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    If you thought heavy metal music was just for the darkness, you were wrong because the Louder Than Life crowd was throwing up devil horns before noon on Sunday.

    It happened early and often that is and the crowd was just one aspect of the festival that helped it live up to its name.

    Loud is an energy and it flowed from each part and every person at Louisville Champions Park whether it was the music, food, or drinks that caused it.

    If that energy had a thesis it would penned by Chad Gray, lead singer for Hellyeah, who said on stage, “Heavy metal is clearly not dead. You (the crowd) are the reason why heavy metal is still alive because you kept it alive. Because it probably saved your life.”

    It’s easy if you look into the Louder Than Life crowd to see how Gray’s comments are seen alive and well because the crowd is a sort of family. You can think of all the stereotypes of a hard rock crowd, especially one of this size, and most of them can be thrown out.

    One example of this was in band merch. Everyone is wearing it and buying it. The merch lines were 50 people deep. T-shirts of everyone’s favorite bands are worn with pride and honor and if someone was wearing a T-shirt of a band not playing Louder Than Life then it’s another one of their rock gods like Alice in Chains or Metallica. It’s a way for people to get recognized and appreciated. The lines to get the merch signed by bands like Avatar and Nothing More were three times longer than the lines to purchase the merch.

    At Forecastle, Louisville’s other major music festival, there’s a lot of different cultures and styles. Unique is the name of the game. But at Louder Than Life, these T-shirts, even the smallest symbol, are important to the family and to fit in.

    As abrasive as it might sound, the most common T-shirt I saw was one that said F*ck Cancer. Watch out for the family.

    The sense of family is rooted in adoration of the bands who encourage everyone to watch out for each other. Even a band like Nothing More who only has 30 minutes on stage, takes a minute to reiterate family to all the fans who came early to watch them.

    Danny Wimmer Presents, the producers of Louder Than Life and other hard rock music festivals, brought the family together and they made this festival special by including an emphasis on food and drink. To give myself a taste of something special (meaning non-local which a Louisville.com reader can get any time) I visited Jack Daniel’s Whiskey Experience and got the pulled pork plate.

    Firstly, Jack Daniel’s broke the festival stereotype that vendors jack up prices during the festival as every meal Jack Daniel’s served was just $8. Their service was quick. I was handed my plate before the woman working the register handed me my change. When I saw my food, I understood what man food meant because for a measly $8 I got a heaping portion of delicious pulled pork with bread, baked beans, cole slaw, and fries. No need to even think about the next meal after that.

    Lastly of note at a festival that turned out to be a festival for the eyes and taste buds as well as the ears, was the venue itself. For seven years I have known Louisville Champions Park as a high school cross country course. I’ve run there many times. But to see it transformed into a three stage, raucous-rousing, headbanging, LOUD land mass was very interesting. The plateaus were used as viewing areas. The wide-open space proved great for both those who wanted to mosh and those who wanted to sit on a blanket.

    Sitting on a blanket would be a reasonable thing to do at the hard rock family reunion right?

    Photo courtesy of Louder Than Life Festival Facebook page. 

    Will Ford's picture

    About Will Ford

    Covering Louisville music like it's the 6 o' clock news. I've covered Forecastle, Louder Than Life, Moontower, Starry Nights, and Louisville music news for 3 years. Follow me @parasiticnoise

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