So .... was it worth the money and all that. Let's find out.
Well mot much of one, just a complaint about what I think was a real fuck up in the running times, which meant the thing started earlier. ok but they let the bands overlap, which starting earlier they should've been able to avoid, so like you miss the start of fear Factory, Sepultura start while Korn are still on and all that. Sort it out people! Oh yeah, and I am still frying cos it was too 'kin hot, which makes a change I guess. For added effect read this review by doing Kerrang stage, then main stage, Kerrang stage main stage etc. At least here you won't miss anything.
Opened things up a few minutes early, but soon took the award for best dressed of the day, with Mr Bass man adorning the stage in his best morning suit. Smart! They were one of the best bands of the day as well, with Ste Williams - aka Mr singer man doing his best to wind things up, first mooning session of the day, hitting of his body with the mike and all that stuff. Downer was when he hurled a can into the crowd with force, luckily someoe caught it. You be pissed if someone in the crowd did it, just cos he is in a band doesn't make him an exception. Highlight was for the last song when he went, er 'walkabout', through the crowd right up to the back. Stonking stuff all round reall. Well worth checking out.
Lost in the best dressed of the day. I dunno, they played well, but it almost got summed up by Willie when he said, 'the set lists boring what do you weant to hear'. Old trick, but having seen Honeycrack a few times know, it would be nice to hear some new stuff. Having said that, what they played, they played well. Good but ultimately not great.
I was at the main stage when they played, I've seen them a number of times, and I'm afraid while Kerrang and everyone creams their jeans about this band, I tend to think that there are a lot better bands in Britain, such as Joyrider, Skyscraper and Gorilla. Still I did watch them on the video screen, recognised the songs, so they have that going for them, and I'm sure that they got a great reception.
Didn't see them either, and I know not a lot about them at all, so I can't really comment, apart from if the organisers had their arse in gear and got the running times right, then maybe i could've seen them. Yeah, I'm a tough critic ;)
Well the area had filled a lot when I got back to see these lot. Don#'t know the titles of the songs, my mate played the first 2 off the Bloody Kisses album before we went, and I know they played them. Surprisingly they only played one other song, current single My Girlfriends Girlfriend. Shortest set of the day, but went down very well. The vocal levels for Pete Steele were fucked, but it was pretty good. Needs to be seen in the dark and murky though, not in blazing sunshine while you're begining to suffer sunstroke.
The band I was here to see. As were a few others, cos they got the biggest cheer of the day on this stage when they started I'm sure. Blind, BallTongue, Divine, a newbie (I think), da bagpipes for Shoots and Ladders and Fagget. Fucking awesome, and they looked as if they enjoyed themselves. Once again, the vocals were fucked up for the start but it didn't matter as the band simply crushed. Best of the day no problem. Shame that Sepultura started while they were still playing, so a lot of people made a run to see them, but hey that was cool, just wait a few years and they'll all tell you how they stayed to see the end of Korn, cos this band are gonna overtake Sepultura in the popularity stakes.
Ok, lets wander a mile or so across scorched grass and get to ....
Damn, we got here late, which means that we've missed the start of
Ok, but they're still doing Demanufacture when we get there, so not too much of a problem. But the problems were waiting around the corner. Basically, as you were when they supported Ozzy last year, so we et the highlights from Demanufacture, and a couple thrown in from Soul of the New Machine. Self Bias Resistor crushes as it always does, although the band look kinda funny on the stage. Seeing Dino jumping around and whatever, but so far from the crowd and being cut off by all the photographers make's it look like they#re playing for them. Weird. Anyway New Breed cuts in, and er the power cuts out, so that all we are left with is Burton trying to apologise for the problems by telling us 'this is bullshit', 'Ozzy pulled the plug on us', 'we've blown the thing up', and the classic, 'I can't tell you how embarrasing this is'. Eventually power is restored, and they finish with Martyr and Replica. Not the best I've seen them do, but with power problems, the odds were against them.
Guess what, missed the start of them as well, so I don't know if they opened with ShadowKings or not, but they were playing it when they came into view. A good band, but I always find them lacking a bit in stage presence, and it seemed noticeable again on a big stage. They played well enough, but the magic something was missing. I can't remember all the set, so I won't bother trying, the brain was getting frazzled, damn that sun is hot, wish I'd brought some suntan lotion. Apparently Holmes was pretty wasted and so by mistake said that this was their last gig this decade instead of this year or something like that. But whatever, it was probably the last time that you'll hear 'The Last Time' lived this year. Ouch, sorry, had to do that one. eep you amused and all that business.
In an Irish footie top. Hmmm, what about Wales ya git ;) Anyway, like quite a few, I know them for No Fronts and no more. Saw them last year support Biohazard in Sheffield and impressed me, they did again today. Pretty good mix for them, and they seemed to go down well. Kev thoughts they had the best stage presence of the day, but I wouldn't go that far. Little bit of the old brown tongue award there, well everyone else had red face syndrome, so why not. But I can't tell you the names of the songs, cos i don't know them. They did Isms, cos he said they did, and they did 'the heavy metal' number of the new album. Oh yeah, and they did No Fronts, but I was half way across the field at the time on my way to see Type O'Negative.
Didn't see at all. At t'other stage laddie. Then headed for a little tunnel to get out of the sun a bit. Sounded ok, but I can tell you no more than that.
Well, I missed the begining cos the mighty Korn were playing. But when I got there, it all seemed strange, Looking at the bog ol vid screen, Max looked a lot like Andreas. Turned out it was Andreas doing the singing. At the end of the set Krusher said 'Sepultura are Andreas, Igor and Paulo'. Me thinks, he forgot Max. But then he said, 'All our thoughts are with Max and Gloria'. So it seems something is majorly wrong. I don't know exactly, but I've heard that on of the kids died in a road crash. Except it was Glorias son from a previous marriage, who happened to be a roadie. This seems more likely than it being Max's kids, cos I don't think the band would've played at all. Whatever, it's not nice to loose someone, so sympathy to Mx and Gloria and this puts the Septultura set in perspective.
It didn't affect the sound, you could barely tell that Max was missing, I thought maybe it was my eyes deceiving me. And Andreas handled the singing with no problems. Full marks to that man, sure it was obvious before he was talented, but I think he truly showed how much today. They ripped through the set, helped out on Ratamhatta by a few people including Mike Bordin, and Evan Seinfield sang on Slave New World. Full marks under trying circumstances.
Started earlier than I thought. He came on when Sepultura were scheduled to finish. Thats how far thing's had got messed up. Anyway, Paranoid is offered up first, followed by War Pigs, I don't Know and god knows how many more. Ozzy was once more great, although he seemed to be having trouble with the old vocal box bits at times. But he was cool, he walked away with the 'I fucking love you people' amd the 'make some fucking noise' and the 'you're not loud enough' awards. So yeah, he can get repetive like that after a wile, but you gotta love the guy right. Anyway, it was a quality set, and long, I timed it at 2 hours, which is longer than I think he's ever done before, and a tad longer than the 1 1/4 hours he was down for. But a brilliant Sabbath mini set, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Iron Man, Sweet Leaf Children of the Grave, god thos songs rule. Mike Bordin is a class drummer. Just one thing, vut the guitar solo Mr Oz, don't let em do it - please. But in true Beavis and Butthead style, huh huh, like Ozzy rules. Though not as much as Korn.
Yeah Kiss. Ok, I don't know any of their stuff. My Kiss knowledge spans to hearing the Crazy Nights album once in preparation for when they played here in 88 supporting Iron Maiden, who blew them off the planet. So, it was, ok, you claim to be the biggest, impress the hell out of me. Wap wap oops, they failed. If you like Kiss, look away now .... still here. Ok, wellllll, they came they saw, they looked funny. I wasn't overly impressed by the stage and what not, Maiden seemed just as impressive back in '88. Don't know the songs. Stanley is ludicrous. If his intros get much higher in vocal pitch he'll do himself a mischief. And please 'ever since we started, we dreamed of playing Donington'. Yeah, well you did in '88, annd Donington hasn't been going as long as Kiss. Ok I should lighten up, it's in the name of entertainment. But simply put, Kiss bored me and my mates. We left early. But did get to see the 'excitement' of guitar solos, bass solo, drum solo. Wow, a guitar that smokes, people don't go wow, a human that smokes. And Mr Bat wings there swallowed a blood capsule and got hoisted to the top of the stage and sang a song in the lighting rig. Ok, that looked good, but I was expecting more. That was the upshot, I expected more than I got. Maybe you need to be American, maybe you had to grow up with their stuff, maybe I need a sense of humour, but it didn't do much for me. Sorry.
Schedule was fucked. Overall, not bad, good I guess. I think the problem for me was that I've seen nearly all the band s a few times at least, and fairly recently. To be good on such a big stage to people quite a distance away cos they're flicking between stages, you have to be damn good, and some of them weren't quite there.
Oh, and did I mention, it was bloody hot, stupidly hot. My face hurts.
Check out Iain's review, which might give a slightly different perspective, so reviews are personal and all that.