Aftershock Festival Day One – Discovery Park Sacramento, CA 9/13
By Jeffrey Easton
For years I have griped at the fact that Europe and our own Midwest gets all of the good Hard Rock/Metal Festivals whereas California is always left holding the bag. Finally, the amazing Danny Wimmer has come through and brought Cali into the current rage of holding massive festivals. Last year Aftershock made its debut in Sacramento to great fanfare, a solid day of rock that became a legend right then and there. So how do they top it? By turning it into two massive days of some of the best metal and hard rock bands around over two days and three massive stages, that’s how. They out did themselves with what they put together and I can’t wait to see how they top it for 2014. The day started out early at 11:30 but it did get off as We As Human brought their disturbing brand of hard rock to the stage and the crowd ignited for them. As soon as they hit the last note you could hear the Ernie Ball stage cranking up the aggro noise of Nothing More. It was a small stage but to them it was an arena and the energy was massive. They deliver a heavy punch with sheer riffs, deep electronics and a front man that will yank you into his world in the course of a short set. The main stage was ready again with Century Media signing Otherwise. They have been electrifying radio with their singles Soldiers and I Don’t Apologize and their live delivery was nails. If this is the direction of hard rock, I am on board as they have the goods. This festival was not just about the bands, it was the atmosphere as well and Monster, who sponsored it, gave it plenty. They offered free Monsters all day to fest goers and trust me, I had my share. The grounds were also littered with some of the best food trucks that Sacramento has to offer and I have to give props to Big Red Bus Catering. They, hands down, were the best there. I thought it was great that Aftershock kept it local with food ect and they did well by bringing them in. Best Fish N Chips I ever had. But back to what we were all here for, the bands. In This Moment was next and if you have yet to experience their show, you have not witnessed anything. Maria Brinks comes out and gives you a show to witness and something you will never forget. Their new record, Blood, is a sinister piece of work and to see it come alive on stage is a spectacle. The band brings it hard and with Blood being such a dark, nasty piece of work they have their job cut out for them. Steel Panther, I don’t know, when they were Metal Skool, it was amusing but when you try and do your own material, which is still a parody of the 80s scene, its different. I think the joke is lost when you try too hard and they are trying too hard. As far as trying to hard, I think Skillet falls in here as well. Everybody has their fav bands or the ones they want to see and this is not one of them for me. The five minutes I spent watching their set is five minutes of my life I won’t get back. As far as papa Roach is concerned, how are they still together? I thought their 15 minutes were up after Last Resort? I am sure people like them and they are hometown heroes but their sound, to me, is about 13 years ago. Things were much better with Buckcherry bringing their element of street level sleaze and their massive catalog to the stage. Their latest drop, Confessions, is their best record to date and they opened up that element here in Sac. After opening up with their breakout hit Lit Up, the opened up the book on Confessions and it let it go. With their departure the sky opened up and it got heavier. Thrash titans Testament came out to massive thunder from the crowd and with their new album, Dark Roots Of Earth, they owned the fans. Opening with the massive Rise Up from the new record, they then dove into their incredible past with Into The Pit, Practice What You Preach and The New Order amongst others. Speaking of thrash legends, Megadeth dominated their set with their new record, Supercollider as well as the dark nastiness that’s their back catalog. They threw in In my Darkest Hour, Tornado Of Souls as well as the massive Symphony Of Destruction to a massive roar. Dave owned the set with his sinister shredding as he took most of the solo duties and his trademark snarl is still there after all these years. On the Ernie Ball Stage, Love And Death, the band fronted by Head from KORN closed out the day to a throng of fans hanging on to every note. Love And Death has a groove heavy sound that’s reminiscent of Head’s former band and his abilities to lead a set with his gruff vocals is extrememly notable. The north and south main stages were closed out by Shinedown and KORN, two bands on opposite ends of the spectrum which shows the diversity of this festival for day one. Shinedown has their aggressive but highly melodic hard rock approach. KORN on the other hand are all over the place with their heavy alternative funk laced brand of whatever you want to call it. Opening with Blind, throwing in Did My Time and Here T oStay and closing with Freak On A Leash and did I mention Head rejoined them for this set? It was an amazing ride. This closed out the first day and holy shit this festival out did itself. Ready for day 2?
Official Aftershock Site
By Jeffrey Easton
For years I have griped at the fact that Europe and our own Midwest gets all of the good Hard Rock/Metal Festivals whereas California is always left holding the bag. Finally, the amazing Danny Wimmer has come through and brought Cali into the current rage of holding massive festivals. Last year Aftershock made its debut in Sacramento to great fanfare, a solid day of rock that became a legend right then and there. So how do they top it? By turning it into two massive days of some of the best metal and hard rock bands around over two days and three massive stages, that’s how. They out did themselves with what they put together and I can’t wait to see how they top it for 2014. The day started out early at 11:30 but it did get off as We As Human brought their disturbing brand of hard rock to the stage and the crowd ignited for them. As soon as they hit the last note you could hear the Ernie Ball stage cranking up the aggro noise of Nothing More. It was a small stage but to them it was an arena and the energy was massive. They deliver a heavy punch with sheer riffs, deep electronics and a front man that will yank you into his world in the course of a short set. The main stage was ready again with Century Media signing Otherwise. They have been electrifying radio with their singles Soldiers and I Don’t Apologize and their live delivery was nails. If this is the direction of hard rock, I am on board as they have the goods. This festival was not just about the bands, it was the atmosphere as well and Monster, who sponsored it, gave it plenty. They offered free Monsters all day to fest goers and trust me, I had my share. The grounds were also littered with some of the best food trucks that Sacramento has to offer and I have to give props to Big Red Bus Catering. They, hands down, were the best there. I thought it was great that Aftershock kept it local with food ect and they did well by bringing them in. Best Fish N Chips I ever had. But back to what we were all here for, the bands. In This Moment was next and if you have yet to experience their show, you have not witnessed anything. Maria Brinks comes out and gives you a show to witness and something you will never forget. Their new record, Blood, is a sinister piece of work and to see it come alive on stage is a spectacle. The band brings it hard and with Blood being such a dark, nasty piece of work they have their job cut out for them. Steel Panther, I don’t know, when they were Metal Skool, it was amusing but when you try and do your own material, which is still a parody of the 80s scene, its different. I think the joke is lost when you try too hard and they are trying too hard. As far as trying to hard, I think Skillet falls in here as well. Everybody has their fav bands or the ones they want to see and this is not one of them for me. The five minutes I spent watching their set is five minutes of my life I won’t get back. As far as papa Roach is concerned, how are they still together? I thought their 15 minutes were up after Last Resort? I am sure people like them and they are hometown heroes but their sound, to me, is about 13 years ago. Things were much better with Buckcherry bringing their element of street level sleaze and their massive catalog to the stage. Their latest drop, Confessions, is their best record to date and they opened up that element here in Sac. After opening up with their breakout hit Lit Up, the opened up the book on Confessions and it let it go. With their departure the sky opened up and it got heavier. Thrash titans Testament came out to massive thunder from the crowd and with their new album, Dark Roots Of Earth, they owned the fans. Opening with the massive Rise Up from the new record, they then dove into their incredible past with Into The Pit, Practice What You Preach and The New Order amongst others. Speaking of thrash legends, Megadeth dominated their set with their new record, Supercollider as well as the dark nastiness that’s their back catalog. They threw in In my Darkest Hour, Tornado Of Souls as well as the massive Symphony Of Destruction to a massive roar. Dave owned the set with his sinister shredding as he took most of the solo duties and his trademark snarl is still there after all these years. On the Ernie Ball Stage, Love And Death, the band fronted by Head from KORN closed out the day to a throng of fans hanging on to every note. Love And Death has a groove heavy sound that’s reminiscent of Head’s former band and his abilities to lead a set with his gruff vocals is extrememly notable. The north and south main stages were closed out by Shinedown and KORN, two bands on opposite ends of the spectrum which shows the diversity of this festival for day one. Shinedown has their aggressive but highly melodic hard rock approach. KORN on the other hand are all over the place with their heavy alternative funk laced brand of whatever you want to call it. Opening with Blind, throwing in Did My Time and Here T oStay and closing with Freak On A Leash and did I mention Head rejoined them for this set? It was an amazing ride. This closed out the first day and holy shit this festival out did itself. Ready for day 2?
Official Aftershock Site
