August Burns Red And Misery Index
Live At Hellfest June The 19th
Jul 14, 2009 Tim Bolitho-Jones
Over the course of the three-day weekend, approximately one hundred and nine bands will play at Hellfest. Today alone, Motley Crue, Heaven And Hell, Anthrax, Down and Wasp will draw huge crowds to the two main stages that dominate the arena but there are just as many attractions to be had on the two smaller stages tucked away in the corners.
August Burns Red: Live In France
Early in the afternoon, August Burns Red will draw a respectably large crowd for this time of day. Indeed, the doors have only been open for three hours but the tent is packed out with hardcore fans and a few curious metal heads here to check out the unfamiliar names on the roster.
Immensely popular with the tight jeans and flesh tunnels crowd, the band play passionate and fiery music, if a little bit on the unoriginal side that soon gets the fists spinning down the front. Their attempts to get a circle pit running around the sound desk go unheeded, but the look on their faces is all too clear; these five youngsters are having the time of their lives on that stage.
Admittedly, for those unfamiliar with their material the set list rapidly turns into one long succession of muscular beat downs, but they are furiously energetic enough for it not to matter. Plus, they’re just so undeniably likeable that it’s difficult not to want to put on a t-shirt that’s two sizes too small and tilt a baseball cap at an unusual angle.
Misery Index: Live At Hellfest
If the crowd response was impressive for August Burns Red, over on the Rock Hard Stage several hours later, it is positively earth-shaking. Misery Index, the American titans of grind are here and the fans are out in force. There have been heavy bands a plenty already today but none quite as remorseless as this.
By this stage of the day the hangovers are gone, the weather is starting to cool and more than a few beers have been sunk. Common sense gives up, testosterone takes over and within seconds of the first note, the mosh pit has become an undeniably hostile place. Dense, fast and pummelling, Conquistadores is like being punched in the face repeatedly by a bus and the sound is turned up so high, it’s a miracle that the whole festival doesn’t have to be cancelled and everyone sent home with hearing problems.
The band themselves remain spot on and offer few words to the assembled mass, preferring to let the wall of sound make the message for them. The drums in particular are so relentless they set windows rattling five miles down the road. They don’t so much play music as make a sound akin to a god dying, and are an undoubted highlight of the opening day.
What do you think about this article?
Latest Articles