The View from the Circle Pits of Sonisphere Day 2

Review by Mark Taylor
Photos by Moonshayde

There wasn’t much time to sleep off the hangovers as the music started early on the Saturday. In the Bohemia marquee tent Swedish metallers Enforcer were onstage at the ungodly time of 11.30am. Sensibly staying off the booze for a few hours, Enforcer soon woke me up with their fine set of Maidenesque tunes.

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Fellow Swedes Sabaton opened up the Saturn stage, bringing us their songs in the art of war. Thirty minutes wasn’t enough from this great band, who in years to come will be a major headline draw.

Back at the Bohemia tent, English thrashers Evile were stunning us with tracks from their “Infected Nations,” a highly polished, professional set.

The great thing about Sonisphere is that the bands on the two main stages don’t collide with each other’s stage times. The Saturn and Apollo stages are situated at either end of the festival site, making it look like a giant football pitch. As soon as one band finishes, it only takes a few minutes’ walk between the stages before the band at the other end starts their set, making life simple for those who want to witness all the major acts.

I wanted to check out Lacuna Coil who have two singers, the beautiful Cristina Scabbia and the male Andrea Ferro, but the Italian goth proggers failed to ignite me today in the broad daylight.

The first circle pit of the day started with Soulfly who delivered a brutal set. Max Cavalera only has to say the word to start a revolution. Playing a couple of songs from his former band Sepultura, “Refuse/Resist” caused pure chaos AD in the pits.

Anthrax were one of two bands from the big four of thrash that were to perform at the UK version of Sonisphere. With Joey Belladonna back on the vocals for a third time in their history, Anthrax drew a massive crowd for an early afternoon slot. A set full of their eighties classics delighted those down the front who were caught in a mosh.

There was more circle pit fun for those who wanted their craniums crushed. Fear Factory bulldozed their way through a rifftastic set. Dino Cazares is back in the band on guitar after settling his disputes with singer Burton C Bell. The band were greeted like long lost heroes today.

A band that has gone through a transformation in recent years is Papa Roach, who have shred their nu-metal tag for some glam rocking sounds. The first real party of the day with frontman Jacoby Shaddix complimenting the ladies on their “magnificent titties.”

Those who haven’t witnessed Apocalyptica before may find it highly entertaining that a bunch of talented guys can get up on stage with their cellos and string along a few of their own tunes as well as covering some Metallica, but for me the irony wore out years ago. It’s funny only for the first time and I can’t understand why some fans still get strung along by this.

Never really been a big fan of the American punk explosion over the last decade but the student rock tunes of Good Charlotte was a surprising winner today, drawing one of the loudest crowds. Even a cover of “So Lonely” by The Police didn’t deter anyone from joining in the fun. Good Charlotte will be basking in the lifestyles of the rich and famous for a long time yet.

The re-united Skunk Anansie were one of my favourite bands of the weekend. Singer Skin was screaming her lungs out as if her life depended on it, looking like an extra from a futuristic sci-fi movie. Some of the songs punched with their heaviness but they also grabbed our full attention with their quieter moments with “Charity” and “Weak,” which saw Skin surf-diving into the crowd on many occasions. A 10/10 performance.

Those saints of Los Angeles, Motley Crue, were to bring the glitz and glamour to the party and they certainly made the doctor feelgood with a set consisting of tracks from the first four multi-selling albums. Mick Mars standing still, delivering some killer riffs, Tommy Lee pounding at the back, Nikki Sixx looking mischievous and Vince Neil out front soaking up the sun rays whilst checking out the local talent. For many the party started and stopped with the Crue.

Rammstein brought with them enough pyrotechnics to shame the organisers of the Beijing Olympics and that wasn’t the only chink in their armour. The band looked like members of a mad slaughterhouse who had a giant exploding penis shooting out over the adoring audience. Singer Till Lindermann had a powerful light bulb in his mouth (don’t try that one at home, kids) before riding out over the crowd on a dinghy. However, the industrial songs, sung in their native German tongue, got a little lost to those at the back of this festival field. Best seen at one of their own shows where Rammstein will complete an autopsy on you.

With music carrying on into the night in the smaller stages I retired to the backstage area for my first real drinking session of the day, listening to some classic rock tunes. A bit of AC/DC soon had me doing the duck walk without spilling a drop.

Once I had run out of energy, it was time to retire back to my tent where we carried on having a light night tipple whilst my friend Jimmy and I talked about the history of Deep Purple in some depth. My other friends around us had crashed out and were mumbling something to the effects of “Shut the F up,” but I did have the decency to tell strangers that walked past to be quiet, as my friends were trying to sleep. I’m all heart, me.

As we smoked our last cigarette and no more were forthcoming with daylight rising, it was time to sleep, ready for another day.

Mark Taylor finishes up his Festival Review and Photosets by Moonshayde will include Alice In Chains, Slayer, Iron Maiden, The Cult and Iggy & The Stooges!