Hammerfest 2010
Thursday 11th to Saturday 13th March 2010Pontins Holiday Camp in Prestatyn, North Wales, Wales MAP
from £95 per head, based on a group of seven people sharing
Few things seem to clear a heinously disgusting hangover as well as a dose of Maiden-esque heavy fucking metal, and White Wizzard are on hand to provide just that on the second stage. Their live set loses some of the epic grandeur of this year's ruddy brilliant 'Over The Top' album, but tunes like 'High Speed GTO' and '40 Deuces' are still worth a bleary-eyed headbang or two. Soon after, the tiny, pub-based third stage sees riff lords Godsized provide one of the best slots of the weekend with a glorious slab of dirty rock 'n' roll. Pontin's favourites Attica Rage provide a similar if more Mötörhead-friendly thrill by opening the main stage for the evening, and even manage to just about get away with a 'Fear Of The Dark' cover. Cheeky bastards.
Floridian metal legends Iced Earth don't play these shores nearly enough, and the reactions to anthems like 'Pure Evil' highlight why this is nothing short of a travesty. Matt Barlow's return to the fold after Tim 'Ripper' Owens' four-year stint on vocal duties elated some and shocked others, but he is on scintillating form; hitting the kind of notes that would one-up a eunuch in nipple clamps.
Suicidal Tendencies might be a lot less po-faced then their Tampa counterparts, but as a musical force they should be taken no less seriously, and Mike Muir's crossover thrash veterans kick the party back up a gear with an irresistible set that culminates in a ridiculous stage invasion. It leaves Sabaton with a hell of a task in closing the stage and the festival, but the Swedish power metallers do not disappoint thanks to a performance that is the epitome of gung ho. By the time singer Joakim Broden has the entire crowd jumping like idiots to 'Primo Victoria', it becomes all the more difficult to imagine just how a heavy metal festival at a Pontin's holiday camp wasn't mooted about twenty years ago. Another year, another superbly drunken mess of a weekend. Hard Rock Hell rolls into town in December - miss it at your peril.
review by: Merlin Alderslade
photos by: Daniel Gray
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