I'm usually not a fan of festivals like this one, because they're so damn long, it's usually hotter than fuck, and the bands get so little time to play. But with so many badass bands playing Tattoo The Earth, I couldn't resist. Because of the amount of bands playing, and my lack of a decent memory, I'll just go through what I thought was noteworthy and that I managed to actually remember.

When we first got there, the thing had already started, and I didn't recognize the band on the main stage so we headed over to the second stage and The Workhorse Movement was just starting. I had never heard them before but I'm sure a fan now. They're kind of a upbeat, heavy, funk-rap-metal band with 2 lead singers. For some reason I keep thinking this is what you'd get if you crossed Sevendust, Incubus, and (hed)pe. I would definitely recommend at least looking into them.

Hmmm...Nothingface, another band I had heard of, but never actually heard. They were the first band to actually get the crowd going on the second stage, a very nice circle pit was going most of the time. Hey, and their lead singer is cool as fuck, I got to talk to him for a minute later that night while Slipknot was playing. Another band that I got turned onto because of this concert, and that I'm going to recommend to each of you reading this.

Hatebreed, once again another band I know of but haven't actually listened to. They kinda seemed out of place seeing as how they're a hardcore band, not metal. But christ did they rip shit up...they even blew Nothingface out of the water with their circle pits. I'd have to say this was the best performance of the whole day going on the basis of crowd reaction. I was even debating going down there and I didn't even know any of their songs. Go out and get yourself some Hatebreed, you'll love it.

Cold. I really love these guys...both of their cd's kick some serious ass. But holy shit did they suck live. First off, you could barely hear the lead singer, and it didn't help that the backup vocals were way too loud....and just the fact that their playing was so fucking sloppy you couldn't tell what fucking song they were playing unless you could strain your ears and hear the chorus. I would recommend getting both of Cold's cd's, but I wouldn't recommend seeing them live.

Now for the main stage. The first band worthy of mention over there was (hed)pe. I was so looking forward to seeing these guys, it'd been awhile since I had seen 'em and they're one of my favorite bands to see live. I was there just soaking in their set, when after 5 songs they're done. What fucking bullshit is that? All the other bands were getting a half hour, and then (hed) goes and gets 20 minutes tops and only 5 songs. Even though it was a short ass set, it kicked some serious ass, they played 3 songs from their first cd, and two from the new one.

Sepultura. Holy fucking shit did they rip that place apart. The old school metalheads were in full effect cause that place went insane. They started off with my favorite Sep. song, Roots. There's nothing like screaming "ROOOOTS...BLOODY ROOOOOTS" at the top of your lungs along with Derrick. They played all the classics like Arise, and Choke....and even unveiled a few new songs from their new album that they haven't even started on yet.

Next band I think was Sevendust. They seemed to get cut short as well, I think they only played 6 songs total, I think it was split 3 and 3 between their two cd's. The coolest fucking thing was in the middle of "Too Close To Hate" they broke into Pantera's "Walk", the fucking headbanger's anthem if I ever heard one. They definitely had a badass set though.

I never really cared much for Slayer, and we were tired as fuck from standing around and jumping around all day, we went to the second stage and watched them from the bleachers about a half a mile away. But as soon as they were done, we headed over there for Slipknot.

This was my second time seeing Slipknot, and I think they were so amazing the first time I saw them, they spoiled me. Large outdoor venues suck in the first place, and combine that with the fact that they didn't seem all that great this night, I was rather disappointed. Although they did do the badass thing where in the middle of Spit It Out he had everyone sit on the ground then jump the fuck up when he told them to....but it just wasn't as awesome as it was in a small indoor venue, when every fucking person was on the ground. Maybe it's just that when you've seen 'em once, you've seen 'em a million times, cause they seemed to play the same songs, and Corey said the same things, etc. We even left a couple songs early to get a jump on traffic.

Overall it was a good concert, but it could've been alot better. The most disappointing part was the bands that didn't play that day, Mudvayne and Puya were up there with (hed)pe as the bands I was looking forward to seeing, and not getting to was quite disappointing. Secondly, they didn't start the concert till 2 in the afternoon and it ended before 10. It would've made alot more sense to start it around 10am and let it go till 12 or 1am and let the bands have more time to play. But that would be too easy. I did get turned onto alot of bands like The Workhorse Movement, Nothingface, and Hatebreed though, so that's always a plus. Overall I'd have to give this freakfest an 8.