Chicago Open Air Day Sunday: Tool, Gojira, Fever 333, & More [Review and Photo Gallery]

Fever333

One of the benefits about less bands at Chicago Open Air this year was being able to sleep in before leaving on the second day. Since there were less bands this year, the event didn’t kick off until 2:30, instead of noon like past years. At the same time, it was strange heading in there for day two knowing that we had already arrived to the last day of the fest when it would’ve normally not even been the halfway mark of the festival yet. With that said though, we couldn’t wait to get out and catch seven fantastic sets from Alien Weaponry, The Black Dahlia Murder, Fever 333, In This Moment, Gojira, The Cult, and the legendary Tool. Continue reading

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: Knocked Loose

Today’s artist is Knocked Loose.

On Saturday, May 18th, Kentucky hard hitters are bringing down their gritty, beatdown sound to the Chicago Open Air stage at SeatGeek Stadium. Similar to Vein, the heavy sounds of Knocked Loose typically just make their way into the small and dark venues to fit the type of music that they bring to the table. They have grown immensely in popularity though and are making their way up to larger venues. Before making their way to Chicago Open Air, the band will be on the road for roughly a month with The Acacia Strain, Harm’s Way, Sanction, and Higher Power. Their huge, heavy sound filled with slow-tempo breakdowns are sure to impress and devastate all the metalheads in the stadium that day to prep them for the bands following them like Code Orange and Meshuggah.

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Chicago Open Air Spotlight: ALIEN WEAPONRY

*Every Tuesday 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 Alien Weaponry.

On Sunday, May 19th, the young New Zealand thrashtastic trio in Alien Weaponry brings their immense sound to SeatGeek Stadium for Chicago Open Air. Brothers Henry and Lewis de Jong formed the band back in 2010 before they were even teenagers. The third member is Ethan Trembath. The trio bases a lot of their lyrics off of their Māori ancestry, which all three of them have. Most of their songs are also performed in the native language, te reo Māori. The band really took off last year and saw international success with the release of their debut album, ‘Tū’ via Napalm Records.

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