Sonisphere 2009 - Metallica, Slipknot, Korn, Down and others
The first edition of Sonisphere worldwide took place in Nijmegen, Holland, and featured 7 bands. Two weeks before there was a first cancellation with The Sword. On the morning of the festival Mastodon also cancelled their gig. With a rainy day forcasted 10.000 people travelled towards Nijmegen for the festival. In the end it turned out to be a nice day with expensive beer and some cool shows.
PendulumSince the first two starters were a no-show, Pendulum had the honour of kicking off the first ever Sonisphere festival. Too bad kicking off meant that Pendulum started at 11:15, which is a shame for a band like this. They should be seen (under the influence of a lot of alcolhol!) at night or late in the evening so people can dance without pants. Because of this, they didn't quite convince everyone at Sonisphere. It's not their fault, they were just a bit misplaced. (Londoncustoms)
KamelotThe second spot today was reserved for the power metallers of Kamelot. And they were also the first band of the day using pyrotechnics. The people who know me, know that I simply love special effects. Too bad the band only used the flame throwers in the beginning and a little bit during their set. During the set the band had some serious sound (no bass and loud drums) issues which were badly influenced by the wind during the entire day. It was cool to see the band invited Epica frontwoman Simone Simmons on stage for their song 'The Haunting'. Overall a decent performance by the second band of the day. (Buzzin Hornet)
Lamb of GodPure American Metal, or at least, that's what their backdrop says. Lamb of God played a nice selection of new and 'older' material, with classics like 'Ruin', 'Laid To Rest' and 'Omerta' mixed up with 'Redneck' and of course 'Set To Fail' from their latest album, Wrath. The sound on Sonisphere wasn't all that, and a lot of guitarwork went lost in the wind. All in all, the band just wasn't able to sound like Pure American Metal, but it seemed like the band was enjoying themselves and just tried to make the best of it.
Like clockwork, the band ended their set with 'Black Label', including the already famous Wall of Death that goes with it. Probably the first real big pit going on for today. Lamb of God is definitely able to play to a big crowd, but only if the sound is right. I still prefer to see them in a sweaty club! (Carn)
DownIt's nice to see Phil and his homies. However, the crowd never really got into it. Down showed some great skill, better than the bands that played before them, but maybe people just miss Dime so damn much, that they can't really rock it at a Down show. The show ended with an a-capella version of 'Stairway To Heaven' and Phil left halfway into it. I guess he was a bit pissed at a crowd that wasn't as alive as he hoped. All in all, just not that good a show. (Londoncustoms)
Korn
Sometimes at festivals you get the chance to step into the DeLorean and head back to your teens. Back in the day when Korn was still cool, Korn was huge and everyone that hates them now, loved them back then. Korn (or what's left of them) played a tight show with enough old songs to keep it interesting. All the classics were there, like 'Falling Away From Me' and 'Got The Life'. The new drummer is excellent and Jon Davis still has one of the best throats in metal. They ended their show playing the first song of their first record, 'Blind', and the crowd loved it! Korn also knows that old Korn is better than new Korn I guess. (Londoncustoms)
SlipknotThe first band where a part of the crowd finally went a bit apeshit was Slipknot. Who else? One might say! Slipknot played a great set including their best songs from (to me) their best album, The Subliminal Verses. Too bad the sound was pretty fucked up, leaving the guitars and vocals way behind from the rest of the band. And can anyone tell what clowns do when they're banging their percussions? I couldn't notice at all and besides, Slipknot already has one of the best metal drummers out there! All in all it was a great show and let's face it; watching Slipknot is always nice! (Londoncustoms)
MetallicaThen it was time for 'Tallica! The stage got rearranged, because you just can't let 'Tallica play on the exact same stage as any of the other bands. 9 pm sharp, 'Blackened' kicked everyone's ass that had been playing their songs that day! Metallica was tight as fuck and their sound somehow was way better than it had been throughout the day. Coincidence? Who will say? After a couple of oldies, 'Tallica left the stage, because it had to bomb and lit up by fire and fireworks during the intro of the always lovely 'One'. They played oldies and songs of the new record ('Judas Kiss', 'The Day That Never Comes' and 'Cyanide'), but Load, Reload and St. Anger kinda fell by the wayside. (Which in St. Anger's case is a good thing, I kinda like the other two.)
Metallica tied it up with classic 'Seek And Destroy' after playing for two hours. They played great, but always somehow the feeling arises that James and Rob are having all the fun. Kirk and Lars seem like they think playing in a band in front of 10.000 people is a job. It's not, it's a fucking privillege! (Londoncustoms)