Five Must See Bands From Rock on the Range
June 14, 2011 by Publisher
Filed under arccon2011
by Chris A.
Staff Writer
Energy, Great Vocals and Stage Vibe Make These Bands Worth Shelling Out the Bucks To See Live
Now with its fifth year behind it, “Rock On The Range” has become a real-deal rock and roll concert institution. Held each year in Columbus, Ohio, at Crew Stadium, fans, bands and media agree it’s one of the best run high- value for money rock festivals in North America. The success of the Rock on the Range franchise has inspired a Canadian variant and similar festivals including the 2011 “Carolina Rebellion.”
The 2011 Rock on the Range featured 40 bands and added a free Friday night party for ticket holders. With three stages and that many bands it impossible to see every act. Headliners for the event included Avenged Sevenfold, A Perfect Circle, Disturbed, Korn, Stained and many more.
As the summer schedule heats up, here are a few suggestions for bands to consider going to see based on their performance at Rock On The Range:
Korn: Okay, the bands been through several members and has been around the block, but this train just keeps on rolling. From the moment they walked onto the main stage at ROTR it was pandemonium on the stadium main floor. Jonathan Davis is a presence behind the microphone, with his often constrained, hypnotic vocals adding credibility to the insanity of Korn’s musical world. A genuine must-see band that never fails to deliver live!
Black Label Society: Zakk and the boys in BLS are back and putting more “brutal”into the old-school “brewtality” the band originally built its reputation on. After several tumultuous years and two ho-hum albums, Wylde’s ejection from Ozzy Osbourne’s band was perhaps what the iconic metal shredder needed to help him find his way back to reality. The now-healthy Zakk Wylde took the stage donning a full indian war bonnet Ala-Ted Nugent and for the next 30 minutes treated the crowd to inspired wailing.
Pop Evil: Wow! An absolutely explosive band with a frontman who has it all. I like bands that are “frenetic” and that’s one way to describe the energy expelled by the rockers in Pop Evil. With great guitar tone and a vocalist who instantly seems to connect with the fans, Pop Evil is one of those bands that deserves serious consideration. There’s no standing still when this band is on stage.
Trust Company: While these guys hail from Alabama, they’re not “good ole boys” by any means. Mixing tight guitar grooves with big soaring vocals in a melodic metal mix of head-banging inducing tunes, this band has great potential. Radio friendly with tunes that should appeal to a broad range of rock fan. The band is absolutely crazy onstage with youthful enthusiasm and high-powered rock-star appeal.
Asking Alexandria: This is a kick ass metal band. I’d never heard of them before ROTR but I’m gonna be keeping an eye on them. With steam-roller precision this British quintet of guitars match perfectly with the incredibly diverse capabilities of the vocalist. If you like it brutal these guys deliver.
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Day 1 (Saturday, May 21)
Monster Energy Stage: Avenged Sevenfold FYE Stage: Danzig Jagermeister Stage: P.O.D. |
Day 2 (Sunday, May 22)
Monster Energy Stage: A Perfect Circle FYE Stage: Hollywood Undead Jagermeister Stage: The Damned Things |
2011 Rock on the Range Photo Gallery
LIVE! : Carolina Rebellion Music Festival
May 17, 2011 by Publisher
Filed under arccon2011
CAROLINA REBELLION
Saturday, May 7th Metrolina Expo in Charlotte, NC.
AEG Live and Right Arm Entertainment latest production, Carolina Rebellion music festival, is proud to be sponsored by Jägermeister, Monster Energy drink and FYE. This is the same team that produces the highly successful Rock On The Range in Columbus, OH. The one day music festival features many of today’s hard hitting rock artists appearing on three stages (two main stages) at the Metrolina Expo in Charlotte, NC.
The festival featured two main stages for the biggest acts in rock today, both sponsored by Monster Energy. The bands participating in Carolina Rebellion festival included: Avenged Sevenfold, Godsmack, Three Days Grace, Stone Sour, Seether, Bullet For My Valentine, Theory of a Deadman, Alter Bridge, Hinder, Skillet, Saving Abel, Halestorm, Black Stone Cherry, My Darkest Days, Cavo, Rev Theory, Pop Evil, Art Of Dying and more.
“It seems the Carolinas are in need of a rock festival to call their own and we are honored to unleash the Rebellion to the great rock fans of this area,” says Gary Spivack, co-executive producer of the event for Right Arm Entertainment. “With our partners at AEG we locked into an amazing outdoor venue just minutes from downtown Charlotte. We are so proud of this lineup. From Godsmack to Avenged Sevenfold to Three Days Grace to Stone Sour….it’s nonstop…one great band after another.”
Cavo – 12:20pm
Halestorm – 1:50pm
Skillet – 3:30pm
Bullet For My Valentine – 5:20pm
Seether – 7:10pm
Three Days Grace – 8:45pm
Avenged Sevenfold – 10:45pm
My Darkest Days – 11:50am
Saving Abel – 1:20pm
Hinder – 2:50pm
Alter Bridge – 4:40pm
Theory of a Deadman – 6:30pm
Stone Sour – 7:50pm
Godsmack – 9:40pm
Drop D – 11:30am
Art of Dying – 12:50pm
Pop Evil – 2:20pm
Black Stone Cherry – 4:10pm
Rev Theory – 6:00pm
Carolina Rebellion Photo Gallery
Photos appear courtesy of Steve Trager
Sydney Soundwave Festival 2011
March 6, 2011 by Publisher
Filed under arccon2011
February 27, 2011 at Sydney Olympic Park in Sydney, Australia.
by Cameron Edney
Guest Staff Writer
For those of us who have already experienced the Soundwave Festival train this past week how fucking AMAZING was that!
So many amazing sets, I don’t even know where to begin, but give me time and there will be a full coverage review going around! No doubt highlights for me included Stone Sour, Nonpoint, Dimmu Borgir, Taking Dawn, Devildriver, Rob Zombie and Iron Maiden.
After covering 26 of the 60+ artists on the bill we’ve finally compiled a ton of great photographs for your viewing pleasure. Anyways enough from me, it’s time for the pictures to tell the story of what was one hell of a kick ass day for rock, punk and metal lovers in Sydney!
Featured bands include:
30Seconds to Mars
36 Crazyfists
Breath Carolina
Bullet for my Valentine
Devildriver
Dimmu Borgir
Every Avenue
High on Fire
Ill Nino
Kylesa
Murderdolls
MXPX All-Stars
Nonpoint
Primus
Rise to Remain
Rob Zombie
Sevendust
Slash
Stone Sour
Taking Dawn
The Sword
Trash Talk
Sydney Soundwave Festival Photo Gallery
Mayhem Festival Live!
August 12, 2009 by Publisher
Filed under arccon2009
August 7, 2009 at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, NJ
by Steve trager
Staff Writer
Fans of pure metal have found themselves with the newest edition of summer festivals simply called Mayhem Festival. It is similar to one the greatest tours ever to roam across America, which is “Ozzfest.” Mayhem Festival certainly has kept the doors opened to one of the best-known genres in music, which is Heavy Metal. Last year’s initial run with Mayhem was an indication that we can still rock out in the hardest way with some of the greatest bands on three stages for one decent priced ticket.
This year’s Mayhem Festival definitely cranked up the word “Heavy” with a brutal line-up that turned most pits into total chaos during such sets like Cannibal Corpse, Behemoth, Trivium and God Forbid.
The nice feature about Mayhem Festival is that you have three stages, loads of music, and rockstar bling for those who always want to make a fashion statement to the rest of the world. Last year’s festival had a great line-up that could have very well been just a one-time slot of Mayhem. But the response from last year brings us to the second annual Mayhem festival. It featured great sets from well-known artists like veteran thrashers Slayer and the rock shock anti-Christ himself, Marilyn Manson, who closed out the main stage.
For most of us who endure the heavier side of metal, there were bands like Job for A Cowboy, WhiteChapel and Behemoth that can grab your attention once the music kicks in. Everyone likes something different when it comes to music in general. While I might dislike some of the bands that played on the Hot Topic stage, it still was an incredible experience to see a long list of bands that certainly hold the record for mosh mayhem.
Perhaps each set could have been longer for bands like God Forbid, Trivium, All that Remains, and Bullet for My Valentine, which opened the main stage, the fans still get the packing punch we have always come to expect at a metal show.
I still have to give props to Killswitch Engage for their stage attire at a metal show. Even dressed slightly unusual for head bangers delight, front man Howard Jones still has that voice that can go through you like a lighting bolt. I especially enjoyed Dio’s “Holy Diver“ cover, which was filled with anger and great guitar work and the balls-to-the-wall vocals makes that ‘80s classic truly come alive as only Killswitch can do so well live.
Slayer also out did a great show, captivating their finest works as an old-school thrash band that they are. Slayer is a true metal band that has never changed its sound and never has sold out for radio success but has kept a cult following all these years in the true genre of pure metal. Even Manson played a great quick set; however, I am not much of a big fan. Music fans always like something different, and that makes them unique. This is an indication that Mayhem Festival will be around for a long time (we can all hope).
The Great: Bullet for My Valentine, All That Remains, Killswitch Engage, Trivium, God Forbid, and Slayer.
Hot Topic / Extreme Metal Stage:
WhiteChapel
Black Dahlia Murder
Job for A Cowboy
Behemoth
Cannibal Corpse
Jagermeister Music Stage:
Beyond The Star
God Forbid
All That Remains
Trivium
Rockstar Energy Drink Main Stage
Bullet For My Valentine
Killswitch Engage
Slayer
Marilyn Manson
