As the sun beats down on the main stage, we went to the Bohemia tent to check out Golden God winners Devil You Know and Jackass star Bam Margera's new outfit.
Devil You Know
Hot on the heels of winning Best New Band at the our very own Golden Gods awards, a re-energised Howard Jones and his supergroup Devil You Know hit the Bohemia tent for a short sharp set deriving from their recent debut, The Beauty of Destruction. It’s evident that frontman Howard Jones, having recovered after suffering from health problems towards the end of a hectic career with Killswitch Engage, is back on fine form once more. He’s all smiles, laid-back and cracking jokes in between songs Seven Years Alone and Embracing the Torture, as the crowd chant “Howard! Howard!”, evidently touched by the love coming from the Sonisphere audience. But once the music kicks in, it’s straight down to business - with those ferocious screams, chugging riffs and a thunderous rhythm section courtesy of Fear Factory’s John Sankey and Bleeding Through’s Ryan Wombacher, they go down a storm. Closing with Shut It Down and sending everyone into a frenzy, the calibre of these musicians and their ability to put on a great show is undoubtable. (7)
Bam Margera As Fuckface Unstoppable
He’s best known for being the skateboarding, puking, snake-fearing idiot from Jackass but at Sonisphere he’s the frontman of his own genre-defying outfit Fuckface Unstoppable. As well as having one of the least radio-friendly names in rock, he’s created some warped tunes to go with it. But oddly amongst a set of dodgy Clutch and Turbonegro covers, it was Bam’s own ditty (and short-lived YouTube sensation) Bend My Dick that received the biggest reaction from the crowd - although that might’ve been Brandon Novak getting naked.
That said, the crowd didn’t remain constant. A steady flow of people were wandering in and out to fulfil their curiosity and for some to see their hero Bam on stage - it all got too much for one guy who ended up rushing the stage and declaring his love for the Jackass star into the mic before security dragged him off.
In reality though, it’s hard to pin Fuckface Unstoppable. On the one hand it’s a vanity project performing GG Allin covers around the world, but on the other it’s the ideal festival act for people of a certain age. Nine CKY and Jackass alumni having a party on stage and singing some of their favourite songs while getting pissed might sound like hell to some people, but when the sun is out and the beers are flowing it’s a welcome break from Band Of Skulls on the main stage. (6)
