So, last weekend was Graspop Metal Meeting here in Belgium! In case you don't know it: Link of hell to the most awesome fucking festival on earth. If you're too lazy, just scroll down, I posted an image of the last flyer. I don't know if it'll be readable though so GO TO THE FUCKING WEBSITE.

Anyway. I must admit I only went on Sunday, because of several reasons including the lack of good bands and trouble finding people who wanted to go with me. But Sunday had it all: accompaniment and some of the bands I had been wanting to see for a while. I won't shit around on what I did all the day, it's a festival and you know what happens there! (Oh wait, no, half of you weigh over 190 pounds and spend your nights in your basements on the internet. Oh well, fuck it.)

BANDS I SAW (in running order):

Rotting Christ:
I had heard little (though something) from them before, and to me they were just another generic death metal band. But in fact, when seen live, most bands transform and I must say I was positively surprised. Most of the time the music was very enjoyable and made me move all kinds of ways. Metal ways that is.

Apocalyptica:
Hahaha, ha. These guys. I saw them because I had nothing else to do. We had been on the field for a few hours, and the only band we'd seen yet was Rotting Christ. The rest of the time was, again, the usual festival stuff (DRINKING IF YOU DON'T GET IT).
So, Apocalyptica... Meh. Interesting concept, but it gets boring quickly. Especially because of the lack of vocals. Oh wait, no, the lack of vocals wasn't a lack but luck. When the guy said something to the crowd between two songs, you'd have said he was a 13 year old South American speaking his first words of English. I have nothing against South Americans, I just think they suck at English =] ENOUGH about Apocalyptica now.

Bullet For My Valentine:
I'm sorry Bahamut, but these lads weren't as bad as we'd have expected! They only played heavier songs, thus making the show slightly less commercial. Plus, some of their riffs I actually liked, and Matt Tuck managed to unleash some pretty wild pits (even though I wasn't in those). The overall show was pretty okay, though boring after a while. Conclusion: better marks than expected.

Comeback Kid:
Ah, a hardcore/hardcore punk band at GMM =P Interesting, and I'd heard people saying they are good before. And they were exactly what I expected: Fun, even though repetitive and not TOO musical, lol. But yeah, they were entertaining.

The Seventh:
Belgian death metal band. Probably the best band of the day after Arch Enemy. Fucking brutal as fuck, circle pits spinning on full power and vocalists who is named Timothy just like me. Plus I know the bass played of the band. This was the fucking bomb, and too awesome for words.

Avenged Sevenfold:
I didn't REALLY watch these guys. I was just relaxing in the back of the field, hearing some of their songs and seeing them from far. I suppose they were okay. A7X isn't the best band IMO, but here I did recognize some songs and I think the people who WANTED to see them must've enjoyed it, and that's the most important, innit?

At The Gates:
Pretty cool band, I must say. In fact, I'd write exactly the same words as for Rotting Christ here, replacing 'death metal' by 'thrash/metalcore". NICE.

In Flames:
See Avenged Sevenfold, except this was just a little better.

Arch Enemy:
Undoubtedly the best band of the day. To me at least. Had a good spot thanks to not watching In Flames, and I was full of expectations in the beginning. They played some of their best songs IMO, including Nemesis and The Last Enemy, which are fucking awesome tracks. The show itself was cool too, even though there was no real story. What they did is: they rock the fuck out on 3 songs, which is awesome to watch (Angela [Gossow, vocals], puts up a whole show by playing air guitar, leading the crowd and being fucking hot. Best. Band. Inthedaylol.

Iron Maiden:
Well, you either know what Iron Maiden is live, or you don't. I'm not going to spend more than a sentence on it, because I'd have to write a book: Watching Iron Maiden live is like going to a theater play, only with the awesome music and people; there's a fantastic story, and added to the theater is also the mood. A video might be the best way to show you what it's like, even though this is nowhere close to how awesome the show really is.

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Also, you must know that the crowd you see there is only a very small part of the attendance. There were over 100,000 people watching Maiden right there!

Conclusion:
Going back next year. WHO'S WITH ME? (I'm serious, come there with me).

And finally, the bands: