The lineup for Rock on the Range was announced this morning, and for the upteempth time, I find myself marvelling at the bands. The organizers for ROR always seem to pull in most of hard rocks top acts. Let's run through this year's more notable groups:
The metal bands:
American death metal super-heavy weight Lamb of God. I had the fortune of seeing them for the second time back in November. Randy Blythe and co. always put on good show as long as they're not incarcerated or being deported.
Swedish death metal giant In Flames. I saw In Flames while they were still relatively unknown to me and came away impressed.
Welsh metalcore stars Bullet for My Valentine. Since they harmonize and overdub everything, Bullet never sounds as good live as they do on the album. I had the fortune of seeing them at Uproar two years ago as the first of four headliners. They were good but forgettable.
American heavy metal band All That Remains. I swear ATR comes to Pittsburgh annually yet I still miss them. They're not getting away this time. An interesting side note: My girlfriend nearly bought me tickets to see ATR for their most recent Pittsburgh date but ultimately decided on Lamb of God tickets.
Asking Alexandria. I don't particularly care for them or their following of edgy eighth graders.
The grunge bands:
The ashes of Alice in Chains. The former grunge heavy weight still sounds good despite losing lead singer Layne Staley a decade ago. Alice in Chains will also make a stop in Pittsburgh en route to Rock on the Range.
A resurgent Bush. Either you love Bush or you hate Bush. I just so happen to love them. They released "Sound of Winter" about a year and a half ago and should be wrapping up their supporting tour.
A washed up Soundgarden. Grunge fans like me cringe as they listen to Soundgarden's newest material. It's rough. It's just not Soundgarden.
Smashing Pumpkins. I admit I haven't kept up with the Pumpkins.
Also rounding out the headliners: Papa Roach, Sevendust, A Day to Remember, Cheap Trick, Sick Puppies, Skillet, Buckcherry, Black Veil Brides, Halestorm
Several exciting one hit wonders, too: Oleander, Volbeat, Middle Class Rut
More borderline irrelevant bands that I'm not going to list.
Here's where it gets interesting!
Three Days Grace is also headlining. If you read my post a few days back about the demise of Three Days Grace, they're a band worth watching. The singer of My Darkest Days will be filling in for Adam.
Hollywood Undead will also perform. As will Deuce. Indeed, the solo artist that is currently suing his former band will share a venue with them. I'm not sure what to expect, but I welcome the drama: It makes for a good storyline.
I love Alice in Chains. They do still sound good, but they were better before. Let's be honest.
ReplyDeleteThis is like so foreign to me-I think I've heard of one of these bands. Interesting names.
ReplyDeleteI love Three Days Grace! My favorite song by them "When I'm Gone." Okay, maybe this is the only song by them that I know by heart but it's still an amazing song!
ReplyDeleteKramer I wouldn't have guessed you would like this kind of music so much. But then again I didn't know you were in a band either. I only know a few bands on your post, but sounds exciting.
ReplyDeletePretty strange combination of bands. Lamb of God and Buckcherry. haha. And I don't get the Deuce reference? Was he part of Hollywood Undead?
ReplyDeleteIndeed, Deuce was the former front man of Hollywood Undead. I talked about that mess in a post about a week ago. They had a pretty rough breakup and now Deuce is suing HU.
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