Rumor: Slipknot on Graspop 2009?

Yesterday, I was at the Slipknot concert in Antwerp, and Slipknot frontman, Corey Taylor, mentioned (what I think) is a big hint on their possible appearance on Graspop 2009:

You can expect to see us back sooner than you think!

I don't think they'll do new European tour again so quickly after this one (which ends tonight). This opens the door for them to do a string of summer festival appearances. I'm betting Graspop 2009 is going to be on that list!

Graspop 2009 dates announced

Mark your calendars!

The dates for the Graspop 2009 festival have been announced: 26-27-28 june 2009.

Now the speculating for who might play can begin. My wishlist:

1. The Black Dahlia Murder
   
2. Amon Amarth
   
3. Slipknot
   
4. Crimson Falls
5. Neurosis
6. Deathstars
7. All Shall Perish
   
8. Anaal Nathrakh
9. Saattue
10. Aborted
11. Cradle Of Filth

Who would you like to see on Graspop in 2009?

Graspop 2008 review

The 2008 edition of the Graspop Metal Meeting was once again a resounding success with some excellent bands, a record-breaking crowd (about 135000 visitors!) and of course beer and hamburgers galore. I managed to get there for all three days and really enjoyed myself.

So, let's have a look at what I think were the top 5 performances:

5. Arch Enemy:
Arch Enemy was much better than I expected them to be. The Marquee was totally packed and you could see the horns go up all the way till the end with each song. They also played my two favorite Arch Enemy songs: "Dead Eyes See No Future" and "The Last Enemy". So no complaining from me.

4. Deathstars:
Deathstars was for me the discovery of 2006. I saw them live that year at the Biebob too, and last friday at Graspop. It was one of the first bands I saw, and it seemed like they were having a good time too. I am a big fan of their deathglam and live shows. They found a niche and I can see them grow a lot in the coming years. I guess a lot will depend on their next release due out later this year. Oh, and if you're not convinced yet, they had the largest crowd of good looking metal girls.

3. Immortal:
Black metal pioneers, Immortal, came to Graspop this year for a reunion gig. Once again lots of people in the Marquee, and a very nice show with fire and pyrotechnics. If they keep this up, they might become the KISS of black metal.

2. Ministry:
It was a difficult choice between Morbid Angel and Ministry (as they played at the same time), but as Morbid Angel will be coming to Belgium again in the fall, I decided to go the farewell gig of Ministry. And boy was I glad I did that. The sound was good, the band was having a good time and the crowd was going wild. It really is too bad that a band of this calibre decides to call it quits.

1. At The Gates:
Another reunion gig, At The Gates, totally blew me away. I still remember buying their "With Fear I Kiss The Burning Darkness" release as one of my first more extreme cd's. This band had the best sound at Graspop this year by far. It was a 40 minute energy burst without equal. When the show ended it, you could see people looking around, saying: "it was good, but why didn't they play Blinded By Fear?" at which point the band comes back on stage and the intro to Blinded By Fear starts. Excellent! I celebrated by buying their tour-shirt.

Preview Graspop 2008: day one

The complete lineup for Graspop 2008 is known by now, and I'll be going there anyway. So let's have a look at what we can expect this year starting with the first day.

• Firewind: Never heard of this band, but according to the bio, they are spearheaded by Gus G. formerly of Nightrage and Arch Enemy. Might be interesting, but they have to play so early that I'll probably miss them.
• Damn Your Idols: A belgian band playing metal/hardrock like Channel Zero used to do. Channel Zero's songs were often a mixed bag. If I'm early I might check them out as well, but I'm not expecting them to blow me away.
  
• The Lucifer Principle: A dutch band, playing "stomping death metal". I haven't listened to any songs yet. I mostly know them because one the local cd shops in Antwerp managed to put about 15 copies of their latest cd in display. You'd think they were Metallica or something...
• Steak Number 8: Winners of Humo's pop poll this year. I heard a bit of their songs on the radio and it sounded somewhat sludge/post-rock-like (think Neurosis). Could be good.
• Dedicted: A new death/thrash band on Shiver records. They only made some demos apparently.

And so we get in to some better known terrain:

Moonspell is a band from Portugal that made quite a journey through different metal styles. They started out as a black metal band with albums like Wolfheart, a true classic. Later on they made some less extreme albums and I lost track of them.
Nevertheless, the know how to play so I look forward to seeing them again. I just hope they don't put them on the main stage but in one of the marquees.








Deathstars is the first band that I really don't want to miss. I'm a big fan of these guys and their deathglam. I often dig bands that try to do something new and this group definitely fits that description. These guys have also been around longer than you might think. Previously the members played in illustrious bands as Dissection and Swordmaster (anyone else up for a Swordmaster reunion? Wraths Of Time, baby! Maximum Fucking Volume!).
They should have a new album out later this year as well.

Obituary means a round of oldschool death metal. I remember them having some of the coolest t-shirts. I don't really follow their music, but I'd like to check them out this time.







Nile on the other hand, means new school death metal. I like the egyptian theme they keep on using. I've seen them live before, but it's been several years. They should be worth cheking out again.








Easteuropean deathmetal pioneers, Behemoth, are on my list as well. They consistenly deliver well played and well produced albums. I saw them live once, about 10 years ago, on the "With A Dragon's Blade" festival.















Morbid Angel, what's not to like? This original death metal band is always a treat. They are taking their time with releasing some new material however. Maybe they got some surprises for us at Graspop?







Ministry, american industrial band extraordinaire. I'm only familiar with the Psalm 69 album which I used to play quite a lot. They announced that they would no longer make any new music.







The following bands will be playing as well, but I have no real interest in seeing them: Symphony X, Yngwie Malmsteen, Testament, Black Stone Cherry, Tesla, Saxon, Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Judas Priest (except if they play "Breaking The Law").