Recommendations of the Editorial team
Sunday at Rock am Ring 2026 in pictures – with Iron Maiden, Alter Bridge, Social Distortion, The Offspring and many more.
On Sunday, Rock am Ring was once again able to be classic Rock am Ring – and all in bright sunshine. British band Bad Nerves opened Sunday at the Utopia Stage with fast, impatient rock energy. Later it became much more exuberant: Finch made the ring jump with booming techno hits. Between party songs and crude humor, the musician also added political points. In a satirical Chancellor’s speech, Friedrich Merz got rid of his fat before Finch took a clear anti-war tone with “No desire for war.” At the end he also remembered Germany’s heartfelt whale Timmy – including the AI song “He didn’t choose this”.
Mysterious appearance
President provided one of the most enigmatic images of the weekend on the Orbit Stage. The band consistently relies on anonymity: the singer appears in a fine dinner suit with a mask, the other musicians play with black overcoats over their heads.
The Offspring rely on their tried and tested live recipe: hits, humor and experienced pop-punk energy. Songs like “Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)”, “The Kids Aren’t Alright” and “Self Esteem” have been known to audiences since the skatepark, schoolyard or festival campsite days. There were also short covers of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” and Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train”.
If there’s one band made for the big Sunday slot, it’s Iron Maiden. The British metal legends remained deeply rooted in their own past: the majority of the setlist came from the eighties, the most recent song “Fear of the Dark” was released in 1992. Bruce Dickinson, mascot Eddie and elaborate visuals made the evening a monumental metal spectacle.
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Why does Campino think that sometimes it’s good to just keep your mouth shut? Why does he sometimes feel like a drinks delivery man? He provides the answer in our cover story about the Toten Hosen’s big farewell, exclusively in issue 06/26. And that’s not all: the magazine includes the world exclusive 7-inch single “Always just loved” – on which Sven Regener from Element of Crime also contributed. You can easily order the ROLLING STONE edition here.