Sunday 24/08/08 Metallica, Pendulum, Hadouken! @ Reading Festival, Berkshire

Gigwise is up early(ish) on Sunday and stood on the edge of a brimming Dance Tent for Lethal Bizzle. Baring in mind Bizzle was bottled at Download earlier this summer he’s shown some balls to come to the festival which hurled a steel chair at 50 cent a few years ago. Tracks like ‘Bizzle, Bizzle’ go down a treat and there’s even time for a cover of House of Pain’s ‘Jump Around’ to stir the crowd up even further. The set is an unmitigated success and a big fat middle finger to the Download fans.

Hadouken! attract a similarly large crowd but with the average age of 12. ‘Declaration of War’ is a fairly lightweight track which struggles a bit unfortunately. ‘Get Smashed, Gate Crash’ is much more like it though, an aggressive hammering track with more bass than the headaches of fans can handle. The real talking point is their decision to cover ‘Breathe’ by the Prodigy, a move which could backfire works out pretty well though. Frontman James Smith gets the crowd onside and delivers a pounding version as opposed to a lukewarm one. ‘That Boy, That Girl’ closes the set in familiar manner and Hadouken look like they have beaten the critics again.

The Music are rehabilitated and back with a new album. Their old lairy, aggressive indie remains though and today’s show looks like a crucial one for the band. They have a Hard-fi-esque appeal but with a higher tempo and more dancing. Rob Harvey is back after addiction and depression and dances erratically all over the stage with the energy of ten men. It is a solid if unspectacular set with ‘Strength In Numbers’ serving as a highlight as Harvey works his feet frantically. A welcome return for a band with many future spots on this bill.

There’s always one band on the Radio 1 stage which ram it out. This year the crowd for Pendulum extends well beyond the edge of the tent and beyond. Their new album’s opening track ‘Showdown’ is the sort of track made for festivals. Plenty of build ups and drops which leads to some simultaneous moshing and dancing. They lean almost exclusively on their best known tracks with ‘Blood Sugar’, ‘Slam’ and ‘Voodoo People’ nearly lifting the roof off the tent. The amazing part about the show is that the momentum doesn’t even drop for a moment, just as one pummelling dance-rock anthem ends another one cranks up. Pendulum, whether you love them or hate them, will surely ascend to the top of this stage or further next year.

Tenacious D would have been perfect sandwiched between Slipknot and Metallica and that is surely why they were booked so high up the bill. Either that or Jack Black’s ego wouldn’t allow them to be any lower. Unfortunately with the limp sounds of Feeder beforehand instead of the raging aggression of Slipknot, Tenacious D now effectively play the role of a comedy warm up act for Metallica. This fact doesn’t bother them though, even their backdrop is a play on Metallica’s ‘Ride the Lightning’ album cover. They also openly profess to being honoured to be opening for Metallica.

Their set is theatrical to say the least with devils and robots making it feel like a pantomime. The music isn’t half bad either with ‘Wonderboy’ and ‘Tribute’ receiving rapturous applause, but surely Festival Republic will be careful not to repeat such a novelty act playing so high again.

The Last Shadow Puppets are a rather more serious proposition clad in Mark Ronson-esque suits and backed by an orchestra. Indeed Alex Turner and Miles Kane seem to deliberately dress up for the occasion to differentiate this side project from their respective indie bands. It starts shambolically, but not through any fault of their own. The sound levels are desperately low which ruins the first two verses of ‘Calm Like You’. Once this is fixed Turner jokingly asks “can you hear us now?” before repeating the track to get the set properly underway. The Puppets then proceed to create easily the best sounding set of the festival, thanks in no small part to the 16 piece orchestra. ‘The Age of Understatement’ and ‘Separate and Ever Deadly’ are the best received tracks but the whole set bristles with the crisp sound and outstanding musicianship. You suspect Turner will be headlining the main stage next year with the Monkeys but lets hope he finds the time to play a slot with his ultra-impressive side project.

“Oh Yeah?” “YEAH!” “Oh Yeah?” “YEAH!” Those shouts from a familiar bearded frontman can only mean one thing: it’s time for Metallica. The US legends are not new to this spot but they have brought some new tracks and a new stage show to Reading. The gigantic video screen which quite literally fills the entire backdrop of the stage isn’t a bad way to announce yourselves. The screen then splits into four and cameras film each member as they smash out an epic set. ‘Ride the Lightning’, ‘Welcome Home (Sanitarium)’ and ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’ dominate the early part of the set with Lars Ulrich doing his tub thumping with intense vigour.

The real highlights are the big numbers which see the biggest crowd of the weekend singing in unison. ‘Master of Puppets’ hammers at you like a sledgehammer while ‘Nothing Else Matters’ slows the pace down to a sing-along. They even find time to preview ‘Cyanide’ and ‘The day that never comes’ from upcoming album ‘Death Magnetic’. Finally it’s left to set closer ‘Seek and Destroy’ and the classic ‘Enter Sandman’ accompanied by fireworks in the sky to give Reading 2008 a proper send off.

To see Leeds Festival in stunning, exclusive pictures featuring Metallica, Rage Against The Machine and more, click on the links below:

Leeds Festival - Day One
Leeds Festival - Day Two
Leeds Festival - Day Three