As you might remember from the review I gave Kyuss Lives! at Wacken last year, the band quite underwhelmed my hopes for that show.
Even so, there was no way I would miss out on seeing them again, now that Metalfest was kind enough to provide me with the possibility of doing so…

In fact, Kyuss Lives! was the last band for us here at Metalfest this year, and following such great shows from the same day as Death Angel and Fear Factory, it only put more pressure on the band. Well, from my side it did anyway.
As the guys took the stage, and began playing the first song, Hurricane from their final album …And The Circus Leaves Town, I figured I’d be in for quite the same treatment again. John Garcia has such an amazing voice which gets me every time, but once again the only thing he seemed capable of physically was to clutch onto the mic-stand as if it was the only thing keeping him upright, and honestly there was only little more to get from Bruno Fevery and Brant Bjork. Again it was in the bassist, this time around the new guy Billy Cordell instead of Scott Reeder, that we needed to seek out what little entertainment there was to be had.
Or so it would seem…
Only, contrary to the Wacken show, which is the only point of reference I have with these guys in a live setting so far, this time they all seemed to get more into it as the show went along its little path of immortal stoner masterpieces. Garcia began to get better eye contact with the people in front of him, and showed more signs of enjoyment for every passing song; and it would also seem like Fevery grooved more intensely and vividly as the set picked up the pace about halfway through, where the more rocking tracks Thumb and Green Machine was played in quick succession. Nice, this was getting closer to what I was looking for, and I was quite enjoying myself.

The crowd as a whole had shrunk considerably since the Fear Factory show which was played just before this one. I don’t think it was because it was getting late, even if it in fact was drawing closer to midnight, but it could be that many skipped them for some rest before the German favourite In Extremo would take the stage and close the festival down for this year.
As I had no greater interest in In Extremo, I was happy to spend my time and energy on Kyuss Lives! instead, and it would seem that there were at least some who shared at least part of that same sentiment with me; you see, even though the crowd was smaller, it didn’t translate into the crowd being less a part of the show. Ok, so it wasn’t all out breakneck headbanging and moshpits we saw here as much as calmer grooving and nodding of the heads, but you must remember that stoner rock/metal isn’t exactly something that invites to the wildest of behaviours, it likes to take it’s time and sink in, concentrating more on the atmosphere than the in-your-face aggression.
Either way, the connection between band and crowd was there, and the aforementioned atmosphere was present in a big way.

Clearly, stoner music such as this is primarily intended for those who are stoned, but I’ll personally vouch for its effectiveness upon us who do not smoke the plant as well.
This time around was a clear improvement over the last one, and if this arch keeps up I’ll be happy to see to which plane they take it the next time around!

Setlist:

Hurricane
One Inch Man
Gardenia
Asteroid
Supa Scoopa And Mighty Scoop
Thumb
Green Machine
Freedom Run
Whitewater
El Rodeo
100˚