There are festivals and there is Castle Party, a festival that unravels each time with a beautiful location and a strong line-up! Castle Party can best be described as not the biggest, but the best… For my first visit in 2004 they already had something to offer. Meanwhile the festival left it’s growing pains already years behind, the amateuristic T-shirts are replaced by quality artworks and from the unfriendly and unprofessional security is already for several years not a trace left. Today this festival is brimming with a healthy and professional approach. In the field of atmosphere they have no equal, the extreme friendliness of the Polish people makes a contribution to all other nationalities that are present at the festival site. This year Castle Party offered again 4 days of unknown pleasure. I would gladly like to take you on a discovery tour:
Day 1 was rather a kind of Pre-party and gathering at the old evangelical church. This day I enjoyed the more than fantastic performance that The Devil & The Universe at this old church, it was also the apotheosis of this evening. Further you had the collaborative project of Arthoud Seth (Merciful Nuns, Garden of Delight) en Ashley Dayour (Whispers in the Shadow, The Devil & The Universe) NEO of which you can expect a finished performance.
On Day 2 both podiums were taken. The surprise of the day turnend out to be the Polish formation Das Moon.That people from Poland know how to make some synth pop tunes is already know over here for some times, unfortunately this band is not that well know. I’m sure that in the future we are gone hear more of this band… over here. Futher you still had the Polish band Moonlight that was much appreciated by the public. After that we had something that I certainly appreciate Gothic Metal from the German formation (and with Dutch Singer Dianne Van Giersbergen) Xandria. This fantastic appearance with the incredibly beautiful voice was loved by the audience. The atmosphere was good with beer at 1,30 euro and the fantastic weather. In the meantime Clan of Xymox appeared on stage. Of course Ronny and his band always always give a fantastic performance without any remarks. The classics like Stranger, Louise and Jasmin and Rose brought the public in higher places!
Meanwhile we are at day 3. This day divided my time over both locations.The first band I saw was the for myself unknow Nordvargr from Sweden. I took some time before things were running, but then the atmosphere was again booming. Then it was time for the band I did not see for a long time: In Slaughter Natives. Fantastic band, a great performance, thevideo wall turned out to be a bit shocking... After this it was time to climb up the way to the castle, once we arrived it was Claus with his Leæther Strip that was kicking some serious ass! This band always sounds great at live performances, a true experience. By now Garden of Delight was on, with again an genius show. Frontman Arteud Seth is well know for his perfect performance, but nevertheless he always seems to be able of surprising the audience… What a fantastic band is this! Without doubt the best band of the evening!!! Due to the more than fantastic Garden of Delight the audience was present for what should have been the apotheosis of the evening and the whole festival in particular Fields Of The Nephilim.There's nothing negative to say about the show, but you can see that Mc Coy has very little feeling with what is happening around him. Apparently with the extra encores it was more than enough for him and he disappeared without playing Mourning Sun...
And then there was day 4. Never I had experienced the passing of 4 days that quick. The last dayI limit to stay at 1 location, in particular the castle, as yours truly was tired. When I arrived Larva was already giving the best. It proved to be the surprise of the day. Without any doubt one an act to follow in the future… After that Skeletal Family was on, they played songs from the rich repertoire: nothing more nothing less…
Now it was time for some ambiance with Absolute Body Control. If you tought this project of Dirk Ivens and Eric Van Wonterghem was unknow in Poland, then it changed now. The festival terrain was empty when the first tunes started, but I never saw it getting crowded that quikly... Without any doubt one of the best performances that day!!! After the fantastic performance of Absolute Body Control it was time for De/vision. What I always appreciate from an electronical band are the live drums!!! This was more than a satisfying performance due to the more than excellent drummer, the audience did not get enough of it and went totally berserk! The public asked for more encores and they came back to thank the public in detail and excused themselves that they did not have practiced more songs and that is the real reason they finally had to stop, but the audience seems to understand it and was more than grateful!!! Finally it was time for the last band of the festival Closterkeller: a great name in Poland and it shows. The singer had an more than exceptional voice. I would recommend you to listen to some of its songs…
The end of again a successful festival. But Castle Party is offering so much more! Every day there are after party’s with international DJ’s on several locations. This year the DJ’s seemed to be of a much better quality than the past years!!! There is also every year a pool party at the camping grounds. You also can find a wide assortment of very tasteful and healthy food. Castle Party meanwhile has become an institution. The ones that never were there are wrong. The distance is doable and the accessibility is optimal, with multiple flights per day to Wroclaw/Breslau and public transport. However I would recommend to plan your stay long enough in advance and make some advantage of the occasion to explore this historical and cultural region.
Really nothing negative to say about this festival? Not really! If I really have to make a suggestion, than I would recommend to consider to do the presentation in English also, because Castle Party has left the status of local festival behind them long time ago! Special thanks to the hosts of B&B Oranje vrijstaat for the good care… I hope to see you all at Castle Party 2017!!!
PHILIP LIEVENS