With the 'big four' thrash bands all playing sonisphere, Louis Pattison steels himself for a summer of metal
Heavy metal is back. Of course, true metalheads would say that it has never been away. Metal isn't a trend that comes and goes ? it's sturdy and evergreen, like a pine forest. Seasons change, but not metal. Metal is eternal.
That said, the late noughties were not a great time to be a metalhead. This was a fallow period for the classic British heavy metal festival, with Monsters Of Rock and Ozzfest replaced by Download, with its focus on weedy nu-metallers and emo rockers such as Linkin Park and My Chemical Romance.
The advent of Sonisphere in 2009, though, marked a step back in the right direction. A touring European festival akin to Lollapalooza, Sonisphere calls at 12 countries between June and August, and this year's lineup is mighty indeed, with the "big four" of 80s thrash metal ? Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax ? sharing a stage for the first time ever in the UK. They're joined by Mot�rhead and Mastodon on a commendably heavy bill.
Just as the mainstream festival landscape has been reinvigorated by boutique festivals, the British metal scene has benefited from more specialist events finding their feet. The 12,000-capacity, family-run Bloodstock might be relatively small in scale, but in spirit it resembles monstrous continental festivals such as Germany's Wacken Open Air, pulling a crowd that know their black metal from their death metal, and their power metal from their pagan. This year's bill features Mot�rhead, Morbid Angel, corpse-painted Norwegians Immortal, and LA shock-rockers W.A.S.P. ? they of the exploding codpieces and songs like Animal (Fuck Like A Beast). Elsewhere, the likes of Hammerfest and Hard Rock Hell take their cue from All Tomorrow's Parties, filling the UK's dilapidated holiday camps with dyed-in-the-denim believers, while High Voltage in Victoria Park plays to a "heritage" rock crowd, with headline sets from Judas Priest, Dream Theater and Thin Lizzy.
At the other end of the scale in terms of adventurousness, Birmingham's Supersonic takes a liberal approach to the boundaries of heaviness ? last year's event featured Swans, Godflesh and Melt Banana. Its organisers are also curating a series of events, exhibitions and concerts across the Black Country this summer under the banner Home Of Metal. This affectionate representation of metal's roots also points to a solid future for the gnarlier end of rock, starting this summer.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/may/21/festivals-heavy-metal-sonisphere
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