Aftershock 2023, Day Two: Legends and Newcomers

The second day of the Aftershock Festival was marked by many Aftershock veterans, and a few fresh faces. We’re going to highlight some performances that stood out to us, whether we’ve seen them here in years past, or this is one of their first festivals ever.

One of the first timers, Tallah, easily broke the rust off the crowd. They brought the intensity from the start, and didn’t slow down for a second. Wearing torn and dirty lab coats, they flailed and threw their bodies around the stage. The vocalist’s growling screams, eerie alien synth sounds, and heart pounding breakdowns all added up to an incredibly dark and creepy metal performance that will be remembered by this audience.

Speaking of intensity, Memphis May Fire set off an explosive set, with plenty of pyrotechnics and smoke cannons. Their powerful melodic lyricism had everyone singing along to the emotional, uplifting messages that set them apart from the rest.

Another returning Aftershock legend, The Hu, took the stage to an enormous crowd chanting their name to them. A folk metal band hailing from Mongolia, they create an impressive image on stage with 2 sets of drums, 2 guitars, 1 bass guitar, and 2 members with intricate 2-string instruments with a carved horse head that they played with a bow made from horse hair. Led by the lead vocalist, every member of the band used deep and powerful throat singing to create a throbbing anthem-like rhythm that blended perfectly with a traditional metal sound.

Another first time Aftershocker that blew SiriusXM’s Jose Mangin’s mind, HANABIE. is an all girl group from Japan that came out on stage clad in pink and white. But their intense screaming vocals, contrasting with a higher pitched clean chorus, had the crowd moshing for the entire set. Even the side stages were overflowing with people wanting to witness this band have their big break.

To end the night, Tool brought decades of experience and their incredibly hypnotic visuals to the main stage. The “front” man, Maynard, actually took the back of the stage, shrouded in darkness, as he moved between posing like a Roman statue as he sang and crabbing back and forth as he listened to his musicians play. The musicians were bathed in soft light that got brighter each time they had a solo. The crowd roared at the start of every song as soon as they recognized what it was. And every song, with their incredible complex riffs and melodies, seemed to go on forever, but never long enough.

With that, another day of Aftershock filled with rock legends and future stars came to a close. We know day three will be just as jam packed as this one, and we hope to see you there!