With Limp Bizkit cancelling all of their 2021 concerts and festivals, Faith No More has stepped in to headline the Thursday night lineup of Aftershock Festival. Also appearing that night, Anthrax, Testament, Exodus, Knocked Loose, Death Angel, Fit For A King, and Oxymorons.
We’re back!
Sure, we might be having to follow a series of new Coronavirus safety protocols which may or not become a regular thing for live shows, but we’re back. And judging by the size of the opening day crowds spilling out from the main entrance, car parks and campsites, not a moment too soon. Since its inception Bloodstock Open Air has always attracted early birds who like nothing more than to arrive long before the gates even open, but this time feels different. Everyone seems to be here early. Coiled springs desperate for release. The festival’s twentieth anniversary isn’t just a celebration of metal this year, it’s a genuine escape.
Not content with sitting on their hands, Brazilian thrashers Sepultura decided early on during the Coronavirus Lockdown to do something constructive with their new found spare time. After touring plans for their current record were cut short by the pandemic, the band contacted seemingly everybody in the world of metal and proceeded to embark upon Sepulquarta (Nuclear Blast), a live album recorded with each member in isolation.
Arguably the most divisive album in the history of metal, no other record seems to split opinion quite likeMetallica’s The Black Album (Elektra). Otherwise known simply as Metallica, whenever the San Franciscan act’s fifth studio album is mentioned even in passing, the results are usually the same. Like a red rag to a bull, loud and vociferous “true fans” are still guaranteed to leap straight in with comments like “only the first four albums are real”, “sell-outs” and “commercial bullshit” etc.
In a sad development for the European summer festival season, Dynamo Metalfest has been forced to postpone this year’s event to next summer, 21 and 22 of August, You can read the fest’s statement below, with information about rolling over tickets to next year, and if you must, refunds. Ordan Ogen and Orange Goblin has just joined a killer bill that included Kreator, Death Angel, Heaven Shall Burn, Candlemass, Jinjer, Asphyx, and many more! Good luck and we’ll see you next year!
Quickly shaping up to be the biggest music festival in the USA this year, Blue Ridge Rock festival has announced their full line-up of 180 bands. Headlining the massive 4 day festival are Five Finger Death Punch, Rob Zombie, Shinedown, Breaking Benjamin, and Limp Bizkit. There is a special club warm up show which includes headliner Ludacris, T-Pain, and Lil Jon. Also on tap: the Hellzapoppin Circus Sideshow Revue, a vaudeville freak show of wonder by Hellzapoppin’s Ringleader and Producer, Mr. Bryce “The Govna” Graves. In addition, excitingly, the festival will be hosted by Steve-O (MTV’s Jackass); and special guest Lou Brutus (SiriusXM). The fest takes place September 9th – 12th at Blue Ridge Amphitheater, a long-awaited large-scale concert venue in Southwest Virginia. Tickets are on sale now at the link below and here is the full lineup:
Bay Area Thrash legends Testament, Exodus, and Death Angel will embnark on the “The Bay Strikes Back Tour” USA tour this fall! The 30 date trek will kick off on October 6th at the Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo, CA and will make stops in Austin, New York, and Detroit before concluding at The Fox in Oakland on November 27th. General admission tickets for the tour will go on sale on Thursday, July 1st at 10:00 AM local time. Blabbermouth will have a ticket pre-sale starting Tuesday, June 29th at 10 am local until Tuesday, June 29th at 10 pm local (PW: TITANS).
Dynamo Metalfest, one of The Netherlands’ best metal festivals, is 100% on for this summer, 2021. Although they lost a few international bands, the fest is rocking forward with headliners Amon Amarth, Heaven Shall Burn, along with Testament, Jinjer, Candlemass, Jinjer, Orange Goblin, Decapitated, Dress The Dead, LIK, and more! The fest takes place August 21st and 22nd and tickets are on sale now at the link below.
Aftershock, a festival part of the Danny Wimmer Presents family of events, has announced that The Original Misfits will be the new Saturday Night Headliner, following the departure of My Chemical Romance from the fest due to the pandemic. The original Misfits had booked a slew of arena shows and festival slots in North America from 2018 to 2020. Aftershock also features Metallica as the headliner the other two nights of the fest. Tickets are on sale now. Recent additions to the festival bill now are Limp Bizkit, Rancid, The Offspring, Social Distortion, Rise Against, Volbeat, Machine Gun Kelly, Mastodon, Gojira, SEETHER, Parkway Drive, and many more. A special first time ever Thursday night date, presented by Jack Daniels, is headlined by Limp Bizkit and also hosts Parkway Drive, Testament, Hatebreed, Exodus, Knocked Loose and Fit For a King. Brought to you by Danny wimmer Presents, the West Coast’s Biggest Rock Festival–to Discovery Park in Sacramento, CA on October 7, 8, 9 and 10. Passes are on sale now at the link below and you can watch a special trailer video now.
Would you like to know what’s one of my favorite aspects of metal? It’s that it’s too goddam stubborn to ever go away. As long as there is breath in a metalhead’s lungs they’re going to find ways to tune lower or crank in even more blast beats into a song. As To The End (Reaper Entertainment) roared from my car’s stereo is when I realized that Memoriam is Karl Willets’ latest musical endeavor despite already having a hall of fame run with Bolt Thrower. Bless that man.