Friday
Friday night, this year, is all about the long-awaited arrival to our shores of the Big Four package of Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax, all due to step foot on the Apollo stage, in what is a truly historic event. 20 years in the making, Knebworth house will witness the big guns of the Bay Area thrash scene from the 80’s thrown down in unison, to get the weekend started with a bang.
Metallica are always great value at a festival, and have so many hits, that they cannot fail to hit the mark every time. They are an absolute machine, and will go down a storm on the opening night. Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax are no slackers either, and it will undoubtedly be a fitting way to get the weekend’s proceedings under way.
If their European shows last year were anything to go by, we could also be treated to a collaboration, the most likely to be a run through of Diamond Head’s Am I Evil? If so, they could well be joined by the band themselves, as they are opening the proceedings on the same stage that night. Elsewhere across the site, there are some other cracking bands playing over at the Bohemia tent on that Friday. Should time (and most importantly, my legs) allow, I would love to catch a bit of Glamour Of The Kill, Japanese Voyeurs and Firewind too.
Looks like Friday will be the perfect warm up to the festivities, and ample preparation for the killer Saturday and Sunday lineup.
Saturday
Other than hoping to catch a bit of While She Sleeps on Bohemia early doors, I pretty much plan on camping out at the festival’s two main stages for Saturday, with some awesome bands making up the lineup on the Apollo and Saturn stages. Sylosis should prove there credentials early on, opening the main stage, in a slot that could rise their profile exponentially. They have a big buzz surrounding them, and although I have heard none of their material to date, their set could be the perfect chance for them to convert me, and a host of other early rises to the arena.
Architects should induce pure mayhem during their slot, and they will be out to prove that they can cut it with the big boys in the scene. Going on the strength of their latest record The Here And Now, you would be a fool to bet against them. If they get the party started, following them on the second stage straight after (ah, the beauty of alternating stages!!) Gallows will undoubtedly smash their early afternoon set, and will definitely get the pits going to their brutal punk rock assault. Could we also hear some new material? I wouldn’t bet against it, but the likes of In The Belly Of A Shark will always go down well at a festival. They will slay. Without a doubt.
Following them is an unenviable task, but Cavalera Conspiracy led by the veteran Max Cavalera and the thundering drum blasts of his brother Iggor, will always be up to the task. Blunt Force Trauma, their recent release, is also a stormer, and they will go down well with the masses. They should get a pretty big crowd too, over on the main stage.
After the metal savagery of CC though, is when things get a little lighter, with punk (specifically of the pop – punk variety) taking over the proceedings. Bad Religion may bring their veteran punk rock legend to the main stage for an anthemic run through of the hits, but them aside, pop punk will be taking the spotlight with the likes of Kids In Glass Houses (ok, maybe stretching the genre tag their a little), All Time Low, Sum 41, You Me At Six, and the
irrepressible Weezer taking to the stage.
All Time Low and You Me At Six will evoke utter hysteria, but they have the tunes to back it up, and Kids In Glass Houses
will be phenomenal. Dirt was such a massive album last year, and they will bring the hits, as well as some new material to the field at Knebworth next Saturday. Their afternoon slot could well be one of the highlights of the weekend, especially if the sun is shining! Sum 41 also have hits in abundance, and it has been some time since they last graced the UK festival scene. The likes of In Too Deep, Fat Lip and Underclass Hero, will all be HUGE sing-along moments.
Then we come to Weezer. The pop punk legends themselves.
They may be nearing the end of their second decade as a band, but they still knowing how to bring it, especially at festivals. They were one of the highlights of last year’s Reading and Leeds festivals, completely stealing the show from most of their peers. A master in performance, with the wild-eyed and unpredictable front man Rivers Cuomo, their set will be an hour of pure class, backed up by some of the finest songs ever written. Buddy Holly and Pork and Beans will be MASSIVE. They are, without a doubt, one of the PERFECT festival bands. Their set will be wall to wall awesomeness.
The Mars Volta will bring the alt rock back to the Saturn stage after Weezer, before Biffy Clyro take their rightful place as festival headliners on the Saturday night. Morphing into a world class band, especially with the commercial success of Puzzle and Only Revolutions under their belts, Biffy will finally get the chance to prove their class, in what will be the biggest performance of their entire career. Anyone who has listened to their new live CD will know that the band have hits by the bucketload, and have worked their way tirelessly from the underground “cult” band circuit, into arena fillers of the highest calibre. Expect them all to be topless. Expect them to blow everybody away. Expect some of the finest alt-rock songs of the last few years. Their set will be unmissable.
On the Saturday night, they take their much deserved place amongst the elite.
If there is any energy left, Bohemia host a late night performance from The Sisters Of Mercy. I wouldn’t mind catching it, but let’s face it, after Biffy, I will be bloody well knackered, and wanting to save my energy for the final day.
Sunday
The Sunday this year at Sonisphere is all about the triumphant, and hugely emotional return of the Kings. Slipknot will grace the headline slot on Apollo for their first UK performance since the untimely passing of their bassist Paul Gray last year.
It will be emotional. It will be unstoppably ferocious. It will, in short, be unforgettable.
However, before we get to that, there is plenty more going down on the final day at Knebworth, which cannot be forgotten about.
Much like the Saturday, it is very much a day to spend at both the two outdoor stages for the majority. Volbeat open up the main stage, and are then followed by the returning Black Tide on the second stage.
Arch Enemy will bring a fast and frenetic set also, which will probably start the first pits of the day on the main stage, and will see them airing tracks from their excellent new release Khaos Legions. House Of Pain will take to the stage after them on the second stage, while everybody sits patiently waiting to lose their shit to THAT song (Jump Around for those not in the know). Do they even have any other songs? That IS the question. I’m sure it will get answered on the Sunday afternoon.
Parkway Drive will bring their brutal metalcore to the main stage, in a set that should be vicious, anthemic and rousing all at once, sure to send the pit into overdrive with their songs. After them, In Flames
will prove why they are so highly revered, and why they are still one of the flag bearers for European melodic death metal, with an anthemic and hook laden side to their onslaught. It has been some time since they were over here, so they should go down a storm with the crowd.
Mastodon follow with their “whale-core” metal, returning after being away for some time now. It will be interesting to see if they air any new material, and if so, what direction that will be going in, considering the proggy side to last album Crack The Skye.
If that is likely be progressive, then Airbourne will dumbs things right back down again to balls out straight forward Aussie rock and roll, and if they are half as good as they were in 2009, they will be a sight to behold. Still the finest purveyors of the AC/DC style rock sound, expect a huge set from these boys, as well as some roaming around the site from front man Joel O’Keefe. The legends that are Motorhead follow over on main, and let’s face it, we all know what we are going to get. Lemmy and co never fail to disappoint, and they won’t do on this day either. They haven’t survived this long, just by being “average”.
Doom merchants Opeth follow on the Saturn stage, before rap rock legends Limp Bizkit bring the party to the Apollo stage with a set that is sure to bring the hits. One of the finest festival acts around, everybody will be getting down with their bad selves for this beast of a set, which is sure to put a smile on everyone’s face (including any haters, if there are still any floating around). The Bizkit never fail to disappoint, and EVERYONE knows their songs, even if they don’t want to admit to it. Got mad love for Limp Bizkit, and this will be a huge set on the Sunday evening. We will definitely get a bit of the new album, which is a cracker, but it will be the classics that everyone will want to hear, and that is certainly what the band will deliver. Wes will also rock up wearing something outrageous as always. Unmissable.
I will probably give Bill Bailey a miss headlining the second stage, to go and check out Four Year Strong. An awesome band, who should have been on one of the two outdoor stages, but who will no doubt own in the tent. This will also be their first show over here since the departure of Josh Lyford, and there is no doubt in my mind that they will put on a hit filled set, which will act as the perfect appetiser to Slipknot’s return.
So, to Slipknot. What is there really to say? This will be an event. A spectacle like no other. One of the highlights of the entire summer.
It is NOT to be missed, as they will come out swinging in tribute to their late brother, and bring a greatest hits set that will have everyone going mental from the very moment they take to the stage, to the point where everyone sits down on the floor in the middle of Spit It Out, all the way to the perennial closer Surfacing.
Miss this, and you will NEVER forgive yourself.
The Des Moines beast is coming to take over Knebworth. You don’t wanna be in the way when it steamrollers through this coming Sunday. And you definitely don’t want to be anywhere else.
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