ROCKSTAR UPROAR 2010
RAWR MAGAZINE.....Guest Review
By Chris “Dutch” van Lidth
Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival
August 29th 2010 – Holmdel, NJ
When looking at the lineup for the Uproar Festival there is definitely a running theme. Hellyeah, Stone Sour, and Avenged Sevenfold are bands that have played with fallen brothers. Hellyeah’s Bob Zilla and Vinnie Paul both played with Dimebag Darrell in Pantera and Damageplan. Corey Taylor of Stone Sour (and Slipknot) lost Paul Gray this past year, a bassist of Slipknot. Avenged Sevenfold’s drummer, Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan, died at the end of 2009. Yet, that does not stop them all from rocking, especially at the Uproar Festival!Rockstar brings a festival of fun and high energy. Not just because of their tent giving out free energy drinks (which I took full advantage of), but the other fun tents that frequent festivals. Catching fans playing solos from A7X’s “Beast and the Harlot” and “Afterlife” on Schecter guitars and Krank amps was a good time. I really enjoyed playing the guitars myself. Best Buy offered to meet with some of the bands after purchasing their albums. A lot of happy people walked away happy from shaking hands and getting autographs on different merch. Even the Marines tested physical prowess with a pull-up bar. One of the fans put on an impressive display of switching his hand position after pulling up each time for fifteen reps!New Medicine, Hail the Villain, Airbourne, and Hellyeah open up the festival on the Jägermeister Stage. Even with all the exciting action of the attractions these bands drew large crowds that I had to join and everyone moved. After seeing Airbourne, a fan excitedly exclaimed that he got kicked in the head. Another really enjoyed their set because it was his first time crowd surfing. Hellyeah really had the energy up though! The crowd moved even when they played a song that starts off a bit slower. All-star teams may not work in sports, but Hellyeah shows it definitely works in metal!Halestorm opened the main stage with a feminine edge, but that edge was not dull. Without the use of lighting, pyrotechnics, and the sun making the big screens barely viewable this band managed to draw people in with their raw sound. Lzzy Hale can hold the attention of thousands with her vocals and guitar alone. Her soaring voice was the guiding magnet for all the metalheads to go to the main event. Their performance had me go out and get their album. A truly awesome band.When the sun was almost below the horizon and the twilight hours at a close, Stone Sour took the stage. Corey Taylor saluted Holmdel for hosting some of the best shows he ever played. The pumped crowd moved with the heavy guitars and sang along with the slower songs. Taylor also made sure that everyone knew that their new album releases on September 7th. The response from the new songs shows that the fans will not be disappointed.Through the long wait the anticipation was built up. The three-quarter moon was a dragon’s eye looking for its prey in a small cave. It added to the eerie essence that Avenged Sevenfold brings to the stage. The black curtain was raised to show three arched and pointed gates with A7X, one character on each. As with their recent album, “Nightmare,” Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater filled in for The Rev. Suddenly a man dropped from the top of the stage with a noose around his neck, startling most of the crowd, and then the string intro for the song “Nightmare” began. Through the tributes to their fallen brother, they make sure to let Portnoy know that he is welcome to the family. The set was full of emotion and energy. The whole audience moved and the pits on the lawn doubled in size, especially at the request of Portnoy. M. Shadows never stood still. The iconic stance of Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance and their opposing guitars (Vengeance plays lefty) made everyone go wild over their harmonic solos. The lighting and pyrotechnics added to the talent of the band. A7X said everything they had to say and played a strong set, consisting of songs from their second album “Waking the Fallen” to their newest releases, that left fans satisfied and hopeful that the band will return to the stage when they finish touring next year.In spite of the awesome stage, energy, and emotions from A7X, Disturbed was the crowd favorite in the results of the poll I took after the entire show. Their set started off with a video of David Draiman lying catatonic in the floor of a mental institution. The doctor keeps trying to see if Draiman can hear him, but all he sees is a demonization of the poor doc. After flat-lining and being revived, Draiman escapes the ambulance and comes out of the video onto the stage. The fans cheer loudly. Draiman asked the crowd to give it up for all the bands fucked them up and to get ready for the “knock-out punch.” Disturbed had great visuals behind them on a large LED screen and huge pillars of fire. The pits were not full and the energy was down a bit, but that was probably due to all the free Rockstars wearing off. “Down With the Sickness” revived the crowd and even the security at the edge of the circle pit on the lawn began to rock out. After playing songs from about every one of their releases, Draiman reminds the crowd that “Asylum” releases on August 31st and tells them to knock pop and rap off the charts in order to keep metal number one the way Avenged Sevenfold’s “Nightmare” did back in July. His ambition did not end there because he even says he wants to do better than A7X on the charts.The Rockstar Energy Uproar Festival delivers a killer lineup and amazing attractions. My personal favorite was Avenged Sevenfold. Sadly many A7X fans left after their set so when I polled the crowed they had no chance to compete with Disturbed. Both bands still deserved the praise they received. Again, despite the pain of having lost great musicians in the past decade these bands deliver amazing performances. The festival was the same as having a night of amazing sex. It got you pumped with energy and excited, then left you drained but satisfied.Click on photo to see full set of band
AVENGED SEVENFOLD
DISTURBED
STONE SOUR
HALESTORM
HELLYEAH
AIRBOURNE
RAWR MAGAZINE
Real And Wild Rockers.......................BITCHES!!!
