Another festival lineup has made its’ way out to the public and it is for the returning rock/metal festival, Furnace Fest. The Alabama festival is making its’ first appearance in almost 20 years. Taking place at Sloss Furnaces on September 24th through the 26th the triumphant return has come with great praise and seems that it could not have come at a better time. Seeing a lineup of this caliber and diversity is bringing quite a smile to the faces of all the sad festival-goers who have not had a lot to go to or be excited about in a long time. Each day has a little something special for every person that will go to the festival.
Friday has quite a few highlights on the bill that will get the crowds going. We see hardcore bands like, SeeYouSpaceCowboy, END, Defeater, and Converge. Along side those beatdown hardcore acts we see some metalcore and post-hardcore acts such as, Gideon, Erra, Every Time I Die, Cave In, and the first night will be finished off by powerhouse, Underøath. Overall, Friday is a more than acceptable way to start the weekend off. There is a lot of bands that have potential to be the ones that steal the show throughout the weekends many performances.
Saturday seems to be a bit of a lighter day with the theme being centered around emo/pop punk type bands. There are quite a few different genre bands sprinkled in there as well like, Turnstile and The Bled that hold down the heavier side of things throughout the day. Some of the other artists to be mentioned are, Misery Signals, Mayday Parade, Evergreen Terrace, Cartel, Anberlin, and of course the headliner being, Taking Back Sunday. Again, a lighter day that will give most people a little break before the last day of the festival.
Sunday is probably the most stacked day with fairly huge names spread throughout the bill. Metalcore, hardcore, pop-punk, and plenty of other genres seen as well. The most notable names there are, Knocked Loose, Hatebreed, Fit For A King, Counterparts, Comeback Kid, Bad Cop/Bad Cop/ August Burns Red, is headlined by the ever consistent and always popular, Killswitch Engage. People that are fans of new American heavy metal and old school metalcore will be eager to get in a pit on this Sunday. Hatebreed and Killswitch Engage are big names which will draw big crowds and then you have bands like Knocked Loose and Fit For A King that are getting air time on radio stations so they will draw crowds. Counterparts and August Burns Red are two of the best bands in metalcore today as well so, great sets can be expected from them.
Furnace Fest making its’ long awaited return is great news, with a lineup like this, we can expect there to be a ton of people at the festival. Hopefully if all goes well, it will be a festival that sticks around for awhile. It is a way for smaller bands like some on this lineup to get their names out there and have big audiences exposed to their art and their music. If you’re in the south and looking for a festival that packs a punch and will hit you in the gut over and over, look no further. Grab a ticket to this gnarly weekend.
Live From The Pit 