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MAID OF STONE FESTIVAL - PART ONE FRIDAY 19TH JULY 2024

Reviewed by Laura DQ • Jul 22, 2024

Photo by Myke Gray Photography 
more photos to follow

 If you know anything about summer in the UK, you’ll know the weather is notoriously problematic; you can guarantee if you’ve made outdoor plans, it’s probably going to rain. So it’s a joy to arrive at Maidstone’s Mote Park beneath a beautiful blue sky for the second annual Maid of Stone Festival. And even better to discover that the organisers have listened to their audience and significantly improved the Friday night offering. Food vendors are up and running, the bars are open, drinks are flowing and T‘N’T Degenerates are once again on DJ duty, blasting the rock and metal bangers, but from a bigger, outdoor stage - no cramming into a tent this year. Which is a bit of relief, as there’s already a decent crowd for opening act White Raven Down.

Initially hampered by some sound issues that leave us struggling to make out much in the way of vocals, this Essex trio do get to show us what they’re made of, hammering their self-proclaimed groovy, heavy riffs with a monstrous rhythm section. It may be early, but frontman Stu bravely attempts some call and response before anyone’s really had chance to settle in (or have much to drink!), and even pulls it off; “looking for the dawn of another day” is shouted back at him as the band tear through the characteristically thunderous ‘Salvation’. The moody ‘Masquerade’ provides a short-lived changed of pace, ‘Roll of the Dice’ showcasing the band at its best, the combination of bludgeoning heaviness married with an irresistible chorus.    

There are probably some out there who don’t even know Blaze Bayley ever fronted Iron Maiden, and some who have tried to forget, but this 30th anniversary set suggests he deserves more credit than he receives. There are some fantastic, underrated songs in the catalogue and Bayley sings them with real passion. Epic opener ‘Sign of the Cross’ boasts the signature Maiden gallop and some truly magnificent instrumental sections played to perfection by Bayley’s group (apparently members of metal band Absolva). ‘The Clansman’ is a highlight, a song so good that Iron Maiden put it back in their set a few years ago, a proper rabble-rouser that gets everyone bellowing “freedom”! Blaze is a dramatic and confronting frontman, berating us if we’re not shouting loudly enough, and pointing out members of the audience who aren’t clapping when he feels they should be. ‘Man on the Edge’ and ‘Futureal’ bring the set to a triumphant conclusion, complete with a “scream for me Maidstone!”

Gun is a band ageing very well. Arguably on something of a hot streak, latest album ‘Hombres’ is particularly strong and Gun know it, opening their headline set with the pulsing ‘Lucky Guy’, a song that swaggers with attitude and some very pleasing harmony vocals. Single ‘Take Me Back Home’ is dispensed later and already feels like an anthem, the chorus that vocalist Dante describes as “dead f***ing easy” lending itself to audience participation; it’s hard to resist the euphoria of throwing your hands in the air and singing “yeah”. The emotional ‘Falling’ feels immediately familiar, heartfelt and again displays the bands seemingly endless capacity for a great hook. The classics go down an absolute treat; ‘Don’t Say It’s Over’ is shouted so loudly that I almost feel a bit guilty for not knowing all of the words! The likes of ‘Welcome to the Real World’ and ‘Steal Your Fire’, are significantly more exciting than the studio versions ever let on, Gun playing with a pleasing self-assuredness that suggests they realise they're at the top of their game. Wrapping things up with ‘(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)’, the band are ironically cut short by a strict 10:30 curfew. No matter, the sound of the audience singing continues after the band have been silenced - Gun successfully bringing the party on night one and proving themselves worthy headliners. 

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