It would seem that Skyline have made a tradition out of being the house-band of Wacken for quite a few years now, and Metalmoments now, for the third year in a row, qualified I think to say that we have made it into a tradition of watching their festival-opening show.

Ok, fair enough, the festival did open already the day before, and several bands did play that day, but the Black and True Metal stages didn’t open until this day, and Skyline was the band to open them up; quite the respectful position I must say.
You see, if you’re new to Skyline (which I suppose anyone who has not visited Wacken is, and probably a few of those who have as well), they are, what I can only presume as it is near impossible to dig up any facts about these guys, a local band who play covers of various metal classics, and in this capacity they oftentimes enlist the aid of various metal legends to perform said songs. We saw them the first time because it came to our attention that Doro Pesch would be performing with them, and as you should know, Metalmoments hold a deep love and respect for the Metal Queen.

Anyway, this year they were back again and we were on spot to check out what they had in store for us this time around. In a way, the show had lessened from the previous editions we had seen, but in other ways it had grown, and in the end, they were still highly entertaining.
Let me explain it this way – the show had lessened in the way that they didn’t have nearly as many guests as they have had in the past, where Udo Dirkschneider and the Wacken guy who usually comes in to play bass with them were the two most obvious lacks, but at the same time they had renewed their set almost completely once again, and the band had gotten itself a pair of backing vocalists as well, a woman of unknown origin and a man who was called Dan something or the other.
The show itself began on a grand note with a cover of (yeah I know, they are all covers) Rainbow’s Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll, and this really set the mood for the rest of the party. The lyrics were true back in 1978, and here almost 35 years later, they are truer than ever!
Even though the weather was threatening to come down on us at any minute, the festival spirit was high and the fairly large crowd was gladly applauding and singing along to the songs, and three songs in it was time for the first guest. A bit odd it was, as it was Dan the backing man who got to take a couple of songs centre stage, and at first I figured he was a vocalist which I didn’t know who would perform something from his own band, but as his first song was by Journey and the second by AC/DC this idea fell through, as I’m almost positive he’s got nothing to do with either of these two bands...

The songs worked well though, and after this it was time for the original Skyline vocalist to enter the stage again, but it was almost not needed as the next song on the menu was Warriors Of The World United and in this the crowd ruled the school!
In the next song the female backing vocalist also got some more attention, as she took the chorus for Rammstein’s Engel, a song which went down unexpectedly well with the audience.
By now the rain had begun, but at the same time the band was finally getting warmed up enough o really let loose in the way I remembered them. Up till Warriors Of The World United things had been running on a half engine only, but now they were really performing beyond the edge of the stage, and there was really only one way to improve things. You guessed it, they brought in Doro!
The Metal Queen, who as it turned out was the only really famous guest Skyline (and the best choice hands down) first kicked out her version of the Wacken anthem, We Are The Metalheads, and then followed up with her latest single, Raise Your Fist In The Air.
After this much appreciated addition to the show, Skyline had only one song left, and it turned out to be a very nice version of Deep Purple’s Hush.

Skyline managed, after a little bit too slow start to turn another Wacken opener into a great treat for us present, in which the guest appearance of Doro was definitely the highlight – as long as they keep on playing shows like this, and keep on bringing her in as a guest, Skyline will keep on being a tradition in our camp at least, and you should join the party as well!

Setlist:

Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll (Rainbow cover)
Doctor Doctor (UFO cover)
Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) (Journey cover)
If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It) (AC/DC cover)
Warriors Of The World United (Manowar cover)
Engel (Rammstein cover)
We Are The Metalheads (Doro cover, feat. Doro Pesch)
Raise Your Fist In The Air (Doro cover, feat. Doro Pesch)
Hush (Deep Purple cover)