Waiting on a Monster

By on February 21, 2014

Michael Poulsen, Volbeat (photo Travis Failey / RSEN)

Monster Energy’s fourth Annual “Welcome to Rockville” Festival will take place on Saturday, April 26th and Sunday, April 27th in Jacksonville, Florida.  Welcome to Rockville boasts a lineup that includes artists that are sure to please all the members of the Hard Rock/ Heavy Metal family.  Metropolitan Park will be the place to be in 2014.

Headlining the two day event will be Avenged Sevenfold on Saturday night and on Sunday evening, veteran rockers Korn & Rob Zombie will close out the festival.

Avenged Sevenfold, M Shadows (R) and Synyster Gates (photo Travis Failey / RSEN)

This will be the second time for Korn on the main stage at Rockville. They played back in 2012 and are enjoying a resurgence in their career with the recent release of The Paradigm Shift  and the return of Brian “ Head “ Welch on guitar, who left in 2005 to do solo material. It’s been years (2002) since I’ve seen Korn perform, and as a fan who remembers them from their early club shows, it will great to see them again on the Monster Energy Stage.

Rob Zombie will be coming off of a very successful tour in 2013, as they headlined the Monster Energy Mayhem Tour along with another artist that is performing at this year’s Rockville Festival, Five Finger Death Punch. Five Finger Death Punch is touring in support of their new release, The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 2 and after the festival circuit concludes, Five Finger Death Punch will be touring Europe with Pop Evil. They have really embraced the family aspect of the music we love and continue to gain fans as they create and release rotational singles and tour throughout the world.

If you went to last year’s Monster Energy Mayhem Festival, you know what kind of show both of these acts put on for their fans and if you didn’t, you won’t want to miss them at Rockville.

Five Finger Death Punch, Zoltan Bathory (front) and Chris Kael (photo Travis Failey / RSEN)

With Five Finger Death Punch and Avenged Sevenfold, you will be getting two of the top three acts in modern hard rock and heavy metal today with only Stone Sour rounding out the top three. These two acts alone are worth the price of admission, but these groups aren’t the only reason to head to Jacksonville on April 26th. The Cult will take the stage on Saturday along with Vinnie Paul & Hell Yeah, & one of the “Godfathers of Metal,” Lemmy will be performing with Motorhead.

A few of the other bands on Saturday include Alter Bridge, Fozzy with Chris Jerico and Copenhagen’s own, Volbeat. They were a big surprise last year at the Fort Rock Festival in Fort Myers and with the constant touring over the last year in the U.S., Volbeat is staking claim to a new metropolis.

Rob Caggiano and Anders Kjolholm, VOLBEAT (photo Travis Failey / RSEN)

A7X will close out the first night and they will provide the crowd a memorable performance for all in attendance as they are at the top of their game. They not only bring old school metal in their music but also provide the stage theatrics like Iron Maiden and Rob Zombie.   Even if you are not a fan of the music, you will love the show. There are a few bands that still provide me with the “I’m going to see this band every time they come to town” statement but after their recent stop at the Amway in Orlando, I’ve added them to my list. Here is our coverage from that show. https://www.rocketsports-ent.com/musical-magic-at-amway-in-orlando/

After Saturday night’s festivities, the fans will be hammering Monster Energy drinks on Sunday because day two of the “Welcome To Rockville” Festival kicks off with three of the more original bands to come out in a long time.  These include the Butcher Babies, Twelve Foot Ninja and San Antonio’s Nothing More.  The more I listen to Nothing More’s music, the more I need to listen. It’s innovative and enlightening with multifaceted percussion tracks and dynamic vocals from Johnny Hawkins. If you are going to Rockville or the Monster Energy’s Fort Rock fest in Fort Myers, make sure you check out this band. They could steal the weekend with their stage performance.

Heidi Shepherd (foreground) and Carla Harvey, BUTCHER BABIES (photo Travis Failey / RSEN)

Sunday could also be named “Smoke Show Sunday.”  Heidi Sheperd & Carla Harvey and the Butcher Babies, Christina Scabbia from Lacuna Coil, Taylor Morrison with The Pretty Reckless and Emma Anzi from Sick Puppies will be playing with their respected bands.  They are five of Revolver Magazine’s Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock and they will provide ear and eye candy for their audiences. All of these bands are in regular rotation on Sirius/XM’s Octane and Liquid Metal stations, with Lacuna Coil from Italy being the most established of this group.

The rest of the day is just loaded with great acts. Some of these are Black Stone Cherry, Motionless in White, Trivium and let’s not forget the one and only Zack Wyle and Black Label Society. Four different styles and that’s only a few of the bands before the tri-headliners of Five Finger Death Punch, Rob Zombie & Korn close out the festival.

Ginger Fish, Rob Zombie (photo Travis Failey / RSEN)

21 different acts on Sunday will make it a total of 41 bands in two days.  The Fourth Annual Monster Energy’s “Welcome to Rockville” Festival has something for everyone and more.  Varying styles from new acts as well as established acts plus the top-notch work from the production crews over the four different stages will leave you with an event to remember.   I also guarantee you will be turned on and hooked to bands you’ve never seen or heard of before, as many fans were at last year’s festival, including myself.  For more information, ticket prices and for the full lineup of bands at this year’s Monster Energy’s “Welcome to Rockville Festival” tour, click on the banner on our home page or here at http://www.welcometorockvillefestival.com/lineup.html

Carla Harvey (photo Travis Failey / RSEN)

Chris Motionless, Motionless in White (photo Travis Failey / RSEN)

Devin Ghost Sola,  Motionless in White (photo Travis Failey / RSEN)

M Shadows, Avenged Sevenfold (photo Travis Failey / RSEN)

AVENGED SEVENFOLD (photo Travis Failey / RSEN)

Ivan Moody, FFDP (photo Travis Failey / RSEN)

Lemmy from Motorhead (photo Travis Failey / RSEN)

Johnny Hawkins, Nothing More (photo Travis Failey / RSEN)

Rob Zombie (photo Travis Failey / RSEN)

JOHN 5 (photo Travis Failey / RSEN)

Nothing More (photo Travis Failey / RSEN)

 

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