Tag Archives: Carolina Rebellion

Epicenter Festival Spotlight: HO99O9 [Official Video]

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Ho99o9 (pronounced Horror) is one of the up and coming band performing at the inaugural Epicenter Festival in Rockingham, North Carolina. This band is like nothing you have ever seen or heard before. Their sound is a mixture of punk, industrial and rap. The band finished up 2018 on tour with The Prodigy in the U.K.. Their sound is somewhat similar to The Prodigy mixed with Nine Inch Nails, Dead Kennedys and a touch of rap. Ho99o9’s sound changes somewhat drastically from song to song and they can’t really be pigeon holed to one specific sound or style. The New Jersey duo explains that they weren’t exposed to rock, punk or metal growing up and all they really heard was hip hop. Now days you will see the band members repping such bands as the Misfits, Cro-Mags, and even Eye Hate God.  Continue reading →

EPICENTER FESTIVAL Lineup Announcement!

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The newly named EPICENTER FESTIVAL replaces Carolina Rebellion as the Carolina’s premiere rock and metal festival. The festival will still take place in early May on May 10th thru 12th. However, the location has changed and will now be held in Rockingham, North Carolina at the Rockingham Festival Grounds where Carolina Rebellion was originally held in its early years. The location change also brings with it some additional advantages for the festival. DWP has stated “With the move to our new site, we’re developing 140 acres into festival grounds, which will allow us to provide enhanced camping amenities, nighttime entertainment with no curfew, and expanded food and beverage offerings, all highlighted by a massive music lineup covering the spectrum of rock and alternative music.” Today the full lineup was released for the festival. We had several teasers which hinted at some acts like Tool, Korn and Judas Priest, so those headliners we certainly expected to be listed on the lineup.  Continue reading →

Carolina Rebellion Becomes EPICENTER FESTIVAL!

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After 8 years Carolina Rebellion has come to an end with the split between DWP and AEG. Because of the naming rights the festival had to be renamed for DWP to continue with the festival. As of today it was released that the new name of the festival will be the EPICENTER Festival. The festival will still take place in early May on May 10th thru 12th. However, the location has changed from Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina where Carolina Rebellion was held the past several years to Rockingham, North Carolina at the Rockingham Festival Grounds where the festival was originally held in its early years. The location change also brings with it some additional advantages for the festival. DWP has stated “With the move to our new site, we’re developing 140 acres into festival grounds, which will allow us to provide enhances camping amenities, nighttime entertainment with no curfew, and expanded food and beverage offerings, all highlighted by a massive music lineup covering the spectrum of rock and alternative music.”  Continue reading →

Carolina Rebellion: Sunday [Review & Photo Gallery]

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Queens Of The Stone Age

 

It seems like the weekend had flown by when my alarm went off Sunday morning. With the majority of the festival weekend behind us it was kind of sad knowing this would be the last day of Rebellion until 2019, because you know at this point we have to go regardless of the lineup, it’s just great being surrounded by like minded metal heads. We all have our favorite days of the festival based on the lineup for the day. Sunday just happened to be the day I was most excited about. Personally for me I was stoked to see Mutoid Man, Greta Van Fleet, Baroness, The Fever 333, Queens Of The Stone Age, Billy Idol, and Thrice. There is a little bit of everything in Sunday’s lineup. You have nostalgic acts from totally different generations. Like Billy Idol who started his career in the mid to late 70’s, then you have Incubus who was legends in the 90’s and early 2000’s. Then you have Greta Van Fleet who are playing music that sounds like it’s straight from the 70’s but the majority of the members of the band aren’t even drinking age yet. The Fever 333 is also a new band who has been taking stages hostage and demanding attention. Baroness are a band that has flew under the radar for a lot of people but have been a keeping prog and sludge alive since their formation in 2003. Sunday was a day to show praise for all that is hard rock and heavy metal.

 

 

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Carolina Rebellion 2018: Saturday [Review & Photo Gallery]

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Toothgrinder

 

 

We have one day behind us with some amazing acts that we will remember their performances for years to come. The Saturday lineup is certainly competitive in regards to both Friday and Sunday and is full of varying genes and new and veterans acts to keep our attention for the entire day. Palaye Royale and Bad Wolves are two of the biggest up and coming bands currently in rock, especially Bad Wolves with their cover of the iconic Cranberries song “Zombie” which has become the number 1 rock song in the world. Unfortunate for us they both play at the same time. Yet another band that performed early in the day that is truly making a name for themselves is Toothgrinder; If you missed their set you truly missed an amazing experience. Then we get into the more veteran acts of the day like Asking Alexandria who have reunited with vocalist Danny Worsnop, as well as Trivium the band that was labeled as “the band that would save metal” when they formed. Then we get the nostalgic performance by The Used, led by eccentric front man Bert McCracken. As the day comes to a close we are left with the headliners Five Finger Death Punch, and the fierce and fiery performance by Godsmack to end our Saturday evening. The dream would be to not miss a single band, but with interviews and overlaps we weren’t able to see every band, but the ones we were able to see impressed us and left some big shoes to fill on Sunday.  Continue reading →

An Interview With Senior Vice President of Festival Talent At Danny Wimmer Presents, Gary Spivack!

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Gary Spivack has one of the toughest jobs in American when it comes to the music industry. He is the Senior Vice President of Festival Talent At Danny Wimmer Presents. He is responsible for finding and booking all of the bands that play the DWP Festivals all across the country that we so passionately look forward to year after year. Those festivals include: Fort Rock, Welcome To Rockville, Carolina Rebellion, Rock On The Range, Northern Invasion, Chicago Open Air, Aftershock, Louder Than Life, Bourbon & Beyond and Rock Allegiance. It is nearly impossible to please every fan that attends these festivals. There are always going to be bands there that they don’t like, or possibly even hate, and in return there are also going to be bands there that they absolutely love. Regardless how amazing the lineup is there will always be complaints along with the praise. However, year after year Gary Spivack is able to book not only some of the most iconic or nostalgic acts in the country but also book those up and coming bands that we instantly become new fans of. New bands are given the opportunity of a lifetime when they get booked on these festivals. They take the stage and have the chance to instantly gain thousands of new fans if their performance impresses the crowd. Gary is not only the person in charge of festival talent he is also a fan, and immensely passionate about music. Gary Spivack and the entire Danny Wimmer Presents team continue to impress us year after year with the wide variety of acts they bring to the stage to entertain us.

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The Bucketlist With Winston McCall of PARKWAY DRIVE! [Video]

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Parkway Drive

*In this series we pose the age old questions to a wide array of music lovers. As fans of music most of us keep a mental list of active bands we want to see live that we haven’t yet seen. The Bucketlist brings to you those lists of your favorite artists and why those bands mean so much to them*

 

Parkway Drive have truly been one of the leaders within the metalcore genre and probably one of the most popular and brutal bands to come out of Australia. Winston McCall leads the charge with his brutal yet catchy and poignant vocals; he is supported by the insane riff creator Jeff Ling, rythm master Luke Kilpatrick and bassist Jia O’Conner and the earth crushing drums of Ben Gordon. The Australians formed in 2003 and have released 6 studio albums and one EP. Their 2015 release ‘Ire’ propelled the band even further into metalcore glory and it’s only the beginning of things to come. The band on May 4th released what I believe is their best work yet in ‘Reverence’ via Epitaph Records (see our review here). They have been a must see band for fans all over the globe and Parkway Drive has been feeding the addiction those fans have of seeing the band perform live. The band just wrapped up a set of U.S. tour dates along with festival appearances at Welcome To Rockville, Carolina Rebellion,  and Northern Invasion and they are about to come upon U.S. shores once again in August and September then back to Australia during the month of October to tour with Killswitch Engage and Sydney, Australia’s Thy Art Is Murder. They are by no means slowing down and there are tons of opportunities to see the band live, don’t miss yours. Continue reading →

Carolina Rebellion 2018: Friday [Review & Photo Gallery]

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Underoath

 

After a whole year of waiting Carolina Rebellion 2018 has finally arrived. As the gates opened fans sprinted to stages all across the festival grounds in hopes to hang on to the rail at the stage their favorite band would be performing on. As we eagerly awaited tickets to go on sale, then for the lineup, and finally for the set times and keeping our fingers crossed our favorites bands don’t play at the same time. Another big thing most of us wait for is our first carton of Island Noodles of the festival season. We certainly wish we could cover every band that played this year but it just isn’t logistically possible with interviews, and other media related happenings. Friday was a day filled with great bands and if you wasn’t there you certainly missed an epic Carolina Rebellion. The day 1 lineup was pretty stacked with up and comers like Counterfeit and Dubé, then also those veteran acts like Sevendust and Stone Temple Pilots. Then you had some acts that are amazing we aren’t use to seeing in the festival circuit like Andrew W.K., and Power Trip. Then closing out the night you have Shinedown followed by the legends Alice In Chains. Friday wasn’t my favorite lineup of the festival but it certainly had a lot of talent hit the stages and some very impressive performances. Continue reading →

An Interview With The Viral Sensation DUBÉ [Video]

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Founded in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in 2006 the three brothers known by their surname Dubé have found themselves the center of a wide spread and viral meme throughout Canada. There was an article about them within the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test which was given to 10th grade students in Ontario. The article was essentially a reading comprehension test and they had to answer questions about the article and band afterwards. Memes of the band then went viral causing the band to become drastically more popular within their home country, with many students saying it was their favorite part of the test. Dubé once also opened for The Beach Boys as they previously has a very clean image. Dubé’s sudden change from opening for The Beach Boys to smoking up in their video for “Alien” caught the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) off guard. The EQAO oversees the OSSLT and said the reading selection went through a three-year vetting process, but after the article was last vetted in September 2017, the band radically changed its image. In their video for “Alien” it depicts the band smoking a joint rolled up with a page from the bible. Not only their image but their music has also changed drastically, and for the better I might add. The brothers now have a much more heavy and faster paced alternative punk rock sound that is also sure to become a viral sensation for fans. Don’t think for a minute that these guys are selfish and that their rock and roll ambitions are for themselves alone. Their mother passed away after a battle with cancer and the brothers took to the streets busking as well as recording covers to raise money for charity. They subsequently raised mega-bucks for charity on the streets of Ottawa – they staged a drive that sent a whopping $150,000 to Haitian orphans after the 2010 earthquake. The band deserves a tremendous amount of respect for the work they have put in as well as for the risk they took in changing their image. The band has been on tour with English punk rockers Counterfeit here in the U.S. doing a cost to cost stage takeover. Continue reading →

TOOTHGRINDER On Legendary Bands Retiring “Maybe They Are Just Making Room For Us”

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Asbury Park, NJ natives, Toothgrinder, have been making waves in the metal scene for a while now, sharing the stage with huge names including Meshuggah, Killswitch Engage, Between The Buried and Me, Polyphia, and The Contortionist.  The band consists of Justin Matthews (vocals), Jason Gross (guitar), Matt Arsendorf (bass/backing vocals), Willis Weller (drums) and Johnuel Hasney (guitar/backing vocals).  With an extensive live show resume, and two successful albums, ‘Nocturnal Masquerade’ (2016) and ‘Phantom Amour’ (2017) via Spinefarm Records, one thing is predominantly clear – these guys know what they’re doing. The bands incredibly in depth lyrical content has helped them connect with even more fans as their music has progressed since their earlier releases. They have adapted somewhat to the taste of modern fans and began to increase the amount of vocals in their tracks going from essentially an instrumental band to the group we see today with amazing harmony and hooks in their chorus that garner our attention and have us singing along for days upon days. Toothgrinder has already hit the road this year with Bullet For My Valentine and Trivium, the tour kicked off on May 1st in Knoxville, Tennessee and will wrap up on May 18th in Stroudsburg, PA. The band has also made some festival appearances this year as well, and Welcome To Rockville in Jacksonville, Florida was officially the bands first festival appearance followed by Fort Rock in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, then Carolina Rebellion on May 5th and next weekend the band will perform at Rock On The Range in Columbus, Ohio. Toothgrinder is truly coming into their own and receiving the praise that they very much deserve the gentlemen that make up this band are still very much down to earth and care immensely about their fans. They stand behind the lyrical content they put out and they truly want to spread a message that is empowering to the listeners. Their music is already a dominating force to be reckoned with, but when you hear them talk about how they want to be there for their fans and how meaningful fan support is to them it makes you respect the people behind those instruments even more.  Continue reading →