23 Jun THUNDEROUS START OF ARSENAL FEST 07, WITH ANTHRAX, BUZZCOCKS AND KERBER!

Arsenal Fest 07 in Kragujevac kicked off Thursday with electrifying performances by international stars Anthrax and Buzzcocks, as well as Serbian bands Kerber, Orthodox Celts and others who played to the crowd of 10.000.

The first night headliners on the Main Stage were Anthrax, one of the “big four” trash metal bands (with Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer). Joey Belladona and Co gave their best to impress the audience, so their performance – their first in Serbia in 35 years of their existence – would be unforgettable.

The first song in the set, Among The Living, kicked the audience in the guts, foreshadowing the next 100 minutes of wild metal ride. Both older and young metalheads were headbanging, reacting favourably to both old, proven material and the songs from the new album “For All Kings” – Breathing Lighting for example. The final couple of songs will be most remembered for their ferocity – anthemic Antisocial, followed by raging Indians.

“Our first gig ever in Serbia! What a brilliant night! Thank you, everyone of you!” was the message posted by Anthrax on their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/anthrax/?fref=ts right after the gig.

The night of guitar assault continued with the gig of Serbian hard rock veterans Kerber. Gale and his band were playing for full two hours. Mezimac, Igraj sad, Nebo je malo za sveand other hits blew the audience away. The spectacular gig in front of the crowded Main Stage was finished with the song Mama-tata.

The festival program on the Main Stage was concluded with Orthodox Celts, a Serbian band famously dedicated to Irish folk music. Aca Seltik, the singer, once again proved itself as one of the best frontmen in Serbia. He promised the audience that his band would not play any ballads that night because it was already late at night. So the whole crowd danced with the band’s biggest hits till the early morning hours – ending a few minutes before 3AM.

Music program on the Main Stage started with an amazing performance by Epilog, a hard rock combo from Kragujevac, who played crowd favourites from their first album and couple of hits by metal band Osvajači such as Zla noć and Duša kad izneveri…

The central part of the program on the Garden Stage belonged to british punk rockers Buzzcocks, with a jam-packed audience. Members of the band, founded more than four decades ago, maybe got some wrinkles on their faces, some grey streaks in their hair and some extra pounds, but they are still able to deliver a knock-out punch of energy. Without much talk, they played Autonomy, Why She’s The Girl From Chainstore, and all the other songs that made them a legend.

Slovenian band Elvis Jackson introduced itself with a blend of metal, harcore and ska sound, and no one remained indifferent to harsh, malignant instrumentals played by metal band Fitnes. Local trash metalheads Alitor opened the music program in the Garden, and the guitar thunderstorm was carried on impressively by Forever Storm, a metal band from Kragujevac. By far the most extreme soundscape was delivered by Dead Joker, and the night had ended with Ritam nereda, who customary shed “blood, tears and sweat”.

The crowd at the Explosive DJ Stage was entertained, from dusk till dawn, by Sofa Kru, Methamyc, Stole Experiment, Sale Liquid & Solid and Jeremy, and numerous up-and-coming bands introduced themselves on the Demolition Stage.

The headliners of the second festival night will be Thievery Corporation, Darko Rundek, Brkovi and Pero Defformero.