By: Jerome Setho Photos: Aloysius Lim / LAMC Productions 6 Bands, 1 awesome venue and 2 amazing nights! The Singapore Rock Festival, brought to you by LAMC Productions, was definitely something a lot of music fans were looking forward to. With such an extensive line up, it was bound to be an epic 2 days. Day 1 Armed with a clenched fist and a pen to note the set lists, I made my way down to to the Fort Canning Park. Upon reaching , I noticed the venue had the atmosphere of a legitimate rock festival, with hardcore rock fans all around! First to hit the stage was Black Veil Brides! Despite being relatively new to the scene, they managed to attract quite a crowd! BVB have long been ridiculed for their over excessive makeup and generic music. Despite that negativity, they have managed to gain a pretty good following and have released a few successful records. They started off the set with 'I am Bulletproof' and continued with a mixture of their old and new music, which included their hit single 'Knives and Pens' and their cover of Billy Idol's classic, 'Rebel Yell'. A clear standout was, Andy Biersack, who sang his lungs out and proved to be such a great live performer! He seemed to belt song after song with little effort and gave such good screams despite all that. All in all, they gave a great account of themselves and proved they belonged on the same stage as the rest of the bands performing that night. Having only one stage meant that the setup from band to band was done immediatly after the previous band had finished playing. It left me quite abit of time to wander around and mingle with the rest of the audience who came out in their droves to support their favourite act. Next in line, were the heavy hitting Five Finger Death Punch - who are known for their explosive live performances and fantastic stage presence. Vocalist Ivan Moody proved adept at not only amazing singing vocals but screaming as well! Which is a brilliant plus point at a rock concert! The venue lit up with 'handphone lights' as Moody, accompanied by Jason Hook on the guitar, belted out an acoustic rendition of "Remember Everything". 'The White Knuckle' was probably the song that received the most reaction with Moody calling for 2 circle pits and the crowd duly obliging. Altogether, FFDP put a great set and it was a great warm up for the night! As Five Finger Death Punch's set ended, the setup for Rob Zombie started. Rob Zombie, who has directed his fair share of horror films, definitely has a sense for the extravagant and sometimes, weird. The set consisted of portraits of Dracula, Frankenstein and other ghoulish characters. Dressed in their best outfits, they kicked off their set with 'Dead City Radio' and 'The New Gods of Supertown'. John 5, the former guitarist for Marilyn Manson, showed off his tremendous guitar riffs - which left me stunned! His solo midway through the set was a work of genius! Rob Zombie showed his love for Singapore by wearing an "I Love SG" shirt! To make things perfect, Rob Zombie brought back 2 tracks from his White Zombie days to cap off a wonderful night for all his fans. Before I even knew it, it was time for Korn to play. By this time the venue was packed to it's filling point, which was expected because of Korn's massive appeal. Fans were excited because this was the first tour in which Munky (Guitarist) returned from his hiatus! In fact, this was the original lineup that started it all! Classic hits like 'Freak on a Leash', 'Shoots and Ladders' and 'Get the Life' were certainly crowd pleasers. Despite the fact Jonathan was feeling under the weather, he gave an epic performance again on the mic with his wide array of vocals, he even had time to show his skills on the bagpipes! 'Time flies when you are having fun' is probably the phrase that perfectly sums up DAY 1 of the Singapore Rock Festival. It was a fantastic end to a wonderful night and it left me wanting more! Day 2 After an amazing Day 1, it was hard to imagine if Day 2 was going to live up to my expectations. But it hit me, the legends - ALTERBRIDGE were playing! The thought of seeing ' the vocal master' Myles Kennedy and the modern day guitar hero Mark Tremonti playing were enough to put my fears to rest. Having already seen Myles Kennedy perform here with Slash, I had a gauge on how well he was going to perform! I was excited! When I arrived at the venue, many people were already waiting at the gates - hoping to get a front row standing point to see Alterbridge perform! As the crowd started to fill in, the atmosphere rose. It exploded when the band came on at about 8.15pm! They started the night off with their hit single, 'Addicted to Pain - a track off their latest record. Myles Kennedy was as usual, at his best belting their tracks with such ease while Mark Tremonti was cheered on at every single solo. It was indeed unforgettable. The last act to cap off the great festival were rock legends, Alice in Chains. Fans, both young and old,were excited to finally see them play a set here in Singapore. Vocalist William Duvall hit the nail right on the head when he described that the journey to Singapore took a very long time. Legendary Guitarist Jerry Cantrel was at his best and gave a masterclass on solos and riffs. Duvall like the rest of the vocalist at the festival gave an amazing account of himself. As the headliners, they played a total of 17 songs. One after the other just seemed to sound better and better. The clear standout track for me was 'Your Decision' with the brilliance of Duvall's vocals and Cantrell's riffing. At the end of the 2 days, this festival can be seen as a tremendous success - with a total of 5000 people on Day 1 and 5500 people on Day 2! A big shout out to the folks at LAMC PRODUCTIONS for giving me the chance to attend the first installment of the Singapore Rock Festival. I am already looking forward to next years event!
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