Sonisphere 2009 Festival Review

Posted on 11. Sep, 2009 by Rich in Blog, Music, featured

It was the line-up that drew me to Sonisphere this year. The last two years I have remained faithful to Download, and haven’t been disappointed. But with the line-up bearing a close resemblance to my all time favourite band list including the likes of Metallica, Linkin Park, Mastodon, Lamb of God, Heaven and Hell, Machine Head, Nine Inch Nails, Coheed and Cambria and Avenged Sevenfold I simply could not miss it. So off I trudged to the famous Knebworth House for a weekend of metal, beer and general festivities.

The first thing that struck me arriving on Friday evening was the excellent organisation. Upon arrival in Stevenage I only had a 20 metre walk and a 15 minute wait for a bus to pick us up for the 10 minute ride to the festival where we were dropped off at the front gate. Without much ado we were through the gate and some ushers immediately guided us to a fantastic camping spot 20 metres from the band arena. Not to rip into download because I have only ever had a wonderful time there but this organisation was a very pleasant surprise. I spent the rest of the evening perusing the various stalls with a beer in hand and later drinking vodka with some friends.

Saturday At Sonisphere

Alien Ant Farm

Even though I am not particularly familiar with their music I was really looking forward to watching these guys…it’s no mean feat successfully covering Michael Jackson. What a great band to open up the festival. They sounded tight, the vocals were exceptional and they had great stage presence. I was pleasantly surprised to hear a progressive element to some of their songs. Bass player definitely stole the show with all sorts of onstage antics and some super high singing.

Taking Back Sunday

Not normally my cup of tea, they were very disappointing live. They sounded muddy and lacked stage presence; I went to the beer tent after three songs.

Anthrax

I almost headed back to the beer tent after their first two songs, luckily I stayed. These veteran thrashers may have taken a while to warm into their set but once they got going it was great, old school metal. John Bush was obviously relishing being back with the band and I quite enjoyed his vocal style. I only wish that they’d played death rider.

Bjorn Again

The Abba cover band. Hell, these guys even looked exactly like to original band! I was dubious. What was an Abba cover band doing at a hard rock festival? They were lots of fun. The covers were immaculate and they knew how to get a crowd going, no bottling thankfully! To top it all off they played a fantastic cover of Enter Sandman. I never expected to see a band turn a bunch of metal heads into softies…to their credit they still got a circle pit going (albeit a gentle one).

Coheed & Cambria

One of my favourite bands of the last year, a delicious mixing of stylish old school metal riffs, great guitar playing and some catchy pop goodness. Too bad they couldn’t bother to turn up on time. I’d positioned myself nicely in the front row only for it to be announced that they were arriving late and playing in the bohemia tent at the same time as Heaven and Hell. Japanese band FACT filled the gap. My initial reaction as they walked onto the stage in masks was one of horror…I was expecting extreme Japanese black metal (either that or a clown show). They came out and played some progressive metal that was genuinely interesting and quite unlike anything I’ve heard before. An interesting mix of hardcore with electronica and some catchy synth riffs. Considering that they were slotting in for a band of Coheeds’ status they put on a great show.

Heaven and Hell

So I had a choice to make, Coheed or Heaven and Hell. I decided to head back to my tent for a short rest to clear my head before I decided who I’d rather watch. And that’s when the rain started; it was coming down in buckets. Luckily my girlfriend packed my wellies and a rain Mac. Not so luckily my (£10 Sainsbury’s) tent began to leak. After panicking for a few minutes I set to work on some emergency repairs just as Heaven and Hell opened up with neon knights. Luckily I could hear pretty well from my camping spot. By the time I’d completed my repair job the rain had mostly stopped so I headed into the arena still unsure which band I was going to watch. That decision was made for me however as the Bohemia tent that Coheed was playing in was so jam packed that not even a midget could squeeze in there. I think that I got the better deal. As the main stage came into view I was blown away by their magnificent set.

For those who don’t know, Heaven and Hell is the incarnation of Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio handling the vocal duties. He took over from Ozzy after he was kicked out of the band in 1979. Their latest release The Devil You Know is fantastic: dark, gloomy, heavy as can be and everything I expect from Tony Iommi.

Their live show was inspiring, powerful and was jus t the tonic after dealing with a leaking tent. The veterans really know how to rock. The power that Dio generates at his age is incredible and he is undoubtedly my favourite metal vocalist. It’s too bad I missed a big chunk of their set but I’m glad that I got to sing along to Heaven and Hell.

Linkin Park

Filled with the metallic joy imparted to me by Iommi and co I set myself to await Linkin Park. Not a band that I would count as one of my favourites it is hard not to acknowledge that Linkin Park have a load of great songs and are undoubtedly very talented musicians. I warmed myself up with some vodka and got ready to do some proper bouncing. They unleashed an utterly flawless set, each move must have been rehearsed, yet they were totally natural. Chester Bennington stole the show and in my drunken state I was jumping about like bugs bunny on speed whilst attempting to scream along with each and every song. It was fantastic. Only negative was Chester using the encore to showcase his side project which was a little pathetic after Linkin Park had been dominating.

Sunday at Sonisphere

Paradise Lost

First up on Sunday I was looking forward to some old school English metal. Not to be. These guys sounded un-tight with a poor vocal performance by Nick Holmes sending me on another early trip to the beer tent.

Rise to Remain

The first time I saw these guys was in front of 10 people in a small pub in Camden. Bruce Dickinson’s’ son’s band put on a brutal show. Exceptionally tight deathcore hit the spot and although Austin sounds nothing like his father Bruce I suspect that we will be hearing a lot more from this band in the near future with their recent singing to transcend records. If you’re into brutal stuff then check them out.

Lamb of God

This is one of the bands that I keep going back to. Their catalogue is so strong, and their live shows are incredibly tight, especially given the technical nature of their music. Lamb of God were on form as always, even with Buz McGrath from unearth filling in for Mark Morton (who was away to spend time with his wife and first child) I could hear each chop clearly. Randy Blythe is a fantastic front-man and it didn’t take long before he had the crowd frothing at the mouth. That’s the only negative with watching Lamb of God…the fans have a tendency to ‘fight dance’ and some show a propensity to attempt to punch everyone in their vicinity. Annoying as this can be when you just want to watch a great band rock out it took nothing away from a great show from the metallers from Virginia.

Mastodon

The latest album from Mastodon, Crack the Skye, is my favourite release of 2009. That said, while Mastodon are undoubtedly tight live their vocals can leave much to be desired. Given the extra emphasis placed on vocals in Crack the Skye I wasn’t sure what to expect. This was definitely one of the performances of the festival. The vocals from both Brent and Troy were spot on and they sounded fantastic. I could have stood there listening to them play for many more hours.

Feeder

Another band whose repertoire I’m not very familiar with. For me they started a bit slowly but once they got going I quite enjoyed their set. It was also a nice break from the metal assault.

Machine Head

I really like The Blackening. It’s a very good metal album. Through the Ashes of Empires is also a solid metal release. Before that they released rap metal trash, not even good rap metal. In all my previous outings Machine Head have been great live, tight with lots of energy and they put on a good show. Too bad about their fans. Machine Head are not good enough to motivate me to stand in the middle of a crowd filled with a bunch of yobs chanting machine fuckin’ head before attempting to pummel each others faces in. Rob Flynn’s arrogance has started to annoy me too. That’s why I chose to watch this one from the back. Machine Head played well.

Their pre-festival antics of pulling out of Sonisphere because Limp Bizkit were placed higher on the bill than them annoyed me and highlighted Flynn’s arrogance. Isn’t it supposed to be about the fans? What about those who’d spent £160 on a ticket to see them play? This kind of attitude doesn’t have any place in music as far as I’m concerned and with Machine Heads rap metal history they are in no position to be ripping into Limp Bizkit. Fans chanting ‘fuck Limp Bizkit’ just seemed pathetic and highlighted why I avoid watching this band live.

Limp Bizkit

I have never been a big LB fan. But even as a metal head I have to admit that their songs have a certain charm, Wes Borland is a great guitar player and that they are exceptional live (which I first realised when they covered Metallica’s sanitarium at the MTV icons show). Also given Machine Heads reaction to them I was actually quite looking forward to watching Fred Durst strut his stuff. Borland came painted all in white and proceeded to give a lesson on how to entertain a crowd. His lithe movements around the stage never stop. It was incredible; I hardly took my eyes off him. Great guitar playing and I found that I know a lot more LB lyrics than I originally thought. To top it off DJ lethal came out in a Machine Head shirt and they praised them on a great set (perhaps with slight sarcasm). It felt a whole lot better than Machine Heads approach. Friends have told me that LB’s performance at download in June was better, but to me this was great entertainment even if I’m not rushing to buy their music.

Nine Inch Nails

Whenever I hear people talking about this band I feel like there is some secret that I’m not being let in on. Even though I can appreciate their music I find that it can be terribly dull and depressing a lot of the time. I was hoping that seeing them live would enlighten me. As the crew piled more and more lights onto the stage I was getting ready for something spectacular. An energetic and emotionally charged show backed up with some spectacular lighting. While Trent Reznor has a great stage presence and is obviously very talented I was quickly bored. The exciting moments I had envisaged were few and far between and I felt like Trent was moaning about a broken relationship for the duration of their set. I’m afraid that NIN is still a mystery to me.

Metallica

To put it simply Metallica owned. The four horsemen walked onto the stage and barely seemed to be trying as they showed just why they are the biggest metal band on the planet. Opening with blackened James Hetfield was in imperious form. This is the tightest I’ve heard Metallica since they released St Anger. The energy they bring to their show is unrivalled and it was impossible not to sing along with the classics. Kirk Hammetts soloing was spot on, I didn’t hear any of the sloppiness that he is sometimes guilty of and James seems to have left his vocal problems behind. A full pyro show including enormous fireworks going off above the stage made this a fitting and epic end to a great festival. To top it off we got to watch James being covered in pie to celebrate his birthday. Lars still can’t play one, but it seems like a trivial thing to pick on when the band put on such a fantastic show.

Who I missed

Unfortunately it just wasn’t possible for me to see every band that I wanted to, here’s a list of the bands that I wish I been able to see:

Bullet for My Valentine,
Airbourne,
Avenged Sevenfold,
Alice in Chains,
Architects
Corey Taylor,
Lauren Harris (2 Maiden offspring at the same festival!)

Weekends Highlights
Metallica blowing my head off with an incredible set.
Iommi, Dio and company still having it in them.
Tasty beer, oodles of vodka and great friends to share it with.

Weekend Lows
The dude standing next to me who decided to whip it out and pee on the floor next to me (seriously wtf!)

Tags: Airbourne, Alice in Chains, Architects Corey Taylor, Avenged Sevenfold, bullet for my valentine, Coheed and Cambria, Heaven and Hell, Lamb of God, Lauren Harri, Linkin Park, Machine Head, mastodon, Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, sonisphere, sonisphere review

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