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:
-
Caught in a Mosh
-
Got the Time ( Joe Jackson cover)
-
Madhouse
-
Be All, End All
-
Antisocial ( Trust cover)
-
Indians
-
Medusa
-
Only
-
Metal Thrashing Mad
-
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:
Slayer’s setlist:
-
World Painted Blood
-
Jihad
-
War Ensemble
-
Hate Worldwide
-
Seasons in the Abyss
-
Angel of Death
-
Beauty Through Order
-
Disciple
-
Mandatory Suicide
-
Chemical Warfare
-
South of Heaven
-
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:
-
Holy Wars... The Punishment Due
-
Hangar 18
-
Headcrusher
-
In My Darkest Hour
-
Skin O' My Teeth
-
A Tout Le Monde
-
Hook In Mouth
-
Trust
-
Sweating Bullets
-
Symphony Of Destruction
-
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.
-
The Ecstasy of Gold (Intro)
-
Creeping Death
-
For Whom The Bell Tolls
-
Ride The Lightning
-
Harvester Of Sorrow
-
Fade To Black
-
That Was Just Your Life
-
The End Of The Line
-
Sad But True
-
Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
-
Broken, Beat And Scarred
-
One
-
Master Of Puppets
-
Blackened
-
Nothing Else Matters
-
Enter Sandman
Encore:
- Breadfan (Budgie cover)
- Motorbreath
- 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
June 2010
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