Copenhell - Day 1

The bands on the bill were:

Supercharger
Danko Jones
The Psyke Project
Hatebreed
3 Inches of Blood
Megadeth
Napalm Death
Deftones

The bands I saw:

Danko Jones: 3 man hard rock act. While their rock 'n' roll inspired hard rock music was not bad at all (I can imagine it's the perfect music to listen to while driving on the high way), they had problems, I think, filling out the stage. There are two stages a big one and a small one, and Danko Jones' band played on the big stage, which is not a very power-trio-friendly stage. There was also a wee bit too much chatter from Mr. Jones himself. Had he cut down on the chatter, there might have been room for two, or even, three songs more. Still, I like how he asked the stage techs to turn off the smoke machine, using the argument "We ain't Manowar. We didn't bring our swords and helmets. We didn't come to joust. We just came to play some rock 'n' roll". At least there was a lot of humor in his chatter, and I appreciate that, andthough I'd aprpeciated some more songs even more. I thought it was an entertaining show, and, I guess, that's what rock 'n' roll is all about.

The Psyke Project: Danish sludge-core metal. They were obviously a very good live band, but, since their music just isn't my style (it's good music, to be sure, and reeeeaaally heavy, but just not stuff that captures my interest), their show didn't do much for me. I do respect their singer a lot: he performed even though he'd actually broken his leg a couple of days before the show.

Hatebreed: They're obviously a very good live band to say the least, but since I don'y really know their music, the show became a bit too monotonous for me. This is not to say that their music is not good or anything - it's just, when you don't know the songs, it's not easy to relate to them being performed live. Still, they caught my interest and I am sure that I'll explore their music further.

3 Inches of Blood: now their show was class! Five guys going on stage in 2010, playing 80s power metal with a lot of references to 80s metal and 80s thrash, and doing it convincingly. That's class!!! This is another example of a band that I didn't really know, but I could relate much more to their music, so I actually enjoyed their show a lot. I'm certainly going to buy their albums in the near future.

Megadeth: their show has received some criticism, but I wholly enjoyed it. Almost no talking from the band, just music. And they performed "Rust in Peace" in its entirety live, which in itself is enough to make me thing this was the best show of the day. They were professional as always, and, when Chris Broderick actually slipped and fell on his ass on stage during the show, he just shrugged it off, laughing, and carried on the show. Some of the criticism has been directed at Mustaine's singing, which people thought was not up to scratch. Maybe it wasn't, but I don't care, because they played "Rust in Peace". They were also criticised for not playing loud enough, but I don't care, because they played "Rust in Peace" (and then I didn't have to use earplugs). Ekstra Bladet (a Danish tabloid newspaper) criticized Shawn Drover's drumming for being too mechanical, but I don't care, because they played "Rust in Peace". I wholly enjoyed their show!

Napalm Death: noisy, chaotic, political messages. The way it should be. Napalm Death went on stage (the small stage, of course). Having borrowed all of their gear from Konkhra and having absolutely no stage effects, they delivered a crushing show! Great stuff.

Megadeth was class. Those who criticize them obviously don't know the value of "Rust in Peace" - yup, they played the whole thing live to celebrate that it came out 20 years ago. 2 Inches of Blood were very good live. I have a weakness for that sort of music, so that's probably why I was able to appreciate their show without really having heard their songs before.