Axes In Action: Graspop + Jera On Air
WHEN: THURSDAY JUNE 20TH – SUNDAY 23RD, 2019 WHERE: FESTIVALPARK STENEHEI, DESSEL, EAST BELGIUM REVIEW AND PHOTOS: BRENDAN DELAVERE
DAY ONE
In spite of its typically scant population just shy of 10,000, the 2019 Graspop Metal Meeting saw over five times that amount descend on the quiet town of Dessel, East Belgium, for four days of rock, metal, beer and mud. Most of the first day was spent traipsing our way through crowds – tents and belongings in tow – to the campgrounds. Unlike in Australia, European festivals are BYO – once the tents were up, beers were cracked in abundance.
In addition to a stacked lineup of guitarwielding legends, this year’s festival featured a full-sized ferris wheel, a garden with hammocks to accomodate some well-deserved rest, and a Belgian beer bar and restaurant for some particularly fancy dinners and drinks.
After travelling 10,000 miles from home, naturally the first set of the festival went toBrisbane pop-moshers The Amity Affliction. Playing to a packed outdoor Jupiler stage (one of only two operating today), screamer Joel Birch stalked the perimeter, staring menacingly at the crowd as Ahren Stringer’s clean vocals shone on cuts from the band’s recent Misery album.
Sonata Arcticawere up next in the Marquee. With a massive, booming sound, the power metal maestros took us on a journey with their noodly guitars, solid drumming, and high soaring vocals courtesy of Tony Kakko. “Black Sheep” and “Life” are two notable highlights of said journey.
Closing out the first night were Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals playing a full set of Pantera classics. With the ability to crush your chest with a mere strum, Anselmo and co. hammered out a monstrous set with a sneer and a heavy fist. Pinned by gems like “Yesterday Don’t Mean Shit”,“Walk” and the absolutely brutal “F***ing Hostile”, the mosh pit fast became a battleground of flailing limbs, banging heads and the occasional splattering of blood.
Sweaty and beat, this reviewer slunk back to camp for what would amount to his only proper night of sleep all weekend.
DAY TWO
We arise in a mud-caked tent and spend the first few hours of the day lining up for a shower – just part of the festival experience, really.
There’s no other way to start the day at a European metal festival than with a croquette roll and a plastic cup of beer (and at only one token a cup, beers were slammed faster than bodies in the pit) so with those in hand, we were prepped and ready for a good dose of American thrash courtesy ofDeath Angel. Defined by their huge riffs and tight jeans, the Bay Area thrashers blasted the early morning crowd with some much-needed adrenaline.
Coming in like a wrecking ball, hardcore stalwarts Hate breed took to the stage straight after and pummelled it into submission. Dust storms rose as the pit swirled and bodies flew left, right and centre over the barrier.
Of course, with Slayerplaying their final Belgium show tonight, thrash was in high order as fellow Bay Area icons Testament hit the main stage. With a tried and true formula, the five piece tore through with the speed of a runaway freight train. They delivered more tearing riffs, more tighter-than-your-sister’s-jeans drumming, and a fitter-lookingChuck Billyhitting some very impressive high notes.
UK metalcore powerhouse Architects had their work cut out for them, with a very metaloriented crowd before them. The quintet kicked into with a huge circle pit opening up from the get go. Breakdowns and bleghs, front man Sam Carter sweating up a storm in a freshly pressed suit had the crowd in his hand. ‘Doomsday’ and ‘Gravedigger’ keeping the energy flowing in the beating sun.
Back at it with party thrashers Municipal Waste down at the Jupiler Stage, this ain’t serious, it’s just a damn good time. ‘The Thrashin Of The Christ’ ‘Headbanger Face Rip’ and ‘The Art Of Partying’, the band brought the thrash and the crowd brought the party.
At the other end of the spectrum, pedlars of the sonically slow and a rare showing for the
collective, Cult Of Luna were laying slow waste to the Marquee. Clouded in smoke, barely a spotlight to be seen, the band silhouetted in the shadows stamp out rumbling, thunderous riffs. Low, slow and heavy, a rare but incredible performance.
‘Free Bird’ rockers Lynrd Skynrd hit the main stage in a flurry of guitars to AC/DC’s ‘Thunderstruck’. ‘Working For MCA’, ‘Skynrd Nation’ and the rock n roll licks of ‘What’s Your Name’ got young and old alike suitably rockin.
As with most classic rock bands, fans want to hear the classics, with ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ getting the extended treatment and the entire thirty thousand strong crowd singing back at them. Strangely for a mid afternoon festival, Skynrd returned for an encore, ‘Free Bird’ to close out the set.
With a set looking like a scene from Vikings,Amon Amarthbrought the battle to Dessel, in all their horns and glory. Pyro galore, the mead drinking Vikings battled flames and security battled a sea of crowd surfers.
DAY THREE
Waking up feeling a little worse for wear but not the only one. Some punters still raging from the night prior, others enjoying the morning sun by sleeping in the walkway where they fell. The call of “Slayer” still ringing around the campsite.
Opening the main stage for Saturday, viral sensation, heavy rockers Bad Wolves. The large crowd that gathered split for the first wall of death for the day, energetic frontman jumping from the drum riser as the crowd clashed together. The multi million streaming cover of The Cranberries ‘ Zombie’ drew the largest applause.
Up in the sauna that is the Metal Dome, Beast In Black we’re getting off to a solid start. It was hot, and they were in leather, and they play hard rock. It’s difficult to look brutal with a smile plastered across your face as the five piece had all the fun in the world getting the crowd going.
Main stage saw Hammer fall bring the metal down like an anvil. Power metal that harks back to the golden age of the late eighties, it’s all about those big power chords, hard hitting drumming and soaring vocals.
Following after, one of the only females on the bill,Halestorm, led by the enigmatic Lizzy Hale, the band produced some firebrand rock that sparked another monster mosh under the beating sun.
And if the sun wasn’t hot enough, Polish death metal purveyors Behemoth warmed things up with enough pyro to melt the ice caps. Clad in black and corpse paint, the skull masked Nergal was relentless in trying to bring about the apocalypse with a hate filled passion. ‘God=Dog’ and the soul crushing ‘’
In contrast, the uplifting guitar tones of the legendary Slash featMyles Kennedyon vocals brought us back to the world of the living. With the set mostly centred around his solo work, we did get one or twoGuns n Rosesclassics, naturally the crowd lapped up every guitar lick and hair flick.
Disturbed have seen a massive resurgence since their viral cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘The Sound Of Silence’, and as such there was more than triple the ‘Ten Thousand Fists’ as they took main stage. Looking and sounding more like dad-rock these days,David Draimansans chin piercings held his fist high as the full crowd sang back every song. ‘Stupefy’, ‘’ and ‘Down With The Sickness’, thirty thousand singing “ooh wah ah ah” in unison. A sombre ‘Sound Of Silence’ certainly a high point of what was a fun nostalgic set.
DAY FOUR
The fourth and final day of Graspop Metal Meet. One more day of heat and dust and metal. Like zombies people marched to the arena, but beer and food brought them back to life.
The biggest surprise of the day came early on, when Geezer Butler was spotted on stage with Deadland Ritual, opening with Black