Sunbathing With The Gods

The 10th anniversary Gods of Metal festival was blessed with glorious weather throughout the four days, but Italian promoter Andrea Pieroni was disappointed there weren’t more rock fans joining in the celebration.

He only stretched this year’s event to four days because it was a special birthday, but crowd numbers were still shy of last year’s two-day event.

More than 50,000 turned up in 2005 to see a bill headed by Iron Maiden and Mötley Crüe. Although this year’s main headliners, Guns N’ Roses and Whitesnake, pulled 35,000 over their two days, the first and third days struggled to bring in another 10,000 between them.

The first day, which had Venom, Opeth, Testament, and Satyricon, only just doubled the 3,500 an all-Italian lineup pulled on the second.

According to Pieroni, those who did show had a great time and he’s pleased to see Gods of Metal back in Milan.

It was the first time it’s been staged at the 35,000-cap Idropark – a greenfield site in the city center – but the festival began at Milan Forum in 1996.

It spent four years there and then, after spending one year on a soccer field at Monza, shifted back to Milan’s Brianteo Stadium.

The next two years were at the Made In Bo site at Bologna’s Parco Nord.

Among the other acts sunbathing with the Gods June 1-4 were Korn, Deftones, Helloween, Stratovarius, Motorhead, Def Leppard, Alice In Chains, and Stone Sour.

Pieroni’s Live Srl has summer and autumn shows with David Gilmour, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Sinead O’Connor, Tool, Asian Dub Foundation, Slayer, Soulfly, In Flames, Children of Bodom, and Lamb of God.

– John Gammon