On Saturday, June 4th. the time had come to celebrate 15 years of Harmony of Hardcore. With 12 stages and more than 140 artists – the biggest edition was equipped with impressive numbers. We attended the Hardcore Festival and read what was hot and what not.
René
Indeed – we all had to wait pretty long for a new Harmony of Hardcore edition. After 2 years of full absence, we were pretty excited to attend finally a new edition of Harmony of Hardcore. The event itself is usually characterized by its unique charm. The stages are pretty close to each other, therefore long walks between stages are luckily not existing. The lovely designed stages and the appearance of actors do their rest for a nice festival package.
ENTRANCE PROCESS
The entrance process was quite quick and friendly. Each of us was checked thoroughly. Medicine like aspirin or tablets against hay fever could be kept. Due to sufficient entrances and professional staff the complete check in process was done within 15 minutes. Tokens could be obtained for EUR 20 for 6 tokens.
MERCHANDISE, FOOD, AND BEVERAGES
Coke or beer was sold für 1 Token – small water bottles were sold for 1.5 tokens. Food fans were able to find all kinds of thinkable food. From watermelons (2 Tokens), French Fries (1,5 Tokens), burgers (3,5 Token) and even Pizza – everyone got really served.
The merchandise stall got pretty quickly overcrowded. Here we could buy from Flags, T-Shirts and Zip Hoodies in various versions – but all kept in the Harmony of Hardcore theme – we are all used to. Here we only missed the presence of normal hoodies. Actually, not even a single model was found here.
MAIN STAGE
Equipped with Tokens and some merchandise, we headed further to the main stage. Compared to the last main stage, this year’s stage was kept a bit smaller but obviously wider, thanks to 2 further island elements to the left and right. All elements were lovely designed and colored – supported by several fire spots, moving heads and a high number of lasers.
Like in prior editions, the focus was once again put on partying with the crowd. Therefore we witnessed regularly the appearance of wild disguised actors on the main stage, Inflatable palm trees, balls, and sticks got thrown into the crowd which definitely increased our party mood well.
Especially during the classic with Rotterdam Terror Corps, the party mood got once more increased. Merchandise got thrown into the crowd, Actors spat fire, and early hardcore beats made our feet move.
FROM EARLY TO HIGH SPEED HARDCORE
For all early hardcore lovers, the early stage on the little hill was the place to be. WIth Neophyte or Buzz Fuzz early Hardcore fans around the millennium got served with the classic sounds.
Surprisingly the second floor ‘Ravezone’ appeared to be the secret tip. With hardcore legend Tha Playah, D-Fence Live, Miss K8 and SEFA here we witnessed the whole Hardcore diversity. With classical Hardcore beats from mastermind Tha Playa and Miss K8 we experienced the whole MOH feeling. D-Fence with his high-speed hardcore perfectly finds the gap between Hardcore and Uptempo. Whilst Cryogenic and Partyraiser took it again to the extreme.
UPTEMPO MADNESS
For all Uptempo lovers, the ‘Extreme Darkness’ stage was the place to be. Covered by a huge tend, we saw maybe the biggest Uptempo stage ever seen so far. Obviously, the Uptempo hype is still growing. Right with the beginning with the Artist ‘Glitch’ the stage got quickly fully crowded. Luckily a podium on the other side of the Stage enabled us to catch a good view.
ENDSHOW
With the huge performance of Dr. Peacock we returned to the mainstage. VIP Guests had the opportunity to access a special podium on the opposite of the main stage with an own bar. A second podium was reserved for ‘Royal VIP’ guests with an even better view on the main stage.
The more the daylight became less, the more lasers and fire sparks got enlighted. Now the stage fully discovered its full performance. With CO2 and countless confetti shots, the mood got intensified. N-Vitral together with Deadly Guns requested us to access our last energy reserves. Spitnoise had the honor to close down the main stage for the endshow.
Here – we witnessed maybe one of the best Hardcore closing shows. A symphony of lasers, moving heads and synchronously fired fireworks brought our Hardcore hearts to a new level. This was impressive – this was huge.
CONCLUSION – HARMONY OF HARDCORE 2023
Its already 3 years, since the last Harmony of Hardcore edition – and it felt good to be back. During the break, the Harmony didn’t lose a bit of its charm. The huge lineup, the lovely designed stages – and the close distances between the stages provided us a nice festival day. If there is something to mention, then there we felt that there was a bit too much Uptempo played – and the Merchandise selection looked a bit limited.
We are looking forward to the next edition – Harmony of Hardcore 2023 May 27th. 2023.