Tonight’s show was part of the ‘Age of the Joker’ tour, in support of the new album of the same name. New song ‘Nobody’s Hero’ kicked off the set in ferocious fashion, and was one of four new songs played. ‘Age of the Joker’ is a major improvement on the mediocre previous effort ‘Tinnitus Sanctus’, so it was good to hear the new material giving the set a good freshening up.

The highlight of the night was the new epic masterpiece ‘Robin Hood’. Yes, the song’s breakdown, and build up to the finale, is a real IRON MAIDEN rip off, but who cares? Frontman Tobias Sammet obviously doesn’t, as he even threw in a ‘scream for me Brimingham’ before ripping into an awesome ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’-esque scream. Also, later in the set, the band burst into a quick rendition of ‘The Trooper’, much to the delight of the crowd.

The rest of the set was populated with the big EDGUY singles from previous albums, plus older power metal classics like ‘Babylon’ and ‘Vain Glory Opera’. Although I would have prefered to hear some of the more serious numbers, along the lines of ‘Navigator’ and ‘The Asylum’, the enjoyable, light-hearted crack of ‘Lavatory Love Machine’ and ‘Superheroes’ were great fun as usual.

EDGUY are a great band, and seem more than happy with their image as a bit of a parody metal band. Parody or not though, EDGUY can write scintillating metal songs, have talented musicians, and have a singer with one of the best voices in metal. Perhaps their humour is not for everyone, but for those who enjoy their metal classic and catchy, EDGUY are well worth a try.

In a show almost identical to the previous year, Lizzy ripped through a whole host of classics, with big hitters like ‘Jailbreak’, ‘Emerald’ and ‘The Boys are Back in Town’ lapped up by the mixed audience of aging rockers, and younger fans perhaps getting their first taste of THIN LIZZY live action.

The only disappointment was the fact that the setlist was hardly changed from the previous year’s show. With great songs like ‘Cold Sweat’, ‘Do Anything You Want To’, ‘Chinatown’ and many more missing in action, it wouldn’t have been too difficult to freshen things up a little.

The main difference from the previous year’s show was the introduction of ALICE COOPER guitarist Damon Johnson. His name may not be as well known as that of Viv Campbell (DEF LEPPARD’s guitarist who played with Lizzy last year), but Johnson’s confident playing seemed to fit better with the THIN LIZZY sound, with a definite resemblence to legendary Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson.

There may still be doubters who ask whether this band should going round calling themselves THIN LIZZY. Well, regardless of their name, I say that they are a great band who play great tribute to the magnificent music of the late great Phil Lynott. So, if calling the band THIN LIZZY means more people come along and create a better atmosphere, then I’m all for it!

The majestic ‘Black Rose’ wrapped up a generous 105 minute set. This was yet another great show by THIN LIZZY. If you’re into Lizzy and fancy a great night out, then I fully recommend that you go out and watch this latest version of the band. I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

Review by James Allman

Unfortunately, their set was ruined by terrible sound, and on plenty of occasions, there was major feedback issues coming from the guitars and vocals, that was extremely unpleasant on the ears, whilst when vocalist Loic Rossetti was joined on stage by an ex member for a dual vocal, it was hard to differentiate the two, when they sang together, and everything seemed to get lost into oblivion. I hope to catch these guys again sometime, when the sound will be better, because from I could make out, their music was intriguing and a bit different, and worth another look to say the very least.

TEXTURES took to the stage, and the atmosphere was there right from the word go, with instrumental ‘Surreal State of Enlightenment’ really helping to build it up, before they kicked into ‘Regenesis’ and ‘Storm Warning’ which was eaten up by the crowd, as everybody including the band headbanged in sync, all throughout the gig.

The sound was miles better for TEXTURES, and a killer display of ‘Stream of Consciousness’ got the real first action in the pit for the set. One thing I did remember about this venue, only after it happened was the situation of the strobe lights here is lower than most venues and more directly in your face, meaning any major usage of these can really deter the enjoyment of the show. Fortunately, it was used only when necessary and in relevant parts of the material too.

New vocalist Daniel de Jongh, taking over from Eric Kalsbeek last year, delivered a very good performance, and even made the earlier material his own, as well as delivering on the new tracks on show tonight from latest album ‘Dualism’ in the form of ‘Sanguine Draws The Oath’ and ‘Consonant Hemispheres’, with a real highlight being ‘Singularity’, performed in the encore. Some crowd participation was included in the form of the impressive ‘Awake’ where plenty of fans sang their hearts out, before a blistering rendition of ‘Swandive’ closed the set, and got the crowd going once more.

The way TEXTURES mix experimental and more aggressive elements with melody is superb, with them reminding me of a cross between MESHUGGAH and SOILWORK. The gradual build up style of ‘Messengers’ opened the encore, before the aforementioned ‘Singularity’ got an airing. An awe inspiring performance of ‘Laments of An Icarus’ closed the proceedings, as the band received rapturous applause and horns from the crowd, and deservedly so. Their hour set flew by, and although not really having heard much of their music before, they have left a definite impression on me after this show, one I will follow up and listen to more of their material.

Ratings:

Having said that, I did take notice of a few numbers which stood out musically, with the catchy style of ‘What You Do To Me’ and the ferocious ‘Conversion’ impressing in particular, whilst Brown‘s break neck speed headbanging during the latter could have smashed a brick wall if needed.

Having toured the UK a number of times over each of the past few years, the fans came out in force yet again for one of the best professional and live bands around in the metal scene. And it’s no wonder really. LACUNA COIL, now on their Darkness Rising tour, for me have always been one of those bands that are better to see live than on record. Don’t get me wrong, I can listen to them on record easily, but when you see them live, they are a different beast altogether.

The darker and more gothic elements and riffs become a lot more prominent, and create a really sublime atmosphere, with opening numbers ‘Our Truth’ and ‘To The Edge’ being prime examples of how this transforms from record to live. The vocal problems that plagued STRAIGHT LINE STITCH‘s performance didn’t transfer to the headliners and the dual vocals of Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro sounded excellent, with the only minor gripe with the sound being that the bass was a bit too high and overpowered the guitars at times throughout the first half of the set.

The majority of the set was made up from their last two efforts, ‘Shallow Life’ and ‘Karmacode’, with the likes of ‘Fragile’, ‘Fragments of Faith’, ‘I Won’t Tell You’ and a great rendition of the melancholic ‘Wide Awake’, while it was great to hear classics in the form of ‘Heaven’s A Lie’, ‘Daylight Dancer’ and ‘Swamped’. With a new album out early next year, entitled ‘Dark Adrenaline’, it was nice to hear a taste of what is to come from it. ‘Kill The Light’ and ‘Trip The Darkness’ were on offer tonight and sounded extremely good. They had those familiar LACUNA COIL traits stamped all over them and if the rest of the album is in a similar vein, it will be one to look forward to.

Their cover of DEPECHE MODE‘s ‘Enjoy The Silence’ closed the main set, which was the cue for some audience participation on the chorus, and to say they were loud is probably an understatement. LACUNA COIL came back on as the intro to ‘Survive’ played and delivered a killer version of it, whilst the rest of the encore was made up of the aforementioned ‘Trip The Darkness’ before the superb ‘Spellbound’ closed proceedings for the evening. LACUNA COIL could have easily delivered an extra 15 minutes on top of the 75 we got tonight. They certainly have the material to warrant it, but I don’t think that was on anyone’s mind as they headed for the exit. LACUNA COIL are always going to be one of my favourite live bands, and I bet we won’t have to wait too long for another chance to see them in the new year, especially with a new album just around the corner too.

Ratings:

Photography By Alex Shaw (click here for Lacuna Coil gallery)

The set was primarily made up of superb new album ‘Takasago Army’ and the previous album, ‘Mirror of Retribution’, and was lapped up by the crowd, duly obliging with fist pumping, throwing the devil horns and headbanging all thrown in for good measure. The 40 minute set flew by, and new material like ‘Broken Jade’, ‘Southern Cross’, ‘Oceanquake’ and ‘Takao’ sounded excellent live as they created an excellent atmosphere with their powerful and destructive nature.

One thing you can always expect from a TURISAS show is to have a bloody good time, and it was no surprise that the party was in full flow as soon as they hit the stage. With the crowd constantly shouting ‘Battle Metal’ not only before they came on, but near enough after each song had reached it conclusion, you could tell the fans were right up for it tonight.

With new album, ‘Stand Up And Fight’, and a new image too, yes, the furry outfits are all but gone apart from a bit here and there, in favour of a denim and leather approach, but don’t worry, the new image doesn’t stretch as far as the war paint, that is still fully intact, with a few members of the audience also deciding to adorn themselves with the customary red and black too!

Opening number, ‘The March of The Varangian Guard’, was the first of a handful of material played tonight from the new album, and really got the ball rolling before pints were raised aloft for a cracking rendition of ‘One More’, which got both the festivities and singing in good stead for the rest of the show. As usual, frontman Mathias ‘Warlord’ Nygard had requested some local ale, although the closest he got was from Kent. Still, he appreciated it more than the foreign lager he was served on other the UK dates so far according to him.

The energetic set kept on going with the likes of ‘To Holmgard And Beyond’, and the upbeat ‘Sahti-Waari’. The new material was going down an absolute storm with the likes of ‘The Great Escape’, ‘Take The Day!’ and eventual set closer ‘Stand Up And Fight’ particularly impressing live.

As TURISAS came back for the encore, everybody’s favourite cover really set the place alight. ‘Rasputin’ was greeted by the ever hungry hordes, with everyone shouting Ra-Ra-Rasputin and literally blowing the roof of the venue. The time had come for those fans who were requesting this from the start of the show. A rousing rendition of ‘Battle Metal’ closed the proceedings, and brought a close to a fun filled folk metal gig. TURISAS are really masters of their craft when it comes to catchy tunes that you can’t help but dance, headbang and throw the horns to. Until next time you crazy folksters!

Ratings:

Photography By Alex Shaw (Turisas gallery click here)

Although WHITE WIZZARD have some good tunes, I have often found their live shows somewhat lackluster. I wish I could say something different from that based on tonight’s performance, but unfortunately I can’t. They seemed to lack an on stage presence, and albeit, the stage isn’t the biggest in this venue, their use of it was non-existent to say the least and very static. The likes of ‘Over The Top’, ’40 Deuces’ and ‘Iron Goddess of Vengeance’ got a rousing reception from the fans, and they were performed very well, but they were just lacking that certain something that would make me go and see them on their own headline tour.

With the sublime new album, ‘Dystopia’ in tow and new vocalist Stu Block at the helm, ICED EARTH took to the stage and delivered an excellent set that absolutely flew by, and definitely left the crowd wanting more. There was no surprise that the new album featured heavily throughout the set, with the likes of opening number and title track ‘Dystopia’ getting things rolling nicely, whilst ‘V’ (complete with Guy Fawkes mask getting a showing courtesy of an audience member), ‘Dark City’, ‘Anthem’ and ‘Tragedy And Triumph’ all sounded fantastic live.

It was apparent very early on that you could tell what Jon Schaffer was on about when he mentioned that Stu had that look in his eye. His on stage presence is excellent, whether it being his antics, banter with the crowd, or conducting the fist pumps or singing, and you can’t help but keep your eyes on him. Stu has fitted straight into ICED EARTH with so much ease, and really delivered also on the Barlow and Ripper era material too in the form of ‘Stand Alone’, ‘Slave To The Dark’ and ‘Declaration Day’, which were on offer tonight.

One highlight of the set was seeing the duo of ‘Angels Holocaust’ and ‘When The Night Falls’ getting a dusting off and being played on this tour. These have definitely not aged with time and went down a storm with the crowd, whilst the extremely atmospheric and evil ‘Damien’ got a great reception too. It was the song that everyone in attendance was waiting to hear tonight, and as Stu introduced it with ‘Let’s take a trip to Hell’, the epic ‘Dante’s Inferno’ was upon us and was delivered in all its glory to note perfection by every member of the band, who were all on outstanding form tonight.

All that was left to cap of an awesome set was, as usual, the self titled ‘Iced Earth’ which sent the crowd into headbanging frenzy one last time for the night. It rounded off an awe-inspiring display from ICED EARTH, with everybody showing their appreciation with horns raised and applause aplenty. Overall, I can’t fault the set at all as it was great to hear some of the early material, especially ‘Dante’s Inferno’. This is one November 5th I’m sure everyone in attendance will remember!

Ratings:

Review By Adam Fredericks

Friday

Opening up proceedings for the weekend on the RONNIE JAMES DIO stage were metalcore outfit THE DEFILED who got the crowd nicely warmed up for the day’s events with an aggressive and energetic set. Following shortly afterwards were Swedish metallers WOLF who were returning to the festival after playing it in 2009, and their short set of Maiden worshipping classic metal was as warmly received as ever.

Bay Area thrash veterans FORBIDDEN were next to grace the stage and delivered an excellent set that headbangers got their teeth stuck into, with the likes of ‘Through Eyes of Glass’ and ‘Chalice of Blood’ going down a treat, before Finnish rockers POISONBLACK produced an upbeat set, even with frontman and guitarist Ville Laihiala having to sit through the entire set due to a leg injury.

Swiss doomsters TRIPTYKON took to the stage with a set made up of half of Tom G. Warrior‘s former band, CELTIC FROST and the other half being new material. Even though it was daylight, the heavy slow riffs created a superb atmosphere. ‘Procreation of The Wicked’ opened the set before the sublime ‘Goetia’ followed, which was a real highlight of the 40 minute set.

Swiss thrashers CORONER were playing their first UK show since their recent reunion. The 45 minute set was solid if not spectacular, with the main attraction being some superb lead guitar work from Tommy Vetterli with double tapping aplenty. However, the lack of individuality of CORONER‘s material was evidence enough as to why the band never rose above the thrash metal underground.

Legendary German thrashers KREATOR delivered a killer set, even with a minor hiccup when the PA cut out for a few seconds during ‘Warcurse’. The only surprise omission from the set was ‘Extreme Aggression’, but a real highlight was the inclusion of ‘Endless Pain’ in the set, whilst superb renditions of ‘Voices of The Dead’, ‘Enemy of God’, ‘Reconquering The Throne’ and ‘Violent Revolution’ were all welcomed by the crowd, before the ferocious set came to an end with usual closing duo of ‘Flag of Hate’ and ‘Tormentor’.

Returning after playing last years Bloodstock, and thanks to no missing equipment this time, DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT played a decent set, and while I may have not enjoyed every song in the set, perhaps because it is a bit too experimental for my tastes, you can’t deny that Devin is a excellent frontman who keeps the crowd entertained throughout with his various moments and actions on stage. ‘Bad Devil’ and eventual set closer ‘Vampira’ were highlights of the set, but I guess to fully enjoy the show, more time spent listening to the material would aid the factor.

Friday’s headliners were 80′s L.A. rock legends W.A.S.P. who played an energetic set from start to finish with Blackie Lawless as usual moving all over the stage. All the classics were on show tonight with the likes of ‘On Your Knees’, ‘L.O.V.E. Machine’ and ‘Wild Child’ all sounding superb. Newer song’s in the form of ‘Crazy’ and ‘Babylon’s Burning’ also went down a storm with the crowd, while a real highlight of the set was the medley of ‘Hellion’, ‘I Don’t Need No Doctor’ and ‘Scream Until You Like It’ all being seamlessly joined together. As is the norm, ‘Blind In Texas’ was the last song of the night and brought a close to a top day of rock and metal entertainment.

Saturday

Some extreme speed metal was first to play on the RJD stage on Saturday. SKELETONWITCH delivered a destroying set which went at full pelt right until the last note, with ‘Beyond The Permafrost’ and ‘Reduced To The Failure of Prayer’ really sounding excellent live. German heavy metal stalwarts GRAVE DIGGER were the second band on, and probably proved they should have been a bit higher on the bill with their excellent performance, with classics like ‘Rebellion’ and ‘The Dark of The Sun’ getting a rousing reception. ‘Heavy Metal Breakdown’ brought a close to a short but thoroughly enjoyable set from the ever solid German outfit.

TAROT were taking to the stage fronted by Marco Hietala, of NIGHTWISH fame, to play their brand of symphonic power metal, which the crowd ate right up. Meanwhile, over on the New Blood Stage, up and coming Norwegian Black Metallers UBERAN were getting the audience warmed up for tonight’s headliner. UBERAN must be the first band I have seen where all four of their members take turns singing in each song. From what I heard, they had some good material up their sleeves and duly got the crowd headbanging. This will be one to look out for in the future for any fans of classic Norwegian black metal.

Another band returning to Bloodstock after a few years were Finnish folk metallers FINNTROLL who wasted no time in getting the party started and the crowd just lapped up their entire set, with there being plenty of jigs amongst other sorts of dancing within the audience. IHSAHN, of EMPEROR fame, took to the stage to produce a high quality set of symphonic black metal, with all the material being from his solo project, which probably left a few fans disappointed that there wasn’t any EMPEROR songs in the set. Still, tracks like ‘Scarab’ and ‘Frozen Lakes on Mars’ were outstanding and really created an atmosphere.

Finnish power folk metallers WINTERSUN produced a speedfest filled set, which flew by nearly as fast as they played. With rousing renditions of ‘Battle Against Time’ and ‘The Way of The Fire’ particularly standing out, ‘Starchild’ wrapped up their 45 minute set that left everyone wanting more.

THERION‘s Saturday evening performance was certainly the most interesting set of the weekend. It’s a mystery how the band afford to tour, given that they had four lead singers, none of which play an instrument. The dual male and dual female attack made for some brilliantly layered vocals and the sort of sounds you only usually hear on a backing tape. ‘To Mega Therion’ was the standout song of what was an impressive set.

Finally playing their first ever UK show were Italian power metal pomps RHAPSODY OF FIRE. This is a band who would have been laughed off the stage in the UK only a few years ago, but the Bloodstock festival has suddenly made swords and sorcery power metal much more acceptable in the UK. Live, the band sounded much less overblown than on record, and instrumentally, they were absolutely superb. The huge crowd waved blow up swords in unison as the likes of ‘Holy Thunderforce’ and ‘Dawn of Victory’ blasted out over the Derbyshire countryside battleground.

After the reception that tonights headliner got last year when they were announced, this was probably one of the most anticipated performances of the weekend. Back in UK for the first time in 9 years, Black Metal Gods IMMORTAL took to the stage opening up with ‘All Shall Fall’ coupled with some pyros. Although the sound was not the best for the first few songs, it didn’t matter one iota to anybody it seemed, even me, and shortly afterwards, the sound greatly improved, and IMMORTAL delivered a killer set of crushing black metal at it’s finest.

All the classics were here, ‘Damned In Black’, ‘One By One’ and ‘Grim And Frostbitten Kingdoms’ to name a few, while blistering renditions of ‘In My Kingdom Cold’ and ‘Solarfall’ really stood out, as did the main set closer, ‘Withstand The Fall of Time’. The epic ‘Beyond The North Waves’ opened the encore with even more pyros, this time a waterfall effect before more of the sprinkler style pyros that they opened up with. ‘The Sun No Longer Rises’ brought IMMORTAL‘s superb set to an end, with everybody showing appreciation by raising the horns. Lets just hope it’s not so long again before IMMORTAL grace these shores.

Sunday

Recently reunited NWOBHM band, HELL kicked things off before a double dose of black metal in the daylight hit the RJD stage. Norway’s 1349 pummelled their way through a 40 minute set with ‘I Am Abomination’ and ‘Sculptor of Flesh’ being notable mentions. PRIMORDIAL frontman Alan Averill unfortunately only lasted two songs before his voice strangely disappeared, and the band continued with the rest of the set without vocals.

Meanwhile, over on the Sophie Lancaster Stage, everybody’s favourite parody metal band, EVIL SCARECROW were duly entertaining the masses as a packed tent were treated to an outstanding performance. ‘Blacken The Everything’ sounded superb and their awesome cover version of EUROPE‘s ‘The Final Countdown’ went down perfectly, whilst a world record attempt during ‘Robotron’ got everybody doing their own perfect robot square.

Back over on the RJD stage, Brummie grindcore legends NAPALM DEATH blitzed their way through a 45 minute set of pure noise. Contained in the set were regulars such as ‘When All Is Said And Done’, ‘Scum’ and ‘Suffer The Children’, while we were treated to a couple of cover songs too in the form of CRYPTIC SLAUGHTER‘s ‘Lowlife’ and DEAD KENNEDYS‘ ‘Nazi Punks Fuck Off’.

Swedish metal warriors HAMMERFALL were up next, and enjoyed the best sound of the weekend. Opening number ‘Infected’ sounded crystal clear. The crowd loved the opportunity to sing a long to the likes of ‘Let The Hammer Fall’ and ‘Hearts on Fire’. Unfortunately, HAMMERFALL have numerous great songs which went unplayed, and it would have been nice to see them higher up the bill with a set longer than 45 minutes. Still, we have more of HAMMERFALL in the UK as they tour with SAXON in December.

The second band to perform this weekend from the Bay Area in San Francisco were thrash titans EXODUS. Throughout the entire set, you could hardly hear frontman Rob Dukes, as either his vocals were too low in the mix or not coming out of the PA as between songs, it sounded like the vocals were only coming from the monitors on stage. Despite this, they cracked on and Gary Holt was on stellar form as he crushed the likes of ‘Blacklist’, ‘Bonded By Blood’ and ‘Toxic Waltz’.

Recently reunited (again) and pioneers of the Gothenburg sound, AT THE GATES were back at Bloodstock after last playing in 2008, and delivered a truly stunning set, with almost the entire ‘Slaughter of The Soul’ album being played. Tracks like ‘Terminal Spirit Disease’ and ‘Under A Serpent Sun’ sounded as fresh as ever, with other highlights being ‘The Burning Darkness’ and the encore duo of ‘Blinded By Fear’ and ‘Kingdom Gone’. AT THE GATES have no plans to tour extensively or write any new material, so you better catch them while you can.

A quick trip to the Jagermeister Stage was on the cards to see LAST IN LINE, a group of musicians fronted by Simon Hall (BEHOLDER) who played an acoustic set to honour the late great RONNIE JAMES DIO and his music. They played a mix of different RJD material from his time in BLACK SABBATH, to RAINBOW, to his solo stuff as DIO. With quite a sizeable crowd gathering, they medleyed the songs together and made the set a real highlight of the weekend, with the likes of ‘Heaven And Hell’, ‘Temple of The King’ and of course ‘Holy Diver’ all getting a showing before ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Children’ rounded things off.

Just like last year, another death metal band had the honour of playing before the Sunday headliner, and this year it was the turn of Florida’s own MORBID ANGEL. While their new album ‘Illud Divinum Insanus’ may have gotten some mixed reviews, the new material sounded fantastic live with ‘I Am Morbid’, ‘Existo Vulgore’ and ‘Nevermore’ all impressing, while classics like ‘Immortal Rites’, ‘Maze of Torment’ and ‘Chapel of Ghouls’ were as destructive as ever. My only gripe about the set was maybe it could have been a bit louder and more in your face as death metal should be, but that didn’t take the shine of an otherwise crushing performance.

Despite their uncomplicated approach to gigs, there’s just something about MOTORHEAD which makes it impossible to get bored of seeing them live. Perhaps it’s the ever grasping awe of just how cool Lemmy is, or perhaps it’s just the great rock n’ roll songs which MOTORHEAD have produced over the years which does the trick.

MOTORHEAD‘s performance tonight was typically on the ball, and all the classics were pumped out, thus ensuring that the Bloodstock crowd enjoyed one final headbang to round off the weekend in style.

Once again, Bloodstock has proved what a great festival it is, and managed to get some great bands that the true metal fans of the UK want to see, whilst also getting big bands for the headliners, whilst also giving the chance to some excellent up and comers in the metal and rock genre. Not a truer word is spoken when they say, ‘For the fans, By the fans’. See you all next year at Catton Hall for what will be another cracker of a weekend.

Best Bands: IMMORTAL, KREATOR, MORBID ANGEL, AT THE GATES, IHSAHN, W.A.S.P., MOTORHEAD

Review By Adam Fredericks & James Allman

The stylish Los Angeles four piece RIVAL SONS ripped through an impressive 30 minute set which blossomed with attitude and swagger. The band’s hard blues rock’n'roll has a distinctive late 60′s / early 70′s sound and it went down a treat with the lucky fans who got to the show early enough. The brilliant ‘Get What’s Coming’ wrapped up the set, and RIVAL SONS had delivered a performance which will have undoubtedly gained them a few hundred extra fans.

Seattle progressive metal veterans QUEENSRYCHE were next on stage, and played an all too brief 45 minute set which included superb renditions of may of their best known songs. ‘I Don’t Believe in Love’, ‘Jet City Woman’, ‘Empire’ and ‘Eyes of a Stranger’ all sounded superb, with Geoff Tate proving that he still has one hell of a set of lungs. The time allocated didn’t allow for too many more numbers though, and QUEENSRYCHE’s loyal following will be hoping tonight’s brief performance was just the appetiser for a future UK headline tour. Fingers crossed!

After a short break between bands concluded with BLACK SABBATH’s ‘War Pigs’, the curtains at the front of the stage dropped, and JUDAS PRIEST burst on to the stage with a ferocious blast through ‘Rapid Fire’. The essential ‘Metal Gods’ soon followed as Priest very quickly got into their stride. Meanwhile, the sound was as loud as the human ears can take, yet perfectly balanced.

The set list deliberately covered all Rob Halford era Priest records, and this meant that ancient relics ‘Never Satisfied’ and ‘Starbreaker’ were dusted off and given another airing. A highlight of the night was ‘Breaking The Law’, when Halford turned the mic to the audience for the entire song! It was like singing a hymn at the Church of Heavy Metal!

Halford, who shyly told the crowd that he turns 60 next month, is still one of the best vocalists in metal. Not many singers in the world would tackle the likes of ‘Blood Red Skies’ and ‘Painkiller’, but tonight, Halford nailed pretty much every note. Halford’s stage presences is also as strong as ever, with more costume changes than a Britney Spears show, and of course, the essential appearance on the motorcycle for ‘Hell Bent For Leather’.

It is no doubt that it’s a shame that the legendary guitar team of K.K. Downing and Glen Tipton is no more. However, young guitarist Richie Faulkner (who has replaced the departed Downing) has given the band a real injection of life. His playing was note perfect tonight, and you could really tell just how much he was enjoying living the dream of playing with one of the greatest metal bands ever. If you’d have closed your eyes during ‘Victim of Changes’, you wouldn’t even realised that K.K. is no more.

The brilliance of tonight’s show has to beg the question why JUDAS PRIEST are deciding to reduce their touring activities because they can definitely still cut it. Tonight’s set was a solid 2 hours of top drawer heavy metal, delivered with an astounding level of musical ability and passion. All I can say is catch them while you can!

JUDAS PRIEST Setlist

Ratings:

Review by James Allman

So, on to the action….

Friday

Friday was a strong day for classic rock fans. BLACK STONE CHERRY delivered some afternoon cheer, especially with their tongue-in-cheek cover of ADELE‘s ‘Rolling In The Deep’. What made me happier though was their announcement of a double headline tour with ALTER BRIDGE later this year. That promises to be a cracker!

The latest incarnation of THIN LIZZY paid tribute to Phil Lynott and Gary Moore with a brilliant set. Frontman Ricky Warwick does a great job of fronting the band, whilst DEF LEPPARD fans would have loved the guest appearance of Viv Campbell for a rousing rendition of ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’. The Irish waltz of ‘The Black Rose’ wrapped things up in style.

One of the finest singers around at the moment, Myles Kennedy was fantastic last year at Download when he hit the stage with SLASH. This year though it was back to the day job as ALTER BRIDGE played a superb set of their modern grunge rock. ‘Metalingus’ was not only a highlight of their set, but of the whole weekend. Meanwhile, British rock veterans FM were well worth a trek over to the 3rd stage, and did a good job of being the only band of the weekend to fly the flag for AOR.

Lowestoft’s finest parody rockers THE DARKNESS were back in town, with the original line-up that propelled them to stardom 8 years ago. Apart from Justin Hawkins’ awesome new moustache, nothing has changed about THE DARKNESS. The hooky guitar riffs were there, and Justin was on fine form with his typically hilarious on stage antics. THE DARKNESS are a great fun rock band, and their debut album will always be a classic. Glad to have you back, boys!

I was really disappointed with the unimaginative decision of the Download Festival organisers to invite DEF LEPPARD back to headline only 2 years since their previous headline show. As good a band as they are, let’s face it, they’re no AC/DC, IRON MAIDEN or METALLICA, and this showed as the crowd watching DEF LEPPARD seemed like no more than a third of the size of AC/DC‘s crowd a year before.

The set list was very similar to that played in 2009, with all the necessary classics present. Excellent new track ‘Undefeated’ was a highlight at the start of the show, as was a rare performance of ‘Wasted’ from the 1980 debut album ‘On Through The Night’. DEF LEPPARD delivered a good show but for me, they’d have been more at home headlining the 2nd stage, where I imagine the more ‘hip’ PENDULUM pulled in a bigger crowd.

Saturday

Saturday was the best day of the festival both in terms of weather, and in terms of bands boasting legendary status. From the afternoon onwards, the 2nd stage was blessed with plenty of great bands, with years of experience, and plenty of festival appearances between them.

The 2nd stage at Download is named the Ronnie James Dio stage, and it was fitting that former members of DIO performed a tribute set to the great man’s career. DIO DISCIPLES as they are called, played a short set, but managed to tick off a bit of DIO, RAINBOW and BLACK SABBATH. The only thing I can’t understand is why they have bothered including Toby Jepson as a second vocalist. Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens was far better, and is more than capable of performing the vocals for the whole set by himself.

The recently reunited MR. BIG were next on stage and were one of the surprise packages of the weekend. The dual interplay of virtuoso guitarist Paul Gilbert and bass magician Billy Sheehan was mesmerising at times. Gilbert is an awesome shredder and was the best guitarist on show at Download this weekend. Although acoustic ballad ‘To Be With You’ is their most famous song, the more hard rocking tracks such as ‘Colorado Bulldog’ and ‘Addicted To That Rush’ earned more respect from the crowd.

CHEAP TRICK were brilliant earlier this year on their first UK headline tour for years. Unfortunately at Download though, the sound was terrible for their first few numbers, and only got a little bit better as the set went on. Still, ‘Dream Police’, ‘I Want You To Want Me’ and ‘Surrender’ went down a storm, well, at least with the front few rows who could actually hear them! At the end of the set, Rick Nielsen hauled out the 30 string beast of a guitar, a true SPINAL TAP moment if ever there was one!

TWISTED SISTER have recently dropped their wacky clothes and make-up, and unfortunately because of this, their show will never be the same again. However, musically, the band still provided a platter of hooks, with 80′s metal gems such as ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’, and ‘I Wanna Rock’. Dee Snider was in fine form on vocals, and did a great job of stirring up the huge crowd. The set was all over too quickly and the Donington SMF’s were left hungry for more!

Saturday’s headline act was the legendary ALICE COOPER, who never fails to provide a killer live show. Some of his usual theatrics were missing tonight, in particular his daughter who often appears as a performer. Still, like with TWISTED SISTER, the music was tremendous, with heavy numbers like ‘Brutal Planet’ going down well alongside the well known classics such as ‘Poison’ and ‘Schools Out’.

At one stage during the set, I thought IRON MAIDEN‘s Eddie was making a guest appearance, but no, it seems ALICE COOPER has a similar sized beast all of his own! After the obligatory beheading of Mr. Cooper himself, the encore wrapped things up, and the entire legion of Donington’s classic rock fans wanted to be ‘Elected’. A great set as always and a fitting way to end the evening.

Sunday

With the heavens having opened, coupled with it being very blustery, you could say that the final day of Download 2011 was hardly a summer’s day, which is why I was not surprised to see many of the crowd packing up and leaving as it seemed the awful weather had set in for the day. Those that did brave the elements though, were treated to some great entertainment and music on the 2nd stage from the early afternoon to the close.

GWAR are a perfect festival band and having seen them a few times before, I can say I have never been bored watching them. Their shock horror costumes along with various massacring of famous people (today’s choice was The Queen) among other beings such as humanic robots which then cover the fans with fake gore and blood being spurted from the dismembered being. ‘Hail, Genocide’ and ‘Bring Back The Bomb’ were highlights of the set, before the band were cut off before their usual finale of Oderus Urungus showering the crowd with various fluids from his phallic prop.

Back with a new album, Finnish folk/battle metal outfit TURISAS provided some more much needed entertainment to take the away from the weather. Along with the upbeat tempo and energy of the set, frontman Warlord Nygard had a comedy side to him referring to the UK as Denmark, due to the fact of the “locally brewed beer” they had requested, being actually Danish.

My only gripe about the set would be that with 30 minutes, we only got to hear 4 songs. The only new track on offer was ‘The Great Escape’, whilst the other tracks that got an airing included ‘To Holmgard And Beyond’, the fun filled ‘Rasputin’ which got everybody jigging and dancing, before the epic ‘Battle Metal’ finished off a short but sweet set.

Hard rock outfit BUCKCHERRY were next up on the 2nd stage, and they continued to keep the feel good attitude going right throughout their set, with some really catchy tunes, whilst frontman Josh Todd showed he had some nice moves to go with it. Something I reckon the ladies in attendance lapped right up.

Having never seen BUCKCHERRY before and only hearing a couple of songs before today, I found myself tapping my foot and nodding my head along to their set throughout, with the likes of ‘Rescue Me’, ‘All Night Long’ and ‘Lit Up’ particularly standing out from the set. ‘Crazy Bitch’ closed their enjoyable set, and BUCKCHERRY will be one band I will be checking out again.

After hearing a lot of positive comments about the next band on the 2nd stage, I was eagerly awaiting to see what was to unfold. BLACK VEIL BRIDES were one of the highlights of not only the day, but the weekend for me. Hailing from Hollywood, they look like your typical glam metal band found on the sunset strip, but what they sound like is a whole different thing entirely.

Taking musical styles from 3 or 4 different sub genres and fusing them together to create some exceptionally good songs. Most notable styles are obviously glam metal, along with hard rock and metalcore, and with the likes of ‘All Your Hate’, ‘Children Surrender’ and ‘Knives And Pens’ going down an absolute storm, it’s easy to see why they have gotten such raved reviews and comments.

They left nothing at all in the dressing room as the whole set was filled with energy and frontman Andy Six must have covered every inch of the stage. The set highlight was ‘The Legacy’, which was a superb number and instant hit with the crowd. The MOTLEY CRUE-esque ‘Fallen Angels’ wrapped up an awesome set and left the fans wanting more. Fortunately, they will be back in the UK for a tour this October.

During the change over, the rain and wind finally subsided, and as a result, a good crowd gathered to witness what was to be an excellent set from rockers THE CULT. Opening up with the apt ‘Rain’, they produced a set of classic track after classic track, with the likes of ‘Sweet Soul Sister’ and ‘Electric Ocean’ getting the crowd nicely warmed up.

Fans both old and young were enjoying the groovy rock ‘n’ roll sound as they nodded and tapped their feet in sync with the tune, myself being one of them, as THE CULT delivered a tight set, before closing with sublime renditions of ‘She Sells Sanctuary’ and ‘Love Removal Machine’. For me, THE CULT, along with the likes of THE QUIREBOYS, are a band that I hardly listen to on record, but love to see live as I always know it will be a cracking set with a great atmosphere, having a great time, and today was no different.

And speaking of great atmospheres, returning to the UK after a sold out tour earlier in the year, the headline act on the 2nd stage, shock horror metal man ROB ZOMBIE appeared from inside a robot style prop opening up the emphatic show with ‘Jesus Frankenstein’. The stage was adorned with massive TV screens, which throughout the set showed a variety of films dependant on the song, along with the odd psychedelic style twirls too. And if that wasn’t enough, there were plenty of pyros shoved in for good effect.

The crowd was the biggest of the day at the 2nd stage, and without surprise to be honest. It was a chance to see one of the best shows for those unfortunate not to catch him on tour. Superb renditions of ‘Superbeast’, ‘Living Dead Girl’ and ‘Never Gonna Stop’ were all in the set along with some WHITE ZOMBIE classics in the form of ‘More Human Than Human’, ‘Super-Charger Heaven’ and eventual main set closer ‘Thunder Kiss ’65′.

ROB ZOMBIE had a vast array or props to keep the crowd entertained with different beings making an appearance on stage at different times such as a Predator style robot and an alien life form to name a couple. ‘Dragula’ brought the 2nd stage to a close for another year with an all-out pyro attack. The show, the set and the pyros made this a memorable night and proved a worthy headliner at one of the UK’s top festivals.

After blowing the budget on AC/DC last year, perhaps Download played it safe this year, with a few less big-hitting bands on the line-up. Also, there’s the age old problem of bands not getting long enough sets. Still, despite this, and despite the washed out Sunday, I enjoyed DOWNLOAD again, and will look forward to gracing the hallowed Donington turf again in 2012.

Review by James Allman and Adam Fredericks

Best Bands: ALTER BRIDGE, THIN LIZZY, ALICE COOPER, TWISTED SISTER, DIO DISCIPLES, ROB ZOMBIE, THE CULT, BLACK VEIL BRIDES