Gods of Metal 2005 report

well back from the Gods of Metal 2005 in Bologna. Myself and two friends drove down there from Nice at the weekend to check it out. Pretty good. Saturday was headlined by Maiden with support from Slayer, Lacuna Coil, Obituary, Strapping Young Lad and a few other bands. I missed Mastadon but got Dragonforce( yes they are as **** as their name)

Strapping was interesting, bit of a "wall of sound" approach and the sight of a band man with long hair is always good for a laugh. Obituary werent on form but good to see them anyways. Dont remember anything about Lacuna Coil. Slayer were Slayer. Same setlist, same banter, same violent pit. Got some nice bruises from that. Good al the same. Then Maiden, class band. Really kicked ass and definately the biggest band of the weekend. The setlist was a dream one for old Maiden fans. I think the most recent song they played were The Trooper. Got the usuals plus Aces high, Murders in the Rue Morgue etc.... I'll post the full setlist up later.

Sunday was another cracking day. I got in pretty late, 3pm to Malsteem. Wanker. Next up was Accept. They sounded good enough, can't say I know their stuff. Lyrics were naff but it all went down well. Well apart from the singer saluting Spain to be corrected by the guitarist. Anthrax next, Great intro (blues brothers) then loads of old songs. Belladonna was singing, man they really need John Bush back. Belladonna looks like a 60 year old man with a fake wig and overdoing the fake tan. He did a lot of chatting to the crowd but the content was pretty limited. "You guys are great" It's great to be here" x100. You get the picture. He crowned it off with a big build up to a "Lets rock Barcalona" Scott Ian had to set him straight on the fact that he was in Bologna. Still good band, good performace. (Whats up with Spitz? I think he's in love with himself) Next Megadeth, or more accurately Dave Mustaine with a few punters he picked up at the last auditions. Great setlist. Played to perfection. Dave said nothing and I mean nothing. ( "I won;t be doing a whole lot of talking tonight, just playing for you guys") They ripped through a **** load of songs (all the classics) and straight through to Holy Wars (no encore). I know he's a wanker but he can play !! Motley Crue up next, I couldn't get the the exit fast enough. Girls girls girls. **** **** ****.

Pretty tired and sore today but a cool weekend. Anyone going to see Maiden this summer is in for a treat!!

Later
D