Live Report | Sonisphere Festival 2010, Athens-Greece, 22-23 June 2010


Arriving a bit late at the event due to my exams I missed the performance of the greek thrash band Suicidal Angels and the whole Bullet for my Valentine’s show. But friends of mine told me that Suicidal Angels kicked ass! I saw the band twice and I have to agree. I believe that it was a great choice to be the opening act for this event. The guys rule!
In such a festival which is considered to be somehow historical and having in mind that the 4 most influential thrash bands sharing the same stage the expectations were quite high. I catch the last 3-4 songs of Stone Sour but I really didn’t pay attention at all because this band is not my cup of tea! I was trying to get a position in Anthrax instead.

Anthrax
When Stone Sour finished Anthrax got on the stage. They started off with the thrash hymn ‘’Caught in a mosh’’ and the bangers started to mosh! The setlist was as below:
    1. Caught in a Mosh
    2. Got the Time ( Joe Jackson cover)
    3. Madhouse
    4. Be All, End All
    5. Antisocial ( Trust cover)
    6. Indians
    7. Medusa
    8. Only
    9. Metal Thrashing Mad
    10. I Am The Law
Although I do not consider my self a fan of Anthrax I think they had a great performance and their setlist was very old-school. As you can see they performed a part of the song ‘’Heaven and hell’’ in the loving memory of Ronnie James Dio (R.I.P.). I also believe that the recent comeback of Belladonna was a great choice although Belladonna seems to try to fit in with the rest of the band again!

Slayer
After Anthrax the mighty Slayer stepped in. I have to say that their show disappointed me a little bit due to the fact that the half of their setlist was post-Seasons in the abyss. Also the band looked like tired and bored! I don’t know if the recent surgery of Araya affected the band but it was surely my least favourable act of the big 4.
Slayer’s setlist:
    1. World Painted Blood
    2. Jihad
    3. War Ensemble
    4. Hate Worldwide
    5. Seasons in the Abyss
    6. Angel of Death
    7. Beauty Through Order
    8. Disciple
    9. Mandatory Suicide
    10. Chemical Warfare
    11. South of Heaven
    12. Raining Blood

Megadeth
Then the gods Megadeth followed. It was unbelievable for me because-as the most of you know-is my favourite band! I was really touched when I saw Mustaine getting on stage! They started off with the best way! HOLY F*CKING WARS! With no time to lose I rushed into the moshpit! In the songs ‘’In my darkest hour’’ and ‘’Trust’’ tears filled my eyes! It was great that Ellefson was back in Megadeth since I admire him as a bassist! Megadeth was the best of the big 4 for me. The choice of ‘’Hook in mouth’’ surprised me! The only negative was at the end where they performed the thrash anthem ‘’Peace sells’’ which ended their show. Because after ‘’Peace sells’’ Mustaine introduced the band and they started playing solos which I believe it was useless. I would have liked to have heard one more song instead. Their setlist is as shown below:
    1. Holy Wars... The Punishment Due
    2. Hangar 18
    3. Headcrusher
    4. In My Darkest Hour
    5. Skin O' My Teeth
    6. A Tout Le Monde
    7. Hook In Mouth
    8. Trust
    9. Sweating Bullets
    10. Symphony Of Destruction
    11. Peace Sells
Metallica
The last band of the big 4 was Metallica which were the headliners of the ‘’Big 4 tour’’. They had the best show, sound and stage performance. I really appreciated them very much after the show because I had zero interest to them anymore. They played a hearty and complete setlist that left none complaining. Their show lasted for about 2 hours. Of course they didn’t play my favourite Metallica song ‘’The call of Ktulu’’ but that’s ok since they had to perform it live for years if I am not mistaken.  They started off with ‘’Creeping death’’. After that they played ‘’Ride the lightning’’ and it started raining. It was raining for about the half of their performance! Also Hetfield dedicated the song ‘’Sad but true’’ to the rest of the big 4. It was kinda strange because I was expecting the song ‘’The four horsemen’’. Few disadvantages about Metallica were the voice of Hetfield which lost its aggression and I have to say that Ulrich is probably the worst drummer of all. He was out of rhythm in some songs and especially in ‘’One’’ we witnessed that he lost his skills. 

Here is the Metallica setlist:
    1. The Ecstasy of Gold (Intro)
    2. Creeping Death
    3. For Whom The Bell Tolls
    4. Ride The Lightning
    5. Harvester Of Sorrow
    6. Fade To Black
    7. That Was Just Your Life
    8. The End Of The Line
    9. Sad But True
    10. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
    11. Broken, Beat And Scarred
    12. One
    13. Master Of Puppets
    14. Blackened
    15. Nothing Else Matters
    16. Enter Sandman
Encore:
    1. Breadfan (Budgie cover)
    2. Motorbreath
    3. Seek And Destroy
Overall it was a great event which had a dreaming line-up for the thrash lovers. It was an amazing experience! But it shouldn’t be labelled as big 4. It should be better off being named Metallica & the other 3. Because it was clearly that this event was all about money. Nothing more, nothing less. The other complaint is that Slayer played after Megadeth. Without showing any disrespect to Slayer they didn’t deserve that place. In sales, fame etc. Megadeth are the second of the big 4. Hopefully the next Sonisphere festival to be as good as this year! Cheers!
Manos “Infernus” Falelakis
June 2010

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