The Metal/Punk/Rock Thread

[WyattSheepMask]

20 hours ago, Bruce85 said:

My god that was something special, what a show! Bit sad they didn’t play spillways but I’ll let them off as that was amazing! The stage show was incredible but it wasn’t just style over substance, musically they were so tight and sounded incredible. 
 

I only got to the arena at 6:30 and got in at 7:55, just enough time to grab a beer and get a good spot. Even though I got in late, it was really empty and and easy to get a good spot but it soon got busy!

 

I’m not a fan of phones at gigs, the odd picture/video is fine but I hate standing behind someone and having to watch the whole show through their phone screen so I was fine with them banning them. But I was surprised how much of a difference I felt it made, it seemed like everyone was so engrossed with the show! 
 

I also made sure to take the bank card with me, thanks for the heads up!

 

 

Glad you enjoyed the show and that you got a good spot. Must’ve been a Manchester thing with the queuing from early in the morning ??‍♂️.

Looking at the setlist the only different song was were you got ‘Faith’ we got ‘From The Pinnacle To The Pit’. I was so glad that they played ‘Spirit’ and ‘Majesty’ and that Meliora in general got a lot of love, it kind of had its own mini 10 year anniversary set within the set along with the new stuff. 
I popped like an idiot when they played ‘Monstrance Clock’ though, love that song and it was the closer for most of the first half dozen time I saw them before ‘Square Hammer’ solidified itself as the closer. Speaking of closers, moving ‘Mary On A Cross’ to the encore alongside ‘Dance Macabre’ and SH has crafted a solid three song encore that I reckon will be in place for years to come, unless another track really wins the crowd over.
The only change I would’ve made to the set would’ve been to open with ‘Lachryma’ instead of ‘Peacefield’. I enjoy that song but you’re opening with a song that people don’t know yet. Granted that will all have changed come Friday with the new album, but that’s literally my only real complaint. They can open with ‘Peacefield’ next year when they come back here when they’re definitely headlining Download.

Roll on July for me and the wife seeing them at Madison Square Garden.

Edited April 21, 2025 by WyattSheepMask

[Tamura]

Got a ticket to see Totalitär in Stockholm later this year. If I'd said this was a bucket list gig I'd be lying, since to be honest it was that unlikely to happen I never even had it on the list to start with. They haven't played a full gig since 2003 (they briefly reformed to play an unclear number of songs for the singer's 50th birthday party a few years ago), and pretty much ceased to exist as a band after a brief reformation to release a final album and 7" in 2007. Seen the singer Poffen in many of his other bands though, and had the pleasure of sleeping on his sofa many times when I've been in Stockholm, but never thought I'd get to see Totalitär play.

[WyattSheepMask]

Managed to grab a ticket for Blood Incantation in October as they’re over here on their first proper tour. Very excited for that one

[SuperBacon]

This review of the new Sleep Token album is pretty brutal. 

https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sleep-token-even-in-arcadia/

Pitchfork are often absolutely rubbish but this paragraph is great.

Had never heard them before so had a quick scan. Christ. This lot are headlining Download? 

[TibBo]

The guy that runs Download is also the director of Sleep Token’s management company…so yeh, they are basically Erik Watts

[CTXRussomark]

I have to admit I'd barely heard of Sleep Token when they were announced for Download this year but our 14 year old was unbelievably excited to hear they were headlining and it seems they're genuinely massive amongst the younger crowd at the moment, so I can see why they'd get the nod when Download are desperate for some fresh blood at the top.  Their big promotional push this year has been around having 3 first-time headliners but two of those are bands that have been around for 30+ years.  They probably won't be for me (same as Bring Me the Horizon headlining a couple of years back) but I can't get too angry about it. 

[SuperBacon]

13 minutes ago, CTXRussomark said:

but I can't get too angry about it. 

Oh I don't get angry about it, it's just baffling that's all.

But my 15yo would probably like them as well and I'm not the target audience for festivals anymore and haven't been for 20 years.

[TibBo]

Yeah their ascent is very much out of the PRIME marketing playbook, but if people like them and it inspires kids to pick up an instrument then it’s fine by me.

looking at that lineup, christ, I remember having to sprint from one stage to the next to see all the bands I wanted to see…. It looks like I am now that old I have become one of those people who would just be sat at the campsite drinking all day

[WyattSheepMask]

3 hours ago, SuperBacon said:

This review of the new Sleep Token album is pretty brutal. 

https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sleep-token-even-in-arcadia/

Pitchfork are often absolutely rubbish but this paragraph is great.

Had never heard them before so had a quick scan. Christ. This lot are headlining Download? 

As @CTXRussomark pointed out, they’re absolutely massive with a young fanbase, one that is nearly as silly as the Swifties when it comes to how obsessive they are. We’ve talked many times about how Download (and festivals in general) need to take a chance on new acts in the headline slots. A few years from now you’re not going to able to rely on your Iron Maidens, Metallicas et al to sell tickets because they’ll either retire, or in Metallica’s case just run their own stadium shows and make more money doing so. Younger people want to see the bands that they’re into and who are going to be around for years to come, not Bruce Dickinson struggling to hit the high notes anymore.

I don’t think Sleep Token are consciously saying “let’s do this and just go to the bank”, they’re doing their thing and all of a sudden a major label and promoters with deep pockets wanted a piece of them because that’s what they do. Theres room for them and that’s fine. If you go up to their audience and say “you should be listening to Led Zeppelin and Van Halen” they’re going to tell you that they’re either old or dead. They don’t want a history lesson, they want to be able to see the bands and wear the tshirts of who are playing now.
And you know what? That’s fine. the festival will go on with young people continuing to go and see those new acts, while the likes of Limp Bizkit, Korn, Linkin Park etc can now occupy the heritage act slots.

As for Sleep Token themselves, I tried with them but they’re clearly not for a metal fan who’s in their 40s. I respect that the main guy behind them is at least trying something different, but at times you get the feeling that he’s an RnB singer that didn’t make it so has now tried to mash that together with some drop tuned guitar work. 
A lot of people say they’re not a metal band, and I’d say they’re probably right, a chunky breakdown every 3 or 4 songs does not a metal band make, but it’s the writing of their songs thats incredibly woeful. This new album for example, in the opening track he’s says the phrase “will you haunt this eclipse in me?” 21 times. The second song he says the phrase “arms around me” 27 times in 5 & a half minutes, that’s just lazy writing. At least with Manowar you can make a drinking game out of every time they say Metal, Blood or Steel. But as I said, they’re clearly not for me

Edited May 15, 2025 by WyattSheepMask

[SuperBacon]

32 minutes ago, TibBo said:

just be sat at the campsite drinking all day

When I look back on my festival going days, this was always the best bit anyway

[wordsfromlee]

13 minutes ago, WyattSheepMask said:

As for Sleep Token themselves, I tried with them but they’re clearly not for a metal fan who’s in their 40s. I respect that the main guy behind them is at least trying something different, but at times you get the feeling that he’s an RnB singer that didn’t make it so has now tried to mash that together with some drop tuned guitar work. 

That's basically what happened except it was more Bon Iver-esque acoustic indie music than RnB.

 

[lanky316]

Download has relied on the old crowd in so many ways that it's why I ended up drifting into relative indifference about it. It's always been the undercard that has been mildly interesting compared to a rotation of Maiden/Metallica/Slipknot every other year in a vague cycle. For years there's been potential that they've not pulled the trigger on but they finally have to try something. Not everyone would appeal to everyone or are as "universal" as those as headliners but with a decent undercard bands that have sold out arenas for a while should by now have been given the shot. Sleep Token are "meh" to me, but with them finally breaking - an equally divisive, though not as big in general buzz, even though they're now set to headline the O2 in a couple of weeks - Babymetals merch record at Wembley a decade later it shows that there's big interest in them. In fact, a colleague who confessed to "not really liking metal at all really" is really into Sleep Token and talking them up the other day. If these bands are big with an audience obviously rather than relying on the same old choices they should be given their moments on the big stage. Download will arguably sell regardless of who headlines anyway so why not give them a shot? For years people have said "but metal is dead and nobody cares" which ignoring that it's very much popular despite minimal airplay doesn't take into account that the only big festival for the genre here - not to belittle the very good smaller ones like Bloodstock at all - haven't even tried to promote newer acts to the top of the bill for as long as I can remember.

[TibBo]

21 minutes ago, SuperBacon said:

When I look back on my festival going days, this was always the best bit anyway

One year we discovered if you put un-opened cans of beans on a camping stove, eventually the tins start to buckle from the pressure and they rocket into the air like a savoury carpet-bomb… missed a ton of bands that day

[Ironic Indie Lad]

I wish I had a more nuanced take on Sleep Token.

I had never actually heard their music until yesterday. Based on what little I knew, I assumed they were a deeply annoying lore band for kids and idiots.

I listened to a bit of the new one due to the truly awful reviews

[Merzbow]

I don't think I've ever spoken to anyone in real life with a positive opinion on Sleep Token, even people really into mainstream metal/hardcore.

A strange band where I assume it's fans don't actually listen to any other music.