Refreshed by a good night’s sleep and bacon, I return to the fray of the arena wondering what surprises today may have in store for me. The sun is shining and so is my nose (dear reader, wear sunscreen!) so armed with factor 50 and a hat I sally forth into battle. 

The day starts with Shadow Smile who are a good wake up band there's nothing like a bit of metalcore in the morning to blow away the cobwebs!  They are competent and fast, and although the music is slightly out of my comfort zone it's ok.

They're followed by the Continental Lovers which is much more my thing because there's also nothing like a bit of sleazy punky Faster Pussycat-inspired riffage to wake you up as well! There are low slung guitars and catchy riffs and I love it. They have raw energy, there's no tracks or over-production here just basic rock and roll. It's sharp and spiky and as they finish with a cover of the New York Dolls’ “Jet Boy” all is good and I’m a lilltle alarmed to have danced so hard this early in themorning….

Beth Blade and the Beautiful Disasters follow which is more sing-along uptempo party rock. It's cheerful, even though Beth chucks in a quick vocal acapella version of Proud Mary in memory of the late Tina Turner who passed this week. The rest of the set is classic powerful rock which again engages the crowd and garners a good response - more of this please! 

Circus 66 turn out to be female fronted trad metal. The singer is a bit like a darker, more gothy Doro Pesch. It’s ok but I don’t see anything special to catch my attention,

Next up though is something very special indeed. I've seen the New Generation Superstars many times over the years; sometimes they're good, sometimes they're great and occasionally they have an off day but I have to say that today they were absolutely superb. They played more fast and furious dirty rock, lots of hey hey and oi oi oi! It's gritty and real, low slung guitars and all about a good time all of the time.  The music is punchy and it's easy to get carried along with it and be part of it. Simple but effective, no histrionics just straight ahead rock and roll and I love it. I think this is the best performance I've ever seen from them and on the strength of this I can't wait to hear their new album.  

The Hot One Two are classic rock with nice harmonies and easy to dance to and that's all I managed to write down so either I was dancing a lot or I may have nipped to grab a bite for part of their set?

Desperate Measures are another funky rock band with decent riffs, it's catchy but again not outstanding and the vocals are a little bit off key to my ears. Still having a good time though and their enthusiasm was infectious.

And then we get to my one of my highlights of the day………The Cruel Intentions have come all the way over from Norway and if I tell you that all my notepad says to review this band is “f*** yeah!” I'm sure you get the idea! They are brash and in your face sleazy rock performed with passion and style. Lead singer Lizzy Devine later tells us that he's really not very well at the moment and he feels that his performance was below par but again sorry Lizzy I have to disagree I've seen this band many times in many places all over the world and today was a fine performance! if Lizzy was slightly off that was more than made up for by his band, they were all over the stage engaging the audience and just giving us all a fantastic time. I loved it from start to finish. 

So how do you follow that well Rich Ragany and The Digressions did his best but he's a bit more laid-back, a bit country, a touch of yeehaw. Actually a pleasant contrast and a chance to chill out and relax a little. It was a bit more restful, and probably a good choice for this spot after the raucous noise that had happened just beforehand. I was ready for a nice sit down! 

I caught a little bit of Sour Tusk, a heavy blues trio whose songs sounded a bit like Clutch ones with indecipherable lyrics. There's quite a lot of dancing happening and they're popular and easygoing.

I was soon back at the main stages though, to see the band that get my Band Of The Weekend award (although it was a close call this year!) Finland’s Shiraz Lane have it all. They've got the songs, they've got the look, they've got the energy ,they are full-on and non-stop. The set is a perfect powerhouse and they soon have the crowd eating out of their hands. The music again is hard and heavy but with catchy uptempo riffs and sing along whoa whoa choruses galore. Singer Hannas is one of the most engaging front men on the rock circuit at the moment, he makes eye contact with every one of us and makes us all feel like this performance is just for us, just between us, something intimate and precious. From the opening bars to the last lingering notes they own the stage and the crowd carries them aloft on a wave of love and enthusiasm. Just superb. I don't think anybody would disagree that they pretty much stole the show this weekend. 

Well in truth some might disagree, because Atlanta Georgia’s Kickin Valentina followed them and were also at the top of their game. They are another powerhouse of a band. A roundhouse even. They have become something of a Call Of The Wild house band, being (I think) the only band to have played all three editions so far. They put on a stonking performance, there’s only a hairs breadth separating their show from Shiraz Lane’s. They are real, and dirty, and an absolute crowd favourite. We all join in, there are songs that are old favourites and also a couple of new songs which are sounding pretty damn good to these ears. Mostly though this is a band of the people. This is a band who bring all the fun, all the party, and all the togetherness. Singer DK is down on the barrier, he's in the crowd, he doesn't care. They have been around all weekend just partying and chatting to people and it pays, because everyone loves them. How could you not when they sound this good and make you feel so included, so special? 

Over in the tent in the meantime Elimination were melting some faces. Pointy guitars, fast fast faster songs, lots of hell and violence and stuff. If you like your thrash in the style of Metallica these guys fit the bill nicely. Well, more nastily actually. They seem like nice boys but the music is brutal and uncompromising. 

Headliners Terrorvision represent all of the 90s in a single band. That was their era and they still live in it musically. All the familiar songs are there, Best Friend, Alice, Tequila and so many other anthems. They bothered the UK charts with quite a few hits back in the day, and whatever they had back then still seems to be alive and well within them. The party is over here, at Terrorvision’s house, and boy are they having a great time! Singer Tony Wright might be a little more grizzled these days but he still prowls the stage like an over-excited teenager, bouncing with an energy that belies his years and exhorting all and sundry to jump along too. This is a band who've been doing their thing for so many years now that they have it absolutely spot on, they are a serious band who don’t take themselves too seriously and their enthusiasm and sheer delight at being up there doing what they do is very infectious. There's a new song that I have to say sounds pretty much like the old ones but again these songs are so familiar that the crowd join in with every word, even the ones they don’t know! It's a well-oiled machine and it's a fantastic way to end the evening,

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!