Las Vegas is a fun town, world-renowned in its reputation for debauched entertainment, excess, and decadent/epic events that are often taken to the utmost extreme. They call it Sin City for a reason, which naturally made it the perfect host for the inaugural Sick New World Festival on May 13th, which took over the Las Vegas Fairgrounds this past Saturday in all its wonderfully transgressive glory. Indeed, one look at the lineup of this absurdly stacked aggro-laden festival (which included a virtual who’s-who of 90s alternative-metal bands), and it would be hard to deny that Vegas and Sick New World weren’t a match made in heaven…or should I say hell (it was really hot).
Whatever the case, if you were looking for a festival that had non-stop action, volume, and intensity, Sick New World delivered the goods on all those fronts in an emphatic fashion.
Here’s a rundown of some of the many highlights:
Soulfly
It seemed fitting that this reviewer would kick off a festival that is at least partially indebted to the influence of Max Cavalera by taking in Soulfly’s 1:00 set with the searing mid-day desert sun directly overhead. And really, it’s hard to overstate the impact Mr. Cavalera had on heavy music in the 90s during his Sepultura days, with the sounds of classic albums like Chaos AD and Roots rubbing off noticeably on a plethora of alternative-metal bands that sprang up later in the decade. He has valiantly carried on that spirit of tribal-flavored death-thrash with Soulfly for well over two decades now, consistently putting out (mostly) quality albums that have only added to his legacy as a legend of the metal scene. Looking like a heavy-metal Moses, Max, and company started things off with a nice 1-2 punch of “Back to the Primitive” and “No Hope No Fear”, and even threw in the Sepultura classic “Refuse Resist” for old-time’s sake. They closed their set with the aptly titled “Jumpdafucup”, which, cliché as it sounds, effectively set the tone for the rest of the festival, and all the subsequent jumpdafucupping to come.
Coal Chamber
Speaking of jumpdafucupping, everybody remembers their very first concert, and for this reviewer, that happened to be a Coal Chamber show (with Machine Head and Slipknot supporting…remarkably) way back in 1999. Couple that with the fact that, the last time I saw them in 2002, Meegs hit Dez with his guitar mid-set, which prompted Dez to declare “this is the last Coal Chamber show ever” and storm off stage, dramatically ending the performance earlier than expected (the band would officially breakup later that year).
Suffice to say Coal Chamber had delivered some memorable performances for this guy back in the day, which only served to amplify the anticipation for their first show in several years at SNW Saturday afternoon. And speaking of anticipation, few (late) 90s metal songs delivered a more ominous and fun build-up/combustible payoff than “Loco”, which is of course how Coal Chamber kicked off their mid-afternoon set. Once Dez shouted his trademarked “Pull!”, it was on, as Coal Chamber’s deranged rhythm-heavy groove was in full effect and had the crowd gleefully moshing away to songs about a big truck, a rowboat, and the roof being on fire (but letting the motherfucker burn). It was a hell of a lot of fun and brought a sentimental smile to this long-time fan’s face. Was good to see Coal Chamber back in action after so many years.
Mr. Bungle
Whoever put together the outstanding lineup for SNW clearly had an understanding and appreciation for all the bands that laid the foundation for the bigger-name acts that sat atop the bill. And perhaps no man had a larger influence on the alternative-metal sound that exploded in popularity in the late 90s than Mr. Mike Patton, who graced the stage with his legendarily bizarre/experimental band Mr. Bungle for a fittingly batshit late afternoon performance. Sporting a “I’m Not Gay But $20 is $20” jersey, Mike Patton delivered a properly schizophrenic performance that at one point featured a cover of Spandau Ballet’s “True” alternating with frantic death/thrash-metal. If that’s not Patton in a nutshell, not sure what is. They closed their (all too brief) set with the only proper Mr. Bungle song this reviewer recognized, “My Ass is on Fire”, a relatable tune considering it was delivered at probably the hottest point of the entire festival. Anyway, moving on.
Turnstile
As someone who has found himself caught in a mosh at many Turnstile shows lately, this reviewer thought it might be a good idea to save my energy and enjoy some tacos whilst taking in Turnstile’s performance from afar. But, after a few opening songs, like a moth to the flame, I apparently just couldn’t help myself, as the alluring rhythm of “Come Back for More” started playing mid-set, I did just that, and soon once again found myself in the thick of things just in time for “Fazed Out”, which is possibly their most moshable song (which is really saying something).
Simply put, Turnstile is just too good of a live band to observe from the sidelines, at least for this reviewer anyway, so despite the blazing heat, they delivered a fantastic set that had the crowd at large bobbing, swaying, jamming, and swirling, all with that distinct air of uplifting positivity that is unique to their music. Closing their set with the cathartic “Blackout” really captured that spirit perfectly. Cheers to Turnstile, who are, in this reviewer’s opinion, the best new-school heavy band out there, bar none.
Incubus
As the sun was starting to head down, and the heat was finally relenting somewhat, the (relatively) chill sounds of Incubus went perfectly with the pre-dusk desert vibe as they took the stage around 6:00. Kicking their set off with “Privilege”, the band was in fine form, delivering all the standard hits of course. “Stellar”, in particular, sounded divine, and on the other side of the coin, their performances of “Circles” and “Megalomaniac” definitely packed a groovy punch, which got the crowd at large moving. They also threw in a couple of tastefully executed covers, which included The Beatles’ “Come to Together” and Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” (which followed their own song of the same name). Overall, despite not playing anything off S.C.I.E.N.C.E. (a personal favorite for this old-school fan), Incubus delivered a stellar (pardon the pun) set, that kind of proved to be the calm before the storm, with the trifecta of Deftones, Korn, and System of a Down set to follow.
Deftones
By the time Deftones hit the stage at 7:20, your humble narrator found himself in the thick of things, front and center for their performance, which proved to be quite a crushing experience. Literally, Chino had to stop the show for a minute to request everyone take a step back, which was a welcome relief for those of us closer to the stage. Overall, the Deftones’ performance was a bit of a blur, but in a mostly good way of course (despite some semi-tolerable crowd congestion), as Chino came out sporting his pink-shaded (very Vegasy) sunglasses and proceeded to rip through a career-spanning set.
After kicking things off with “Genesis”, the Deftones went right to “My Own Summer”, whose lyrics “the shade is a tool, a device, a savior” never rang truer considering all the unrelenting sunshine that characterized the festival to that point (fortunately the sun had finally set in time for the Deftones performance). And although the band generally have a reputation for being more melodic/cerebral than their contemporaries, the intensity of their live performance rarely let up (safe for songs like “Digital Bath” and “Change” for example). Closing their set with “Bloody Cape” (who’s blistering outro screaming/riffing felt downright sinisterly intense live), and a couple of old-school tracks from Adrenaline (“Root” and “Engine No. 9”), only served to put the proverbial exclamation point on what was a decidedly searing performance from Sacramento’s finest.
Korn
For a band as massively influential as Korn (their legendary 1994 debut album probably inspired roughly ½ the bands at Sick New World into existence), it would be fair to say their output over the past couple of decades has been a little uneven in nature (with apologies to The Nothing and The Serenity of Suffering in particular, which is actually pretty good for latter day Korn). That said, one thing that has apparently not changed over the years is their ability to deliver an absolutely crushing live show. Simply put, Korn are a force of nature live, and given the intensity of their music, with the always cathartic Jonathan Davis at the mic (who was sporting his dope AF old-school purple ADIDAS tracksuit), how could they not be?
Experiencing the build-up/payoff of “Blind” live is still something special, as evidenced by the cathartic explosion of humanity it compelled throughout the crowd Saturday night. And that was just one example of course. “Here to Stay” sounded downright seismic live (like a volcano erupting), and old-school cuts like “Good God” practically ripped the crowd to shreds. They closed with the fan favorite “Freak on a Leash”, which had the crowd singing (and, somewhat hilariously, scatting) along, effectively partying like it was 1998. Even the food/beer vendors were bobbing their heads and singing along, which in the eyes of this old-school, was a beautiful thing to see. Hats off to Korn, true pioneers of their scene that are still going strong after roughly 3 decades now, as evidenced by their powerfully emphatic performance Saturday night. Respect.
System of a Down
After witnessing the epicness of Korn & Deftones back-to-back, this reviewer actually wondered if System of a Down were up to the task as the headliners, considering the daunting task of following what were effectively the OGs of the scene. But such silly concerns were quickly shattered, quite literally, once SOAD took the stage and proceeded to blow what was left of everyone’s collective faces off for the next hour+. “Prison Song” proved to be the perfect opener for all the chaotic, thrashy, bouncey, quirky, oddball intensity to come, a distinct brand of mayhem that only System of a Down could be capable of delivering. For this long-time fan, album cuts from their debut like “Soil”, “Suggestions”, and “Darts” (which pretty sure featured some impromptu meowing from Serj), were particularly fun, but then again, it doesn’t get much more fun than shouting “pull the tapeworm out of your ass, hey!” with tens of thousands of other jubilant fans.
Additionally, singing “dancing in the desert blowing up the sunshine” felt all too fitting as well, as the band delivered a particularly rousing performance of “B.Y.O.B”. Overall, for a band that has performed so infrequently live lately, they sounded incredibly tight and powerful, not missing a beat over the course of their eclectic career-spanning set. Not only that, but they also seemed to be having a lot of fun doing it as well, which was great to see. And while it’s unfortunate they haven’t released any new albums in almost 2 decades now, that’s really only added to their allure and reputation over the years, which of course only made their performance Saturday night extra special. Overall, System of a Down not only lived up to the hype, but they surpassed it with an outstanding performance, solidifying their place atop the mantle as one of the greatest alternative-metal bands of all time. A truly awesome show to close out a truly awesome festival. Good times.
Parting Tidbits:
Percentage of patrons wearing black attire: 94% (remarkably…it was hot)
Number of times this reviewer had chicken strips accidently knocked out of my hand: once
Best overheard phrase: “Bitch, if you’re gonna razzle, I’m gonna dazzle!”
