UPDATE 17/12/15 5.50pm: Soundwave 2016 has been officially cancelled.
We all thought we were so smart. When AJ Maddah dropped a super massive hint about next year’s Soundwave headliner – proclaiming that they’d never played the festival before – we thought we had it all figured out.
By process of elimination, we deduced, it must be Tool. They ticked all the boxes. Not only had they never played Soundwave before, they were one of the only bands big enough to warrant Maddah’s proclamation that at least one leg of the 2016 event would “sell out instantly” and were one of the few acts who hadn’t already been ruled out either by the festival boss himself, or by default thanks to other touring commitments.
But it turns out, we aren’t as smart as we thought we were, and Maddah has just taken a furious piss on our dreams of Tool appearing at SW16, extinguishing them with a single, one-word Tweet:
@Joshvido None.
— AJ (@iamnotshouting) September 25, 2015
Other acts ruled out by the festival kingpin over the weekend include a reformed Rage Against The Machine:
@j_Hass79 @anarchyinaus @RATM They are not on #SW16.
— AJ (@iamnotshouting) September 26, 2015
The Taylor Momsen-fronted Pretty Reckless:
@Chloe0465 none. Sorry.
— AJ (@iamnotshouting) September 26, 2015
And American industrial metal act DOPE:
@JkBai @soundwavefest Nope
— AJ (@iamnotshouting) September 26, 2015
While Maddah has also confirmed that the reason we’ve been left twiddling our thumbs as the barely-nourishing dripfeed continues to drip for so long, is because he’s still waiting to confirm the plans of two potential Soundwave 2016 acts before he unveils the festival’s first full lineup.
One of those acts is Japanese pop-metal juggernaut, Babymetal.
Maddah has previously said the full first lineup announcement will consist of 22 acts, including the acts which have already been announced.
As a quick recap, eight bands have been locked in so far for next year’s metal extravaganza: heavy AF supergroup Devil You Know, British rock juggernauts Bring Me The Horizon, Sydney metal champs Northlane, Swedish hardcore act Refused, Los Angeles alt-rockers Failure, Brisbane riffsters Dead Letter Circus, Welsh metal outfit Bullet For My Valentine and 2006 Eurovision winners, Lordi.
For all the latest Soundwave 2016 news and rumours, stay tuned to the Music Feeds Soundwave 2016 Lineup Rumours And Info page.
Gallery: 11 Unforgettable Soundwave Festival Moments
Soundwave Festival 2016 Lineup
Bring Me The Horizon
Devil You Know
Lordi
Northlane
Refused
Failure
Dead Letter Circus
Bullet For My Valentine
+ more to be announced
Soundwave Festival 2016
Saturday, 23rd January 2016
Brisbane
Sunday, 24th January 2016
Sydney
Tuesday, 26th January 2016
Melbourne
11 Unforgettable Soundwave Festival Moments
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Gwar - Soundwave 2014
Interstellar gods of metal GWAR well and truly made their mark on Australian audiences at Soundwave 2014 when front-thing Oderus Urungus used his mighty sword to decapitate an effigy of our widely-loathed PM Tony Abbott and soak the cheering crowd in his blood. Not even Napisan Plus could remove those pink stains which, for many, would soon become a sweaty memento from one of the last performances Urungus would ever give. His human alter ego, Dave Brockie, died tragically just weeks later from a heroin overdose. -
Mike Patton - Soundwave 2010
Nothing like a bit of mid-set nudity to make Faith No More’s headlining slot at Brisbane Soundwave in 2010 even more, uh, Epic. Frontman Mike Patton proved he was Just A Man by unleashing Mike Jr. from his trousered hideaway and literally rocking out with his cock out. -
Bloodhound - Soundwave 2009
An honourable mention must go to the Bloodhound Gang, who took the stage in 2009 to effectively reduce the throng of adult metalheads into sexually frustrated 13-year-olds. They did it like they did on the Discovery Channel, with healthy dose of Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo. Nostalgia was everywhere. As were bewbs. -
Alexisonfire - Soundwave 2010
As anyone who was on the scene for Sydney Soundwave 2010 can attest, that was the hottest fucking day in the history of the earth. The festival, then-held out near Eastern Creek Raceway, was one giant dustbowl, and those who withstood the 40+ temperatures were coughing up dirt for the next three days. Alexisonfire must have pre-empted this outcome and decided: fuck it. Frontman George Pettit jumped into the crowd mid-set and gave himself a dirt-bath in the middle of the pit. Who needs sunblock when you’re covered in a 2-inch thick layer of dust anyway? Epic. -
All Time Low - Soundwave 2015
When the sky opened up and unleashed a rainstorm of hell upon Sydney Soundwave earlier this year, right in the middle of All Time Low’s set, the Baltimore pop punk’s gear got wrecked, and the band were unable to play on. However, instead of letting the storm beat them, frontman Alex Gaskarth ploughed onward, leading fans in an a cappella singalong of his band’s track Weightlessas well as some of Queen’s We Will Rock You. Many people became All Time Low fans that day. -
Dallas Green – Soundwave 2008
Dallas Green performed a musical screaming eagle in ’08 when he appeared as the frontman of both Alexisonfire and City + Colour. Crushing skulls and melting hearts. All in a day’s work. -
Fucked Up - Soundwave 2011
The spirit of punk was alive and well at SW11 when Fucked Up gave an expectedly insane performance, complete with hair-ripping, sweaty hugging, and beast frontman Damien force-feeding the mic to members of the crowd. This set will probably go down in Aussie festival history. -
Killer Be Killed – Soundwave 2015
After a hurricane of hype leading up to their global live debut at Soundwave 2015, metal supergroup Killer Be Killed – featuring Max Cavalera, Greg Puciato, Troy Sanders and Ben Koller – did not disappoint, delivering an absolutely pulverising set. -
Blink-182 – Soundwave 2013
A Travis Barker-less Blink-182 shot their love all over the crowd during their headlining set at Soundwave 2013. With Bad Religion drummer Brooks Wackerman filling in on the skins, the pop punk trio capped off their first show in Australia since 2004 by wheeling out a massive confetti canon and opening fire on a sweat-drenched mosh pit, absolutely smothering fans in the coloured stuff. Many shower drains got clogged, that fateful night. -
Slash – Soundwave 2012
Alter Bridge pulled a rabbit out of their hat during their Sydney set in 2012, and by hat we mean top hat and by rabbit we mean guitar legend Slash, who was wearing the hat. The ex-Guns N’ Roses icon wasn’t even known to be in the country at the time, but he majestically appeared to claim an unused Marshall stack and Gibson Les Paul and join his singer Myles Kennedy for a few choice AB jams. You really never can tell just when #wunterslaush is going to turn up somewhere. -
Jane’s Addiction – Soundwave 2010
Soundwave 2010 was bittersweet for Jane’s Addiction fans, marking the band’s last ever tour. As ladies danced onstage and punters tried to mask their lonely tears, Eric Avery’s words rang home: “That’s it. With equal parts regret and relief, the Jane’s Addiction experiment is at an end.”
