Xtreme World - July 31, Singleton Park, Swansea

I woke up on Sunday morning excited by the fact that I was going to Singleton Park in Swansea to watch quite an extreme line-up of some of the most powerful and hard hitting bands presently on the rock circuit, which was to be headlined by rock giants Motorhead and Therapy. The sun was shining, the stage was awesome, the facilities excellent in fact the only thing missing was a crowd. Where were the people? I mean this all day rock fest had the makings of a great day out but alas without a crowd the event was in danger of jeopardising future class events being staged in Singleton Park.

Powder started the day with a hard hitting but melodic 25 minutes. Kicking off their set with their current single "Day in Day out" from their EP "The Art of Self Offence", the band were on top form. The high point in their set for me was when they performed "Wish" delivering it with power and emotion. They finished their set with "Blister" which set the tone for the rest of the day.

The next band to hit the stage was fronted by "filthy Phil Campbell's" son. I can't help but feel that they were a little out of their depth playing on a stage with the day's line-up. Although quite heavy in their delivery of their set, the vocals were weak and often out of tune. The only memorable moment in their set was their version of the Osmonds "Crazy horses". Out of tune and out of time, but nevertheless worth a laugh.

Following on from that was Liquid. This bunch of lads from Neath really showed people the darker side of rock. Thundering bass lines played without remorse by a guy who looked like the devils body guard. The only thing missing were thunderstorms and people screaming in pain! The last time I saw Liquid was about 2 years ago in the Gwyn hall in Neath, and they scarred the hell out of me, but on this occasion my only criticism was their lack of stage presence to go with their soundtrack from the vaults of hell.

Next we saw the amazing "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" - This bunch of guys sound more like Black Sabbath than Black Sabbath. The crowd really got into the band as they thundered through all the old Sabbath classics of the Ozzy era. I would go as far as to say that this was one of the best tribute bands that I have ever seen, truly a must see for Sabbath fans. Unfortunately their set was cut short when the drummers cymbal fell and cut through the power cables.

Liberty 37 was for me by far the best band of the day. With songs from their album "The Greatest Gift" the lads ploughed through songs like "Oh River" and "Revolution" with energy and passion. Ishmael's stage presence and delivery of the songs was truly on top form. These lads really know how to use a big stage and should be on every ones 'must see' list at festivals.

The Impotent Sea Snakes were the next band to grace the stage - kitted out in outrageous glam rock gear, their show can only be described as a metal Rocky Horror Show. The most memorable part of the set being when one of the bands fine topless ladies agreed to have her metal G-string thong grinded with an industrial angle grinder. Shocking NO, laughable YES….

Therapy took us through a tremendous set, which the crowd responded to in great fashion. The band looked as though they were going to enjoy themselves, even if the crowd was smaller than they are used to playing to. They did not disappoint in any area, they came, they rocked, they left…..Brilliant.

Headliners Motorhead eventually graced the stage with their presence after a very long wait. They calmly walked on to the stage like ageing rock gods and donned their respective instruments as if they were choosing weapons for war. Lemmy approached the microphone and said "We are Motorhead and were gonna kick your fucking arse………" - they did just that. A relentless onslaught of classic Motorhead covering the last 25 years. They were awesome…songs like killed 'Killed by Death', 'Bomber' and 'Ace of Spades' played in true hard rock 'n' roll style by the hardest rock 'n' roll band in the world.