Graspop
- Thread starter Blitzkrieg
- Start date
Celestial-Todd
The Incredible Bulk
Lord Tim
That guy from LORD
It's to do with the tickets we got - we could only fly one way around the world. Sort of limiting but a damn sight cheaper than doing it the short way...!
Celestial-Todd
The Incredible Bulk
Southy
Proud Brisbane Metaller
Lord Tim
That guy from LORD
It is now.... after seeing IRON MAIDEN!! Woooo! Just got back from BosPop Festival here in Holland and finally... 12 years waiting, but got to see all of the pyro, 2 Eddies, huge stage and a massive crowd... Oh yeah! 
*sigh* Now off to catch a plane... so can't be bothered!
Catch you guys in a couple of weeks!
*sigh* Now off to catch a plane... so can't be bothered!
Catch you guys in a couple of weeks!
Spruce Goose
Then Goose me up woman!
I'm home now as of Monday night, and am still trying to get my sleep pattern back to normal!
I will give a proper review on the bands I caught at the festival in a few days. What an experience it all was.
I will give a proper review on the bands I caught at the festival in a few days. What an experience it all was.
2 weeks and a couple of days I was gone for. Seemed like a lot longer while I was gone though, saw so much stuff and all. Long arse days as well.
Lord Tim
That guy from LORD
That's brilliant, you have inspired me to go to a metal festival in Europe next year! Wish I could do it this year, or Ozzfest, but cash is not on my side right now.
I saw Maiden in '86 and '87 for SIT and SSOASS and then in '92 here, but haven't seen them live since and I must see them again.
I saw Maiden in '86 and '87 for SIT and SSOASS and then in '92 here, but haven't seen them live since and I must see them again.
I loved seeing the Early Days set, but I will love even more to catch them again, perhaps next year, or something, and see a proper set covering the whole career. I love Maiden. 
I was bored this afternoon, so I made a bit of a write up on the festival. It is a bit long, so I highlighted the band names so you can just read about any ones you are interested in if you wish.
Graspop Metal Meeting 2005
Day 1
After one metro train ride, one country train ride, one shuttle bus ride, and one long walk, I made it from the hostel to the camp site entrance, where I was to stand and wait for about 2 hours all up.
When we finally got into the campgrounds we found a spot for our tent and pitched it then made our way to the festival site. We got through the line at the gates and walked into the festival to hear Alter Bridge had already started their set, playing the title track from their debut album One Day Remains, which seemed to be their opener. It was great to see a large crowd had already gathered to get into them, in front of the main stage. I was worried they might not be accepted by the masses, as they were possibly the least metal band on the bill, but there was a large crowd getting into them. Possibly because they were one of the first bands and we were all excited, I dont know. Either way, they played a strong set of all the heavier songs from the album, and a killer cover of Deep Purples Highway Star.
After Alter Bridge had finished, I took the opportunity to buy all the merch I wanted early on and took it back to the tent, as there was no bands on that I was particularly interested in. I then headed back to the festival site and got up the front of the marquee stage that Grave Digger were due to take in around a half an hour. It was during this time, that I realised it wasnt necessary to line up so early for a band you really want to see, as you can get anywhere in the crowd you want to be within 5 to 10 minutes of them taking the stage, and even in most crowds during the bands performances, it was really easy to move around and get where you want to be. Completely different to here in Australia.
Grave Digger hit the stage playing the title track to their latest album, The Last Supper, then launched into Excalibur and played a killer set. Chris Boltendahl is a killer front man, great stage presence, worked the crowd really well, and sounded fantastic. Having a marquee of thousands singing along to Heavy Metal Breakdown as their closer was amazing. I would be hard pressed to find a few handfuls of people in Australia who know the song and are fans of the band, but I was at home in this crowd of Euro metalheads.
After their performance, I lined up at the signing tent which Grave Digger were set to be in half an hour after their set. I listened to Papa Roach while waiting, and was stoked to get a good photo with Chris and the bands autographs. On Papa Roach, their frontmans vocals were probably the worst individual performance of the whole festival. He constantly sounded out of breath and out of time, which was a far cry from all the other amazing singers I was to hear over the next few days.
After this, I caught a little of Metal Church, just hearing them rather well in the background really, but they had a great sound, and again, amazing vocals and vocal sound. I was beginning to realise by this point, that the sound of each band was beyond anything I had heard before. Whether they were mixed better or what, I am not sure, but each band sounded fantastic, with the vocals loud and clear, and not lost in the mix, like I often hear at gigs.
Within Temptation hit the main stage next, and due to Fridays schedule being later than Saturday and Sundays, it was already dark, which was lucky for the band, as their live show would not worked near as well in daylight. I was MIGHTY impressed by this band, VERY impressed. I really like what I have heard from them on cd (I have heard all their albums a fair amount, and the latest, The Silent Force, quite a lot), and whilst I didnt expect them to be a let down live, I wasnt expecting a fantastic show, and that is what I got. A HUGE sound, fantastic presence from the front woman, and the whole band really, and amazing pyro, light show, and screens made them a sight to behold. Up there with AC/DC as the biggest and best live production I have seen (though admittedly, I am still yet to see KISS!). Highlights were the opener (which is also the opener from the latest album) See Who I Am, the ballad Jillian, and Forsaken, which are all from The Silent Force. Brilliant live show, I was left very impressed, and much more of a fan, when I was already fond of their music.
Megadeth were up next on a marquee stage, which I found strange at first, as they were a co-headliner, and were not on the main stage, and werent even in one of the last two time slots, but it all started to make sense afterwoulds. Within Temptation needed the main stage for their production, and it was better to have Megadeth on a little earlier, rather than playing into the wee hours of the morning like the last bands of the night! Thank the metal gods the Megadeth were in a marquee though, because it generated one of the best gig experiences I had had in my life to date. The energy, the sound and the crowd were all electric. Megadeth SLAYED live, and put in a performance that put their Melbourne gig a few months earlier (which I really enjoyed!) to absolute shame. More energy on stage from Dave than I have ever seen him with, a KILLER sound, an insane yet fun as all hell crowd and a fantastic set list made this one of my favourite gig experiences ever. Hard to pick highlights, as the whole show was unreal, but I will have to go with my crowd surf during In My Darkest Hour, as it is a fav Deth song, and it was a great surf, I was up there for yonks and got dumped over the barrier really well. Awesome.
After Megadeth, I was pretty knackered, so I sat on the lawn at the back of the crowd and listened to System Of A Downs set. I was pretty tired by this point, I had only had 7 and a half hours sleep in the previous 62 hours! (I just worked that out I woke up at 9:30am on Wednesday, and only had 4 and a half hours Wednesday night, and 3 on Thursday night). Although it was harder to tell, because I wasnt getting into them, but I am pretty sure System Of A Down werent as good as they were at both their shows in Melbourne earlier in the year. More of the new material in the set didnt help all that much either, not to say I dont like it, but a shorter festival set should have had a better spread I think. They did still sound good though. Good band. After a rest on the grass, I tried to wake up a bit and made my way to marquee 1 again for the last performance of the night, Nevermore. I made it to the second row as the crowd gathered, but it wasnt a very large crowd, as I think most people were in the other marquee for Kreator. It was a very hard decision as to which I would choose, but I went with Nevermore, and whilst I am sure Kreator are awesome live as well, I was happy with my choice, as Nevermore SLAYED as well! My main disappointment here was that they were on so late and I was SO drained from the previous few busy days and lack of sleep, that I was half asleep while I was watching them. Half asleep while watching Nevermore you say? Exactly, that shows just how fucked I was. I didnt really know what to expect from them live, as to date I hadnt even heard one live recording from the band, but they were really great, and I would love to see them again one day when I am fully alert! My other criticism here is that they played a few new songs which I was not familiar with (as the album isnt out yet), and it was hard to get into them at all. Hell, it was hard to get into the songs I love, when I was half asleep. Two of the songs still sounded great though, and the other, which they closed with (a bad move IMO), the title track from the forthcoming album, was really epic and very long, very hard to get into without having heard it, but it DID show that the album will have promise, as it sounded good. The Heart Collector was easily the highlight from Nevermore, and possibly a highlight from the whole festival. Fantastic song that was brilliant live, and the singalong factor was in full force. It also helped to liven me up a bit hehe. After Nevermore, I stumbled back to the tent in full zombie fashion and fell asleep seconds after hitting the pillow. What a day.
Day 2
I was so surprised how well I slept whilst camping at a metal festival. I guess the days took it out of me so much that sleep came easily. I slept better that night than I did the 2 previous, having got at least 6 good hours. Rock.
When I made it to the festival grounds, the first band on that I was keen to catch was Soilwork on the mainstage. They sounded great and put in a good performance, and a really good solid and diverse setlist, but it was just hard to get into such a full on band so early in the day, in full daylight. Even if they were in a marquee at that time it would have helped, but I think if they played a marquee late at night, they would have been one of my highlights. They did a great job with their shitty slot though, kudos to them.
After a bit of a gap which involved some more merch purchasing, and a trip to the metal market, where I bought the Demons & Wizards Touched By The Crimson King digipack and Nevermore Enemies Of Reality remastered for very cheap, the next band to catch was Kamelot, but I did not get back in time from taking my purchases to the tent, and missed a large chunk of their set. I think I only saw three songs, and heard another one while I was walking back to the festival site. This was possibly my biggest disappointment for the festival, as what I DID see was fantastic, and I heard many people say Kamelot were amongst their highlights. Khan sounded incredible, and closing with March Of Mephisto from the new album was one of my highlights for the festival. Just a shame I missed the rest.
Then it was time to catch Amon Amarth. Now, the same with a few other bands, I was a fan of Amon Amarth before this performance, and I was sure I would not be disappointed with them, but still didnt really know what to expect. Fuck. Me. This band was incredible! Their live atmosphere was second to none, and they sounded amazing! Very strong setlist, great crowd participation, and again, such energy and atmosphere, made Amon Amarth a highlight. When the band started playing I knew I was in for something special, and when frontman Johan Hegg hit the stage, the crowd erupted. It was amazing to see such a huge response to a band so many people back home arent familiar with, and where bigger bands get less of a reaction. Highlights in this set were the band and frontman hitting the stage during An Ancient Sign Of Coming Storm, the awesome live version of, and synchronized windmills, during Pursuit Of Vikings, and closing with Death In Fire! Raw live metal at its best!
After a break for lunch, to the soundtrack of Hatebreed on the mainstage (who actually werent bad, and I think are pretty good at doing what they do, though I am not really a fan of what they do), I headed back to the marquee to catch Samael. I have really gotten into Samaels second lastest album Eternal, and bits and pieces of their other stuff, but was more interested in just seeing a good German industrial band live, as it is a genre I am a big fan of but dont know all that much about, and will check out further in the future. At first, Samael had the worst live sound of any band on the festival, which is likely due to their different sound/style to other bands, and lack of sound check not being used to iron things out, but it was all fixed up during the second or third song, and the rest of the performance sounded fantastic. It was an atmosphere I loved being in, seeing a German industrial metal band at a Belgian metal festival, I just soaked it up and loved it. Highlights were definitely Moongate (the opener from the latest album, Reign Of Light) and The Cross (from Eternal). Awesome.
Now it was time for some metal fun in the sun, as Accept were about to hit the main stage! And that is exactly what Accept were, fun! Great setlist, with classics like Fast As A Shark, Balls To The Wall, and London Leatherboys, being hits with the huge crowd that was singing along, but it was Princess Of The Dawn that was my highlight. Fantastic song that created a great atmosphere and the crowd singing along topped it off. A great highlight of the festival.
The next band I caught was Slayer on the mainstage. Their backdrop looked cool, and a massive crowd had drawn and was obviously keen for some brutal thrash, and technically the performance was all it could have been, with a great setlist to boot, but something was just lacking for Slayer, and they failed to make an impact like they are renowned for doing. Despite the better setlist, I am sure I enjoyed them more when I saw them on the Diabolus tour, though admittedly I was much more of a fan then. It also didnt help that I had seen Megadeth the previous night, and was yet to see even better performances! I do admit, seeing them open with South Of Heaven was both unexpected and awesome though. During Mandatory Suicide (which I think was their second last, or third last song), I made my way to the second marquee (the only time I would enter the second marquee) for what was to be something incredible. As I sat and waited, I heard Slayer thrash out Angel Of Death in the background as their closer, and then stood to take a spot for the last band of the night I would see, the classic line up of Anthrax! Even as the intro tape hit, the band took the stage, then thrashed into Among The Living, I still had no idea what was coming. I dont hesitate in saying Anthrax stole the entire show, they put in the best live performance of the whole festival, and possibly the best live performance I have ever seen. I am not even a big fan of Anthrax, and for years never bothered checking them out as I didnt like what I had heard of them years earlier. More recently, I gave their older stuff a listen, and began to really get into it, and got excited about seeing them at the festival. Even without knowing all the material played, and the songs I did know I didnt know all the lyrics to, I still had a fantastic time. I think I enjoyed Megadeth more, but that is just because I am so familiar with all their material and am such a fan, but I think Anthrax took it up a notch. Perhaps it is the reunion thing, but the energy they had on stage was just electric, it was amazing. The lineup just really gelled, and took it to a level most bands have no idea of. If they hadnt just toured Australia before the festival, I would be counting down until they do, and would be front row centre with bells on when they got here. I am so glad I checked them out again and made the effort to catch them over In Flames, whom I originally planned on seeing. Highlights from Anthrax were probably Antisocial and the crowd during Indians, and Scott Ians tribute to Dimebag was fantastic as well. Well done lads, you won over this metalhead, and I am now a converted fan.
After that lively performance and insane crowd, I was worn the fuck out, so I passed on any ideas of catching any of Slipknots performance on the mainstage (whom I saw at the Big Day Out earlier in the year anyway), and staggered back to my tent for a nice rest and sleep.
Day 3
When I arrived at the festival site on Sunday morning, Dragonforce had already hit the stage, and were belting out My Spirit Will Go On, which sounded great! They were a great band to have on the mainstage during the day, good fun, entertaining and exciting metal to kick off the day. They finished with Valley Of The Damned, which was great, as it is a fantastic song. Good band, whos highlight was the incredibly energetic performance put in while they played at ultra fast speeds at such high skill. Awesome.
The next band I wanted to catch was Axel Rudi Pell, but the was a change to the schedule for reasons I was unsure of at the time (it was hard to make it out during the announcement, since it was in Dutch!), so I took the opportunity to take one last look at the market and merch stands, and made a couple more purchases, then took them back to the tent. When I got back to the festival grounds, Axel Rudi Pell had just taken the stage, apparently they had had trouble with their tour bus! Lucky that they did make it and that I was still able to catch them, as they turned out to be one of the biggest surprises of the festival. I liked what I had heard from them previously, but they sounded SO much better live, and were a fantastic band to catch on the mainstage during the day, much the same as Dragonforce. Again, the vocals soared through the mix, and the vocalist Johnny Gioeli sounded amazing, a fantastic singer. The highlight here was Masquerade Ball, a great song, which was fantastic live. I shall check this band out further now.
After Axel Rudi Pell, I grabbed some lunch and ate it whilst listening to Nuclear Assault playing in the marquee. I heard a few songs, which sounded like some tasty thrash, but didnt really get into it. I then watched the first few songs from Yngwie Malmsteen, who I must say like him and his music or not, is pretty fucking incredible on the guitar. His playing was possibly a festival highlight, it was really awesome to hear. After watching a few songs, I then made my way to the signing tent again where Dark Tranquillity were set to appear. While waiting, I listened to the rest of Malmsteens set, which sounded pretty good.
The next band I caught was Dio on the mainstage, whom I made an effort to get up nice and close for. I might not have seen him otherwise! They opened with Killing The Dragon, which I wasnt really expecting. They covered some classics, like Holy Diver, Stand Up And Shout, Man On The Silver Mountain, and Heaven And Hell, so that was good, but overall I must say, one of my only disappointments for the festival was Dios setlist. They through in a drum solo and a guitar solo, which probably went for 4 minutes or so each, and could have been replaced with two or three songs. If it was a Dio show I would have no problem with that, but with a festival set you want as much as you can get in the short time slot, and Dio disappointed me. Perhaps the old fella needed the breaks to rest or something, I dunno, but the few classics they played did make it a good experience. Heaven And Hell was brilliant to hear live, and a festival highlight, I just kept thinking they could have played say Rainbow In The Dark and Last In Line instead of the solos, and it would have been a great set, because the sound and performances were great. Oh well, if that was the biggest complaint for the whole three days, all was well.
After Dio, I quickly made my way to the marquee in which Dark Tranquillity were taking the stage to as I arrived. Just as I made it to my spot a couple of metres from the front, they launched into The Treason Wall, and the marquee was full of energy. Fantastic live band, which I already knew after having seen their Live Damage DVD a few times previously, so it was no real surprise that I really dug their performance. A good solid setlist, and I was very happy to see the inclusion of Through Smudged Lenses, a favourite of mine from the latest album. Punish My Heaven and Wonders At Your Feet also went off. It is about time they made their way to our shores, and I wont be missing a Melbourne gig if they do. I left during the second last song though, as I wanted to get a good spot for the final two bands I would be seeing, Dream Theater and Iron Maiden. I suspect they would have closed with Final Resistance, which would have been awesome to see, but thats ok.
After fighting through some tight crowds and pissing a few people off (I heard some muttering and likely insults in other languages, but wasnt particularly offended, as I had no idea what was being said, and I also got Coke thrown on me, oh well), which was the only time anything like that happened for the whole festival actually, I got a decent spot to check out Dream Theater. They opened with The Root Of All Evil from the new album, and although I am yet to get the new album and hadnt heard any of the material from it, I enjoyed listening to it, more so than with any other band playing material I was unfamiliar with. It also really made me keen to get a hold of it, and I look forward to when I do. One of the other new songs played was Panic Attack, which also sounded great, and I am not sure which the third one was. One highlight of their set was Under A Glass Moon, which I wasnt even aware they played live, and also the inclusion of Lie, which made me REALLY happy, as I have been disappointed at the lack of Awake material they play live in the past, and was sure they wouldnt include any in a short festival setlist. Both songs sounded fantastic. Another highlight was the medley of both Pull Me Under and Metropolis. I expected one or the other (didnt really expect Metropolis), but they put in a lot of both, which was nice, and speeding up Pull Me Under heaps towards the end was interesting haha, I hadnt heard that before. Endless Sacrifice and As I Am were fantastic as well, I loved hearing stuff from Train Of Thought, probably my favourite album of theirs. Great setlist even despite the material I wasnt familiar with, and great sound and performances. James sounded awesome as awesome.
Between Dream Theater and Maiden was probably the worst part of the whole festival, over an hour of standing in a big crowd, after being metalled out for the past three days, being dehydrated to the max and just fucked in general, and counting down to Maiden. To my surprise, the time actually went fairly fast, but it was still horrible. Oh well, I have waited longer at a gig before, so it wasnt too bad.
Then, as it was getting dark, and 5 to 10 minutes before they were due to come on, the Ides Of March intro tape kicked in, and Iron Maiden were about to take the stage. In a split second, all of a sudden the band was on the stage and they had launched into Murders In The Rue Morgue! I didnt even notice them come out, they just appeared there, playing. Through Another Life, and into The Trooper, I just realised, here I was, second row (I had made my way forward even more during and just after Dream Theater), in front of 80,000 people (we heard the next day that the crowd watching Maiden was over 80,000), watching Iron Maiden play The Trooper. Fuck it was awesome. During The Trooper was the most insane any crowd was for the whole festival, and whilst it was a crazy mosh, it still wasnt near as bad as a few I have experienced here in Aus, and a few rows back it was still pretty tame. After The Trooper I made my way back a bit, because it actually didnt sound as good and wasnt as loud up the front. I probably should have gone back further, as the sound was still not as good as it could have been, but that was ok, it was still killer. They belted through classic after classic, and I loved it all. You forget about all your soreness and dehydration while you are watching an awesome show, and it doesnt matter. Highlights from Maidens set were first of all, Revelations. This was always one of my favourite Maiden songs, and one I was sure I would never hear live since it isnt included in set lists from more recent years gone by. Hearing it live and hearing the crowd interaction was just like I was inside the Live After Death album, it was incredible. The next highlight was Bruces Scream For Me!! bit leading into Die With Your Boots On. What a rush. I also really liked the devil they used during The Number Of The Beast, it looked cool. The stage props werent tacky, like on most previous tours, and the devil looked kinda badarse I also dont think I have ever enjoyed Run To The Hills as much as I did singing along to it live. Awesome. Another noteworthy point, is that Bruce really is an awesome front man, possibly the best ever. He is funny, he sounds awesome, and puts so much energy into the performance. What a legend. After closing with Sanctuary, we were treated to a decent fireworks show behind the main stage, which marked the end of the festivities! Until next year (I wish!), Graspop Metal Meeting was over.
I think of the entire festival, the biggest highlight, the biggest difference maker, and the most impressive part, was the live sound that was achieved. The sound for nearly every band was better than anything I have heard in Australia, and it made every performance seem like a standout. The vocals were always brilliantly clear in the mix, which really made a lot of the vocal performances shine through. Guys like Khan and Belladonna just sounded amazing and flawless, and it wasnt just because they are brilliant at what they do, it was also attributable to the sound showcasing their talents. Another point about the set up of the festival was the stages. They were all really high, which was fantastic as you can pretty much see the stage well from anywhere. I could see all of the mainstage for every band, except Maiden, because I was up close and the crowd was tighter, but every other band, the view was perfect. Also add in the crowds being so much more pleasant and looser and being able to comfortably get where ever you want to be, but still get in there and have fun when you want to, and it made for a fantastic gig atmosphere. These things were the best part of the festival for me, they made every band I saw enjoyable. Awesome.
Day 1
After one metro train ride, one country train ride, one shuttle bus ride, and one long walk, I made it from the hostel to the camp site entrance, where I was to stand and wait for about 2 hours all up.
When we finally got into the campgrounds we found a spot for our tent and pitched it then made our way to the festival site. We got through the line at the gates and walked into the festival to hear Alter Bridge had already started their set, playing the title track from their debut album One Day Remains, which seemed to be their opener. It was great to see a large crowd had already gathered to get into them, in front of the main stage. I was worried they might not be accepted by the masses, as they were possibly the least metal band on the bill, but there was a large crowd getting into them. Possibly because they were one of the first bands and we were all excited, I dont know. Either way, they played a strong set of all the heavier songs from the album, and a killer cover of Deep Purples Highway Star.
After Alter Bridge had finished, I took the opportunity to buy all the merch I wanted early on and took it back to the tent, as there was no bands on that I was particularly interested in. I then headed back to the festival site and got up the front of the marquee stage that Grave Digger were due to take in around a half an hour. It was during this time, that I realised it wasnt necessary to line up so early for a band you really want to see, as you can get anywhere in the crowd you want to be within 5 to 10 minutes of them taking the stage, and even in most crowds during the bands performances, it was really easy to move around and get where you want to be. Completely different to here in Australia.
Grave Digger hit the stage playing the title track to their latest album, The Last Supper, then launched into Excalibur and played a killer set. Chris Boltendahl is a killer front man, great stage presence, worked the crowd really well, and sounded fantastic. Having a marquee of thousands singing along to Heavy Metal Breakdown as their closer was amazing. I would be hard pressed to find a few handfuls of people in Australia who know the song and are fans of the band, but I was at home in this crowd of Euro metalheads.
After their performance, I lined up at the signing tent which Grave Digger were set to be in half an hour after their set. I listened to Papa Roach while waiting, and was stoked to get a good photo with Chris and the bands autographs. On Papa Roach, their frontmans vocals were probably the worst individual performance of the whole festival. He constantly sounded out of breath and out of time, which was a far cry from all the other amazing singers I was to hear over the next few days.
After this, I caught a little of Metal Church, just hearing them rather well in the background really, but they had a great sound, and again, amazing vocals and vocal sound. I was beginning to realise by this point, that the sound of each band was beyond anything I had heard before. Whether they were mixed better or what, I am not sure, but each band sounded fantastic, with the vocals loud and clear, and not lost in the mix, like I often hear at gigs.
Within Temptation hit the main stage next, and due to Fridays schedule being later than Saturday and Sundays, it was already dark, which was lucky for the band, as their live show would not worked near as well in daylight. I was MIGHTY impressed by this band, VERY impressed. I really like what I have heard from them on cd (I have heard all their albums a fair amount, and the latest, The Silent Force, quite a lot), and whilst I didnt expect them to be a let down live, I wasnt expecting a fantastic show, and that is what I got. A HUGE sound, fantastic presence from the front woman, and the whole band really, and amazing pyro, light show, and screens made them a sight to behold. Up there with AC/DC as the biggest and best live production I have seen (though admittedly, I am still yet to see KISS!). Highlights were the opener (which is also the opener from the latest album) See Who I Am, the ballad Jillian, and Forsaken, which are all from The Silent Force. Brilliant live show, I was left very impressed, and much more of a fan, when I was already fond of their music.
Megadeth were up next on a marquee stage, which I found strange at first, as they were a co-headliner, and were not on the main stage, and werent even in one of the last two time slots, but it all started to make sense afterwoulds. Within Temptation needed the main stage for their production, and it was better to have Megadeth on a little earlier, rather than playing into the wee hours of the morning like the last bands of the night! Thank the metal gods the Megadeth were in a marquee though, because it generated one of the best gig experiences I had had in my life to date. The energy, the sound and the crowd were all electric. Megadeth SLAYED live, and put in a performance that put their Melbourne gig a few months earlier (which I really enjoyed!) to absolute shame. More energy on stage from Dave than I have ever seen him with, a KILLER sound, an insane yet fun as all hell crowd and a fantastic set list made this one of my favourite gig experiences ever. Hard to pick highlights, as the whole show was unreal, but I will have to go with my crowd surf during In My Darkest Hour, as it is a fav Deth song, and it was a great surf, I was up there for yonks and got dumped over the barrier really well. Awesome.
After Megadeth, I was pretty knackered, so I sat on the lawn at the back of the crowd and listened to System Of A Downs set. I was pretty tired by this point, I had only had 7 and a half hours sleep in the previous 62 hours! (I just worked that out I woke up at 9:30am on Wednesday, and only had 4 and a half hours Wednesday night, and 3 on Thursday night). Although it was harder to tell, because I wasnt getting into them, but I am pretty sure System Of A Down werent as good as they were at both their shows in Melbourne earlier in the year. More of the new material in the set didnt help all that much either, not to say I dont like it, but a shorter festival set should have had a better spread I think. They did still sound good though. Good band. After a rest on the grass, I tried to wake up a bit and made my way to marquee 1 again for the last performance of the night, Nevermore. I made it to the second row as the crowd gathered, but it wasnt a very large crowd, as I think most people were in the other marquee for Kreator. It was a very hard decision as to which I would choose, but I went with Nevermore, and whilst I am sure Kreator are awesome live as well, I was happy with my choice, as Nevermore SLAYED as well! My main disappointment here was that they were on so late and I was SO drained from the previous few busy days and lack of sleep, that I was half asleep while I was watching them. Half asleep while watching Nevermore you say? Exactly, that shows just how fucked I was. I didnt really know what to expect from them live, as to date I hadnt even heard one live recording from the band, but they were really great, and I would love to see them again one day when I am fully alert! My other criticism here is that they played a few new songs which I was not familiar with (as the album isnt out yet), and it was hard to get into them at all. Hell, it was hard to get into the songs I love, when I was half asleep. Two of the songs still sounded great though, and the other, which they closed with (a bad move IMO), the title track from the forthcoming album, was really epic and very long, very hard to get into without having heard it, but it DID show that the album will have promise, as it sounded good. The Heart Collector was easily the highlight from Nevermore, and possibly a highlight from the whole festival. Fantastic song that was brilliant live, and the singalong factor was in full force. It also helped to liven me up a bit hehe. After Nevermore, I stumbled back to the tent in full zombie fashion and fell asleep seconds after hitting the pillow. What a day.
Day 2
I was so surprised how well I slept whilst camping at a metal festival. I guess the days took it out of me so much that sleep came easily. I slept better that night than I did the 2 previous, having got at least 6 good hours. Rock.
When I made it to the festival grounds, the first band on that I was keen to catch was Soilwork on the mainstage. They sounded great and put in a good performance, and a really good solid and diverse setlist, but it was just hard to get into such a full on band so early in the day, in full daylight. Even if they were in a marquee at that time it would have helped, but I think if they played a marquee late at night, they would have been one of my highlights. They did a great job with their shitty slot though, kudos to them.
After a bit of a gap which involved some more merch purchasing, and a trip to the metal market, where I bought the Demons & Wizards Touched By The Crimson King digipack and Nevermore Enemies Of Reality remastered for very cheap, the next band to catch was Kamelot, but I did not get back in time from taking my purchases to the tent, and missed a large chunk of their set. I think I only saw three songs, and heard another one while I was walking back to the festival site. This was possibly my biggest disappointment for the festival, as what I DID see was fantastic, and I heard many people say Kamelot were amongst their highlights. Khan sounded incredible, and closing with March Of Mephisto from the new album was one of my highlights for the festival. Just a shame I missed the rest.
Then it was time to catch Amon Amarth. Now, the same with a few other bands, I was a fan of Amon Amarth before this performance, and I was sure I would not be disappointed with them, but still didnt really know what to expect. Fuck. Me. This band was incredible! Their live atmosphere was second to none, and they sounded amazing! Very strong setlist, great crowd participation, and again, such energy and atmosphere, made Amon Amarth a highlight. When the band started playing I knew I was in for something special, and when frontman Johan Hegg hit the stage, the crowd erupted. It was amazing to see such a huge response to a band so many people back home arent familiar with, and where bigger bands get less of a reaction. Highlights in this set were the band and frontman hitting the stage during An Ancient Sign Of Coming Storm, the awesome live version of, and synchronized windmills, during Pursuit Of Vikings, and closing with Death In Fire! Raw live metal at its best!
After a break for lunch, to the soundtrack of Hatebreed on the mainstage (who actually werent bad, and I think are pretty good at doing what they do, though I am not really a fan of what they do), I headed back to the marquee to catch Samael. I have really gotten into Samaels second lastest album Eternal, and bits and pieces of their other stuff, but was more interested in just seeing a good German industrial band live, as it is a genre I am a big fan of but dont know all that much about, and will check out further in the future. At first, Samael had the worst live sound of any band on the festival, which is likely due to their different sound/style to other bands, and lack of sound check not being used to iron things out, but it was all fixed up during the second or third song, and the rest of the performance sounded fantastic. It was an atmosphere I loved being in, seeing a German industrial metal band at a Belgian metal festival, I just soaked it up and loved it. Highlights were definitely Moongate (the opener from the latest album, Reign Of Light) and The Cross (from Eternal). Awesome.
Now it was time for some metal fun in the sun, as Accept were about to hit the main stage! And that is exactly what Accept were, fun! Great setlist, with classics like Fast As A Shark, Balls To The Wall, and London Leatherboys, being hits with the huge crowd that was singing along, but it was Princess Of The Dawn that was my highlight. Fantastic song that created a great atmosphere and the crowd singing along topped it off. A great highlight of the festival.
The next band I caught was Slayer on the mainstage. Their backdrop looked cool, and a massive crowd had drawn and was obviously keen for some brutal thrash, and technically the performance was all it could have been, with a great setlist to boot, but something was just lacking for Slayer, and they failed to make an impact like they are renowned for doing. Despite the better setlist, I am sure I enjoyed them more when I saw them on the Diabolus tour, though admittedly I was much more of a fan then. It also didnt help that I had seen Megadeth the previous night, and was yet to see even better performances! I do admit, seeing them open with South Of Heaven was both unexpected and awesome though. During Mandatory Suicide (which I think was their second last, or third last song), I made my way to the second marquee (the only time I would enter the second marquee) for what was to be something incredible. As I sat and waited, I heard Slayer thrash out Angel Of Death in the background as their closer, and then stood to take a spot for the last band of the night I would see, the classic line up of Anthrax! Even as the intro tape hit, the band took the stage, then thrashed into Among The Living, I still had no idea what was coming. I dont hesitate in saying Anthrax stole the entire show, they put in the best live performance of the whole festival, and possibly the best live performance I have ever seen. I am not even a big fan of Anthrax, and for years never bothered checking them out as I didnt like what I had heard of them years earlier. More recently, I gave their older stuff a listen, and began to really get into it, and got excited about seeing them at the festival. Even without knowing all the material played, and the songs I did know I didnt know all the lyrics to, I still had a fantastic time. I think I enjoyed Megadeth more, but that is just because I am so familiar with all their material and am such a fan, but I think Anthrax took it up a notch. Perhaps it is the reunion thing, but the energy they had on stage was just electric, it was amazing. The lineup just really gelled, and took it to a level most bands have no idea of. If they hadnt just toured Australia before the festival, I would be counting down until they do, and would be front row centre with bells on when they got here. I am so glad I checked them out again and made the effort to catch them over In Flames, whom I originally planned on seeing. Highlights from Anthrax were probably Antisocial and the crowd during Indians, and Scott Ians tribute to Dimebag was fantastic as well. Well done lads, you won over this metalhead, and I am now a converted fan.
After that lively performance and insane crowd, I was worn the fuck out, so I passed on any ideas of catching any of Slipknots performance on the mainstage (whom I saw at the Big Day Out earlier in the year anyway), and staggered back to my tent for a nice rest and sleep.
Day 3
When I arrived at the festival site on Sunday morning, Dragonforce had already hit the stage, and were belting out My Spirit Will Go On, which sounded great! They were a great band to have on the mainstage during the day, good fun, entertaining and exciting metal to kick off the day. They finished with Valley Of The Damned, which was great, as it is a fantastic song. Good band, whos highlight was the incredibly energetic performance put in while they played at ultra fast speeds at such high skill. Awesome.
The next band I wanted to catch was Axel Rudi Pell, but the was a change to the schedule for reasons I was unsure of at the time (it was hard to make it out during the announcement, since it was in Dutch!), so I took the opportunity to take one last look at the market and merch stands, and made a couple more purchases, then took them back to the tent. When I got back to the festival grounds, Axel Rudi Pell had just taken the stage, apparently they had had trouble with their tour bus! Lucky that they did make it and that I was still able to catch them, as they turned out to be one of the biggest surprises of the festival. I liked what I had heard from them previously, but they sounded SO much better live, and were a fantastic band to catch on the mainstage during the day, much the same as Dragonforce. Again, the vocals soared through the mix, and the vocalist Johnny Gioeli sounded amazing, a fantastic singer. The highlight here was Masquerade Ball, a great song, which was fantastic live. I shall check this band out further now.
After Axel Rudi Pell, I grabbed some lunch and ate it whilst listening to Nuclear Assault playing in the marquee. I heard a few songs, which sounded like some tasty thrash, but didnt really get into it. I then watched the first few songs from Yngwie Malmsteen, who I must say like him and his music or not, is pretty fucking incredible on the guitar. His playing was possibly a festival highlight, it was really awesome to hear. After watching a few songs, I then made my way to the signing tent again where Dark Tranquillity were set to appear. While waiting, I listened to the rest of Malmsteens set, which sounded pretty good.
The next band I caught was Dio on the mainstage, whom I made an effort to get up nice and close for. I might not have seen him otherwise! They opened with Killing The Dragon, which I wasnt really expecting. They covered some classics, like Holy Diver, Stand Up And Shout, Man On The Silver Mountain, and Heaven And Hell, so that was good, but overall I must say, one of my only disappointments for the festival was Dios setlist. They through in a drum solo and a guitar solo, which probably went for 4 minutes or so each, and could have been replaced with two or three songs. If it was a Dio show I would have no problem with that, but with a festival set you want as much as you can get in the short time slot, and Dio disappointed me. Perhaps the old fella needed the breaks to rest or something, I dunno, but the few classics they played did make it a good experience. Heaven And Hell was brilliant to hear live, and a festival highlight, I just kept thinking they could have played say Rainbow In The Dark and Last In Line instead of the solos, and it would have been a great set, because the sound and performances were great. Oh well, if that was the biggest complaint for the whole three days, all was well.
After Dio, I quickly made my way to the marquee in which Dark Tranquillity were taking the stage to as I arrived. Just as I made it to my spot a couple of metres from the front, they launched into The Treason Wall, and the marquee was full of energy. Fantastic live band, which I already knew after having seen their Live Damage DVD a few times previously, so it was no real surprise that I really dug their performance. A good solid setlist, and I was very happy to see the inclusion of Through Smudged Lenses, a favourite of mine from the latest album. Punish My Heaven and Wonders At Your Feet also went off. It is about time they made their way to our shores, and I wont be missing a Melbourne gig if they do. I left during the second last song though, as I wanted to get a good spot for the final two bands I would be seeing, Dream Theater and Iron Maiden. I suspect they would have closed with Final Resistance, which would have been awesome to see, but thats ok.
After fighting through some tight crowds and pissing a few people off (I heard some muttering and likely insults in other languages, but wasnt particularly offended, as I had no idea what was being said, and I also got Coke thrown on me, oh well), which was the only time anything like that happened for the whole festival actually, I got a decent spot to check out Dream Theater. They opened with The Root Of All Evil from the new album, and although I am yet to get the new album and hadnt heard any of the material from it, I enjoyed listening to it, more so than with any other band playing material I was unfamiliar with. It also really made me keen to get a hold of it, and I look forward to when I do. One of the other new songs played was Panic Attack, which also sounded great, and I am not sure which the third one was. One highlight of their set was Under A Glass Moon, which I wasnt even aware they played live, and also the inclusion of Lie, which made me REALLY happy, as I have been disappointed at the lack of Awake material they play live in the past, and was sure they wouldnt include any in a short festival setlist. Both songs sounded fantastic. Another highlight was the medley of both Pull Me Under and Metropolis. I expected one or the other (didnt really expect Metropolis), but they put in a lot of both, which was nice, and speeding up Pull Me Under heaps towards the end was interesting haha, I hadnt heard that before. Endless Sacrifice and As I Am were fantastic as well, I loved hearing stuff from Train Of Thought, probably my favourite album of theirs. Great setlist even despite the material I wasnt familiar with, and great sound and performances. James sounded awesome as awesome.
Between Dream Theater and Maiden was probably the worst part of the whole festival, over an hour of standing in a big crowd, after being metalled out for the past three days, being dehydrated to the max and just fucked in general, and counting down to Maiden. To my surprise, the time actually went fairly fast, but it was still horrible. Oh well, I have waited longer at a gig before, so it wasnt too bad.
Then, as it was getting dark, and 5 to 10 minutes before they were due to come on, the Ides Of March intro tape kicked in, and Iron Maiden were about to take the stage. In a split second, all of a sudden the band was on the stage and they had launched into Murders In The Rue Morgue! I didnt even notice them come out, they just appeared there, playing. Through Another Life, and into The Trooper, I just realised, here I was, second row (I had made my way forward even more during and just after Dream Theater), in front of 80,000 people (we heard the next day that the crowd watching Maiden was over 80,000), watching Iron Maiden play The Trooper. Fuck it was awesome. During The Trooper was the most insane any crowd was for the whole festival, and whilst it was a crazy mosh, it still wasnt near as bad as a few I have experienced here in Aus, and a few rows back it was still pretty tame. After The Trooper I made my way back a bit, because it actually didnt sound as good and wasnt as loud up the front. I probably should have gone back further, as the sound was still not as good as it could have been, but that was ok, it was still killer. They belted through classic after classic, and I loved it all. You forget about all your soreness and dehydration while you are watching an awesome show, and it doesnt matter. Highlights from Maidens set were first of all, Revelations. This was always one of my favourite Maiden songs, and one I was sure I would never hear live since it isnt included in set lists from more recent years gone by. Hearing it live and hearing the crowd interaction was just like I was inside the Live After Death album, it was incredible. The next highlight was Bruces Scream For Me!! bit leading into Die With Your Boots On. What a rush. I also really liked the devil they used during The Number Of The Beast, it looked cool. The stage props werent tacky, like on most previous tours, and the devil looked kinda badarse I also dont think I have ever enjoyed Run To The Hills as much as I did singing along to it live. Awesome. Another noteworthy point, is that Bruce really is an awesome front man, possibly the best ever. He is funny, he sounds awesome, and puts so much energy into the performance. What a legend. After closing with Sanctuary, we were treated to a decent fireworks show behind the main stage, which marked the end of the festivities! Until next year (I wish!), Graspop Metal Meeting was over.
I think of the entire festival, the biggest highlight, the biggest difference maker, and the most impressive part, was the live sound that was achieved. The sound for nearly every band was better than anything I have heard in Australia, and it made every performance seem like a standout. The vocals were always brilliantly clear in the mix, which really made a lot of the vocal performances shine through. Guys like Khan and Belladonna just sounded amazing and flawless, and it wasnt just because they are brilliant at what they do, it was also attributable to the sound showcasing their talents. Another point about the set up of the festival was the stages. They were all really high, which was fantastic as you can pretty much see the stage well from anywhere. I could see all of the mainstage for every band, except Maiden, because I was up close and the crowd was tighter, but every other band, the view was perfect. Also add in the crowds being so much more pleasant and looser and being able to comfortably get where ever you want to be, but still get in there and have fun when you want to, and it made for a fantastic gig atmosphere. These things were the best part of the festival for me, they made every band I saw enjoyable. Awesome.
Sounds awesome!
But I have to say, comparing Anthrax classic lineup in Adel to Megadeth in Melb... Megadeth took the biggest poo on Anthrax, even though 'Thrax were really good. Just can't see what's so special about them I guess.
Glad you had fun \m/
But I have to say, comparing Anthrax classic lineup in Adel to Megadeth in Melb... Megadeth took the biggest poo on Anthrax, even though 'Thrax were really good. Just can't see what's so special about them I guess.
Glad you had fun \m/
I have never been as big a fan of Anthrax as Megadeth either, but fuck they had something extra that night, they were awesome. As I said, 'Deth were far better than they were in Melbourne as well, and easily put on the second best performance of the festival I think, and probably my most enjoyed.
