The start of the year wouldn’t be complete without one of the most consistently great touring packages of the year, the Kerrang! Tour. They’ve outdone themselves this year though, managing to get nu metal legends Limp Bizkit, Japanese metalcore heroes Crossfaith, a band with a goblin (Nekrogoblikon) and British rising stars Baby Godzilla.
And it’s Baby Godzilla [7] who open the show, treating Glasgow to a total barrage of sound. The Nottingham noise merchants onslaught occasionally fades and it’s possible to hear some decent rock ‘n’ roll music hiding underneath all the craziness. They receive a decent response from the small crowd that has made it into the Academy on time. The band have a reputation for daft stage behavior, and vocalist Matt Reynolds makes a couple of ventures into the crowd, but in reality it’s nothing spectacular if you’ve already seen The Dillinger Escape Plan or The Chariot.
Up next are Nekrogoblikon [6]. The Californian band’s sound is a mix of melodic death metal and power metal, but let’s be honest, no one is paying attention to the music as there is a man dressed as a goblin jumping about like a lunatic on the stage. The crowd seems to love it, but in reality not many people would care if it wasn’t for the goblin gimmick.
There were doubts that Crossfaith [9] would even make the show, as they had to pull out of the Newcastle date the day before due to illness. Within seconds of their arrival onstage any worries about a below par performance are forgotten. Japan’s finest export blast through a set of massive dance infused metalcore anthems. Their fantastic cover of The Prodigy’s Omen receives a reaction usually reserved for a headline act. It’s hard to imagine Crossfaith NOT being one of the biggest things in metal by the end of the year.
Before the headliners took the stage the murmur of “how are they going to top Crossfaith” was creeping all over the venue, but then something incredible happened.
When Wes Borland casually struts onstage playing Hawaiian music, it’s hard to imagine things getting any stranger. Cue the intro to Guns n’ Roses classic Welcome To the Jungle. Yes, that’s right, Limp Bizkit [10] opened their set with a Gn’R cover, and yet things would STILL get crazier. It’s obvious why Limp Bizkit were once the biggest band in the world, they have such a vast array of hits in their arsenal, and tonight they launch them at the Glasgow Audience one by one. Rollin’, Living it Up, Eat You Alive, My Generation and of course their incredible version of Faith that makes George Michael look even stupider than that time he got high and crashed into Snappy Snaps. We are even treated to two Nirvana covers, to mark the 20th anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s suicide, and brilliant rendition of Killing In The Name. The Jacksonville band end their set with Break Stuff and prove that when you are Limp Bizkit you can literally do anything and it’ll still be amazing (including playing FIVE covers and leaving out Nookie). Limp Bizkit are STILL better than your favourite band.