When asked to review the world’s biggest touring festival, the question is: where do I start? As a Sonisphere virgin but a lifelong rock and metal fan, I was unsure what to expect but looking forward to the experience. Now in its 3rd year, Sonisphere seems to be bigger than ever and over the 3 days brought together some of the greatest musical icons in the world, both old and new.
Friday night saw the Big Four steal the show on the Apollo stage. Anthrax, Megadeth, Slayer and Metallica rocked out in front of the sixty thousand strong audience. I grew up with pictures of James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett on my bedroom wall and when they blasted out, arguably the most recognisable riff in metal, Enter Sandman to finish their set, fireworks exploding in the sky above the stage, I wondered how they could possibly better the performance in an encore. My question was answered when they came back out, joined by members of Anthrax, Megadeth, Slayer and Diamond Head to blast out Am I Evil (originally a Diamondhead song). A score of heavy metal legends graced the stage with guitar gods Hammett, King, Ian and Broderick shredding in unison over the pounding rhythm of the swarm of bassists and drummers led by Lars Ulrich. Messrs Hetfield, Araya, Mustaine and Belladonna shared the vocals as their powerful blend of gravelly tones and ear-popping high notes was accompanied by sixty thousand backing singers on the choruses. Sometimes criticised for being out-dated, the Big Four proved that they still have what it takes to rock an arena three decades after they first came onto the scene.
On Saturday, Sonisphere swayed away from the classic metal of the night before to wel-come some more mainstream acts to Knebworth House. Weezer would probably win the prize for the biggest sing-along band of the weekend as a cacophony of voices in the vast audience belted out lyrics from Teenage Dirtbag with the American power pop group. Cult Kilmarnock three piece, Biffy Clyro headlined the Apollo stage in the evening, encouraging more crowd participation. The trio have had a boost in popularity in recent years, in part due to Matt Cardle’s X-factor cover of 'Many of Horror', but more significantly due to their energetic live performances. The stage was a blur of wet, straggly hair and pale, tattooed torsos as the trio thrashed out a string of hits, balancing moments of almost subtle balladry with fast tempo shrieking.
Headlining the Saturn Stage in the build up to Biffy, the quirky Cedric Bixer-Zavala of The Mars Volta amused an audience who welcomed a glimpse of sunshine in the rain. I wasn’t overly familiar with the work of the prog-rockers before the gig but I can now say that I’m a fan. Although maybe not to everybody’s taste, the band’s blend of thoughtful melodies intertwined with moments of raucous riffing was almost as entertaining as Bi-xer-Zavala’s idiotic antics on stage as he threw a galvanised steel barrier on top of a TV camera (he can probably expect a large bill soon) and, at one point, got tangled up in the Sonisphere-logoed skirting as he clambered under the stage.
The day felt slightly disjointed due to sporadic downpours which drove many of the less hardcore fans into the shelter of the tented areas. It allowed me to see Yorkshire-based, alternative rockers, Pulled Apart by Horses mosh out in front of a rammed Bohemia Stage audience. They are making a fine name for themselves on the British scene and are a group to watch out for in the future. The tented area also hosted several comedy acts, offering a welcome respite from tinnitus-inducing chaos of the main stages. Jack-ass hero, Steve-O’s irreverent ramblings about previous misdemeanors with the Jackass crew may have lacked structure but still had the crowd in fits of laughter.
Sunday saw a return to the heavier side of metal with Slipknot headlining in their first tour since the death of bassist Paul Gray in May last year. At 2pm, the world of heavy metal came to a standstill as the band paid tribute to the artist with a 2 minute silence. Later that afternoon, Lemmy also paid tribute to friend and former Motorhead band member, Michael “Wurzel” Burston, who had died the day before of a heart-attack. Emotions were high in the arena and seemed to inspire a wealth of passion in the per-formances throughout the afternoon and evening. The day for me, despite more periods of heavy rain, had several highlights. Airbourne front man and health and safety night-mare, Joel O’Keefe managed to clamber up the lighting rig, guitar on back, to carry on his punchy riffs from on top of the stage. Limp Bizkit juxtaposition of rap and thrash metal had the crowd jumping in unison with classics such as Nookie, Rollin and My Way.
It was always going to be controversial to appoint Bill Bailey to headline the Saturn Stage especially when sandwiched between the likes of Opeth, Limp Bizkit and Slipknot. I have always been a fan of the comedian but I was unsure how the metal enthusiasts around me would react. Fortunately he was received exceedingly well as he amused the crowds with a Rammstein inspired rendition of Scarborough Fair (in German) and a thrash metal interpretation of Brand New Combine Harvester by The Wurzels, among other hilarious musical shenanigans. I can honestly say it’s the first comedy gig I’ve been to with a mosh pit!!
Check out photos of the weekends highlights here
Published on 11 July 2011 by RobinBoot
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