Recommendations of the Editorial team
Linkin Park, Papa Roach and Limp Bizkit – the headliners on Friday at Rock am Ring have been accompanying a large part of the 90,000 people at the Nürburgring for a quarter of a century. They were emblazoned on the first band shirts and on posters in the youth room, helped through the first heartbreak, channeled anger and disappointment. Today it’s not just a journey back in time to the wild teenage years.
Linkin Park exceeds all expectations
Linkin Park played at Ring for the first time 25 years ago. At that time, Mr. Hahn’s synthesizer intro to “With You” sounded – a moment that would be burned into the collective memory of the ring community. In 2026, the DJ will repeat the legendary moment, letting the past and new beginnings wash over the audience.
When Emily Armstrong joined the band, she was faced with a task that actually seemed impossible. Chester Bennington gave Linkin Park the pained voice that so many could identify with. That’s precisely why fans appreciate that Armstrong doesn’t even try to imitate him. Instead, she brings the songs into the present, screams, sings, even stage dives into the crowd during “Heavy Is the Crown” – and yet finds her own form of respect for Bennington’s legacy, especially in the quieter passages.
Meanwhile, Mike Shinoda seems like the happiest person in the Eifel. He laughs, seeks contact, pays careful attention to the swaying crowd in front of the stage and finally takes out a cheat sheet to make a declaration of love to the audience in German: “Thank you for being with us all these years. We love Germany and we love you all.” The message is simple, but on this evening it hits home.
Single file to Limp Bizkit
Cozy is how you can describe the festival experience this year. 90,000 people are there, Rock am Ring is sold out. It is therefore also tight on the way from the Utopia Stage to the Mandora Stage, where a large number of people want to end the evening with Limp Bizkit. The fact that the break between the two shows was extended in advance seems like a good decision. The flow of people remains enormous.
Limp Bizkit provide the late evening demolition after the big emotion. Fred Durst and his band don’t care about fine dramaturgy and instead treat everyone to the big hit battle. “My Generation”, “Break Stuff”, “Rollin’”, “My Way”, “Nookie”, “Take a Look Around” balance the pressure in the audience. Things become differently moving when Ritchie Buxton from Ecca Vandal takes over the legendary bassline of the recently deceased Sam Rivers for “Re-Arranged”.
Papa Roach: Homage to the companions of the noughties
Other acts are also impressed by the dream lineup: Don Broco was inspired to form a band himself in the noughties by Papa Roach, Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park. Later, singer Rob Damiani will experience a full circle moment with Papa Roach when he sings along to “Between Angels and Insects”.
Their set is entertaining: “Blood Brothers”, “Dead Cell”, “…To Be Loved”, “Getting Away With Murder”, “Scars”, “Born for Greatness” – Jacoby Shaddix and his band don’t have to refer to the past, but they still do it with a huge desire to play. At the end of their set they ignite a 2000 hit medley with “Blind” by Korn, “My Own Summer (Shove It)” by Deftones, “Break Stuff” by Limp Bizkit and “Chop Suey!” by System of a Down, before her own heyday hit “Last Resort” follows.
The festival also offers a lot for fans of the harder style: Mastodon, Within Temptation, Architects and many more really made everyone happy. The best pictures from the first day of the festival can be seen here.
The festival is already looking to the future. A big fireworks display announces Blink-182 as the first headliner for 2027.
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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 person? 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.