Metallica Welcomes Back Aftershock
After the postponement of last year’s Aftershock Festival due to Covid, northern California fans were ready to rock and rock they did for four days straight with Metallica headlining Friday and Sunday night at Discovery Park in Sacramento.
Again, the festival was sold out and an average of 30,000 rock fans of all ages spread around 3 stages where they were treated to all different types of music that went from classic heavy metal, thrash metal, nu metal, punk, ska punk, Celtic punk, hardcore punk, and even some hip-hop, so there was always something for everyone.
Although there were some bands that cancelled their appearance after the postponement, other bands were added so there was no shortage of ammunition and things got underway on Thursday, October 7, with bands like Destroy Boys, Oxymorons, Knocked Loose, Death Angel, Exodus, Cypress Hill, Anthrax and Testament, which got things warmed up for the rest of the weekend and with Metallica headlining Friday and Sunday nights.
Friday night was the first major show for Metallica since the pandemic hit, they did have a warm up show last month at the Independent club in San Francisco. Metallica’s was explosive with fire flames and fireworks and it was definitely heaven for the old-time fans as they concentrated on mostly 80’s and 90’s songs.
Although many people were waiting for Metallica’s comeback to the big stages, they were not disappointed as they were treated to an onslaught of good music from the likes of Dropkick Murphy’s, Rancid, Suicidal Tendencies, Seether, Volbeat and others.
Saturday night was no less exciting as punk icons, The Original Misfits closed the festivities with a blistering show that ran through Misfits classics such as “Vampira”, ‘I turned into a Martian”, “Night of the living dead”, “Who killed Marylin” and many others.
Another band that really connected with the audience was The Offspring with a set that included classic 90’s hits like “Come out and play”, “Bad Habit”, “Why don’t you get a job?”, “Pretty Fly (for a white guy)”, and “Self Esteem”, but definitely the highlight was the piano version of “Gone away” which was a very poignant moment for those who have lost loved ones during the pandemic. Other highlights from Saturday night were Body Count who got the crowd into a frenzy with their blistering set.
Sunday night saw Metallica come back again to close out the night with another outstanding performance, it was obvious that the band was happy and ready to rock this weekend and unleashed all their pent-up energy on their faithful.
Prior to Metallica taking the stage the fans were treated to another great night of music with highly anticipated sets by Social Distortion, Rise Against, Mastodon, Pennywise and others.
As in previous editions of the festival, the organization of the festival was at its best, there were no major issues with sound or video, there were no delays, every band went on as scheduled and staff were always helpful and friendly even with the added pressures of having to check everyone for proof of Covid vaccination or recent negative covid test results.
Photos courtesy of Aftershock and Ashton-Magnuson Media
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4