Review - Can Biffy Clyro hack it as a Sonisphere headliner?

At the weekend Biffy Clyro put their rock credentials to the ultimate test - they headlined the second night (9 July) of the UK leg of Sonisphere.

A pan-European touring event, the likes of Iron Maiden, Metallica and Slipknot, rather than the Scots, are usually found in the upper echelons of its bills. Joe Bishop ventured to Knebworth House to see if Biffy Clyro could make the step up and take their place among rock and metal's elite:

Biffy Clyro have built an impressive festival reputation for themselves over the last few years. From being that strangely named, cult-adored Scottish trio, they have worked their way up from the smaller stages at events like Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds to take big spots on their main stages - often occupying the position of the being rockers who give festivals some much needed edge. However, metal and rock festivals represent an entirely different arena for Simon Neil and co.

It doesn't matter how sunny it is, there are droves of revelers caked head-to-toe in black leather, black t-shirts, those weird trousers that look like parachute harnesses and so on. They are hardcore fans who, given the right song, will make sure you're hurtled in every direction of a compass if you dare venture near 'the pit'. And what better to get the angry contingent more riled up than the appearance of the "Big Four": Anthrax, Megadeth, Slayer and Metallica, all on the first afternoon (8 July).

That's not only a lot moshing the fans got to do, but it's also an incredibly difficult act to follow.

So can Biffy Clyro, a band who had one of their songs covered by the last X Factor champion, win over this crowd? Saturday's penultimate band, Weezer - another unlikely, antithesis of metal booking - at least leave the trio good omens as they get a good reaction from the jovial crowd, but some in the crowd are doubting whether the next band are worthy Knebworth headliners.
"I don't know man, after the 'Big Four' yesterday if Biffy have what it takes to pull off something like this," argues 20 year-old Brian Lowry of St Albans. "I'm going to watch it, yeah, but I don't how it'll go."

It turns out Brian's doubts are unwarranted. If you can charm Saturday evening TV grannies to buy your songs - albeit through Matt Cardle - you can charm anyone it seems and Sonisphere's black clad minions are no exception as Biffy Clyro storm the festival's Apollo Stage in fine form.

The set's fast moments prove as heavy and punchy as anything else on offer at the event, and unlike many others on the bill, Biffy also possess an arsenal of slower songs, that with their swelling, heartfelt melodies actually create a 'moment' or several amongst the Knebworth crowd. We won't claim we saw hardened metallers with tears in their eyes, but nearly...

A large part of what makes an act capable of headlining a festival isn't their music, its their attitude, and it is that the same confidence that has driven Biffy Clyro to the summits of mainstream events, that sees them prevail at Sonisphere. Of course a little playing to the gallery doesn't hurt, and nearing the end of the set Neil acknowledges the rock conditions, not only with a devil horns for the crowd, but by adding a few bars of Slayer's Raining Blood into the opening of their own There's No Such Thing As A Jaggy Snake.

"We know it's a metal festival, so thanks for coming out and supporting us," declares the frontman as their set reaches its climax, but it seems the love is not just going one way. Plenty of hardcore rockers leave impressed by Biffy, but the metal crowd themselves have done something unique to the band. "They totally did it, it was so brilliant," declares 19 year-old Emma Taylor of Worcester who as a "huge Biffy fan" is slightly overawed by what she's just witnessed. "I've seen them before, but never like that. They had so much more energy!"

So yes Biffy Clyro can hack it as a metal festival headliner - the question now is if the band can live without this kind of crowd?

Source: qthemusic.com