### Sonisphere Festival: 2010-06-24

#### 15/10/10 || Khlysty

You know, I was VERY weary about writing a review for Sonisphere Festival, where the “Big Four” of thrash metal played together in such a gig for the first time in, what? 25 years? I mean, what can really anyone say about seeing Anthrax, Megadeth, Slayer and Metallica live in the same setting, besides “HOLY FUCK!!!” or “JESUS H. CHRIST ON A TRIKE!!!” or “MAN, OH, MAN, OH, MAN!!!” or “MY PENIS IS SO LONG THAT I HAVE TO TIE IT TO FOUR KNOTS, JUST TO FIT IT IN A PAIR OF COMFORT FIT TRACK PANTS!!!” or something like that?

Actually, I toyed with the idea of not writing nothin’ ‘bout it, but then I relented and started thinking ‘bout how to best present this once-in-a-lifetime live experience. For almost eight hours I was there, sometimes under torrential rain, moshing my brains out, seeing live the best ‘80s thrash bands doing their best to entertain and rock the fuck out of almost 35.000 people of every age and stature in life. How the hell do you explain this experience to others? Well, after great deliberation, I decided to do the simplest thing possible: tell you about what I think of each band’s performance and let you decide for yourselves.

Just for the record, the festivities opened with Bullet For My Valentine and Suicidal Angels (which I didn’t catch) and Stone Sour (who did nothing for me), so I shan’t write anything else about them and go straight to the main course, presenting you each band in order of appearance.

Da Noo Yawkas was the first of the “Big Four” to play live, at the second stage of the festival, and all I can say is that they remain a powerful and entertaining band to catch up live. Scott Ian was in fine form, doing his moshing best to heat up an already primed audience, and the performance was super-tight and fully enjoyable. As far as Joey Belladonna –a name that creates intense debate among metalheadz- is concerned, his voice seemed okay, although during a coupla times when he needed to reach higher notes, it was obvious that he was straining.

Anyway, the show was energetic, while the combination of “Indians” with Black Sabbath’s “Heaven And Hell”, done by the ‘Thrax as a tribute to the late great Ronnie Dio, was a truly emotionally intense moment. As for the audience, even though it had started to rain, it was enthusiastic to say the least, throwing t-shirts and shoes (!) up in the air. The set list was satisfactory and the band seemed to really enjoy the whole deal. All in all, Anthrax was the best primer possible for what was about to come. So, they rightly deserve an…

8/10.

Set list Caught In A Mosh Got The Time Madhouse Be All, End All Antisocial Indians/Heaven And Hell Medusa Only Metal Thrashing Mad I Am The Law

Have you ever had the chance to catch Slayer live? If so, then you probably know that their shows are one of the most intense experiences a fan can live through. I mean, shit, what the hell’s WRONG with these guys? Are they for fucking real? How can they be so goddamn aggressive and passionate, so late in their career? And, yes, their latter records are not exactly mindblowing, but, fucking hell, are these dudes angry! The Slayers took the stage like a bunch of rabid wolverines and for almost one hour they beat us to a fucking pulp, never letting the intensity levels fall below the reds.

Even newer songs, like opener “World Painted Blood”, turned into the hands of the Slayers in a live setting to monstrous thrashers, while the classics, which the band interspersed throughout the whole of their set, were, ehm, well, classics. I mean, what can anyone say about listening live “Angel Of Death”, “Mandatory Suicide”, “Raining Blood” or “Seasons In The Abyss”, besides that they are defining moments of the evolution of extreme music? As for the band, besides stating that they were not exactly kinetic during the show, there’s nothing else to say: we’re talking here about four extremely talented and devoted individuals, who can outplay everyone in metal today. Bottom line? Slayer is still one of the most vital and important bands out there and their shows –judging from what I saw in the festival- are mindblowingly intense. So, they get what they deserve, a…

9,5/10.

Set list World Painted Blood Jihad War Ensemble Hate Worldwide Seasons In The Abyss Angel Of Death Beauty Through Order Disciple Mandatory Suicide Chemical Warfare South Of Heaven Raining Blood

I think that Megadeth was treated unfairly by the organizers of Sonisphere. I mean, how could they stand the comparison, after the onslaught of Slayer? Megadeth’s technical thrash needs clear minds to be rightfully appreciated and, while the band was pretty good, they paled in comparison to the Slayers. Anyway, their fanbase was enthusiastic and they seemed to enjoy quite a lot of popularity among the metalheadz that rushed toward the second stage, when Dave and the boyz took it. Me, I stood a bit back and tried to listen to the music and appreciate the compositional skills and execution of some of the best thrash songs ever put to tape.

Was I blown away by ‘Deth? Nah, not really. Did I like the show? Defi-fucking-nitely yes. And, although some songs didn’t click for me, the overall impression was that Megadeth seems revitalized –what with Ellefson back in the fold and Rave Dave having cleaned up his act- and hungry for action. I just feel that their show paled when compared with the hyper-fast, hyper-technical, hyper-intense show Slayer put before them. Anyway, nice try guys, so you get from me a cookie and a really high…

7,5/10.

Set List Holy Wars Hangar 18 Headcrusher In My Darkest Hour Skin O’ My Teeth A Tout Le Monde Hook In Mouth Τrust Sweating Bullets Symphony Of Destruction Peace Sells Holy Wars, Reprise

Although I think that Metallica shouldn’t have been the headliners of Sonisphere (Slayer should’ve been chosen for this…), I cannot but praise –HUGELY- their professionalism, power and rapport with their audience in a live setting. Playing for the most part under torrential rain, Metallica never let us down, never killed the impetus they created with the five classics they chose to open their show with. And, even though James’ stage banter became a bit, ehm, corny, the band was really on fire during the whole of their appearance.

Of course, even a rapid check of their set list shows that Metallica chose to play it safe, playing only a few songs from their latter records and concentrating on their classic period (hey, no-one expects them to play “St. Anger”…). The band is super-experienced and it shows and their live presence is really commanding: even though everybody was wet to the bone, no-one even thought of leaving the Terra Vibe park (where Sonisphere took place); instead, everybody (yours truly included) sang, shouted, cheered and generally had a good time. And, even if Metallica has become a corporate entity, the band still has great flair when playing live and, thusly, they deserve an…

8,5/10.

Set list Ecstasy Of Gold (intro)/Creeping Death For Whom The Bell Tolls Ride The Lightning Harvester Of Sorrow Fade To Black That Was Just Your Life The End Of The Line Sad But True Welcome Home (Sanitarium) Broken, Beat And Scarred One Master Of Puppets Blackened Nothing Else Matters Enter Sandman Breadfan Motorbreath Seek And Destroy

P.S.: the rain destroyed my camera, thus, no pictures from the festival, okay?

- Who: Anthrax, Slayer, Megadeth and Metallica (plus some other dudes that I didn’t care about…)

- When: June, the 24th, 2010.
- Where: Terra Vibe Park, Malakasa, Athens, Greece.