I had a brilliant day. Here is a summary...
Devildriver - the first "proper" band I saw. They played great, the sound was great but its just not my style. Also when the singer basically did the complete opposite of what Tom Araya does by saying "if someone is in your way, just push them down" was pretty fucked. Dickhead.
All That Remains - certainly not my style, but tight and the singer was going off. He also went badly "off" when trying to sing clean.
Murderdolls - not what I expected at all. I was actually pleasantly surprised. It isnt metal per se, but it certainly wasnt bad, and their stage presence and getups definitely do their job. They look the part and they played well.
Primus - fucking gay. Aside from the last song, it was pathetic and they are defintely too old for this stuff. Everyone that was anywhere near me was complaining as well..... where was I standing? Right in the centre at the very front of stage 1, waiting an hour for.....
SLASH!! - the most surreal moment of my entire music life. I still cant get over it. Standing, dancing, moshing(ish), singing and screaming to the guy I have idolized for 19 years, and the whole time being close enough to see the sweat beads on his brow, and how badly faded his tattoos are. What a dream come true. Myles Kennedy totally ripped too. That guy is a true performer and suits Slash perfectly. In my eyes he was just as entertaining as Slash. He's like a mix of Axl and Sebastian Bach, but cooler. Looking through the wings I could see Sevendust and Devildriver watching and at one point they looked out at the crowd and were in awe. I didnt realize how big it actually was (since I was at the front) but from what I can gather, it was massive. Nightrain, Brownstone, Paradise City, Sweet Child - all expected songs, but total classics (all Appetite songs mind you) and also Mean Bone (from Snakepit) was cool as were the other random mix of Slash/VR songs. A great set, and something I will definitely never forget for as long as I live. Anyway, after barely being able to walk, I managed to scoot back over to stage 4, hoping to catch some pit action for....
Slayer - was very disappointing when I got there and realized that the "pit" pretty much went back to stage 4A. What a ridiculous set up. Decided that since I had seen them twice in the past (yes, thats seen; not just heard from a wind-blown distance) we would go and have a chill in the drinking area and catch the end of whatever band was playing.
30 Seconds to Mars - surprisingly enough I quite enjoyed what they did, even though we just treated it as nice background music while we chilled out. Covering War Pigs was way cool and made it all worth it. I still felt like a naughty kid wagging school walking away from Slayer, but I really couldnt give a fuck by that point in time.
I think I saw the first song of QOTSA before making my way back to stage 4 to watch Rob Zombie. I had a mate fly from Brisbane so he could watch Zombie with me, and my wife was hell keen, though she ended up not coming. I kind of felt obliged to watch him, and my wife has hammered him on the stereo enough for me to know at least his main songs. I wasnt overly excited. Then they started playing. MAN! They are one hell cool band. John 5 can totally shred despite looking like an emo version of Kieffer Sutherland on The Lost Boys. Joey Jordison is obviously a wicked drummer, and didnt disappoint, and Rob is the ultimate show man. Played all the classics. Thunderkiss was cool, and Supercharger Heaven was a surprise. More Human was a given, but was the song I was most looking forward to. House of 1000 Corpses went off, and naturally Dragula and Living Dead Girl were awesome and expected. I was actually more excited about the song he didnt play. That stupid fucking Sick Bubblegum (from Hellbilly Deluxe 2), which I hate and apparently he plays every single show (apparently except Perth). He played 4 White Zombie songs, which was not expected. I was very much impressed and to me was 2nd best gig of the entire show....
Maiden - really what more needs to be said? Its Maiden, and it was as awesome as ever. Im glad I had seen them when they came last time (Burswood) because it was a different and much more personal atmosphere, but it was great to see them on a huge stage with a monsterish crowd. Glad they brought Eddie too.
From what I heard they were tipping to get 40,000 people through the door, which is about 8000 more than Big Gay Out, so glad the metal crowd showed up in force and kicked the BDO in the nuts. No drink ticket system was also a plus, and the whole thing was quite well organized aside from Slayer being on stage 4 and not 1 or 2. Only regret is missing Dimmu Borgir, but I forfeited that to see Slash up close and personal, so its not really a regret I guess. It was a sacrifice that had to be made. All in all a very awesome and memorable day! Cant wait for next year.
