So, yes. I don’t want to brag, but one of the best line-ups in modern rock and metal, and I was there to see it all! So I couldn’t not do a review of it, could I? Check out as I talk about all the bands I saw at Belgium’s premier metal festival, Graspop!
Firstly, Europeans, why you so tall? Between that and your obsession with moving about the crowds near constantly, it was a wonder I saw anything! But damn if it wasn’t one of the friendliest festivals I’ve even been to. Rivaled by only The Long Road, we felt more than welcome, which is incredible in a different country with a potential language barrier.
After pitching up on the Wednesday, we were in as soon as possible to check out the band opening the festival, Molybaron. The Metal Dome tent was absolutely heaving with them being the only ones on. The French/Irish band more than deserved it. The heavy/proggy metal went down a storm, remind me a fair bit of the likes of Chevelle.
Opening up the main stages for the weekend was the utterly incredible Beast in Black. I’ve been a fan of them for a few year now but haven’t seen them as they seem to rarely do much in the UK. They lived up to the hype and then some, they were amazing. The band come across heavier live than on track which is great, and Yannis Papadopoulos’ vocal range is even more impressive live. They were the perfect way to open the ‘big bands’ part of the festival and their 45 minute set went far too quick.
I didn’t really ‘get’ Mammoth WVH heading into the festival. Their set didn’t do anything to change that. Don’t get me wrong, every member of the band is very talented and play their parts well. However, between little to no show being put on the tracks easily fitting in with any other average NWOCR cut, it didn’t do much for me. If you like them they were probably great, but they’re not for me!
I didn’t really ‘get’ Spiritbox heading into the festival. Their set didn’t do anything to change that… sorry, I couldn’t resist. This one’s at least a little different than Mammoth as I do enjoy a few of their tracks. I simply don’t get the HUMUNGOUS hype around them. The songs sound good live and Courtney’s vocal range is ever impressive. However, all the songs kinda blended together into a wall of meh, and there was little crowd interaction or stage show. I’d give them the benefit of the doubt and see them again once more music is out, but it didn’t help me get on the hype train!
Next up we headed over to the big beer stage to see the New York/British Stray From the Path. Honestly, they were the highlight of the day for me. I wasn’t too familiar with them until their latest album released last year, but they absolutely blew me away here. The energy from all of them was infectious, but fromtman Andrew Dijorio puts on one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. His vocals were incredible, the emotion being portrayed in every note, and he threw himself across the stage with reckless abandon. It reminded me a lot of Jason Aalon (more on him later). They won over my notoriously fussy Mrs with their show alone, so that should be the most glowing endorsement here! Even if you’re not particularly a fan of the genre, go see these, you won’t be disappointed!
Epica were up next on one of the main stages. Being a pretty big fan of the band, seeing them a couple of times before and loving their last two or three albums… this was okay. I don’t know if the earlier slot meant they couldn’t do as much of a stageshow as they usually could, but it did feel a tad reserved. Still, the band brought plenty of energy and were super polished and professional. Simone’s vocals were on top form as always, soaring operatically throughout. And Mark’s growls remain some of my favourite harsh vocals in the business today. Not the best I’ve seen them but it’s almost impossible for Epica to have a bad show these days.
The sheer energy Jacoby and the rest of Papa Roach provided to the crowd was massively appreciated and reciprocated. We got caught in between multiple pits and had an almost constant stream of crowd surfers over our heads. We loved every second of it. This was somehow my first time seeing them live and they definitely didn’t disappoint. Playing all the classics that the crowd loved, as well as throwing in a couple of good tracks off the new album, it was a fantastic set. Also, as a big wrestling fan, ‘To Be Loved…’ gave such a great nostalgia bump! Another band you HAVE to see live currently, they’re on top form.
We then unfortunately had to go and eat, heading back in to catch the awesome Motionless in White. If anything, the Jupiler stage was too small for them; it was packed. They could have easily been on one of the two main stages, and I was shocked they weren’t. The band heavied it up for Metal Meeting too, which was both a good and bad thing. They played the likes of ‘Reincarnate’ and the incredible ‘Slaughterhouse’. However, it also meant they didn’t play one of my favourite tracks from them, ‘Werewolf’. Still, it meant they somehow sold me on getting tickets to them whenever they do their own tour so I can see more of their stuff, so goal achieved by them! Another great live band.
Another highlight of the day, like was to be expected, were Ghost. This was the first time I’d seen them since their hooded, Papa II early days. So, to say they were very different here is an understatement. They have grown so much, in both size and as a band, in the last eight years or so, and have really earned being one of the biggest modern bands. They are impeccably tight live and are all natural entertainers. Clearly they were having fun on stage, and it very much rubbed off on the crowd.
There wasn’t a huge amount of crowd interaction, but they made up for it by playing a collection of some of the biggest rock tracks of the last decade. Plus, wheeling out and ‘reanimating’ Papa I for a sweet-ass sax solo in ‘Miasma’ was amazing. Tobias and Co. have very much earned their spot at the top of the rock world and will continue to headline major festivals for years to come. Shame they didn’t do ‘Little Sunshine’, though, that was a bummer…
Anyone who is a fan of the band or is in the rock music community at all really knew almost exactly what to expect from Guns ‘N Roses. Three hours of covers and album tracks with some absolute classics sprinked in, mainly at the end. Having seen them a couple of times around 2017/2018 when they first reunited, I’d pretty much seen it all before. The fact that they have changed maybe three tracks over the last six years is insane. Especially when they took out amazing tracks like ‘Don’t Cry’ and ‘Coma’ for the awful new tracks ‘Hard Skool’ and ‘Absurd’.
At least they played ‘Bad Obsession’; that was a great new addition and is from one of the most criminally underrated albums of all time. However, why they insist on ‘This I Love’ still being in the set is beyond me. It’s an AMAZING, very underrated song, but Axl has never been able to sing it live, and here was no exception.
We got bored around the middle mark, leaving during ‘Estranged’, instead wandering off to As I Lay Dying. What a great choice too, as they tore the Jupiler stage apart. I know they are a controversial name due to Tim Lambesis’ past, but he put on a fantastic show and the crowd showed plenty of love and support. The heaviness and energy was a shot in the arm after an hour of GnR. All of the band did fantastically well. I’d have happily seen more than an hour of them!
We returned to GnR during ‘Rocket Queen’. As it turns out, we only really missed ‘You Could be Mine’ and a bunch of covers. Nothing too bad. The back half was a lot more single heavy, featuring crowd favourites like ‘November Rain’, ‘Sweet Child O Mine’ and ‘Paradise City’. It was a fine rest of the set. They are very polished and professional, too much so, in my opinion. It felt very dry, everyone going through the motions, there just to get the huge paycheck, not because they wanted to be there. There was little interraction or fun to be had on that stage. It always saps a bit of life out of the crowd.
It was all played well though, and as usual Axl did his best. His lows are still solid, but he struggles with the higher stuff and can’t really hold a note for all too long. Still though, the guy’s in his 60s and they aren’t exactly easy songs to sing, I don’t blame him! Not bad, but it felt like a cash-grab nostalgia setlist from a stalled band. Hopefully this long-rumored new album will breathe some new life into them again!