Loud Park '09 - It's all about the hair.
Oct. 19th, 2009 09:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blacklillyIt's been a long time since I posted a gig review. Infact, it's been a really long time since I went to a gig. It was a year and a half ago that I saw Rage Against the Machine at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, and I believe I was lacking in internet connection at that point.
Loud Park is the billed as the heaviest music festival in Japan, and if that weekend's line-up was anything to go by, it's not an unfounded claim. Saturday's line-up included Anthrax, Megadeth, Arch Enemy and Judas Priest, whilst Sunday's bill was heavily laden with bands who regularly push 200bpm.
The first band on the main stage were Swedish band Dead by April, whose sound is comparable to the lyrical dichotomy and heavy-riffing of Lacuna Coil, with a liberal dosing of emotional content which seemed to appeal to much of the Japanese crowd. Interestingly, I noted that their bass player, curiously unseen in much of the official video, has quite a lovely set of lungs on him and an endearingly forlorn look whilst singing. A good start to the show.
Next up, introduced by Glenn Frey's 80s number "The Heat Is On", were another Swedish band, H.E.A.T (you see what they did there?), whom I had never come across before. Perhaps I would have been better if I had, as the appearance of pink and
black spandex and worryingly tight trousers sent me into odd convulsions of all kinds of discomfort. Who were these people, and why had I never heard of them before? Surely I couldn't have missed an 80s band like that? And surely their young singer couldn't have been alive when they first around? And is that a wig, or his real hair? And then it dawned on me that yes, the hair was indeed real, and yes, this was a real band from the 21st Century sounding just like some 80s stadium metal act; and that yes, I was thoroughly enjoying myself. Thank goodness I managed to work out those White Snake issues, else I may have gone to get beer instead. What most impressed me was the hair.
Following H.E.A.T. were Lazarus A.D. who brought the first really heavy stuff of the day to Loud Park with a good dosh of Thrash with nods to Metallica, Pantera and Slayer. I was quite excited by the whole set, not only by the music which was pleasingly familiar yet original, but also, it turned out by the sight of men weilding instruments. What was this curious feeling I was experiencing, watching these wonderfully maned and bearded men on stage? No? Could it be? Could it be "lust"? I was so taken aback I almost forgot to listen to them. But anyway, enough about me and the deprivations of Japanese life... Here's a video:
After a break for lunch and foot-resting, it was back into the frey with Napalm Death, who I last saw about 7 or 8 years ago at Fibbers in York. I recall the ceiling being so low that people were smacking their heads on it whilst moshing. From my memory of York, the stadium setting did wonders for their sound, though they still had as much energy and presence on a huge stage as they did on one the size of my bedroom. Barney stirred all kinds of nostalgia with his Brummy "Right then...", and then the unintelligable song introduction. Top moment: the one minute "It's a M.A.N.S world", whose introduction took longer than the actual song.
Straight on to Papa Roach, who I've neglected to take any interest in, as they were on sickeningly heavy rotation as a student as thus earned my derision. To their credit their stage presence is pretty good, and they were clearly having blast, as were the audience. However, despite my dislike for their earlier stuff, I have to say that it has something about it which is lacking in their more recent efforts.
Hmm, then what... beer and foot break I believe, steeling ourselves for the rest of the evening. Whilst getting beer, we were able to watch "Gotthard" on the Sanctuary Stage, who were quite clearly about in the 80s when H.E.A.T were not (well, OK I checked, 1992). The end of their set had something of the Spinal Tap about it. Having finished the set, the crowd began dispersing, but the the band continued to enjoy a group shoulder-patting to their hardcore element down the front. I wondered whether they noticed, or even if they cared too much about it. I probably would have.
On then to the final 3 bands of the day, beginning with Finnish Black Metal band Children of Bodom, who were represented by the widest fan base I've ever witnessed in one place. Gangly teenage boys and cute girls in hot-pants; salary-men on a weekend heavy-metal bender, and middle-aged house wives - all came brandishing their Bodom t-shirts and packed in for 45 minutes of excellent guitar widdling and dark gutteral screaming. My only complaint would be that frontman Alexi's focus on soloing, somewhat detracted from the energy of the whole thing, which only allowed me to focus on the sheer amount of gobbing he was doing all over the stage. I wonder if there's a designated phlegm wiper for gigs...
Of course, given the packed audience for Bodom, there was a curiously free spot over by the stage for Rob Zombie, enabling us to ferret our way up to the front of the barrier. Zombie's stage setting involves a massive skull-patterned backdrop, with screen centre, amps decorated with various carnivalesque paraphenalia, and three podiums containing TV screens, all liberally doused with stage smoke. The set began with various snippets from the White Zombie sample catalogue before the band took to the stage, followed by Zombie dressed like some evil, cowboy-hat wielding carnival barker, taking to the podium to cry his wares to the audience, who cried right back at him. The band played Rob Zombie numbers like "Superbeast", "Living Dead Girl", "Dragula" and "American Nightmare", interspersed with White Zombie's "More Human than Human" and "Thunder Kiss '65" and "Super Charger Heaven". The band also played a couple of the less well-received Zombie numbers (House of a 1000 Corpses) providing a brief reprieve amongst the otherwise fast-paced set. It took about 14 years for me to see Rob Zombie in the "flesh" and I was not disappointed.
Last up were Slayer. I'm sad to say that I was almost unable to stand up at this point and was dealing with a very angry knee, so much of the set is lost on me. My favourites - Dead Skin Mask, Reign in Blood, Angel of Death - none of these I saw as I wimped out and took the train home!
It was great to remember why I've loved heavy metal so much (goddamit, how did I forget?!), and why I have such a thing for bearded men. A great day out, and a one I will definitely be repeating again next year!!
Next month OPETH!!!
Loud Park is the billed as the heaviest music festival in Japan, and if that weekend's line-up was anything to go by, it's not an unfounded claim. Saturday's line-up included Anthrax, Megadeth, Arch Enemy and Judas Priest, whilst Sunday's bill was heavily laden with bands who regularly push 200bpm.
The first band on the main stage were Swedish band Dead by April, whose sound is comparable to the lyrical dichotomy and heavy-riffing of Lacuna Coil, with a liberal dosing of emotional content which seemed to appeal to much of the Japanese crowd. Interestingly, I noted that their bass player, curiously unseen in much of the official video, has quite a lovely set of lungs on him and an endearingly forlorn look whilst singing. A good start to the show.
Next up, introduced by Glenn Frey's 80s number "The Heat Is On", were another Swedish band, H.E.A.T (you see what they did there?), whom I had never come across before. Perhaps I would have been better if I had, as the appearance of pink and
black spandex and worryingly tight trousers sent me into odd convulsions of all kinds of discomfort. Who were these people, and why had I never heard of them before? Surely I couldn't have missed an 80s band like that? And surely their young singer couldn't have been alive when they first around? And is that a wig, or his real hair? And then it dawned on me that yes, the hair was indeed real, and yes, this was a real band from the 21st Century sounding just like some 80s stadium metal act; and that yes, I was thoroughly enjoying myself. Thank goodness I managed to work out those White Snake issues, else I may have gone to get beer instead. What most impressed me was the hair. Following H.E.A.T. were Lazarus A.D. who brought the first really heavy stuff of the day to Loud Park with a good dosh of Thrash with nods to Metallica, Pantera and Slayer. I was quite excited by the whole set, not only by the music which was pleasingly familiar yet original, but also, it turned out by the sight of men weilding instruments. What was this curious feeling I was experiencing, watching these wonderfully maned and bearded men on stage? No? Could it be? Could it be "lust"? I was so taken aback I almost forgot to listen to them. But anyway, enough about me and the deprivations of Japanese life... Here's a video:
After a break for lunch and foot-resting, it was back into the frey with Napalm Death, who I last saw about 7 or 8 years ago at Fibbers in York. I recall the ceiling being so low that people were smacking their heads on it whilst moshing. From my memory of York, the stadium setting did wonders for their sound, though they still had as much energy and presence on a huge stage as they did on one the size of my bedroom. Barney stirred all kinds of nostalgia with his Brummy "Right then...", and then the unintelligable song introduction. Top moment: the one minute "It's a M.A.N.S world", whose introduction took longer than the actual song.
Straight on to Papa Roach, who I've neglected to take any interest in, as they were on sickeningly heavy rotation as a student as thus earned my derision. To their credit their stage presence is pretty good, and they were clearly having blast, as were the audience. However, despite my dislike for their earlier stuff, I have to say that it has something about it which is lacking in their more recent efforts.
Hmm, then what... beer and foot break I believe, steeling ourselves for the rest of the evening. Whilst getting beer, we were able to watch "Gotthard" on the Sanctuary Stage, who were quite clearly about in the 80s when H.E.A.T were not (well, OK I checked, 1992). The end of their set had something of the Spinal Tap about it. Having finished the set, the crowd began dispersing, but the the band continued to enjoy a group shoulder-patting to their hardcore element down the front. I wondered whether they noticed, or even if they cared too much about it. I probably would have.
On then to the final 3 bands of the day, beginning with Finnish Black Metal band Children of Bodom, who were represented by the widest fan base I've ever witnessed in one place. Gangly teenage boys and cute girls in hot-pants; salary-men on a weekend heavy-metal bender, and middle-aged house wives - all came brandishing their Bodom t-shirts and packed in for 45 minutes of excellent guitar widdling and dark gutteral screaming. My only complaint would be that frontman Alexi's focus on soloing, somewhat detracted from the energy of the whole thing, which only allowed me to focus on the sheer amount of gobbing he was doing all over the stage. I wonder if there's a designated phlegm wiper for gigs...Of course, given the packed audience for Bodom, there was a curiously free spot over by the stage for Rob Zombie, enabling us to ferret our way up to the front of the barrier. Zombie's stage setting involves a massive skull-patterned backdrop, with screen centre, amps decorated with various carnivalesque paraphenalia, and three podiums containing TV screens, all liberally doused with stage smoke. The set began with various snippets from the White Zombie sample catalogue before the band took to the stage, followed by Zombie dressed like some evil, cowboy-hat wielding carnival barker, taking to the podium to cry his wares to the audience, who cried right back at him. The band played Rob Zombie numbers like "Superbeast", "Living Dead Girl", "Dragula" and "American Nightmare", interspersed with White Zombie's "More Human than Human" and "Thunder Kiss '65" and "Super Charger Heaven". The band also played a couple of the less well-received Zombie numbers (House of a 1000 Corpses) providing a brief reprieve amongst the otherwise fast-paced set. It took about 14 years for me to see Rob Zombie in the "flesh" and I was not disappointed.
Last up were Slayer. I'm sad to say that I was almost unable to stand up at this point and was dealing with a very angry knee, so much of the set is lost on me. My favourites - Dead Skin Mask, Reign in Blood, Angel of Death - none of these I saw as I wimped out and took the train home!
It was great to remember why I've loved heavy metal so much (goddamit, how did I forget?!), and why I have such a thing for bearded men. A great day out, and a one I will definitely be repeating again next year!!
Next month OPETH!!!
