If you've been waiting patiently for news of sideshows from some of the acts on next year's Soundwave tour, then you can officially rejoice — and especially if you're a metal fan. Sideshows for four of the festival's marquee metal bands were announced yesterday, as follows…
The shows we're probably most excited about are from conceptually heavy and technically dazzling Atlantan metal behemoths
Mastodon, who headline a multinational bill that also includes like-minded French band
Gojira and Norwegians
Kvellertak. Lovers of music that's bowel-clenchingly heavy and intimidatingly complex will want to be getting to one of the two shows that these bands are playing two shows together: at Billboard the Venue in Melbourne on Monday 27 February (18+) and the Hi Fi Bar in Sydney on Thursday 1 March (licensed and all-ages areas available).
Mastodon - 'Black Tongue' (live on Jools Holland, October 2011)
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If your tastes run to even more apocalyptic metal stylings, then you'll be delighted to know that US metal overlords
Lamb of God are supplementing their second appearance at Soundwave (they were here in 2009, too) with at least two sideshows. They'll be headlining two club shows with Swedish death metal types
In Flames and obvious James Ellroy fans
The Black Dahlia Murder in Brisbane and Canberra (at the Eaton Hill Hotel on Tuesday 28 February and the UC Refectory on Thursday 1 March, respectively). Both shows have licensed and all-ages areas — no word on Sydney or Melbourne dates as yet.
Lamb of God - "Black Label" (live at Soundwave, 2009)
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There's better news for big city fans of
Machine Head, though — the Californian metal stalwarts are playing a couple of shows with a fairly epic bill that also includes
Chimaira ("proof of the old adage that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger", apparently),
Shadows Fall and Killswitch Engage-related project
Times of Grace. There are two shows to be seen — the first is at the Palace in Melbourne on Tuesday 28 February (18+) and the second is at the UNSW Roundhouse in Sydney on Wednesday 29 February (licensed/all-ages).
Machine Head - "Locust" (live at Mayhem Festival, 2011)
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And finally, there's
Enter Shikari, pioneers of the unholy metal/trance hybrid genre known as synthcore. They're grouped with a bill that's more hardcore-centric than any of the others we've mentioned thus far — it includes
Letlive and
Your Demise. Again, it's Melbourne and Sydney action only here — the bands play Billboard the Venue on Tuesday 28 February and the Metro in Sydney on Wednesday 29 February.
Enter Shikari - Live at SXSW 2011