Spring time is coming up. The spring, the season where the weather starts to heat up, also affects the music. Spring is the time music festivals start. Festivals of which can feature any and all types of music. But one in particular is one dearest to us Columbus-ites. That one, is Rock on the Range.
Started in May of 2007, this annual event held at the Crew Stadium every May has become one of, if not the biggest hard rock festival in the entire country. The first ever ROTR was headlined by ZZ Top, and the following year, Stone Temple Pilots played their first show together for the first time in nearly seven years. (Save for a private concert in LA, and an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!). The 2009 event was the site of the last concert in the United States by Avenged Sevenfold with their drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, who passed away on December 28th of that year.
With this years festival comes the highly anticipated return from hiatus of A Perfect Circle.
Let's take a look at the other bands and artists appearing at this years ROTR on May 21st and 22nd.
A Perfect Circle
Returning from a break due to the other member's other projects, A Perfect Circle is returning to relevance with this performance. Whether or not the band will be playing new songs is unclear, but this is expected to be quite a big deal.
Avenged Sevenfold
Appearing for the first time since 2009, their first Rock on the Range appearance since the death of The Rev. With a new drummer, Arin Ilejay, formerly of the band Confine, A7X is looking to carry on his legacy, as well as promote their latest album, 'Nightmare.'
Disturbed
Returning for the first time since 2008, Disturbed is certainly one of the top hard rock bands out there today. Their newest album, 'Asylum,' was their fourth CD in a row to become number one on the Billboard 200 chart upon release. They are the third band to do as such, joining Metallica, and the Dave Matthews Band.
Korn
Nu metal rockers Korn will be at the festival for their second ever appearance. Hot off the successful sales of their last record, 'Korn III: Remember Who You Are,' the band is in the process of releasing a new album for next year, and already announced was a first ever acoustic song being on that. Definitely something new that should be very interesting.
Stone Sour
Surprisingly, Corey Taylor's second band has never played at Rock on the Range, so this is good for big Stone Sour fans. The song "Say You'll Haunt Me" hit not only the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks as number one, it also scored top prize in the Billboard Rock Songs charts. Currently in the works for the band are two yet-to-be-titled live DVD's, both filmed in the UK.
Staind
Currently working on their seventh album, which is scheduled to be released later in the year. Vocalist Aaron Lewis has a county EP being released on March 1st, entitled 'Town Line.' It features greats such as Charlie Daniels and George Jones. Certainly a different project, but Aaron Lewis is known for his voice, so it'd definitely be worth a look.
Alter Bridge
Latest CD, 'AB III' is just as hard hitting as the first two. Lead singer Myles Kennedy has his hands full, as he's also on tour with Slash and Ozzy Osbourne, as well as being the sole singer for Slash's next record.
Hollywood Undead
With a new album titled 'American Tragedy' coming out on March 8th, this crunkcore band has youth on their side. This will be their first appearance at Rock on the Range.
Bullet For My Valentine
Metalcore at its finest, BFMV has a single, "Your Betrayal" that receives heavy airplay on 99.7 The Blitz. The band plans to start recording for its fourth album by the end of the year.
Black Label Society
Surely a band with a lot of history behind it, BLS will soon be on tour in England, followed by a tour in Asia, then the ROTR appearance, then they go on to tour in South America. Zakk Wylde, performer of "Spirit Journey Formation Anniversary" (thumbs up to whomever knows what that's from), has a book coming out entitled "Bringing Metal to the Children."
Hinder
One of the 14 inaugural performers from the first festival, Hinder is returning in support of their third album 'All American Nightmare.' The first single, which has the same name as the album, was released back in September, and the song 'Strip Tease' is currently slated to be the next single, with a release date to be announced.
A Day to Remember
This up and coming pop punk band from Ocala, Florida has been making strides lately. On January 6th, they had a video premiere for their song "All I Want" on MTV. Certainly a big feat. 5 days later, they made their live TV debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, performing "All I Want" and "Better Off This Way."
Danzig
Glenn Danzig, one of the founders of The Misfits, will have his solo band appear at Rock on the Range. Since 1987, he has been putting out a variety of rock music, from blues-rock to doom metal. His latest album, 'Deth Red Sabaoth,' was released back in June.
Escape the Fate
This post-hardcore band is currently on tour with the bands Alesana and Drive A, amongst others. The tour, titled "The Dead Masquerade Tour," came about after their bassist was checked into rehab.
Sick Puppies
This Australian band's last album came out back in 2009, but singles are still being released, the newest being the song 'Riptide,' coming out on February 8th. This is their second time being at Rock on the Range, the first time being in 2009.
All That Remains
Latest offering from this band signed to Razor & Tie Records is "For We Are Many," which sold over 29,000 copies in its first week. Currently in the works is a video for the album's second single, "The Last Time."
Saving Abel
"The Sex is Good" writers are on tour, supporting their newest record, 'Miss America' and are writing and recording for a new album, due out in the middle of this year. This will be their third ever appearance at Rock on the Range, tying with Rev Theory, who I will right about in the second part of this tomorrow, for the record.
Finger Eleven
The former Rainbow Butt Monkeys (look it up), this band's newest effort, 'Life Turns Electric' was released back in October, and the single "Living in a Dream" has proven to be a hit, as it was recently the official theme song for the WWE Royal Rumble 2011 pay-per-view.
My Darkest Days
The final band for today, MDD was discovered by Chad Kroeger, lead singer of Nickelback, and they're signed to his 604 Records label. They had a summer hit in "Porn Star Dancing," which featured Ludacris and a solo by Zakk Wylde. The single is currently the 60th most downloaded video in iTunes history. Pretty good for a band that's only had one record out so far.
That concludes todays bands, I'll be back tomorrow with the other 19 more, as well as ticket information amongst other things. Make sure you check it out.
Second Part of A Look at ROTR 2011
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