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US Festival: Heavy-Metal Day.
more US Festival.
way more Helter Skelter.

May 29, 1983 - 2023: 40 years of: US Festival: Heavy-Metal Day.

When hardrock and heavymetal stomped America.

The second and last installment of this massive gathering. Woodstock was left to rot, but this new edgy outburst of rebellion was Ground Zero for hardrock's dominance. The Red, White & Blue was still under the mesmerizing haze of AEROSMITH and KISS ...and the following event would dictate the wild 80s.

A three day outdoor festival, under the blazing California sun. New-Wave Day and Rock Day would provide a stage of: THE CLASH, David Bowie, U2, INXS, Stevie Nicks, MEN AT WORK and a very young BERLIN ...yet in the history-books, only one would change the course of rocknroll-history:

The red-hot local boys of QUIET RIOT were rocking high with their Metal Health LP featuring the hit "Cum On Feel The Noise", while the livewiring Satanic-punks of MÖTLEY CRÜE were getting ready to shout at the devil. The L.A. scene was about to explode and West-Hollywood was about to become the EPCOT Center of hard-rocknroll. Still grieving the lost of Randy Rhoads, heavymetal-dad Ozzy Osbourne was welcoming on board new-kid Jake E. Lee. His upcoming dark Bark At The Moon LP would hit the shelves in November.

"This is, the biggest, collection, of heavymetal maniacs, in the history of the world." - Rob Halford onstage

From Britain and delivering the goods, the hellbent for leather JUDAS PRIEST were riding on the wind with 1982's blood-filled Screaming For Vengeance LP, their next statement would be in the form of 1984's Defenders Of The Faith LP ...we've go another thing comin' ! From Canada, Rik Emmett's steam-machine TRIUMPH were the arenarock band, in this arena-less environment. 1982's Never Surrender LP remains a strong asset in Northern rock. From Germany, the loverdrivers of SCORPIONS were the biggest animal from the old-continent, until a certain pyromaniac leppard rapidly took over the air-waves. In between 1982's Blackout and eventual 1984's Love At Fist Sting LP ...the SCORPIONS were the biggest hardrock band on Earth.

...and then the sun came down:
"Helloooooo Southern California, are you ready to get down, I give you ...the mighty VAN HALEEEEEN !!!"

It's a "Romeo Delight" ...and asses were kicked. The hottest band in the world, featuring the hottest ten-fingers on guitars and the hottest frontmen money can buy. VAN HALEN not only took hardrock from the late 70s deep into the mid 80s, but also thrusted the hardrock modus-operandi to new heights.

David Lee Roth onstage in front of more than half a million rockers:

Pocketing a cool million and a half dollar pay, VAN HALEN delivered and the immortal performance was worth every fucking penny. Still diving down, the David Lee crew would hit a Grand Slam in January 1984 with the RIAA-certified Diamond hardrock perfection of MCMLXXXIV ...get ready to jump !

The 670000+ crowd was in awe and was now fully hardrocknrolled, Glen Helen Regional Park would never be the same again. Going home and watching the then three year-old MTV, the seed was sown for the 80s hardrocking decade. Brain child of Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak, the US Festival was a fusion of rock-music with computer-technology showcases. The competition was high, facing the arcade frenzy, as well as, aggressive cable-TV market intrusion.

The second US Festival, an important event in music and Heavy-Metal Day, the imminent springboard for hardrock and heavymetal in America.

*
QUIET RIOT live
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXOB6BmmhFM
MÖTLEY CRÜE live
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFNY0m3xx8w
OZZY OSBOURNE live
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f79_r-Ku2mk
JUDAS PRIEST live
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIko-mZ2tUU
TRIUMPH live
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=032W5-qn5wk
SCORPIONS live
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eep2TB93kE
VAN HALEN live
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E9n8RXAQbI
David Lee Roth MTV interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYpw1amR88E

more US Festival:

MÖTLEY CRÜE
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Ozzy Osbourne
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JUDAS PRIEST
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SCORPIONS
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VAN HALEN