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The 2nd day is always harder, and this was certainly no exception.
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And so at the unearthly hour of 12 midday (unearthly for a festival) it was a case of back to the pub:
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First up was tub thumping pub metal from Beholder. Not really my cup of tea, but at least we got a free CD. That said, "Never Take Us Down" was dedicated to the memory of Sophie Lancaster so that went down well.
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Then it was over to the Born Again stage for a band making their UK debut - if you can work that out. Unusual for the fact that the lead singer was the drummer - Eagles style. A bit lightweight for this festival, but enjoyable enough.
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Next up.
Not a band I remember that well, but they were pretty good in fairness.
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Tygers Of Pan Tang
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Classic NWOBHM from the Tygers and boy did they rock. Fast riffs, great solos, and catchy tunes like Suzie Smiled, Hellbound and Love Potion #9, together with a healthy dose of new material, combined to bring the house down mid afternoon on the Born Again stage. They deserved a bigger crowd, but got a damned good reception from 600 or so that saw it.
Classic NWOBHM from the Tygers and boy did they rock. Fast riffs, great solos, and catchy tunes like Suzie Smiled, Hellbound and Love Potion #9, together with a healthy dose of new material, combined to bring the house down mid afternoon on the Born Again stage. They deserved a bigger crowd, but got a damned good reception from 600 or so that saw it.
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Undoubtedly, the highlight of Saturday for me. Anything that's a bit UFO is usually pretty good, and what a great set from Fin, Pete and the boys. Heaven Tonight the stand out track imho.
The question is, can Pete Way play the bass any longer? Rumours circulated that he couldn't hit a note backstage (he was spotted buying bottles of WKD in the mini market), and the bass was well down in the mix.
Anyhow, they were bloomin' good!
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Warrior Soul
Caught these back in the pub at tea time when the beers were kicking in. Powerful, but had one of those 'grunting' singers, that just ain't my bag.
They genuinely qualify for the veteran label, but deserved to be further up the bill than openers on the Saturday night Classic Rock stage. Pretty good, but a bit samey imho.
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As predicted, big chunky riffs, and lots of twiddley twoddley soloing from main man and chief spitter Zakk Wylde. To be honest, I just don't get them, despite an obviously large following, and by midnight, and having suffered their 3 intro tapes and a few similar sounding numbers, I was just plain bored, and had had enough.
.And that was Hard Rock Hell over for the 2nd year. Enjoyable, but lacking the quality of HRH1, both in terms of bands and surroundings.
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As for HRH3, we shall wait and see!!
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