Live Review: The Most Metal Festival On Earth – Full Force 2023

Not every festival can go on for 29 years but Full Force returned with a metal vengeance much to the delight of the German Metal community. With arguably the most fitting venue for a metal event – the City Of Iron known as Ferropolis matches the aesthetic and the vibe beautifully. As the Metal Masses returned to the stricken lands, you could feel the excitement in the air. Here’s our review of Full Force 2023!

Friday arrived and the sight of grey clouds and high winds remaining from the storm the previous night may have fit the mood a little too well. The rain crashed down onto the stone ground of Full Force but that didn’t dampen spirits as the HardBowl tent quickly filled as Samurai Pizza Cats opened the festival! The diversity of this lineup became quickly apparent as the festival hosted artists of all sexes and ethnicities! Bands such as Nova Twins and Jinjer drew massive crowds while other fan favourites like Motionless In White and Vukovi had the German crowds singing at the tops of their lungs.

Despite the heavy rain for the first portion of the day, The festival was very well-equipped to deal with the downpour. Often festivals see major struggles when the weather is as unpredictable as this was; however, the Full Force Team did an amazing job of ensuring both the arena and camping grounds could handle a sudden shower! The rain would subside in the evening and fans would actively seem more energetic and ready to dance and mosh as a result.

Germany’s own Electric Callboy would have the honour of headlining the first night and they brought the show of their lives for it! Pyro, Flairs and the live debut of their cover of ‘Everytime We Touch’ helped solidify the band’s place at the very peak of live performances. Their energy was miles above anything else on display and despite being physically damp, the crowd were not distracted and the entire festival where dancing and singing as if their lives depended on it. A fitting end to Day 1 as Callboy left the stage to a barrage of fireworks!

Saturday said goodbye to the rain and hello to the sunshine! Swimming while listening to what the Medusa Stage had to offer is a unique experience you will only get at Full Force and the weather is perfect for this. Everything from Lil Lotus’ pop-punk energy to the demonic growls of Born Of Osiris made this day feel larger than life. Blind Channel drew a massive crowd as they opened the Mad Max Stage while Sheffield’s own While She Sleeps brought the chaos and energy levels up as they obliterated the City Of Iron!

Equality is everything to a festival like Full Force and Feminist Punk’s Petrol Girls were the perfect fit to close out the Backyard Stage! A down note for some May have been Sleep Token but not due to their performance but the fact the Hardbowl aren’t completely full and about 20 rows deep outside the tent for fans to partake in their phenomenal ritual. With their sudden growth, they could have easily headlined the entire festival! Speaking of headliners, Gojira brought the heat with a barrage of pyro that lit up the night sky. Their incredibly heavy yet intricate music echoed around the festival and they ensured fans left happy with a mix of old and new material!

Hangovers and fatigue were setting in as the Sunday rolled around but that didn’t stop the German masses from giving it their all on the final day of the festival. Politically driven music was the call for the early birds as bands such as Wargasm and Stray From The Path got the importance of being united out to the crowd in the form of heavy metal while those who wanted to dance and party were treated to the likes of Stand Atlantic, who wowed the Medusa Stage with an impactful set and Skindred who always bring the energy and even brought out Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach to close their set out with an emphatic performance of ‘Warning’.

Once all the Newport Helicopters had departed, the main stage was treated to one of the stand-out performances of the weekend in the form of Spiritbox. This band may be one of the fastest-growing in recent memory and their performances alone prove they deserve every bit of the success. Beers and cocktails were flowing at full speed at this point and down in the Backyard stage was a hidden gem as Mimi Barks brought her gender-bending music to Full Force and it went down as an absolute treat! High energy and a tonne of crowd participation made me feel that she may very well be a massive force to reckon with in the near future!

Closing out the third and final day was Papa Roach and despite getting up there in terms of age, their performance is still just as chaotic and energetic as it ever has been! A set full of hits and a handful of new tracks captivated the hoards once more. Pyro and unpredictability were what helped Papa Roach stand out and Jacoby Shaddix proved once again that he is a master of controlling a crowd. A magnificent way to end an absolute joy of a weekend!

After hearing horror stories about most festivals this year, Full Force absolutely smashed it out of the park! Queues were minimal all weekend and the organisation of every little thing seemed to be perfect. The energy around the entire festival was quite unlike anything I’ve ever experienced and I cannot wait for next year’s event which marks 30 Years of Full Force!