Sonisphere 2010

In Alice Cooper, Rammstein and Iron Maiden Sonisphere have undoubtedly three of the biggest headliners of the summer, especially given the 50,000 capacity - significantly less than their major competitors Download. But do they live up to the hype, and do the lower bands on the bill suffer as a result of these high expectations?

I arrive on-site just in time to see Delain attempt to start the event with a bang on the second stage (the biggest open on the Friday Night). It’s clear the band are trying their hardest to impress, but the excited festival-goers’ ears are still adjusting and they’ve yet to have their first moshpit of the weekend, so the tunes unfortunately fall rather flat.

Thankfully the same cannot be said for the next band up, Turisas, the often-proclaimed ‘Battle Metal’ band, complete with facepaint, animal skins and possibly dangerous weaponry. A large portion of the audience is evidently already aware of their material and they are the first band of the weekend to really get the crowd moving. Their upbeat, sing-a-long style is well-received with the crowd and they seem to convert a lot of people throughout the show with no alternatives to watch. The only downer of this set is their refusal to play their most popular song, a cover of the Boney M hit ‘Rasputin’. This news goes down poorly and the crowd becomes slightly hostile for the rest of the set. Nevertheless, a good time is had by all.

A quick look around the merchandise and food stalls is had after this, before catching Europe close their set with ‘The Final Countdown’. This goes down incredibly well and registers one of the biggest positive responses of the entire weekend, with the festival’s almost entire capacity roaring back every word. Following their set, Gary Numan enters to mild applause. He doesn’t seem to get as big a reaction as one would expect, but it’s satisfactory. He plays mostly new material, dropping in the hits ‘Cars’ and ‘Are Friends Electric’.

As the audience try to decide whether Gary’s few hits were worth the wait, the headliner’s stunning set is being built. Soon enough, as it is getting dark, it is time for Alice Cooper to takes to the stage. Incredible song after incredible song, his tunes are accompanied by a comfortably flash and expensive stage show. Cooper dazzles and wows the crowd for almost two hours, even playing ‘School’s Out’ twice, the second time as an additional encore to make sure the crowd goes home happy. The very definition of a crowd-pleaser, and a perfect way to start off the Sonisphere experience.

The Saturday starts with Lacuna Coil on the Saturn Stage. The crowd, still exhausted from Friday night’s partying, are somewhat cold to them, but the presence of the ever-gorgeous Christina Scabbia is enough to hold the attention of near half the people there. Musically they’re on top form, and are sure to have impressed those that were watching.

Next up are Anthrax, a surefire favourite due to their metal credibility, which should chime well with the masses of Iron Maiden fans in the crowd. Last year they played the festival with a different frontman, John Bush, but this time it’s Joey Belladonna’s turn. Their material definitely seems more suited for a metal crowd, akin to the classic Thrash-era of which they’re so often associated. They go down a storm with the massive crowd they amass.

The next band of the day are the magnificent Apocalyptica. Their unique brand of metal played on cello’s definitely helps them stick out on the bill and they shine under the graying clouds, playing a mix of Metallica and Pantera covers, along with original songs. Interestingly, the original songs garner just as much, if not more support than the covers which made them famous; a great sign for the European four-piece.

An unusual change of pace sees the arrival of Good Charlotte on the main stage. Many people will have forgotten about this band, and if their new material is anything to go by this is for good reason. Furthermore, it seems that beyond Benji Madden pleading with the women in the crowd to sleep with him after the show multiple times (really) the performance is slightly slow. Thankfully though, there’s just enough old material to keep the crowd entertained for the duration.

The biggest surprise of the weekend comes from Placebo, who play an incredible set that entertains both new fans and old immensely. Accompanied by a film playing behind them on a screen, their stunning performance puts the bands before them to shame. They even play ‘Scared Of Girls’ for the first time in nine years, and a very well-received Nirvana cover (‘All Apologies’).

After a lengthy build-up to put the headliners monstrous stage set into place, Rammstein are, by all definitions of the word, outstanding. Everyone knew Sonisphere’s headliners were strong, but the majority had underestimated, myself included, just how special they are. Rammstein’s performance has an incredible quality of songs. Their stage show is even grander, complete with multiple outfit changes, fireworks, flamethrowers and explosions aplenty; a solid, five-star headlining performance.

The final day of action kicks off with a spoken word set from Henry Rollins. The tent is completely jammed, leaving only room at the very back doors to stand, so some of the atmosphere is lost, but the words never-the-less seem fantastic and inspirational. Rollins blends humor and political ideology perfectly to deal with people who might not have their brains fully functioning yet, and as a result goes down incredibly well with the sobering crowd.

CKY follows, the first band of the day to play on one of the two big stages. Their set seems muted and marred with slight sound problems, but they struggle through both this and the tension of an early morning, slightly hostile crowd to play a fairly good set. Next, Brian Posehn starts his show in the Bohemia tent. One of the few stand up comedians at the event, he seems nervous but impresses nonetheless. Possessing fantastic comic timing, it’s hard to compare him to the musical acts of the festival, but if pushed it would have to be said that he was better than the majority of them, and was one of the hilarious highlights of the festival.

Watching from a reasonable distance, it’s probably safe to say I don’t capture the full atmosphere of Alice In Chains’ set; the forty-five minutes they perform feel more like two hours. The songs are repetitive and the band do not seem connected with the crowd at all, leading to a rather muted and disappointing performance. A trip back to the Bohemia tent it is then, just in time to catch Converge. Their blistering and borderline psychotic hardcore music sends their moderately-sized audience into a frenzy, leaving many bruises and cuts in it’s wake, the moshpits that constantly open grow more intense as the show goes on. They’re on top form, with the sound difficulties sending frontman Jacob Bannon into a rage, heightening their performance.

When Iron Maiden take to the stage, they undoubtedly have the biggest crowd and the loudest ovation of the weekend; their appearance a rare delight, it’s only improved by Maiden’s unusual set list choices. Whilst only playing songs from 2000 onwards, with the exception of a few hits at the end, leads to a few irate fans, the atmosphere remains hot thanks to Bruce Dickinson’s unwavering charisma. When hits like ‘Fear Of The Dark’ eventually do come, they’re received with open arms. A fantastic ending to an incredible festival, with a solid bill from top to bottom.