PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
The lineup for this summer’s edition of the Graspop Metal Meeting is really shaping up now with the addition of another seven bands. The newcomers are Helloween, W.A.S.P., Prong, All That Remains, Tankard, Newsted and Love And Death.
A small change to our day schedules: Heaven Shall Burn has been moved up from Saturday 29 June to Friday 28 June.
In September 2012, W.A.S.P. celebrated the 30th anniversary of their first ever show in LA by kicking off their ’30 Years of Thunder’ world tour, which will also bring them to Dessel this summer. The band around figurehead Blackie Lawless, now the only remaining founding member, was particularly successful in the early years. Thanks to their self-titled 1984 debut ‘W.A.S.P.’ and the hit single ‘I Wanna Be Somebody’, their career took off like a comet and despite numerous lineup changes the band never lost its drive and identity. The upcoming tour offers an overview of W.A.S.P.’s 30 years in the business and promises to be the greatest W.A.S.P. show ever.
For German metallers Helloween, the release of their brand-new studio ‘Straight Out of Hell’ was the perfect excuse to embark on yet another world tour, entitled ‘Hellish Rock Part II’. The new release is actually one of their top selling albums to date. Helloween has always been extremely popular in mainland Europe and Japan but they are also a crowd favourite at festivals worldwide because they know how to throw one hell of a metal party!
Metallica at Graspop Metal Meeting? Well, no, not this year but who knows? Still, Jason Newsted represents a big chunk of Metallica history and our loyal Graspoppers will be more than happy to get reacquainted. Jason has kept busy since his departure from the biggest band of the Big Four but now he’s back with a new project. The new band is simply called Newsted and their classic metal has that typical Jason touch so expect a pinch of doom, a dash of punk and, above all, raw Newsted vocals. The prodigal son is back so don’t miss it…
Some acts are simply larger than life. Whether it’s personnel changes, declining CD sales or a worldwide economic crisis, nothing gets in the way of true rockers and their calling. A fine example of this dying breed is Tommy Victor, the brains behind Prong. Prong first came to the fore in the late 80s with their excellent debut ‘Force Fed’. Successful bands like Korn and Nine Inch Nails still quote Prong as a major influence on their music. During the 90s, Prong became one of the top acts of the alternative scene.
Eight years ago, Brian ‘Head’ Welch left the American metal band Korn to dedicate himself to the Lord Jesus Christ. He’s kept a low profile ever since but now he’s back with a new project called Love and Death and GMM was quick to invite them over for an introduction. Be sure to check out their debut album, ‘Between Here and Lost’. There’s quite a bit of Korn in there, so if you’re a fan…
