Donnerstag, 15. Jun 2006, 18:57

Whilst this was the 4th time I have been to a 'proper' festival, it is only the second time I have been to all 3 days of one, and my first camping experience. As such, I was rather more excited (and nervous!) than I should of been.

My first band of the weekend was Amplifier who had some strong melodies and grooves. They provided a nice introduction to the weekend.
3/5
Throwdown were somewhat more intense, and provided the first of many Dimebag dedications. Whilst I don't deny he is a legend, he is being the metal Kurt Kobain, which is a bit sickening. Anyway, Throwdown were evry enjoyable, with a great atmosphere in the Dust-Bowl/Snickers Tent.
4/5

Strapping Young Lad were reconmended to e by someone with a very good record of suggestions. Sadly this tiem he failed. I felt SYL spent too much time trying to be heavy, whilst providing little music substance and technicality. Not impressed.
2/5

Bleeding Through were one of the few bands I had actually planned to see, as I am really enjoying Hardcore at the moment. They didn't dissapoint, and provided a really intense half hour show which they were clearly loving.
4/5

My Awesome Compilation were bland and boring, american inspired pop-rock. I had heard a lot fo good things about them and had been very interested to see them. Ah well.
2/5

Soulfly were a bit dissapointing. Of course, Roots was very entertaining, but the whole performance lacked some of the energy and rawness of 2 years ago. A pity, as they are a great band.
3/5

Cathedral provided a bit of a retro break, with some old school metal. Very good fun, and they had a great stage presence.
4/5

Coheed & Cambria were also below par, although this was due to the non-appearance of their drummer. They seemed rather lost on stage, and it was hard to believe they were the same awesome power who I saw at the Academy a few months ago. I was very dissapointed, as I had been really looking forward to seeing them again.
2/5 :(

Deftones are a band I have never been sure if I liked or not, and I had hoped that seeing them live would help me decide. It didn't.
3/5

Atreyu however did provide me with some entertainment, with a very tight show. However, it just wasn't gripping enough, with too many songs running into each other. I'd like to see them at a venue to get a real idea of their live set.
3/5

Tool! Tool! Yes, Tool! Wow! I can't believe I have seem Tool! They played a short set, but got in a good mix of old and new tracks, with some great/disturbing visuals. For those foolish enough not to be close to the front, the visuals meant you wouldn't actually be able to see the band, but that wasn't a problem for me. Awesome!
5/5