| Saturday
with Friday night headliners Airbourne next door , the turnout is respectable enough to their credit , which only fuels their drive . Drawing from their earlier EP Checkmate and their more recent 2016 release Faction : Prologue , their presence at HRH is a welcoming sight as we were even treated to a cheeky breakdown . Alas , the hopes for a mosh pit is too much to ask . Slamming nonetheless .
Though late showing up to their two-hour set , AIRBOURNE still retain their reputation for being the living incarnation of bat-shit crazy rock n ’ roll . They ’ re everything and more with the crowd reaching maximum capacity as the main arena is bursting at the seams . Covering their catalogue extensively , ‘ Too Much , Too Young , Too Fast ’, ‘ Rivalry ’ and ‘ Stand Up For Rock ‘ N ’ Roll ’ hit hard with all the subtly of a rhino at Crufts . Despite lacking his usual acrobatics , Joel O ’ Keefe ’ s notorious reputation for on-stage anarchisms are out in force tonight . We got it all ; skull crushed beer cans , crowd surfing and one very impressive throw from the frontman where a shoulder sitting fan caught a half-full lager without spilling a drop – you can ’ t learn that shit from your precious books ! After ushering on their very own cocktail bar on stage and raising a glass for Lemmy [ Ian Kilmister , legendary Motörhead bassist / vocalist who passed away last year ], the Aussies return for an encore that stretched out the undeniable headbanging belter ‘ Runnin ’ Wild ’ to an impressive 15 minutes long that closed the first full day of HRH . Christ , we need to sit down and take a breath .
| Saturday
Slap-bang in the slot that all bands dread , Cardiffian hell raisers BETH BLADE AND THE BEAUTIFUL DISASTERS open up as strong as anyone can do to a dizzy looking half-filled second stage . Undeterred , this was their time and they made it their bitch . By no means the most ground-breaking act of the weekend , but their spirit is strong as their efforts are eventually rewarded as the masses come flooding in . By the end of what was too short a set , they owned HRH .
Taking full advantage of its therapeutic atmosphere , we return to the VIP stage as LOUDER STILL prepare for their acoustic debut . It ’ s clear that this is not their comfort zone , as they openly admit their lack of experience in this field . Seeing a band ’ s vulnerability is an interesting experience , but as they keep putting themselves down , we begin to lose confidence in what we ’ re seeing . Clueless as to why , the only ones putting them down here are themselves . No complaints from us .
BUFFALO SUMMER up the positivity factor on the main stage with a melting pot of sexy rhythms . Easing up on the intensity pedal , the 45-minute set doesn ’ t really do their chilled out soulful rock sound many favours and begins to become stale . Still , an all-round decent effort . Exploring the metallic realms once again , Sweden ’ s own Syron Vanes are a chipper lot but come off a little bland and predictable . A bit more of that classic Scandinavian punch to this sound and it would ’ ve been a decent performance ; just scraping by .
Another dollop of power rock heads out way as TOSELAND take to a bustling main arena with a tongue and cheek attitude that gets a gratifying smirk from us . Chucking himself into the music , leading man James Toseland keeps HRH fully stocked up on crowd chanting bangers that are perfectly suited to this atmosphere . You can ’ t hate a band with tunes like these that are packing more cheese than a Dairylea Dunker .
Less than a week after releasing their seventh album War Is Over , it ’ s a near flawless display of prog-rock from Finnish superstars THE VON HERTZEN BROTHERS . Armed with songs that far exceed anything you ’ d typically expect from a HRH lineup ; their sound welcomes in anyone who wishes to just let their mind wander . Paced intricately , no other band comes close to what the VHB bring to the table . Opeth ’ s progressiveness meets Ghost ’ s pop formula , need we say more ? Sublime .
Despite some flack that REEF may have received from a few disgruntled fans to see their names on the bill , people seemed to have a blast nodding along to their vibe . Busting out ‘ Place Your Hands On ’ six songs in does leave the rest of their set falling a bit flat , as we get the feeling that ’ s all everyone here came to see . A passible show that ultimately didn ’ t have much to give but didn ’ t take anything away regardless .
Closing this year ’ s HRH , BLACK STAR RIDERS offer so much on paper . Formed from the more recent members of Irish staples Thin Lizzy , including guitarist Scott Gorham , this year ’ s festival had a large quota to fill that the band disappointingly couldn ’ t
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