Live | Jailbreak Festival – Horsens [Denmark]

16 & 17 August 2024

WELCOME TO JAILBREAK!

Every year JAILBREAK transforms the historic setting of the old prison FÆNGSLET in Horsens, Denmark into the epicenter of Jutland’s largest rock and metal festival.

Since its inception in 2022, JAILBREAK has grown into a major event and they are proud to call themselves one of the leading rock and metal events in their region. Each year they present a wide range of genres within rock and metal, from thrash and power metal to classic hard rock. They work closely with local partners and artists to put on a festival that is not only a musical experience, but also a true community celebration where camaraderie and passion for rock and metal take center stage!

FIRST IMPRESSION

I received the line-up of this two-day festival about six months ago and decided to make the trip towards the Danish festival grounds. Of course, you have to be prepared for it, but over 800 km further I arrived in the beautiful town of Horsens. When I arrived at the festival grounds, it indeed turned out to be an authentic old prison, and this adds to the atmosphere. Even the barbed wire is still around the prison walls, surrounding the grounds.

What a cool festival, large stages outside and a smaller stage inside. Where U.D.O. kicked off and the following day Pretty Maids from that same Horsens closed on the Saturday. No bands overlapping and a 15 to 30 minutes break between all shows. So, every chance to also eat something between shows or browse around the small metal market. Half a liter of Tuborg for €7.80 was okay by Scandinavian standards too. So, all that in an old prison converted into an event venue.

DAY ONE – FRIDAY 16^TH AUGUST

On Friday, the first band, Eternal Champion was allowed to kick off at 1 p.m. inside. These heavy metal heroes from Austin Texas USA managed to do so with full conviction. Singer Jason Tarpey entered the stage wearing chain mail. Literally heavy metal. Musically, they put on a nice show and warmed up the audience that was there early.

At 2 p.m., it was up to U.D.O. on the main stage to deliver the first virtual fireworks. Mr. Dirkschneider has been on the road all summer at various festivals and that translated into a super tight set. The sound was immediately top notch and after a morning with quite a bit of rain, a glorious sunshine immediately came out during the first tones of U.D.O.. What more could you want? 

No less than 4 songs from the latest studio album ‘Touchdown’ came along. ,,Fight For The Right’’, ,,Forever Free’’, ,,Isolation Man’’ and title track ,,Touchdown’’. We also got to enjoy 7 more songs from the sympathetic German’s oeuvre. As said, played with great enthusiasm, passion and tightness. And that translated into a nice interaction with the JAILBREAK audience.

3:15 p.m. It’s Firewind‘s turn to hit the gas on the indoor stage. And so these gentlemen led by guitarist Gus G. do. Just like outside, the sound here is close to perfection. And also the lighting, which played a bigger role inside, was fine. ,,Destiny Is Calling’’, ,,Salvation Day’’, ,,World On Fire’’ are some of the songs that were fired at the enthusiastic audience. Firewind once again didn’t disappoint. 

MR. BIG

The next band is on their farewell tour and is already programmed at JAILBREAK at a fairly early time. Mr. BIG could also be the closing act of the festival, but are already shining on the big outdoor stage at 4:30 p.m. That the band is still immensely popular may be obvious and even some die-hard fans from Japan have travelled to Denmark to see this show.

Also, with Mr. BIG, the sound is sublime. The show kicks off with ,,Addicted To That Rush’’ and that song remains a gem. The fact that singer Eric Martin does not hit all the high notes these days is cleverly compensated by the great harmony vocals of the rest of the band members, so it is certainly not a drama. In fact, a lot of bands could take an example from that. Of course, with Billy Sheehan and the somewhat eccentric string prodigy Paul Gilbert, there are two giants on stage. Drummer Nick D’Virgilio, however, also knows how to hold his own in this violence.

No fewer than six songs from their probably most successful album `Lean Into It’ pass in review. And that is certainly not a punishment. The audience reacts enthusiastically to Mr. BIG’s set. Somewhat mandatory, and also a bit of a dip in the set I found the hit ,,To Be With You’’ and Cat Stevens cover ,,Wild World’’. Also because it was noticed that Mr. Martin unfortunately doesn’t hit all the vocal antics anymore. But other than that, this was an insanely cool show. Another highlight on JAILBREAK.

DRAGONFORCE

After this highlight, it was the turn of England’s Dragonforce to bring the indoor stage to a boiling point. The gentlemen and lady of this band were using every inch of the stage. Two giant Arcades, two dragons, a hefty drum riser. Optically at least, plenty to feast one’s eyes on. And despite the cramped stage, the band still managed to energetically use every remaining inch.

Musically, these power metal heroes knew how to deliver a tight set. Songs like ,,Fury Of The Storm’’ or ,,The Last Dragonborn’’ could count on a more than good reception from the audience. In addition, vocalist Marc Hudson also managed to keep the audience well entertained by unleashing a giant chicken on the audience. This chicken returned to the band somewhat battered after the song.

Once again, a very energetic show, which felt like being part of a video game. Very entertaining all around and perhaps this show would have done even more justice on the main stage. At least then the band would have had a little more space to move around.

TESTAMENT AND KATATONIA

The Bay Area Thrash greats of Testament are the next band who get to bang on the main/outdoor stage. And that’s exactly what these veterans do, armed with a muddy sound and songs from their, in my opinion two best albums ‘`The Legacy’’ and `The New Order’, Testament once again made it clear why they still belong to the greats. Singer Chuck Billy, guitarists Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick, drummer Chris Dovas and bassist Steve Di Giorgio felt like throwing a real party.

Songs like ,,Into The Pit’’, ,,Over The Wall’’ and ,,Do Or Die’’ managed to bring out a giant moshpit in the audience in no time. Either way, the JAILBREAK audience was treated to a very cool show and went wild.

After this fat show by the gentlemen of Testament, it was Katatonia‘s turn inside. And honestly, for me, this was the first act of the day where it got sleepy. Ideal for a bite to eat and a drink though. In any case, this Swedish doom metal band failed to impress me.

TOBIAS SAMMET’S AVANTASIA

At 10 p.m., Tobias Sammet’s Avantasia was on the main stage. This circus has also been on the road for some time at the 2024 summer festivals. Sammet has managed to surround himself with plenty of fine musicians over the years. At its core are guitarist Sascha Paeth, keyboardist Michael Rodenberg and drummer Felix Bohnke. In the background chorus, Adrienne Cowan, Herbie Langhans and Ciara Tricarico call the shots.

Today Sammet has also managed to bring back quite a few guest singers. Pretty Maids frontman Ronnie Atkins makes an energetic impression, H.E.A.T. singer Kenny Leckremo is on hand, Mr. Geoff Tate makes an appearance and Magnum frontman Bob Catley puts in a fine performance. In addition, the singers of the choir take turns on lead parts.

Tobias himself is the flamboyant host of the party and he sings, entertains and talks us through the show like a true host! In terms of song choice, it’s actually almost impossible to go wrong, with this kind of best of Avantasia set. ,,The Scarescrow’’, ,,Dying For An Angel’’, ,,The Story Ain’t Over’’, ,,Sign Of The Cross’’ just to name a few titles. And visually, it all looks slick, too. Beautiful screens providing the stage with the appropriate atmosphere and sound and lighting technically this act proves to be a worthy finale of the day on the outdoor stage. A delightful show.

THE END OF DAY ONE

Inside it is then up to Brian Downey’s Alive and Dangerous to close the first festival day with a true Thin Lizzy party. And what better song to kick off that party in a former prison than, indeed ,,Jailbreak’’! In any case, there is still enough life in the audience and there is clearly still energy left for a final encore. With a satisfied feeling we can go to our B&B to recharge with a few hours of sleep for day 2 of JAILBREAK.

DAY TWO – 17^TH AUGUST 2024

On Day two, Denmark’s Skarnet got to kick off at 1 pm. Unfortunately, I had to miss that performance, but what I got back from audience members who did attend, it was a worthy opener of the day.

I did get there in time to see the current Scorpions drummer Mikkey Dee at work as opener on the main stage. With, as he said himself, an ode to the songs, he was allowed to drum for years with his former employer Motörhead. For the occasion he had managed to enlist two musicians to accompany him and the singer bassist could, at least optically, pass for a Lemmy clone. Vocally, unfortunately, it was no Lemmy.

Musically it was quite a nice ode, but somewhere it evoked in me a feeling of, “nice…but certainly not more than that.’’ What was in Motörhead tradition, however, was the level of sound the gentlemen knew how to produce. Louder, Faster than everything else. Singer Whitfield Crane of Ugly Kid Joe also came on to sing a fat tank during ,,Ace Of Spades’’.

Inside, it’s up to Los Angeles-based S8nt Elektric, unknown to me. Apparently, this is the band in which Slash’s son, London Hudson, plays drums. The music is a mix of Hard rock, Alternative rock and it could well be a band we will hear from more often. It wasn’t earth-shattering, but it certainly wasn’t bad either. A nice energetic young band.

UGLY KID JOE – JUNKYARD DRIVE – BAEST – ROYAL HUNT

Outside, it was Ugly Kid Joe‘s turn. And they, motivated by singer Withfield Crane who constantly sought interaction with the audience, really knew how to get everyone on their feet. Short and sweet, I can only conclude that they came for a party and that’s what the singing, swinging, crowdsurfing crowd got. ,,Cat’s In The Cradle’’ was sung along in full, and if there had been a roof, it would have gone off the JAILBREAK festival grounds at 4:30 p.m., during ,,Everything About You’’. Another highlight during this beautiful festival!

Junkyard Drive from Denmark was up next on the indoor stage. For this show, they had gone all out in terms of stage presentation, including a lot of pyro. The disadvantage was that the press photographers were not allowed in the photo pit and could not do their job properly. Musically they are a nice band, but no more than that.

That the second day of JAILBREAK was a true Danish party became clear when the hair-raising Death Metal band BAEST took the outdoor stage. The genre may not be entirely my personal preference, but the show they put on was one of the best in the genre and thus certainly deserved a place on JAILBREAK’s festival bill.

The progressive metal band Royal Hunt [yes also from Denmark] were allowed to light the fire inside and did so with a solid performance. This band around keyboardist André Anderson has been in the business for quite a few years [founded in 1989] and their performance reflects that. Thorough, but not surprising. The fans who came didn’t care, they went wild during songs like ,,River Of Pain’’ and ,,The Art Of Dying’’.

PRETTY MAIDS

Outside, the main act of the second day could make their appearance. Pretty Maids is a band that we unfortunately do not see in the Netherlands very often, so I was very curious about their show anno 2024, in the city where some of the men grew up. Mr. Ronnie Atkins was in fine voice the day before with Avantasia, and that may be called a reasonable miracle since he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2019. It should be clear that this terrible disease has been successfully treated because fortunately this singer is once again making the stages unsafe with his band.

Kicking off with ,,Mother Of All Lies’’ and ,,Kingmaker’’. But the überclassic ,,Back To Back’’ [1984] pops as ever. What a cool song, even after all these years! The band plays tight and is clearly in the mood. Unfortunately, I couldn’t understand any of the Danish gibberish between songs, but with an audience consisting of at least 90% Danes, it’s not a strange choice.

Guitarist Ken Hammer, who has also been there from the early days, still plays solid. Unfortunately, I have to admit that the sound of Pretty Maids could have been better and I won’t even talk about the light show at all. For me that did detract from the show. Fortunately, Pretty Maids is a band with the necessary experience and a nice catalogue of songs and albums. ,,Yellow Rain’’, ,,Love Games’’ and ,,Future World’’ still stand like a rock after all these years and can certainly be called true classics. It is cool that in 2024 we can still enjoy this band.

THUNDERMOTHER

To close the festival, the organization has managed to snare Sweden’s Thundermother. Not currently on the road, however, with Filippa Nässil, who gave birth to a healthy daughter not long ago and is still allowed to enjoy her maternity weeks. 

However, it is strange to see the band at work without Filippa, but with substitute Edvin Oström on lead guitar. It is still a strange sensation to suddenly see a young man in this “normally” all female band. Did that stop the band from having a good time? No way. Thundermother did what they always do, sling a fat pot of Rock and Roll into the room.

Vocalist Linea Vikström was once again in great voice shape and also played more and more rhythm guitar live, which definitely adds to the live sound. In any case, Thundermother were allowed to close JAILBREAK in a fat way with their show.

JAILBREAK – THE CONCLUSION

All in all, JAILBREAK was a very nice organized festival. With a friendly atmosphere, awesome venue, nice varied but high-quality line-up. Good sound for almost every band and no overlapping in the program, forcing you to make choices. It is certainly not a mega festival in terms of size with [estimated] a 6000 visitors per day, but that certainly adds to the atmosphere of the festival.

Should there be a 4th edition of this wonderful festival next year and the bands are again of a similar quality, I will definitely consider tuning the agenda again and driving over 800 km for a few days of HOLIDAY in Denmark, because at least with that feeling I came home.

JAILBREAK 2024 was a top-notch festival!!! GODT GÅET OG TAK!

All photos by Raymond Helebrand