Soundwave 2012 - the lineup

Right, so here is the full lineup for Soundwave 2012:

Aside from the fact I was totally wrong about Pearl Jam, it's pretty damned impressive.  And that's even bearing in mind that the first band on that list that I'm actually genuinely excited about is the 7th one listed - Machine Head.

System of a Down are a decent enough band, but I don't think they're a top-of-the-bill headliner, at least not in the same vein as Faith No More, Nine Inch Nails and Iron Maiden in recent years.  I'm not a huge Slipknot fan but I won't deny they have a pretty big folllowing.  Then you have Limp Bizkit who have absolutely no business being higher than many of the bands on that list and uh, yeah the less said about that the better.  Continuing the 90's nostalgia trip are Marilyn Manson (admittedly probably worth seeing) and Hole (almost certainly not).

And then you get into the really good stuff... promoter AJ Maddah called it the biggest metal lineup outside the Big 4 and I think that's pretty fair.

Machine Head: a recent and highly worthwhile discovery for me, The Blackening and Unto the Locust are both top albums.

Lamb of God: haven't heard a great deal, but suspect I might investigate them further - I was impressed by them when I saw them open for Metallica last year.

Trivium: same category as Machine Head, minus the opening for Metallica thing.  Friends I trust in relation to these things swear by them, so that has to be worth something.

Alter Bridge: only heard one album but that's enough to know they'll be worth checking out.

And then of the rest, the ones I'm particularly interested in:
Devin Townsend Project: I am totally unfamiliar with but friends who know stuff rate them, so definitely worth a look.

Black Label Society: Should be pretty kickass actually... especially if they play Stillborn, fantastic track.  I expect they're in the category of 'great fun after a few beers', but perhaps not to the same extent as:

Hellyeah: will be insanely good fun after a few beers.  Both their albums are fun, ass-kicking hard rock records - nothing complex, nor do they need to be.  Could be a highlight of the day, actually.

And finally, Mastodon.  I mean, why the FUCK are they so low on the bill.  Fantastic new album and a big fan base from their earlier (also excellent) albums.  This is probably the band I'm most excited to see, and I think they'll go off at Soundwave.  The interesting question is which stage they end up on - main stage (presumably mid-afternoon) or metal stage (presumably later on).  They better not clash with anything else on that list, if they do, the 'anything else' will lose.  There is a long list of songs I'd love to hear these guys play... Blood and Thunder, Spectrelight, Black Tongue, almost anything off Blood Mountain... actually I hope these guys play a sideshow either in Sydney or NZ because I'll be there.

In summary, this is a damned good festival lineup, and a reminder of how shit the Big Day Out has become.  Soundwave is, unashamedly, a metal and punk festival - it knows its identity - and it delivers, every damn year.  Meanwhile the Big Day Out seems pretty lost about what it is actually trying to be... having Kanye West as a headliner is just flat-out bizarre for what was historically an 'alternative rock' festival.  Even worse, he will probably be the main headliner, above Soundgarden.  And who remembers how shit it was when they gave Scribe a decent slot on the main stage (admittedly Kanye's got a bit more star power, but still). 

Anyway, I digress.  As usual Soundwave has done a phenomenal job of bringing together an incredible selection of great bands.  Soundwave is awesome and it looks like I'll be off to Sydney in February again for more madness with McLeish.  Chur bro.

Take Me To Your Mastodon

For those of you who live under a rock, or are not Mastodon fans, Mastodon's forthcoming album The Hunter is released at the end of this month.

In the past few weeks, my excitement levels for this album have gone from 'moderate' to 'extreme', as the band have drip-fed three tracks out over the internets.  First-up was Black Tongue, which is menacing, heavy, and one hell of a way to open a metal album:



In my view, this a really engaging, well-written song.  It manages to be intense throughout, whilst not playing to the standard verse-chorus-verse structure, and has anyone even bothered to try and count how many fills Brann Dailor lets rip with?

Next up was Curl of the Burl, another in a long line of song titles that make no sense to anyone but Mastodon.



This track actually reminds me of Corrosion of Conformity... it's instantly catchy whilst not being as full-on intense as Black Tongue.  Certainly some more prog leanings on show here too, and the guitars sound awesome - that main riff is just pure toxic sludge.  Plus, you have to respect a song which has an opening lyric like "I killed a man, 'cause he killed my goat".

And then today we got Spectrelight, which is some serious up-tempo old-school Mastodon kick-assery.



Savage, relentless, and with a wicked (not to mention completely unsignalled) tempo change at 1:14.

If these three tracks are anything to go by, The Hunter is looking like one seriously mean album which could even outdo their recent efforts Crack the Skye and Blood Mountain.  You know what you need to do on September 26, folks.

nb: Rumour has it these guys could be on their way down under for Soundwave Festival in 2012 - let's hope so.

Kyuss Lives! preview

Over the past few years, I've been lucky enough to go see a number of bands that I honestly thought I would never have the chance to see perform live, most notably Alice in Chains and Faith No More (thanks, Soundwave Festival!).

In fact, my bucket list is getting pretty damn short now, although there are a few bands I've seen that I'd dearly love to see live again (looking at you, Sevendust).

But in the "unlikely reunion" stakes, I think Kyuss has to take the prize.  It's only 5 days until they play two nights at the Powerstation (speaking of nostalgia!) here in Auckland, and frankly I'm more than a little excited.  As is my concert-going partner-in-crime, despite only being properly introduced to Kyuss this year.

Most of the young-un's now know Kyuss as 'the band that Josh Homme was in before Queens of the Stone Age'.  Whilst not untrue, it's a little bit unfair to a band that in my view created one of the most unique legacies in hard rock history.

The uniqueness stems not only from their sound - which was a total revelation in itself that has spawned a lot of imitators - but also from the cult-like following they inspired for their relatively brief original lifespan.  At the time, not a lot of people knew about them.  This was back when radio was big, the internet wasn't, and I can distinctly remember that the DJs on 95bFM (pretty much the only place they got played in NZ) always introduced their songs in hushed, reverential tones.  You knew them, and loved them, or you hadn't heard of them.  Subsequent to their break-up, and partly following the success of Queens of the Stone Age, they gained a lot more widespread attention.

And my introduction came on 95bFM too, I think it was El Rodeo, so pretty much at the tail end of their run.  A few years later when "working" in the music department at The Warehouse, I stumbled across a 3-pack of Kyuss albums of $14.99.  I got some great deals in my time there, but I think that was the best.

It's the three albums in that pack - Blues for the Red Sun, Welcome to Sky Valley, and ...And the Circus Leaves Town that really are the definitive Kyuss.  There was an earlier album Wretch, but it isn't on par with those three.

But those three albums are just so damned good.  There's barely a weak moment across them - they're all great albums in their own right.  Blues is the most direct and aggressive of the three - drawing on Wretch to some extent but with the benefit of a little more maturity and much better production.  And it really sets out the Kyuss approach - a potent rhythm section, sludgy down-tuned guitar (often played through a bass amp), and John Garcia's inimitable vocal style. 

Welcome to Sky Valley is my personal favourite.  It's a stunning album and also one that has a bit of its own uniqueness and mystique about it.  Although there are basically ten songs, the CD has just three tracks, each comprising multiple songs.  This might be as infuriating as hell when you want to listen to Asteroid, but I personally love the reverence it shows towards the album format.  And it is really well-constructed as an album, much more focused than its predecessor, ebbing and flowing throughout before building to a fantastic conclusion on Whitewater.

Circus is also good, but it contrasts heavily with Sky Valley which I don't think works to its favour.  Whereas Sky Valley is an incredibly focused rock album, Circus sees a lot more sonic experimentation (for example, el Rodeo and Catamaran).  It's not a bad thing, but sometimes one craves the raw growl of classic Kyuss - although that's in abundance on the sprawling, psychedelic 10-minute closing track Spaceship Landing.  I consider that track to be one of the greatest album closing tracks of all-time.  At the time it was the final song of Kyuss' final album, and it's hard to think of a better closing statement for the band.

There were a few line-up changes over the band's career - Garcia and Homme were the only members to appear throughout.  The lineup on the Kyuss Lives! tour is Garcia, Brant Bjork on drums, Nick Oliveri on bass, and newcomer Bruno Fevery on guitar - who played on Garcia's "Garcia plays Kyuss' tour.  Arguments will no doubt abound over how it isn't the same without Josh Homme, whether they would've been better off with Scott Reeder on bass, etc etc, but frankly I still reckon they are going to kick some serious ass. 

As rock vocalists go, Garcia is one of my all-time favourites.  He's instantly recognizable - jagged, powerful, bluesy.  As a singer he makes you take notice not just because of what he's singing, but how he's singing it - and the way his voice blends with the Kyuss soundscape while still sounding like a distinctive instrument is amazing.  He's had a solo album in the works for years now; here's hoping it sees the light of day soon.

Oliveri is, of course, a powerhouse of a bassist and Brant Bjork played drums on every album bar Circus, so there's no reason to believe that this line-up won't kick some serious ass.


Even more so when you look at some of the setlists. Although there is some changing-up from night to night, it's pretty much an ass-kicking setlist when the likes of Green Machine, Odyssey, Thumb, Gardenia and a wicked triple-header of Freedom Run, Asteroid, and Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop all consistently appear.  And they've still got balls too - not a lot of bands would opt to open with a 10-minute epic like Spaceship Landing.


This time next week, I'll probably still be recovering.