostels and Last Minute Provisions (Fifth Section): | $110 |
| Transportation to and from the Metal Festival (Sixth Section): | $58 |
| Costs during the Metal Festival (Seventh Section): | $698 |
| Grand Total: | $2675 |
Make sure you give yourself plenty of time (Recommend 1 1/2 years for first timers) to plan and budget for the trip, because it will allow you to save money and you won't bankrupt yourself.
You may already have some of the items listed here (Like that JanSport backpack from high school/college tucked away in the closet, your current mp3 player, the books in your bookshelves, etc.), which is one of amongst many ways to cut back on costs.
Buy these items by pace (Like the Metal Fest ticket one month, the camping equipment next month, the shuttle bus tickets the following month, etc.) so you can stay in budget.
If you have plans to go to more Metal Festivals, make sure to hang on to most of these items (Like the Camping Backpack, the tent, the portable bed w/inflator, unless these items were destroyed), because by saving these items for the next trip, you can save more money and redeploy your resources for more schwag/booze. Also, test out the previously used items before going to the next Metal Festival, because you want it to do the job it was bought for.
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I know this part may seem strange, but bear with me. When you are going to another country, you are expected to follow that country’s laws and are subject to it should you commit a crime. What I am trying to say with this is that your common sense should be good enough, but just to be certain here are some clarifications.
Most countries outside of yours prosecute people who have drugs on them, even marijuana, of any amount. When it comes to enforcing the law, the police may be very strict with protocol, so don't risk it. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO BRIBE LAW ENFORCEMENT to get out of a jam, because that may very well got you deeper in the hole.
When you are at a Metal Festival, listen to the stewards/security/staff at all times, they have their orders from people above them and are just trying to do their jobs. Most of the times, the stewards/security/staff can be very helpful, but being a prick to them isn’t going to help your case.
There are fans from all over the world, so being political, regardless if you are in the left or right, democrat or republican, liberal or conservative, is something that you need to keep a close eye on yourself. It’s not to say that there is no space for being honest, just make sure you know how to have a healthy conversation, not an argument.
Regarding the host country's past (I.E., Germany's past with National Socialism/Hitler, Czech Republic past under the sphere of Communist influence, etc.), it’s always best to avoid the subject, because this is one period the locals remember and know very well (better than you in fact). Even if you joke about it, or praise Hitler and the Nazis, or praise communism, you will not only look like an idiot, but you will also grab the attention of law enforcement if they are within earshot, and they can have you arrested and fined, even if you are a foreigner (I.E., Germany & Austria have such laws in place).
While you are amongst fellow allies and legions, you are on your own should something/anything happen to you, because nobody will hand you a couple of hundred bucks to save you from what ever jam up you got yourself into. If you intend to go loose on the alcohol consumption, make certain to have your sensitive items (Like passport, airline tickets, etc.) in a locker, because losing any of these items can really hinder or ruin your trip, and being an alcoholic isn't an excuse in this case.
The final thing I can say in this section is that when you are traveling abroad, be smart about things, because that can take you a long way.
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As a Metal since 17 years old, all I can say to those of you who are either new to Metal, or are a established veteran, is that a trip like this is definitely worth every ounce of effort you put into it, not only because of the bands you are going to watch, but the experience of being around people who not only understand why you listen and follow Metal music, but live it just like you do day in and day out. You will also make new friends, because everybody who is at these Metal Festivals is there for one reason and one reason only, the \m/ METAL \m/. My experiences in ProgPower USA/Wacken/Brutal Assault/PPM Fest is something I will never forget, and it was the kind of experience that I know I will never find anywhere else, and I have every intention of going back and exploring new Metal Festivals as often as I can. All I can say to potential fans that are thinking of going, do it, because in the end, you will have a new understanding of why you like Metal so much, as well as an experience that you will never forget.
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