The second day started off just as hot and early as the first one. My plan was to make it in time for GROUND MOVER, it's always nice to see friends play and I've managed to miss this band every time they've played some where in the neighborhood but we arrived just in time for their last couple of notes. A real bummer because the people who did see them said they kicked ass! I guess that's the bad thing with comfortable living, it's a lot harder to make it to the area in time for the first few bands. On the other hand it's absolutely great to wake up in a real bed compared to a boiling tent. Yeah, I know, not the real Festival life but what the hell…

So, the first band seen on the second day was THE QUIREBOYS. In my gang it was quite bad to admit to like the Poser bands, the Hair Metal from the 80's and such. Not that THE QUIREBOYS has anything to do with that more than what an uneducated rough customer thought ages ago. I still liked them though and was really thrilled to get the chance to see them again. The reviews from 'Sweden Rock Festival' were amazing and this should be a perfect start of a sunny Friday.The band after "A Bit Of What You Fancy" has quite little to do with that style though, the hit oriented Hard Rock songs are traded for more Boogie-Woogie rhythms with a lot more Piano then they used to have. There aren't many bands from that era that looks about the same and still can get away with it. Sure, Spike has added some authority to his appearance but that's all. Guitar player Guy Griffin basically looks the same, just a little better taste in clothes. THE QUIREBOYS really sounded amazing, the sound was perfect and it's always great to watch a band that enjoys being on stage play. It was really easy to just get sucked in to the groove and swing along, forget about the sun (even if burned the back of my legs). Unfortunately I wasn't the only one longing for a lie in this morning, the ground in front of the Monster stage could have been more crowded. A bummer really because this gig was one of the real highlights of the whole festival!

Next up, in the extreme heat was GRAND MAGUS. Another great Swedish band that never gets boring to watch. Oh well, at 'Muskelrocken' they actually felt a little laid off compared to normal but even on a lazy day this bands sounds great. GRAND MAGUS new release "Hammer Of The North" felt a little laid back compared to "Iron Will" and I was a little afraid they would do the same with the live shows. Luckily that was just a one time case even if JB didn't exude as much energy as he normally does. But in the music the old attitude was back and the songs from the new release felt as kick ass as they should. GRAND MAGUS is always good, even on a low day but at 'Getaway' they were on fire, it's quite amazing that music can be that heavy on a three-piece. The thing though, even if they sounded as great as they use to do the stage was quite huge and from time to time, when both JB and Fox are locked to the microphones it tends to be a little empty.On the other hand when they play songs like "Like The Oar Strikes The Water", "Kingslayer" or "The Shadow Knows" you can't help but screaming, even if you're in the photo-pit. The thing though, "Hammer Of The North" on record compared to live is two completely different things. Listening to the album it's more ordinary Heavy Metal, not really as heavy as "Iron Will" but live the songs are the smack in the face they should be.

The downside with working alone on a festival is that things eventually must be prioritized. I was really looking forward to see Jorn Lande's gig at the festival but since I got an offer to interview Bobby Blitz from OVERKILL that one was prioritized. I later also had the opportunity to talk to Jorn, then it felt really bad to admit to not having seen his performance on the festival. The little I heard waiting for my interview sounded really good. And it should be, the times I've seen him before has been really good.

OVERKILL setlist:

1. "The Green And Black"
2. "Rotten To The Core"
3. "Wrecking Crew"
4. "Hello From The Gutter"
5. "Coma"
6. "Ironbound"
7. "In Union We Stand"
8. "Bring Me The Night"
9. "Elimination"
10. "Fuck You" / "Sonic Reducer"

One of the biggest surprises though came from DEVILDRIVER. I've dismissed them as something trendy and US Metal Core or something like that. First because I wasn't too big a fan of COAL CHAMBER and then because there's not much interesting brutal music (that gets publicity) coming out of America nowadays. Damn, I couldn't be more wrong and I will have to eat that up big time. When I prior to the festival started to do the research I was in for a surprise. I had to check several times that it was DEVILDRIVER "Pray For Villains" I was listening to. Sure, the music is till modern and the songs are catchy and hit oriented but it's as far away you can come from the Melodic Death metal bands that normally get attention and even further away from the trendy American Metal of today. And even if I was blown away with the records the live show was even better. Dez Fafara is a born front man, just by looking at him you want to climb to the front and try to scream louder than him. The band sounds awesome too. The thing with DEVILDRIVER is first that they sound even more energetic live than on record still it's basically the same. No add ons, no backtracks, just music straight in your face. A band would never get as great response as they did if it wasn't for real. The circle pits were on time and time again, in "Meet The Wretched" the pit grow almost out of proportion for the Festival. I admit to not have done my homework good enough when it comes to DEVILDRIVER, their performance on 'Getaway' will absolutely change that. Next time I'll be right on!

You're never too old to rock, that's clear. I never expected the crowd to be as good as it was on 'Getaway' and certainly not that they'll keep going all the way through the evening. For MOTÖRHEAD… Lets put it like this, if you go and see MOTÖRHEAD you know what to get. You will get your head blow off by the massive volume for about 90 minutes and you will leave with a huge smile on your face. At least that's what happens for me when I see Lemmy, Phil and Mikkey play. For some reason I've missed this band the last couple of times they've visited Sweden so, I was super charged for this concert. And sure, it was just as MOTÖRHEAD is supposed to be, Lemmy moving around in his usual manors, Phil rocking out on his flank and mumbling some un-hearable words in the microphone when it was his turn to talk. The set openers with "Iron Fist" and "Stay Clean" got the crowd moving and it's was a massive support from the audience. For the last couple of years the drum solo has been moved to "In The Name Of Tragedy" instead of "Sacrifice" and that works equally well. Mikkey Dee sure is one hell of a drummer because these solos normally are the down part of the show but here it's almost just as good as the rest of the song. This was a very good MOTÖRHEAD concert. It's absolutely amazing that this bad can deliver with the same intensity year after year and that the crowd is aware of what's going on, not just only it's cool to listen to MOTÖRHEAD. That was clear in "Ace Of Spades", even if that's what most people the crowds screams in "You know I'm born to loose…" was equal to the response MEGADETH got the night before for "Peace Sells", almost deafening. Even if the set didn't offer any real surprises they've sure composed a suitable line of songs for a Metal festival with the real highlights being "Metropolis", "I Got Mine" and "Just 'Cos You Got The Power". And then, according to tradition, MOTÖRHEAD ended the show with "Overkill" and I had a really hard time to wipe the huge smile off my face for the rest of the weekend.

MOTÖRHEAD selist:

1. "Iron Fist"
2. "Stay Clean"
3. "Be My Baby"
4. "Rock Out"
5. "Metropolis"
6. "One Night Stand"
7. "The Thousand Names Of God"
8. "I Got Mine"
9. "Cradle to the Grave"
10. "In The Name Of Tragedy"
11. "Just 'Cos You Got The Power"
12. "Going To Brazil"
13. "Killed By Death"
14. "Born To Raise Hell"
15. "Ace Of Spades"
16. "Overkill"

Last ones out on stage for day two was Swedish Extreme metallers MESHUGGAH but after the complete run-over MOTÖRHEAD stood for I wasn't really up for more music. I met up with my friends by the Bandit Stage to decide how we were going to take us home just to realize we all stood like statues with huge eyes watching the madness on stage. MESHUGGAH sure as hell has found back to their old ways when they played with raw force and headbanged like craze on stage. Ok, they had a cool light show to support them since they played around midnight. I regret a bit I didn't add them to the plan of must see but I'm sure I'll get another chance to do that.

THE QUIREBOYS

GRAND MAGUS

OVERKILL

DEVILDRIVER

MOTÖRHEAD