Chicago Open Air Saturday: SYSTEM OF A DOWN & More [Review and Photo Gallery]

System Of A Down

Last year in mid July I saw down at my house without much to do. It was sad knowing that the same weekend over the previous two years was spent catching several fantastic acts like Rammstein, Gojira, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and more at the Chicago Open Air festival. When the news came that the festival wouldn’t be happening in 2018, I was devastated. I had made several friends and memories both years at the festival and was really looking forward to it again. It was promised to return in 2019 but many people were unsure that it would actually happen. In September, it was announced that Chicago Open Air would be returning, but it was weirdly worded. It was said that it would now be titled “A Day In The Park” and would take place the same weekend as the new Danny Wimmer Presents festival, Sonic Temple. Many of us were unsure what this meant exactly, but we knew that the festival definitely was not going to be the same. Eventually the lineup was rolled out in January, and the “A Day In The Park” vision never really happened. Instead, the event was two days with only one stage. This was different compared to the previous years as it was three days with two stages. Despite being a small lineup, there were several killer acts on it to keep me happy like System of a DownToolThe ProdigyGojira, and ten more acts. Continue reading

Chicago Open Air Spotlight: Code Orange [Official Videos]

 

*Every week from now until Chicago Open Air gets here we will be releasing an article about a band playing the festival to get you familiar with them.*

Today’s artist is Code Orange.

To close out the epic trio of hardcore acts on Saturday, May 18th, Code Orange brings their off the wall sound to the Chicago Open Air stage at SeatGeek Stadium. This group has been on my radar for quite a while. ‘I Am King’ dropped in 2014 and absolutely scared the hell out of me when it was released. The ferocity, fury, and anger that the record brought changed the way that I listened to extreme music. This was the last album that they released as Code Orange Kids before eventually dropping the “Kids” from their band name. I got to see the band once at this stage at Rock on the Range and was left thoroughly impressed. The ability that Jami Morgan had of controlling a crowd while killing it behind the kit was awing to watch. They have came a long way from then though in terms of live performances and with their music.

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POWER TRIP Announces North American Tour With SHEER MAG, FURY, And RED DEATH

POWER TRIP has announced a new set of headlining North American tour dates late this spring with SHEER MAG, FURY, and RED DEATH. Check below for a full list of dates, and watch for more tour dates to be announced. All tickets for the new headlining dates are now on sale HERE. See a newly unleashed tour trailer HERE.

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MESHUGGAH Announce 2018 North American Tour With CODE ORANGE And TOOTHGRINDER!

Swedish extreme tech-metal pioneers Meshuggah have announced a 2018 North American tour with special guests Code Orange and Toothgrinder. The 6-show tour will kick off at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, BC on January 23rd and will make stops in Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco before concluding at The Wiltern in Los Angeles on January 29th! Tickets for the tour go on sale on Friday, December 8th at 1 PM EST, purchase here. Following the 6-show trek, Meshuggah will perform at the 70,000 Tons Of Metal Cruise alongside Kreator, Exhumed, Sepultura, Goatwhore, Internal Bleeding and many, many more. How about that for a new year high? Continue reading

GOJIRA Announce U.S. Headline Tour With Special Guests TORCHE & CODE ORANGE

French groove rockers GOJIRA seem to love the U.S. and aren’t leaving anytime soon. Already on a hike with METALLICA‘s WorldWired Tour, the band have recently released another leg of tour dates. But this time, they are on the driving seat as they set to embark on a headlining U.S. Tour with support from sunny Florida act TORCHE and CODE ORANGE, American hardcore unit from Pennsylvania. The tour is all set to take off on a high note on October 2nd at the House of Blues in Cleveland, OH before putting the brakes on in Sacramento, CA on 21st October. Artist presale tickets for the new headline dates will be available today at 2:00 PM local time, followed by a Spotify pre-sale on Wednesday, August 9th at 10:00 AM eastern time and finally a venue / promoter pre-sale which begins Thursday, August 10th at 10:00 AM local time. Tickets for all dates will go on Friday August 11th at 10:00 AM local time. For more info regarding the same, visit HERE!

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Chicago Open Air 2017 Day One: Kiss, Rob Zombie, Megadeth, The Dillinger Escape Plan, & More [Photo Gallery]

It has been a few days, but we are still recovering from an absolutely legendary weekend at Toyota Park. We witnessed several remarkable performances across the rock and metal genres from bands like Code Orange, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Clutch, Body Count, Godsmack, Amon Amarth, Avatar, and more. There were the classic artists like Ozzy Osbourne, Kiss, Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer, and Metal Church while new comers like Aversed, Whores., Code Orange, Crobot, and more lit it up early in the day. Without these younger bands, there won’t be any of these festivals in the future, so make sure you get out early and support these young talents. The wide variety of bands playing the festival made for an eventful weekend as there was something for everyone attending. Today’s article will be about the performances on Friday. Before I dive into that, I’d like to talk about the other experiences at Chicago Open Air. Continue reading

OZZFEST MEETS KNOTFEST To Feature Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Stone Sour, Eighteen Visions

It appears that the rumors from early this morning are true. Ozzfest Meets Knotfest is absolutely stacked this year! The festival went extremely heavy this year booking acts such as Possessed, The Black Dahlia Murder, Goatwhore, Decrepit Birth, Code Orange, and many more incredible acts. This will be the festival’s second year taking place at Glen Helen Amphitheater in San Bernardino, California. 2016 was a very successful year with over 75,000 in attendance for Black Sabbath, Slipknot, Megadeth, Slayer, and more. This year the festival falls in early November on the 4th and 5th, tickets can be purchased here when they go on sale this Friday on July 14th. Here’s what Ozzy and Sharon have to say about this year:

OZZY OSBOURNE: “Last year’s show with Black Sabbath was just incredible and I’m thrilled to be coming back this year with Zakk, Tommy, Blasko and Adam to headline the 21st anniversary of Ozzfest.”

SHARON OSBOURNE: “Ozzfest Meets Knotfest is coming back for another round. Last year we had over 75,000 people attend and we have another great lineup this year with Ozzy’s first solo show in L.A. in more than six years. This is not just another show…it’s Ozzfest Meets Knotfest! And this year’s event means the world to me as we’ll be amongst friends like Prophets of Rage, Rob Zombie, Deftones, Marilyn Manson and Stone Sour…it’s going to be another amazing weekend.”

Check out the full lineup below and get ready for a crazy weekend California!! Continue reading

Chicago Open Air Spotlight: CODE ORANGE

*Every Thursday from now until Chicago Open Air gets here we will be releasing an article about a band playing the festival to get you familiar with them.*

This week’s artist is Code Orange.

One of the heaviest upcoming bands in the genre is coming to destroy the Chicago Open Air stage on Friday, July 14th at Toyota Park. If you are a fan of heavy music, you have probably already taken note of this band by now. Code Orange from Pittsburgh, PA stormed onto the scene with an incredible hardcore release in 2014 titled ‘I Am King’. This record was brutal, passionate, dark, and made a statement that the band had arrived. As a younger metalhead, this was one of the first records I listened to that got me into the extreme side of hardcore and metal. To kick off this year, the band dropped their third LP titled ‘Forever’, which was also well received by the metal community (check out out review here.) Their live shows bring some of the most violent pits around in recent years. It will be interesting to see how they transit their performance over to the festival stage. The band has played a few other Danny Wimmer Presents festivals including Rock on the Range and Carolina Rebellion. Most of their tour dates below are supporting System of a Down in Europe, including many of the large festivals. Continue reading

Gojira Adds More US Dates w/ Kyng, Deafheaven, and Code Orange

The almighty French metal band Gojira has just added five more shows to their already large US tour. Two of these shows will feature heavy metal trio Kyng while the other three feature shoegaze black metal band, Deafheaven and hardcore punk band, Code Orange. You can find all the ticket links here. You can find the rest of the US dates below. Continue reading

Review: CODE ORANGE – ‘Forever’ [Song Stream]

Critically acclaimed hardcore band Code Orange are set to release their 3rd LP, ‘Forever’ next week on January 13th, 2017. ‘Forever’ will be the band’s first release on major label Roadrunner Records. Their previous 2 records were released on Deathwish. It will be the follow up to their highly praised album ‘I Am King’ which was released in 2014. In my opinion, ‘I Am King’ was one of the best hardcore records in the last 10 years, so topping the record is going to be considered a huge challenge by many. The band formed in 2008 in Pittsburgh, PA. The lineup has changed a few times but has been consistent since 2012, the current members of the band are Eric Balderose on guitar and vocals, Reba Meyers also on guitar and vocals, Jami Morgan on the drums and vocals, and Joe Goldman on the bass. They changed their name from Code Orange Kids to Code Orange in 2014. You can pre-order the new album here. Continue reading