‘If you build it they will come’ could almost be the motto of Stonedead, which is one of the undoubted and most heartwarming successes of the crowded festival calendar. The festival was originally founded not by corporates in the business, but by some fans wanting to recreate the ‘one stage, one day’ vibe of the old Donington Monsters of Rock, but on a smaller scale and reflecting the fact veterans of that are now in their fifties and sixties (though in this most family friendly of festivals, there were plenty of kids and even grandkids being blooded).

Since 2018 the event has grown to the extent that an Early Bird ticket release for next year sold out in a couple of minutes flat with general tickets not far behind, without even knowing who was playing. Our live editor Dave Wilson has been a confirmed devotee from the start, travelling all the way from Scotland. He couldn’t make it this year and passed the journalistic baton to me, a relative newbie having ‘only’ been to every edition post-covid.

What is the secret of their success? Certainly absurdly low ticket prices and liberal measures like allowing small quantities of alcohol to be brought in help. But there is also a marvellously relaxed vibe with the volunteer staff uniformly helpful and friendly and wanting us to have the best time. Finally, though it has fewer bands than longer or multiple stage festivals, they are picked with remarkable skill, of which more a bit later.

PRE-SHOW PARTY (22 AUGUST)- TYKETTO, SWEET ELECTRIC, JAYLER

The format is now fairly well established of a pre-show Friday night party, giving an opportunity to settle in, renew friendships and get a feeling for the site, with three acts thrown in.

Invariably an up and coming band is selected to open and on this occasion it was Jayler. Just as policemen are metaphorically meant to look younger these days, so do bands. However the young West Midlanders have built quite a buzz in a short space of time and are apparently attracting major label interest.

Both their sound and look are heavily inspired by Led Zeppelin or more likely, given their age, Led Zeppelin through a Greta Van Fleet filter. Singer James Bartholemew looks like the young Robert Plant with his curly hair, open shirt and microphone twirling while bassist Ricky Hotchkiss was even sporting a kimono.

With some occasional harmonica playing from James, ‘No Woman’, ‘Lovemaker’, new single ‘Riverboat Queen’ and ‘Mountain’ all had that hard blues feel of the first couple of Zeppelin albums. They saved the best to last with some fine riffs on ‘The Rinsk’, James taking over lead guitar duties from Tyler Arrowsmith and playing it behind his head. Clearly a talented band, but at present I find them very derivative until they can imprint their own style.

Brad Marr is a well-known figure at Stonedead as the Aussie’s band Massive were Friday night party regulars. But in a slightly unusual move, he is now based in Germany and fronts the Cologne based band Sweet Electric.

It’s a good match as German bands are renowned for their sense of fun and Brad is a bundle of energy, though as he skipped around the stage hyperactively in a colourful matching outfit of gold cap, jacket and trainers, he reminded me of Baz of Massive Wagons. Sporting a dual guitar attack and pitched somewhere between fellow countrymen The New Roses, AC/DC and Daxx and Roxanne, they cover several bases. Opener ‘Heir To the Throne’, ‘Leading the Blind’, ‘Killa Katherina’ and the expletive-riddled recent single ‘A Feel Good Love Song’ were all energetic rock and roll.

However ‘Livin It Up’ was funky and the first of several more danceable songs where Stonedead’s dance troupe ‘The Rocket Queens’ made their first appearance of the weekend, while ‘Somewhere In the Middle’ was a drinking song with a seventies glam style drum beat.

A fun set that exceeded my modest expectations ended with ‘Hard Times’ and a surfeit of cowbells being banged by the dancers, some fans in the crowd and a couple on stage, whose presence made sense when a marriage proposal was accepted!

The inclusion of melodic rockers Tyketto as Friday night headliners was a case of better late than never. They were due to play in 2020 until COVID hit and the following year travel restrictions forced an all domestic line up. Having said that what is five years for a band whose debut classic ‘Don’t Come Easy’ came out in 1991, but who only recently seem to have been taking the places they deserve at mainstream rock festivals. I am a confirmed long-time fan, though it is always strange seeing a favourite band at a festival where there are a few diehards, but a majority may not have previously given them a second thought.

Founder member and singer Danny Vaughn led the band on stage taking a lead out of Brad Marr’s book in a golden jacket. They opened with a pair from 2^nd album ‘Strength in Numbers’ in the title track and ‘Rescue Me’, either side of the first ‘Don’t Come Easy’ classic in the brilliant hooks of ‘Wings’, guitarist Harry Scott Elliott doing the song justice. The only cause for complaint was that in the early stages the sound was very quiet and I was very mindful people might be annoyed by my tuneless singing along.

Danny mentioned that a new album was to be released in the Spring, timely as even the title track from last album ‘Reach’, which was quintessentially Tyketto, is nearly a decade old in a surprisingly light recording career. ‘End of the Summer Days’ made a welcome return to the set, the backing vocals of second guitarist/keyboardist Ged Rylands and bassist Chris Childs adding to its Eagles- esque feel. There was then a curveball, albeit one they played on their 2023 tour, in ‘Mother Mary’. UFO covers are notably difficult to carry off, but this was an excellent attempt with Danny and Harry making a convincing Mogg and Schenker.

Danny was in exuberant mood and tapped into the vibe of the festival and the crowd responded in kind, waving arms to the ‘who-oah-oahs’ of ‘Circle the Wagons’. ‘Seasons’ was a prime example of the Tyketto trademark sound where Danny’s acoustic adds layers to the electric guitars, while he told the story of ‘The Run’ being about his Vietnam veteran uncle making a late life pilgrimage to the Sturgis Bike Rally. He played an old Waysted number, not least as drummer Johnny Dee made it two ex-members, but there was a surprise for everyone when instead of the more usual ‘Heaven Tonight’ they played a hard rocking ‘Heroes Die Young’.

The rest of a generous and longer than billed 90 minute set was more familiar numbers, starting with ‘Lay Your Body Down’ with the band jamming in looser fashion as the dancers made an appearance, and ‘Standing Alone’, Danny restating his pride at a song whose message had resonated with so many fans. Though I vainly hoped for ‘Burning Down Inside’, another of those songs that mix electric and acoustic in ‘Sail Away’ ended the set, though I hope the line ‘we may not ever be coming back this way’ wasn’t prophetic.

As with most recent Tyketto sets the encore provided a pair of contrasting songs first the acoustic ‘The Last Sunset’ with Johnny proving quite a character as he came out front to bang a tambourine, banter with Ged then pretend to fall asleep in front of the drumkit, then ‘Forever Young’, Danny imploring people to bounce (‘if your knees can stand it’) to one of the trademark melodic rock anthems of all time. For me it was more proof of their enduring excellence, but I hope a number of more casual observers went away duly impressed.

MAIN FESTIVAL (23 AUGUST)- THE ALMIGHTY, DEAD DAISIES, SWEET, D*A*D, PRIMAL FEAR, THE NEW ROSES, ENFORCER, BLACK OAK COUNTY, TRIBUTE TO OZZY OSBOURNE, KING KRAKEN

With only one stage to hold people’s attention and a wide range of tastes along the rock and metal spectrum to cater for, Stonedead have to get the choice of bands exactly right and their booking policy is an admirable one, including that no band repeats within a five year period. Although some names can be forecast in advance, there are invariably surprises and occasionally a band I had never previously heard of. When this year’s line-up was announced, there were some I would never have predicted in a million years.

Another Stonedead tradition is that the opening act is chosen from a battle of the bands contest, which in this case was won by King Kraken from South Wales. At that time it couldn’t be foreseen, but at a festival where the recent loss of Ozzy Osbourne weighed on people’s minds, it was appropriate that Stonedead opened with a band with a fair bit of that deep and sludgy vintage Sabbath sound to them.

They had brought a lot of their own fans and after opening with ‘Scream’, songs like ‘Bezerker’ and ‘Green Terror’ went down very well, while their stage show was that of a much bigger band complete with pyro and props, including two duellers straight out of Braveheart and a Cooper-esque scene of a battle between doctor and psychiatric patient.

Kilt wearing singer Mark Donoghue had a rich and gruff voice though he did not quite have the melodic range on ‘Hero’, with its admirable sentiments of coping with loss and dedicated to the memory of his father. There was also some rapid-fire dexterity from lead guitarist Mark Healey as ‘Chainsaw Saviour’ and the title track of current album ‘March of the Gods’, coming over as Black Sabbath meets Pantera, ended a well-received opening set.

King Kraken had actually taken the stage early as we had been forewarned there would be a special event between sets, and we were ushered forward as they finished. I suspected it would be Ozzy-related and guessed it might be usual host Krusher regaling us with tales of their friendship. Instead, Myke Gray, a Stonedead regular, emerged to play the instrumental intro to ‘Mr Crowley’ and was joined by friends for a mini Sabbath set of ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’, ‘Children of the Grave’, ‘Supernaut’ and ‘Paranoid’.

The vocals were shared between Lidya Balaban from rising band Crowley and Tristan Thomas, accompanied by his bandmates from Florence Black. It was a moment to cherish on three levels- a genuine surprise; a fitting tribute; and remarkably good musically given I assume there had been limited rehearsal time. It certainly felt more organic than the rather ham-fisted Heaven and Hell tribute at High Voltage soon after Ronnie Dio’s passing.

It did though add to the pressure on one of the wild cards, Danes Black Oak County (not to be confused with Black Oak Arkansas, but seemingly a product of the random band name generator). Though they actually have released three albums I confess I had not even heard of them till the Stonedead announcement.

Their stage set was the plainest of the day and it also looked a little odd that as they opened with ‘Watch Your Back’, lead vocals came from bassist Rene Kristensen who was standing to one side. However, their more recognisable frontman Niels Beier then took the next one ‘Save Your Breath’ and the majority subsequently with his rather gruffer vocals, backed up by his bandmate. Very early they also played ‘Paranoid’ and I wonder if they may have been taken aback by the all-star band’s appearance.

Their set grew on me with ‘Back For Blood’, ‘Someone Else’ and ‘Laughing With the Crows’, which was like early Black Stone Cherry, albeit not quite as good. The Kentucky quartet were an obvious influence as among more snatches of Sabbath songs was an excerpt of ‘Blame It On The Boom Boom’. Indeed after ‘Bogeyman’, their final song was ‘Boom Boom Baby’, only reinforcing my conclusion that just like Jayler the night before they need to develop an identity of their own or at least draw on influences wider than just one band.

As I said earlier Stonedead face an unenviable task in catering for everyone. Many have been clamouring over the last couple of years for something with more metallic bite, and got their wish with Enforcer probably the heaviest act yet at the festival, but one well outside my own musical comfort zone.

The Swedish quartet have to my surprise been releasing albums for nearly 20 years and cite the raw approach of the early generation of speed metallers like Anvil and Venom as a big influence: a pair of pop up banners that read ‘heavy metal’ further set out their intent. Oddly though they looked more like a hair metal band with frontman Olof Wikstrand bearing a superficial resemblance to Michael Monroe.

I actually found the likes of ‘Unshackle Me’ and the mainstream Euro metal of ‘From Beyond’ very listenable, though there were some more out and out thrash songs in ‘Live for the Night’ and ‘Hell Will Follow’. Finishing with ‘Take Me Out Of This Nightmare’ and ‘Midnight Vice’, their stage craft was excellent with the guitarists pulling some great poses together and, though not normally my scene, I found them entertaining and concluded they had been another very well-chosen pick.

In contrast The New Roses have become big favourites of mine over the past few years. The Germans whose music manages to sound wholly American have been regular visitors in recent years, but I think this was their most high-profile festival appearance yet.

With only 45 minutes to play with they ripped through a couple from latest album ‘Attracted to Danger’ in the title track and ‘Bring the Thunder’, followed by a succession of feel good and catchy anthems, from the melodic ‘First Time For Everything’ with it’s ‘who-oahs’, ‘Every Wild Heart’, and ‘Forever Never Comes’ with big ‘heys’.

During the slightly mellower ‘Glory Road’ with echoes of Tom Petty or John Mellancamp, singer Timmy Rough, who in his now short hair stands out from his more hirsute and/or tattooed bandmates, even went deep into the crowd. (He also won brownie points for me by wearing a 38 Special t shirt). He got people to bounce to the AC/DC-ish ‘Thirsty’ but the set had flown by as he announced the last song.

‘The Usual Suspects’ was another with those ‘who-oah-oah’ participatory choruses, but I was even more delighted when they squeezed in their signature anthem song ‘Down By the River’. A set which focused on their more commercial tracks seemed to go down very well and I hope this swells the hitherto modest crowds when they come back to the UK in the autumn.

After a cheeky ‘don’t mention the war’ from Krusher we had another German band, albeit in a different musical style, in Primal Fear. They have been around since the late nineties but don’t tour here that often, so it was a coup for Stonedead to get their first UK show in seven years. It was a chance to confirm quite how Halford-esque singer Ralf Scheepers is in voice and stage mannerisms, even if fellow founder member Mat Sinner is looking rather like Rick Parfitt these days.

Songs like ‘Angel in Black’ and new single ‘The Hunter’ were fine examples of the power metal blueprint, double kick drums and twin solos from the guitarists, one of whom, the spectacularly coiffed Thalia Bellazecca was one of the few women performers all weekend. ‘King of Madness’ was Queensryche -esque and featured impressive audience participation, clapping and arm waving, and ‘The End is Near’ was more metallic, while ‘Fighting the Darkness’ the closest to a semi-ballad, and ‘Chainbreaker’ could have sat comfortably on Priest’s ‘Painkiller’.

‘Metal Is Forever’ was a fitting closer to a set that flew by. Other than at Bloodstock, the power metal scene is rather underrepresented at festivals (Download a particular offender) and more of the same would I think go down well at Stonedead.

Another rare visitor to these shores were D*A*D, though I do remember seeing them at the ill-fated Hair Metal Heaven at Hull in 2017. I did notice their full original Disneyland After Dark moniker was on a stage backdrop suggesting that maybe the Disney Corporation legal issue had been resolved?

Their 1989 international debut ‘No Fuel For the Pilgrims’ is the album most people know, including me, and they opened well with ‘Jihad’ including the lyric that gave its name to the album, as well as ‘Girl Nation’. Denim jacketed Jesper Binzer was a raspy voiced and smiling frontman, but a lot of their songs were quirky and not immediately obvious. One sported a long, impressive guitar solo from brother Jacob, who had the look of a grumpy children’s entertainer.

Bassist Stig Pedersen could not have looked more different in his thigh length silver boots, what appeared to be a short blue skirt emblazoned with stars and heavily made up face. He got his moment in the spotlight singing ‘Riding With Sue’, which was an equally eccentric song, and his two string fibreglass bass also got an outing.

A set that was in danger of losing people pulled it around with some of their classics in ‘Rim in Hell’, ‘Bad Craziness’ which I had momentarily forgotten about, and of course ‘Sleeping My Day Away’ where large parts of the chorus were turned over to the crowd. It was a good end to a set that might have confused the casual fan.

When Sweet were announced as part of the line up there was some cynicism among Stonedead’s more traditional metallers as to what these kitsch seventies hit makers were doing on the bill. However I knew different, as indeed did Krusher who stressed their rock credentials as he introduced them, and that sole surviving member Andy Scott, despite living with cancer and having had major back surgery, had assembled surely the best line up in their history. Their headline at the Shepherds Bush Empire is probably my favourite show of the year and weeks ago I’d seen an excellent festival show identical to this one at Maid of Stone.

They opened with a pair of instantly recognisable glam classics in ‘Action’ and ‘Hell Raiser’ and if Andy was playing himself in gently with second guitarist Tom Cory playing the solo on the former, the latter saw him singing the ‘mama you don’t understand‘ line, still reaching the high notes. ‘Circus’ was a reminder they even released a new album ‘Full Circle’ last year, but eclipsed by a memorable trio.

‘The Six Teens’ is probably my favourite of their hits with its stories of sixties children growing up, one hook after another and Lee Small adding a new dimension as his high-pitched voice delivered the bridge lines. On ‘Lost Angels’ the lush melodies and four part harmonies were a reminder that with better fortune they could have ranked alongside Queen, while in contrast ‘Set Me Free’ boasted one of the classic metal riffs (and was on my mind having recently watched an interview with a well-known rock journalist who credited the moment he bought ‘Sweet Fanny Adams’ and put this on with changing his life). It was very much Andy’s showcase but on his party piece, the baked bean can used as a slide had now been upgraded to a beer can.

I fully realised I was in a minority in wanting album cuts rather than the beloved hit singles, and talking of which the excellent Paul Manzi was a consummate ringmaster as he introduced a riotous ‘Teenage Rampage’. There was a slight change of pace as Tom’s keyboard intro led into a classy ‘Love Is Like Oxygen’ including a mid-section jam between the two guitarists.

After that it was glam rock classics all along with another big singalong to Fox on the Run’ and, back to back, ‘Blockbuster’ and ‘Ballroom Blitz’, Andy shouting those interjections made by Steve Priest in the day and the latter climaxing with a twin guitar solo. The reaction was ecstatic both at the time and on the festival’s Facebook page in the days after, giving me a feeling of smug vindication.

They were quite an act to follow but The Dead Daisies were not fazed by the challenge. With sole remaining founder member David Lowy part of the Westfield shopping empire, money is not in short supply, resulting in an impressively bold stage set and lighting, plus a travelling circus of some of the best players in the business.

The previous couple of times I had seen them was with Glenn Hughes which seemed an odd match, and they looked more comfortable with the very engaging John Corabi back in the fold. Doug Aldrich was superbly aggressive in his guitar playing and there was plenty of on stage movement and poses from him and David.

It helped that they began with one of their best known and strongest numbers in ‘Long Way To Go’, before ‘Rise Up’ and ‘Dead and Gone’, John at his gravel-voiced best on the ‘let the devil be my witness’ chorus. However, for all their musical talent, their songs, which included the title track of most recent album of originals ‘Light ‘Em Up’ and I Wanna Be Your Bitch’, are not the most memorable, although ‘I’m Gonna Ride’ impressed.

More recently they recorded an album of blues covers, ‘Lookin’ For Trouble’, though I’m not sure John expected such a mixed reaction when he asked if people liked the blues, prior to their heavied up version of ‘Going Down’, surely among the most overplayed blues standards of all time. Nevertheless, it is in their reinterpretation of other people’s material where they do excel and a supercharged cover of CCR’s ‘Fortunate Son’ proved the point.

After a contrived rap from John suggesting we call in sick to work, ‘Mexico’ was their original with the most memorable hooks, before ‘Midnight Moses’ where I loved the way John wrapped his tongue around the delightful rhymes of Alex Harvey. ‘Resurrected’ was altogether heavier, then ‘Helter Skelter’, complete with a snatch of ‘Nobody’s Fault But Mine’ showcased quite how ferocious Tommy Clufetos and Michael Devin, alumni of Black Sabbath and Whitesnake respectively, were as a rhythm section.

This high energy set ended slightly short of the advertised time, seemingly stripped of the padding of their headline shows. Arguably they could also have been headlining material here but instead that honour fell to The Almighty. Rightly so in a way, as back in the very early nineties they were one of a generation of British rock bands (alongside Thunder, Little Angels, Gun and the Quireboys) who regularly reached the upper reaches of the album charts and took singles into the top 40 in the days when it meant something.

Moreover, there was rarity value- the original line up only reformed in 2023 and since then have tended to play only a select few shows, understandably so with frontman Ricky Warwick’s prolific commitments with his own band The Fighting Hearts and Black Star Riders. The challenge for me though was how I would enjoy them having never been a fan back in the day, albeit having since enjoyed Ricky Warwick in the last Thin Lizzy line up and their transmogrification into Black Star Riders.

They opened in the tight and no-nonsense manner that was to characterise their set with a trio from their ‘Blood Fire and Love’ debut in ‘Power’, ‘Destroyed’, and ‘Full Force Lovin Machine’, all very accessible in a manner that fused their early day influences from The Cult, Zodiac Mindwarp and Motorhead.

However, they showcased the harder and darker road they went on to take with ‘Wrench’ and ‘Welcome to Defiance’, and during the latter quite the mosh pit developed to my right for the first time all weekend. I was surprised how much I found myself enjoying the grinding chorus of ‘Addiction’ and the more melodic ‘Praying For the Red Light’. Then the pace was taken down somewhat as Ricky, after explaining the song was written about coping with loss, switched to acoustic for ‘Little Lost Sometimes’.

Despite a giant backdrop of their monochrome logo the stage show was not as interesting as that of the Dead Daisies and in comparison they were rather static, other than guitarist Andy ‘Tantrum’ McCafferty and bassist Floyd London occasionally swapping their places either side of Ricky. I did also wonder if they were quite the right choice, in that they lack as many instantly familiar songs to the uncommitted compared to previous headliners like Saxon, Michael Schenker and Skid Row.

On the other hand, confirmed fans would have been delighted, not least as the setlist, including the likes of ‘Jonestown Mind’ and ‘Takin’ Hold’, had been determined by popular poll, and interestingly was exclusively drawn from their first four albums. Ricky was a gruff presence as usual but humorously recounted his parents’ reaction on first hearing him test out ‘Devil’s Toy’ as the set returned to some of the earlier material. Then after ‘Over the Edge’, he spoke of his distaste for organised religion, introducing the epic ‘Jesus Loves You…But I Don’t’. The main set closed with ‘Free and Easy’ with its great riff, one of those which would have been familiar to all.

Playing a generous hour and 40 minute set right up to the 11 o’clock curfew, there were a trio of encores, ‘Crucify’ being followed in bold fashion with their cover of Metallica’s ‘Four Horsemen’ which they had never played live before.

In contrast, with Floyd playing the intro on acoustic guitar, they finished with perhaps the other song everyone would have known, a drawn out ‘Wild and Wonderful’. As the crowd thinned, I gingerly skirted the edge of the moshpit and ended right at the front to rock out, a suitable conclusion to a memorable day, in this most friendly and accessible environment where Chris Sumby and his team had again proved to be the most astute bookers of festival-friendly bands. Can’t wait to do it all again in 26!

Review by Andy Nathan
Photos by @Lindzrs Media- Lindsay Smith Photography

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