After managing to catch the last few songs of CRIPPER, I was eagerly awaiting to see the main support act tonight. Greek thrashers SUICIDAL ANGELS delivered an excellent performance with their set near enough entirely made up of tracks from latest album, ‘Sanctify the Darkness’. Songs like ‘Bloodthirsty’, ‘The Pestilence of Saints’ and ‘Apokathilosis’ all went down a treat with the crowd, as they blistered their way through their set.

25 years on since debut album ‘Feel The Fire’ was released and New Jersey thrash legends OVERKILL are still going strong, and with a brilliant new album from start to finish in the form of ‘Ironbound’, there’s no stopping these guys, and tonight’s gig was one to be remembered for a while for all concerned. Not only did they deliver a killer set of top quality thrash, the pit, besides being one fo the best I have seen for a while, was absolutely amazing showing their full appreciation for OVERKILL as it never relented for the entire set.

Opening up with ‘The Green And Black’ from latest album, this was one of three new tracks on offer tonight, with the others being title track ‘Ironbound’ and the sublime ‘Bring Me The Night’, all of which sounded awesome live. With such an extensive back catalogue under their belts, only handful of albums missed out on a showing, with cracking renditions of ‘Feel The Fire’, ‘Hello From The Gutter’, and ‘Wrecking Crew’ all going down well, while the crowd sang in union for the mellower style and aptly named ‘In Union We Stand’.

Thrash gigs don’t get any better than they do like tonight, and with OVERKILL on top of their game, classics like ‘Rotten To The Core’ and ‘Bare Bones’ were played to note perfection before the excellent ‘Elimination’ rounded the main set off. With a bit of a lengthy break before the encore, due to the fact that power seemed to have been lost on more than a few bits of equipment, they soldiered on to deliver a crushing encore which included ‘Necroshine’ and ‘Old School’ before ending with ‘Fuck You’ with ‘Sonic Reducer’ thrown into the middle for good measure.

OVERKILL showed tonight that even after 25 years, they haven’t lost any of their edge or sheer brilliance that make them one of the top thrash acts still going today. Along with bands like TESTAMENT, EXODUS and DEATH ANGEL amongst others, they are keeping the thrash genre going strong and showing the young and upcoming bands how it’s done. ‘Here’s To The Old School!’.

Ratings:

Photography By Alexander Shaw(Overkill Photo’s click here)

While this album doesn’t really push the evolution of their sound to a new level, it’s solidly written and produced and follows the traits of what you would expect from DARK TRANQUILITY. Crunching, heavy and melodic riffs, Stanne’s rough vocals that fit perfectly to the music, and those electronic styles courtesy of the keyboards. However, while the problem isn’t that this has been heard before, the problem is unlike with their previous efforts in recent times, there are only a handful of tracks on this album that make you think ‘Fuck me, that was awesome!’.

Don’t get me wrong, the material on the album is pretty good as I never turned it off or skipped a track once during multiple listens, but it just doesn’t engross the listener as much as it should do. Considering that bands that also came out of the scene like IN FLAMES and SOILWORK have gradually evolved over time to reshape their sound and the genre and make it more commercialised, the fact that DARK TRANQUILITY have resisted this so far is credit to their credo of not wanting to ’sell out’, and fair play to them. They know what they are and what they stand for. And that’s probably why the fans have stuck by them for so long.

While album opener, ‘Shadow In Our Blood’ has good meaty riffs and is a decent song that could have been from ‘Fiction’, it isn’t nearly as emphatic as say, ‘Terminus (Where Death Is Most Alive)’ or ‘The Lesser Faith’. Electronic elements have always played a key part in DARK TRANQUILITY’s sound, and it’s no different here. In fact they have used more of Brandstrom’s keyboards on this album than any other, giving it a more gothic and darker edge, and tracks like ‘The Fatalist’ and ‘Dream Oblivion’ are prime examples of this, while it completely overpowers the guitars on ‘In My Absence’.

‘The Grandest Accusation’ is the first real sign of promise that DARK TRANQUILITY have not lost their touch as this is the first noticeable track to grab your attention. The riffs here are not as rehashed as other tracks and while it’s a more melodic style of track, the guitars and keyboards actually work in harmony, while ‘Her Silent Language’ shows the first prominent appearance of Stanne’s clean vocals, which at first made me think I had crossed over to a H.I.M. track. Fortunately, it doesn’t stay that way for long and the usual traits kick in, while retaining that gothic feeling.

The latter half of the album is without a doubt the better and the closing three songs are the highlights here with the thrashier, fast paced tempo of ‘I Am The Void’ being a welcome addition where the guitars actually have relevance and continuing into ‘Surface The Infinite’, while final track ‘Iridium’ has slower tempo that changes between melody and brutality with ease, while at times feeling quite gloomy and has essences of doom about it.

While ‘We Are The Void’ is definitely a decent album, it does not aid their bid to stay at the forefront of the Gothenburg Melodic Death Metal Scene. For a pioneering band of the genre, some may have expected more and rightly so considering their last three albums at least. For a band of the calibre and what we have come to expect of DARK TRANQUILITY, to let so much, for want of a better word even though it’s decent, filler appear here is hopefully only a minor blip, and they will come back stronger and better.

Rating: 3.8/5.0

Review By Adam Fredericks

In the eight years between 2001 – 2009, SKUNK ANANSIE left a gaping hole in the UK rock scene, so we’re delighted that these recently reformed rockers will be joining the Sonisphere 2010 Knebworth line up.  The multi-platinum selling act came crashing onto an unsuspecting rock scene back in 1994 with what lead singer Skin labelled “Clit-Rock” – described as an amalgam of heavy metal and black feminist rage. They went on to conquer the world with their unique style, with their impressive live show securing nominations at various awards ceremonies. Now, the attendees of Sonisphere Knebworth get to see why, as the band deliver hits such as ‘Weak’, ‘Charity’ and ‘All I Want’.
 
Unless you’ve had your head buried in the sand for the last three years, GALLOWS is a name synonymous with attitude, aggression and hardcore punk rock. Since 2007, the fearless Frank Carter and co have punished music fans the world over with their refreshingly real take on punk, earning a reputation as one of the most formidable live acts on the scene. Like the demented grandchildren of Sonisphere stage sharers IGGY & THE STOOGES, GALLOWS promise to bring an element of danger to the weekend’s proceedings, as they spit out tracks like ‘Abandon Ship’, ‘In The Belly Of A Shark’ and Top 40 single ‘Staring At The Rude Bois’.
 
Flying in from Chicago, MADINA LAKE bring their catchy blend of pop-punk and alt-rock to the Sonisphere stage. Since their first outing here, the band’s rise in the UK has been nothing short of spectacular. First hitting the UK in support of PARAMORE in late 2006, the band found themselves selling out the very same venues they were opening at mere months later, and the success story snowballed from there. Gracing numerous magazine covers, securing best international newcomer at the 2007 Kerrang! Awards and subsequently appearing on the 2008 Kerrang! Tour, by the time 2009’s ‘Attic’s To Eden’ was released, MADINA mania was unstoppable, and shows no sign of stopping as they make their way to Sonisphere 2010.

FAMILY FORCE 5 is one of the great success stories of artist development in contemporary music today. Their debut CD has quietly scanned 125,000 + copies and their live show has been seen by tens of thousands, earning them a reputation as one of the hardest working band’s in America, with a performance that is second to none. You may have heard Fearne Cotton giving UK debut single ‘Dance or Die’ a spin or two, or maybe you caught these guys tearing it up across the UK in February with Cobra Starship. FAMILY FORCE 5 returns to the UK for their first ever UK festival performance at Sonisphere Knebworth; Expect hip shaking, move making, sing-a-long dance rock a plenty!
 
Formed initially as a tribute to last year’s Sonisphere headliners METALLICA in 1993, APOCALYPTICA have become leading force in their own right. Armed with three cellos and a metal-as-hell drummer, APOCALYPTICA have become a firm festival favourite, as they offer alternative takes on bands such as METALLICA, SEPULTURA and PANTERA, as well as their own material. Don’t let the presence of classical instruments fool you – these Finns play hard and heavy, and will have no problem working up a frenzy amongst those in attendance.
 
 
Look out for a very exciting announcement with more bands next week, and many more acts to be announced in the coming weeks and months.
 
 
Tickets for Sonisphere Knebworth are on sale now at: (Sonisphere Knebworth)
 
 
Line up so far:
 
IRON MAIDEN **
RAMMSTEIN *
ALICE COOPER *
ANTHRAX *
APOCALYPTICA *
BRING ME THE HORIZON *
THE CULT *
FAMILY FORCE 5
FEAR FACTORY
FIGHTSTAR
FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND
GALLOWS
HENRY ROLLINS (SPOKEN WORD) *
IGGY & THE STOOGES *
MADINA LAKE
MÖTLEY CRÜE **
PAPA ROACH *
PLACEBO *
SLAYER *
SKUNK ANANSIE 
** Only UK performance of 2010
* Exclusive Festival Performance
 

Opening up tonight were Scottish rockers ATTICA RAGE whose brand of hard rock come traditional metal warmed up the crowd nicely with the likes of ‘36 Insane’, ‘Contradictions’ and ‘Altered Reality’ all impressing, while the definite standout track of the set had to the sublime ‘Dark City’. These guy gave a solid performance of some good quality material that should gather them an ever increasing fan base, and with them playing a slot on the main stage at next months Hammerfest II, they are sure to pick up more if they perform like they did tonight.

After catching their impressive performances at last years Bloodstock Open Air and more recently Hard Rock Hell III, DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER were back once again on UK soil playing a few select shows at intimate venues like tonight for what was to be an evening of fun, laughter and of course, metal. Opening up with the impressive ‘Wir Sind Das Licht’, the party got going with headbanging unity.

It wasn’t long before one of the props got used with a massive flag, which pretty much encompassed the entire crowd, for ‘Revolution’ and with Fuchs also being raised on a jack of sorts towards the ceiling, I thought it wasn’t going to stop in time! The awesome ‘Riders On The Storm’ also featured and besides the obvious mosh and circle pits breaking out, there was plenty of what I can only describe as a sort of ballroom style dancing going on to the more melodic sections of their songs in the crowd tonight, which just showed how much everyone was enjoying the gig.

Let’s get one thing straight, DIE APOKALYTISCHEN REITER are by no means a one trick pony with all their props and antics on stage. They actually have got a lot of very good material and the likes of ‘Adrenalin’, ‘We Will Never Die’ and ‘Licked By The Tongues of Pride’ all went down an absolute storm with the crowd, while a mass drum outbreak appeared on stage also aided this effect.

While Dr Pest didn’t run about on stage like he has done in previous performances I have seen, he did get to ‘punish’ a ‘naughty’ female audience member with his whip and then making them his ‘prisoner’ by taking them to his den of sorts. A cracking rendition of ‘Metal Will Never Die’ closed the main set, before more fun ensued in the encore starting in the form of a crowdsurfing inflatable dinghy containing another female audience member for ‘Seemann’. As the closing tracks of ‘Reitermania’ and ‘Unter Der Asche’ were played, there were no qualms that nobody got value for money tonight as another top notch performance ensured that The Apocalyptic Horsemen rode into the distance firmly as one of the best live bands on the metal circuit!

Ratings:

Photography By Alexander Shaw (click here)

The only thing more certain than DIAMOND HEAD finishing their set with the legendary ‘Am I Evil?’, was that EUROPE would finish with the ‘The Final Countdown’. Of course, both certainties came to fruition, and I would be hard pressed to pick a favourite out of those two, as both are amongst the finest heavy metal songs every recorded.

The healthy size of the crowd was very pleasing to see, and this wasn’t a crowd here to get off on hearing ‘The Final Countdown’ for the umpteenth time – EUROPE are actually a bloody good band, and evidently have quite a following! The set opened with the bombastic ‘Last Look at Eden’, the first cut from the impressive new album of the same name.

The ferocious ‘Scream of Anger’ was a nod to the band’s earlier days, while the likes of ‘Superstisious’ and ‘Cherokee’ highlighted EUROPE at their 1980’s commercial peak, as did a warming acoustic rendition of the classic ballad ‘Carrie’. Since their post millennium reunion, EUROPE have released 3 very good albums, and songs like ‘Start from the Dark’ and ‘Love Is Not The Enemy’ also impressed, and it was surprising to look round and see the number of people singing along to every word.

Frontman Joey Tempest has kept himself in great shape over the years, and his voice sounds as strong and clear today, as it did 25 years ago. Alongside him, John Norum remains one of the best guitarists in European rock, mesmerising with every solo, particularly his self-penned instrumental piece ‘Optimus’.

As the inevitable masterpiece of ‘The Final Countdown’ closed the show, EUROPE left the stage to a wall of deserved applause. They had put on an excellent show, and proved yet again that they are a band who are much more important than the one song for which they will forever be associated.

Review by James Allman

EUROPE Setlist: Last Look at Eden / Love Is Not The Enemy / Superstitious / Gonna Get Ready / Scream of Anger / No Stone Unturned / Let The Good Times Rock / Carrie / Always The Pretenders / Optimus / Seventh Sign / New Love in Town / Start From The Dark / Cherokee / Rock The Night / Ready or Not / The Beast / The Final Countdown

Frontman Burton C. Bell isn’t the best of live singers, and every time I’ve seen FEAR FACTORY over the years, his vocals have been drowned out by the guitars and unmistakable percussion. The melodic ‘Resurrection’ was the best example of Bell’s limitations as he struggled through the clean vocals, missing many a note along the way. Still, Bell is the voice of FEAR FACTORY and it would be wrong to hear anybody else screaming the death metal chimes of ‘Demanufacture’ and ‘Martyr’.

Drummer Gene Hoglan is not nicknamed ‘the atomic clock’ for nothing. His drum work is absolutely awesome, as he seems at ease with the extremely fast and technical drum beats of FEAR FACTORY’s material. Hoglan’s playing creates an explosive intensity, and really comes to the fore on new tracks ‘Powershifter’ and ‘Fear Campaign’. Hoglan is the pulse of the band and is amazing to watch, even if his constant impression of a pneumatic drill finally taxes your ears by the end of the night.

Bands who play at the intense speed of FEAR FACTORY usually play shorter sets than most. However, tonight, the set was a full 90 minutes, and only the most crazy of metalheads could have taken a minute more. Closing number ‘Replica’ rounded off a superb night of metal. FEAR FACTORY are one of the most important metal bands to come out of the 1990’s, and it’s great to see them back on top of their game. Roll on their headline performance at Bloodstock. Prepare to be blown away!

Rating 4.4/5.0

Setlist: Mechanize / Shock / Edgecrusher / Smasher-Devourer / Industrial Discipline / Acres of Skin / Linchpin / Powershifter / Fear Campaign / Martyr / Christploitation / Resurrection / Final Exit / Demanufacture / Self Bias Resistor / Zero Signal / H-K (Hunter Killer) / Replica

Download Festival organisers confirmed that legendary multi-million selling AEROSMITH and double Grammy-winning RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE will join AC/DC as headliners of the 8th Download Festival at Donington Park on 11-13 June 2010. Blazing a trail that leads where others have followed, Download Festival has cemented a line-up that truly pays homage to and celebrates 30 years of rock at the iconic Donington site.

Celebrating 40 years as America’s Greatest Rock ‘N’ Roll band, AEROSMITH will return to the main stage at Donington Park for the first time in 16 years. Last playing as headliners of the Donington Monsters Of Rock festival in 1994 and 1990, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry et al return with their legendary juggernaut performance, one that has earned them the title of best-selling American rock band of all time.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, who in a storm of publicity and heavy campaigning scored the UK Christmas No. 1 single last year, will for the very first time bring their sheer power of political alternative, hip-hop, punk rock to the festival’s main stage. To this day, RATM, who were presented the Hall Of Fame Award by Kerrang! Magazine in 2008, remain one of the most popular and influential political bands in contemporary music.

With a line up that already boasts the likes of THEM CROOKED VULTURES, MEGEDETH and MOTORHEAD, plus 5 full days of entertainment, Download Festival has already produced an ultimate festival experience worthy of celebrating 30-years of rock at Donington Park.

Also confirmed to perform at this year’s event are 30 SECONDS TO MARS, the US rock act fronted by Hollywood actor Jared Leto who last played Download in 2007, and the twice Grammy nominated STONE SOUR (fronted by SLIPKNOT’s Corey Taylor). STONE SOUR have played at three previous Download’s (2003, 2006, 2007), with Taylor notching up a further four with SLIPKNOT (2004, 2005, 2009). These are joined by Virginia’s heaviest metallers LAMB OF GOD, for their third Download, LA metallers FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, who made their Download debut last year and British punk “rebel” Billy Idol, who performed at Download 2005.

Weekend tickets for Download 2010 are on sale now via (Download Festival)

Bands confirmed so far:

AC/DC
AEROSMITH
RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
BILLY IDOL
MEGADETH
MOTÖRHEAD
DEFTONES
LAMB OF GOD
WOLFMOTHER
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH
VOLBEAT
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE
STONE SOUR
30 SECONDS TO MARS
THEM CROOKED VULTURES
STONE TEMPLE PILOTS

Serving as the main support act for the co-headliners tonight, Scottish technical death metallers MAN MUST DIE, delivered a decent 30 minute set, which got the crowd going and warmed up nicely for the first headliner. They did impress me enough that I will definitely be checking them out again at next months HAMMERFEST.

Everytime I have seen the might of KATAKLYSM, they have been outstanding, and tonight was no different. Technically, these guys are on another planet and with quality material to back them up, it’s amazing these guys aren’t bigger than they are. Still, the fans who turned up tonight would have been thoroughly delighted at what was on offer.

As they kicked in with ‘Like Angels Weeping (The Dark)’, other crowd pleasers like ‘As I Slither’, ‘Manipulator of Souls’ and the ever present ‘Crippled & Broken’ all went down a storm with the crowd, as they headbanged in unison with the band, as well as plenty of moshpits breaking out. What made the set even better was the sound was crisp and clear, so every bit of guitarwork and drum pattern was showed off to its full potential.

Brutal renditions of ‘The Ambassador of Pain’ and ‘The Resurrected’ were note perfect, whilst the doomier and the intertwined slower tempos of ‘Centuries (Beneath The Dark Waters)’ added a bit more atmosphere to what was, a superb set.

With this tour being DECAPITATED’s first since the accident that saw Covan enter a coma and Vitek taken from us, of which there were many chants for him throughout the set showing he may be gone, but definitley not forgotten, it was great to see the band’s mastermind Vogg back in action doing what he does best. With three new members to the band, in the short space of time they have been together, they have gelled extremely quickly.

Krimh, Vitek’s replacement, was absolutley brilliant tonight as he performed complex drum pattern after drum pattern that would have made his predecessor proud, whilst although new vocalist Rafal Piotrowski (who could be mistaken for a young Chris Barnes) wasn’t the most interactive with the crowd, he didn’t have to be as this was only about the music speaking for itself.

The set was mainly made up from the last album, ‘Organic Hallucinosis’, with the first three songs, ‘A Poem About An Old Prison Man’, ‘Day 69′ and ‘Post(?) Organic’, being intertwined together with relative ease by the band, while the rest of the album back catalogue got a showing with the likes of ‘Winds of Creation’, ‘Mother War’ and ‘Three Dimensional Defect’.

A blistering rendition of ‘Spheres of Madness’ got the crowd going once again as they began to headbang with sheer ferocity, and as the final notes were played, this closed what was another excellent set of technical death metal of the night.

As the crowd began to disperse with probably some aches and for some, whiplash, you couldn’t argue that you saw two bands on top of their game tonight. It will be a gig that will be in my mind for sometime to come. Let’s hope its not too long before these two great bands are back gracing the shores and stages of the UK.

Ratings:

Review By Adam Fredericks

LACUNA COIL on the other hand proved to be a different proposition. I never really rated them much on CD; they always seemed a little tame and “nice” for my tastes. Well my previous closed-mindedness was well and truly exposed this night as they are a real revelation live. Opening with ‘Survive’ off their 2009 album Shallow Life they proved finally that they do have the balls that I haven’t previously heard on their recorded output. They followed with ‘Underdog’, ‘Closer’, an excellent ‘I Am Not Afraid’ and ‘Fragments of Faith’.

Next was ‘Tight Rope’ from the Comalies album with this first part of the show finishing with ‘Fragile’. The band takes a break at this point in what essentially turned out to be a very long set and re-emerge complete with a change of stage clothes (why?) to ‘Wide Awake’, ‘To the Edge’, ‘The Maze’ finishing with a good rendition of Depeche Mode’s ‘Enjoy The Silence’ complete with cheesy audience sing-along participation. They came out once more unto the breach for ‘Not Enough’, ‘Spellbound’ and ‘Our Truth’ with an enthusiastic crowd virtually prostrating themselves at their feet. Lacuna were one of the slickest and most professional bands I have seen, not loaded with catharsis or angst but taken on the level in which they operate they have at least made a semi-convert of me, live at least.

Rating:

Review by Lee Bullock and Photography by Alex Shaw (Lacuna Coil Photos)

“Great for Geezer and me to play somewhere near to home, even better to headline a legendary festival. Thanks for the opportunity!

Bloodstock Open Air is undoubtedly the UK’s most loyal festival to the metal genre. A performance featuring members of BLACK SABBATH - the true pioneers of the genre – at this special 10 year anniversary is an occasion for any metal fan to celebrate, and one the Bloodstock attendees will welcome with heart, body and soul. The promise of Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Apice performing classic SABBATH songs such as ‘The Mob Rules’, ‘Lady Evil’, ‘Die Young’ and ‘Neon Knights’ will surely be one of the stand out moments in the 10 year history of Bloodstock, and is not to be
missed.

The BOA 2010 will take place at Catton Hall, Derbyshire from 13th – 15th August.

Weekend tickets are on sale now at (Bloodstock Open Air)

Band Line up so far:

HEAVEN & HELL
CHILDREN OF BODOM
FEAR FACTORY
OBITUARY
ROSS THE BOSS
RAGE
ANDROMEDA
BEHEMOTH
DEVIN
TOWNSEND
DORO
LEAVES EYES
SUFFOCATION
DREAM EVIL
CANNIBAL CORPSE :
KORPIKLAANI
GWAR
AMORPHIS
GOJIRA
SONATA ARCTICA