Slayer Lead Second Soundwave Announce

Well, here it is. The second Soundwave announcement and, quite frankly, a great end to the week. So whether you've had a great time and are cruising into Friday night with a grin plastered on your face, or you feel like you're going to have to go and get power drunk to forget about the bullshit you've had to endure these past five days, crank up our playlist and be happy that you're going to get to witness what has got to be the best heavy music festival Australia has ever seen.

Slayer, Cypress Hill, Billy Talent, Gallows, Bullet For My Valentine, Bring Me The Horizon, Mindless Self Indulgence, The Amity Affliction, Sick Of It All, The Blackout, Fucked Up, This Is Hell, The Early November, Cerebral Ballzy, Polar Bear Club, Sylosis, Blood On The Dance Floor, The Dear Hunter, Confession

Slayer:

One of those thrash metal bands that still absolutely destroy audiences every time they step on to a stage. You don't have to be a metal fan to love Slayer and the way in which they go about both writing and performing their powerful brand of metal. No strangers to Soundwave, the band make their return in 2013 and will be showing the kids precisely how it is done. They're gonna fit right in with their buddies Metallica and Anthrax already on the bill...

Cypress Hill:

Certainly one out of left field for Soundwave, these hip hop masters will, if nothing else, ensure that the Police drug dogs are kept nice and busy during Soundwave. One of the real great rock/hip hop crossover acts, this is Cypress Hill's first Australian performance in ages!

Bullet For My Valentine:

British metalcore masters Bullet For My Valentine are finally coming back to say hello to us after far too long. In the past they've done their own enormous headline shows and torn shreds off of the Big Day Out mainstage, so it stands to reason that they have Soundwave in their sights next.

Bring Me The Horizon:

They swept through the Soundwave festival a couple of years ago with great force on the back of their acclaimed number one ARIA charting record There Is A Hell Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is A Heaven Let's Keep It A Secret.Bring Me The Horizon have a mammoth Aussie fan base and Soundwave seems as good a place as any for them to reconnect with us.

Billy Talent:

No surprises here. The Canadian rockers have a new record out incredibly soon, they have had a solid relationship with Soundwave in recent times and, hell, they told the crowd in Brisbane that they were playing Soundwave 2013. But we can never get enough Billy Talent, right?

Sick Of It All:

We knew there would have to be some more legendary hardcore acts on the 2013 Soundwave bill and Sick Of It All fit that bill pretty damn perfectly if you ask us. If you have been lucky enough to see the band, who are still incredibly hardworking, lately then you'll know that their live show can match it with plenty of bands far younger than them after 25 years in the game.

Fucked Up:

So it's going to be quite interesting to see what the crowds for Fucked Up are like at Soundwave 2013. The festival brought them out a couple of years ago and the band played incredible sets to, let's face it, not very many people. Though to be fair, they were clashing with Iron Maiden... But it's great that the festival have stuck to their guns and brought them back; the band have somewhat of a bigger following now and, as we found out late last year, they still destroy live.

Gallows:

Another band to let the news of their Soundwave appearance slip a little earlier than they probably should have, this will be Gallows' first Australian visit with Alexisonfire's Wade MacNeil out the front. Their new record is coming out in September, so it will be interesting to see whether the band are able to convince the public that they're even better with the new line up.

Cerebral Ballzy:

These New York kids play hardcore pretty close to the way it was done back in the days of Black Flag; fast, angry, short and snotty, but they seem to have even more fun with it. Their self-titled debut was a ball-tearer; here's hoping Cerebral Ballzy can deliver the goods when they make their first visit to our shores for Soundwave next year.

The Blackout:

One of the most rock'n'roll bands on the 2013 bill, The Blackout have been slamming out their brand of riff heavy post-hardcore for almost ten years now and the sextet are looking to launch their fourth record next year following the huge success of last year's Hope. We imagine this will mean Aussie audiences are going to be among the first to hear new material from the group and we're sure you're pretty excited about that prospect.

Mindless Self Indulgence:

Also known as MSI, genre and good-taste defying New Yorkers MSI have played a Soundwave previously, insulting surf kids and colourful clothing from memory. You love them, or you hate them, (the same goes for frontman Jimmy Urine) but you can't ignore them. Been a bit quiet recently, but their industrial-rap-punk-techno hybrid will be fucking loud come Soundwave.

The Amity Affliction:

Flying the local flag, one of the country's best loved post-hardcore acts, The Amity Affliction return to Soundwave. By the time the festival comes around they will have dropped their new album Chasing Ghosts and will probably have a bigger followed than they even do now. Go on AJ, but them on the main stage this year. The kids will love you for it.

Polar Bear Club:

Bridge 9 alt-rockers Polar Bear Club are making their return to Australia for what we believe is the first time since the release of their incredibly well received third album Clash Battle Guilt Pride, once more ending up on the Soundwave tour, proving they must have done something right on previous visits. Their charming brand of post-hardcore (fuck, we're getting really sick of saying that. It really is a lazy genre title, isn't it?) is pretty rad, so they can come back anytime, in our opinion.

This Is Hell:

It seems odd to call this New York hardcore outfit quiet achievers given their live show (spoiler: there ain't nothing quiet about it) but while other bands have been exploding, This Is Hell have been creating some fucking brilliant records. They've been releasing their records into Australia more and more (check out Weight Of The World, it's one of the best hardcore releases of 2010) and we'd like more of the same, please.

The Early November:

Mainly the project of emo-indie wonderkid Ace Enders, in 2006 they releases a three-disc epic The Mother, The Mechanic, The Path, which was universally acclaimed but pretty much burnt Enders out completely. After a few headline tours the band broke up and Enders took a much-needed break. Fans had barely made their way through the concept album when talk of a reunion started to surface. Last year a recharged Enders made the announcement that the band would be back permanently, and they released new album In Currents earlier this year.

Sylosis:

This British metal band are somewhat unknown to the majority of Aussie audiences, but Soundwave are looking to champion them early by giving them a crack on the 2013 bill.Sylosistake elements of hardcore, thrash and death metal and smash them together; you're best off listening to one of their three Nuclear Blast records to get a feel for them. But you know that, if Nuclear Blast dig it, it's probably pretty good.

Blood On The Dance Floor:

We'd like to think there's never actually been any blood hit the floor of a Blood On The Dance Floor show, their music is too much fun for that, right? If the wrong kind of jaded old dudes go to see this band then it could be a different story though. Certainly one for the kids or people who have taken mood enhancing substances.

The Dear Hunter:

No, it's not Deerhunter like a certain radio personality might have you believe, it's The Dear Hunter - a diverse side-project for the Receiving End Of Sirens' Casey Crescenzo. The songs are incredibly strong and seeing them live is going to be a real treat. Expect to hear much for from The Dear Hunter in the future.

Confession:

This year's Soundwave has a mammoth line-up, but we reckon the biggest character out of the lot is Confession's Michael Crafter. Former I Killed The Prom Queen vocalist, shameless self-promoter and utterly polarising, earlier this year he was in a very public fall-out with his bandmates. Let's be honest, we're not sure what form Confession will take in 2013 but we'll definitely be watching.