The surprises, the RedBull stage gems and the Nostalgia.
Vítejte zpět u reportáže z festivalu Nova Rock! Po čtvrtečním programu se podíváme na kapely, které vystoupily v pátek 12.: The Cure, The Offspring, A Perfect Circle, Breaking Benjamin, Royal Republic, Annisokay and Melrose Avenue. This day was particularly intense and rich.
The Swedish guys from Royal Republic (2007) were the first surprise of the day: after listening to a few songs before their show, I didn’t expect such good energy. They played in the middle of the afternoon the same way as they were headlining the festival and they made me change my mind about watching the show from afar. If the crowd wasn’t absolutely crazy, everyone seemed to have a good time and it definitely set up the mood for the rest of the day!
After Royal Republic came on the Blue stage the American alternative metal band Breaking Benjamin (1998) and next their compatriots A Perfect Circle (1999). If both shows were good, it wasn’t memorable to me as I didn’t know much about those bands and they didn’t hook me as much as what I saw before. I guess that’s one of the problems of festivals: it is hard to be at one hundred percent all day long. I watched them from afar and I liked what I saw, but I left earlier to see other shows. I hope I will have the opportunity to see those bands in the future to enjoy it more. They were definitely not bad and I would love to give them another chance!
Back to the RedBull stage, the smallest of the three. Between Breaking Benjamin and A Perfect Circle, for their first ever festival in Europe, I saw the Australian band Melrose Avenue (2021). From the beginning it was clear that the band was very happy to be at Nova Rock! Their incredible energy shook the crowd that gave everything in return. They showed that becoming famous thanks to TikTok and Instagram didn’t mean they were less worth it than any others. It knew they were good but honestly, I didn’t expect they would be this good! They will stop by Prague in February 2027 at Rock Café and I think I won’t miss this opportunity to see them again.
The Germans from Annisokay followed on the RedBull stage and the crowd got even bigger than it was with Melrose Avenue, despite A Perfect Circle’s show continuing at the same time on the Blue Stage. The band was crazy and the public followed, creating a wall of death that took the whole width of the stage. At some point the singer stood on shoulders in the second row and it seemed like he was ready to dive in the crowd. It was definitely an incredible performance. Annisokay went all out and everyone responded!
Back on the main stage. I had heard before that The Offspring (1984) were not that good after COVID, but with their new drummer Brandon Pertzborn (formerly with Marilyn Manson, Suicidal Tendencies and Black Flag) they were truly incredible. The crowd was packed and it was impossible to stay at the same place the whole show because everyone was moving and jumping! People sang along on their hits and it was clear that many people came for them, especially as the American punk band was one of the three first bands announced for this edition. With songs such as “Why Don’t You Get a Job?” or “The Kids Aren’t Alright”, but also covers from Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne, they showed they still knew how to heat up a crowd. The Offspring were definitely more than alright and they truly impressed me. Would I have been happy to see The Pretty Reckless? Yes. Do I regret choosing The Offspring instead? Absolutely not! Seeing such a legendary band with more than forty years of career in those conditions was a real pleasure. I wish them to continue like this for years!
The evening ended with the British rock band The Cure (1976) on the Blue Stage too. After being in the middle of the crowd during The Offspring, I watched the show from afar but I really enjoyed their performance. Nova Rock got deeper into nostalgia with the lineup of this day and it worked very well. I sadly had to miss Ice Nine Kills (2002) on the Red Stage to watch The Cure, but I thought I would have more opportunities to see the young American metalcore band in the future than the British band. I apparently wasn’t the only one as a lot of people gathered in front of the stage. Some of their old songs such as “One Hundred Years” still resonate with today’s society and I think The Cure showed their hits could still speak to people nowadays. They finished with their hit “Boys Don’t Cry” and it was perfect to end this beautiful evening.
Stay tuned for day 3!
Photos and report by Céline Fetel