12 Ways To Spend Your Day Now That Soundwave Isn't Announcing The Lineup

UPDATE 17/12/15 5.50pm: Soundwave 2016 has been officially cancelled.

If you’re anything like us, then your experience of waiting for the full Soundwave 2016 lineup to drop probably feels a little something like this:

The “drip feed” has, like a troublesome bout of constipation, kept us glued to our seats as each tiny morsel is broken off and squeezed out, bit by bit. And each new lineup nugget feels like a surefire sign that soon – surely – Soundwave’s full load shall be dumped, creating the big splash that we always knew it would.

But unfortunately, despite assurances that the moment of truth would happen today, Thursday, 15th October, the big unveil has once again been delayed.

Perhaps the has something to do with festival boss AJ Maddah’s ongoing efforts to lock in more monster metal acts for the bill. Then again, there is also a slight possibility that he’s also just sticking it to yours truly.

@DeganSdegan It is not tomorrow Stephen. We have not released a date for announcement. But it is days rather than weeks away

— AJ (@iamnotshouting) October 14, 2015

.@nickalls296 @ChrisSoundwave @soundwavefest Maybe it is just to spite a certain website. maybe it is not 🙂

— AJ (@iamnotshouting) October 13, 2015

But we don’t want to give ourselves that much credit.

Either way, AJ says the big lineup announcement is just days away. So instead of just sitting there waiting for the floodgates to open, here’s a handy list of 12 things you can do today, instead.

1. Scream

2. Metal Scream

3. Meticulously Scroll Through All Of AJ’s Tweets And Try To Decipher The Lineup On Your Own

4. Log Off Twitter Forever

5. Buy A Plane Ticket To Europe, Where There Are Metal Festivals Basically Every Day

6. Start A Rival Metal Festival In Your Own Backyard

7. Take Advantage Of The Nice Weather And Go To The Beach

8. But Go Shopping For A Hat First, Because It’s Important To Be Sun-Safe

9. Pig Out With Your Friends

10. Brush Your Teeth, Because Nobody Likes A Metalhead With Bad Oral Hygiene

11. Reminisce About The Good Times

Gallery: 11 Unforgettable Soundwave Festival Moments

12. Get Excited Again, And Resume The Waiting Position

11 acts have been confirmed so far on the bill for Soundwave 2016: Hatebreed, Devil You Know, Metal Allegiance, Bring Me The Horizon, Northlane, Refused, Failure, Dead Letter Circus, Bullet For My Valentine, Lordi, Moose Blood.

For a rundown of everything we know about next year’s festival as of now, check out our Soundwave 2016: What We Know So Far page.

Gallery: Soundwave 2015 – The Best Of The Fest

11 Unforgettable Soundwave Festival Moments

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.”