Year 5 (technically 4) of Louder Than Life was a crucial one; New venue, new format and a new focus on bringing the best festival experience possible. Even on day 1 at the Kentucky Exposition Center, the care put into the festival was clear. The staff worked hard in the 90 degree plus heat to have drink vendors spread out conveniently across the field to compensate for a lack of shade. Face masks were sold to help prevent sinus troubles from the dust of the gravel. This didn’t stop the crowd from forming early on after gates opened at 11am. Even with this being the third consecutive weekend festival held at the venue this month (Hometown Rising and Bourbon & Beyond before it) Louder Than Life came back in a big way after being quite literally washed out of Champions Park in 2018. 2019 was its biggest year yet.
This year’s festival included some of rock’s biggest headliners Disturbed, Slipknot and Guns N’ Roses, which drew an average of 120k-145k raging festivalgoers and music lovers with fists in the air and horns raised high.
Day 1
(Slipknot, Staind, A Day To Remember, Chevelle, I Prevail, Beartooth, Motionless In White, Philip Anselmo and The Illegals, Graveyard, New Years Day, Wilson, All Them Witches, GWAR, The Crystal Method, Crown Lands, Dead Posey, Santa Cruz)
Wilson opened the Oak main stage on Friday with what was probably the most outright fun sets of the weekend. Highlights included a cover of Limp Bizkit’s “Rollin” and a marching snare drum brought out for the set closer, “House of Fuckery.” The crowd was into it all and proved that Wilson was a great way to open the day up.
The next highlight of the day was Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo leading a heartfelt charge of tributes to his fallen brothers Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell on the Barrell main stage. He and his ‘Illegals’ bandmates stormed through “A New Level”, “Strength Beyond Strength” and other heavy hitters, but especially awesome was the GWAR collaboration during “Walk” complete with a near pitch-perfect guitar solo. Phil seemed grateful to be up there paying respect (no pun intended) to his fallen bandmates. Speaking of GWAR, their set on the Loudmouth Stage was fun and full of blood as usual.
Horror rockers Motionless In White kept the energy high with a slew of singles from their three most recent records and had one of the best day crowds all weekend. The afternoon slot only got better as Beartooth and I Prevail took both main stages in the palms of their hands. Both majorly hot right now and full of energy, their recent increase of radio airplay benefited them greatly. Beartooth’s punked out version of metalcore is only rivaled by I Prevail’s genre-bending approach that incorporates elements of Trap and nu-metal into their pop metalcore formula. The wistful eye could spot Santa Claus crowd-surfing during both bands.
As the evening rolled in and the heat backed down, it was Chevelle who first began the slew of headliners for the night. Ending a 10-week tour, one would have thought the band was just beginning their run on the road with the amount of energy they surprisingly possessed. Hits like “Send The Pain Below” and “The Red” didn’t sound the least bit tired and the band was visibly in a great head space. Following Chevelle, Florida’s A Day To Remember brought their high-powered set with the fullest sound and loudest amps of the entire weekend, the metalcore mainstays brought equal amounts of pop and punk to their ever-growing audience, complete with lots of crowd-surfers and sing-a-longs.
No one was prepared for just how great the Staind reunion set was, though. 5-years apart and lots of pyrotechnics later, the beloved post-grunge act didn’t seem weary or aged, instead very hungry and thankful. Heavy, full of life and emotive, Louder Than Life was THE festival that welcomed Staind back with open arms. And despite the inclusion of a “new” song (It was really just another of the band’s many well-known hits), there appeared to be hope for more Staind in the future.
The only band that could have hoped to follow up such an explosive set was of course Slipknot and they were the perfect end to the day. Hot off We Are Not Your Kind striking the number 1 spot on the Billboard charts worldwide, the Iowa one-piece blazed through their biggest singles and even fan-favorite deep cuts like “Get This” and “Scissors”. The new classics “Unsainted” and “Solway Firth” fit snugly in set and only made the dark night that much blacker. Slipknot is just about the best headliner for any festival and Louder Than Life welcomed them back with love and rage to close out an incredible first day.
Day 2
(Guns N’ Roses, Godsmack, Ice Cube, Halestorm, Dropkick Murphys, Stone Temple Pilots, Suicidal Tendencies, Badflower, Anti-Flag, Parlor Mob, Dirty Honey, Amigo The Devil, Melvins, Andrew W.K., Knocked Loose, Redd Kross, Jelly Roll, Junkbunny, The Pink Slips)
The first sights of day 2 made it clear it was going to be a different day than Friday altogether. It was not uncommon to see Spider-Man, a glitter pirate and Jesus mingling together or grabbing a bite to eat. And yet, that wasn’t even the most interesting thing Saturday would hold. This is, after all, the same day that the likes of both Ice Cube AND Guns N Roses played the same stage. This was far from the most eclectic slot of the day. Just in the first few hours, Amigo The Devil strummed an entirely mellow acoustic set complete with his banjo to open the Oak stage.
Dirty Honey brought the 70’s hard rock scene to 2019. And Anti-Flag jumped offstage into an ongoing circle pit to really get a feel for their audience with every bit of rebellion in the idea of punk rock. Highlights of the day included Badflower bringing an intensely emotional and rockin’ set to the Barrell main stage, Suicidal Tendencies proving that old doesn’t mean less energy, Irish punk rockers Dropkick Murphys bringing equal amounts of harmony, skate rock chords and Irish jig dance-ability to the Oak stage and Louisville’s own Knocked Loose breaking it down on the Loudmouth side stage to the acclaim of a very rowdy audience.
Stone Temple Pilots were proof that the Midwest still very much appreciates their 90’s grunge. Halestorm were one of the tightest sounding bands of the entire weekend and if that’s any indication of their upcoming record, fans are in for a treat. Ice Cube is especially notable though as it seems his inclusion hints at a future direction for the festival. To see Louder Than Life including not just rap rock but actual hip hop legends like Ice Cube not only shows growth for the lineup but also speaks for the inclusivity and potential for future lineups. Ice Cube knew what his fans wanted too, as he played his hits as well as NWA favorites like “Straight Outta Compton.”
Even Godsmack, as great as they were, could really only match such a high energy set. Make no mistake though, they did it with literal fire and lots of heavy riffing. It’s a good thing too because fans had a lengthy near hour wait after their set before Guns N Roses finally made their stage entrance to a whopping 141,000 fans, the largest single day attendance in the history of any Danny Wimmer Productions festival. The payoff was massive as the band played for nearly 3-hours, including most of Appetite For Destruction along the way and an effective cover of Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” as well as Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.”
As Ice Cube said to end his set: “Today was a good day.”.
Day 3
(Disturbed, Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Breaking Benjamin, In This Moment, Three Days Grace, Demon Hunter, Sum 41, DED, White Reaper, Sick Puppies, Deadland Ritual, Ho99o9, Angel Du$t, Fire From The Gods, Anemic Royalty)
Being the final day of Louder Than Life, it only made sense that the sets would have a later start in the afternoon. This made a difference with fans as well, as they appeared well-rested and still eager to rock out. If Saturday was the 90’s then Sunday was the mid 2000’s: Sick Puppies, Sum 41, Breaking Benjamin, Disturbed, the list goes on. And the vibe was definitely there. Ded woke the crowd up with heavy nu metal and threw in a new song, “Eyes Sewn Shut”, as well. Louisville’s White Reaper played their Louder Than Life debut with their young take on alternative rock.
Demon Hunter brought aggressive metal, headbanging and beautiful melody despite sound issues. Three Days Grace were also on the lineup and notably so as this year they were named the band with the most number one singles in the history of active rock radio. They made sure to play their well-known hits as well as their most recent singles from their newest album Outsider.
Breaking Benjamin may have had the fullest sound of the weekend though, as every harmony heard on their records was just as audible and clear live. They were a fan favorite of the weekend too. Perhaps the most notable highlights of the day were getting to see Black Sabbath bass legend Geezer Butler on the small Loudmouth stage with former and current members of Billy Idol, Guns N Roses and Apocalyptica in the new hard rock band Deadland Ritual.
Sum 41 brought lots of teen youth pop punk energy to the Barrel main stage and the incomparable Marilyn Manson on his A-game with a tight and heavy backing band to accommodate his madness. Rob Zombie was a spooky show as always but it felt odd seeing him in 90 degree heat and not a late September chill. It didn’t take away from his show whatsoever though and he even threw in a 3 From Hell teaser to close his set out. He was a great inclusion with Manson and In This Moment earlier in the day whose show is sure to become a headline of its own in the future.
Disturbed were Sunday’s closer and the field felt just as packed as the previous two nights. While Disturbed are an incredible hard rock act with tons of life and rhythm, the heart displayed by them was what really resonated with the audience. A touching dedication to Metallica’s James Hatfield amidst battling addiction was a talking point of the middle portion of the set and a reflection on suicide and passed on musicians was also led. This softer section of the set was inspired and not shoehorned in. There was real purpose in the contrast of the music and message during this time and it showed that Disturbed are more than just another heavy rock band. Of course, they are also great at being a heavy rock band and that’s why songs like “Indestructible” and “Stricken” went over as well as they did. Still, when the night was over, a certain layer of affect hung in the air thanks to Disturbed’s amount of heart. They ended the weekend on a high note and with a satisfied but sunburnt audience.
The weekend’s Honorable mentions go to Blackcraft Cult, Slipknot No. 9 Whiskey, and the Guitar Experience.
Check out band setlists HERE
Photos by Shawn Brandon and Review by Matthew Powers
