Boy has it been a great one last weekend at Dessel. The previous days I’ve given you a taste of my festival experience, today I’m giving you a short list of songs that probably would have made the experience even better. Because there’s always room for improvement. And I’m not done thinking about Graspop yet. And frankly, I’m bored.
Judas Priest – The Sentinel
The Priest came and went so quickly, I can’t be the only one who would’ve enjoyed some more songs. I was a bit surprised we didn’t get Sword Of Damocles off their latest effort. The song I would’ve enjoyed most of all, is The Sentinel off their 1984 album ‘Defenders Of The Faith’ though. The last live performance of the song dates back to 2012. With the 30 year anniversary edition of the album, it would have been a great opportunity to rip it out again.
Sonata Arctica – FullMoon
Considering the fact that I used to be a big fan of their earlier work, this should not be a surprise. I don’t think many people would argue that Tony Kakko and his gang used to make better albums back in the days. Anyway, FullMoon actually is the song that the Finnish quintet have been playing most of all. Not at Graspop though.
Kiss – Strutter
With Kiss, you come for the show. The setlist doesn’t really matter all that much. If I were to put together a collection of my favourite Kiss songs, this one would be in there as well. It hasn’t been a part of the setlist since 2012 though.
Alice Cooper – He’s Back/Halo Of Flies
So many songs that fit his stage show perfectly. Actually, they’re both songs that find their way into Alice’s setlist. He’s back was performed at Lokerse Feesten two years ago and Halo Of Flies the year before that at Suikerrock. I guess we can agree that Alice can easily make a show of over two hours and never losing a fraction of our attention. Sadly, he only got one at Graspop.
Dragonforce – Soldiers Of The Wasteland
I’ve always loved this one most of all. Fury Of The Storm and Through The Fire And The Flames may have always been more popular and they might have a new album to promote, but still. If I were them, I’d play this every single time. Just listen to those solo parts. Sadly, it was played a couple of times in 2013 and the years before but not after. At least not to date.
Five Finger Death Punch – Wrong Side Of Heaven
If I’m honest, this was actually one of the few songs I already knew of 5FDP. Written about war veterans in the USA that are just left to rot. Apparently it hasn’t even been played live yet at all. Bummer, because it’s a fine tune displaying the talents of the five piece from Las Vegas, Nevada. Of course, the song was only released in 2013, so it still might turn up in the future.
Faith No More – Falling To Pieces/We Care A Lot
No matter what they would have played, everybody would already be happy that Mike Patton and his band are back. Being a greatest hits fan of this one as well, I don’t really feel like arguing about their setlist. But screw that, I’m doing it anyway. We Care A Lot has even been an inspiration to name a best of Faith No More album (‘Who Cares A Lot?’) and has been played right before Graspop at Hellfest and even right after. Maybe they have more luck at Werchter? (although they already replace Foo Fighters, so maybe they didn’t even have that much luck to begin with). Falling To Pieces on the other hand hasn’t really been in many setlists since the comeback. Once last year and once back in 2009.
In Flames – Episode 666
The problem with In Flames was already known. They used to be one of the three big cult bands of the Götheborg death metal scene. A couple of years ago, they started moving into a more mainstream direction though. Although they possibly made four of the very best melodeath albums (‘Whoracle’ – ‘Clayman’ – ‘The Jester Race’ – ‘Colony’) ever made, I don’t really care that much for their later work. To pick out one song I would’ve loved to hear is close to impossible, so I just randomly went for Episode 666 off 1997’s ‘Whoracle’. Last played back in 2009.
Motörhead – No Class
Was I left disappointed after Lemmy and co’s latest visit to Belgium? Pretty much. He did not look or sound good. Phil and Mikkey did try to spruce things up a bit, but only succeeded partially. Initially I was to choose Killed By Death, but I think the more uptempo No Class (last played only last year) off the ‘Overkill’ album would’ve been a better fit to make the show better.
Slipknot – Snuff
The things I would do to see this happen. Such an awesome song. If you’ve seen the acoustic version Cory did right after Paul Grey died (it’s on youtube as well), you’ll remember forever. For many fans, ‘All Hope Is Gone’ – the album that contained Snuff as well as some other less heavy stuff – was a step into the Stone Sour direction. For me it was a sign that Slipknot was able of venting other emotions through their music besides anger. Sadly, it doesn’t seem to find its way into their stage show. At least not since 2012.
All information was gathered from setlist.fm. If there’s any mistakes in this text, that’s where it comes from. They’re a blessing for music journalists, although even they’re not omniscient.
riffsalghul.wordpress.com 