FESTIVAL REVIEW: Sonic Temple Art and Music Festival, Live at Crew Stadium Part 1


 

Sonic Temple Art And Music Festival returned to Columbus, Ohio for the first time after taking three gap years.

Let’s begin with a little context. The inaugural instance of Sonic Temple was in 2019. Leading up to the event, festival promoter Danny Wimmer Presents (DWP) had discontinued an arrangement with AEG Presents to jointly produce Rock On The Range, the festival in Columbus, Ohio that Sonic Temple replaced. So, Sonic Temple needed to be different enough from Rock On The Range to dispel any raised eyebrows about the move. DWP also broke off ties at about the same time with AEG for their jointly created Carolina Rebellion festival and started a new one in its place called Epicenter. While those moves might have been sound business decisions, it still turned out to be a tough year for DWP festivals.

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FESTIVAL REVIEW: Milwaukee Metal Fest 2023 Live at The Rave – Eagles Club


The Rave/Eagles Club is an acclaimed live entertainment complex located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is a one-of-a-kind spot to catch a heavy metal show. The multi-stage and multi-floor building has a fascinating history and many music groups consider playing there a “rite of passage” as performers. The Milwaukee Metal Fest was launched in 1987 by music enthusiast and promoter Jack Koshick, which became one of the most renowned festivals for the heavy genres in the 1990s and early 2000s. All the greats from Slayer to Meshuggah to the Misfits were all part of the impressive lineups throughout the years until it shut down in 2004. After being absent for nearly twenty years, the fest has been brought back to life by Hatebreed‘s Jamey Jasta. He bought the rights in 2022 and put together a fest to take place on Memorial Day weekend at The Rave with some of the scene’s biggest bands. Continue reading


Jamey Jasta’s Milwaukee Metal Fest Adds Machine Head, Deeds of Flesh, Angelus Apatrida, Midnight, Warbringer, Bodysnatcher, Vended, Malignancy, Morta Skuld, Ripper Owens, and Pissing Razors


 

Milwaukee Metal Fest 2023 has added a slew of new bands including Milwaukee Metal Fest Books Machine Head, Deeds of Flesh, Angelus Apatrida, Midnight, Warbringer, Bodysnatcher, Vended, Malignancy, Morta Skuld, Ripper Owens, Pissing Razors, and many more. Machine Head is a particular coup for the fest since they rarely do festivals, and none in the USA for many, many years. Hatebreed frontman and podcaster Jamey Jasta purchased the rights to the fest name in 2022, the rebooted event will take place on Memorial Day Weekend at The Rave/Eagles club. Get tickets at the link below. Previously announced to head up the fest are Lamb of God, Anthrax, Suicidal Tendencies, Napalm Death, Dark Angel, The Black Dahlia Murder, Obituary, Shadows Fall, and many more will take part in the festival taking place Memorial Day Weekend 2023, May 25-27th,

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The Return of Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival Lineup Features Foo Fighters, Tool, Avenged Sevenfold, Deftones, Kiss, Godsmack, Rob Zombie, Puscifer, Jawbreaker, Beartooth, and More


Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival is returning in 2023 for the first time in several years with Foo Fighters, Tool, Avenged Sevenfold, Deftones, Kiss, Godsmack, Rob Zombie, Queens Of The Stone Age, Falling In Reverse, Chevelle, Puscifer, Beartooth, I Prevail, Jawbreaker, Sublime With Rome, Bullet For My Valentine, The Pretty Reckless, Pennywise, Trivium, Black Veil Brides, and many more. The full lineup is listed below.

An exclusive Sonic Temple presale for festival email subscribers begins Wednesday, January 11 at 10:00 a.m. ET. Fans who sign up for the Sonic Temple e-mail list before 10:00 PM ET on Tuesday, January 10 will receive a dedicated code providing the first chance to buy festival passes. Fans can sign-up to get first access for the Early Bird presale by going to the link below: Continue reading


Hellfest 2023 Books Kiss, Mötley Crüe, Iron Maiden, Slipknot, Def Leppard, Pantera, Porcupine Tree, Amon Amarth, Alter Bridge, and More


After their biggest year ever this year, Hellfest 2023 has booked headliners Kiss, Mötley Crüe, Iron Maiden, and Slipknot! Set to take place June 15-18, 2023 In Clisson, France, the bill also includes Def Leppard, Pantera, Porcupine Tree, Amon Amarth, Alter Bridge And Within Temptation, and more! Headliners for the 2022 edition of Hellfest included Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, Judas Priest, Deftones, Ghost, Scorpions, and Korn over two long weekends to make up for the missed pandemic year of 2020.

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Welcome To Rockville 2023 Books Pantera, Tool, Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold, Deftones, Rob Zombie, Godsmack, Evanescence, Incubus, Queens Of The Stone Age, Alice Cooper, and More!


 

Pantera, Tool, Slipknot and Avenged Sevenfold will headline the 2023 edition of the Welcome To Rockville festival, set to take place May 18-21 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Also scheduled to appear are Deftones, Rob Zombie, Godsmack, Evanescence, Incubus, Queens Of The Stone Age, Alice Cooper, Chevelle, and Coheed & Cambria, among many others. Tickets are on sale now at the link below.

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CONCERT REVIEW: Jinjer – P.O.D. – Vended – Space of Variations Live at Saint Andrew’s Hall


 

Saint Andrew’s Hall is one of the most treasured music venues in Detroit. It once was home to The St. Andrew’s Society which has been around since 1849. Like most of the buildings in Motor City’s downtown, there is a rich and interesting history that goes along with it. These repurposed places carry a rare kind of magic which feeds directly into the pleasant experience attendees have at Saint Andrew’s. It was the perfect spot for one of Modern Metal’s hottest bands to bring their headlining 2022 USA tour last weekend. Jinjer came to town, and they came ready to show off.

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CONCERT REVIEW: In Flames – Fit For An Autopsy – Orbit Culture – Vended Live at The Crofoot


A hint of that classic autumn smell floated in on a slight breeze last Monday evening as Michigan metalheads gathered in Pontiac to catch the Melodic Death Metal veterans, In Flames. The Crofoot is an entertainment complex located in Detroit’s most northern suburb and is considered a local treasure. Home to three acclaimed music venues, the historic building was an ideal spot to host Gothenburg’s finest and their openers. In Flames has recently re-signed with Nuclear Blast and is getting ready to release their fourteenth full-length album, Foregone (Nuclear Blast) in 2023. To celebrate their new chapter, these Swedish guys brought on their tour the blossoming bands Vended, Orbit Culture, and Fit For An Autopsy. Their excellent choices in support set them up for memorable evenings full of metal mayhem.

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FESTIVAL REVIEW: Bloodstock Open Air 2022 Part 2


Catton Park, United kingdom, 14 Aug 2022, Lamb of God performing on the Ronnie James Dio Stage at Bloodstock Open Air Festival Credit: Rich Price/Ghost Cult Magazine

 

SATURDAY

Considering most people are already feeling like overcooked baked potatoes wrapped in tin foil, the fact that today is meant to be the hottest day of the festival really isn’t the best news. Still, that certainly doesn’t deter a healthy crowd from shaking off the hangovers and getting on with the business at hand, Baest and Lost Society both grabbing the main stage by the scruff of the neck while Sister Shotgun and Mastiff do the same on the Sophie stage.Continue reading


FESTIVAL REVIEW: Bloodstock Open Air 2022 Part 1


Catton Park, United kingdom, 12 Aug 2022, Behemoth performing on the Ronnie James Dio Stage at Bloodstock Open Air Festival Credit: Rich Price/Ghost Cult Magazine

Main Stage and Sophie Lancaster Stage

 

THURSDAY

If there are two things we love doing in the UK, it’s complaining about the weather and queuing for things. Well, this year at Bloodstock Open Air, both are freely available and at no extra charge. Not a moment goes by without a comment on the sweltering heat or about having to wait to cross the road to the festival ground. Yes, not content with spending two hours in the main queue, campers have now invented a brand new line to join before even getting that far. For the first time ever, a line has formed for people pulling trolleys and sack carts. Almost a quarter of a mile of people waiting in a surprisingly orderly queue before joining an even bigger queue. England, never change.

 

With the heat already playing its part, I finally arrive at the Sophie Lancaster Stage in time to catch Italian nutters Nanowar of Steel who send the audience into hysterics with daft costumes and a “Wall of Love” (a traditional wall of death that climaxes with people hugging each other to George Michael’s ‘Careless Whisper’). Preceding the infuriatingly catchy ‘Norwegian Reggaeton’ with Burzums outdoor recipe for roasted salmon (“you place the freshly caught salmon on a rock and burn down the church next to it”) the band then take the opportunity to use the mighty ‘Valhalleluja’ to build an Ikea coffee table, holding it aloft for the elated crowd. Accompanied by an actual goblin for the duration of their set, US act Nekrogoblikon certainly put on an enjoyable show but find it tough following such a display of irreverent insanity.

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