Sonisphere - Friday
30 July 2010
Knebworth
Please note that for this event Johan was limited to an arena photo pass.This gave him access to the four smaller stages but only where granted direct permission could he shoot bands from the crowd on the main two stages.We’d like to thank those artists who kindly provided permission.
The UK leg of Sonisphere kicked off a day earlier this year with a selection of bands on all but the larger Apollo stage from the late afternoon.The site layout was very similar to the previous year with a few tweaks which made for a noticeably easier flow around the festival site.Two additional tented stages had also been added meaning there was the an opportunity to see a great deal of bands across the weekend.
Dutch symphonic metal band Delain had the honour of starting proceedings on the Saturn stage.Delain were put together by Martijn Westerholt the former keyboard player of Within Temptation who is also the brother of Robert Westerholt the founder of that band.It’s no surprise to find similarities between the bands, though on this showing I’d pitch Delain as a shade heavier.Singer Charlotte Wessels certainly had the presence and looks to grab attention and her call to show her our hand’s during opener Invidia is well observed.At times the song writing did feel a bit formulaic for this type of music, but songs likes April Rain are well crafted and closer Pristine threw in a death metal vocal to add a little variety.The use of taped backing vocals was a bit overpowering at times, taking away from the live aspect of the band’s sound but all in all it was a pleasant way to start the festival.
Delain setlist:
Invidia / Stay Forever / Go Away / Sever / April Rain / The Gathering / Control The Storm / Pristine
After Bloodtstock last year, which frontman “Warlord” Nygård noted was the final show in support of The Varangian Way, I hadn’t expected Turisas to return to the UK prior to the release of their next album, but obviously the offer to get out of the studio was too tempting.Nygård had also hinted at an image change but save for perhaps a tad less fur, it was business as usual for the Finns.This was a true festival set with the band plumping to play their catchier battle rousing anthems.The one surprise was as the band launched into Boney M cover Rasputin, it was suddenly brought to a halt with Nygård declaring Rasputin was dead.Instead Black Sabbath’s Supernaut was played with the crowd singing the riff in “lai, lai, lai” fashion.Prior to today I hadn’t felt the need to see Turisas without new material, but it has to be said that they were incredibly entertaining and created a great party atmosphere.
Turisas setlist:
To Holmgard and Beyond / The Messenger / Rasputin (cut short) / Supernaut / One More / Sahti-Waari / Battle Metal
Europe rightly turned a lot of head’s at Bloodstock last year and whilst there is a section of today’s crowd only waiting for “that song”, they once again confound many people’s preconceptions.As Joey Tempest put it himself, “Good evening Knebworth, we have come to inflict some badass Scandinavian rock on you!”.The band’s latest Last Look At Eden album has garnered great reviews and as well as the title track, the orchestral sweep of No Stone Unturned and the decidedly heavy The Beast show why.Superstitious included a snippet of Bob Marley’s No Woman No Cry, which brought back memories of the first time I saw the band back in 1989 when they applied the same trick.Rock The Night does exactly what its title suggests, with Tempest bounding around the stage swinging his microphone stand and of course the crowd goes apeshit for The Final Countdown.My one complaint is it wasn’t long enough.
Europe setlist:
Last Look At Eden / Love is Not The Enemy / Superstitious / Scream of Anger / No Stone Unturned / Rock The Night / The Beast / The Final Countdown
Popping over to the Jaegermeister stage, the four songs I caught from October File left me hoping they don’t clash with anyone at Bloodstock in two weeks time.Vocalist Ben Hollyer’s vocals recall Jaz Coleman of Killing Joke and it’s the heavier end of that’s band spectrum of music that comes to mind as relentless rhythmic riffing pummels the crowd.
October File setlist included:
Crawl / Falter / Eau Du War / Isolation
Back at the Saturn Stage, Gary Numan was also turning a few preconceptions.Anyone who’s heard his later albums will have been aware there’s a dark gothic vibe to his electronic music that has more in common with Nine Inch Nails than the Human League, a band one friend had expected to compare him to.Whilst all but two of the songs in his set may have been new to most in attendance, Numan’s set goes down remarkably well and when he brought out Cars mid set, he sauntered around nonchalantly like it was just another song as the crowd went nuts.A similar reaction occurs when Numan wraps up another set that was all too short with Are Friends Electric?
Gary Numan setlist:
The Fall / Haunted / Zulu / Bleed / Cars / Halo / Pure / A Prayer For The Unborn / Are Friends Electric?
I had planned to pop off and catch Karma To Burn mid way through Alice Cooper’s set but the performance was so enthralling I couldn’t tear myself away.Cooper turned 62 earlier this year but he shows little signs of fatigue in a set which barely let up with Cooper snuffed out four times.Ballad Of Dwight Fry ended with Cooper losing his head by guillotine, he’s hung, skewered and poisoned with a giant needle across the ninety minutes of a set bookended with performances of Schools Out.It may seem weird playing the same song twice but it actually worked as opener and closer.Elsewhere there are stunts and props a plenty but this doesn’t take anything away from a musical performance which is top notch and filled with Cooper classics such as No More Mr Nice Guy, Billion Dollar Babies and Under My Wheels.Unsurprisingly though it’s Posion that gets a similar manic response that The Final Countdown and Cars got earlier tonight.
Alice Cooper setlist:
School's Out / No More Mr. Nice Guy / I’m Eighteen / Wicked Young Man / Ballad Of Dwight Fry / Go To Hell / Guilty / Cold Ethyl / Poison / From The Inside / Nurse Rozetta / Be My Lover / Only Women Bleed / I Never Cry / Black Widow Jam / Vengeance Is Mine / Dirty Diamonds / Billion Dollar Babies / Killer / I Love The Dead / Feed My Frankenstein / Under My Wheels / Elected / School's Out
LINKS:
http://uk.sonispherefestivals.com/
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