The 2024 edition of Aftershock Festival took place in Sacramento, California, from last Thursday (October 10) to Sunday (October 13), and once again surpassed itself with an even bigger event than the previous year.
With an additional fifth stage, this year's festival proved to be one of the most diverse and once again offers something for everyone. Each year, Danny Wimmer Presents continues to expand the lineup and this year's festival featured many musical genres spread over four days. And while the unseasonably warm weather may have taken many by surprise, it certainly didn't stop fans from having a ton of fun.
Day 1 was headlined by the mighty Slayer, who were performing their second reunion show since coming out of retirement earlier this fall. Reunion shows have been among the biggest events in the heavy metal world this year, and the band certainly did not disappoint, with a 90-minute, 20-song set. Opening with “South of Heaven,” singer Tom Araya and company showed no signs of rust, while guitarists Kerry King and Gary Holt played with as much energy as ever. Highlights of the set included “Postmortem,” “War Ensemble,” and “Hell Awaits,” and when they finished their set with “Angel of Death,” rabid fans let it be known that Slayer had been away too long. .
Pantera closed the Shockwave stage just before, more than making up for the cancellation of their appearance at the festival in 2023. Other highlights of the day included Rammstein's Till Lindemann, Ministry and Halestorm.
Slipknot headlined day 2 of the festival, playing a set from the 1999 era. The band is currently celebrating the 25th anniversary of their self-titled debut album and highlights include “Wait and Bleed,” “Me Inside,” and “Prosthetics.” . Their set was as frenetic as ever, just like a Slipknot show should be.
Five Finger Death Punch closed the night on the Shockwave stage just before Slipknot. Other highlights of the day included Rise Against, Juliette Lewis and the Licks, Marky Ramone playing the Ramones' greatest hits (with Prong's Tommy Victor on guitar), and British Lion, which is Iron's Steve Harris' “other” band Maiden.
Speaking of Iron Maiden, the band headlined Day 3, bringing their 'Future Past Tour' to Sacramento. Opening their set with “Caught Somewhere in Time,” the band performed a 15-song performance that highlighted their sixth studio album, Somewhere in time. With visuals that combined the aesthetics of both. Somewhere in time and his latest album senjutsuthe set was very sword hunter inspired. Vocalist Bruce Dickinson wore a pair of futuristic glasses while singing “Stranger in a Strange Land” and “The Writing on the Wall,” while the legendary guitar team of Dave Murray and Adrian Smith effortlessly traded riffs. Bassist Steve Harris spent most of the set in his classic “one foot on the monitor” pose, as the band delivered in spades with “Days of Future Past,” “Heaven Can Wait,” and “Alexander the Great.” When they concluded their set with an encore of “Hell on Earth,” “The Trooper,” and “Wasted Years,” Iron Maiden left no doubt that they were THE band of the entire festival.
Judas Priest closed the night on the Shockwave stage and delivered a stellar set for their fans who filled the entire section of the park. Other highlights of the day included Body Count (who opened their set with a roaring version of Slayer classics “Postmortem” and “Raining Blood”) and Anthrax, which saw the return of bassist Frank Bello (who had been absent from the group due to aa personal reasons).
The fourth and final day of Aftershock was headlined by Motley Crue, who performed a 90-minute, 16-song set with new guitarist John 5. All the classics were played, including 'Shout at the Devil,' 'Too Fast for Love, ” and “Looks that kill.”
Disturbed closed the Shockwave set, with vocalist Dave Draiman making his second appearance of the day, having joined Nothing More to perform “Angel Song”, a song for which he was a guest vocalist on the latter band's latest album. Perhaps the highlight of the day was Tom Morello, who played to a packed crowd on the DWP stage. Accompanied by his 13-year-old son Roman for a couple of songs, the Rage Against the Machine guitarist and his band sang a 10-song setlist that included a cover of MC5's “Kick Out the Jams” and “Killing in the Name” by RATM. .”
When all was said and done, Aftershock once again demonstrated why the festival has become the largest heavy music event on the West Coast. Every year, organizers seem to pull off something even bigger and better than the year before, and if this year's installment is any indication, the 2025 edition is not to be missed.
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