Last year, the all-new Fear Factory lineup announced headlining club dates in Hamburg (the day after we left) and Australia including Perth (two days after we arrived back home). But then those dates were cancelled due to their ongoing legal issues and the band went and recorded a new album instead.

They were then added to the Big Day Out festival in Australia, but after most of the dates had already sold out and we weren’t about to pay to go when there was only one band we wanted to see on the bill anyway. So our chances of seeing them live were snatched away again.

Now the new album, Mechanize, is out (it’s a ripper) and a set list from a recent show in Amsterdam has a few of the new songs in it. Fear Factory have been announced for the following European festival dates:

• Hellfest (France), June 18–20
• Graspop Metal Meeting (Belgium), June 25–27
• With Full Force (Germany), July 2–4
• FortaRock (Holland), July 3
• Sonisphere (United Kingdom), July 31
• Brutal Assault (Czech Republic), August 12–14

Now, to me that looks like there’s some big gaps in there, particularly in July and the beginning of August. My bet is that there will be some more Festival gigs announced and maybe even some sideshows. Party.San is on at the same time as Brutal Assault so that’s probably out, but Wacken at the beginning of August and Summer Breeze on August 19–21 leave me with hope.

I’ll be keeping a keen eye out! Wacken organisers, you finally listened to me a booked Gojira… here’s another tip for you!

Wanted: Festival Factory is a post from: hell bent for metal

We’re all organised and ready to go!

Exhibit A: one tent. Note the queen size inflatable mattress which fits inside said tent. We forked out a big $38 for this baby, and we have high hopes that it will be an improvement on last year’s dwelling which rather cramped our style.

Exhibit B: camping choons:

Takes 2 batteries and an SD card wth MP3s. Music at our campsite, and all for $27.78 with free shipping. Bargain! It’s so small and light I’m a little concerned we’re gonna lose it in our bags.

I know we’ve been slack… more posts coming soon…

The countdown is on… is a post from: hell bent for metal

• Warbringer
• Powerwolf
• Cantus Buranus
• Lordi
• Destructor

I may have gotten really lucky here, because I’m actually not that huge a fan of doom metal or technical brutal’ death metal this festival could have turned out pretty average for me. Luckily the above bands surprised me with some really kickass demos. In addition to the bands I am already familiar with, this is shaping up to be a ridiculously awesome show.

The Good(power and symphony)

I would describe Powerwolf and Cantus Buranus as epic, its as simple as that. Powerwolf are a band that play big chords, use somewhat symphonic vocals and just have a huge melodic sound. Im actually willing to look past the fact that their page crashed my browser twice because when the demos actually did load I was in a world of rockin’ tunes. When I listened to Cantus Buranus it took me quite a while to realise they there werent actually any words. They are a symphonic/operatic metal band and from what I hear, it almost sounds like a heavy metal choir performance. These would be bands to see sober and really appreciate. However, I don’t really intend on seeing too many bands without a tasty hop-laden beverage.

The Badass(shredders)

Destructor sound like an awesome old school thrash band, which is really where my heart lies. Speedy guitars and 80s thrash inspired vocals are FTW. Warbringer are another band out of the US that rock and rock hard. They are fast and freakin loud and the vocals have a Tom Araya feel to them. I just love seeing these kinds of bands live, these are usually the bands that have slugged it out in pubs and throw around the fastest, rockinest riffs with the ease that only comes from years upon years of constant shredding. These are bands I would love to see after a few drinks and when I’m at my rowdiest.

The Ugly(they’re just damn ugly)

I’ve seen quite a few pics of masked/face painted death metallers, but Lordi are just in their own league. I had kind of seen rough pictures but nothing that wasn’t slightly blurred or pixelated. After hearing about them only after the Eurovision win I wasn’t really going to look them up either. However, Dave showed me and I must say, I am damn impressed. They will definately be entertaining with what I can safely assume will be a huge stage show, complete with ugly costumes, fire and awesome tunes.

Stay tuned for more Metal Inquisition \m/

The Metal Inquisition (i) is a post from: hell bent for metal