Metallica en tête d’affiche du festival SONISPHERE

Le Festival rock et métal itinérant SONISPHERE fera pour la première fois halte en Suisse romande, sur le site du Parc des Rives à Yverdon-les-Bains, le mercredi 30 mai 2012. La tête d’affiche de ce Festival d’un jour, METALLICA, rejouera pour l’occasion l’intégralité de son légendaire Black Album, ainsi que bien d’autres titres. SLAYER, MOTÖRHEAD, MASTODON, GOJIRA et ELUVEITIE complètent cette affiche heavy metal de premier choix. Les billets pour cette 3^ème édition de SONISPHERE seront disponibles dès le vendredi 17 février dans le réseau Ticketcorner.

Music Festivals is a new online game on facebook where you get to build the festival you want. It is free to play, you can get your unique Sonisphere stages in the game and book the bands you want. Play the music you love, rate your friends’ music tastes and build the best festival you

Handmade and Handbound in the United Kingdom and available in strictly limited runs by Rufus Stone limited editions. Available in an 80 page version and 200 page version. Featuring everything from original stage sketches to backstage & campsite antics & kit to on stage moments. A high quality record of the weekend and an overview of European moments too.

The book will be released in two strictly limited editions… each destined to become truly collectible. These exclusive books are not available from shops… only online from Rufus Stone.

Available in two strictly limited edition versions and available to pre-order now.The HARDKASE edition available as 250 copies and the standard edition in a run of just 750. Starting at £40 plus postage. Or 200 Order now for despatch in December.

Thursday’s Sonisphere Switzerland headliners Judas Priest deliver a killer set and push the benchmark high for those to come

A huge Epitaph scrim hid the stage from the audience as crew furiously cleared the way for the entrance of Thursday Sonisphere Switzerland headliners Judas Priest.

Miraculously, lost time was made up and the band hit the stage with Swiss precision bang on 9.30. Lights dimmed and an eerie red glow announced their arrival as they burst out of the starting blocks to the delight of the frenzied crowd.

New boy Richie Faulkner may have looked a tad nervous as he paced around back stage but he slipped effortlessly into the space vacated by long time Priest member KK Downing who departed suddenly from the line-up earlier this year.

Glenn Tipton glanced occasionally to his right to check on his new partner, nodding encouragement like a favourite uncle.

Flames billowed from pyro pots and the ground shook as Halford bellowed: “Hello Basel, Hello Switzerland, The Priest is back – are you ready for some heavy fucking metal?”

The answer was most definitely yes and the spark lit the blue touch paper as ‘Head Out To the Highway’ tore a hole through the stadium roof.

Rob Halford was truly awesome – he must be a freak of nature to possess such a voice, some 40 years on from the embryonic stages of these metal idols. His tone was astonishing and delivery as good as there is in the business. The man possesses a voice which could weld steel plate and bang in the rivets at the same time. When he eventually pops off this mortal coil he should donate his vocal chords to medicine – they must be totally unique.

Faulkner continued to grow in stature as wave after wave of metal classics pounded from the PA.

From the recent ‘Judas is Rising’ to the depths of the vault for ‘Diamonds and Rust’ and ‘Starbreaker’ Priest are a band who know how to deliver.

If this is the final world tour we’d better just hope that Priest are true to their word and won’t rule out the occasional short jaunt out of premature retirement because they are far from ready for carpet slippers if this performance was anything to go by.

Purple and Green lasers cut through the dark and the audience watched in awe as ‘Never Satisfied’ ‘Prophecy’ and ‘Night Crawler’ held them transfixed.

And still they played.

‘Painkiller’, ‘The Green Manalishi’ and an awesome rendition of ‘Hell Bent for Leather’ saw the introduction of Halford’s Harley Davidson from the side of the stage which drew a huge roar from the seething masses before they received another audio onslaught with ‘You’ve Got Another Thing Coming’.

As the 11.30 curfew came and went the cuckoo clocks ticked on towards the witching hour and appropriately the band finished on a high with a storming rendition of ‘Living After Midnight’.

If Epitaph is to be their last hurrah and hell needs a house band, then that band is Judas Priest.

By Cameron Pirie, RockAAA.com

Coverdale and co bring the Sonisphere crowd alive in Basel with the perfect mix of classics and new material

Whitesnake took to the Saturn stage last night with all guns blazing.

Following the opening set from ex-Gunner Duff McKagan’s Loaded, the air was thick with anticipation as around 10,000 Swiss rock fans filled the Sportshalle in Basel waiting for stage time.

As the lights dimmed the PA cranked into gear with The Who’s ‘My Generation’ before the ‘Snake kicked into ‘The Best Years’ raising the already humid temperature to sauna levels.

Prowling the stage like an alpha male lion, Coverdale still cuts the mustard as the eternal showman, whipping up the audience from stage left and stage right while the muscular playing of Reb Beach and Doug Aldrich keeps the sound tight and tasty.

Without pause Whitesnake shifted up a gear into ‘Give Me All Your Love’ before hitting the brakes and slowing things down a little for ‘Love Ain’t No Stranger which prompts the audience to hold aloft a couple of thousand Zippos as is still the practise in these parts.

Coverdale was at his bumping and grinding best and you got the impression that even if he is the wrong side of sixty, he could still pull in a convent.

‘Is This Love’ got a rapturous reception, especially from the ranks of ‘ladies of a certain age’ peppered around the arena, and although Coverdale struggled to hit the high notes like he once did, he was smart enough to reign it in and still possess a remarkable range and luxuriant timbre to his voice.

“Here’s a song for ya!” he bellowed introducing ‘Steal Your Heart Away’ from their newest release, but the audience seemed to be word perfect already as they were with ‘Forevermore’ and ‘Love Will Set you Free’ which opened with a blistering guitar duel.

‘Slide It In’ was gloriously non-PC, packed with schoolboy innuendo and revived the crowd after a somewhat tiresome drum solo but the biggest cheers of the night were reserved for the finale of classic songs dug out from their glorious back catalogue as the band whipped through ‘Fool For Your Loving’, ‘Here I Go Again’ and ‘In The Still of the Night.’

Coverdale’s best years might be behind him, but Whitesnake are still head and shoulders above a lot of the pack.

Stay posted for more reports from Sonisphere Switzerland as the action unfolds.

Stay tuned to the Sonisphere Facebook Page for more updates and photos.

Changes in running order
Dear visitors of SONISPHERE. Only one day left and then let’s get started. As almost always there are some changes in the running order. You’ll find it HERE. See you soon, we’re looking forward to welcome you in Basel.

Neben fortwährenden Updates ist diese App vollgepackt mit Spezialangeboten, welche dich während des Festivals informieren. Dazu kommen Aktionen und Gutscheine von Anbietern, welche dein Portemonnaie während des Festivals und darüber hinaus entlasten.

Eine einzigartige Funktion ist die Gutscheinsektion, welche einige spezielle Angebote offeriert und welche du am Festival nutzen kannst, aber auch online. Beispielsweise gibt es die Möglichkeit einer Preisreduktion auf JEDES offizielle Sonisphere T-Shirt, Hoodie oder Weste.

Die App beinhaltet:
- Bons, mit welchen du vor Ort und ausserhalb Geld sparen kannst (beispielsweise Getränkebons)
- immer aktualisierte Running Order und Auftrittszeiten (werden unmittelbar vor dem Event bekannt gegeben)
- persönlicher Planer, der garantiert, dass bestimmt nichts verpasst, was du sehen willst (ausser natürlich es gibt Überschneidungen)
- “Was passiert gerade jetzt?”-Funktion, welche dir anzeigt, welche Band gerade spielt
- eine interaktive Festivalkarte mit GPS-Funktion, welche dir anzeigt wo du dich gerade auf dem Gelände befindest
- aktualisierte News mit exklusiven Ankündigungen, Musikerinterviews und weiteren Stories
- Fotogallerie und Clips damit du die ganze europäische SONISPHERE-Tour mitverfolgen kannst
- Integration deines Facebook- und Twitter-Kontos
- Aktuelle SONISPHERE  Twitter-Feeds
- Nützliche Informationen über das Festival

Um die App auf dein Smartphone zu laden must du nur “Sonisphere” in deinem iTunes-, Android- oder Blackberrystore eingeben.

Für technischen Support maile bitte an folgende Adresse: u2us@live-apps.co.uk

Get the official 2011 mobile app and save money

The Official Sonisphere app is out now on iPhone, Android and Blackberry, allowing you to stay connected to the greatest rock festival in the world, wherever you are and make the most of the festival when you’re there.

As well as keeping you fully up-to-date, this app is packed with features that will increase your enjoyment when you’re at the festival and vouchers from retailers and outlets that will save you money at the event and beyond.

A unique feature of Sonisphere’s app is the Coupons section which come pre-loaded with some incredible special offers that you can use when you’re at the event, as well as online. For example, one offer gives you £5 off ANY official Sonisphere t-shirt, hoodie or vest, putting you in profit after just one purchase!

Features include:

· Live news feed with exclusive announcements, band interviews and stories
· Frequently updated running order and stage times (released just before the event)
.Personal itinerary planner to ensure you don’t miss anything you wanted to see
.“Who’s on now?” feature showing you every act that’s performing right now on every stage during the festival
· (NEW) Interactive festival site map with new GPS function to show you where you are
· Amazing photo gallery and videos so you can follow the whole European Sonisphere tour
· Vouchers saving you money at the festival and beyond
· (NEW) Integration with your own Facebook and Twitter account
· Live Sonisphere Twitter feeds
· Useful information about the event

To get the app, just search for ‘Sonisphere’ in your iTunes, Android or Blackberry app store.

For technical support please email u2us@live-apps.co.uk

More than 25,000 rock revellers basked in the glorious Greek sunshine today as Iron Maiden, Slipknot, Mastodon, Rotting Christ, Moonspell – and a host of others – as Sonisphere’s world famous touring festival arrived in Athens.

It was the third pit stop on Sonisphere’s metal marathon and Greek rock fans were treated to a historic occasion when Slipknot hit the stage together for the first time since Paul Gray’s tragic passing last year.

For many it was a sight they feared they would never see but when frontman Corey Taylor led the band onto the Apollo Stage, and back into the limelight, the ground shook with what it seemed like all 25,000 inside the Terra Vibe Park just outside Athens showing their appreciation in perfect timing.
The Iowa metallers were welcomed back warmly with Taylor taking time out to thank the crowd and also paid tribute to his brother upstairs in Gray who died in May of last year.

Iron Maiden brought the curtain down on the second Greek Sonisphere with an energy sapping two hour display where the rock legends unleashed their arsenal of monster hits in machine gun style.
The gates swung open just after 11am and just in time for the early birds to catch the first band of the day with the appropriately named Total Riot.

With the well documented troubles and riots a few miles down the road in the city centre, the hometown heroes were flying the flag for Athens and were handed the baton for the first run of the day.

Next onto the Saturn Stage were Need before Virus infected the hearing of the ever-swelling crowd who braved the midday sun. The Apollo Stage opened for business immediately after Virus’ stint with Nightfall tasked with setting the benchmark for what was to be a historic evening.

Moonspell followed quickly afterwards bringing their own slice of Mediterranean goth rock to the table before the pace quickened, if that was possible, when Gojira unleashed their potent cocktail of progressive metal to the Saturn Stage.

Back to the Apollo, and Mastodon, who earlier that day confirmed a quartet of brand new song titles from their forthcoming new album including the bizarrely titled ‘The Octopus Has No Friends’, stepped into the sunshine.

The Saturn Stage ended just as it had begun with a home country band strutting their stuff on stage as Rotting Christ brought the curtain down. Shrugging off the infamous controversy over their name they blasted out an hour of black metal to darken the heart and bleed the ears of even the most hardened metaller.

Performing next was the band on everyone’s lips, and in everybody’s hearts, as Slipknot made their much anticipated live return but without bassist Paul Gray. In his place they handed four-string duties to long-time friend and original member Donnie Steele who played the part but stood behind the curtain with Gray’s costume, mask and guitar symbolically remaining on stage with his band mates.
Slipknot have been sorely missed but despite having not played live together in over a year the band didn’t miss a note – much to the delight of the Athens crowd.

The final band in action at Sonisphere Greece was the mighty Maiden who locked, loaded and fired out a killer set which included traditional favourites ‘Two Minutes To Midnight’, ‘Number of the Beast’ and crowd sing-a-long favourite ‘Fear of the Dark.’

After opening with ‘Final Frontier’ there was no let up from the Rock Gods who were so loud they must have woken their Zeus and his Godly pals from their Mount Olympus slumber.

Sonisphere Festival boss Stuart Galbraith hailed the event a tremendous success and insisted it is days like this which underline the benefits of a touring festival. He said: “It’s been a great day and this is a gorgeous site and it’s the second time we’ve been here.

“I’m glad that we’ve done a touring festival although there is no doubt coming into some countries is more difficult than others. Waking up a couple of days ago to read about riots in Athens meant we had to check a few things.

“Some of the countries are very economically depressed at the moment which makes it difficult and we’ve unfortunately had to cancel Sofia as the Bulgarian economy is just so flat just now.

“I don’t think we ever considered cancelling Greece as the audience here are very ardent, the site is fantastic and we have a great local partner who has done a great job.”

by Eric Mackinnon, Rock AAA

Standing symbolically at the back of the stage was their fallen brother’s red jumpsuit, his mask and his bass guitar alongside his band mates, who also turned the clock back to don matching red jump suits and old school style masks.

It meant newly recruited bassist Donnie Steele, a long-time friend of the band and an original member, played Gray’s bass parts from behind the curtain with Gray symbolically remaining a fixture on stage in what was the band’s long-awaited return.

It is perhaps fitting that Slipknot’s rebirth took place in the country where western civilisation is said to have begun.Singer Corey Taylor has made no secret of his terrible pain at losing his ‘brother’ Paul Gray with many convinced his death signalled the end of the band.But just over a year later and Slipknot are back, and judging by the ringing in my ears, louder than ever after an ear-splitting, and heart wrenching metal masterclass on the Apollo Stage at Sonisphere’s Greek Festival.

As Slipknot adopted their old style costumes for the historic show it meant their faces remained hidden for the entire length of their set but there was no disguising the emotion of the occasion as the gang all exchanged lingering hugs and high fives back stage in preparation for the show.

Even before they stepped onto the Apollo Stage the chants for ‘Slipknot’ were deafening and there was no doubt this was going to be a momentous occasion.In glorious Greek sunshine the Iowa rockers exploded onto the stage with all the energy of panther in heat to kick off their set at breakneck pace with ‘(Sic)’.There was never any doubt frontman Taylor would take a moment to mark the enormity and significance of the occasion and when he did the 25,000 strong Athens crowd hushed to silence – hanging on his every word.“It’s been a long time,” mused Taylor almost apologetically.

“Hello Athens, how are you? As you know tonight is very emotional show for us but it is not, NOT, a negative day. It is a positive day. A day for celebration. This is our first show – with you. Are you having a good time and will you celebrate with us today?”There was only one answer – a teeth rattling roar of approval.

As always it was a high energy, high octane performance full of bursts of pace, jumps, twists and turns, sandwiched between six-foot high flames and loud explosions on stage.The action even spilled into the crowd momentarily when turntablist Sid Wilson threw himself head over feet off the stage and into the crowd but they were so tightly packed there was never any danger of Wilson getting anywhere near the ground.Naturally the chat returned to Gray and the crowd led a chant of his name which caused a momentary silence on stage before Taylor began:

“This is very hard for us but he would have wanted us to come out with you all and celebrate his life.“So will you all help me sing a song for my brother? Can you do that Athens? Sing so loud so he can hear us because he is here with us tonight. Can you feel it?”

Immediately the returning rock heroes launched into ‘Duality’ as their tribute to a man who may be gone but will never, ever be forgotten.The band finished off with a triple dose of metal medicine in ‘Spit It Out’, ‘People = Shit’ and ‘Surfacing’. Closing off Taylor humbly thanked the crowd for playing their part in a night neither the band nor the Athens fans will ever forget saying:

“Thank you all for spending this night with us. You’ll never know how much this means Athens.”

by Eric Mackinnon, Rock AAA

Rock Royalty Easy Package – don’t forget your sleeping bags and sleeping mats
Dear owners of a „Rock Royalty Package“ – don’t forget to take your sleeping bags and sleeping mats with you. We do offer a place to sleep and showers, you’re responsible for the rest. We’re looking forward with pleasure to welcome you all at SONISPHERE festival in Basel. Got no ticket yet? Then get one, there are a few left… TICKETS