Another band has pulled out of the Soundwave 2014 lineup, just four weeks out from the opening date of the annual hard and heavy festival.
Following just hours after further Soundwave 2014 Sidewaves shows being announced this afternoon, festival organisers confirm that Stone Temple Pilots – who were billed third behind headliners Green Day and Avenged Sevenfold – have cancelled on their forthcoming festival appearance.
A statement from Soundwave Festival explains that commitments to recording a new album are to blame for Stone Temple Pilots’ cancellation.
“The recording of the new album has now gone beyond schedule and sadly the availability of the recording studio, engineers and the producer or lack thereof dictates that the band have had to cancel their upcoming engagements,” the statement reads.
The grunge-era survivors, now featuring Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington performing frontman duties, were also set to perform two headline sideshows in Sydney and Melbourne, which have now also been scrapped. All tickets purchased for the February gigs at Enmore Theatre and the Palais can be refunded at point of purchase.
The sour Stone Temple Pilots news does come with a silver lining however, with festival organisers already rallying a replacement band to join the beefy Soundwave 2014 lineup tally of 90+ bands that’s sure to please Aussie fans. …commitments to recording a new album are to blame for Stone Temple Pilots’ cancellation
National rock treasures, The Living End “have come to Soundwave’s rescue and have joined the fray,” explain festival organisers, with the Melbourne-bred trio of guitarist-frontman Chris Cheney, bassist Scott Owen, and drummer Andy Strachan filling in for the absent STP.
Strachan took to the band’s Facebook page to write: “We are so stoked to be apart of this year’s Soundwave festival.. It’s a HUGE festival with a HUGE line up! Can’t wait to get our LOUD ON!!”
The Living End are the latest band to join the already massive Soundwave 2014 lineup, following a third lineup announcement bringing the likes of Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora, Filter, and I Killed The Prom Queen, to join the ranks of such bands as Megadeth, Rob Zombie, Alice In Chains, Korn, Biffy Clyro, Mastodon, A Day To Remember, Gojria, and many more.
Stone Temple Pilots are the second high-profile act to cancel on Soundwave. American metal band Sevendust pulled the plug on their appearance earlier this month, a move that Soundwave boss AJ Maddah labelled “pissweak” before a very public dispute erupted between the festival promoter and associates of the American heavy metal band.
Hopefully Sevendust and Stone Temple Pilots’ withdrawal from Soundwave 2014 isn’t the start of a trend; last year’s edition of the festival was characterised by a number of musicians and bands pulling out of the event at the 11th hour.
While the Stone Temple Pilots 2014 Sidewaves have been thrown on the scrap heap, there are still plenty of massive Soundwave shows to enjoy.
Including a series of massive triple-headline shows from Less Than Jake, Bowling For Soup, and Zebrahead, Jimmy Eat World, Panic! At The Disco, with Alkaline Trio, Mastodon, Baroness, and Gojira, as well as Rob Zombie & Korn, and Alter Bridge & Living Colour, plus Megadeth, Volbeat, and Newsted. Other headline Soundwave 2014 artists playing sideshows include Placebo and Clutch.
In related news, Maddah is also looking to switch the closing Perth leg of Soundwave from the Claremont Showgrounds to Arena Joondalup, mirroring Big Day Out’s last-minute venue change following ongoing battles with Claremont Council. The anti-festival attitudes of local councillors could force festivals out of Perth entirely, as Maddah worried recntly, saying “I reckon there will be zero festivals going to WA in 2015” if the endless disputes couldn’t be resolved.
Soundwave 2014 Lineup
The Living End
joining the already announced lineup of:
Green Day
Avenged SevenfoldStone Temple Pilots (with Chester Bennington)
A Day To Remember
Alice In Chains
Rob Zombie
Megadeth
Mastodon
Placebo
HIM
AFI
KoRn
Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi)
Filter
I Killed The Prom Queen
The Ghost Inside
Authority Zero
DARKC3LL
The Defiled
The Danger Kids
Alter Bridge
Trivium
Pennywise
Jimmy Eat World
Down
DevilDriver
The Dillinger Escape Plan
Glassjaw
Panic! At The Disco
Eagles Of Death Metal
Less Than Jake
Mayday Parade
Newsted
Biffy Clyro
Rocket From The Crypt
Asking Alexandria
Clutch
Alkaline Trio
Baroness
Five Finger Death Punch
August Burns Red
Testament
Living Color
Letlive
Motionless In White
Gwar
Crosses
Suicide Silence
The Porkers
Gojira
Black Veil Brides
Zebrahead
Satyricon
Dream On Dreamer
Mutemath
Desparecidos
Stiff Little Fingers
Thy Art Is Murder
Graveyard
Dir En Grey
Deez Nuts
In Hearts Wake
Breathe Carolina
Defiler
I Call Fives
Hacktivist
Devil You Know
Soil
The Boss Hoss
Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats
Nostalghia
Upon A Burning Body
Black Dahlia Murder
MushroomHead
Finch
Pulled Apart By Horses
Ill Nino
Nancy Vandal
Bowling For Soup
Trash Talk
Skindred
Volbeat
Amon Amarth
Terror
Whitechapel
TesseracT
The Story So Far
Hardcore Superstar
10 Years
Walking Papers
Our Last Night
Coliseum
Your Demise
Heaven’s Basement
Real Friends
Soundwave 2014 Dates, Tickets
Saturday 22nd February – Brisbane, RNA Showgrounds
Sunday 23rd February – Sydney, Olympic Park
Friday 28th February – Melbourne, Flemington Racecourse
Saturday 1st March – Adelaide, Bonython Park
Monday 3rd March – Perth, Claremont Showgrounds
Tickets on sale via: soundwavefestival.com, oztix.com.au & other outlets
