SINGAPORE - A quick online search will reveal to any metal fan that their music needs are taken care of, thanks in part to festivals around the world such as Wacken Open Air (Germany), Hellfest (France), Brutal Assault (Czech Republic) & Heaven and Hell Metal Fest (Mexico) and now, the Singapore Rock Festival, which had its inaugural run last week at the Fort Canning Park.

The organisers did a competent job in curating a line-up that covered a range of hard rock styles which had a greater mass appeal than the more extreme metal genres. We had the pop-metal of Black Veil Brides, the post-thrash metal of Five Finger Death Punch, the trash-rock of Rob Zombie, the nu-metal of Korn, the melodic hard rock of Alter Bridge and the grunge-metal of Alice In Chains.

The beauty of heavy metal has always been the all-inclusive fanbase with an all-ages crowd that would not be seen at say, an indie rock festival or jazz festival, all dressed in their uniform of black tees. And there were enough females in the audience to provide some level of gender diversity (although it’s fair to say that the majority were probably dutifully accompanying their partners).

Apart from the opening band Black Veil Brides, the bands acquitted themselves with distinction, energy and passion. Las Vegas quintet Five Finger Death Punch provided some hard-hitting, no-holds barred brand of groove metal. Singer Ivan Moody engaged the audience well throughout and the band pleased the fans with dynamic renditions of White Knuckles, Coming Down and even a cover of Bad Company’s Bad Company. The band even got the crowd singing along to the emotional ballad, Remember Everything,

Having Five Finger Death Punch up the ante meant that Rob Zombie had to deliver in his own unique style. Backed by a staging that featured images of horror movie icons like King Kong, a werewolf, Mr Hyde, the Frankenstein monster and the Phantom of the Opera, Zombie and his band mates appeared in costume and performed old and new songs like More Human Than Human, Living Dead Girl and Dead City Radio And The New Gods Of Supertown in his trademark high energy theatrical fashion. The man simply did not keep still, choreographing his movements brilliant with that of his bandmates. In line with his retro evocation, drummer Ginger Fish and guitarist John 5 were given time to demonstrate their solo instrumental skills, with razor efficiency and ear-splitting noise levels.

When Korn appeared, the entire Fort Canning Park turned into a moshpit as the band launched into songs such as Falling Away From Me, Twist and Got The Life. Certainly, much of the movement can be attributed to Korn’s signature incorporation of hip-hop beats into a metallic melting pot that included arabic musical voicing. Perhaps the only other band that managed to come close to Korn’s massive popularity was Alter Bridge, the following night.

There was little doubt that Alter Bridge had the support of local rock fans with an enthusiastic response to almost its entire set. Armed with melodic content without sacrificing an iota of metal intensity, singer/guitarist Myles Kennedy (no stranger to our shores) and company got the crowds rocking and rolling and head-banging to tracks like Metalingus, Addicted To Pain and Farther Than The Sun. Ultimately, with Find The Real and Rise Today, Alter Bridge brought out the big guns - anthemic hard rockers that the crowd lapped up with heady abandon.

Unusually, the crowd somewhat thinned out by the time Alice In Chains took the stage - considering that the band was closing the Singapore Rock Festival. They impressed with their idiosyncratic grunge-metal style. Perhaps it had more to do with the band’s mid-tempo pulse and a non-compliance with typical metal cliches that witnessed a less than completely enthused appreciation from the audience. Which is unfortunate considering that of all the bands on show, Alice In Chains arguably possessed the strongest song-writing chops with intriguing chord progressions and two-part vocal harmonies driving such alt-rock gems like Check My Brain, Your Decision, Grind, Would? and Rooster.

Based on the size of the crowd and appreciation shown, as well as the overall quality of the bands selected, it does seem that the Singapore Rock Festival is here to stay and is able to credibly include itself on that list of metal festivals that metalheads would need to check out.