Joint entry to start with, as both filled the Sophie Lancaster stage to the brim last year. Quite a feat as normally there is enough empty space, stage right to have a full eleven side footie match. Suicidal Tendencies were bumped to the second stage due to fog delayed flights and emerged two and hours later than scheduled to find every fucker on site was in the tent. Fuelled by the fact, the Sophie stage was already a pot of sweaty torsos, Suicidal Tendencies went for the jugular and produced an incendiary chaotic forty-five minutes set that climaxed in my friend’s lad Josh being hoisted on stage to play drums with Dave Lombardo. I have never seen a prouder mum. Then on the Sunday at the ungodly hour of half one in the afternoon, Alien Weaponry managed to repeat the feat on word of mouth alone. Three teens from New Zealand with only one freshly released album to their names, managed to put on a performance that put both their peers and elders to shame.  In thirty short minutes, they put down a marker that the future of metal belonged to them. And the reason why I have lumped these together, these will be “I was there” moments for years to come.

By Stewart Lucas