Romano d’Ezzelino, Italy
July 6 – 7, 2024
Metal Park is a newly started metal festival located in northern Italy. Describing exactly where it is located is not easy. The festival is just outside a town called Bassano del Grappa and is therefore in the neighbouring municipality of Romano d’Ezzelino. So even though Metal Park is not technically in Bassano del Grappa, that’s where you need to go, and it’s within walking distance from the town to the festival. This is in scenic surroundings with high mountains and beautiful forests, worth a visit even if you’re not attending the festival.
Text: Runar Pettersen. Photos: Diana Blajan
As mentioned initially, Metal Park is a new festival, but it is created in collaboration with a mainstream festival called AMA Music Festival, allowing Metal Park to use the same setup. This is brilliant considering it avoids setting up and dismantling the stage and festival area for both festivals, thus saving many euros. However, I suspect that AMA Music Festival is somewhat larger than Metal Park, as several of the bars are not in use and remain empty.
The experience at Metal Park is great, and even though the festival is new, it seems like it has been running for several years. The festival especially deserves praise for all artists starting at the scheduled time without any delays. In addition, there are several sales booths with books, CDs, and clothes. There is also a “meet & greet” with many of the artists for those who want an autograph or selfie. There are plenty of food stalls, and everything is reasonably priced.
However, some improvements can be made. First and foremost, the toilets. Providing hand sanitizer would make toilet visits much more hygienic. Many of the toilets also lack toilet paper. Overall, urinals could solve most issues. With urinals, half the queue would disappear, and the women would get cleaner toilets since many men miss the toilet when peeing. I also do not like the token system. It is an annoying system as you just have to stand in another queue to exchange money for tokens. Once upon a time, this was smart to avoid queues because many used cash. But now that everyone uses cards and can simply tap with their bank card, this is completely unnecessary. Especially since you also cannot exchange back the tokens you have left. Maybe it is still necessary in Italy, I don’t know, but in Norway this is a long gone system already.
SATURDAY:
Since we arrive at the festival this day, we unfortunately miss the first bands. It’s a shame because we would have liked to see Tygers of Pan Tang, Rhapsody of Fire, and Ritchie Kotzen. At least we get to hear Ritchie Kotzen on our way into the festival.
Thus, Michael Monroe is the first full concert I get to see. Monroe is best known as the vocalist of the Finnish glam rock band Hanoi Rocks. The band had a promising career in the 80s, but it was abruptly stopped when drummer Nicholas “Razzle” Dingley died as a passenger in Vince Neil’s car, who was driving drunk and crashed. But this is not about Hanoi Rocks, as Michael Monroe has also had a striking solo career. Most of the songs in this concert are from his solo career, especially from newer albums from the last fifteen years. Additionally, Michael Monroe had a band in 1994 called Demolition 23 that released an album. He plays two songs from that album, which is twice as many as he plays from Hanoi Rocks. It’s quite surprising that he only includes one song from Hanoi Rocks, and it’s equally surprising that this song is “Malibu Beach Nightmare,” as it’s not exactly the band’s most famous song. The concert also ends with “Up Around the Bend” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, which Hanoi Rocks covered. All in all, there are many songs one might wish for, but with a short festival set, there’s no room to complain. Michael Monroe is in top form, and you wouldn’t believe he is over 60 now. He climbs the stage rigging and jumps into the audience as much as possible, constantly chasing away the security trying to keep him safe. “Stay away! Stay away!” he shouts while they try to pull him back from the audience. But he’s polite enough to explain to them after the song is finished and thanks them for the job they do. The funniest part is seeing the band’s stage technician in action. He’s on stage almost as much as the rest of the band, trying to untangle cables and replace microphones that Michael constantly manages to break. It’s amusing that Michael seems to get annoyed with the microphones that don’t work, even though it’s entirely self-inflicted.
More Finnish music follows when the power metal band Stratovarius starts. Stratovarius has a definitely interesting history, and the fact that there is not a single original member left in the band today says a lot. The band’s oldest member is vocalist Timo Kotipelto, who joined in 1994 and sings from the band’s fifth album, “Fourth Dimension,” from 1995. If you followed the band around 2004 to 2008, you surely witnessed the breakdown of guitarist and former vocalist Timo Tolkki, which explains much of the band’s turbulent history. Regardless, the band has continued, and the current line-up works very well. Two years ago, they released the album “Survive,” and three songs from it are played at this concert. However, it’s the older material that gets the best response from the audience, who eagerly sing along with the choruses. Stratovarius is clearly popular in Italy, and people know the lyrics, creating a good sing-along atmosphere. The closing song, and biggest hit, “Hunting High and Low,” generates the best sing-along of all, and with that, Stratovarius delivers a good concert.
In 2003, The Darkness became a sensation when they released their debut album “Permission to Land” and had a hit with “I Believe in a Thing Called Love.” The song was played so much that The Darkness became an easy band to hate. Fortunately, The Darkness hasn’t had a similar hit since then, and now, over twenty years later, the band is easier to like. However, I must say that it’s still annoying when vocalist Justin Hawkins goes into falsetto. But that’s just me. Most of the songs played in this concert are from “Permission to Land.” So, it’s clear that the debut album holds a strong place in the band’s discography. Additionally, there’s a lot of banter from the band when they partially play songs from Led Zeppelin and Queen. Hawkins is actually quite funny when he starts the verse of “We Will Rock You” for the second time, only to stop himself. But the highlight of the concert for many is when the band plays the old hit “I Believe in a Thing Called Love.” Richie Kotzen joins in to play guitar. After the concert, “Time of My Life” from the movie “Dirty Dancing” plays while the band thanks the audience.
Iron Maiden’s eminent vocalist Bruce Dickinson is out on a solo tour, over twenty years since his last one. The band has been playing together since April 15, and after Metal Park, there are only six concerts left. So, it’s safe to say that Bruce Dickinson’s solo tour has been a great success. He is now promoting “The Mandrake Project,” and three songs from the album are played. However, this evening “The Chemical Wedding” gets the most attention, with four songs in total. Bruce hasn’t played the same songs at every concert, so there have been some substitutions. “Book of Thel” hasn’t been included all the way but is played now. However, “Faith” is out of the set for the evening, meaning no songs from the “Skunkworks” album. Nor are there any songs from “Tattooed Millionaire,” which is expected as they haven’t played songs from that album throughout the tour. Even though many songs are missed, it’s impossible to complain about the song selection as every single one is a great song. The only complaint might be the cover song “Frankenstein” by The Edgar Winter Group. There’s nothing wrong with it, but it’s an instrumental where all the band members get to play solos, and Bruce Dickinson enjoys himself with both percussion and theremin. So “Frankenstein” is fun, but it would have been preferable to hear one of his own songs. The highlights are many, and I would especially mention “Accident of Birth,” “Laughing in the Hiding Bush,” “Chemical Wedding,” “Tears of the Dragon,” “Rain on the Graves,” “Darkside of Aquarius,” “Navigate the Seas of the Sun,” and “The Tower,” all giving me goosebumps and moist eyes. In addition, Bruce Dickinson is on fire, whipping the audience into a frenzy at every opportunity. He also has an outstanding band that plays almost perfectly. So, let’s hope for another round after Iron Maiden finishes their tour.
SUNDAY:
Unfortunately, we wake up to two bad news items this Sunday. One is a thunderstorm approaching, and the other is that Moonspell’s flight from Portugal is cancelled. There’s nothing to be done about Moonspell, and there is no replacement as the festival couldn’t find one on such short notice. But the rain can be avoided for me by not rushing to the festival.
Thus, Fleshgod Apocalypse is the first band we see today. Part of it is in the rain. But the second half is in good weather. There are probably fewer people watching the concert than expected, after all Fleshgod Apocalypse is Italian. But the rain is likely to blame. However, the band plays very well, and especially soprano vocalist Veronica Bordacchini is in good form. She smiles and enjoys herself and has a voice that can shatter glass. I also like that pianist Francesco Ferrini brings a real piano on stage instead of using a keyboard. It looks so much cooler. It is, however, a bit difficult to hear him as the piano is drowned out by the blast beats. So, the sound isn’t perfect. But Fleshgod Apocalypse can be a challenging band to mix sound for, especially at an outdoor festival. Other than that, I think the band does a good job.
Swedish Dark Tranquillity was one of the early bands to play what is called Gothenburg Death Metal, also known as melodic death metal. The band has a history dating back to 1989 and is soon to release their thirteenth album. The band is bold and actually plays three songs from the upcoming album. It’s always risky to play from an album that isn’t out yet, as few have heard the songs and the response will reflect that. But all three songs are already out as singles on Spotify, so many have apparently heard them as the response is quite good. Nevertheless, it’s the older hits that get the best response. Especially songs like “ThereIn,” “Phantom Days,” and “Lost to Apathy.” Additionally, the band plays three songs from “Damage Done,” which is nothing to sneeze at. Mikael Stanne has always been a good frontman and vocalist with a lot of charisma on stage. He has toned it down over the years but still does a great job. It is clear that the Italian audience appreciates him, constantly giving feedback to the job he does. However, the guitarist, bassist, and drummer are new as of 2020 and 2022. Additionally, the band has brought guitarist Peter Lyse Hansen from HateSphere for live performances. It’s always a bit of a let-down when there are so many changes within a line-up. But everyone in the band does a great job, so all credit to Dark Tranquillity for delivering a great concert.
Coroner from Switzerland was early in playing technical thrash metal and deserves recognition for being pioneers in the genre. Between 1987 and 1993, they released five albums. Then they disbanded a few years later. The band reunited in 2010 and did a tour of concerts in 2011. Since then, they have done a handful of concerts each year, except for the pandemic years, but still haven’t released any new material. However, they made a new song in 2022 called “Sacrificial Lamb” and have played it live several times despite it not being officially released. It is also played here at Metal Park. Apart from that, songs are played from all five albums, with a focus on “Mental Vortex” and “Grin.” Coroner is not the most exciting band to watch live. They are quite static on stage, and not much happens. But they can play, and it sounds great when the band kicks off the old hits.
Cavalera Conspiracy began to focus on playing old Sepultura material already in 2016. This has escalated over the years, and last year they released re-recordings of “Morbid Visions” and “Bestial Devastation,” while this year they came out with a re-recording of “Schizophrenia.” As Max Cavalera himself says from the stage, “We are the real Sepultura,” and it’s hard to disagree with that. Max and Iggor Cavalera created Sepultura, wrote the songs, came up with the band name, and even drew the logo themselves. They are the rightful owners of Sepultura. Therefore, it’s delightful to see the band perform a full Sepultura set with classics coming one after another. Max Cavalera whips the audience into a frenzy, asking for both a circle pit and a wall of death. It looks very unpleasant as a lot of mud has accumulated in front of the stage. But Cavalera doesn’t care. By the way, it’s not just Max and Iggor who are the only Cavaleras on stage this evening. Max has brought his own son, Igor Amadeus “Sorcerer” Cavalera, on bass. While on lead guitar, we have Travis “Eviscerator” Stone from the USA, a fantastic guitarist who plays Sepultura material perfectly. But it’s not just songs from the first three releases; the band also brings out “Refuse/Resist” and “Territory” from “Chaos A.D.” It’s incredible how much excitement these two songs generate towards the end of the concert. We also get to hear a bit of “Dead Embryonic Cells” from “Arise” during a medley at the very end. It doesn’t get much better than this.
The Norwegian black metal band Emperor disbanded after their fourth album, “Prometheus – The Discipline of Fire and Demise,” in 2001. But since then, they have repeatedly returned to deliver concerts at various festivals around the world. The concert opens with manager Håkon Grav coming out on stage: “Are you ready to go back to the nightside? From Telemark, Norway: EMPEROR!” With that, the mood is set. Songs are played from all four albums, with a clear majority from “Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk” and “In the Nightside Eclipse.” Darkness has just fallen over Italy as the Norwegians take the stage, setting the scene for a moody and excellent concert. I have a bit of trouble hearing the details in the music at the beginning of the concert, but fortunately, it’s corrected quite quickly. Luckily, Emperor has one of black metal’s best vocalists in Ihsahn, and his voice is crystal clear throughout. You know what you’re getting when you see Emperor, and it’s quality all the way. There’s not much more to say; once again, Emperor delivers a concert that meets all expectations.
There you go; Metal Park 2024 most be concentrated as a success, and we can only hope for new edition next year.
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