Metallica Will Headline Rock on the Range

Damn. I must admit, I'm surprised. I guess I'm going now. The festival will take place May 19, 20 and 21 in Columbus, Ohio. Here's the lineup:

Comments

[stu]

not bad overall. i guess this starts setting the stage for the rest of the festival circuit. metallica isn't a shock to me, they want the best bang for their tour these days, and festivals provide that. it doesn't mean i'll go to rocklahoma (the only rock festival near me in dallas) if they play it though.

[Jack T. Ripper]

Awesome lineup,! Throw in Tesla and it would be off da hook! 💪🏽

[Metalboy!]

Geez, it's like the promoters went to Goodwill and wrote down the names on all the CDs in the $1 bin.

Never have I seen such a laughable collection of has-beens or not-gonna-be's gathered all in one place.

However, there are a FEW worth seeing -- METALLICA to hear the superb songs from their new album performed live, The OFFSPRING, The Pretty Wreckless and Rival Sons.

[Metalboy!]

I mean, Pretty Reckless!

[Jack T Ripper]

Wow, Ripper missed Sum 41! Tesla would make this perfect. Its close now. Come on guys put this OVER DA TOP!

[Shawn]

SUM 41 wow didn't even know they were still around - they must be..what.. 30 by now.. MB you kill me Goodwill hilarious.. Zakk Sabath looks interesting Maybe Metallica will play Rocklahoma that is as close as it will get to me..

[Him]

Once you get below the big font, things get a bit janky. Even there, and I state this purely for debate, I would quibble with the order. I think Soundgarden is more relevant these days than Metallica (and, yes, I know they just sold a bunch of units), and more consistently interesting over the span of their career (this coming from someone who holds their first three albums in high regard and offered some faint and some fairly loud praise over some of their new songs).

I would even place Offspring in front of Korn, if for no other reason than the fact that at least they always played to type whereas Korn's credibility as the voice of teen angst is stretched about as thin as the singer's extensions (they really need to do a cover of "Round Here").

After that it becomes a grab bag of "Did you like 'em last year? Well you will again this year" bands, with some surprises (Chevy Metal is now being played by Zakk Sabbath; Claypool is in need of funds to repave his bass-shaped pool; etc.). And, given that this is a DWP production, you have a pretty solid clue as to who will be playing, with slight variations, at the rest of his festivals this upcoming summer. So it becomes more a question of which location you like and not which bands you want to see.

To be clear, I think DWP runs a great show and provide real value (no less showed incredible ethos with Houston Open Air this year). And, choosing between them and Barely Alive Nation, I will go with DWP in most cases. But this does show how mid-tier aspires to top tier when dealing with festivals (by and large) in the States. The level of sameness grows a bit tiresome. You end up with two, maybe three, major tours . . . only they are called festivals because each one is branded slightly differently: Los Banos Open Pit; Dakota Sedition; Metalcore on La Playa. You get my point.

If I wanted to be perfectly pessimistic, I'd say this: they shot their Johnny Rod on 'Tallica and Soundgarden and had to sort out the rest on a much smaller budget. So you pay to see the first two and get the rest as a bonus of sorts.

But I am an optimist. I hope they have yet to announce the reformed Vinnie Vincent Invasion and Kick Axe (first three CDs now back out on Rock Candy!!!).

[Metalboy!]

Haha!!, HIM!...

"Did you like 'em last year? Well, you'll love 'em this year!"

You have just flagged the modus operandi of every major Festival and Rock Cruise in the U.S., particularly if Eddie Chump is associated with it. Also, points for the "Barely Alive Nation" redub!

Still, gotta politely disagree with ya on Metallica vs. Soundgarden thing. Metallica is back with some of their best music in decades and Soundgarden s*cks and always has! Wait, didn't I say polite?!

Oh, well...

[Him]

I wouldn't expect anything less from you, Metalboy! I can certainly see your point.

Regardless my whining, this will do _exactly_ what DWP wants it to do: put butts in seats. Mission accomplished so far as it goes. And, with a business, that is what counts.

[Metalboy!]

Indeed, HIM, but it also makes for a Festival for the Stupid! And that could actually spell less butts in seats, even though there's no shortage of idiots to potentially attract, which is something that's supposedly always been a problem for this festival, from what I've heard.

p.s. HIM, you have also SO rightly brought attention to Rock Candy's reissue of all the Kick Axe albums. One in particular is worth noting further -- "Vices" -- because it contains the bonus track of their fantastic cover of Humble Pie's "Thirty Days In The Hole", remastered for the first time and heretofore only previously available on the vinyl only "Up The Creek" movie soundtrack.