Festival Review: Tons of Rock 2019 – Day Two

The Hu (c) Katie Frost
The Hu (c) Katie Frost

Day Two of Tons of Rock festival and I was feeling better than the day before so up for checking out more bands than I had managed to on Thursday. The sun was shining and there was a great atmosphere on site.

The first band I went to check out were Mongolian folk rock band The Hu who played the scream stage. Just wow. I was blown away from the very start! They opened their set with “Shoog Shoog”, punching the air with every chant of “shoog”, and everyone in the packed tent joined in. Brilliant band, and I will definitely be checking them out again!

Hällas (c) Katie Frost
Hällas (c) Katie Frost

Next up, following a recommendation from a fellow photographer, I went to the vampire stage (like the scream stage, also in a tent and also named after a painting by Munch) to check out Hällas – a prog rock band from Sweden. The band wore capes and had some funky metallic eye make-up and I really enjoyed their sound.

After that it was back to the scream stage for some more prog in the form of UK band TesseracT – a band I had been keen to see live for a long time. Vocalist Daniel was very animated and regularly went up to the barrier to interact with the crowd. I wasn’t sure about his tassled long-sleeved top, but the band played a great set, including tracks from their latest album Sonder, which was released last year.

Then it was back to the main stage for Australian hard rock band Wolfmother. I remember these guys being

TesseracT (c) Katie Frost
TesseracT (c) Katie Frost

popular when I visited Australia back in 2005/2006 but hadn’t ever seen them live. With just a backdrop displaying their band name behind them they initially looked quite sparse on the big stage, but they more than owned it. They had some great riffs and catchy hooks, and the crowd really enjoyed their set, as did I.

When I saw that legendary Norwegian black metal band Mayhem were on the line-up I knew I had to go and check them out. I mentally prepared myself for dismembered animal parts and blood, but (for the first three songs at least) there was none to be seen. I breathed a sigh of relief that I wouldn’t have to be wiping blood of my camera gear! Apart from vocalist Atttila, the band were all dressed in a relatively normal fashion, but of course he had his trademark painted face and looked just as I would have imagined. I wasn’t able to stick around for much of their set as I hurried over to the vampire stage to catch UK metalcore band Bury Tomorrow.

Wolfmother (c) Katie Frost
Wolfmother (c) Katie Frost

The band’s latest album Black Flame was brought to my attention by my boyfriend and I loved it right from the start. This was at the beginning of the year when I was very down and stressed with my day job and the mix of scream vocals, catchy melodies and groovy riffs seemed to both suit and soothe my mood. I had been looking forward to seeing them live ever since and they did not disappoint. Despite their set clashing with Mayhem, the tent was packed. Vocalist Daniel seemed equally surprised and thanked the crowd for their support. They are a great live band and I look forward to seeing them play Black Flame in full at Roundhouse at the end of the year.

Slayer (c) Katie Frost
Slayer (c) Katie Frost

I had to skip out on the last couple of songs of Bury Tomorrow’s set as thrash metal titans Slayer were about to play the main stage – their last ever show in Norway. I witnessed their last ever London show at the end of last year. There was an atmosphere of both joy and sadness from the crowd and this was also visible in the faces of the band. Tom Araya frequently had a thankful smile on his face as they played a killer set. It was bittersweet for all concerned. Farewell Slayer – thanks for the good times!

Volbeat (c) Katie Frost
Volbeat (c) Katie Frost

Personally I was surprised that Slayer weren’t headlining the festival that day, but that slot was given to Danish heavy metal band Volbeat, who were the last band to play the main stage on Friday night. I had seen as many Volbeat shirts around the festival that day as I had Slayer shirts, so the band were obviously popular enough to rise to the challenge and attempt to walk where the legendary Slayer had been just hours before. Nothing was ever going to top KISS’s headline performance the day before, but Volbeat performed a great set and the crowd loved it. I grabbed a cold beer (which cost me around £8!!) and soaked up the evening sun with the buddies who were kindly letting me crash on their sofa during my visit to Oslo.

Photos by Katie Frost Photography

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