Well, the circus came to town and now, just like that, it’s gone again. The Pale Emperor crossed into pirate-infested waters, the world’s most fabulous heavy metal frontman couldn’t find a parking space, and Mother Nature took a huge dump on the city of Sydney.
Now it’s time to ice our blisters, moisturise our sunburn and detox from the boozy, caffeinated blur that was Soundwave 2015. But before we do, here’s a look back at some of the best bits from the festival’s final lap across Australia’s East Coast, captured on candid smartphone.
Apocalyptica Get Patriotic…a
Finnish cello rockers Apocalyptica injected the finale of their set at Soundwave Sydney with a shot of Aussie pride. In the midst of a metal rendition of the classical favourite In The Hall Of The Mountain King, bowman Purttu launched into Advance Australia Fair, which roused the crowd into a patriotic singalong. #girtbymetal
Soundgarden Debut Kyle Petty, Son Of Richard Live In Sydney
Having already performed the obscure Singles single Birth Ritual for the first time since 1992 at the Melbourne and Adelaide legs of Soundwave, 90’s icons Soundgarden one-upped themselves at their Sydney Sidewave with a performance of Fell On Black Days’ B-side Kyle Petty, Son Of Richard, which they played live for the first time, like, ever.
Gerard Way Joins Rise Against To Tackle The Misfits
Everyone loves a good crossover episode, and that’s exactly what happened in Sydney last week when non-Soundwave band Rise Against supported Foo Fighters at their monstrous Sydney show at Allianz Stadium. The melodic hardcore heroes blew fans’ minds by reaching over into the Soundwave universe and pulling ex-My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way out and onto the stage to perform a cover of the Misfits’ Astro Zombies with them.
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Marilyn Manson Joins Smashing Pumpkins At Soundwave Sydney
After joining Billy Corgan and company at a show in London last December, shock rocker and occasional rock shocker Marilyn Manson, joined The Smashing Pumpkins on stage at the Sydney leg of Soundwave on Sunday, for a rendition of the Pumpkins’ track Ava Adore.
Johnny Depp Joins Marilyn Manson Onstage At Brisbane Sidewave
In an even more unexpected twist, the Pale Emperor teamed up with Captain Jack Sparrow in Brisbane for a musical collaboration that would have given Walt Disney night terrors (you know, if he wasn’t currently pickling inside a cryogenic chamber).
Marilyn Manson joined forces with his casual BFF, and reformed beautiful person, Johnny Depp for a rendition of the crowd-pleasing tune The Beautiful People during his Sidewave at The Tivoli.
J-Depp was, of course, in town filming the next installment of the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise, but took some time out to pop over and play a bit of guitar with his shock rockin’ pal, much to the delight of the audience, and the internet.
‘Fear Ministry’ At A Sydney Sidewave
Fans at Ministry’s Sydney Sidewave performance at The Metro got a special treat when Fear Factory’s Burton C. Bell joined the band onstage for a rendition of Just One Fix. Headbangers gave their seal of approval via the standard channel: devil horn.
All Time Low’s Storm-Beating Soundwave Singalong
This one’s a gimme. All Time Low returning to the stage after a sudden rainstorm laid waste to their equipment, to treat fans to one final Soundwave swansong. In a goose-bump inducing performance, frontman Alex Gaskarth invited the crowd to lend him their voices for an acapella singalong of the band’s uplifting tune, Weightless, before launching into a note-perfect rendition of Queen’s We Will Rock You as fans stomped and clapped along in rhythm. Anyone else think ATL should do a legit cover of that song now?
The Used’s Bert McCracken Plays With Tonight Alive
Tonight Alive’s performances at this year’s Soundwave Festival have been memorable for a lot of reasons, but one thing their Sydney set had that the others didn’t was a guest appearance by The Used frontman, Bert McCracken. As a special treat for their hometown crowd, Jenna McDougall and co invited the post-hardcore hero onto the stage for a rendition of Guerilla Radio in their much talked-about Rage Against The Machine medley.
.@bro_mccracken and @TonightAlive unleashing RATM's 'Guerilla Radio' on @soundwavefest Syd #SW15 pic.twitter.com/uOLkPUeD8y
— [V] (@vmusic_au) March 1, 2015
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Incubus take on The Beatles
During their Melbourne Sidewave with Antemasque and Le Butcherettes at the Forum Theatre, Incubus veered into a crowd-pleasing take on The Beatles’ classic I Want You (She’s So Heavy) in the midst of A Crow Left Of The Murder.
Rob Halford Is Hell Bent For Leather
An especially climactic moment in heavy metal legends’ Judas Priest’s set (at both their Sydney and Brisbane Soundwave appearances) occurred during the band’s first encore. Frontman Rob Halford returned to the stage atop a legit Harley-Davidson motorbike, brandishing a black riding crop in a blaze of smokey glory and thundering riffage to perform an epic rendition of Hell Bent For Leather.
Papa Roach and the Wall of Death
Who’da thunk it? Not only did Californian nu metal patriarchs Papa Roach help soggy punters recover from a stormy drenching by bouncing back from the day’s technical delays with a killer set on Soundwave’s main stage, they also pulled off a surprisingly impressive wall of death!
Godsmack and Soundwave’s Biggest Circle Pit
American alternative metallers Godsmack also helped rain-soaked fans stick it to mother nature by orchestrating a monster circle pit in the eye of the Sydney storm.
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Now you can flick over to Page 2 for the best Soundwave videos from Week One!
Gallery: Soundwave 2015 – The Best Of The Fest
Soundwave 2015: The Best Of The Fest
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02JudasPriestEnmoreTheatre Maria Boyadgis
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02ApocalypticaSoundwave016 Brett Schewitz
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01CrowdSoundwave021 Brett Schewitz
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02SlashFestivalHall001 Tony Proudfoot
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03TonightAliveSoundwave030 Brett Schewitz
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04AllTimeLowSoundWave005 Brett Schewitz
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04FuckedUp02 Bec Reid
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05KillerBeKilled06 Bec Reid
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05TheColorMoraleSoundwaveSydney036 Liam Cameron
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05TheColorMoraleSoundwaveSydney039 Liam Cameron
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06MarilynMansonSoundwave023 Brett Schewitz
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06MinistrySoundwaveSydney048 Liam Cameron
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06MinistrySoundwaveSydney053 Liam Cameron
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07TheVandals01 Bec Reid
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07ofmiceandmen03 Alesha Martyn
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08AntemasqueSoundwave02 Nic Bezzina
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08SlipknotSoundwave011 Brett Schewitz
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11Exodus07 Bec Reid
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12KillerBeKilledSoundwave01 Nic Bezzina
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13EscapeTheFate04 Bec Reid
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14SteelPantherSoundwave003 Brett Schewitz
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16SlipknotSoundwave06
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16SoundgardenSoundwave017 Brett Schewitz
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18FaithNoMoreSoundwave004 Brett Schewitz
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Marilyn Manson 2 Yael Stempler
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Marilyn Manson Yael Stempler
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Papa Roach Yael Stempler
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Smashing Pumpkins Yael Stempler
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Soundwave 2015 Sydney 2 Yael Stempler
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Soundwave 2015 Sydney 3 Yael Stempler
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Soundwave 2015 Sydney Yael Stempler
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SoundwaveADL 1210 Nic Bezzina
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SoundwaveADL 1219 Nic Bezzina
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17TheDevilWearsPrada01