Heroes of the youth and other great bands

On the morning of the first day of the 2023 Graspop Metal Meeting, things kicked off in the tents. With the sounds of Molybaron filling the air, the atmosphere was already excellent. Since the main stages opened a bit later, it was also more crowded than usual, even though it was still quite early in the day. The momentum continued with the much heavier sounds of Orbit Culture, who kept the energy high.
The first low point of the festival followed with the Butcher Babies. The music was fine, but somehow the spark just didn’t catch, and the band left the stage after only 30 minutes, leaving 15 minutes unused. In my view, not a great loss. Fortunately, things picked up again with The Raven Age. People often like to point out that the son of Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris plays guitar in this band, but that’s hardly necessary as the band can easily convince musically without that boost. The same goes for Papa Roach. The nu‑metal icons can look back on a long career and made the fields of Dessel shake like no other band that weekend. Alter Bridge delivered a well‑rehearsed set that allowed the crowd to relax a bit before the two headliners of the day took over.
Ghost opened with their latest Papa Emeritus incarnation, delivering a spectacular musical performance that left hardly anyone untouched and turned into a massive party on and in front of the stage. Finally, Guns N’ Roses had a full three‑hour slot at their disposal and unfortunately, they used all of it. Unfortunately, because a lot of filler material was played, and Axl Rose is a shadow of his former self. Only Duff McKagan and Slash managed to salvage things somewhat. This was also the first headliner I’ve ever seen who managed to continuously empty the area in front of the stage during their own show. The lingering aftertaste: it’s good to have seen them live once more and to have experienced the big classics. Musically, though, it wasn’t particularly great, and you’re better off sticking to the old recordings.

Article:

15.05.2023 Molybaron
15.05.2023 Orbit Culture
15.05.2023 Butcher Babies
15.05.2023 The Raven Age
15.05.2023 Papa Roach
15.05.2023 Alter Bridge
15.05.2023 Ghost
15.05.2023 Guns N' Roses