Hammerfest

Well this may be a little late, but I can still feel my neck aching so Hammerfest obviously hasn't worn out of my system just yet huh? Waking up before 06:00 wasn't the most exciting prospect – having to catch a train to Birmingham to get a supposed coach (minibus), and arriving at one of the most un-metal locations I've ever laid eyes on. But regardless, we figured we'd check out the locations and start with some bevvies. Wandering about - our eyes are drawn to a Scandinavian gentleman looking very biblical with a cigarette and it turns out to be Mr. Akerfeldt of Opeth. After that it was obvious that the day was going to be all right even it seemed to take a while to get going. Fellow Bristollian based metallers Trigger The Bloodshed opened up the main stage – a band that simply just isn't my cup of tea, but a better performance since I last saw them in support of Meshuggah, though I think during that set or possibly Hammerfall's a midget was thrown over the barrier which was a very 'lulwut' moment. The best bands on the Friday were Opeth, Paradise Lost (despite some initial difficulties and Nick Holmes' terrible mood) and Mutant. Also managed to get Hammerfall's drumstick despite not being much of a fan. Kiuas also seemed to be pretty good but we were pretty burned out by that time in the morning. But it was the Saturday I was more concerned about, seeing as though anyone who knows me will know that Sepultura are my favourite band. Despite the line-up changes, there's still a big place in my heart for them and meeting them was an absolute honour. They were the band of the festival for me aswell, kicking off the set with a lot of new 'Derrick-Era' material but then the moment the cyber-godzilla'ish sounding introduction of Dead Embryionic Cells hit it was pure old school Sepultura, dishing out classics such as Arise, Mass Hypnosis and one of the greatest songs of all time – Refuse/Resist. It was also good to see Skindred in an intimate acoustic performance on the Jagermeister Stage despite only doing two songs - Grand Magus, Cathedral and Alestorm also kicked a lot of ass – and Alestorm even decided to rustle up a wall of death which was pretty admirable. The crowds were generally pretty bad, to the kind of degree when you question if most of the people had even been to a show before, it got pretty uncomfortable sometimes. Even during Opeth everyone was shouting for the Bloodbath song 'Eaten' to be played which after a while got pretty fucking annoying. The weekend in general was a very good one though, and it's awesome to look back at the photos standing next to some of my favourite artists – I'll definitely consider going to it again next year, but there were only a few names here that really sold me. However I'd be willing to trade my child or something just to see Sepultura again; hopefully I just wont have to wait another three years this time.