“Drummers are seriously ruining my week.”
That’s what Soundwave boss AJ Maddah tweeted yesterday in response to the news that death metal band Six Feet Under would be pulling out of the festival due to their drummer being involved in a ‘Dirtbike Mishap’. Looks like he’s up for a re-tweet…
Only days after the news that Blink 182′s drummer Travis Barker announced he would no longer be travelling down under for the festival due to his fear of flying, another drummer has pulled out of the Soundwave Festival just two days shy of the hard and heavy touring festival kicking off at Brisbane’s RNA Showgrounds this Saturday 23rd February.
Now the Spinal Tap curse that seems to have befallen Soundwave has struck again with news that Anthrax’s sticks man Charlie Benante has bowed out of the festival.
The news first broke via guitarist/vocalist Scott Ian over Twitter:
Charlie is dealing with personal issues right now and can't leave the country. He's really bummed about not being able to head down there.
— Scott Ian (@Scott_Ian) February 19, 2013
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As Loudwire points out, Benante has had a tumultuous twelve months, including the death of his mother and personal issues with his wife, the pair arrested in July 2012 after Benante’s wife incited a bout of domestic violence that led to the pair’s arrest.
Ian cited “personal stuff” as the same reasoning the percussionist pulled out of a number of shows late last year, the guitarist alerting European fans last November that Benante had to miss out on a bunch of dates, again citing “personal stuff”, with former Slayer/Testament drummer Jon Dette filling in on the drum stool.
Dette will be again be filling in on Anthrax’s Australian visit when they play all five Soundwave dates in capital cities, as well as the band’s two Sidewaves shows in Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne next week.
It’s the second time that a member of the legendary metal band (part of the Big Four – along with Megadeth, and fellow Soundwave acts Metallica and Slayer) has lost a member ahead of its Australian Tour, with guitarist Rob Caggiano announcing he’d quit the band in early January.
“He was well liked and played a vital role for the band so it is a difficult transition for us,” singer Joey Belladonna told Tone Deaf in a recent interview. “Right now I don’t think we need to make any decisions just yet,” Belladonna remarked in finding a permanent replacement for Caggiano, Anthrax having recruited Jon Donais of metalcore outfit Shadows Fall to jump in for Soundwave.
“Charlie is dealing with personal issues right now and can’t leave the country.” – Scott Ian, AnthraxIt’s also the fourth time that a drummer has cancelled ahead of the Soundwave Festival; alongside Anthrax’s drummer, the list includes Blink 182’s Travis Barker (with Bad Religion/Tenacious D skins thumper Brooks Wackerman filling in), Six Feet Under’s Kevin Talley due to a bizarre ‘dirtbike mishap’, and long-time member of A Perfect Circle, Josh Freese, announcing he’d quit the band late last year.
The popular metal festival also had problems when Blood On The Dancefloor announced they too would be cancelling their appearance at the festival, though Maddah was “super pleased” with the announcement that the group would no longer be appearing before revealing that “No one really gave a fuck. They’d sold 6 tickets to their sidewaves and all I got from their cunty fans was whinging.”
Speaking of complaints, Maddah also affectionately labelled the concerns over timetable clashes as “whingefest 2013” in attempts to revise their timetables, including in Perth where they were slapped with a 10pm curfew following a single noise complaint last year.
But it wasn’t only Perth that added new restrictions to the festival, operators of their venue in Sydney decided after tickets went on sale to place a MA 15+ restriction on the festival, forcing a flood of refunds and a second batch of ticket sales that numbered nearly 700.
Still, these issues are mere speedbumps to the seemingly unstoppable Soundwave juggernaut, which has continued to defy the festival marker glut, selling out in record time around the country and enjoying a mostly positive opinion from most patrons.
Soundwave 2013 Lineup
METALLICA/ LINKIN PARK/ BLINK 182/A PERFECT CIRCLE / THE OFFSPRING / PARAMORE / SLAYER / GARBAGE / CYPRESS HILL / BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE / TOMAHAWK / STONE SOUR / BRING ME THE HORIZON / KYUSS LIVES / ANTHRAX / KILLSWITCH ENGAGE / SUM 41 / DRAGONFORCE / ALL TIME LOW / FLOGGING MOLLY / GHOST / DUFF McKAGAN’S LOADED / BILLY TALENT / MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK / MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE / THE AMITY AFFLICTION / THE VANDALS / SICK OF IT ALL / KINGDOM OF SORROW / FOZZY / THE LAWRENCE ARMS / SLEEPING WITH SIRENS / CANCER BATS / THE BLACKOUT / GALLOWS / MADBALL / FUCKED UP / VISION OF DISORDER / PIERCE THE VEIL / PERIPHERY / THE SWORD / SHAI HALUD / OF MICE & MEN / THIS IS HELL / MISS MAY I / DANKO JONES / LUCERO / WOE, IS ME / THE WONDER YEARS / POLAR BEAR CLUB / WHILE SHE SLEEPS / CEREBRAL BALLZY / THE EARLY NOVEMBER / SUCH GOLD / THE DEAR HUNTER / CHELSEA GRIN / DEAF HAVANA / RED FANG / VERSUS THE WORLD / THE CHARIOT / CONFESSION / ORANGE GOBLIN / CHUNK! NO, CAPTAIN CHUNK! / SYLOSIS / MEMPHIS MAY FIRE / CROSSFAITH / NORTHLANE / SHARKS / O’BROTHER / MILESTONES / LIVING WITH LIONS
Soundwave Venues & Dates
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2013
SATURDAY 23 BRISBANE, RNA SHOWGROUNDS
SUNDAY 24 SYDNEY, OLYMPIC PARK
FRIDAY 1 MELBOURNE, FLEMINGTON RACECOURSE
SATURDAY 2 ADELAIDE, BONYTHON PARK
MONDAY 4 PERTH, CLAREMONT SHOWGROUNDS
For more information head to www.soundwavefestival.com
Anthrax 2013 Sidewaves
THURSDAY 21 FEBRUARY
BRISBANE, THE HI-FI – 18+ (Anthrax only)
www.thehifi.com.au
MONDAY 25 FEBRUARY
SYDNEY, BIG TOP LUNA PARK – 18+ (Slayer, Anthrax + Kingdom Of Sorrow)
Tickets on sale now – www.bigtopsydney.com /www.oztix.com.au / www.ticketek.com.au
THURSDAY 28 FEBRUARY
MELBOURNE, THE HI-FI – 18+ (Anthrax, Fozzy + This Is Hell)
www.thehifi.com.au
Scott Ian & Chris Jericho Q & A
TUESDAY 26 FEBRUARY
SYDNEY, OXFORD ARTS FACTORY – 18+
WEDNESDAY 27 FEBRUARY
MELBOURNE, THE TOFF IN TOWN – 18+
