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.

Some rampant speculation about Soundwave...

The full line-up for Soundwave is set to be announced Friday night, Australia time, and given that's not far away it must be time for some indulgent, vaguely-informed speculation about what the final line-up might look like.

A small cross-section of the bands playing have already been announced/leaked through either promoter AJ Maddah (notoriously good at drip-feeding the punters) or the artists themselves.  Full list is here, but suffice to say that even with only around 15 of 60 bands and no headliners announced as yet, it's already looking pretty damned good.

I'm particularly excited for Mastodon - both for their older stuff and The (mighty) Hunter - but I'll be keen to check out Hellyeah and Machine Head too.  And whilst I'm not that familiar with their material, I think I'd also have to investigate Devin Townsend, Trivium, and Coal Chamber (who are reforming exclusively for the festival).  That's always been one of Soundwave's great strengths... rather than end up having to kill time between bands, there are plenty of great bands to check out and often some tough decisions to make. 


Anyway, even without any headliners and only a small proportion of its final lineup, it's still better than a certain other increasingly shit festival that has Soundgarden as its sole redeeming feature.  I'd actually picked Soundgarden to show up at Soundwave - given recent bills have included the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Alice in Chains and Jane's Addiction - but I guess I got that one wrong. 

And this is where I get into said speculation.  I reckon Pearl Jam could be the main headliner.  They have no scheduled dates for 2012 yet and, importantly, Soundgarden have no dates scheduled after Big Day Out, because until someone invents a cloning machine I'm pretty sure Matt Cameron can't play in both bands simultaneously (he's a superhuman drummer, just not THAT superhuman).  The main headliner is, according to AJ, neither metal nor punk, and he has been mysteriously silent when asked if Pearl Jam are coming (which isn't a yes, but he has had no problem telling people which artists AREN'T coming).  And Pearl Jam are currently doing some twenty-year anniversary shows, which sort of ties in with Soundwave's recent successes in booking headliners on "landmark" tours - Nine Inch Nails' farewell tour, Faith No More's reunion tour.  Anyway, here's hoping, and in the meantime, here's a great obscure Pearl Jam song about a cannibal that I'd love to hear them play:



They might seem a little mainstream for what is fundamentally a metal / punk festival, but Soundwave have a very good track record for getting headliners that appeal to their core punters whilst also attracting a wider audience.


Anyway, it's also been claimed that the line-up will be the biggest metal line-up that isn't The Big Four.  There was a bit of speculation about Metallica, but that's been squashed, Slayer came this year (albeit with some illness problems), and I'd love to see Megadeth but I suspect they'll be busy with Gigantour.  Anthrax are possible, but well, they aren't in the league of the other three.

Following the 'big metal' theme, Lamb of God and Slipknot also seem possible, as were Opeth until they announced early December dates in Australia.

Judas Priest also seemed likely - particularly given that they were lined-up for the aborted Soundwave Revolution - but they were nixed via AJ's twitter account.  Which is a shame, and here's why:



Slipknot have been touted, and there were some rumblings today about Marilyn Manson, Offspring and Evanescence.  This was a little interesting because given Hole have already (unfortunately) been confirmed and there's plenty of speculation about Limp Bizkit - all up that's a lot of 90's throwback action, although not (totally) without merit.

Another name mentioned is Duff McKagan's Loaded - I've enjoyed both their albums and would certainly make a point of checking them out.

Truth is though, Soundwave have always done a great job in the past of keeping their aces up their sleeve, sneaking a few good names out there in advance and then exceeding (high) expectations in the full line-up announcement.  There's every chance that there are some great bands coming that haven't yet found their way into the rumour mill (e.g. Deftones).

Pearl Jam would be a highlight though.  They were stunning in 2009 and I'd love to see them again.