Copenhell (Day 2) @ Refshaleøen (Copenhagen, DK) on June 23, 2017 [Photos & Show Review]

I left the festival grounds at the end of the first day while it was raining and returned for the second day just as it began to rain again. For those that didn’t pack the appropriate attire for a metal festival or were left soaked to the core from camping during the previous night’s torrential rains, there were plenty of vendors prepared to remedy that. Band shirts, cargo shorts, leather bands, skull jewellery, and blank battle jackets ready to become a new home for a plethora of patches filled booths that lined the back portion of the festival grounds.

Even with a bit of dreary weather, there was no way these fans were going to let it rain on their parade. And what better way to get the frustration of the weather out of your system than to smash stuff. No, I don’t mean moshing in this case (which there was also no shortage of). There was a fenced off area designated for smashing stuff. Multiple cars, computer keyboards, computers, a large wooden model airplane and much more were smashed to smithereens with various tools that looked like they had come straight from the Game of Thrones set.

With The Dillinger Escape Plan on the last tour in support of their final album, it was a pleasure to be able to catch them for the last time. The only disappointment of the set was that Copenhell gave them the smallest stage to perform on. If you’ve never had the chance to catch these guys, they are a group that gives it their all from the first note of the set to the moment they walk off the stage – and Copenhell was no exception.

Though there was a good amount of energy from the members on stage, Alter Bridge’s performance felt a bit too rehearsed to me. Maybe if they had been performing in a more intimate space it would not have felt that way, as I have seen many times that a band’s performance varies between different types of venues. Speaking of performances that vary between venues, Motionless in White delivered a stripped down performance compared to what I’ve commonly seen from them. Though it was missing some of their typical theatrical elements, it was still very well done and greeted with enthusiasm by the crowd.

Closing out the main stage for the day, Five Finger Death Punch gave the best performance the Helviti stage saw that day. With Tommy Vext now filling in for vocals for the band, Five Finger Death Punch gave a solid and drama-free performance. For the duration of the set, Vext was constantly moving and engaging the crowd. To me, his performance proved that he has both the chops and the enthusiasm to do the job and to fit in with the rest of the band’s stage antics.