Sonisphere Day Two // Cider, Cider, Cider & Girls, Girls, Girls

Free. Everyone’s favourite four-letter word goes well before everything, especially beer, cider, and the like. In between milking the gratis backstage booze cow, the Strongbow tent became our base camp for the day, picked for its line-up of up and coming British bands. Sheffield’s hardcore (faster metal) outfit While She Sleeps delivered a crashing, dramatic performance, before Bury Tomorrow, didn’t disappoint their hype as Twitter tip of the day, belting out their impressive fusion of metal and hardcore punk (metalcore), while Cars On Fire pummelled the assembled crowds with their hard but emotive melodies. 

The search for Tommy began to heat up, with the first celeb spotting of the cowboy boot wearing, bandana-clad Brett Michaels (of Poison), before our first Motley Crue-er, Nikki Six, pissing on the side of his dressing room (seriously, you couldn’t script it). Then the clouds parted, the sun shone, and there he was. Tommy, awkwardly readying himself for Motley Crue’s imminent but ultimately underwhelming performance on the Saturn Stage. The classics were enjoyable, but the rest disappointing, and after Girls, Girls, Girls, we were gone, gone, gone. 

Next up were German industrial metal (heavy metal with sampling) outfit Rammestein. Opening their set, a giant stage-sized German flag fell to reveal the band members, clad in black lipstick and a variety of dramatic outfits. The German chants directed at the crowd and heavy guitars had the Goths in responsive rapture, and as the band powered out a typically epic, over the top performance, delighting the crowd, we exited stage left: our four-letter friend was calling once more. 

Words by Fleur Terry

Photos by Lara Leon-Cullen

Tommy. Finally (as close as we could get)

Noize got closer to Good Charlotte though…