Day 3

Well, all things have an end and there we were, driving through the picturesque landscape on our way to 'Graspop Metal Meeting' festival for the last time (until next year he he). After our arrival we noticed a lot of metalheads who had already packed their stuff and were preparing for their return. Actually, it felt that many metalheads had already left underlying the fact that SLIPKNOT was the festival's main attraction.

This date would start very early for us, since SUICIDAL TENDENCIES would come on stage at 15:25. But there was a minor conflict that day; CANDLEMASS would also perform at the same time with the longtime Thrash_Crossover US band so, we had to find the golden mean. Since, I was the one who had seen SUICIDAL TENDENCIES I insisted on their performance since I was more than sure this would be a mighty festival opening for us! And man was I right! SUICIDAL TENDENCIES literally stormed the stage after the hair rising intro of You Can't Bring Me Down. Mike Muir was (as always) a beast on stage and made the life of every photographer really difficult. He was in constant motion serving the caustic lyrics with genuine passion. All these years, Mike has been the band's driving force and this was gloriously proven by the on-stage relentless activities. In my surprise ST had a pretty loyal audience that hot midday that was familiar to the lyrics of this California based crossover act. But the energy did not stay on-stage; it went through the 'Graspop' crowd that was 'convinced' to form several mosh pits and get dirty with sweaty crowd surfing. It was more than pleasure watching and listening all the metalheads singing the chorus of War Inside My Head while Cyco Miko was pointing the mic at them. I want to see people going crazy in the SUICIDAL way, said Mike and the band hit us with Cyco Vision turning Marquee 2 into a boiling sauna. Of course, the crossover feeling ruled ST's performance with songs like the mosher Subliminal or the funky Send Me Your Money from the mighty Lights... Camera... Revolution album. We were so carried away by this excellent performance that we almost forgot about CANDLEMASS's show! So, we pushed ourselves out this boiling stage and run towards Marquee 1 to take a zip of Swedish Doom!

CANDLEMASS were near the end of their setlist by fortunately for us were performing the classic Solitude. Ok, we will see them again on October in Greece and on April 2010 in Germany but we could not say no to their trademark Doom! I have said that before; CANDLEMASS look greater with Rob Lowe than they did with Messiah. Nevertheless, the band continued on stage with the same momentum gained in King Of The Grey Islands but I have to say that they did not gather that big audience around them. After the end of the song the band left the stage and us looking a little bit sad that we lost their performance. The Swedes did return and to our surprise did a cover on RAINBOW's Long Live Rock 'N' Roll and not A Sorcerer's Pledge as we expected. Maybe they had some time restriction or maybe they did it earlier but it was a nice treat for all the remaining metalheads that time of day.

After the nice ST / CANDLEMASS 'package' we run (again) towards the Main Stage to watch the brand new supergroup CHICKENFOOT. What can someone say about the band's lineup? Satriani, Hagar, Smith and Anthony are names written with bold letters in the great book of Hard Rock so, this would be a not-to-miss performance. The all-star act entered with Joe's guitar solo that lead to the groovy Avenida Revolution that quickly caught the crowd's attention. Well, the crowd was looking like it did with JOURNEY; older ages than the average and a Rock atmosphere all around! The heat was also there but the security guys holding the water hoses did their part in getting the spirits high again. Actually, Sammy requested to get his treat of water and after some awkward moments the securities guys were convinced that he was serious. And so they did and soaked up Sammy who was simply enjoying it.

The great thing with CHICKENFOOT was that it featured famous musicians who were there just to party and play music away from egos and the need for personal exposure. What can I really say about the performance? Sammy sounded excellent, Joe was (as always) impressive with his guitar Chad was pounding his drum kit while Michael carried an VAN HALEN breeze with him! Of course, the band did all the tracks from their debut album with Oh Yeah! and Turnin' Left as my personal highlights. After the end of setlist Sammy did not leave the stage stretching out their on-stage time. He talked about his MONTROSE days and with a phase-shifting guitar (thanks wikipedia) he introduced Bad Motor Scooter closing this heart performance in the best way!

That day was absolutely no time to rest! After the additional minutes in CHICKENFOOT's gig we had to rush to Marquee 2 since DEVILDRIVER were already on stage. As I have said in the review on their new album Pray For Villains (read my review here) DEVILDRIVER can only go up on publicity terms. They seem to be in a top form that is shown in every live performance. And I believe many metalheads that day shared the same thoughts with me, since Marquee 2 was literally packed! Part of the audience was standing outside the tent since it was impossible to get into the main area and not suffocate without fresh air. The US band was looking great and solid as hell! The crowd was relentless and formed a huge mosh pit that covered all the area in front of the stage! I believe that it would be better and more violent if DEVILDRIVER would perform in the Main Stage. Dez in a energetic mode screamed his lungs out in Clouds Over California, the killer Meet The Wretched and in the new ones Pray For Villians and I've Been Sober. The sound was a little bit muffled and maybe this was due to the fact that it was too loud for this small in relation to the strong attendance. I think that this was the most violent performance I have witnessed during my time at 'Graspop' and I sure want another indoor treat by the US band!

Feeling quite satisfied with the DEVILDRIVER gig we moved to the Main Stage to catch under the flaming sun another most successful US band that listens to the name of DISTURBED. We were highly pumped for this performance since their latest album was a pleasant surprise raising pretty high our expectations. Of course, we were not the only ones who wanted to see them since the place was looking crowded and comprised mainly of younger ages. So, right on time David Draiman was brought on stage with a stretcher wearing a strait-jacket and Hannibal's mouth shield. This spread enthusiasm to young audience that started jumping-up-down under the sounds of Voices. But something was wrong; Draiman's vocals were not that good and if you don't mind my saying I think were almost out of tune. So, the gig did not start ideally -at least for me- but fortunately things got way better as the setlist progressed.

Visually DISTURBED was based on the frontman's appearance who actually did not have to do much to connect with the crowd that showed its affection from the very beginning. The setlist also featured the very good cover on GENESIS' Land Of Confusion and moved on with The Game, Inside The Fire, Ten Thousand Fists -where almost everyone in Graspop raised his fists- Indestructible and Down With Sickness among others. After the end of DISTURBED's performance I found myself full of mixed emotions; the beginning was pretty lame but the way the gig ended satisfied most of my hunger to see DISTURBED live. I think a headline concert in an indoor venue will strengthen the latter emotions...

...but there was no room for the aftermath since ANTHRAX were about to enter Marquee 2 and we did not want to lose something from their performance with Dan Nelson on the vocals. I am one of those who believe that John Bush simply does not fit to ANTHRAX's music so, I was more than anxious to see whether the new singer would meet my expectations. The US got on stage having in the back the banner with the We've Come For You All cover artwork and kicked off the setlist with the massive hit Indians. In the beginning I thought that getting Dan Nelson was something like EXODUS did, bringing Rob Dukes in the lineup. And that means almost Metalcore screaming vocals with the total absence of melody and Thrash attitude (well Rob sounds and looks better now). But, as the song went on and Dan implemented his high pitches I went whoah! Indeed, he sounded and seemed very solid with ANTHRAX and the crowd felt the same and after the Wardance scream we had several mosh pits in the center. From that moment and on everything was headbanging related; Madhouse, I Am The Law, Antisocial, Got The Time were some of the songs that made our necks feeling soar the next morning. Scott Ian and Frank Bello looked as always relentless running up and down the stage in total connection with the crowd. Rob Caggiano remained mainly in his side focused in his guitar playing making me bethinking of Dan Spitz. The band also did a new song that I think was called Fight'em Till You Can't that sounded pretty heavy and close to the Persistence Of Time days. To wrap it up, this was an excellent performance and made me think high of the forthcoming ANTHRAX album. But, as I was writing these lines ANTHRAX announced that Dan is no longer with the band and that John Bush will probably return... why?

ANTHRAX had really drained us of energy and we were desperate for a short break with food and water involved. The Main Stage was almost ready for NIGHTWISH but we had made our minds about sitting down and relax. So, we found a nice spot looking towards the stage and lied down to relax. Last time I saw NIGHTWISH was in Chicago in their last live date for that tour course that was Anette Olzon's prime time on the road. Then I was satisfied with their/her performance that made thing will settle after the 'noisy' break up with Tarja. This time Anette showed up with different looks and blonde hair. Ok, in Metal we don't mind one's looks but I think this was just too much. She was to fill for Tarja impressive voice and presence and this is what she chose to do? Hell no! I wish that this would be my only complaint that day. Anette sounded really weak in almost all songs and especially the ones originally sung by Tarja. The beautiful stage set and the impressive fireworks show failed to cover for these drawbacks and after a while made me lose my initial interest. Despite my feelings, the crowd looked ok with this performance and I believe they had a great time even though the impressive The Poet And The Pendulum was left out of the setlist obviously for time restrictions matters. I am just waiting for the band's next album to decide if I will continue following their actions or not...

NIGHTWISH's setlist:

01. 7 Days To the Wolves
02. Dead To The World
03. The Siren
04. Amaranth
05. Romanticide
06. Wishmaster
07. Ghost Love Score
08. Escapist
09. Dead Boy's Poem
10. Nemo
11. Sahara
12. Dark Chest of Wonders
13. Wish I Had An Angel

Well, with refreshed forces and after a short walk at the bazaar we made our way in a good spot to sit and watch the so-called MARILYN MANSON show. I was truly skeptical about this artist since I didn't understand (I still don't) his far-fetched attitude and the music that follows 'in the back.' Indeed, I believe that Manson is more about his on-stage show and his provocative life-style and less about his musical whereabouts. I think I was the only one who had these feelings about MARILYN MANSON since there were a lot of die-hard fans who were ecstatic while waiting for the show to begin. And so it did; the black curtain that was in front of the stage fell and the band surrounding Manson came on stage with Four Rusted Horses. The main attraction of the show was Marilyn Manson himself who was looking provocative spreading waves of enthusiasm to the young girls and boys. The sensuous moves and action were the main attraction, since the music was nothing really special and definitely fell out of my cup of tea. But the light show was impressive making the stage looking huge while the sound was powerful and clear like it did in the SLIPKNOT performance. The stage was crew was behind Manson taking care everything around him; between the songs they were wiping off his sweat, straightening his clothes, giving water and oxygen (yes you read right!). I found this visually annoying but again I was the only one feeling that way since these were his usual stage props. I cannot say that I did not have a good time but it felt more like watching a theatrical show than attending a Heavy Metal concert. This was an odd selection by the promoters but judging by the attendance they had their reasons. So, after the cover on EURYTHMICS' Sweet Dreams and the second MARILYN MANSON song I knew The Beautiful People the concert was over clocking just 70 minutes. Overall, it was a good experience that will remain unique since I won't be convinced to attend a second MARILYN MANSON show since it is clearly not my thing.

MARILYN MANSON's setlist
01. Four Rusted Horses
02. Pretty As A Swastika
03. Disposable Teens
04. Irresponsible Hate Anthem
05. The Love Song
06. Arma-goddamn-motherfuckin-geddon
07. Leave A Scar
08. Rock Is Dead
09. The Dope Show
10. Great Big White World
11. WOW
12. Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
13. Rock 'N' Roll Nigger
14. If I Was Your Vampire
15. The Beautiful People

On the way back to the hotel there was not much to discuss. We had three days full of music and new experiences from a well organized festival that managed to exceed our expectations. We needed time to cool down and try to digest what just happened to us during the previous four days. No, I don't have something to complain about apart from the fact that I did not manage to watch all the bands I wanted. But this usually happens when you have four stages and two of them active at the same time. Again I will say that this was an excellent experience that I will repeat if the lineup is appealing as it was for this year. So, hopefully Graspop will meet again very soon...

Photos? We definitely need Erika here...