ROCKWEEKEND 2009

DATE:

VENUE:

Thursday 9th July - Saturday 11th July 2009

Kilafors Herrgård, Sweden

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATOR; CHICKENFOOT; GEMINI FIVE; U.D.O.; ARCH ENEMY; MUSTASCH; PARADISE LOST; CRUCIFIED BARBARA; CORRODED; PURE MANIA

SATURDAY

NAPALM DEATH; DIMMU BORGIR; EDGUY; QUEENSRŸCHE; HEAT; HOT LEG; NIGHTINGALE; SCAR SYMMETRY; MEMORY GARDEN; WOLVERINE

D-A-D; W.A.S.P.; DARK FUNERAL; TESTAMENT; DIA PSALMA; LA GUNS; DEAD BY APRIL; WOLF; FAST FORWARDS; TAD MOROSE

Reviews & Photography by Mark Holmes

TAD MOROSE

First mainstage act of Rockweekend 2009 are Swedish metallers Tad Morose from Bollnäs. Quite randomly, I first became familiar with this band through a Nuclear Blast 'Tribute to ABBA' compilation some years ago with their effective down-tempo version of 'Knowing Me, Knowing You' (from memory, actually one of the stand-out tracks along with Therion, Morgana Lefay and Glow on an otherwise patchy collection of misplaced metal cheese). As I arrive at the festival site, the Swedes have already commenced their set and by the time I've queued at the accreditation office to pick up my photovest and photo wristband, I only manage to catch the very tail end of their performance. What I hear though impresses me, and their dark-themed brand of heavy/power metal provides a lively start to proceedings on this first day as cloudy skies discharge heavy rain on festival goers.

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THURSDAY 9TH JULY - PART 1

WOLF

With Rockweekend still plagued by bad weather, and the grass on the fields rapidly disappearing into a slippery bed of waterlogged mud, third band of the day take to the stage - Wolf. I am actually elsewhere on the festival site as they begin to play, and by the time I've waded my way through the muddy grounds and into the photopit, a security guy informs me that I only have half a song left to shoot. Swiftly unpacking my camera gear, the band finish their third song and, I'm asked to leave an already empty photopit before I've had the chance to take one photo. Slightly disappointing, but I guess they must adhere to the 'first 3 songs' rule. The first and last time I saw Wolf live was at the UK's Bloodstock Open Air festival in 2007 where, only two songs into their set, a complete power failure rendered them unable to play for over twenty minutes, during which time guitarist Johannes Losbäck and bassist Anders Modd entertained the crowd with impromptu antics including unamplified drumming and a 2 man striptease. No such technical glitches and concomitant tomfoolery today as the Swedes are afforded an astonishingly good sound through the PA as their up-tempo retro-metal grooves resonate through the late afternoon air, and are lapped up by an increasingly wet, though enthusiastic, crowd.

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DEAD BY APRIL

Hailing from Gothenburg, Dead By April are the next band to appear on the right hand stage at around 6:30pm as Thursday's rain remains relentless. Largely unfamiliar with their material before today, I am pleasantly surprised by the music I hear, which is rich with melancholic melodies, heavy palm-muted riffs, metalcore style screams, dulcet clean vocals, and a prominent infusion of keyboards (although these are played on backing tracks). Dead By April are far from original, although their blend of different styles works well and are an entertaining band to watch through an impressively energetic performance. Frontman Jimmie Strimell (one-time Nightrage singer) performs both vocal styles well, while guitarist Pontus Hjelm also proves his worth as an adept vocalist with some harmoniously expressive clean singing on tracks such as the radio-friendly single 'Losing You' - a song with which most of the large audience appear to be familiar as a wide display of horned fists pump the showery air. Only formed 2 years ago in 2007, Dead By April give the impression they're a longer established band through an accomplished live show. Very impressive.

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L.A. GUNS

As the rain still falls on an increasingly muddy field, now virtually bare of grass, 80s glam metal is next in the guise of L.A. Guns. Well, that is to say one branch of L.A. Guns, namely vocalist Phil Lewis and drummer Steve Riley's offshoot, as there is, of course, also Tracii Guns' version of the band extant. However, with this lot's tagline on their MySpace of "The Real L.A. GUNS! Accept No Imitations", today's 'version' is perhaps the preferable of the two, particularly considering the lineup features two longtime members, and the other only one. With glam metal territory comes anachronistic attire, big hair, clichéd poses, big singalong choruses, etc....and L.A. Guns don't disappoint on all criteria. Attracting the largest crowd of the day so far, it seems the more drenched with rain people become, the more enthusiastic they are. As L.A. Guns take to the stage, it is just after 7pm so perhaps the greater enthusiasm is engendered by increased beer consumption as day slowly turns to night and a more jovial atmosphere is noticeable amongst Rockweekend's crowd. I admit to never being a fan of L.A. Guns or glam metal per se, but with such godawful weather, I find their music the perfect tonic at this time of the day. Through an enthusiastic performance, they deliver mainly material from their self-titled debut album and sophomore release 'Cocked & Loaded' - 'No Mercy'; 'Sex Action'; 'One More Reason'; and 'Electric Gypsy' from the former, and 'Slap in the Face'; 'Rip and Tear'; 'Never Enough'; 'Malaria'; 'The Ballad of Jayne'; and 'Wheels of Fire' from the latter. L.A. Guns' fast-paced fifty minute set is surprisingly enjoyable and with dormant metal subgenres resurfacing all over the place to find renewed popularity in today's scene, archaic fashions and big hair aside, their music doesn't actually sound all that dated, even though the majority of their set is 20+ years old. Competently performed with an undeniably infectious energy, L.A. Guns impress me greatly and judging by crowd reactions, many others in attendance too. And I am still sober!

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THE FAST FORWARDS

Stockholm's The Fast Forwards are up next on the adjacent main stage and commence playing only five minutes after Tad Morose cease. With the rain at its heaviest thus far, conditions for photography are treacherous to say the least, so I opt for a beer under cover at the back of the festival site, optimistic that the weather will soon improve. This proves not to be the case, so I wander back out for the second half of their set to discover a diminutive gathering of no more than twenty punters braving the rain to witness The Fast Forwards' indie/rock sounds - a bizarre sight observing so few people in a large festival field! And no doubt disappointing for the band, although they still admirably perform as if playing to a larger audience. At least one guy seems quite taken with their music, even though he appears to be dancing to his own soundtrack of something like 'Saturday Night Fever' meets Madness with an amusingly impressive array of John Travolta and Suggs style moves (amusing enough to prompt someone into filming this spectacle - check out video link below). Jingly/jangly indie tunes abound, The Fast Forwards exemplify Rockweekend's diverse billing and offer something different to the weekend's lineup, so it's a shame that their performance is witnessed by only a handful of people.

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YouTube link to amusing dancing guy:

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Reviews & Photography by Mark Holmes