Live review: Sonisphere at Knebworth

SATURDAY
After a Herculean trek to Knebworth House, your humble Hot Press reviewer has finally arrived at this year's Sonisphere festival just in time to catch Anthrax lay waste to the main stage. Any aches and pains are instantly forgotten when the thrash metal titans launch into 'I Am The Law'. With estranged singer Joey Belladonna now firmly back in the fold, the band are focused on reliving the days when they were a part of 'The Big Four' (alongside Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer) and for the next hour or so, Scott Ian and co stomp around the stage, delivering payload after payload of pummelling riffs. Their tribute to the much-missed Ronnie James Dio was a nice touch and tracks like 'Indians' and 'Got The Time' ensure that the tens of thousands of assembled rock, metal and punk fans are left with sore necks.
After a brief pit-stop checking out the Trooper beer tent (purely for research purposes, you understand), we join the masses to watch a re-enactment of a World War One aerial dog fight led by Iron Maiden's own Bruce Dickinson. Channelling his inner Biggles – or Briggles, as it were – puts on a mesmerising display alongside his pilot pals and I genuinely haven't seen as many Fokker's in one place since I witnessed the Black Eyed Peas perform at Oxegen.
All joking aside, watching the triplanes duck and dive through the air was a thrilling experience and fair play to one inventive soul beside me who thought he'd head-bang along to the roar of the engines. Sacramento bruisers Deftones start their set straight afterwards and while singer Chino Moreno is in fine voice, their sludgy riffs and mediocre melodies have never really floated this particular boat. 'Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away)' is enjoyable enough though, but it doesn't take long for us to wander away, in search of something much more fun.
Rap rock pioneers Dog Eat Dog on the other hand, are on fire on the Bohemia Stage and their sax-infused, funk, punk, hardcore and hip-hop fusion goes down a storm. Performing their ground-breaking 1994 record All Boro Kings in its entirety – plus some other favourites such as 'Rocky' – it's impossible not to be charmed by them and 'No Fronts' is,as expected, one of the anthems of the weekend.
Next up, Slayer play the Saturn Stage, drawing one of the biggest crowds of the day. Full disclosure, the band's treatment of former tub thumper Dave Lombardo, coupled with the sad passing of guitarist Jeff Hanneman, makes the band feel a little like 'The Tom And Kerry Show' these days, but it's good to hear 'The Antichrist' being dusted off and it sounds as mean as Wolverine after a week-long bender. Looking a little like a Satanic Santa Claus thanks to his big, bushy, snow white beard, Tom Araya's voice is as thunderous as ever, but 'War Ensemble,' 'South Of Heaven' and more feel workmanlike to these ears.
Closing this evening's festival are the masters of heavy metal Iron Maiden. Performing a set based around their near-mythic Maiden England tour from the late '80s, tonight offers a rare opportunity to experience that show for those who were too young to see it the first time (including this writer). Opening with 'Moonchild', the Irons effortlessly prove why they're the best around with an incendiary performance that's full of energy. There are flames, pyros and multiple animatronic Eddies and, in Bruce Dickinson, they've got the consummate heavy metal frontman and he unites the 60 000 plus crowd with ease. 'Phantom Of The Opera' steals the show with its whiplash-inducing riffs, copious time changes and a thunderous chorus, but 'Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son,' 'Aces High' and 'Wasted Years' are just as jaw-dropping. In short, it was a phenomenal gig from the genre's greatest group.

SUNDAY
Punk powerhouse Gallows well and truly blow away any Trooper-based hangovers we might have had by putting on a scintillating show. Guitarist Lags crowd-surfs while playing a solo, frontman Wade MacNeil barks himself horse by the time the set's nearly done and pit anthems like 'Outsider Art' light up the crowd. Newie 'Chains' is hellaciously heavy and packs more bite than Luis Suarez, and their bullish performance is one of the best of the festival so far. Here's hoping they make it to Ireland with their current line-up sooner rather than later...
Now back as a four-piece, Kilkenny's own Kerbdog are sounding like a band reborn. Though second album On The Turn may receive all the critical acclaim, it was their first, self-titled record which fired me up as a kid and this afternoon 'End Of Green' is as big and beefy as the entire WWE locker-room.
Boston folk-punks Dropkick Murphys might be the “softest” band on the bill in comparison to the likes of Carcass, but they've attracted 50,000 people and everyone's loving their sound regardless. Hardcore-fuelled 'Citizen C.I.A.' is a highlight and it's cool to see so many people rocking out to tunes like 'The Black Velvet Band' and, quite possibly, getting their first taste of Irish trad too.
Alice In Chains suffer a little on the main stage due to a rather drab production and the blazing hot sun makes songs such as the brooding 'Them Bones' seem a little out of place, but by the time they get to the gloriously gloomy 'Would?' and 'Rooster' we're won over anyway.
Next up, Therapy? headline the Bohemia stage with a set that sees them perform Infernal Love in full. For me, the best and most ambitious Irish album of the '90s, it does the heart good to see this once misunderstood slab of wax finally receive its dues and the packed tent is a sight to behold. Kicking off with the off-kilter rocker 'Epilepsy,' the trio look a little nervous and perhaps anxious to begin with, but it adds an injection of excitement to the performance. Both singer/guitarist Andy Cairns and bassist Michael McKeegan work hard to engage and entertain in one of the most energetic Therapy? sets I've seen in a long time and forgotten gems like 'Jude The Obscene' and 'Misery' shine. A triumph and no mistake, the trio are unstoppable tonight and it's a special performance for both fans and band alike.
Metallica draw proceedings to a close with their 'By Request' set. After that Glasto performance, which saw the Bay Area thrashers handle the much more mainstream crowd with kid gloves, tonight they're back to their bludgeoning best. Reinstating the seminal 'Ride The Lightning,' 'Battery' and 'Blackened' in the set, the band sound all the better for it and a man tired of 'Creeping Death' is a man tired of life itself. Boasting more lasers than the entire residents of Cybertron, tonight’s show is a master-class in arena-level heavy metal and a rare airing of …And Justice For All receives one of the best reactions all night, ensuring that both hardcore and fair-weather fans leave happy.
Here's to the next 40 years of Knebworth.