‘Satellite 15 … The Final Frontier’ (Smith/Harris) 08.40

In the case of ‘Satellite 15′, you’re talking probably the most adventurous number MAIDEN have ever penned. Out of the box, its a swirling mist of atmospheric guitars, frenetic bass lines and pummelling drums – after of which the track ascends into QUEENSRYCHE-esque melodrama and hits you for a Brian Lara 6 quite memorably – smouldering. 

Segueing into eponymous title track ‘The Final Frontier’, there’s slab after slab of classic MAIDEN riffery, complete with infectious melodies from verse through to chorus, and some slick lead guitar work. Also features a stunning, Eddie premiere of a video that must have cost insane amounts of wonga. Check it out @ www.ironmaiden.com. Probably would have been better to separate the two, but then again, any excuse for the cause of another 7 minute plus epic…

‘El Dorado’ (Smith/Harris/Dickinson) 06.49

First listen to this spiralling epic and it appears to be a dubious singles release choice. A bizarre intro more akin to how MAIDEN would close a track than start one, the verses, while telling a story, don’t really stir the musical soul. Luckily, the mystical pre-chorus and a swashbuckling, monolithic chorus – not to mention the grandiose triple solo section – more than restore fortunes. Also sees the ‘Air Raiden Siren’ Bruce Dickinson hitting his most crazily high notes in possibly a decade. In spite of the rather mundane verse melodies, ‘El Dorado’ is a real grower.

‘Mother Of Mercy’ (Smith/Harris) 05.20

“You say you are a holy man but what is it you do? Of where I stand there’s nothing, but a hollow man I see…” Passionately croons Bruce, the first of many songs on ‘The Final Frontier’ to slam the sins of bad religion and all who endorse it. A rocker, ‘Mother Of Mercy’ contains frequent, beautifully executed time changes as well as a good dollop of old fashioned MAIDEN gallop on the verses. A true mini Irons epic. The solo section again classically whiffs of a QUEENSRYCHE-esque vibe.

‘Coming Home’ – (Smith/Harris/Dickinson) 05.52

The lighters in the air ballad of ‘The Final Frontier’, this glorious effort oozes gooey melodies from the first minute to the last, joining previous MAIDEN gems in this department such as ‘Wasting Love’, ‘Blood Brothers’ and ‘Journeyman’.

A harmonized intro gives birth to acoustic verses and a simply epic chorus, with Bruce romanticizing over coming home from a pilot’s prospective. An interesting approach, it’s certainly well handled given the predictability of most ‘Coming Home’ related themes.
In fact, we’ll go further – given most people who attempted such a Dickinsonian-esque task would probably work in a European soft cheese factory (and fall flat on their arse at that) this is a bona fide triumph.

‘The Alchemist’ (Gers/Harris/Dickinson) 04.29

A classic MAIDEN tactic of the last few years has seen MAIDEN’s three amigos combining harmonies with higher octaves. The intro (which also doubles up as an after chorus section) shows this off flawlessly.

‘The Alchemist’ not only delivers a memorable chorus, we also get a frenetically paced number with further tantalising harmonies and a blistering ‘he’s had his Weetabix’ solo from Gers. Its true to say a lot of MAIDEN fans would like to see more efforts like this, and while one can see MAIDEN have evolved into an entirely greater epic entity these days, ‘The Alchemist’ does at least prove they can still deliver these type of songs emphatically.

‘Isle Of Avalon’ (Smith/Harris) 09.06

In a nutshell, an absolute pearler. Dreamy style verses give way to what have to be some of the discs finest pre-chorus and chorus melodies.

The “I can hear you, can you hear me, I can feel you, can you feel me” lyrics may seem unbelievably basic, but they fit like a dream, the only breathing space from the incredibly deep lyrics (presumably based on mythical fertility rituals) that penetrate throughout the rest of the song. This song builds more than Tesco, the chorus at one point recalling a classic chord from ‘Brighter Than A Thousand Suns’ (on previous album ‘A Matter Of Life And Death’), and Adrian Smith’s Satriani style solo is reminiscent of something from the ‘Somewhere In Time’ album. Smart.

‘Starblind’ (Smith/Harris/Dickinson) 07.48

A true head turner, ‘Starblind’ takes you by surprise with its huge keyboard intro and rather off kilter vocal melodies – a nice touch. A monster riff launches the song into orbit before a decent chorus grabs the ascendancy, remarkably bettered by an after chorus which to these ears is one of the greatest moments on the disc.

Humungous hooks, all underpinned by ‘Infinite Dreams’ like bluesy guitars and a clever key change, there’s an uncanny similarity to the DIDO melodies (taken from EMINEM’s ‘Stan’ progression) following the key change, but we can at least rest assured there’s more chance of an asteroid sending you Eddie via special delivery than Harris and co taking inspiration from something they accidently overheard on Radio 1. The guitar-work in the remainder of the track – whether it be colossal riffery or cleverly orchestrated solos – is sublime. Another track asking searching questions about religion.

‘The Talisman’ (Gers/Harris) 09.03

Deceptively opening with a folksy intro that you could deem ’sea shanty’, by golly is this a two and a half minutes intro that takes some listening to, but as with this album in general, it’s worth it and definitely rewards.

Storm time shortly follows, monstrous riffery parting company with trademark MAIDEN melody lines, numerous time changes, two bombastic chorus sections and cinematic whammy bar insanity that flashes from one channel to the other (listen through headphones) marking a truly dramatic finale.

Lyrics typically depict some IRON MAIDEN reality horror: “Twenty days without a meal and ten without fresh water still, those who didn’t die in storms the scurvy rest did slaughter”
Sure to draw comparisons to 1985’s ‘Rime Of The Ancient Mariner’, its 11 minutes of pure genius.

‘The Man Who Would Be King’ (Murray/Harris) 08.28

One of the most gorgeous intros MAIDEN have ever penned, one detects Dave Murray was having a little bit of a ‘Doctor Doctor’ moment…

A solid epic with some truly anthemic moments, including the fascinating after chorus sections, with vocals unlike MAIDEN have ever really done before, but the chorus itself doesn’t really captivate in the same way as some of the choice cuts present, making this number an epic Prince rather than a standout King. Really well thought out harmonies and a unique Murray solo, deliberately lowered in the mix for textural purposes.

‘Where The Wild Wind Blows’ (Harris) 10.59

The centrepiece of ‘The Final Frontier’ album, this saddening tale of post nuclear fallout (inspired by the Raymond Briggs novel) is the perfect way to conclude what could yet prove to be IRON MAIDEN’s final studio album (and on this evidence, lets certainly hope not).

There’s no real chorus present, the song mainly driven by all manners of luscious, guitar laden hooks and vocal melodies that interact with guitar melodies. Not that it needs a chorus – the axe-work provides twist after endless twist, turn after magnificent turn of drama and musicality, stunning solos and tear jerking lyrics make this the show stealer bar none.

“When they found them, had their arms wrapped around each other, their tins of poison laying near by their clothes, the day they both mistook an earthquake for the fallout, Just another when the wild wind blows…”
Wild is indeed the wind.

If Carlsberg did easy listening albums, they’d have to be trolleyed via Export to put ‘The Final Frontier’ on their shortlist for greatest in the world. Don’t be fooled my friends, if you love MAIDEN – and particularly their epic nature – then you’re in for one hell of a journey.

‘The Final Frontier’ is the hardest work on the listening front the band have produced since 1995’s ‘The X Factor’. While it’s undeniably an album that’s unlikely to win many new converts outside of the worldwide metal entourage, it’s a must that you make this journey.

Simply because, the reward is a deeply complex, genuinely unique IRON MAIDEN album that not only contains masterpiece after masterpiece, but also chooses to take chances and risks.
You only have to listen to ‘The Talisman’’s folksy intro, the unfamiliar time signature and key change in ‘Starblind’, the bizarrely heavy and almost alternative ‘Satellite 15′, ballad ‘Coming Home’, ‘El Dorado’s mind boggling intro and towering chorus… on top of all of this, the guitar work is also the most challenging the band has ever done.

On the broader, more critical scale of things, MAIDEN aren’t without their critics so this exercise in doing something different alongside the trademark musical familiarities is a very welcome trait. Maybe returning to Compass Point Nassau studios – in The Bahamas where MAIDEN recorded the classic ‘Piece Of Mind’ and ‘Powerslave’ albums – has rekindled that extra spark of magic.

The choruses – from the title track through to ‘Isle Of Avalon’ – are rarely anything other than outstanding, MAIDEN in general delivering progressive melodies with flair and finesse throughout.

MAIDEN seem to have toned down the intensity of the guitars from the last album – or at least that’s how the production suggests – but there’s moody shades with a glorious balance of soft and loud throughout. In spite of a whole plethora of 6 to 11 minute epics – ‘El Dorado’, ‘Isle Of Avalon’, ‘The Talisman’, ‘The Man Who Would Be King’, ‘Where The Wild Wind Blows’ – there’s also a fine contingent of rockers – ‘Mother Of Mercy’, ‘The Alchemist’ and ‘The Final Frontier’ itself.

The perfect showcase to conclude a magnificent 30 years of molten metal, its hard to pick a defined champion between this and last album, ‘A Matter Of Life And Death’, but there’s no doubt that like ‘Brave New World’, this is IRON MAIDEN’s greatest triumph since 1988’s ‘Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son’.

In conclusion, for three of four albums in the last ten years to draw such comparisons is further outstanding proof of why IRON MAIDEN are widely regarded as the World’s greatest heavy metal band. Long live heavy metal – long live IRON F****** MAIDEN.

Rating: 10/10

Review By Andy Law

Friday

After impressive performances from SNAKEBITE and BLACK SPIDERS opened up proceedings, the stage was handed over to the self proclaimed ‘new metal leader’. MANOWAR have never been modest, and clearly original guitarist ROSS THE BOSS hasn’t lost any of the same bullish attitude. Set opener ‘Blood of Knives’ was the best of ROSS THE BOSS‘ material, which is (yes you guessed it) in exactly the same vein as MANOWAR. Former MANOWAR drummer Scott Columbus guested on a couple of numbers, while both drummers played together for the climax of ‘Hail and Kill’. This is going to be the closest you will ever get to having MANOWAR play in the UK, so true metalheads of England certainly enjoyed the short but very, very metal set.

Next up were German metal stalwarts RAGE, who played an excellent set. Their old classic ‘Don’t Fear The Winter’ was a surprising exclusion, but still, the set was made up of some great metal tunes. The highlight being the excellent part one of ‘Empty Hollow’. As stated on stage by frontman Pete ‘Peavy’ Wagner, RAGE were the first metal band to play with an orchestra, and although the Bloodstock crowd had to make do with orchestral backing tapes, the song was still thoroughly enjoyable.

Finnish Folk come Battle Metallers ENSIFERUM kept spirits high as they powered through a romping 45 minute set. Bands like ENSIFERUM are great for festivals as they portray a great party atmosphere and get the crowd dancing, and songs like ‘Into Battle’ and ‘Stone Cold Metal’ certainly did that.

After BEHEMOTH’s eleventh hour withdrawal, British doom metal veterans CATHEDRAL were more than happy to fill the slot. Apparently, frontman Lee Dorrain was asked to do the gig via telephone as he was decorating at home. As reliable as ever, CATHEDRAL delivered a solid set, wrapped up nicely with a pair of metal classics, ‘Ride’ and ‘Hopkins (The Witchfinder General)’.

Norwegian Black Metallers GORGOROTH took to the stage with founding member Infernus back at the helm, and it looked like he was enjoying himself, well as much as a serious black metaller can be. With this being the first time I have seen them with Pest back on vocals, I can say that I definitely think Pest is the better live vocalist and more engrossing frontman than Gaahl ever was, and numbers like ‘Destroyer’ and ‘Revelation of Doom’ were delivered superbly.

Bloodstock’s main stage this year was strangely short of power metal bands, with Finland’s SONATA ARCTICA flying the flag for that particular metal sub-genre. Still, they did themselves proud with a technically proficient performance, of which the highlight was the majestic ‘Full Moon’. Fortunately, the excitable nature of keyboardist Henrik Klingeberg makes up for the often lethargic, laid back approach from frontman Tony Kakko.

The penultimate act on the RJD stage for Friday was a rare UK outing for Swedish experimental metal outfit MESHUGGAH who blew the crowd away with their technicality and expert time changes. The crowd were loving every moment of the set with the likes of ‘Rational Gaze’ and ‘Combustion’ particularly standing out despite the entire set being a real highlight of the weekend. ‘Straws Pulled At Random’ brought their set to a close, a set which flew by and left the crowd definitely wanting more. Let’s just hope it isn’t too long before they’re back in the UK.

Having never been a major fan of OPETH, it was very hard work really to even enjoy their set, as for me, they are too slow, and do drag things on a bit. They aren’t the sort of band designed to headline festivals when everyone’s had a drink and in good spirits. Despite having some appealing moments in their material, they are too few and far between for my liking. However, they have a huge fan base in the UK and for the fans in attendance tonight they really seemed to enjoy every moment they were on stage.

Tracks like ‘Windowpane’ and ‘The Lotus Eater’ were delivered to excellent precision and the audience lapped them up, with probably the only highlight being the tribute to DIO with a brief cover of RAINBOW’s ‘Catch The Rainbow’ (the 2nd time the song was covered today, after ROSS THE BOSS had also done a brief rendition). Despite the fact I didn’t really enjoy OPETH, it closed a thoroughly great first day with more to look forward to over the next 48 hours.

Saturday

The ball was setting rolling on Saturday morning with a double dose of UK thrash. First we had the pleasure of young guns EVILE who were fantastic, and the sound was absolutely spot on, with the thunderous thrash sounding as in your face as it would in a small club. Songs like ‘We Who Are About To Die’ and ‘Enter The Grave’ sounded sublime and helped get the crowd going given the extremely early afternoon stage slot.

Next, we had the pleasure of slightly older thrashers ONSLAUGHT who also delivered a excellent set with the likes of ‘Killing Peace’ and ‘Seeds of Hate’ particularly standing out from their last album, whilst earlier material like ‘Metal Forces’ and ‘Power From Hell’ sounding as killer as the day they were recorded. The crowd welcomed the announcement that the band were heading off the next day to start recording their new album, and if ‘Killing Peace’ is anything to go by, the new record will definitely be one to look out for in the near future.

After headlining the then smaller Bloodstock Open Air festival in 2006, EDGUY were perhaps a little under whelmed at having a slot so early in the day this time. With tongue firmly in cheek, frontman Tobias Sammet continually called the gig a ‘breakfast’ show. Fortunately though, the band were on form, and EDGUY played a great set, which was one of the highlights of the festival.

When it comes to a groovier style of death metal, none do it better than Florida’s own OBITUARY. Having seen them earlier in the year, I couldn’t wait to see them again, and aside from a small technical hitch where it seemed that John Tardy couldn’t hear himself through the monitors, they delivered a brutal set with the likes of ‘Chopped In Half’ and ‘Slowly We Rot’ standing out from an impressive performance.

Next up, making their long overdue Bloodstock debut were AMORPHIS. With hair long enough to out do Rapunzel, frontman Tommy Joutsen does a brilliant job of the vocals, which ranged from the deepest of grunts, through to tough clean melodies. ‘House of Sleep’ was the outstanding moment of a decent set.

After the hype that I had heard about DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT, I was eagerly awaiting his set. Things didn’t get off to the best of starts though when all his equipment had got held up at customs, and they had to borrow all the gear for his set. Also, due to technical problems, they were about ten minutes late too, but despite this Devin kept the crowd upbeat with a bit of crowd interaction which was quite funny.

Finally they sorted out everything and the music started and after the very in your face of opener ‘Addicted!’, which I enjoyed, the rest of the set didn’t really do anything to keep me interested as the progressive nature and experimental shifts bored me a little, and the fact there was a lot of sampling used didn’t really do the trick either. Still, the crowd seemed to appreciate what was on offer so in one way the set was a success.

Managing to squeeze in a trip to the Sophie Lancaster stage where Brummie death metal outfit BENEDICTION were taking to the stage, it was an impressive turnout as the tent was rammed full of fans waiting for them, and they were rightfully treated to a brutal assault as the metal assault ripped through a 40 minute set of superb material with the likes of ‘Burying The Hatchet’, ‘Nothing On The Inside’ and ‘The Dreams You Dread’ impressing.

After pulling out of last year’s Bloodstock, FEAR FACTORY descended on Catton Hall to tear it up with their brand of hyperblasting industrial metal. As co-headliners tonight, they had a decent set length which was constructed of material both old and new. The pulverising ‘Mechanize’ opened the set, shortly followed by classics ‘Shock’ and ‘Edgecrusher’, which were delivered to the technical perfection you have come to expect from the band.

New material like ‘Powershifter’ and ‘Fear Campaign’ sounded excellent live and were well received by the crowd alongside classics such as ‘Linchpin’, ‘Martyr’ and ‘Zero Signal’, before the set was brought to an end by the fantastic ‘Replica’, and with FEAR FACTORY due to return to our shores soon for another tour, it will be anxious waiting for those dates to be announced for many in attendance.

CHILDREN OF BODOM were back at Bloodstock, five years after they headlined the very first open air edition in 2005, and with a couple of albums under their belts since then, and undoubtedly a host of new fans, this was a cracking performance from the technically gifted Finns. In Alexi Laiho, BODOM have one of the best shredders in the business, and he’s also a comical frontman at times, although the usual ‘Janne Fucked Up’ routine is getting a bit old now.

Their set was a bit of a surprise in the fact they hardly played anything from the last two albums favouring to play more off ‘Follow The Reaper’ and ‘Hate Crew Deathroll’ instead, which was perfectly fine with me as I consider those two along with ‘Hatebreeder’ to be their best work. Songs like ‘Hate Crew Deathroll’ and ‘Needled 24/7′ went down an absolute storm with the crowd, whilst it was nice to hear ‘Kissing The Shadows’ get a rare airing.

‘Hate Me!’, which has to be one of the best anthemic tunes BODOM has written rounded off the main set in style before a bit of a mess around with VAN HALEN’s ‘Jump’ started off the encore. Closing with the duo off ‘Hatebreeder’, ‘Silent Night, Bodom Night’, as well as a blistering rendition of ‘Downfall’, BODOM brought to a close another brilliant day of steaming hot metal.

Sunday

For those early risers (or those who had yet to go to sleep), up and coming thrashers BONDED BY BLOOD, who along with the other early acts of death metallers SUFFOCATION and female fronted thrashers HOLY MOSES got the day off to a great start with their own brands of metal respectively.

Sticking with the female vocals, it was the metal queen DORO who was next up. Playing through classics of her own, as well as her original band WARLOCK, DORO gave an energetic performance which was enough to match the energy levels of her much younger band members. The anthemic ‘All We Are’ closed the set with a fist-pumping climax.

Another favourite festival band graced the main stage next as folk metallers KORPIKLAANI delivered a fun and upbeat set, which the crowd duly danced in whatever form they felt like. Folk Metal has really taken off over the past few years and bands like KORPIKLAANI have become a real hit at festivals both in the UK and Europe, with them drawing a huge crowd for their early afternoon slot.

There was time in between bands on the main stage for a quick trip to the New Blood Stage where the hugely talented thrash act that are MUTANT were pummelling their way through a 30 minute set which probably saw one of the best mosh pits, or should I say blackhole pits that stage had probably seen throughout the weekend, and with tracks like ‘The Rauncher’ and ‘Psychosurgery’, these guys are certainly a band to look out for in the future.

American/Antarctic gore obessed GWAR were next up on the main stage, and with the stage suitably wrapped up in cling film ready for the set to start, GWAR didn’t disappoint. If you have never been to a GWAR show then where the hell have you been?! A GWAR show is something everyone needs to witness before they die as it’s just hilarious. They are basically a ten times more extreme version of LORDI, with costumes and props galore as the likes of Hitler, a cop and the Nazi pope all were ‘massacred’ on stage and shot fake blood and whatever else into the crowd, and you could certainly tell which nutters had been down the front come the end of their set.

GOJIRA started off a triple assault on the RJD stage of death metal, and the French outfit got things off to a great start with their battery on the eardrums. These guys are one of the heaviest and fastest bands out there in the genre and credit to them, they actually can deliver the goods too in the live circuit. Numbers like ‘Flying Whales’ and set closer ‘Vacuity’ showcased their technical abilities and drummer Mario Duplantier has to be one of the best around at the moment.

For Mikael Akerfeldt and Martin Axenrot, it was their second set of the weekend as death metal supergroup BLOODBATH played their first ever UK gig. Having seen multiple BLOODBATH T-shirts throughout the day, it was apparent that everyone pretty much wanted to catch their set, which was one of the highlights of the whole weekend, and with it being recorded too, we can only hope for a DVD release of the show, which included excellent renditions of ‘Ways To The Grave’, ‘Cancer of The Soul’, ‘Like Fire’ and eventual set closer ‘Eaten’.

When you mention the term legends in the death metal genre, you don’t have to look much further than CANNIBAL CORPSE. With only an hour set, it was inevitable some material would be have to be cut from their usual set, and unfortunately the likes of ‘Fucked With A Knife’ and ‘Pit of Zombies’ were some of the few to be omitted. However, the likes of usual set numbers ‘I Cum Blood’ and ‘Make Them Suffer’ went down a treat as the crowd tried to keep pace with Corpsegrinder’s insanely fast headbanging. Mosh pits galore were on the menu as CANNIBAL brutalised their way through the rest of the set before the usual set closers over the past few years of ‘Hammer Smashed Face’ and ‘Stripped, Raped And Strangled’ brought to a close the death metal course of the day.

To the delight of the crowd, one of the headliners for next years Bloodstock was announced via a trailer to the screen next to stage, and when it was announced that Norwegian Black Metallers IMMORTAL would be making their first return to the UK after nine years, the crowd erupted with delight and horns duly raised to the air.

…and so after three full days, with the toilets smelling the worst, and the festival area looking like a garbage tip – the time had come for Bloodstock 2010 to be signed off, and it was American glam metal legends TWISTED SISTER who were given that job. The band, including frontman Dee Snider, no longer wear the extreme outfits and make-up for which they are associated, but in 2010 that really doesn’t matter. What does matter is the music, and with everyone on a high from three days of metal, the likes of ‘I Wanna Rock’ and ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ went down an absolute storm.

With a brilliant cover of ‘Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll’, the band played a great tribute to Ronnie James Dio, after which, the Bloodstock main stage will now always be known. ‘S.M.F.’ finally brought an end to a magnificent set, and TWISTED SISTER had played an absolute blinder to finish off Bloodstock 2010 in style. Here’s to ten more years of Bloodstock!

Rating: 4.9/5.0

Review By Adam Fredericks & James Allman

The bombastic DELAIN and Finnish nutters TURISAS got the party started, before Scandinavian stalwarts EUROPE rolled in to deliver an impressive set, inevitably rounded off by the essential ‘Final Countdown’. GARY NUMAN then treated the crowd to a set of rocked up 80’s synth, and despite being known chiefly in the pop genre, Numan went down well to what was essentially a rock and metal audience.

As good as the first few bands on the bill were, the Friday night belonged to headliner ALICE COOPER, and his magnificent ‘Theatre of Death’ production, which still manages to shock the audience after so many years. Bizarrely opening, and closing with ‘Schools Out’, the set was a run through of some of Alice’s prime cuts from the last 40 years. Virtually every song had different stage props and a different act, all choreographed to a tee, with the 62 year old rocker not putting a foot wrong. It really was a majestic show, and a great way to kick start Sonisphere 2010.

Friday night saw only the 1 outdoor stage in use, but from Saturday morning, the two main stages (The Apollo Stage and The Saturn Stage) ran with bands alternating between the two stages, with literally a couple of minutes between sets. For me, this is where SONISPHERE wins points against DOWNLOAD and other festivals, where you spend half your day running between stages. If the Saturn stage had a slightly louder PA, you could stand in the middle of the two stages and not have to move all day long.

Saturday morning began at full throttle with speed metallers ENFORCER and young thrashers EVILE both managing to kick up a storm in the Bohemia stage. Then it was up to the more heavy weight acts to keep to adrenaline flowing, and although a lacklustre set from LACUNA COIL didn’t quite do it, a ferocious slab of Brazilian death metal did, as Max Cavalera’s SOULFLY laid siege to the Saturn Stage.

Next on the main stage were the mighty ANTHRAX - strangely quite low on the bill, despite their recent resurgence as part of the instantly legendary ‘Big Four’ shows. With 80’s screamer Joey Belladonna back on the mic, this ANTHRAX was a different animal to the band that played Sonisphere a year ago. The set was strictly classics only, and even included a brief rendition of ‘Heaven and Hell’ - one of many tributes paid to the late Ronnie James Dio during the weekend. Belladonna had recently sung at the fallen hero’s funeral, and showed again here that he’s not just a one dimensional thrash vocalist.

Over at the Saturn stage it was time for precision riffing, and pin point, machine like drums as bruisers FEAR FACTORY did what they do best. The 45 minute set seemed to fly by, but monster tracks like ‘Demanufacture’ and ‘Replica’ are always going to make you feel like you’ve lost all comprehension of time.

Less impressive were the next set of bands on the main stages, as PAPA ROACH were the pick of the bunch, with lukewarm sets from GOOD CHARLOTTE, SKUNK ANANSIE and PLACEBO failing to set the late afternoon alight. For once in their lives, hellraisers MOTLEY CRUE turned up on time, and delivered an enjoyable set of hair metal as the sun shone in a clear evening sky. Vince Neil’s live vocals were as weak as ever, but fortunately the band, including drummer Tommy Lee, managed to pack enough of a punch to make up for Neil’s inadequacies.

Headlining the main stage on Saturday night were German firestarters RAMMSTEIN, and although the show was as explosive as all have come to expect, the fact that RAMMSTEIN only used 75 minutes of a 120 minute allocation was a major snag with the crowd. The truth is though, RAMMSTEIN do not have enough quality songs to fill a headline set of this magnitude, and behind all the explosions and pyrotechnics, is a rather average heavy metal band.

For those wanting to ease themselves into the action on Sunday morning, HENRY ROLLINS delivered a fantastic Sunday school sermon, as his antidotes were lapped up by the lucky tent full who managed to cram into the Bohemia stage. Back to the music, and on the main stage MADINA LAKE received a lukewarm reaction to what was (to put it bluntly) a terrible set of disposable nu-metal bull shit.

Then strangely, a BEATLES tribute band played the Saturn stage, but failed to capture the imagination of the crowd like the ABBA tribute did a year ago. After that it was straight back to the metal with strong sets from both SKINDRED and DIR EN GREY, who treated the IRON MAIDEN fans to a quick blast of ‘Prowler’.

It was then time for some true metal legends, as the juggernaut that is SLAYER arrived. From the moment the introduction of ‘South of Heaven’ kicked in, the next 45 minutes was a lesson in aggression and brutality, as SLAYER ripped through classic after classic, culminating in an awesome blast through ‘Angel of Death’. On the big screens, the circle pits looked extremely nasty, and enough dust was kicked up to resurface Blackpool beach.

The next band on the main stage were ALICE IN CHAINS, who were another act who had played Sonisphere 2009, that time on the smaller Saturn Stage. Playing both classics, and new material, the grunge legends went down very well, and they’re a great festival band with really accessible songs, full of stonking riffs and infectious melodies. William DuVall continues to do a great job as the new vocalist, in tandem with the ever present band leader Jerry Cantrell.

Over on the Saturn Stage, the next 45 minutes were to be the best 45 minutes of the whole weekend. THE CULT were absolutely terrific, delivering a faultless set of high octane rock ‘n’ roll. Frontman Ian Astbury has a real swagger, and THE CULT’s material is top notch. ‘She Sells Sanctuary’, ‘Rain’ and ‘Sweet Soul Sister’ were all brilliant, but the whole set was a highlight, and few bands got the crowd jumping as much as this, all weekend. Magic!

Playing in the main stage slot right before IRON MAIDEN were PENDULUM. Certainly a controversial choice, as the two aforementioned bands aren’t exactly similar in style. PENDULUM cross metal with dance music, and sound somewhat like a more rocked up version of THE PRODIGY. Although not my cup of tea, some of the dance melodies were actually quite catchy, and I can see why the band has become so popular. A brief guest appearance by IN FLAMES frontman Anders Friden did at least add some value to PENDULUM’s metal credentials.

For those not wanting to secure a place at the front for IRON MAIDEN, it was back down to the Saturn stage to watch IGGY & THE STOOGES wrap up proceedings there. It was actually nice to see Iggy back doing what he does best, i.e., up on stage rocking his ass off, rather than appearing on car insurance adverts. Like ALICE COOPER, Iggy Pop seems to defy his age, and this energetic set was another weekend highlight.

So, every huge festival needs a huge band to headline, and bands don’t get any bigger than IRON MAIDEN. With a new album only two weeks away, Maiden are just back from touring the USA and Canada, and are now embarking on a brief European leg, of which Sonisphere was the only UK date. More dates can probably be expected next year, when songs from the new album will undoubtedly dominate the setlist.

Tonight’s setlist was chiefly a celebration of the last 10 years of IRON MAIDEN, following their 1999 reunion with singer Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith, with the set packed with songs from that decade. Although some fans will have been upset at the lack of classics, Maiden will tell you that the set is completely different from their last UK gig at Twickenham in 2008, which was a celebration of the bands ‘classic’ period – and fortunately, each of Maiden’s post-reunion releases have been marvelous albums. My only snag with the set was that it didn’t have an old surprise album track thrown in, i.e. something like ‘The Prisoner’ or ‘Killers’.

The stage set designed in the style of a NASA launching pad was themed around new album ‘The Final Frontier’, but only the one track ‘El Dorado’ got aired tonight, and did sound more impressive live than the free mp3 released on Maiden’s website. A real highlight of the set was the emotional ‘Blood Brothers’, dedicated again to the legend that is Ronnie James Dio.

The encore of ‘Number of the Beast’, ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name’ and ‘Running Free’ gave the Maiden virgins a few classics to enjoy, and ultimately Maiden’s performance was a bombastic end to a fantastic weekend. Sonisphere really is up there with the best festivals, and providing the line-up is as good again, the 55,000 in attendance will almost certainly want to return in 2011. Bring it on!

Best Bands: THE CULT / SLAYER / IRON MAIDEN / ALICE COOPER / ANTHRAX

Photography by Alexander Shaw (Click here for photos)

Considering it’s virginity, the festival was fairly well organised with only a couple of snags. Snag number one was the running order. Firstly, it was frustrating that it was left to just 48 hours before the festival kicked off to announce the stage times. More frustrating though was the number of clashes. For example, there was one point on Saturday afternoon where FOREIGNER, SAXON and ASIA were all on at the same time – and that’s crazy if you ask me. I find it astonishing why more festivals don’t adopt the Wacken approach, where the two main stages are next to each other, with bands alternating throughout the day, without a break between them. Snag number two? Well, there was much talk of real ale at High Voltage, and in particular special ales ZZ Hops and Heaven and Ale. Neither were in sight, and at several points during the weekend, no real ale at all was available. Obviously it was underestimated how many people like to drink proper beer, rather than the overpiced fizzy rubbish you get at most festivals. Still, I guess some real ale is better than no real ale.

So on to the bands, with the unfortunate premise that this review/memoir is often based on seeing just one or two songs of the setlists, due to the numerous clashes. Saturdays main stage action was kicked off by strong performances by both THE UNION and THE ANSWER, while ORANGE GOBLIN got plenty of heads banging on the Metal Hammer stage. Swedish true metal flag fliers HAMMERFALL also impressed on the Metal Hammer, rounding off their brief appearance with a rousing rendition of ‘Hearts on Fire’. Before that, I’d caught a bit of FOCUS on the prog stage, but much of their soft material was drowned out by the Metal Hammer stage, which was just a stone throw away. I learnt form this that to enjoy a band on the Prog stage, you had to get right down the front. Still, I did manage to catch FOCUS play ‘Hocus Pocus’ which went down a storm!

Blues mastermind, and former THIN LIZZY guitarist GARY MOORE was soon up on the main stage. Moore’s licks are still sounding as good as they always have, and the likes of ‘Empty Rooms’ and ‘Out in the Fields’ were as scorching as the hot London sunshine. Moore’s new material also sounded impressive, but there was no time for ‘Parisienne Walkways’, as in the end, time ran out and Moore virtually had to be pulled off the stage.

Staying at the main stage, next up were FOREIGNER, who were on top form, despite only having time for 9 songs themselves. Frontman Kelly Hansen has a great voice, and a real Steven Tyler swagger about him. Leaving FOREIGNER a few songs into the set, it was back down to the Prog stage to catch the original line up of ASIA, playing their 1982 self titled debut album, in it’s entirety. I can’t remember seing a tighter band performance than this, with the legendary Carl Palmer particularly outstanding on the drums. Unfortunately, the recent memory of seeing SAXON at Download will have to suffice, as I just couldn’t deal with the three band clash, and given SAXON tour so regularly, they were the band I had to miss. Sorry Biff!

After studying the clash ridden line up, the one band I wasn’t going to miss a second of was HEAVEN AND HELL. This was a completely one-off, never to be seen again show, with the band paying tribute to their late singer Ronnie James Dio. I thoroughly enjoyed the set, and thought that both Jorn Lande (MASTERPLAN) and Glenn Hughes did a great job on the vocals. The lesser known Lande has a voice that is almost a clone of Dio’s. Wendy Dio also came on stage to announce the Ronnie James Dio ‘Stand up and Shout’ cancer fund – but as her microphone was so low, and voice so soft, thats about all I caught of what she said. The set was rounded off with both singers ripping through ‘Neon Knights’. A less welcome Phil Anselmo ran on stage to join in, with band members and crowd alike looking rather bemused.

Headlining the main stage were rock’s most enduring trio, ZZ TOP, who’s mix of hard rock and blues rounded off the opening night of High Voltage in style. All the classics were played, from set opener ‘Got Me Under Pressure’, right through to the likes of ‘Cheap Sunglasses’ and set closer ‘Tush’. The orignal line up of Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard has stayed intact right from day one of the band, and such solidarity means that ZZ TOP’s live set is a close to musical perfection as you can get.

With the sun shining again, MARTIN TURNER’S WISHBONE ASH delivered the best lunchtime Sunday school service anyone could hope for. Their album ‘Argus’ is a lesson for all wannabe prog bands, and it was great to see the whole album played. It was then off to the main stage for the feel good rock n’ roll of THE QUIREBOYS, for whom Spike was on top form. On shortly after were UFO, who unfortunately were left standing helplessly for nearly 10 minutes after lead guitarist Vinnie Moore’s equipment failed. Once back on track, the likes of ‘Lights Out’ and ‘Doctor Doctor’ were delivered with aplomb.

There was then yet another clash to deal with, as I caught half of each of the sets by MAGNUM on the Prog stage, and BACHMAN TURNER on the Main stage. For me, MAGNUM are one of the most underatted bands in classic rock, and have enough quality material to headline a festival, never mind play a poxy 45 minute set in the middle of the afternoon. BACHMAN TURNER were excellent though, and given that live appearances from these two are very rare, it was well worth catching a few numbers.

It was then back to the Prog stage where URIAH HEEP were the latest band to peform an album in it’s entirety. This time, it was the 1972 classic ‘Demons and Wizards’. Former WHITESNAKE axe man Micky Moody made a guest appearance on the slide guitar, making this an extra special performance. Frontman Bernie Shaw has a great voice and really did the album justice, while original member Mick Box continues to blossom in his autumn years, and deserves real credit for carrying on the legacy of the band.

After URIAH HEEP, it was yet another trek, this time back to the main stage, where JOE BONAMASSA was rounding off his set with a cover of ZZ TOP’s ‘Just Got Paid’ – and yes, it was the second time the song was played over the weekend. After Bonamassa, the main stage was handed over to DEF LEPPARD frontman Joe Elliot, who along with members of the QUIREBOYS, has put together a fantastic tribute band to the music of the legendary Ian Hunter. The band goes by the name of the DOWN N’ OUTZ, and even Ian Hunter himself came out to join the band on the final two numbers ‘Once Bitten Twice Shy’ and ‘Who Do You Love’. The DOWN N’ OUTZ are great fun, and hopefully Joe will bring the band out for more dates in the future. Meanwhile, OPETH and DOWN had no doubt been hotting up the headbanging action over at the metal stage, while ARGENT and MARILLION kept the Prog stage ticking over.

The final band to perform were EMERSON LAKE PALMER. Reunited for the first show in 15 years, the three piece supergroup brought High Voltage to a close with a performance to remember. Many will consider ELP as a band for fellow musicians to enjoy, but as a non-musician myself, I’d say anyone can enjoy a band with such talent. ‘Fanfare for the Common Man’ was the encore number, after which, the High Voltage masses headed for the exit, surely well and truly satisfied.

So the UK finally has a dedicated classic rock festival that is big enough to attract the cream of the crop when it comes to the genre. Despite a few teething problems, the inaugural High Voltage festival was a resounding success, and for that reason, there is every reason to think that this festival can, and will happen every year from here on in. See you down the front in 2011!

Review by James Allman

Best Bands: HEAVEN AND HELL / ZZ TOP / MAGNUM / URIAH HEEP

The bass guitar was hardly missed except in a couple of songs where it was apparent that it was lacking, with the most obvious being in ‘Hammer Slammer’, which still sounded awesome nevertheless. The shredding pair of Domo Dixon and Luke Graham was as ever on top form and songs like ‘Zombie Blood Nightmare’ and ‘Last Ninjas Unite’ were lapped up by the crowd. GAMA BOMB have a good array of material for their relatively short career so far, and tracks like ‘Evil Voices’ and ‘Bullet Belt’ showcased this. ‘Zombi Brew’ closed their short but sweet set and served as the perfect warm up act to some thrash legends, something they can hopefully aspire too as well one day.

Thrash titans SEPULTURA are celebrating 25 years with this tour, and even with only one original member left in the band, that didn’t stop fans both old and new packing the venue tonight for what was one of the best atmospheres I have been witness to this year. If you thought GAMA BOMB were outstanding tonight, then SEPULTURA took it to a whole new level, as they crushed, blasted and destroyed their way through a superb 90 minute set that ranged their history.

Opening with an instrumental from the latest album ‘A-Lex’, things kicked off with the extremely heavy ‘Moloko Mesto’, which definitely sounds better live than on record as it really does deliver an urge to pump your fist, headbang or mosh in the live arena. This was the first of what was a handful of new material on show tonight, and those that impressed included ‘Filthy Rot’, ‘What I Do!’ and ‘Conform’.

SEPULTURA stayed true to their roots and played a host of classics that included the ever present and irrefutable brilliance of ‘Refuse/Resist’ and ‘Troops of Doom’, whilst ‘Arise’ and ‘Dead Embryonic Cells’ also kept the crowd going as the mosh pit never seemed to relent or rest at all! It was about half way through the set before giant vocalist Derrick Green started to interact with the crowd, but nobody seemed to care as long as the material kept on flowing.

Andreas Kisser delivered an awe inspiring performance tonight as he shredded his way through the likes of ‘Spit’, ‘Sepulnation’ and ‘Attitude’, whilst the relative new boy, Jean Dolabella (given the unenviable task of replacing Igor), made mincemeat of the classics as he pulled them off with apparent ease, while Paolo Jr looked to be loving every minute of it, as he has done since the start, and when they played a bit of a medley of intro’s by local band DEF LEPPARD, you knew everyone was having a good time.

A trio of songs from the fantastic ‘Chaos A.D.’ album followed one another in the form of ‘Territory’, ‘Slave New World’ and ‘Biotech is Godzilla’, before an excellent rendition of ‘Inner Self’ closed the main set. As the chants grew louder, SEPULTURA came back to finish what they had started and kicked off the encore with the groovy ‘Ratamahatta’, before closing finally with an unsurprising choice. ‘Roots Bloody Roots’ sent the crowd into a frenzy and closed what was literally a killer performance. SEPULTURA showed they are still going strong and why they are one of the most influential bands still around today. Here’s to another 25 years of thrash!

Ratings:

Review By Adam Fredericks

The penultimate date of the UK Tour will be shared with none other than the mighty MY RUIN and it’s no secret that BEHOLDER have a great admiration for the band, as like them, they stand for the true essence of heavy metal!

THE EDGE OF INSANITY UK TOUR

September 2010

2nd – ROADHOUSE, BIRMINGHAM
3rd – THE CENTRAL, NOTTINGHAM
4th – THE QUEENS HALL, NUNEATON
5th – HORSESHOE, WELLINGBOROUGH
8th – GRAND CENTRAL, MANCHESTER
9th – TRILLIANS, NEWCASTLE
10th – SNOOTY FOX, WAKEFIELD
11th – IVORY BLACKS, GLASGOW
12th – YARDBIRDS, GRIMSBY
15th – RIFFS BAR, SWINDON
16th – WHITE RABBIT, PLYMOUTH
17th – CHAMPIONS, BOURNEMOUTH
18th – MAMMOTHFEST, BRIGHTON
19th – FALMOUTH RFC, FALMOUTH
22nd – HOBO’S, BRIDGEND
23rd – CENTRAL STATION, WREXHAM
24th – O2 ACADEMY, LONDON (GHOSTS & GOOD STORIES WITH MY RUIN)
25th – THE OLD BELL, DERBY

Using the ‘Contact Us’ form at the top of the Baconmusic homepage, please answer the following question:

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Rock icons, FOREIGNER, really Can’t Slow Down and have added an appearance at London’s prestigious iTunes Festival to their 2010 accomplishments.

2010 has proved a busy year for the multi-platinum selling band: they released the critically acclaimed album Can’t Slow Down, which includes radio hits – When it comes to Love and Fool For You Anyway and by the end of the year, will have completed over 100 live dates on 2 continents.

FOREIGNER have now been added to the iTunes line-up, and will perform at London’s legendary Roundhouse on Sunday, 25th July.

The itunes festival runs for the entire month of July – that’s 31 nights of music, featuring over 60 diverse artists in a supremely intimate venue. Foreigner’s performance will be available to download exclusively from iTunes 48 hours after the show and the highlights of this year’s festival can been seen on ITV 1 & ITV 2, as well as being broadcast on XFM.

Of their forthcoming iTunes Festival appearance, founder member, Mick Jones, says “The band are thrilled to have the opportunity to play the iTunes festival – we’re really looking forward to the intimacy of the Roundhouse. The heat is on us to give a killer performance and play the best we can for the live recording on iTunes and we’re ready to roll!” Kelly Hansen adds “I think it’s great to record and release a live show immediately. It may not be perfect, but it separates the men from the boys. Too many groups now get away with murder and aren’t really performing “live”. This itunes presentation will capture a moment in time, at this awesome, historic venue. And it will also capture, the naked energy that makes every live show unique!”
Tickets are free for fans of iTunes and customers of iTunes. Tickets can be applied for on the Festival’s facebook page. For more information go to:- www.itunesfestival.co.uk or www.facebook.com/iTunesUK or www.twitter.com/itunesfestival

FOREIGNER will also perform at the High Voltage Festival in Victoria Park on Saturday 24th July.

Everyone knows more FOREIGNER than they think… classics such as “Cold As Ice”, “Waiting for a Girl Like You” and the number 1 hit “I Want to Know What Love Is” are the reason the band have racked up more than 70 million album sales worldwide! Their mix of blustery blues and impeccably crafted pop continues to captivate generation after generation of music fans.

Founder member Mick Jones - lead guitars and vocals – is joined by Kelly Hansen on lead vocal (ex Hurricane); Tom Gimbel (long term touring with Aerosmith) on guitar, saxophone, flute and backing vocals; on keyboards, Michael Bluestein (Stevie Nicks, Enrique Iglesias and Anastacia); Jeff Pilson (ex Dokken, Dio and MSG) on bass; and on drums, Jason Sutter (Chris Cornell, Smash Mouth).
Can’t Slow Down is out now on earMUSIC (Edel’s international rock and pop label) as well as CD the album is available as a digital download as are the singles When it comes to Love and Fool For You Anyway.

Friday June 11th

After fighting my way through the crowds, I was through the gates in time to catch the end of an enjoyable set from LAWNMOWER DETH, before the excellent TYKETTO took to the stage. Playing a number of classics from the ‘Don’t Come Easy’ album, Danny Vaughn’s band went down really well in front of a packed 3rd stage crowd, all of whom sang along to set closer ‘Forever Young’. On the main stage, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, who were a last minute replacement for WOLFMOTHER, paid tribute to their hero Ronnie James Dio with their great cover of ‘Holy Diver’.

With the festival arena filling up to bursting point, it was time for supergroup THEM CROOKED VULTURES to take to the stage, as the last band to play the main stage. The band features QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE frontman Josh Homme on vocals and guitar, FOO FIGHTERS main man David Grohl on drums and LED ZEPPELIN’s legendary John Paul Jones on bass.
I hadn’t heard any of the band’s material before the show, and of that, I’m quite glad! Not a single song impressed me, and THEM CROOKED VULTURES have to go down as one of the worst bands I’ve ever seen on the Donington main stage. They make be called a supergroup, but one thing’s for sure, they certainly aren’t super!

There’s no getting around it, this year’s Download festival was all about the return to Donington of the legendary AC/DC. Headlining for the fourth time, the AC/DC train rolled in bang on schedule, and the 2 hour ride that followed was full of all the usual thrills and spills that people have come to expect. As anticipated, the crowd was absolutely humungous, and surely the biggest Donington has seen for a number of years. Packed in near the front, turning rounded to look at the crowd, all you could see was a vast ocean of people, a quite incredible sight.

Playing on their own stage (next to the main stage), the set opened with the new track ‘Rock n’ Roll Train’, before classic after classic followed, including the likes of ‘Back in Black’ and ‘Thunderstruck’. You can’t help but love Angus Young, and it’s great to see him in such good shape, with his long locks of hair flowing again. Young hopped around the stage all night, and his solo on the platform at the end is always a highlight of any AC/DC set.

The giant inflatable Rosie came out for ‘Whole Lotta Rosie’, and Brian Johnson swung like Tarzan to ring the huge AC/DC bell for ‘Hells Bells’. The final song of the setlist was ‘For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)’, complete with the firing cannons. This was a bombastic finale, and AC/DC had delivered a memorable set that will go down in Donington history as one of the very best headline performances. I for one hope that the footage of the momentous evening will one day be made available on DVD. The best live stadium band ever? Oh Yes!

Saturday June 12th

Of the day’s early performers, it was the female fronted FLYLEAF who made the best impression, with their cultured brand of nu-metal proving to be a good warm up for the rest of the day’s action.

Los Angeles quintet FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH then played a really strong set, following on from their powerful headline performance at this year’s Hammerfest. The likes of ‘Salvation’ and ‘No One Gets Left Behind’ really got the crowd moving, and at one stage, the set was under severe threat of getting cut short due to the number of crowd surfers. This set certainly wasn’t fun for the Download security staff.

A disappointing set from LAMB OF GOD failed to capitalise on the frenzy built up by 5FDP, with only ‘Redneck’ standing out from an otherwise bland set, ruined in one way by the fact that Randy Blythe’s voice could hardly be heard above the pummeling drums and guitars. Perhaps Blythe should invest in a more modern radio mic, which might help things?

Returning to play their fourth Donington were thrash metal titans MEGADETH. I was worried that the technical sound of MEGADETH’s complex music was going to get lost in the outdoor sound mix, but fortunately, the volume seemed to go up a notch, and Dave Mustaine and his latest crew sounded on terrific form. There wasn’t quite enough time to play the whole ‘Rust in Peace’ album, as they have been doing on this tour, instead they treated Download to a set full of classics, which certainly got a thumbs up from the crowd.

26 years after their last Donington appearance, San Fransisco rockers Y&T were back on the holy ground and delivered a typically face-melting setlist. This was 40 minutes of great songs, and the best guitar performance of the weekend from the ever impressive Dave Meniketti. On exiting the 3rd stage marquee, DEFTONES were performing on the main stage, a band who really don’t deserve the recognition they seem to get. After seeing a band with the quality of Y&T be restricted to a 40 minute set in a marquee, it was a disgrace to see DEFTONES on the main stage – a band who have a modicum of the talent of Y&T.

Resisting the temptation to try and find a place to watch the England World Cup game (it wasn’t made clear where the game would be screened), I hung around to see out the day. On the back of the success of their surprise Christmas number one, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE were Saturday’s main stage headliners. For me, a headline band at a festival of this magnitude should have at least 20+ classic songs in their catalogue, with a few on stage thrills up their sleeve to make the show a visible spectacle. Unfortunately, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE have neither.

Still, I have to admit that the set went down pretty well, and predictable set closer ‘Killing In The Name’ was one of the defining moments of the day. Every single metal fan in the country would have been delighted to see the song shoot down the X-Factor. Seeing 80,000+ people shout ‘F*ck You! I Won’t Do What You Tell Me!’ is a message of non-conformity to the pop music scene that continues to poison the TV and radio airwaves.

Sunday June 13th

Opening up the second stage today were two bands who unashamedly fly the flag for traditional old school heavy metal. Americans WHITE WIZZARD and Canadians 3 INCHES OF BLOOD, both made the most of their 25 minutes apiece, each paying tribute to Ronnie James Dio, with the crowd offering their best devil horns.

It was then a quick dash to the main stage to see metal veterans SAXON dust off their classic 1980 ‘Wheels of Steel’ album, playing the record in it’s entirety for the first time in their history. Fortunately, the 37 minute length of the record ensured that there was time to add a few more classics to the set, which meant the essential ‘And The Bands Played On’ got aired. This was a song written about the Donington festival, after SAXON’s 1980 ‘Monsters of Rock’ appearance. ‘Princess of the Night’ rounded up a great set, topping off a long overdue to the limelight for one of metal’s most underrated bands.

CINDERELLA was one of the most surprising names on the Download line-up. The band have been out of action for a number of years, due to frontman Tom Kiefer’s vocal problems, and their last UK performance was literally decades ago. CINDERELLA played a fantastic set, with great rockers like ‘Somebody Save Me’ and ‘Gypsy Road’, alongside the beautiful ballads ‘Nobody’s Fool’ and ‘Don’t Know What You Got (‘Till It’s Gone)’. As for Kiefer’s voice, well you would never have guessed that (as rumour has it) a year ago he couldn’t sing a note. Fingers crossed CINDERELLA will be back to the UK to play along overdue headline show.

Next on the main stage was legendary former GUN’S N’ ROSES lead guitarist SLASH, whose touring band includes the excellent Myles Kennedy of ALTER BRIDGE on vocals. Kennedy was once rumoured to be the next singer of LED ZEPPELIN, and today’s evidence, you can see why, sounding great on the high pitched GNR material (‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ and ‘Paradise City’) and the VELVET REVOLVER tune ‘Slither’. It was a real highlight of the set though when SLASH brought out his mate Lemmy to perform the brilliant new track ‘Dr.Alibi’. It was a really good set by SLASH, who profited from concentrating on playing some good tunes, rather than messing about with endless boring guitar solos (like most other solo guitarists are prone to do).

It was just after SLASH’s set that the weather took a severe turn for the worst. After years of sunshine at the Download festival, it was always going to rain at some point, and boy did it rain today. The rain didn’t stop until the end of the night, and with the heavens well and truly open, many festival goers headed for an early exit. Playing on through the rain, BILLY IDOL followed SLASH with an enjoyable slab of the 1980’s. Inevitably ‘White Wedding’ and set closer ‘Rebel Yell’ were the two songs which will leave a lasting memory.

Next to play for the increasingly wet crowd were rock n’ roll outlaws MOTÖRHEAD. There’s no louder three-piece in the business, and MOTÖRHEAD’s uncompromising set was lapped up by the brave souls who trudged their way to the front. Of course, ‘Ace of Spades’ and ‘Overkill’ were as enjoyable as ever, but MOTÖRHEAD have plenty of other great songs, which all made for a great set.

With the crowd thinning out by the minute, and probably only a third of the people in the arena as there was for AC/DC, the return of the reunited grunge outfit STONE TEMPLE PILOTS was next on the bill. Lead by the recently departed former VELVET REVOLVER singer Scott Weiland, STP are one of the better bands to come out of the early 1990’s grunge revolution. The likes of the excellent ‘Plush’ and ‘Sex Type Thing’ made for a good entertaining set.

So with the clock heading towards nine o’clock, it was time for the sodden Download Festival to be brought to a close, with rock legends AEROSMITH given the job this year. Given the ridiculous price of their London O2 gig tickets, this was actually an opportunity to see AEROSMITH on the cheap. Although on the basis of today, it would have been nice to have had a roof over head.

Opening the set with their 80’s hair metal anthem ‘Love In An Elevator’, AEROSMITH swaggered through a brilliant show, suitable to bring the curtain down on any festival. The set had all the big hits, such as ‘Livin’ On The Edge’ and ‘I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing’ - but their was still time to throw in the majestic lesser known rockers like ‘Lord of the Thighs’ and ‘Draw the Line’.

The AEROSMITH set, and with it, the Download festival 2010 was rounded off by an encore of ‘Dream On’, ‘Walk This Way’ and ‘Toys In The Attic’. There’s no denying that the good old English weather really dampened the spirits on the final day, but not a lot can be done about that. Fortunately, all the bands turned up, and all the bands did the best they could to entertain the crowd. Although perhaps there was just too many people around on the AC/DC Friday, Download 2010 was a success yet again, and the festival continues to be a great celebration of all the different sub genres of rock music.

Festival review by James Allman

Festival Rating: 4.4/5.0