Wednesday was Danish day at Metaldays. In the evening Volbeat would be headlining the main stage, and earlier in the day it was the task of classic thrash metal act Artillery to warm up the masses.

“What a beautiful day, right? And all the beautiful ladies will take their tops off, right? We’re all very grateful!”
- Michael Bastholm Dahl (vocals)

A lot has happened with Artillery since the last time we reviewed them – two albums have been released, and two band members have been replaced. We have seen Artillery in the meantime, so these changes weren’t completely new to us, but what is important to remember is that this was, while retaining its core membership and musical roots, a quite different experience than the one we had back in 2009.
For one thing, the band has shaken off much more of the rust from being split up and is now running much smoother and confident than at that time. While, as I mentioned, the music and the two new albums still display their trademark thrash sound, the addition of Josua Madsen on drums and Bastholm Dahl on vocals have given the old thrash quintet a nice shot of youthful energy that is very becoming.

This was clearly visible in the performance here at Metaldays – while Michael and Morten Stützer and Peter Thorslund were in fact more or less always on the move, Bastholm Dahl overtook them by far as he rushed from side to side of the stage in a well-placed effort to engage the audience, and behind the drums Madsen was working up a real sweat as he beat away at the skins!
Without taking anything away from their last vocalist, Søren ‘Nico’ Adamsen, Bastholm Dahl is with all of his energy and vitality a much better match for Artillery. He is a born performer and just the type of frontman this band needs – the only problem I have with him is that I feel his vocals are a little bit too clean for thrash metal, and going purely by sound he might have been better suited for a power metal band. This is a small thing though, as his vocals are very good indeed, and I for one am glad to see him in this band.
Still, what really helped the show along as well was how much the old members had upped their game. Michael Stützer, who mostly occupied the left to centre part of the stage was almost constantly at the edge of the stage, throwing poses and delivering solos with his teeth and on his knees, and while his brother seemed more troubled by the heat, he was still ready and willing to face off with Thorslund for several string-bending duels. Thorslund was in my eyes the one that had evolved the most since the last time though, and he has clearly eased more into the part of rock-star again, like I guess it was back in the old days – it was thrilling to see the transformation that had happened!

What came as a surprise to me was how small a crowd had gathered for the show – sure, the sun was baking but 80ies thrash is after all almost more popular now than it was back in the actual 80ies!
The crowd was a dedicated one though, and the great performance of the band kept on pulling more and more people out of the woods (or bars maybe?) so that only a few short songs into the set the audience had at least doubled in size, if not more.
Arms and shouts were promptly and enthusiastically raised upon the request of Bastholm Dahl, and it didn’t take long before an improvised small and very sweaty moshpit was created – mostly people relied on good old headbanging though, an activity that never goes out of fashion.
Even though things looked a little shaky in the beginning with the low attendance, Artillery managed to create a very welcome party atmosphere at Metaldays with their thrashy songs, heavy and well mixed sound and a performance beyond all expectations – this might very well have been the best Artillery gig I have seen.

Setlist (incomplete):

Legions
By Inheritance
10.000 Devils
Terror Squad