This year’s edition of Graspop was very interesting as it had a lot of melodic rock bands scheduled, something that caused a stir on many Internet forums mainly by youngsters who probably thought their beloved metal festival had sold out. Anyway, some of them actually took the opportunity to check out these ‘old’ bands. So when FM were due at 11.30 AM there was already a sizeable crowd awaiting them. It stopped raining and the sun shone brightly when they kicked off with ‘Wildside’ from the new “Metropolis” album. From the first note the sound was crystal clear and would remain so during their whole set. Actually I didn’t hear a better sound all day. With only 40 minutes of playing time the English rockers didn’t waste any time and played a set with mainly songs from the first two albums. It had been nearly 17 years since their last visit to Belgium (at the famous Biebob club), but surprisingly there still are a lot of fans able to sing along to ‘I Belong To the Night’, ‘That Girl’, ‘Don’t Stop’ and ‘Bad Luck’. Despite the early hour, FM were playing a tight set and Steve Overland’s voice was superb. However finishing off with Marvin Gaye’s ‘Heard It Through The Grapevine’ caused some weird looks on the metal heads’ faces. Still the overall crowd was screaming for more after the last note fell, but unfortunately time schedules were strict. Hopefully FM will be back here soon as they were brilliant!

It’s been a year since the world was shocked by the death of Ronnie James Dio. Now without a job, his former band members Craig Goldy (guitars), Simon Wright (drums) and Scott Warren (keyboards) along with James Lomenzo (bass) decided to pay tribute under the moniker of Dio Disciples and raise money for the cancer charity formed by Ronnie & Wendy Dio. They open with ‘Stand Up And Shout’ and Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens as lead singer. The former Judas Priest & Iced Earth vocalist is in fine form and has a powerful voice, but sometimes his metal bends don’t suit the songs. After ‘Holy Diver’ it was time to switch vocals when Toby Jepson (Little Angels, Fastway, Gun) kicked in with ‘Egypt (The Chains Are On)’ and ‘Long Live Rock ‘n Roll’. Toby’s voice is great as well, but limited, which shows once more what a unique pair of tonsils the master himself had. Nevertheless, with songs from Rainbow (‘Catch The Rainbow / Stargazer’) and Black Sabbath (‘Neon Knights’ and ‘Heaven and Hell’) the fans were having a blast and enjoyed a fine hour of classic songs.

One of the best reunions we’ve witnessed over the last years is certainly that of Foreigner. Only Mick Jones remains from the original line-up, but he gathered himself some fine musicians. So the place was nicely filled for this hit machine, when they started with ‘Double Vision’ followed by ‘Headgames’. The band is brilliant with the Steven Tyler look-a-like Kelly Hansen as main entertainer. He nails the songs with ease and sounds even better than Lou Gramm. Even when it started to rain halfway their set, it didn’t stop him from running around and he eventually ended up getting soaked. It’s amazing how many hits Foreigner has, so everyone sang along with ‘Cold As Ice’, ‘Dirty White Boy’, ‘Urgent’, ‘I Want to Know What Love Is’ and ‘Hot Blooded’. ‘Juke Box Hero’ ended their show, which was simply one of the best of the day.

Joining Foreigner on their European tour are Journey, who were scheduled next. Just as Foreigner they have recruited a new singer with Arnel Pineda. He does a great job replacing Steve Perry, but doesn’t have the charisma of a great frontman (yet). Neal Shon’s guitar playing is amazing and he does it with the greatest ease, giving the songs that little extra. The new songs from “Eclipse” have a harder edge, but still fitted in nicely in the set. But of course it’s classics such as opener ‘Separate Ways’, ‘Stone In Love’, ‘Lights’, ‘Wheel In The Sky’ and super ballad ‘Faithfully’ that touches most fans. ‘Don’t Stop Believing’, an internationally known tune by now, turned the place on fire. Great set, but their Wembley performance in London a few weeks earlier had more impact on yours truly.

Currently German rockers Scorpions are busy doing their farewell tour, but still this is their first ever performance at Graspop. However no expenses were saved to put on a top notch show with impressive fireworks and explosives. They opened with ‘Sting In The Tail’, but after a few songs it’s obvious that the sting from the Scorpions isn’t what it used to be. Especially Klaus Meine lacks power in his singing and is merely a shadow from his past. James Kottak is overdoing himself and his drum solo was nothing more than boring. Despite the energetic Rudolf Schenker, who was playing his heart out as ever, the magic is gone. Here and there were some highlights with ‘Big City Nights’, ‘No One Like You’ and ‘Rock You Like A Hurricane’, but too few for a band as legendary as them.