Five Bands You Should Absolutely Catch at This Year’s Sonic Temple
Next week, one of the biggest and best festivals in North America will explode on multiple stages, as Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival takes over the Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Boasting more than 100 bands over four days, there’s tons of music to catch live, with massive acts like Metallica, Korn, and Linkin Park serving as this year’s headliners.
And while the top of the bill will see everyone crowing around the stage to get a glimpse of the biggest acts in metal, there are so many smaller acts that many of you attending may miss out on. Therefore, in a bid to avoid that tragedy, I’ve chosen five bands or acts you absolutely must catch next weekend.
Don’t forget that Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival is taking place from May 8 to May 11. Tickets are still available but they’re down to the final three percent, so be sure to grab yours today for a four-day weekend full of music, camping, and extracurricular experiences.
Frozen Soul
Heavy as fuck, Texas-based death metal outfit Frozen Soul are a buncha bad motherfuckers. I love how absolutely brutal their tone is. The bass is thick, the guitar tone is sick, and the drums sound like they could punch a hole in the space time continuum if not careful. Couple all that with vocalist Chad Green’s delivery and you’ve got one hell of a band to check out at Sonic Temple.
Harms Way
Their metallic-hardcore sound is about as undeniable as frontman James Pligge is jacked. If you want to hear angry music full of ignorant riffs and pissed off vocals, look no further than Harms Way. Every time I hear these guys play, I expect a UFC fight to break out and see someone head kicked into oblivion. Enter the pit at your own peril with this one.
Gatecreeper
These bad motherfuckers have been making the rounds, touring all over and generally putting out badass tunes for a minute now. Riding high off the release of their 2024 album Dark Superstition, Gatecreeper is modern death metal done right. Having toured with all of the big names in death metal like Cannibal Corpse, Mayhem, Dying Fetus, and Exhumed, they’ve more than paid their dues and deserve to have their brutal sound blasted to as many concertgoers as possible.
Fulci
Hailing all the way from Italy, this death metal act is based almost entirely on the filmmaking career of Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor Lucio Fulci. Immediately after their set at Sonic Temple, they’ll be heading out on their ‘Duck Face Killings Tour’ with Mutilation Barbecue, so their set next weekend is effectively their warmup gig. And you get to see them rip shit before everyone else.
200 Stab Wounds
Now, if you’ve followed our coverage over the years then you’ll know 200 Stab Wounds is anything but instantly a classic. These Ohio-based guys know how to put out a killer death metal record and they’re equally capable of putting on a batshit live show. Their last album Manual Manic Procedures was an absolute banger, so expect their set next weekend to be absolutely mental.
