måndag 18 Jun 2012, 0:38
So I came to the fest to see two of my favourite bands - Megadeth and Motorhead, with Motorhead being my all time favourite band. I missed Reborn and Metrock, but came just in time for Lake of Tears. Now, I'm going to comment on a few points of the festival.
The prices: The prices were over the top, to say the least, but I think that's normal for a festival with such big names headlining it. I mean, a T-Shirt for 30 euro, a cup of water for 2 euro and so on and so on. You had to be packed with money, but it wasn't needed, actually, so the price about stuff like food and water, unless you weren't into the concert, weren't of concern. 7/10
The atmosphere: To quote a Pantera song, it was goddamn electric. Fantastic. It had a big time feel and the people were pumped up. At first there were a lot of people, but not as much as the time went on. The atmosphere was awesome and you could just feel the adrenaline rushing in your body and you think: "I'm so ready for this." 8/10
The crowd: The crowd was absolutely unbelievable. Fans of every band everywhere. Although W.A.S.P. got cheered the least, the crowd was absolutely balistic about Megadeth and Motorhead. At one time there were melees, which added a sense of danger when being on a concert of thrash titans. And not to mention that the crowd sang along at about almost every Megadeth song. I tore my lungs, honestly. And at Motorhead, the crowd was in ecstasy and it was unbelievable. 9/10
The bands themselves:
Lake of Tears - the first band I got to see and one of the four main eventers, they made quite the good show. My friends told me that they were awful when they saw them live last year, but after yesterday, I think they're quite good. The only downside is that their vocalist is a tad bit wooden, if you ask me. The crowd cheered Lake of Tears and a bunch of the people obviously knew their songs. There were some technical mistakes with the guitar, though. Overall, a good show by LoT. 7.5/10
W.A.S.P. - I don't like these guys. At all. The glam image and everything, they have VERY identical songs that are too poppy for my taste. The crowd reflected that, too. Not to mention that W.A.S.P. were late with 30 minutes AT LEAST. Their songs were nothing special, some nice tunes, but that was it overall. I give credit to their stage presence, however. 5/10
Megadeth - Now we're getting to the meat of the program! Megadeth were epic through and through. From start to finish. With minor glitches in Mustaine's voices which I barely heard, thanks to the yelling of yours truly, Megadeth probably removed the sour taste which W.A.S.P. left in my mouth.
Never Dead
Head Crusher
Hangar 18
Trust
In My Darkest Hour
She-Wolf
Dawn Patrol
Poison Was the Cure
Sweating Bullets
A Tout Le Monde
Angry Again
Whose Life (Is It Anyways?)
Public Enemy No. 1
Symphony of Destruction
Peace Sells
Encore:
Holy Wars… The Punishment Due
The setlist was absolutely astonishing. I didn't expect some of the more underrated (but awesome) songs off Rust in Peace and I was surprised. I was pleased. I tore my lungs. It was absolutely awesome and the crowd sang the entire time, even during the solos! I didn't expect Angry Again, which was probably the only song when the crowd was mildly quiet, but nonetheless, an astonishing concert! And the encore with Holy Wars was unbelievable. Mustaine was in top form and I was worried that he'd screw up like in that night in Sweden. Boy, was I wrong. Untoppable. 9.5/10
Motorhead - Just when you thought that Megadeth had the best performance, Motorhead comes in! Seriously, I thought that Mustaine and company blew the already non-existent roof off, but then came out Lemmy with the shortest break out of the other bands. Seeing my idol in person was unbelievable and breath-taking.
Bomber
Damage Case
I Know How to Die
Stay Clean
Metropolis
Over the Top
One Night Stand
The Thousand Names of God
The Chase Is Better Than the Catch
The One to Sing the Blues
Just 'Cos You Got the Power
(incl Drum Solo)
Going to Brazil
Killed by Death
Encore:
Ace of Spades
Overkill
There was an unbelievably good guitar solo by Phil as well. The drum solo was absolutely epic, longer than I expected, but it was just mind-blowing. Kudos to Mikkey Dee!
The set list was phenomenal, all of the crowd favourites were in there and I don't have to comment the last two songs. We all know about them. I had lost about 1/2 of my voice and I was exhausted when Motorhead came in, but I found the power to yell even more, headbang and jump like it's a derby of sorts. Even more so than I did with Megadeth.
Now, being unbiased on my favourite band, they did their job absolutely magnificently. The concert was perfect. No wonder why Lemmy is God. God is God, Lemmy is Lemmy, point taken. Motorhead's vocalist is better, mind you.
And his performance showed. His voice was in top form and the instruments were loud as hell, which was the charm of Motorhead. The songs were done with absolutely no mistakes and were just great, to say the least.
The crowd was unbelievable about Motorhead and it'd make Metallica look like dwarves in front of the pioneers. There were girls held up on shoulders, beer cups flying around, melees no less, everybody were headbanging. I'm sorry, Mustaine, but the students never pass the master. 10/10
Overall: A great concert which was headlined by two of metal's best bands and I'm sure some of the other bands that were playing before LoT were promising. I'm anxiously waiting what Romexpo will give us next year.
Pros:
+ Motorhead; Megadeth
+ Great atmosphere
+ Unbelievable crowd
+ Top notch performances
+ Audible instrument sound
Cons:
- Prices
- W.A.S.P.
- LoT's wooden vocalist.
Overall grade: 8/10. Great concert.