Gods of Metal

Zakk Wylde with Black Label Society at Gods of Metal 2005

Gods of Metal is the largest metal festival in Italy . It has been held annually in Monza since 1997 , mostly in June. Since around 15,000 visitors per day can be expected, the festival mostly takes place in large football stadiums or in parks.

A kind of mascot of the festival is the monk Cesare Bonizzi , who is now over 60 years old and who insists on blessing the audience and immediately afterwards giving a performance with his metal band Fratello Metallo. In 2008 he was allowed to open the festival.

history

1997

The 1997 festival took place in Milan , the following bands performed:

Manowar , Angra , Rage , Grave Digger , Moonspell , Time Machine , Eldritch .

1998

The 1998 festival took place in the Forum Open Air Arena in Milan , the following bands performed:

Black Sabbath , Pantera , Stratovarius , Helloween , Gamma Ray , Iced Earth , Coal Chamber , Labyrinth .

1999

The 1999 festival took place in the Forum Open Air Arena in Milan , the following bands performed:

• Day 1: Metallica , Stratovarius , Mercyful Fate , Biohazard , Overkill , Monster Magnet , Lacuna Coil , Space Age Playboys, Cappanera.
• Day 2: Manowar , Motörhead , Angra , Hammerfall , Iron Savior , Nevermore , Labyrinth , Time Machine , Skyclad , Avalon, Heastone Epitaph.

2000

The 2000 Festival took place in the Stadio Brianteo in Monza , the following bands performed:

• Day 1: Iron Maiden , Demons & Wizards , Sentenced , Edguy , Domine , Dirty Deeds, Khali, Theaters des Vampires
• Day 2: Slipknot , Methods of Mayhem, Testament , In Flames , The Kovenant , Death SS , Necrodeath, Magazzini Della Comunicazione.

2001

The 2001 festival took place in the Palavobis in Milan , the following bands performed:

Megadeth , Savatage , Motörhead , Gamma Ray , Cradle of Filth , Rhapsody , WASP , Nevermore , Kamelot , Wine Spirit, Eldritch , Benediction , Beholder, Sungift, Secret Sphere, Centurion, Sigma.

2002

The 2002 festival took place at the Stadio Brianteo in Monza . A performance by Rammstein was actually planned for the first day, but they had to cancel their participation due to an illness of keyboardist Flake Lorenz. The following bands performed:

• Day 1: Slayer, Halford, Kreator , Sodom , My Dying Bride , SOiL , Ill Niño , Anti-Product, Mushroomhead , Node.
• Day 2: Manowar Blind Guardian , Running Wild , Shaaman , Symphony X , Virgin Steele , Domine , Doro , Metalium , Blaze, Time Machine .

2003

The 2003 festival took place in the Palavobis in Milan , the following bands performed:

Queensrÿche , Motörhead , Saxon , Destruction , Grave Digger , Angra , Pain of Salvation , Vision Divine , Thoten, Mantra, DGM , Madhouse.

2004

The 2004 festival took place in the Arena Parco Nord in Bologna , the following bands performed:

• Day 1: Judas Priest , Stratovarius , UFO , Nevermore , Symphony X , Anathema , Rage , Domine , Into Eternity , Dark Lunacy.
• Day 2: Alice Cooper , Testament , Twisted Sister , WASP , The Quireboys, Sodom , Naglfar , Stormlord , Through Solace, Dragonforce .

2005

The 2005 festival took place in the Arena Parco Nord in Bologna , the following bands performed:

• Day 1: Iron Maiden , Slayer , Lacuna Coil , Obituary , Strapping Young Lad , Dragonforce , Mastodon , Mudvayne , Evergrey .
• Day 2: Motley Crue , Megadeth , Anthrax , Accept , Yngwie Malmsteen , Black Label Society , Hammerfall , Extrema , Exilia .

2006

The 2006 festival took place in the Idroscalo in Milan , the following bands performed:

• Day 1: Venom , Opeth , Down , Testament , Nevermore , Satyricon , Sodom , Amorphis , Cappanera.
• Day 2: Strana Officina, Fire Trails, Extrema , Vision Divine , Necrodeath, Domine , Novembre , Stormlord , Infernal Poetry, White Skull , Mellow Toy, Boom, Perfect Picture.
• Day 3: Whitesnake , Def Leppard , Motörhead , Helloween , Stratovarius , Angra , Edguy , Sonata Arctica , Crucified Barbara.
• Day 4: Guns N 'Roses , Deftones , Alice in Chains , Soulfly , Bloodsimple , Dragonforce , Hellfueled , Benedictum, 10 years.

2007

The 2007 festival took place in the Idroscalo in Milan , the following bands performed:

• Day 1: Mötley Crüe , Velvet Revolver , Scorpions , Thin Lizzy , White Lion , Tigertailz, Eldrtich, Planet Hard.
• Day 2: Heaven and Hell , Dream Theater , Blind Guardian , Dimmu Borgir , Dark Tranquility , Symphony X , Anathema , DGM .
• Day 3: Ozzy Osbourne , Korn , Black Label Society , Type O Negative , Sadist , Deathstars , Slowmotion Apocalypse.

2008

The 2008 festival took place in the Arena Parco Nord in Bologna , headliners were Iron Maiden, Slayer and Judas Priest. The following occurred:

• Day 1: Iron Maiden , Avenged Sevenfold , Rose Tattoo , Apocalyptica , Airbourne , Lauren Harris, Black Tide , Kingcrow .
• Day 2: Slayer , Carcass , Meshuggah , Testament , At the Gates , The Dillinger Escape Plan , Between the Buried and Me , Stormlord , Brain Dead.
• Day 3: Judas Priest , Iced Earth , Yngwie Malmsteen , Morbid Angel , Obituary , Enslaved , Fratello Metallo , Infernal Poetry, Nightmare .

2009

The 2009 festival took place in the Stadio Brianteo in Monza , which is otherwise used by the AC Monza Brianza football club , and the following bands performed. Two stages were set up so that there were two headliners every day.

• 1 day:

• Stage 1: Heaven and Hell , Queensrÿche , Edguy , Epica , Voivod , Extrema
• Stage 2: Mötley Crüe , Tesla , Lita Ford , Marty Friedman , Backyard Babies , Lauren Harris, The Rocker

• 2 day:

• Stage 1: Dream Theater , Blind Guardian , Tarja , Cynic , The Black Dahlia Murder
• Stage 2: Slipknot , Carcass , Down , Mastodon , Napalm Death , Static-X

2010

Stage 1

Friday June 25th	Saturday June 26th	Sunday June 27th
Killswitch Engage Fear Factory DevilDriver As I Lay Dying Atreyu Job for a Cowboy Unearth 36 Crazyfists	Lordi Amon Amarth Raven Exodus Behemoth Orphaned Land Sadist Ex Deo	Motörhead Bullet for My Valentine Cannibal Corpse U.DO Saxon Devin Townsend Project Labyrinth Sabaton

Stage 2

Friday June 25th	Saturday June 26th	Sunday June 27th
Amphitrium Dragonia Death Army	Nashwuah Subhuman Caledon	Soulfly Van Canto Anvil

2011 (Arena Fiera, Rho )

Wednesday June 22nd
Judas Priest Whitesnake Mr. Big Cradle of Filth Epica

Web links

Commons : Gods of Metal  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website (Italian / English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Festivalguide.de: Gods of Metal Festival 2009 ( Memento of the original from May 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English, accessed April 17, 2009) 
2. ^ The magazine: Personality cult: Cesare Bonizzi. Advent, Advent, a little monk is on fire. With passion for heavy metal. Beginning of the article in "Das Magazin" on November 29, 2008 (German). Retrieved December 2, 2013.
3. ↑ Italymag: A monk opens the heavy metal concert ( Memento of the original from May 24th, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English, accessed April 27, 2009) 
4. ↑ Powermetal.de: Concert report: Gods Of Metal 2002 (English, accessed on April 17, 2009)
5. ↑ Burn Your Ears: Festival report Gods Of Metal Festival 2008 (German, accessed April 27, 2009)
6. ↑ Tempelores Magazin: Festival report Gods Of Metal Festival 2009 (English, accessed on August 17, 2009)