It’s October and monsters, zombies and the undead can only mean one thing, right? No, we’re not talking about Halloween, we’re talking about the Rock Allegiance Festival, sponsored by Monster Energy, which was held on Saturday October 10th, 2015 in Chester, PA. The event took place at PPL Park, the state of the art Major League Soccer stadium which is home to the Philadelphia Union. The stadium seats 18,500 fans, but 50,000 were in attendance to witness the sold-out heavy metal event.
Music festivals can be a logistical nightmare for organizers, especially one as large as Rock Allegiance. One thing was certain as the day progressed and that was this was one well oiled, fine-tuned machine that ran smoothly. The festival was laid out perfectly. Two main stages stood side by side at the southern end of the stadium, while one tent stage was setup just outside the western side of the stadium. If you had a brochure with the set times, you could watch some awesome live music with little, to no downtime.
All of the amenities set up by festival organizers were conveniently located around the tent stage. Merchandise stands were set up for your heavy metal shopping needs, food trucks were lined up and dishing out some fantastic gourmet fare and craft beer vendors were available to pour the beverage or your choice. An autograph area was set up for fans to meet and greet their favorite bands, rental lockers were available to stow away your newly acquired swag and fuckcancer.org was on hand to spread word about cancer awareness and prevention. Top all of this off with a 65 degree sunny fall day, and a kick ass metal lineup and you’d have yourself one great Saturday of metal madness.
This event sold out far in advance and rightfully so as the lineup consisted of heavy hitters, with some bands new to the scene, coupled with well-established veterans as well. Hitting the tent stage were Zombie Kidz, Unlocking the Truth, From Ashes to New, Charm City Devils, Superheaven, Butcher Babies, Saint Asonia, and Hollywood Undead. The main stage players were Devour the Day, Red Sun Rising, The Glorious Sons, Nothing More, Atreyu, Pop Evil, In This Moment, Bring Me the Horizon, Papa Roach, Five Finger Death Punch, Godsmack, Korn and Rob Zombie.
So who kicked ass and melted faces at this event? The simple answer is every band that stepped foot onstage. That’s right, all bands were high energy and seemingly gave their souls to the crowd as they head banged throughout their sets. During the day, the massive crowed roared with appreciation as each band played electric set, after electric set. The crowd fed off the bands and the bands fed off the crowd. Each cannibalizing the other as they brought PPL Stadium to a feverish pitch. Standing high above the stadium in the media area was a sight to behold as thousands of fans sang and threw the horns in unison throughout the evening.
One of the more pleasing attributes about this show was the crowd. With this many people in attendance, one would think there would be fights or scuffles, but I personally witnessed none. Everyone was there for the love of music and more importantly, the love of metal. Also props must go out to the PPL staff and security as they were some of friendliest and helpful people I’ve encountered at a large festival.
A day and night filled with zombies, monsters, undead and masks was a perfect lead in for the fall season and Halloween. It was appropriate that the day kicked off with Delaware County’s “Let There Be Rock School’s”, The Zombie Kidz, which is a group of kids that are sure to carry the metal torch into the future, and then closed with a rock and roll veteran and legend, Rob Zombie. For those that had spare energy, an after party hosted by Steel Panther was held at the tent stage. As weary and tired as I was, I wished that the festival was two days and if it were, I’d wish it were three. The Rock Allegiance festival will return next year with the same excitement and energy as this year, so do yourself a favor and get your tickets early. It’s sure to melt your face.
All of the amenities set up by festival organizers were conveniently located around the tent stage. Merchandise stands were set up for your heavy metal shopping needs, food trucks were lined up and dishing out some fantastic gourmet fare and craft beer vendors were available to pour the beverage or your choice. An autograph area was set up for fans to meet and greet their favorite bands, rental lockers were available to stow away your newly acquired swag and fuckcancer.org was on hand to spread word about cancer awareness and prevention. Top all of this off with a 65 degree sunny fall day, and a kick ass metal lineup and you’d have yourself one great Saturday of metal madness.
This event sold out far in advance and rightfully so as the lineup consisted of heavy hitters, with some bands new to the scene, coupled with well-established veterans as well. Hitting the tent stage were Zombie Kidz, Unlocking the Truth, From Ashes to New, Charm City Devils, Superheaven, Butcher Babies, Saint Asonia, and Hollywood Undead. The main stage players were Devour the Day, Red Sun Rising, The Glorious Sons, Nothing More, Atreyu, Pop Evil, In This Moment, Bring Me the Horizon, Papa Roach, Five Finger Death Punch, Godsmack, Korn and Rob Zombie.
So who kicked ass and melted faces at this event? The simple answer is every band that stepped foot onstage. That’s right, all bands were high energy and seemingly gave their souls to the crowd as they head banged throughout their sets. During the day, the massive crowed roared with appreciation as each band played electric set, after electric set. The crowd fed off the bands and the bands fed off the crowd. Each cannibalizing the other as they brought PPL Stadium to a feverish pitch. Standing high above the stadium in the media area was a sight to behold as thousands of fans sang and threw the horns in unison throughout the evening.
One of the more pleasing attributes about this show was the crowd. With this many people in attendance, one would think there would be fights or scuffles, but I personally witnessed none. Everyone was there for the love of music and more importantly, the love of metal. Also props must go out to the PPL staff and security as they were some of friendliest and helpful people I’ve encountered at a large festival.
A day and night filled with zombies, monsters, undead and masks was a perfect lead in for the fall season and Halloween. It was appropriate that the day kicked off with Delaware County’s “Let There Be Rock School’s”, The Zombie Kidz, which is a group of kids that are sure to carry the metal torch into the future, and then closed with a rock and roll veteran and legend, Rob Zombie. For those that had spare energy, an after party hosted by Steel Panther was held at the tent stage. As weary and tired as I was, I wished that the festival was two days and if it were, I’d wish it were three. The Rock Allegiance festival will return next year with the same excitement and energy as this year, so do yourself a favor and get your tickets early. It’s sure to melt your face.
