Rival Sons, 25th June 2026, Hades, Copenhell Festival, Denmark

Photo: Goran www.urbanmescalero.com

Playing Copenhell for the third time, Rival Sons performed on the Hades stage for the first time – a setting that seems to suit them better than the main stage. The band is currently working on new music, and earlier this year frontman Jay Buchanan released a very strong solo album that explores the softer side of his musical influences. Still, this is a band that has played just about every major rock and metal festival and opened for the likes of Black Sabbath, so they undoubtedly have the appeal for a Copenhell audience.

On the other hand, much like the previous two times they played Copenhell, they never truly got the crowd going. In many ways, that’s not necessarily something to expect from a Rival Sons festival performance, but there is certainly far more audience participation at their own headlining shows.

Another aspect that can sometimes alienate festival audiences is Buchanan’s eccentric stage presence, which in a festival setting may come across as arrogant. In reality, however, it’s one of the band’s important characteristics. And you gotta respect the dry humor that comes out of this man mouth between the songs. There is such a dryness to his delivery and you have to be there to trully get comments like “How are you black shirt motherfuckers doing?” and “Are you ready for some rock ‘n’ roll? Yea mee too..”.

The opening “Horse’s Breath” from the magnificent 2023 album Darkfighter went over most people’s heads, but the next couple of songs quickly made up for it. By then, the sound had also been corrected so that Mike Miley’s drums no longer overshadowed the rest of the band.

The remainder of the performance was an impressive display of rock ‘n’ roll craftsmanship, delivered with immense groove, power, and swagger. Miley’s drumming was flashy without ever feeling excessive or sacrificing the groove. “Electric Man” got things properly cooking, while “Do Your Worst” produced the biggest singalong of the set. “Secret” evolved into a somewhat overlong jam before seamlessly transforming into a cover of Black Sabbath’s “Electric Funeral” – a lovely nod to the band that took Rival Sons on tour, even if they may not have seemed the most obvious choice at the time.

Once again, Rival Sons delivered a strong performance. But to experience the band’s true magic, you really need to see them on their own turf – at one of their headlining shows.

SETLIST:

1. Horses Breath
2. Open My Eyes
3. Too Bad
4. Memphis Sun
5. Pressure and Time
6. Get What’s Coming
7. Mirrors
8. Electric Man
9. Do Your Worst
10. Secret
11. Jam
12. Electric Funeral