This weekend begins the annual World’s Loudest Month series of concerts and Welcome To Rockville is where it’s going down in Jacksonville Florida! Over 40 bands on three stages, headlined by A Perfect Circle, Soundgarden, Def Leppard, with The Offspring, Mastodon, Chevelle, Seether, Papa Roach and many more! Get ready with Ghost Cult’s preview: Continue reading
The 2017 Vans Warped Tour was announced at their annual event at Full Sail University in Florida. CKY, Hatebreed, Hawthorne Heights, I Prevail, Beartooth, Sick Of It All, Candiria, Anti Flag, GWAR, Memphis May Fire and more will perform. Tickets are on sale now for all dates with the full confirmed line-up and other info below.
Continue reading
The 2017 Rock On The Range festival will be taking place on May 19th, 20th & 21st at Mapfre Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, and they’ve just announced the daily lineups for the sold out weekend. Continue reading
The third annual Northern Invasion 2017 is scheduled to land at Somerset Amphitheater in Somerset, WI Saturday, May 13 and Sunday, May 14 with Soundgarden and Kid Rock topping the bill. Continue reading
One of America’s greatest music festivals returns as the Monster Energy Carolina Rebellion takes place next May 5, 6 and 7 at Rock City Campgrounds at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, NC. Soundgarden (Friday), Def Leppard (Saturday) and Avenged Sevenfold are the headliners with more details below and a preview video.Continue reading
Monster Energy Welcome To Rockville 2017 will take place Saturday, April 29 and Sunday, April 30, 2017 at Jacksonville, Florida’s scenic Metropolitan Park along the St. Johns River. Soundgarden (Saturday headliner), Def Leppard (Sunday headliner), and A Perfect Circle lead the music lineup for Florida’s biggest rock event yearly! Discounted Early Bird tickets, VIP and hotel packages are on sale tomorrow Tuesday, December 6. You can watch the teaser and get the full details below:Continue reading
Attila has released a second single from their forthcoming album Chaos , due on November 4th from Sharptone Records. Continue reading
Fit For A King will be appearing on the 2015 Vans Warped Tour next summer on the Monster Stage for all North American dates. They are currently finishing up the Eternal Enemies Tour with Emmure, The Acacia Strain, Kublai Khan and Sylar.
Fit For A King has just been officially named as a Warped Tour artist for 2015. The Dallas based band will appear next summer on the Monster Stage for all North American dates.
Dec 18: The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
Dec 19: Amos Southend – Charlotte, NC
Dec 20: Baltimore Soundstage – Baltimore, MD
Dec 21: Gramercy Theater – New York, NY
Fit For A King on Facebook
Fit For A King on Twitter
Emmure versus The Acacia Strain, two bands enter one band leaves! Well, not really, but that’s how they pitched it to the audience. In reality that’s really who is the deciding factor, the fans!
Round 1 FIGHT!
Firstly I’d like to give a shout out to my friends in Handsome Bastards for headlining the upstairs stage of the Palladium for their tireless push to sell tickets and bring fans new and old in hopes of furthering themselves and having great attitudes and fun while doing it! now on with the show. Ladies and gentleman I bring you SYLAR from Queens New York.
Upon first look of these five young New Yorkers one would be led to believe they may be at the wrong tour… taking a minor influence from hip-hop they definitely don’t look like your average hardcore or metal band. That’s why I believe they were added to this tour. Five guys with very wide influences of rap and hip-hop style, with metal and hardcore heaviness, and lots of similarities to the headlining band Emmure, with their fast paced music full of attitude and confrontational lyrics. This left me wondering what would come next from this set as 50 Cent’s ‘P.I.M.P’ played before they started playing. With seven strings in hand, the boys took the stage and so began the first stop of “The Eternal Enemies” tour. SYLAR’s sound is very much a mix of heavy influences such as Meshuggah with the lyrical flare of Emmure, who could be their musical big brothers. The band was very entertaining to watch and with great crowd reaction, synchronized stage moves reminiscent of old Korn, and lots of crowd interaction. Electronic bits were thrown in to add to the flavor of the band and made for unique songs and a great over all show. At first glance SYLAR did not look like they were going to be as impressive as they were, but once they hit that stage not only was my opinion changed but I was made a fan.
Sadly, after the ct date of the tour while in Canada the bands van was broken into and the money they had made was taken leaving them financially at ground zero again. I hope the rest of the tour works out more in their favor and if your reading this maybe you’ll feel compelled to help them in some way, be it merch or buying their CD.
Next from “The Lone Star State”, Kublai Khan, another band I was new to on this tour but yet again was pleasantly surprised by. This four piece hailing from Sherman, Texas not only immediately went for the throat of every one present to see them preform, they first thanked us for having them there and were very humble and honored to play here. Sticking close to their hardcore influences their songs ranged in very real topics from being a minority/racism, and growing up in Texas as singer Matthew Matthew Honeycutt explained, to being a single parent trying to care for a family. All things that in one way or another many of the fans may be able to connect with. Again, the crowd response was high energy and very reactive to. the bands music and great attitude. Another group I cant wait to see again in Worcester.
Also from Texas, Fit For a King. defiantly a good fit for the tour with similar styles and sound to all the other bands. If you liked the bands you’ve seen so far, here’s more of it. lots of catchy hooks and clean vocal sing along parts and fun mosh parts, fit for a king defiantly kept the crowd jumping and amped up for the next two bands. Unfortunately I was not one of those people. I had rather high hopes for this band seeing as the two predecessors had wowed me so, and so I was kinda let down. Not for lack of trying or bad sound; they just didn’t do it for me.
And now for the tectonic two, the sultans of sorrow!
The Acacia Strain, never ones to pass up a good laugh or being taken too seriously, decided to set up bubble machines and in the words of “Vincent Bennett” in Sesame Street style letters to shove the “seriousness” of the tour’s “battle of the bands” concept back in the promoters faces. The lights dimmed and the backing track of ‘Human Disaster’ played and the band stood at the ready, preparing for the onslaught of negativity that would be their 35 minute set. With the sound of two guitar chords from the left and right of the stage a thunderous “REST…IN…PISS” arose from the throat of Vincent and thus began the much anticipated set. opening with the first two tracks of their new album Coma Witch (Rise Records) ‘Human Disaster’ and ‘Cauterizer’ (their hit single you can hear on Liquid Metal on a daily basis) set the tone for what came next: the song ‘Beast’, with guest vocals from Matthew of Kublai Khan. Vincent, always wanting to have fun, would jump into the crowd from time to time and crowd surfers would fly over the barricade and security guard’s heads to reach out to Vincent and give him hi-fives. At one point Vincent himself crowd surfed during his own song. He called out for “more violence, more hate” and the crowd answered in a swarm of violence and brutality; just what the band wanted. I had waited all night for this set and did it deliver one-hundred fold and seemed they might be hard to top. The band played a few more popular songs including ‘JFC’ which the crowd screamed along chanting “I am the end of the world!” The Acacia Strain had overwhelming crowd support and left everyone wanting more.
With the attitude of a cage fighter entering the ring, hidden behind a black and white scarf iconic to the new album’s artwork and band merch, Frankie and the rest of Emmure (joined by Adam Pierce formerly of All Shall Perish on the drums) came out with screeching guitars to open up their set of hit songs with overpowering energy. Frankie’s hip-hop style dance moves were fantastic to watch and his hype as a frontman created a crowd frenzy. With intense hate, anger and emotion in his eyes, Frankie screamed out every lyric with the passion they deserved. Songs such as ‘Solar Flare’, ‘Homicide’, ‘Drug Dealer Friend’, ‘R2 Deepthroat’, ‘Children of Cyberton’, ‘MDMA’, their new hit song ‘A Gift, A Curse’ and coming out for an encore with ‘When Keeping it Real Goes Wrong’. A lot of Emmure’s songs were very emotional and powerful to watch live and every time they are as entertaining and amazing as the last.
The Acacia Strain and Emmure did incredible jobs headlining and had a very strong fan following who was made up of die hard fans craving for more even after they were finished. A very impressive show indeed, so impressive we even drove all the way to CT to see it again!
[slideshow_deploy id=’12817′]
WORDS: ANDREW FRANCIS
PHOTOS BY EMMA PARSONS PHOTOGRAPHY
Instead of a lazy Sunday filled with a coma like-haze, Day 3 of the festival this year ended on Saturday, giving us a much needed shot in the arm. It was however, next to impossible to get up and back out to Worcester by 12:30 PM for the first band after much partying was had on Friday following Behemoth’s killer performance. Still, I got to the venue in time to catch some of the early hardcore and deathcore bands like Harms Way, Obey The Brave, and Sylar. Loyal to the Grave was the real standout of the early day on the main stage, but oddly enough, the crowd wasn’t feeling them. I was totally bummed out because Japan’s best export with their high energy hardcore show. They were so compelling however, that some of their friends and tour-mates on the second stage upstairs moved their sets around so LTTG could play a second set upstairs to a more eager audience. Too bad I only had to hear about it and I missed it. Great band.
After that I hung around the main stage for a while and checked out the sweaty doom rock of Kadavar. Totally out of place here at the metal fest as the only Sabbath worshiping band on the bill. The funny part is, they totally killed and there was a decent size crowd digging them. They talked little and jammed much. It was grand and they didn’t flinch in what could have been a weird spot for them. Next up on the main stage was Battlecross. Battlecross has played this area a bunch, but never the big stage downstairs at the palladium. The totally owned the day with their blistering performance. Look, they know they are not reinventing the wheel musically, but they play a balls out, thrash and groove style that pumps up the crowd. With new addition Shannon Lucas behind the kit, these guys are just a powerhouse and validate the “next Pantera” or “next Lamb of God” comparisons.
Next I had a real choice to make. Hang by the main stage and catch ReVamp and Sabaton or miss my chance to see Nails. It was a real pickle, but ultimately I felt I had no choice but to stake out my spot to see Nails. Fortunately for me the second stage was running behind schedule, from the a fore mentioned set shuffling. I watched All Out War and the violent pit dancers and was transported back to my home of NYC in the They put on a good show and warmed up the crowd for what Nails was about to bring.
I know Todd Jones was in Terror, has a lot of fans from that association and a lot of hardcore fans like Nails. Musically, to me, there is not a lot in common with Terror and Nails, besides being heavy. “Entombed-core” gets tossed around to describe what is basically black-metal influenced crust-punk. Well the room was packed and Nails destroyed the place with their fierce, short bursts of angry musical missives. Todd is kind of a twisted genius and he feeds off the energy of the crowd. I don’t really get the extreme acts of violence caused by people in the pit punching people randomly in the face and stage diving a bunch of times feet first into the faces of fans. It was terrifying. A few people got tossed out for working their way back into the crowd in hurting unsuspecting onlookers far back from the stage. I think ultimately these incidents bum me out and take a away from the music. Still, Nails destroyed the place and they were among the best acts of the weekend.
Back downstairs for the rest of the night… it was time for Unearth. Like The Acacia Strain and All That Remains, Unearth benefits greatly from being local heroes in this venue. A true Boston band that cut its teeth in that scene, their show was like a headline event. They played well and included a new song that was very cool sounding. As usual they were very active all over the stage, jumping around and having a blast. Matt DeVries (Fear Factory, ex-Chimaira, ex-Six Feet Under) filled in on bass. With the upcoming 10 year anniversary tour for The Oncoming Storm and a new album on the horizon due out from eOne this fall, things are looking bright for the band.
Sam Black Church was another highly anticipated name on this bill. With a resurgent interest in the band due to the upcoming documentary being made by Duncan Wilder Johnson and several high profile shows of late, SBC fans locally and elsewhere have been rejuvenated. They showed what real hardcore is all about: fun, unity, strength, and respect; the band was terrific. It was inspiring to see most of the people downstairs either singing along to every word with singer Jet Crandall. He was as great to see today, as he was many years ago when I first witnessed the band. No one had more fun than that guy all weekend. When you hear songs like ‘Captain of The World’ and ‘We Got The Youth’, you can’t help but smile. It was huge for them to be a part of metal fest this year. Huge.
Coming up to the last few bands of the night, it was time for Nile. Nile has owned the upstairs and the downstairs of this venue in the past and the death metal fans still in attendance were in for a treat. Nile is preparing a new album, but before they get off the road to finish it, they are still supporting At The Gate of Sethu (Nuclear Blast) which was excellent. Nile gives you their best every show and if you love technical death metal, it gets no better. It was cool to see drummers from other bands watching the legend that is George Kolias do his insane stick and pedal work during their set. They played a thorough headline set with tracks from every album, so there could be no complaints. Of course Nile begins and ends with Karl Sanders and Dallas Toller-Wade and their guitars and vocals. It was great to hear a lot of voices in the crowd pipe up for the Nile hits such as ‘Lashed To the Slave Stick’ and ‘Black Seeds of Vengeance’, since I worried their fans skipped out or left early. They didn’t.
Last and never least it was time to see Iced Earth with my pals Marrek and Andy, who caught the last IE show in this building with me. They literally came just for the final band of the weekend. That is the kind of dedication this band inspires. Iced Earth has been riding high and touring the world since Plagues of Babylon (Century Media) was released earlier this year. The band definitely seem like they were in high spirits, seeming a bit tipsy, especially singer Stu Block. It was after all, drummer Jon Dette’s (Slayer, Anthrax) birthday so perhaps they were celebrating. Drunk or not, they put on a fun and phenomenal show. A few years back when Stu joined the band he was capable and yeoman-like, if not a bit tentative live. Now he holds nothing back and puts on a dramatic, explosive show with his amazing vocal range. Of course as goes Jon Schaffer, so goes his band, so it was of note that Jon was all smiles tonight. The line up sounded tight and the set list was cherry. After the opening title track of their latest album, the burned through ‘Democide’ and the ever epic classic ‘Burning Times’. The best song of the night was the surprising ‘Cthulu’ and the final eponymous track. A great set and a fine way to close out the weekend of metal and hardcore hijinks. Thanks go to Meg Loyal Photography for kicking ass, Scott Lee and Massconcerts for throwing down, and Earsplit PR for all the love and support. And to metal fest… we will see you next year for #17!
[slideshow_deploy id=’6330′]
Iced Earth Set List:
Plagues of Babylon
Democide
Burning Times
V
If I Could See You
Red Baron/Blue Max
Cthulhu
My Own Savior
Dystopia
Encore:
Iced Earth
New England Metal And Hardcore Festival on Facebook
WORDS: KEITH CHACHKES
