Rock the Range: Day 3
After a great day and night of rock yesterday, I was ready to see what today would bring. I like what the promoters for ROTR did this year in having each day be something a little different. While yesterday was harder/radio rock, today was, for the most part, all about the Metal/Hardcore. The weather today was going to be hot - with temps in the high 80’s the fans lined up early to see the first bands play on the side stage.
I decided to check out Ghost of August playing on the Jagermeister stage first. They have a self-titled album out now and put on a tight set for the early morning fans.
Over on the F.Y.E. stage, Aranda was tearing up and closed out their set with their new single, Satisfied, as well as their insane guitar solo that has to be seen when Das boot comes out.
Staying on the F.Y.E. stage I got a chance to check out another new band, Redlight King, who have the hit single, Bullet in My Hand from the album, Something for the Pain. They also played Old Man by Neal Young, who for the first time allowed someone to sample this song. Redlight King is not that hard or heavy but just straight-up rock.
Trivium was next and they got the day rolling with a harder edge and Metal sound to ROTR; even host, Jose Mangin told the crowd how excited he was to see the lineup for Sunday and time to go to the Church of Metal. Trivium came on and set the bar high and opened with In Waves. Singer, Matt Heafy told the crowd he did not want to see anyone standing still and to set this place off. The crowd did not need much more than that to get the pits to open and bodies flying. Corey Beaulieu on guitar was like a beast on his Jackson guitar as they played Rain, Black, and Watch the World Burn. They ended the set with a cover of Metallica - Creeping Death. This was signal to the whole venue, as it could be heard from all stages that Rock on the Range was now going to be Metal on the Range.
Local band, Attack Attack came on next and did not let up on the audio assault. The crowd treated them like the hometown heroes they are. I was new to Attack Attack and came away very impressed with how polished they sounded and how hard they played. Just seeing the crowd go crazy you can’t help but get caught up in it and another great move by ROTR for placing them here right after Trivium, a very ballsy move that paid off.
The highlight of the night at the F.Y.E. stage was Down. Seeing Phil Anselmo playing at ROTR just felt right and the crowd was open arms for the heavy sound this band produced. They played Rehab, Lifer, Stone the Crow and when Phil talked about Dimebag, you could see how much he meant to him and was a goose bump moment that felt so surreal. The stage on the side was filled with members from other bands who came to watch Down play; a true statement to how much respect others have for Anselmo. They ended the set, as much as Anselmo did not want to, with Bury Me in Smoke. I know tonight Dimebag himself was smiling down.
Anthrax put on a killer set to close out the night on the F.Y.E. stage. Even though these bands were not on the main stage, they sure as hell played like they were.
Back over on the Jagermeister stage, the bands I missed where Eve to Adam, Soil, and James Durbin of American Idol fame. I did check out the last two acts - 12 Stones being the first one.
12 Stones have been lying low of late, recording a new album, Beneath the Scars, due out at the end of the month. They always put on a lively set and singer, Paul McCoy is full of energy - going from clean to dirty vocals. Opening with Infected, a new single off the new album, sounded good, as well as playing Anthem for the Underdog. It felt like they were knocking off some rust off but once they played Bulletproof and Adrenaline, McCoy went off and the band went to the next gear. They closed out the set with their hit, Broken.
Lou Brutus came out to introduce the last band to play the Jagermeister stage for 2012. The side stage was packed with people hanging over the 2 levels of the stadium to see Lacuna Coil from Italy. With a new album out, Dark Adrenaline and coming off the Gigantour, Cristina Scabbia has said she was excited to be playing at ROTR in front of a large American festival. Lacuna Coil came out strong, playing I Don’t Believe in Tomorrow - getting the crowd into it and maybe knowing this was the last band on this stage, they decided to end it with a bang, as body after body kept sailing over heads and landing in the tight quarters of the photo pit and security. They continued with I Won’t Tell You and just like the night before with 5fdp, the photographers were asked to leave for their safety. You could see the band was into it and loved all the energy and reception they were getting as they continued with Kill the Light, Heaven’s a Lie and the beautiful sounding, Our Truth. At this point, I thought the set was going to be stopped with the crowd going crazy but it never did and Security did a hell of a job keeping everyone as safe as they could. They ended the set with Trip the Darkness and Spellbound to close out the side stages.
During all this, the Main Stage was producing some great music. Opening the show was one of the best live bands out there - Black Stone Cherry, a personal favorite of mine as well as many of the fans. Opening the set, Maybe Someday followed by Blind Man, In My Blood got the crowd wide awake quick. Ben Wells on Guitar was jumping around everywhere, letting his long blonde hair fly along with John Fred Young looking like Animal from the Muppets, pounding away on the drums. They played a cover of Amy Winehouse, Rehab, which sounded great and ended with Lonely Train. BSC proved they deserve a higher spot on the Main Stage for next time.
Up next on the main stage was Escape the Fate. I was looking forward to seeing them, as in the past they have always put on a great show but today I felt they mailed in their performance on one of the biggest rock stages and left disappointed. They opened with 10 Miles Wide, followed by Issues and Flood; the sound was weak and singer, Craig Mabbitt was off his vocal game. It’s a shame because this band, when tight, can play their asses off and put on a good show. They ended with The Aftermath (G3).
The Darkness came on next. After a hiatus, they have all come back to touring in 2011 and with a new album out in August 2012. While an odd paring on behalf of ROTR, it ended up fitting perfect in the time slot and they were a lot of fun to watch. Singer, Justin Hawkins is for sure out there as a singer. They opened up with Black Shuck, as well as, Get Your Hands Off My Woman; during this he was doin
g high jumps and standing on his head clapping his feet together. He told the crowd his voice is not feeling well enough for the low notes but just fine for this high notes, as he proved in I Believe in a Thing Called Love and ended with Love on the Rocks With No Ice.
With a fun set of music, the Main stage was about to get crazy. It seems America has finally caught on to Volbeat, as they have been touring heavy in the USA since last year and it is very well much-deserved all the accolades they have been getting. As the crowd chanted, “Volbeat, Volbeat,” they came out to a huge roar which seemed to take the guys by surprise as they opened with A Warrior’s Call - this was the point the crowd decided they were going to be a part of ROTR, as they crowd surfed non-stop, fist pumped in the air and singing along. The smile on singer, Michael Poulsen’s face was priceless as he looked out onto 30,000+ fans as they launched into catchy, Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood. Replacement guitarist, Hank Shermann from Mercyful Fate has really rounded out their sound. Drummer, Jon Larsen, who is a wrecking machine on the drums and Anders Kjolholm on bass, produce some of the thickest bass lines that could be felt deep into the crowd. Sad Man’s Tongue, Hallelujah Goat, and The Mirror and the Ripper gave the crowd a chance to mosh and have a sense you were overseas at the open-air, huge festivals played there. They ended their set with Pool of Booze, Booze, Booza and Still Counting. While their set was over, the day of Metal had just begun.
Mastodon came on with little fan-fare - stripped down stage setup and began to blow away the crowd. With 3 singers in this band, they take turns as well as having vocal harmonies. Bass player, Troy Sanders with his white long hair and beard, looks like a character from Lord of the Rings. Guitarist, Brent Hinds was having guitar difficulties to start and could hear him screaming to his tech to fix the shit. Opening with Black Tongue, Crystal Skull and Dry Bone Valley sounded great and gave a very trippy vibe to the crowd and well, this is a rock concert - a good portion of the ground floor crowd was getting wasted. They ended their amazing set with Blood and Thunder and The Sparrow.
The last 3 bands up could have headlined any show they wanted but ROTR was able to get them all on the same night and back to back to back, with the first being Megadeth.
Megadeth has seen resurgence in their music in the last few years and rightfully so. Playing tonight, they gave ROTR a true heavyweight in metal and a lineup that will be talked about for years and set a trend in the coming years for this festival. Opening with Never Dead, Head Crusher, and Hangar 18, the crowd embraced them fully as fans swam over heads to reach out to Dave Mustaine - with his reddish, long hair he looked like a rock god. With a row of Marshall amps that expanded across the stage, this was the loudest set for sure. Dave Ellefson on Bass smiled as he moved around the stage and joining together with drummer, Shawn Drover, produced a very tight sound. The star of the group was Chris Broderick, with his long, flowing black hair and chiseled face - he looks and plays the part of Guitar hero to a tee. Playing songs like Sweating Bullets, Public Enemy No.1 and the classic, Symphony of Destruction the crowd was on fire and never seen a crowd give back so much love to a band as Megadeth was receiving was a truly a highlight.
In what seemed like two encores they played Peace Sells and Holy Wars…The Punishment Due, most fans would have been happy at that point, but with two more bands left, the party was getting started. With a quick turnaround of sets, which once again Kudos to ROTR for keeping the production on time, it was time for the one and only Marilyn Manson. I have listened to Manson music but never have seen him live, and hearing the stories of how he treats press, I was wondering what would happen. With a small tent on the side of the stage, Manson was placed, as Twiggy Ramirez on guitar, Fred Sablan on Bass and Jason Sutter on Drums walked on stage to open with Hey, Cruel World, off the new album, Born Villain. When Manson came out, the crowd seemed sort of unsure. Mason told them he was from Ohio and it almost felt like this was not the wild man everyone talked about.
It did not take long for the crowd to give into Manson’s charm; he even played with the photographers as he sprayed them with a cold air blast. Playing The Love Song, No Reflection and Obscene the crowd became enthralled and enchanted by Manson as a sea of bodies came one after another over the barricade. This had to be the largest mass of crowd surfers ROTR had all weekend. This was also the biggest amount of bodies being cared for by the medics who were onsite and did a great job. Doing a cover of the Depeche Mode song, Personal Jesus, The Dope Show before ending the set with a very creepy and twisted version of Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), Manson proved over and over what a great vocalist he is; yes he can shock you, freak you out, but he puts on a hell of a show. They ended the night with Antichrist Superstar and The Beautiful People giving the crowd at ROTR everything they had and the crowd still wanted more. Even after they were off stage, bodies kept coming over.
In the past with ROTR, the last band to play is also the one to have the crowds walk out and left with a fraction of the 30,000+ - this was not the case this year.
Rob Zombie played 2 years ago at ROTR and stole the show from Limp Bizkit. This year, while not the same results, they for sure made today one of the best days ever for ROTR. Rob Zombie’s band includes two former Marilyn Manson band mates - Ginger Fish on Drums and one of the best guitar players in rock along with being one of the nicest guys John 5, rounding out the band is Piggy D on bass. With an elaborate stage setup, with several huge LED monitors, robots, fire pots, Zombie brought out full stage show.
Opening the show with Jesus Frankenstein, Zombie came out of a flaming metal robot, as the screen behind him played a video of Frankenstein. They continued with Superbeast, Scum of the Earth, and Living Dead Girl. Seeing a Zombie show is like having all your senses come alive as you watch, not just a rock show, but a macabre theatre show. After More Human Than Human, Ginger Fish went into a killer drum solo that went into Never Gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy). One of the highlights came when they played Mars Needs Women, along with Thunder Kiss ’65, with John 5 playing his sick solo that went into the Star Spangled Banner. The night ended with a party, as confetti was shot into the crowd and the stage lit up to Dragula.
Rock the Range was now a wrap, and as I reflect on the past weekend, I have to say this was one of the best festivals I have covered. Huge hats off to everyone involved in making it seem seamless. Looking forward to what is in store for next year’s festival.
Review & Photos by Peter Lizano
