ROCKWEEKEND 2009

DATE:

VENUE:

Thursday 9th July - Saturday 11th July 2009

Kilafors Herrgård, Sweden

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATOR; CHICKENFOOT; GEMINI FIVE; U.D.O.; ARCH ENEMY; MUSTASCH; PARADISE LOST; CRUCIFIED BARBARA; CORRODED; PURE MANIA

SATURDAY

NAPALM DEATH; DIMMU BORGIR; EDGUY; QUEENSRŸCHE; HEAT; HOT LEG; NIGHTINGALE; SCAR SYMMETRY; MEMORY GARDEN; WOLVERINE

D-A-D; W.A.S.P.; DARK FUNERAL; TESTAMENT; DIA PSALMA; LA GUNS; DEAD BY APRIL; WOLF; FAST FORWARDS; TAD MOROSE

Reviews & Photography by Mark Holmes

TESTAMENT

Literally only a few seconds after Dia Psalma finish their set, the left hand stage abruptly explodes into life with the simultaneous barrage of impressive lighting and vehement sounds as Testament launch into short instrumental number 'For the Glory of...'. Such a sudden commencement of the Californian thrash legends set works a treat, although seems to catch many by surprise, including myself, as I'm still standing in the middle of the field as they begin, so hurry off through the thick mud for photopit duties. 'More Than Meets the Eye' swiftly follows the intro track as it does on latest album, 'The Formation of Damnation', and then ensues a set of crowd pleasers from Testament's lengthy back catalogue that sees airings of 'Over The Wall' and 'Burnt Offerings' from 1987 debut 'The Legacy'; 'Into the Pit' and title track from 1988's 'The New Order'; 'D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate)' and '3 Days of Darkness' from 1999's 'The Gathering', among various other classics. Frontman Chuck Billy, now in his late forties, is as enthusiastic and lively as he ever has been on stage, powerfully delivering every vocal line with commanding awe, and his formidable stature at odds with his smiley demeanour during songs' instrumental passages as he plays air guitar on the mic stand. And what Chuck asks, the crowd oblige, including his request mid-set for a wall of death...in the mud and still heavy rain! It's amusing to witness a somewhat apprehensive crowd separate into two halves and then nervously charge at each other, obviously wary of the slippery mud beneath their feet, in what has to be one of the most 'gracious' wall of deaths I've ever seen! Testament deliver an overwhelmingly awesome set both in their performance and the music with, quite simply, one of the best sounds I've ever heard at a festival for any band. Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson's guitars cut through the night air with palm-muted, thrash-fuelled incision backed by the thunderous intensity of Paul Bostaph's drums and Greg Christian's bass. Testament are the epitome of everything a good thrash band should be in 2009 and prove themselves worthy of their legendary status within the scene. Mindblowing.

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THURSDAY 9TH JULY - PART 2

DARK FUNERAL

Five minutes after Testament exit the left hand stage, black metallers Dark Funeral take to the other just after 10pm. Pervasively dark skies, heavy rain, and the grimy mud underfoot somehow seems a fitting environment to witness the Stockholm musicians with their sonically blackened discharge. Dressed in idiomatic black metal attire and wearing some of the silliest corpse paint I've seen in a long time, the five musicians commence proceedings with 'King Antichrist' from 2005 album, the sacreligiously titled 'Attera Totus Sanctus'. With a sound that is distinctly substandard compared to Testament, the blast beats and tremolo picked riffs are as muddy as the field in which people stand. Matters do improve a little as the Swedes' set progresses, and the large crowd gathered in front of the stage seemingly refuse to let the inferior sound, or in fact the rain, dampen their enjoyment of Dark Funeral's extreme metal onslaught with many visibly into the vibe. Frontman Emperor Magus Caligula (aka Magnus Broberg, one-time vocalist of Peter Tägtgren's Hypocrisy) delivers each song's lyrics with sinister efficacy, although his comical corpse paint, coupled with that dreadful moniker, makes it difficult for me to take him seriously. Unless, of course, their whole aesthetic (including an inverted cross at each side of the stage) is supposed to be construed as tongue in cheek, for there is little that is menacing about Dark Funeral's appearance or performance today. That said, the likes of 'Vobiscum Satanas', 'Goddess of Sodomy', 'Thus I Have Spoken' and 'The Secrets of the Black Arts' are performed tightly and are well received by those in attendance. Not for me though unfortunately. I find the whole thing a little too pretentious.

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W.A.S.P.

Not long after 11pm, legendary scene stalwarts and one-time controversial shock rockers W.A.S.P. appear on the left hand stage and commence with opening track 'On Your Knees' from 1984's eponymously titled debut album. Then, what follows, is an hour and a half of pure unmitigated metal entertainment with charismatic showman Blackie Lawless leading his band's current lineup through a 'greatest hits' set incorporating the likes of 'L.O.V.E. Machine'; 'I Wanna Be Somebody'; 'Wild Child'; 'Widowmaker'; 'Inside the Electric Circus'; and 'Chainsaw Charlie'. With rain still falling heavily from Kilafors' skies as fans jump up and down in the mud to the groove of W.A.S.P.'s retro party tunes, Lawless pays tribute to Rockweekend's resilient audience for persevering with the adverse weather conditions by informing them "I've performed all over the world, but you're the toughest crowd I've ever seen", which is greeted by loud, appreciative cheers. At one point, he also alludes to the root of Michael Jackson's afflictions by pointing out the pernicious repercussions of idolatry, whereby fans shouldn't place rock stars on a pedestal. He continues by saying that performing in front of ten thousand people is "a big hug" for him, although "I don't want you to love me". It's a touchingly mature speech that eschews his ego of yore. Although Lawless remains the sole original member of W.A.S.P., longtime bassist Mike Duda, guitarist Doug Blair and sticksman Mike Dupke look and perform very 'together' as a band as classic song follows classic song. Highlight for me is epic composition 'The Idol' with its lengthy outro solo (an evident pastiche of Floyd's 'Comfortably Numb') majestically resonating from the PA with captivating grace. With the largest crowd of the day, it is evident that W.A.S.P. are a huge draw on Rockweekend's lineup. And they don't disappoint. A mightily impressive performance.

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DIA PSALMA

With only five minutes between bands finishing and starting on each of the two main stages, I unfortunately miss Swedish band Dia Psalma in favour of food so retreat to the back of the festival site to fulfil my hunger. I do manage to hear a little of their set and, although not to my taste, their punk-edged folk rock/metal seems popular with the festival audience from crowd reactions I observe.

D-A-D

As Danish rockers D-A-D appear on the adjacent stage, the time is approaching 1am and I have to depart for nearby town of Söderhamn, so unfortunately miss their entire set.

[Photos unavailable]

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[Photos unavailable]

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