News :: Graspop Metal Meeting Preview: Saturday

This time next week, Graspop Metal Meeting 2012 will be on it's third day already and many bands will have already made their appearances at the festival. Graspop Metal Meeting will take place from June 22 until June 24 in Dessel, Belgium, and it's one of those festivals that, if you're a metal lover, you just can't miss. The Metalkrant crew will be attending the festival as well to report about everything in and around the festival, but of course we hope to see as many of you as possible at the festival itself. The countdown has started and to prepare you for the festival, here is another preview; from the saturday!

Of course there awesome bands to see on all of the three days, but here we've chose a few of the Saturday bands, to tell you more about them.

1. Adrenaline Mob – Mainstage 12.15 – 12.55

Now here’s a band that was labelled a ‘heavy metal supergroup’ before they recorded a single note. Not so surprising when your lineup includes Russell Allen (vocals, Symphony X), Mike Portnoy (drums, ex-Dream Theater) and star guitarist Mike Orlando. The band formed early last year and gave a highly successful maiden performance in their hometown New York in June. Two months later they released an eponymous EP featuring a cover of the Black Sabbath classic The Mob Rules. In the meantime, Disturbed bassist John Moyer has joined the band and his live debut is scheduled for 12 March, just a day before the release of Adrenaline Mob’s first full-length album

Omertà. Judging by the high-octane energy of the Adrenaline Mob EP this is definitely one to look out for.

2. Alestorm – Marquee I – 12.55 – 13.35

Heavily inspired by folk and battle metal, Alestorm infuses its music with anthem-like sing-along sections and pirate shouts that always get the crowd involved. The accordions, horns and fiddles all add to the pirate theme and remind everyone that Alestorm is all about harmless fun. The lyrical content deals almost solely with pirate stories of battles, womenfolk and treasure. It’s actually a smart move: this lends the music a humorous touch rarely found in any metal genre and it also makes for easy listening. Pour all these characteristics into a single cauldron and the combination is… strangely addictive. Prepare to brave the Alestorm!

3. Dear Superstar – Metal Dome – 13.40 – 14.20

In 2006, the UK music press waxed lyrical about Dear Superstar’s debut Confessions of a Twisted Mind. That was two albums ago and the recipe has remained unchanged: Dear Superstar serves an exciting mix of modern metal and sleazy 1980s glam rock. The 2008 release of their follow-up album Heartless signalled the start of a seemingly endless series of gigs. Along the way they opened for soulmates Papa Roach, Buckcherry and Bullet for My Valentine and they played Download, Sonisphere UK and GMM. Album number three, Damned Religion, was released early this year and sounds darker and heavier but it’s still chock-full of killer riffs and screaming rage.

4. Eluveite – Marquee I – 16.15 – 17.05

The popularity of the Swiss pagan/folk metal band ELUVEITIE has soared in the last few years. Their music is a combination of traditional Celtic folk music and melodious death metal with obvious Gothenburg-style influences such as At The Gates and In Flames. The result is a unique blend of metal that is becoming increasingly popular. The eight-piece from Winterthur, Switzerland, couples musical themes from countries and regions such as Ireland and Brittany with lyrical inspiration taken from Europe’s rich Celtic past. The end result is an ironclad guarantee of a great party and if you happened to catch their two previous GMM shows, that won’t come as a surprise.

5. Trivium – Mainstage – 17.10 – 18.00

Straight from the Sunshine State, we are pleased to welcome back the guys from Trivium to GMM. Five albums into their career, Trivium still refuse to cook the same dish twice: they continue to experiment with different styles and influences and this keeps it interesting for old and new fans alike. Clean vocals, blood-curdling screams and acoustic stuff are all well within charismatic frontman Matt Heafy’s range and the music varies from metalcore to thrash, death, prog and alternative. In the early days, Trivium could only dream of a golden future; today they are making it happen.

6. Comeback Kid – Marquee II – 18.05 – 18.55

Several years ago, Comeback Kid proved that Canada has more to offer than snow, wildlife preserves and reindeer. Today, Comeback Kid is one of the leading bands on the hardcore scene. The material on their 2010 release Symptoms + Cures has an even punkier feel to it due to more up-tempo songs and catchy choruses, making their music accessible to a wider audience. Some even label Symptoms + Cures a pop punk record. With the hardcore scene losing momentum and so many bands all doing virtually the same thing, Comeback Kid stands out all the more.

7. Megadeth – Mainstage – 19:00 – 20.00

Megadeth, the brainchild of guitarist/lead vocalist Dave Mustaine, needs no introduction. Megadeth is the second of the Big Four in thrash to be confirmed for this summer. Megadeth has a long and proud history and their catalogue includes far too many classics to fit into a single set. Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying, Rust in Peace and Countdown to Extinction are just a few of the landmark albums they’ve put out over the years. In addition, Mustaine’s appearance at Metallica’s thirty-year anniversary show finally put an end to their thirty-year feud, so he’s pretty excited with the way things are going. Add to that their excellent new album Th1rth3en and it’s easy to understand why these thrash metal gods are still at the top of their class after a long and distinguished career.

8. Fear Factory – Marquee II – 20.05 – 21.00

Hailing from LA, Fear Factory exploded onto the metal scene in 1989. Mixing snippets of death and groove metal with a generous helping of thrash and industrial metal, Fear Factory quickly made a name for themselves and their music had a major impact on the metal scene. There have been many lineup changes over the years with singer Burton C. Bell as the only constant member. Belgian Christian Olde Wolbers was also part of the circus for 15 years, first as the band’s bassist and then as guitarist until Dino Cazares rejoined in 2009. Earlier this year, former Chimaira guitarist DeVries took over bass duties. Fear Factory will be promoting their new album The Industrialist, a concept album recorded with producer Rhys Fulber.

9. Twisted Sister – Mainstage – 21.05 – 22.20

Founded back in 1972 by guitarist Jay Jay French, it still took Twisted Sister ten years to release their debut album Under the Blade. After years of pottering about, the American quintet decided to change musical directions and thanks to an inventive mix of traditional heavy metal, pure rock ‘n’ roll and a pinch of early seventies glam rock, Twisted Sister’s popularity began to soar. Energy bomb Dee Snider joined in 1976 and he clearly brought more to the mix than just the big hair. Taking over as the band’s songsmith, Snider authored the hit singles We're Not Gonna Take It and I Wanna Rock off the 1984 Stay Hungry album, two rock anthems that catapulted Twisted Sister into international fame. In 1987, the band called it quits after just four albums, only to reform ten years later. Their last studio album Still Hungry was released in 2004, but more than anything else Twisted Sister are known for their energetic live shows, making The Iron Men of Rock and Roll’ one of the most exciting bands in metal history.

10. Limp Bizkit – Mainstage – 23.30 – 01.00

With record sales in excess of thirty million copies, LIMP BIZKIT are one of the most successful American rock bands of the new millennium. The band around vocalist Fred Durst came to prominence in 1998 with the release of the single Nookie and a slot on the Ozzfest tour. A worldwide breakthrough soon followed with the release of the band’s sophomore album Significant Other. Their poignant combination of punk, rock, rap and metal put them in the same league as nu-metal giants Korn, leading to endless comparisons between both bands. Follow-up Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water brought more of the same and LK record sales soared as the album topped the charts in Belgium and the Netherlands. Limp Bizkit will close the second festival day and their set will feature material from their new album Gold Cobra.

Of course there's much more playing on the saturday of Graspop Metal Meeting. Check out the complete line-up and all the info about Graspop at www.graspop.be