Vista Chino, Primus, Bliss N Eso Lead Second Big Day Out Announcement

You've been waiting, hopefully patiently, for a few months now. But Big Day Out are this morning ready to tell you who else they have up their sleeve for the 2014 instalment of their iconic event. There are a few names who were supposed to be on the Harvest bill, some hard-hitting Aussies and even a couple of pleasant surprises.

The second line up announcement is as follows:

Vista Chino (formerly Kyuss Lives!), Primus, CSS, Bliss N Eso (all cities except Adelaide), 360 (Adelaide only), The Drones, Kerser, Bluejuice, Violent Soho, The Jungle Giants, All The Colours

Here's what the line-up sounds like now:

Here's what we reckon:

VISTA CHINO

Not quite a household name, but you'll probably know them better as “the band that used to be Kyuss Lives”. Vista Chino have taken the music that made Kyuss such an incredible force in heavy music since their formation in the late 80s and kept it pumping in the modern era. The band got together to celebrate the Kyuss legacy a few years back and due to some legal issues they've changed their name just prior to releasing the Peace record this year, but the music remains heavy and awesome.

PRIMUS

One of a couple of bands rescued from the ill-fated Harvest Festival bill, this is one a little out of left-field. There was a while there where we thought we might never see Primus back in Australia again, but now we get the second chance in a few years to witness this trio of freakishly talented musicians, led by the warped mind of Les Claypool. They're irreverent and wacky and they play a hybrid of rock and funk and metal that is just too much to explain. Hell, we probably don't need to sell them to you anyway.

CSS

Another Harvest refugee! Their 2005 debut was a classic cut of songs from right in the belly of the dance punk revolution that stands up brilliantly eight years on. Since then the Brazilian indie group have undergone a few changes, but continue putting together amazing and highly danceable tunes, in fact they just dropped a brand new LP a couple of weeks back. This is a band who will get you dancing and hopefully just make you feel good about something for once.

BLISS N ESO

They cemented their place as one of Aussie hip hop's biggest ever acts through 2013 with the release of their fifth studio album Circus In The Sky, a record that saw them hitting the top of the charts yet again. They sold out massive rooms across the country on their album tour in support of said release, so the heat is well and truly on this Sydney trio and they'll be kicking off their 15^th year together in real style all around the country.

THE DRONES

Do you really need us to tell you about The Drones? One of Australia's best bands both live and on record, a band that will be perennially underrated purely because it's impossible to overpraise a band that are this fucking great. I See Seaweed is one of the year's best albums thus far, another devastating set both sonically and lyrically that is bleak and brilliant and makes us bloody proud.

KERSER

The guy called his latest record SCOT, which stands for Sickest Cunt Out There – that ought to give you some sort of idea as to what Sydney rapper Kerser is all about. That album debuted in the pointy part of the charts a few weeks ago, despite the fact he gets fuck all radio play and attention from traditional sectors of the industry, so you can bet he's got a grassroots fan base pretty much unlike any other artist in the country. He'll be a controversial inclusion for some, but it's one that makes sense.

BLUEJUICE

Bands like Bluejuice thrive on events like the Big Day Out; huge crowds who love music and just want to have a good time. Their stage show is ludicrous, but the songs are good enough that not everyone wants to throw things at them; catchy summer anthems that will incite sing-alongs and dancing and ruthless but innocent behaviour.

VIOLENT SOHO

They dropped one of the best Australia rock albums in recent memory in September, backed that up with sold out shows around the country that got hectic as fuck (that's how the kids talk these days) and the chance to see Violent Soho smashing it out at the Big Day Out couldn't come soon enough. These Brisbane dudes know how to party and they know how to put on a show; the thought of them on the same tour as Snoop Dogg is a little terrifying, but we can't wait to see what happens.

THE JUNGLE GIANTS

Brisbane's The Jungle Giants are huge amongst the kids of Australia, possessing an enormous underage following thanks to their chirpy indie rock. This year saw them drop their debut LP Learn To Exist and head out on the road for plenty of touring – though that's nothing new for the group – so they'll be in fine touch by the time Big Day Out rolls around.

ALL THE COLOURS

Melbourne pop quartet All The Colours will get a serious profile boost with their inclusion on the 2014 Big Day Out line up, but it's not as if they're not used to the attention. You might recognise one, or a few, of the faces in the band as they have all played in other acts over the years to varying degrees of success. But this will be the biggest thing All The Colours have done together and there's no way they're not gonna be excited by that.