Sonisphere is literally a newbie when it comes to festivals, but it doesnt show at all. This slick beast of a festival rolled in to Knebworth like it owned the place and I reckon it will continue for years to come. Where else can you get a line up that this years Sonisphere boasted? Download didn’t manage to get Rammstein to play their first UK festival in 10 years did it? This massive festival seemed to be well organised with something for everyone. There was a great variety in acts on the bill which included comedians, unsigned bands and metal legends….what more could you want? Decent weather? That wasnt bad either!!
There were a couple of surprises to the line up which for me included Pendulum, which were sandwiched inbetween Alice In Chains and Iron Maiden. To hear their latest effort with members of In Flames performing it, then you could see why they were chosen. They were very well received indeed.
A band I was looking forward to were the mighty Fear Factory. I have followed this band for many years and seen line up changes and fall outs between members. But they are unrivalled in dedication to their fans. They were simply brutal and epic all rolled in to one. Dino literally shits out riffs for fun (his words not mine!) and Burton C. Bell brings this behemoth of a band to the fore. They blasted though old and new favorites and I was wowed when I saw the crowd going mental for the classic “Edgecrusher”
Another band I was keen to see live was Lacuna Coil. They have been on my ‘to see live band list’ for some time. They were on early in the day and they did not disappoint. They were bullish and strong as they commanded the crowd. Cristina was as always note perfect with her vocals and works well alongside Andreas as joint vocalist. I would like to see them again on their tour in the Autumn.
That brings me on to another band that graced the stage at Sonisphere….Black Spiders. These guys are awesome. They have now supported Ozzy, played at Download and now they played the Bohemia stage at Sonisphere. Expect BIG things from this band. Their balls out rock is truly infectious…infact once its in your system, they will be your new favourite band. Oh, and they are all nuts! m/
Another band that I managed to cover was CKY. After the poor response from the previous album, I got the impression that Deron and the guys were out to prove a massive point. That point is that they are out to show their doubters that they are still a force to be reckoned with. The played tracks from Infiltrate:Destroy:Rebuild and i can honestly say, I got goosebumps. They were truly on form. They had the crowd captivated with their slimy riffs and gruff vocals, but that is what makes CKY unique and it is still a formula that works. Lets hope they can translate that energy and determination in to some crackin’ new material.
I physically can not cover all of the bands that played at the festival, so I chose a few that I managed to cover. Incase your wondering why I havent mentioned Skindred yet….Its because we have a Skindred feature in this edition!
For other bands that I covered and did not mention, take a look at the gallery section for a load of high quality pics
