The first ever Sonisphere tour came to an end over the weekend. With headliners Metallica and Linkin Park supporting this new festival, Sonisphere really kicked off in style and now has a lot to live up to. Clash was there too, rocking out and reviewing a selection of bands over the metal weekend.
First to open the Apollo Stage (a.k.a. the main stage) on Saturday were Alien Ant Farm. Yes, you remember – their first hit was a cover of ‘Smooth Criminal’. With the lead singer now sporting a full head of hair, he admitted to the audience: “It’s been a long time”. The crowd happily welcomed them back with excitement and tons of energy.
Taking Back Sunday were in full-on action, hence the microphone swinging antics that front man Adam Lazzara is known for. They ploughed through their set, playing a selection of hits from their albums, but the highlight had to be hit single, ‘Make Damn Sure’.
Clash also wanted to check out the fairly new band Blackhole, on the Jagermeister stage. Being the brother of both Frank and Stephen from critically acclaimed punk band Gallows, you could say that Richard has a lot to live up to. With not a large crowd, it was interesting to see what front man Richard Carter would do to draw in a bigger audience… Thinking literally, and more importantly physically, on his feet, he jumped over the barrier into the arena to draw people toward the stage, causing quite an eruption. Performing whilst battling a circle pit? He must be mad.
With day one drawing to an end, everyone was waiting for Linkin Park to finish off the day nicely. Playing a selection of hits from their three albums including ‘Faint’ and ‘Crawling’, it struck us how much we were looking forward to album number four. Then, to everyone’s surprise, lead vocalist Chester invited his new band up onto the stage. He wanted to give the UK a preview of this new band Dead By Sunrise.
A look of dismay was across everyone’s faces. Fans were here to see Linkin Park. So, was this a bad move from Chester? We’ll soon find out in September, announcing to the crowd that’s when his “new band” would be touring. Thankfully, it didn’t drag for too long until Linkin Park arrived back on stage and ended their roaring set with their dedicated fans supporting them.
Sunday’s crowd showed great anticipation for the ‘Special Guests’ on the Apollo stage. We all knew who it was going to be, but what we weren’t sure is if they were actually going to turn up. The crowd were chanting harmoniously: “Machine F*cking head!” and then finally surfaced.
They made it quite clear that they were just here for the fans, and certainly not for a catch-up with Fred Dirst. Rumours spread that they initially pulled out of the bill as Limp Bizkit were put above them.
After watching Machine Head, it was only fair to check out Limp Bizkit. With Fred Dirst constantly shouting at the crowd: “I just don’t give a fuck”, you could clearly see that this was the band’s inspiration when writing the majority of their songs and maybe as reaction to Machine Head’s attitude. Engaging with the fans, Fred approached the barrier with security guards hoisting him up and sung to the idolising fans. I should also mention the ever-changing themed outfit sported by guitarist Wes Borland. He didn’t let us down; completely covered, head to toe in white and sporting a blue grinning wide smile. Very odd, much like the overall respect Limp Bizkit seem to get from the crowd for becoming more arrogant than ever.
Next up, a trip over to the ‘Bohemia’ tent to check out Canada’s own Cancer Bats. Sounds lethal? They certainly were. The crowd exploded and it didn’t take very long for frontman Liam to jump into crowd. Cancer Bats continued to keep the crow pumping and played a fantastic set which included their debut album title track and single favourite, ‘Hail Destroyer’. Following this Clash headed toward the Saturn Stage to watch headliners Avenged Sevenfold. The barriers looked like they were about to burst when A7X arrived on stage. Frontman Matt Shadows and the band were on top form, giving the audience a blinding show. It really is frightening how long he can pre-long his screaming voice for…
Finally, to end the festival, the band everyone had been waiting for, Metallica. Arriving on stage 15 minutes late, the crowd didn’t mind being kept waiting. The crowd erupted with joy as soon as they graced the stage, and in response Metallica gave all they had (which to be fair was an awful lot). They dedicated the set to the “hardcore Metallica fan that is here and now”. They ended Sonisphere Festival in true style, and put on an epic show. A truly awesome weekend of metal. Roll on 2010.
Words by Chloe Gillard
Check out ClashMusic’s Sonisphere photo gallery HERE.
