KilliT:
Bands on the Orange Amps Stage only had half an hour to play with, and the London-based hard rocker KilliT made their time count with a powerful set of riff-heavy material. Mixing the modern rock swagger of bands like Velvet Revolver with a bit of 1990s dirt, the five-piece entertained the decent-sized crowd with a set of original material. Frontman Gaz Twist, who does not look like your average rock frontman with his fairly reserved appearance, led the band through their paces and showcased his powerful voice. He was a little buried in the mix during the early parts of the set, but as things moved on he stood out more and proved to be a very likeable character. Most of the heavy lifting music wise was done by Niro Knox (guitar/vocals) who handled the bulk of the guitar solos. His bluesy shredding style reminded me a little of ex-Whitesnake guitarist Doug Aldrich, and often stole the spotlight from the rest of the band with his solos - although an extended instrumental section prior to the set's final song proved that rhythm guitarist Claire Genoud is no slouch either! While not all of the band's songs were as catchy as they could be, I enjoyed the band's half an hour on stage. I shall endeavour to check out the band's debut album Shut it Down at some point.
By this point lunch was calling, so I headed back into the main complex in search of some food. Sadly all of the food outlets were pretty expensive, but Nando's provided a relatively cheap option. I had only been to the O2 Arena in its current guise once previously, for Nine Inch Nails in 2009, and I had forgotten just how big it was! Inside the dome is almost a small town, with a large amount of chain restaurants and a large cinema. In fact, as part of the Stone Free itinerary, I could have watched Wayne's World if I had waned to, but with so much music on offer it seemed silly to watch a film I had seen many times previously over the years. After my Nando's, it was almost time for the next band I had earmarked as potentially interesting back outside at the Orange Amps Stage, so I headed back outside and stayed there until the stage finished for the day...
Dirty Thrills:
I had heard Dirty Thrill's referred to as a bit of a poor man's Rival Sons, but I went to their 30 minute set open minded and ready to be impressed. While their brand of fairly generic blues rock is nothing original, there was something about the band's performance that really impressed from the off, and I was genuinely disappointed when everything came to an end. Bands like this rarely manage to create a strong energy with their music, but Dirty Thrills came racing out of the blocks, and threw down riff after riff that hit home. Louis James (vocals/harmonica) was a great frontman and vocalist, often throwing in some high-pitched falsetto to great effect, but the star of the show was undoubtedly Jack Fawdry (guitar/vocals). I have never seen a bluesman so animated on stage, and he continually attacked his guitar with vigour throughout the set, all while throwing some pretty impressive shapes. All of this posturing would be for nothing if the songs were not up to scratch but the band, who are part of the Frontiers Records family, delivered on that front too! The riffs, while all of a similar fuzzy style, were powerful and the songs were all built around choruses which were perfect for James' vocal theatrics. The set was mostly made up of the band's original material, although a cover of Jimi Hendrix's Foxy Lady was thrown in to give the crowd something they knew. The attendance at the Orange Amps Stage was pretty good throughout the day, and the turnout for Dirty Thrills' set was no different. The band seriously impressed, and I will definitely be checking out their album Heavy Living when I get the chance.
Daxx & Roxane:
Up next were Switzerland's Daxx & Roxane, who were not a duo as their name suggests but a raw, old fashioned rock band. Despite the promise of their Facebook bio, the band failed to impress and I found their music to be mostly quite dull. There were quite a few Daxx & Roxane t-shirts in the crowd, suggesting they have themselves a bit of a following, but I will not be adding myself to it. Having to follow Dirty Thrills' explosive set cannot have helped things, but I found the band's material to be unmemorable and extremely generic. None of their riffs really stuck in the mind, and although Cédric Pfister (vocals/bass guitar) had a strong voice I did not find any of the vocal melodies memorable. The band only had half an hour on stage like all the others, but their set was the only one of the four on the Orange Amps Stage that I watched properly that really dragged. I have to say I was pleased when Daxx & Roxane's set ended, although I was certainly in a minority as there were some in the crowd calling for more. It was good that the band managed to elicit a positive reaction from so many, but they did very little for me.
Aaron Buchanan and the Cult Classics:
The Orange Amps Stage headliners were my first hotly-anticipated band of the day, and a band I had wanted to see since first hearing their debut album when it was released last year. I have been following frontman Aaron Buchanan since he joined one of my favourite new rock bands of all-time, Heaven's Basement, back in 2011 and in fact I saw his first show with the band in Leicester that year. Sadly Heaven's Basement are no more, but Aaron Buchanan came roaring back with his debut solo album last year and assembled a great band to tour it. Despite again having only half an hour, the band made it count with a powerful seven song set, that contained four songs from the album The Man With the Stars on His Knees and three old Heaven's Basement tunes. Left Me for Dead from the new album got the party started, with the slightly grungy feel of the song giving the set a heavy start. The crowd for this set was vocal throughout, and there seemed to be quite a few existing fans alongside me down at the front. Tom McCarthy (guitar/vocals) then hit the main riff for the old Heaven's Basement track Fire, Fire and that kicked the set into the next gear. The song has a simple chorus to get behind, and many of the crowd shouted it back at the band who seemed to feed of the energy. Despite the small stage, the band played like they were headlining an arena. The Devil That Needs You allowed the grungy vibe to surface again, and gave Laurie Buchanan (guitar/vocals) a chance to take the lead and display some excellent guitar work. McCarthy seemed to take most of the solos, but Laurie Buchanan showcased her talents too. Dancin' Down Below was probably the highlight of the set for me. The new track would have fitted in easily with a second Heaven's Basement album had it happened. There is so much energy in the piece, and has a chorus to match that saw Aaron Buchanan displaying that theatrical voice perfectly. Heartbreaking Son of a Bitch saw Aaron Buchanan handstanding atop the crowd, the latest trick in his long-running line of similar things, before the set came to an abrupt close with Morals? from the band's debut album. It is a shame that, as stage headliners, their set could not have been longer - but I shall be seeing the band twice more this year so I shall look forward to those occasions immensely. The setlist was:
Left Me for Dead
Fire, Fire [Heaven's Basement material]
The Devil That Needs You
I Am Electric [Heaven's Basement material]
Dancin' Down Below
Heartbreaking Son of a Bitch [Heaven's Basement material]
Morals?
Aaron Buchanan's set brought the action on the Orange Amps Stage to a close. With the doors to the main O2 Arena bowl opening shortly, I made the trek around the inside of the dome to the door I was required to enter by. As I walked past the IndigO2, I could hear the heavy rock 'n' roll of Orange Goblin pouring out of the doors. I did not enter the IndiogO2 at any point during the day, choosing instead to focus on the Orange Amps Stage. I would have liked to see Orange Goblin, as I had enjoyed their at Bloodstock a few years ago, but by the time Aaron Buchanan's set finished they were already well into their set. I opted just to head into the arena bowl and get seated for the three main bands still to come. While there were plenty of people in attendance throughout the day, and the arena bowl was pretty full during Megadeth and the Scorpions' sets, it is certainly fair to say that more tickets could have been sold. Many of us up in the higher tiers of the stadium were offered new seats slightly closer, which shows that there were plenty empty seats around. My seats had a better view than my original ones, which was great, and I got to watch the venue slowly fill up throughout the evening. Up first was...
Buckcherry:
The Los Angeles-based sleaze rockers Buckcherry had the daunting task of opening proceedings, with much of their set mostly performed to an almost-empty hall as the crowd filed in at a snail's pace. I saw Buckcherry a couple of years ago supporting Steel Panther in Cardiff, where I was pretty underwhelmed by their performance, but this time they were much better. The band's dirty, bluesy, sleazy rock is naturally very sloppy, but it works well with Stevie D. (guitar/vocals) and new boy Kevin Roentgen (guitar/vocals) locking together well with loose riffs and solos. Frontman, and sole original member, Josh Todd is a strange frontman. He often moves around the stage fairly moodily in a style that often clashes with his crass lyrics - but it works well, and his vocals were much better this time around. The band's short set focused mainly on the band's first three albums, with Ridin' and Slamin' making their impact early and managed to elicit a response from the small crowd. Another highlight of the set was the cocaine-influenced Lit Up, which was probably the best number Buckcherry aired. The chorus rang around the the hall, and showed what a powerful band Buckcherry can be despite the fact their star has fallen over the past few years. A couple more tracks followed, but everything came to a close with Crazy Bitch, probably the band's best known song, which definitely received a strong reception from the crowd. Despite a poor turnout for the evening's opening band, Buckcherry still managed to put on a good show, and helped to warm the crowd up for what was to come. The setlist was:
Ridin'
Broken Glass
Slamin'
Lit Up
Say Fuck It [Icona Pop cover]
Sorry
Gluttony
Crazy Bitch
Megadeth:
Megadeth were the evening's special guests, and by the time they hit the stage the arena bowl was pretty full. Megadeth are a big hit and miss live, and during the run up to their set I was wondering if the sloppy version of the band, or the powerful one would turn up. Thankfully it was the latter and the melodic thrash classic Hangar 18 got the set off to a great start, with Dave Mustaine (vocals/guitar) and Kiko Loureiro (guitar/vocals) nailing the snaking opening riff. Mustaine's live vocals can be a bit ropey, but throughout Megadeth's 75 minute set he sounded something close to his snarling best. A good mix of material was played, with newer numbers like the fast The Threat is Real mixing in well with crunchier tracks like In My Darkest Hour. I had seen the band a couple of times previously, and the band included quite a few songs tonight that I had not heard them play live before. The highlight of these was the old classic The Conjuring which has been returned to the band's set after a two-decade absence. The progressive thrash riffing brought a good response from the crowd, and there were even a few circle pits around. Being the heaviest band on the bill certainly had a bit of an effect on the crowd's reactions throughout Megadeth's set however. There were clearly clusters of die-hard fans down at the front, but there were obviously more than a few who were fairly ambivalent to what was going on up on the stage. This clearly annoyed Mustaine at times, but he did not let it affect the band's performance who were totally on point throughout. Highlights for me were the guitar workout Tornado of Souls, which featured a lengthy and stunning solo from birthday boy Loureiro, and Dystopia - the mid-paced title track from the band's most recent album. Classics were wheeled out towards the end of the set with the band going right back to their 1985 debut for Mechanix. This fast number allowed new drummer Dirk Verbeuren to really demonstrate his skills - which in fairness he did all night. Their Belgian has just the right balance of technical precision and raw power to propel Megadeth's material, and he turned in the best drumming performance of the three Megadeth shows I have now seen. Peace Sells, led by David Ellefson's (bass guitar/vocals) stabbing bassline, brought the main set to a close, before the band came back out for a rousing final song - the powerful Holy Wars...The Punishment Due. This song always closes the band's sets, and it brought a large cheer from the crowd as the band closed the song out and took their bows. While Megadeth probably were not everyone's cup of tea on this bill, they turned in a stunning performance and probably turned a few classic rock fans' heads! The setlist was:
Hangar 18
The Threat is Real
Rattlehead
Wake Up Dead
In My Darkest Hour
The Conjuring
Sweating Bullets
Take No Prisoners
Tornado of Souls
Dystopia
Symphony of Destruction
Mechanix
Peace Sells
-
Holy Wars...The Punishment Due
Scorpions:
Despite looking forward to many of the band's on the bill, it was the German rockers the Scorpions that persuaded me to buy the ticket in the first place. The band have neglected the UK for quite some time, sadly, and I had been wanting to see them live for many years. Despite the wait, I was not disappointed as the band hit the stage at around 9:15pm and did not stop until the 11pm curfew, save for the short encore break. As expected, the band focused mainly on their 1980s heyday - with many of the songs played being true classics - but there were a few older and newer numbers throw in too. One of the new songs, Going Out with a Bang from 2015's Return to Forever, opened the show with a shuffling power, before Make It Real, complete with Matthias Jabs' (guitar/vocals) soaring guitar leads, that set the evening alight. The classics constantly flowed, and the band's 70 year old frontman Klaus Meine sung them just as well as he did in the 1980s. The man has not aged a bit, and his unique, accented, voice filled the arena and was often joined by the voices of many thousand fans. The crushing mid-paced The Zoo was an early highlight, with Jabs' lengthy talk box solo, and the instrumental Coast to Coast provided an early chance for founding member Rudolf Schenker (guitar/vocals) to solo. A medley of their 1970s output, including the powerful Steamrock Fever and the anthemic Catch Your Train, sifting out the die-hard from the more casual fans. The band's 1970s work has often been ignored by the band in recent years, so it was great to see a few of those songs resurrected in the form of a medley. I am not sure that two lengthy instrumentals were required, with Jabs' Delicate Dance following not too long from Coast to Coast, but I suppose Meine probably appreciated the breaks at his age. Another medley, this time of acoustic ballads, followed which culminated in a stunning version of Send Me an Angel that had everyone in the crowd singing along while the mirrorball threw lights around the arena. The mega-ballad Wind of Change followed, which was probably the best song of the entire day. The song is so famous for a reason, and hearing the crowd singing along with Meine was something special indeed. Schenker's emotional solo was perfect too, and was the icing on the cake. The rest of the set was made up of real classics, including a short but powerful version of Motörhead's Overkill which was a tribute to the late Lemmy. This led into a lengthy drum solo from new drummer Mikkey Dee, who showcased why he has often been called one of the best heavy metal drummers during his already-long career. Blackout and Big City Nights followed and brought the main set to a close. The cheer that erupted from the crowd was huge, and it was not too long before the band were back out for a couple more. The power ballad Still Loving You went down a storm, before Jabs' laid into the main riff of Rock You Like a Hurricane. It was another highlight of the whole day, with the crowd again singing loudly, which brought the evening to a powerful close. The setlist was:
Going Out with a Bang
Make it Real
Is There Anybody There?
The Zoo
Coast to Coast
Top of the Bill/Steamrock Fever/Speedy's Coming/Catch Your Train
We Built This House
Delicate Dance [w/ Ingo Powitzer]
Follow Your Heart/Eye of the Storm/Send Me an Angel
Wind of Change
Tease Me Please Me
Overkill [Motörhead cover]
Drum solo
Blackout
Big City Nights
-
Still Loving You
Rock You Like a Hurricane
The Scorpions were easily the band of the day for me, but Megadeth and Aaron Buchanan and the Cult Classics also put on excellent shows that made the trip up to London from Devon worth it. It was great to finally see the Scorpions after having wanted to for many years, and they certainly did not disappoint with an arena-moving performance. My overall experience of Stone Free Festival was a positive one, and I will definitely be up for making the effort again next year if the line-up appeals.
Left Me for Dead
Fire, Fire [Heaven's Basement material]
The Devil That Needs You
I Am Electric [Heaven's Basement material]
Dancin' Down Below
Heartbreaking Son of a Bitch [Heaven's Basement material]
Morals?
Aaron Buchanan's set brought the action on the Orange Amps Stage to a close. With the doors to the main O2 Arena bowl opening shortly, I made the trek around the inside of the dome to the door I was required to enter by. As I walked past the IndigO2, I could hear the heavy rock 'n' roll of Orange Goblin pouring out of the doors. I did not enter the IndiogO2 at any point during the day, choosing instead to focus on the Orange Amps Stage. I would have liked to see Orange Goblin, as I had enjoyed their at Bloodstock a few years ago, but by the time Aaron Buchanan's set finished they were already well into their set. I opted just to head into the arena bowl and get seated for the three main bands still to come. While there were plenty of people in attendance throughout the day, and the arena bowl was pretty full during Megadeth and the Scorpions' sets, it is certainly fair to say that more tickets could have been sold. Many of us up in the higher tiers of the stadium were offered new seats slightly closer, which shows that there were plenty empty seats around. My seats had a better view than my original ones, which was great, and I got to watch the venue slowly fill up throughout the evening. Up first was...
Buckcherry:
The Los Angeles-based sleaze rockers Buckcherry had the daunting task of opening proceedings, with much of their set mostly performed to an almost-empty hall as the crowd filed in at a snail's pace. I saw Buckcherry a couple of years ago supporting Steel Panther in Cardiff, where I was pretty underwhelmed by their performance, but this time they were much better. The band's dirty, bluesy, sleazy rock is naturally very sloppy, but it works well with Stevie D. (guitar/vocals) and new boy Kevin Roentgen (guitar/vocals) locking together well with loose riffs and solos. Frontman, and sole original member, Josh Todd is a strange frontman. He often moves around the stage fairly moodily in a style that often clashes with his crass lyrics - but it works well, and his vocals were much better this time around. The band's short set focused mainly on the band's first three albums, with Ridin' and Slamin' making their impact early and managed to elicit a response from the small crowd. Another highlight of the set was the cocaine-influenced Lit Up, which was probably the best number Buckcherry aired. The chorus rang around the the hall, and showed what a powerful band Buckcherry can be despite the fact their star has fallen over the past few years. A couple more tracks followed, but everything came to a close with Crazy Bitch, probably the band's best known song, which definitely received a strong reception from the crowd. Despite a poor turnout for the evening's opening band, Buckcherry still managed to put on a good show, and helped to warm the crowd up for what was to come. The setlist was:
Ridin'
Broken Glass
Slamin'
Lit Up
Say Fuck It [Icona Pop cover]
Sorry
Gluttony
Crazy Bitch
Megadeth:
Megadeth were the evening's special guests, and by the time they hit the stage the arena bowl was pretty full. Megadeth are a big hit and miss live, and during the run up to their set I was wondering if the sloppy version of the band, or the powerful one would turn up. Thankfully it was the latter and the melodic thrash classic Hangar 18 got the set off to a great start, with Dave Mustaine (vocals/guitar) and Kiko Loureiro (guitar/vocals) nailing the snaking opening riff. Mustaine's live vocals can be a bit ropey, but throughout Megadeth's 75 minute set he sounded something close to his snarling best. A good mix of material was played, with newer numbers like the fast The Threat is Real mixing in well with crunchier tracks like In My Darkest Hour. I had seen the band a couple of times previously, and the band included quite a few songs tonight that I had not heard them play live before. The highlight of these was the old classic The Conjuring which has been returned to the band's set after a two-decade absence. The progressive thrash riffing brought a good response from the crowd, and there were even a few circle pits around. Being the heaviest band on the bill certainly had a bit of an effect on the crowd's reactions throughout Megadeth's set however. There were clearly clusters of die-hard fans down at the front, but there were obviously more than a few who were fairly ambivalent to what was going on up on the stage. This clearly annoyed Mustaine at times, but he did not let it affect the band's performance who were totally on point throughout. Highlights for me were the guitar workout Tornado of Souls, which featured a lengthy and stunning solo from birthday boy Loureiro, and Dystopia - the mid-paced title track from the band's most recent album. Classics were wheeled out towards the end of the set with the band going right back to their 1985 debut for Mechanix. This fast number allowed new drummer Dirk Verbeuren to really demonstrate his skills - which in fairness he did all night. Their Belgian has just the right balance of technical precision and raw power to propel Megadeth's material, and he turned in the best drumming performance of the three Megadeth shows I have now seen. Peace Sells, led by David Ellefson's (bass guitar/vocals) stabbing bassline, brought the main set to a close, before the band came back out for a rousing final song - the powerful Holy Wars...The Punishment Due. This song always closes the band's sets, and it brought a large cheer from the crowd as the band closed the song out and took their bows. While Megadeth probably were not everyone's cup of tea on this bill, they turned in a stunning performance and probably turned a few classic rock fans' heads! The setlist was:
Hangar 18
The Threat is Real
Rattlehead
Wake Up Dead
In My Darkest Hour
The Conjuring
Sweating Bullets
Take No Prisoners
Tornado of Souls
Dystopia
Symphony of Destruction
Mechanix
Peace Sells
-
Holy Wars...The Punishment Due
Scorpions:
Despite looking forward to many of the band's on the bill, it was the German rockers the Scorpions that persuaded me to buy the ticket in the first place. The band have neglected the UK for quite some time, sadly, and I had been wanting to see them live for many years. Despite the wait, I was not disappointed as the band hit the stage at around 9:15pm and did not stop until the 11pm curfew, save for the short encore break. As expected, the band focused mainly on their 1980s heyday - with many of the songs played being true classics - but there were a few older and newer numbers throw in too. One of the new songs, Going Out with a Bang from 2015's Return to Forever, opened the show with a shuffling power, before Make It Real, complete with Matthias Jabs' (guitar/vocals) soaring guitar leads, that set the evening alight. The classics constantly flowed, and the band's 70 year old frontman Klaus Meine sung them just as well as he did in the 1980s. The man has not aged a bit, and his unique, accented, voice filled the arena and was often joined by the voices of many thousand fans. The crushing mid-paced The Zoo was an early highlight, with Jabs' lengthy talk box solo, and the instrumental Coast to Coast provided an early chance for founding member Rudolf Schenker (guitar/vocals) to solo. A medley of their 1970s output, including the powerful Steamrock Fever and the anthemic Catch Your Train, sifting out the die-hard from the more casual fans. The band's 1970s work has often been ignored by the band in recent years, so it was great to see a few of those songs resurrected in the form of a medley. I am not sure that two lengthy instrumentals were required, with Jabs' Delicate Dance following not too long from Coast to Coast, but I suppose Meine probably appreciated the breaks at his age. Another medley, this time of acoustic ballads, followed which culminated in a stunning version of Send Me an Angel that had everyone in the crowd singing along while the mirrorball threw lights around the arena. The mega-ballad Wind of Change followed, which was probably the best song of the entire day. The song is so famous for a reason, and hearing the crowd singing along with Meine was something special indeed. Schenker's emotional solo was perfect too, and was the icing on the cake. The rest of the set was made up of real classics, including a short but powerful version of Motörhead's Overkill which was a tribute to the late Lemmy. This led into a lengthy drum solo from new drummer Mikkey Dee, who showcased why he has often been called one of the best heavy metal drummers during his already-long career. Blackout and Big City Nights followed and brought the main set to a close. The cheer that erupted from the crowd was huge, and it was not too long before the band were back out for a couple more. The power ballad Still Loving You went down a storm, before Jabs' laid into the main riff of Rock You Like a Hurricane. It was another highlight of the whole day, with the crowd again singing loudly, which brought the evening to a powerful close. The setlist was:
Going Out with a Bang
Make it Real
Is There Anybody There?
The Zoo
Coast to Coast
Top of the Bill/Steamrock Fever/Speedy's Coming/Catch Your Train
We Built This House
Delicate Dance [w/ Ingo Powitzer]
Follow Your Heart/Eye of the Storm/Send Me an Angel
Wind of Change
Tease Me Please Me
Overkill [Motörhead cover]
Drum solo
Blackout
Big City Nights
-
Still Loving You
Rock You Like a Hurricane
The Scorpions were easily the band of the day for me, but Megadeth and Aaron Buchanan and the Cult Classics also put on excellent shows that made the trip up to London from Devon worth it. It was great to finally see the Scorpions after having wanted to for many years, and they certainly did not disappoint with an arena-moving performance. My overall experience of Stone Free Festival was a positive one, and I will definitely be up for making the effort again next year if the line-up appeals.
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