Warphem Tourfest 2010

By Duke

Let me start off this post by saying this:

Dear Kevin Lyman,

Stop being such a greedy bastard.

Now that that’s out of my system, let’s get to the reason behind that.

During my browsing of some music news sites last night, I came across the recently released band lineup for Warped Tour 2010.

My first reaction was ‘Oh, Andrew W.K. is back, that’s pretty funny.’ I met Andrew W.K. at Warped Tour 2002 and he is a pretty wild dude. His music isn’t going to inspire you to write the next great American novel, but it will make a high energy -- albeit mindless -- party soundtrack.

Working my way down the list, I saw a bunch of other bands that I expected: Attack Attack, Breathe Carolina, Motion City Soundtrack, etc.

Then I saw two names I never expected to see on Warped Tour…Suicide Silence and Whitechapel.

I have no idea how you can possibly justify having these guys on your tour. Warped Tour is supposed to be a punk/ska/screamo/whatever tour. Past bands include NOFX, Bad Religion, Good Charlotte, Sum 41, Fall Out Boy, Paramore…the list goes on and on obviously, seeing how there are a ton of bands on the tour each year.

Note how that list does NOT include Tool, Slipknot, Marilyn Manson, Soulfly, or any heavier bands -- the heaviest bands Warped Tour usually includes are bands like Silverstein or A Static Lullaby, which fall under the realm of Screamo bands.

Your gut reaction might be ‘Well…I guess Lyman just wants to incorporate some of the more notable bands from Mayhem Fest.’

Legit statement -- until you realize that Lyman created both of them.

It’s a good idea to not have a static lineup each year, people will lose interest. However, when you have another tour devoted specifically to this type of genre…what possible reason could you have for this? Aside from just raking in more money by signing these bands who have -- inexplicably -- become super popular because of the recent obsession with blisteringly heavy music?

And I don’t want to hear a word about how Whitechapel or Suicide Silence blend aspects of hardcore into their music. They aren’t Hatebreed, 36 Crazyfists, Terror, or Throwdown. And even those are bands that normally wouldn’t really fit on Warped Tour.

Please tell me what part of this sounds like a Warped Tour band to you:

Suicide Silence -- Bludgeoned

Yes, Underoath was on the tour a few years back but at least they could make a case for being a screamo band -- at least around the time of They’re Only Chasing Safety.

Aside from them, the most metal bands on the tour recently have been As I Lay Dying and Killswitch Engage. Why am I not pissing and moaning about that? Because they didn’t just ride the wave of this deathcore uprising -- it seems like a new death metal band emerges every week. Besides that, those guys are more straight-up metal/metalcore. They aren’t deathcore/grindcore/thrashcore/trashcore.

Hell, at least take these guys to Ozzfest if it reemerges this year. Or drive them out to the middle of nowhere and leave them for dead. Either one works.

Just like Mayhem Fest this past summer, I’m sure you will see a ton of 14 year old scenesters walking around with Black Dahlia Murder and Cannibal Corpse shirts on. Have fun with that.

To check out our Mayhem Fest review from the Cleveland, Ohio, date this past summer, click Mayhem Fest Cleveland review

For more information on Warped Tour, visit the Warped Tour official site

View the full list of Warped Tour 2010 bands

All photos, music, and videos copyright of their respective owners. Used only for promotional purposes and to gain notoriety for the artists featured.

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