Looks Like Another Huge Band Is Playing Soundwave 2015

The official Soundwave 2015 lineup is less than a month away but that hasn’t stunted the fervent speculation over who’ll be playing the festival’s new two-day format.

Following on from last week’s lineup leak, another band has been strongly implicated for the Soundwave 2015 bill – but this time, the news doesn’t come direct from the twitter feed of AJ Maddah.

US agit-punk rockers Rise Against’s latest album, The Black Market, is currently the feature album over at Triple J, where frontman Tim McIlrath has revealed in a recent interview that Australia is amongst the countries the band will be touring to promote their seventh full-length.

Speaking to Triple J host Lewis McKirdy, McIlrath says Rise Against are headed to Australia “February, March … early 2015,” the same time that Soundwave 2015 kicks off. The singer-guitarist further explains that Rise Against have been floated two offers and they are “either doing one or the other – they’re both on the table right now. We’ve just gotta figure out which one.” You can hear the full chat below (the tour talk begins at the 12 minute mark).

The Chicago quartet were last Down Under in 2011, supporting their last record Endgame, and are Soundwave virgins, but there name has already been tossed about as one of the 2015 edition’s four headliners after Maddah tweeted that Rise Against were a “maybe” for an early 2015 Australian visit.

It was enough for the US rockers to appear near the top of a fake Soundwve 2015 poster that’s been doing the rounds online, with Maddah tweeting he was “totally enjoying this fake line-up” after spying the Soundwave Revolution inspired mock-up.

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More recently, Maddah has shot down two more rumoured headliners: Smashing Pumpkins and Disturbed. Though the Soundwave boss had met with Smashing Pumpkins’ agent back in May, it turns out the meeting didn’t work out in the festival’s favour, tweeting in reply to a fan of their chance of playing Soundwave 2015: “No. Billy [Corgan] wants headline tour next.”

As for Disturbed, Maddah’s plans to get the dormant metal band together in time have also fallen through, “I tried. Unlikely for 2015,” he told a fan last week.

Bands that are confirmed for Soundwave 2015 include Melbourne hardcore outfit Confession and prog-metal bandNe Obliviscaris, who just broke the Australian crowdfunding record for a music-related project. Fear Factory are also a likely booking for the bill, with the promoter previously stating “we’re keen to have them so I think it’ll happen… They’ve wanted to do Soundwave for a long time,” he says.

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Other bands rumoured for Soundwave 2015 include Lamb Of God, Social Distortion, Against Me!, Opeth, Papa Roach, Marilyn Manson, and Anvil. More ‘maybes’ according to Maddah’s twitter, include Melvins, Dream Theater,Dragonforce, Flogging Molly, The Pretty Reckless, Asking Alexandria, Motionless In White, Bayside, Four Year Strong, Yellowcard, New Found Glory, Machine Head and Chimaira, Royal Blood and DZ Deathrays.

Two bands that pulled out of Soundwave this year – Stone Temple Pilots and Newsted – may also make the bill. Maddah saying the former is a “maybe” and that he’d “love to have” the latter. But don’t count on seeing any of the following ruled out bands on next year’s lineup: Rammstein, Judas Priest, Rush, Rancid, or Enter Shikari.

All will be revealed when the lineup drops in August, first in announcement with all bands to coincide with the sale of weekend tickets, then later splitting bands by day with single day tickets going on sale, as Maddah explained of the new two-day format hitting Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane.

Perth of course, won’t be getting a Soundwave next year after a disastrous run in the WA capital this past March, while the festival’s Western Australia promoters, Altered State, were recently declared insolvent.