Photos By Jacob Striewski

There’s a certain amount of pros versus cons that have to be weighed when factoring in an extensive, four-day music festival such as Welcome to Rockville. On the one hand, you’re getting in a LOT of your favorite bands in a very short span of time. But on the other hand, you’re also getting much shorter set lists, and dealing with WAY more obnoxious, drunken fools than you would on any other given normal day of the week (such a blast I’ll tell ya).

It’s a definite take-the-good-with-the-bad type of situation to say the least. But for better or worse, I bit the bullet, taking my son Jacob once again to catch up on many of the bands I’ve already seen over the years, but he had yet to have the chance to catch live himself (my wife Brooke wisely decided to sit most of it out, only attending the first night at the Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, May 9). Said first day was one for the books indeed, and I will try to recall as much of the massive festival as I possibly can here, from start to finish.

DAY 1:

The very first band we caught while walking up on the very first day was Saliva, and we could hear the sounds of their generic 2000 hit “Click Click Boom” (thankfully) ending just as we entered the gates. Luckily ’90s rockers Stabbing Westward were up directly afterwards, although something seemed slightly “off” since the last time I saw them back in 2019 (namely some lineup changes that now included the lack of a bass player). After catching a few tracks in the form of “Falls Apart,” “The Thing I Hate,” and “I Don’t Believe,” it was already on to the next band, which at that point was Flyleaf w/ Lacy Sturm.

I can’t say I’ve ever really sat down and listened to Flyleaf a single day of my life, but there was no denying frontwoman Sturm had a certain presence (not to mention cuteness) to her. After a few minutes of the chaos that is Shadows Fall (a little closer up my ally with songs like “King of Nothing” and “Still I Rise”), Christian rockers Skillet blasted through several of their admirable well-known anthems like “Feel Invincible,” “Rise,” “Surviving the Game,” “Awake and Alive,” and “Hero,” it was time to catch one of the biggest draws of the entire festival for me…Max Cavalera and Soulfly.

I had seen his former band Sepultura a couple of times previously (most recently at last year’s Welcome to Rockville), but never with frontman Cavalera at the helm. So it was a blast finally hearing such epic tracks as “Bleed,” “Refuse/Resist,” “Jumpdafuckup,” and “Eye for an Eye” with Cavalera’s distinct voice over them (along with his son Zyon behind him on the drumkit to boot).

Max Cavalera and Soulfly on stage on Thursday, May 9 (Photo by Jesse Striewski).

Next up was an even bigger favorite for me; Anthrax. I’ve seen them a handful of times prior as well (seems like each time with a different lineup), but this time bassist/former Rewind It interviewee Frank Bello was unable to attend, so the band enlisted none other than original bassist Dan Liker (also of S.O.D. and Nuclear Assault, among many others) to fill in for him on this tour for the first time in four decades.

I instantly felt like I was watching metal history as the opening notes of “Among the Living” kicked in and the guys absolutely slayed the stage! “Caught in a Mosh,” “Madhouse,” “Metal Thrashing Mad” (finally something off the first album live!), “Antisocial,” “A.I.R.,” “Got the Time,” and “Indians” all felt new again (no disrespect to Bello of course).

Metal legends Anthrax performing with original bassist Dan Liker for the first time in four decades on 5/9/24 (Photo by Jesse Striewski).

A few more acts more in line with my son’s tastes than my own in the form of August Burns Red, Mudvayne, and Biohazard all followed before the mighty Judas Priest, who it had been nearly twenty years since the last time I saw them all the way back at Ozzfest in 2004 (not counting catching spinoff act KK’s Priest earlier this year). There just felt like there was something missing this time though unfortunately without both KK Downing and Glen Tipton handling guitar duties.

New tracks and classics alike in the form of “Panic Attack,” “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’,” “Rapid Fire,” “Breaking the Law,” “Lighting Strike,” “Love Bites,” “Sinner,” and even “Turbo Lover” (a nice welcomed addition that I don’t recall them playing back in ’04) were all heard before we were heading to the next act…Insane Clown Posse (which proved to be a mammoth mistake).

The sound during ICP’s set was beyond comprehension, and it was hard to even distinguish whether it was intentionally done, or just a major foul up (either way it was terrible). Needless to say it didn’t take us long to move on to the next one again.

And that next one this time was Disturbed. Those who know me know that I’ve never claimed to be a big nu metal fan by any means, but there are some bands in the genre I can tolerate more than others, with Disturbed no doubt being one of them. Opening with “Hey You,” the band must’ve been suffering from similar technical difficulties as ICP (though not quite as bad) as chants of “Fix the Sound!” could be clearly heard throughout the Speedway. But that didn’t stop the band from going through numbers like “Stupify,” Ten Thousand Fists,” “Prayer,” “Bad Man,” a cover of Genesis’ “Land of Confusion,” and “The Game.” But their cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence” seemed like the perfect time to head on to the next act.

Enter Kerry King of Slayer, a man I’ve seen and even photographed on stage on more than one occasion over the years. After the two sub-par sets we had just witnessed, it was a total breath of fresh air of metal for sure. Hearing the 1986 classic “Raining Blood” live again, and new tracks like “From Hell I Rise” (all being sung by Death Angel vocalist Mark Osegueda and with former Machine Head guitarist Phil Demmel in tow as well, which were added bonuses for sure) was completely worthwhile.

Legendary Slayer guitarist Kerry King and his current “supergroup” that also includes Death Angel’s Mark Osegueda and ex-Machine Head guitarist Phil Demmel on Thursday, 5/9/24 (Photo by Jesse Striewski).

It was while transferring from one stage to the next again that I could see Disturbed were not only still on, but had invited a female guest singer on stage with them. I would later come to find out that guest was none other than Ann Wilson of Heart Fame (the two parties share vocal duties on the track “Don’t Tell Me”); it was a moment I wish we had been fully aware was happening, though I’m still glad we witnessed what little of it that we actually did.

And finally, Motley Crue. There was a time when I genuinely loved Motley Crue, but unfortunately they have not aged all that gracefully. With this latest appearance, I’ve now seen them a total of four times since 2005, and it feels as though they are merely climbing further and further downhill (taking original guitarist Mick Mars out of the equation in favor of John 5 was not necessarily the right move for them, either).

After kicking things off with a rather embarrassing “Breaking News” segment, the band opened their set decently enough with a somewhat strong version of their 1991 single “Primal Scream.” But from then on, it was merely more of the same old situation (if you’ve seen Motley Crue once, you’ve seen them more than enough times) that included “Too Fast For Love,” “Wild Side,” “Shout at the Devil,” “Live Wire,” and “On with the Show.” By the time the guys got to “new” track “Dogs of War,” it felt like more than a signal to finally call it a night.

Motley Crue closing out the first night of Welcome to Rockville on Thursday, 5/9/24 (Photo By Jesse Striewski).

Day 2:

The second day day of the festival was admittedly the least interesting one to me. The first act Jacob and I would catch on this day was ’90s female rockers Kittie, who I can’t say I was ever really a fan of, though there was a small amount of curiosity to hear how tracks like “Brackish” would sound firsthand.

After that, there was a bit of downtime before the next band of interest, Russian deathcore act Slaughter to Prevail, was on. I had only really given their music a spin once or twice in the past (unlike my kid, a noted fan), but there was no denying the amount of energy they threw down. After them, it was on to the sounds of ’90s punks The Offspring (my third time seeing them live since 2009).

I’ve always held a small spot in my heart for The Offspring, although their views boarder on idiocy to me, and the unceremonious dismissals of both founding bassist Greg K and former drummer Pete Parada (the latter of which apparently getting the boot over not wanting to get vaccinated – again, sheer idiocy) were downright lame in my book. Still, there’s no denying the catchy-ness of songs like “Come Out and Play,” “All I Want,” “Want You Bad,” “Staring at the Sun,” “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” “Blitzkrieg Bop” (one of at least three bands to cover the overplayed Ramones anthem at Rockville this year), “Bad Habbit,” “Gotta Get Away,” “Why Don’t You Get a Job?,” “(Can’t Get My) Head Around You,” “Pretty Fly (for a White Guy),” and “The Kids Aren’t Alright.”

The Offspring performing at Welcome to Rockville on Friday, 5/10/24 (Photo By Jesse Striewski).

Next up were Falling in Reverse, and although former Escape the Fate frontman Ronnie Radke still maintains the same energy he did back when I first saw the band at Earthday Birthday in 2011, something just feels “missing” now. Whether it’s the numerous lineup changes since then, or the quality of the music itself that has since been released, it’s not as thrilling of an act as it might have once been. Still, there was no denying the crowd was eating up tracks like “Zombified,” “I’m Not a Vampire,” “Losing My Mind,” “Fuck You and All Your Friends,” “The Drug in Me Is You,” “Just Like You,” “Popular Monster,” “Voices in My Head,” “Ronald,” and “Watch the World Burn.”

It had been quite awhile since I last saw Faith No More frontman Mike Patton live on stage with the short-lived Tomahawk back in 2002, and I was really looking forward to hearing the legendary singer on stage again with an act as eclectic as Mr. Bungle. Although the band is not for everyone’s tastes, is was still a trip watching Patton belt out the likes of “Hell Awaits,” “True,” and “You Lose” (among many others) alongside former FNM bandmate Trey Spruance, Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian, and original Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo.

Next up was singer/rapper Jelly Roll, who back when we first attended Rockville the first time in 2021 was one of the lower tier acts there (though I don’t recall actually seeing him at that time), but has since blown up to full headliner status. A cover of Toby Keith’s “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” was the first song I could hear emanating through the speakers while walking up. If for nothing more than sheer curiosity, we stuck it out long enough to hear tracks/hits like “Smoking Section,” “Same Asshole,” “The Hate Goes On,” “Bottle of Mary Jane,” “Dead Man Walking,” “Son of a Sinner,” and “Need a Favor” before going over to the last stage of the night for (I can’t believe I’m even saying it) Limp Bizkit.

Let me first start by saying I was never, not once a Limp Bizkit fan, ever (in fact, you might say I was even a “hater” back when they first emerged on the scene). But for whatever reason my kid is a fan, so I endured their set, all the way from the opening of “Break Stuff” to a cover of Riff Raff’s “Tip Toe Wing In My Jawwdinz” (can’t say I know that one!) with rapper Riff Raff himself. Even Jelly Roll made another appearance to help the band out on their cover of The Who’s “Behind Blue Eyes.” I still can’t say I’m a fan, but after seeing them live, I can see how some might find Fred Durst and company entertaining now.

Day 3:

Saturday the 11th was definitely another day for the books. We arrived just in time to catch the very last song of Mammoth WVH’s (former Van Halen bassist and the son of the late Eddie Van Halen’s project) final song. But it was okay considering he would make another appearance later on in the day (stay tuned).

Stone Temple Pilots are one of those ’90s bands that have alluded me for many years now (though I was lucky enough to catch late singer Scott Weiland live on stage with Velvet Revolver in both 2005 and 2007). Even without Weiland there, his presence could still be felt as songs like “Wicked Garden,” “Big Bang Baby,” “Vaseline,” “Crackerman,” “Big Empty,” “Plush,” “Interstate Love Song,” “Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart,” and “Sex Type Thing” all echoed through the air that afternoon.

Primus were up next, and significantly more entertaining than the first time I saw them open for Tool back in 2016 (I knew it was a good sign as I walked up to the sounds of “Sgt. Baker” – my personal favorite by them – being played). More gems like “Here Come the Bastards,” “Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver,” and “American Life” could be heard before it was time to move on to the next stage already.

Les Claypool and Primus rock Rockville on Saturday, 5/11/24 (Photo by Jesse Striewski).

Helmet are another one of those bands I can’t say I ever really got that into either, and the one and only time I saw them prior (back at the 2006 Warped Tour), they didn’t really leave much of an impression. The only noticeable difference I can recall between the two shows was that they actually played the track “Milquetoast” (from 1994’s The Crow soundtrack) this time around.

Same goes for the next act, A Day to Remember. While I’ve seen them a couple of times previously as well, nothing has really left that big of an impression on me. One could of course hear such “hits” of theirs that day, including “The Downfall of us All” and “All I Want,” for better or worse. Still, it was no worse than catching a glimpse of L7’s set, which had to be the most unappealing act of the entire festival, and I don’t recall seeing a single smiling face between the group or the crowd.

The next band Greta Van Fleet seemed like a talented enough bunch with their throwback sound to ’70s rock, though can’t say I’ve ever given their music much mind, either. But as if L7 weren’t unappealing enough, Queens of the Stone Age had to be the most boring act of them all (and I actually don’t mind some of the material frontman Josh Homme has been a part of as a member of Kyuss). Tracks like “Little Sister” and “Go with the Flow” had me wanting to go somewhere else indeed.

Finally, the mighty Foo Fighters took the stage, and I had finally felt like I had come full circle seeing a member of Nirvana live in the form of frontman Dave Grohl (not to mention touring guitarist Pat Smear, also known for his time with ’70s punks the Germs, among others). Aiding them behind the drumkit now in place of the late Taylor Hawkins was also Josh Freese of The Vandals, Nine Inch Nails, and Guns N’ Roses (just to name a few).

I had not actually planned to stay the entirety of their two-hour set that night, but circumstances out of my control kept me there until the very last note of the very last song, which in hindsight I’m actually glad I did despite my exhaustion. The band started off with a strong start in the form of “All My Life,” “No Son of Mine,” “Rescued,” “The Pretender,” “Times Like These,” “La Dee Day,” “Breakout,” “Medicine at Midnight,” and “Walk.”

The most interesting moments of the evening however came when some guitar and keyboard solos lead to the band goofing around and just having a good time. First via the Beastie Boys’ “Sabatage,” then some individual moments; Pat Smear returning to his punk rock roots via “Blitzkreig Bop” (again with that song!) and Josh Freese pounding out some Nine Inch Nails beats via “March of the Pigs.” But the best moment of them all came when Grohl tricked his audience into believing he was playing Van Halen’s “Eruption,” only for it to be revealed it was actually Wolfgang Van Halen behind the scenes throwing down his father’s old riffs (a little bit of “Hot For Teacher” was then played for good measure, too).

Wolfgang Van Halen makes a surprise appearance mid-way through the Foo Fighters’ set on 5/11/24 to play some classic Van Halen riffs (Photo by Jesse Striewski).

After finishing the shenanigans, the band got back to business with “My Hero,” “The Sky is a Neighborhood,” “Learn to Fly,” “Arlandria,” “These Days,” “Shame Shame,” “All My Life,” “Nothing at All,” “The Glass,” “Monkey Wrench,” “Aurora,” “Best of You,” “The Teacher,” and “Everlong” (and it was at that moment, watching my son skip off hand and hand with his girlfriend to be up close, that I knew every minute of this festival was worth it).

Day 4:

By the fourth and final day (coincidentally, Mother’s Day), I was ready for a long reprieve to say the least. But we soldiered on as true warriors of rock (because what else can we do?), and made it in time for former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach’s set. The first time I had ever seen Bach all the way back in 2006, my son was only about six months old at the time. So to finally have him share in on these songs like “18 & Life” some eighteen years later, was an especially cool moment for me as a father (ironically Bach’s son is now behind the drums in his father’s band much like Soulfly, too).

Opening “Bachville” (as he so dubbed it himself) with his latest track “What Have I Got to Lose?,” he quickly belted out the classics with “Slave to the Grind” (which found Bach and company briefly segwaying into Rush’s “Tom Sawyer,” too), “Here I Am,” “18 & Life,” “Monkey Business,” “I Remember You,” and “Youth Gone Wild.”

A couple more on my son’s list of bands to see, Wage War and Enter Shikari, were up next before we made it over to see one of the very first bands I ever saw at a music festival (at the 1997 Ozzfest), Fear Factory. A lot has unfortunately changed within their personal too since then though, but it was still a blast from the past to hear the likes of “Demanufacture” again. The next act (Atreyu) was another one I’ve seen several times in the past (most recently in 2010), but due to numerous inner changes their music just doesn’t hit the same anymore as it once did (songs like “Right Side of the Bed” and “Ex’s and Oh’s” just don’t have the same effect without ex-singer Alex Varkatzas screaming on them).

Sum 41 rock Daytona for possibly their last time ever on 5/12/24 as part of their final tour (Photo by Jesse Striewski).

About one or two songs each (about all that was needed) for Breaking Benjamin and Black Veil Brides followed before catching Sum 41 for their “final” tour. Another band I caught once upon a time at my first Vans Warped Tour back in 2001 (then once more in 2009, ironically with The Offspring), it may have been somewhat tolerable hearing tracks like “Motivation” and “The Hell Song” live one more time had it not been for the hordes of people clamoring to catch one last glimpse of them.

And then there’s Evanescence, a band I once saw at the height of their prime back in 2004, and another band that has gone through their own share of changes since then. But one thing is for certain, the voice of lead singer Amy Lee has not changed one bit, and is as strong as ever on tracks like “Going Under,” “Better Without You,” “Call Me When You’re Sober,” “Imaginary,” “Use My Voice,” and “Bring Me to Life” (their closer, which sounded odd this time without the “rapping” segment actually done right this time).

Amy Lee and Evanescence perform on the final night of Rockville on Sunday, 5/12/24 (Photo By Jacob Striewski).

By the time Slipknot hit the stage (this time wearing “throwback” masks from the late ’90s), I was ready to call it a night/weekend/all of the above. “(515),” “People = Shit,” “Eyeless,” “Disasterpiece,” “Custer,” and “Psychosocial” were more than enough to hear before doing just that, finally. I can’t say for certain whether or not this might be my last major music festival like this (this old man is definitely starting to feel his age for sure), but should it be, I’d say it was a high enough note to go out on.

Metallica and More at Welcome to Rockville 2021 in Daytona Beach, FL By Jesse Striewski/Photos By Brooke Striewski

For the first time in its ten-year history, the massive Welcome to Rockville music festival came to the International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL for four straight days and nights from November 11-14. And with press credentials extremely limited for the event, it did not look likely that Rewind It Magazine would be able to make it. But as luck would have it, our very own photographer Brooke Striewski managed to pull off winning four day passes from local rock station WJRR.

Each night featured an array of different bands on the stage (and to anyone that was able to make it all four days and survive, I applaud you), and having just acquired wristbands the day of the first show and having numerous prior engagements, there was no way we would be able to make much more than the headlining acts. But photo passes be damned, we were still determined to get in as much as possible, and see as many friends of the extended family also attending as possible (including Mike Jones, Josh Kelly, and Rewind It Magazine contributor Shawn McKee).

Although I’m ninety-nine percent sure the first band we saw onstage upon entering that first night on Thursday, November 11 was indeed Brass Against, we did not witness the now-infamous “peeing” incident from lead singer Sophia Urista (shame, I know). Our first “real” introduction to the music was via A Day to Remember, a band I first saw back in 2011. Can’t say I was ever a huge fan of theirs, but songs like “Mind Reader,” “Resentment,” “All Signs Point to Lauderdale,” “Brick Wall,” and “All I Want” were all decent enough live numbers.

From there it was on to catch hip hop icons Cypress Hill, who just about any middle/high school misfit in the ’90s will remember as the go-to stoner group. Along with Public Enemy’s DJ Lord in tow, the group actually started off somewhat promising with tracks like “I Ain’t Goin’ Out Like That,” “When the Shit Goes Down,” “A to the K,” and “Hand on the Pump.” But as soon as they did “Pigs” and started preaching their hypocritical anti-law enforcement rhetoric from their oh-so protected stage (From what again? That’s right, law enforcement!), they began to lose us. More stunning achievements in songwriting followed, such as “Bilingual,” “I Wanna Get High” (where a nearby fan became falsely excited, mistaking it for another, similar sounding song), “Dr. Greenthumb,” and “Hits From the Bong.” By the time they reached their biggest hit “Insane in the Brain,” we were already making our way over to the main act of the night.

Slipknot are one of those rare exception, nu metal acts that I can actually tolerate. and having previously photographed frontman Corey Taylor and guitarist Jim Root on stage with Stone Sour for another magazine at Earthday Birthday back in 2013, I was actually intrigued to finally see them behind their “other” faces. They were also our fifteen year old son’s favorite act of the entire festival, so to be able to watch them alongside him was no doubt a special moment for me. They definitely did not disappoint, coming out strong with somewhat newer track “Unsainted” before finally launching into the likes of “Before I Forget,” “The Heretic Anthem,” “Psychosocial,” “The Chapeltown Rag,” “Wait and Bleed,” “Vermilion,” “All Out Lie,” and “Duality.” At some point during the night, Taylor also took a minute to address the recent tragedy at Astroworld, forging a moment of honest solidarity between band and audience.

Slipknot headlining the first night of Welcome to Rockville on Thursday, November 11, 2021.

Night two was definitely a step up, and one to remember. By the time our crew arrived this time around, Chevelle (another band I once photographed at EDBD, but in 2012) were mid-way through their set. Although more up my son’s alley once again, hearing tracks like “The Clincher,” “Send the Pain Below,” and “The Red” took me back to another, more simple time.

Social Distortion has been a band on my list for some time now, and although I’ve had close calls of seeing them in the past, I was finally able to catch them this past Friday night. Tracks like The Rolling Stones’ “Under My Thumb,” “Ready For Love,” “California (Hustle and Flow),” “Far Side of Nowhere,” “Lude Boy,” “She’s a Knockout,” “The Way Things Were,” “Story of my Life,” “I Was Wrong,” “Ball and Chain,” “Don’t Drag Me Down,” and Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” were all powerful in a live setting (although I would have liked to have heard just a little more older stuff, like maybe “Mommy’s Little Monster” at the very least). The laid back demeanor of founder and lone original member, frontman Mike Ness (now joined by former U.S. Bombs/Youth Brigade guitarist Johnny Wickersham in place of the late Dennis Danell since 2000) was a stark contrast to Cypress Hill’s set the previous night around the same time frame, and just echoed an overall coolness.

Former White Zombie frontman Rob Zombie was up next, and like Slipknot, was playing his final show of 2021. Although there’s still plenty of visuals to behold throughout his shows via videos of everything from clips of his films, to half naked go go dancers, I remembered not being all that impressed the last time I caught him live in 2006, either. Now joined by not one, but two former members of Marilyn Manson (guitarist John 5 and drummer Ginger Fish), Zombie and his crew made plenty of noise with tracks like “The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition),” “Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown,” “Superbeast,” “Living dead Girl,” “The Eternal Struggles of The Howling Man,” “Well, Everybody’s Fucking in a UFO,” “More Human Than Human,” “House of 1000 Corpses,” and “Thunder Kiss ’65.” A quick solo from John 5 followed before closing things out with “Dragula,” but overall, it was not much more than simply a pretty “meh” performance.

And finally, after waiting forty years (the age of both myself, and the band themselves), I was able to come full circle and complete seeing the last missing piece of the “Big Four” of thrash metal that also includes Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer. It was truly surreal to hear Metallica tear through “Whiplash” off of 1983’s Kill ’em All album, before going into “Ride the Lightning” from the album of the same name. More classics new and old followed, including “Harvester of Sorrow,” “Cyanide,” “The Memory Remains,” “One,” “Frantic” (yes, from 2003’s St. Anger album, which lead singer/guitarist James Hetfield even poked a bit of fun at), and “Moth Into Flame.” More classics like “No Leaf Clover,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “Whiskey in the Jar,” “Fade to Black,” “Master of Puppets,” “Fight Fire with Fire,” “Fuel,” and “Seek and Destroy” followed. But I also noted how, curiously, nothing from The Black Album was performed, and I would indeed find out why soon enough (stay tuned). Although packed in like sardines in one of the largest crowds any of us have ever been in, it was truly an unforgettable experience to have together.

Having already seen the majority of bands on Saturday night’s roster – including The Offspring, Staind, Lamb of God, and Gwar – and having previously committed to the third annual Stogies and Spirits event at Henry’s Depot in Sanford, FL (where we watched local cover act Skin Deep perform instead) we wisely took a night off from Rockville and waited until Sunday to return, which was a gamble that paid off perfectly. Upon arrival on Sunday afternoon, the weather had cooled down considerably, and the all-female trio The Warning were well into their set. Not only were some pretty faces a welcomed addition after staring at nothing but dudes for days now, the girls actually rocked pretty damn hard, too…

…Yet not as hard as the mighty Anthrax. The last time I saw them back in 2010 (where I photographed them at Hard Rock Live along with Megadeth and Slayer), they were full of energy, and absolutely tore up the stage. And despite a member change since (Shadows Fall guitarist Jonathan Donais has since taken over for Volbeat’s Rob Caggiano), the band still had it. Staple tracks like “Among the Living,” “Got the Time,” “Caught in a Mosh,” “Madhouse,” “Finale,” “I am the Law,” “Anti-Social,” and “Indians” still all sounded crushing live, making Anthrax easily one of my favorite bands of not only the night, but the entire weekend as well.

Former Escape the Fate frontman Ronnie Radke’s band Falling in Reverse were next up. Although another of the many bands I photographed at the three consecutive Earthday Birthdays I covered (I believe it was 2012 this time around), the appeal has definitely worn off for me, and is once again something more appreciated by my teenager. Still, it was interesting hearing “The Drug in Me is You” again alongside newer tracks like “Believe in Me,” “Drugs,” “Just Like You,” and “Popular Monster.”

Mastodon were up next, and admittedly, we only caught a glimpse of their set due to it being time to find some grub. But we filled our bellies just in time to catch a reunited Mudvayne, who, despite their laughable costumes and makeup, did not cause anyone to lose said dinner. I can’t say I was ever a fan of Mudvayne, or vocalist Chad Gray and guitarist Greg Tribbett’s other band HellYeah, who once again I photographed at – you guessed it – Earthday Birthday! The only songs I even recognized in their set were the early 2000’s hits “Not Falling” and “World So Cold,” and after listening to Gray struggle to hit the right notes (to be fair, I understand he may have recently recovered from a case of Covid), we began making our way to the next stage.

Legendary southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd have somehow also managed to escape from my radar until now, but it was totally worth the wait, even with virtually no original member present at the time (sole surviving member Gary Rossington was out due to recent medical issues, leaving long time vocalist/younger brother to late original vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, Johnny, and guitarist Ricky Medlocke, who played briefly with the band in the early ’70s and has been back with them for a good twenty five years now, as close as it gets). Still, this did not stop them from bringing the house down.

Lynyrd Skynyrd performing the final night of Welcome to Rockville on Sunday, November 14, 2021.

Thin Lizzy/former Brother Cane guitarist Damon Johnson took over duties for Rossington with ease and enthusiasm, and the band opened their set admirably enough with “Workin’ For MCA.” More classics like “I Ain’t the One,” “Saturday Night Special,” “That Smell,” “Gimme Back My Bullets,” “The Needle and the Spoon,” “Simple Man,” “Gimme Three Steps,” and “Sweet Home Alabama” followed before ending with an epic, ten-plus minute rendition of “Free Bird” (all these years of hearing it yelled at concerts, and we finally heard it live). Skynyrd’s set was undoubtedly one of the highlights of the night, and the entire weekend.

Things could have easily ended there and been just fine. But instead, Metallica had to play a second show of the weekend, and it was immediately apparent the energy of Friday night’s show just wasn’t quite there this time (from both band and audience), and opening with the semi-newer track in the form of “Hardwired” was a clue of what was to come. Things did actually pick up briefly though, as the guys dove through a couple of classics (and two personal favorites of mine) “The Four Horsemen” and “Welcome Home (Sanitarium).”

But then, the unexpected happened; they started playing The Black Album (remember what I had said about Friday night’s set?), and to top it off, backwards. That’s right, the most boring album in Metallica’s “classic” era catalog, was played from “The Struggle Within,” all the way to “Enter Sandman.” I get that it’s a milestone for the band and recently just turned thirty years old, but I could have easily lived without hearing every moment from it (and judging by the crowd’s reaction, I wasn’t the only one who felt this way). The Black Album was actually the first Metallica album I ever owned, and it did little to nothing to win me over as a fan; it took going back to their earlier efforts to finally win me over.

Although the band did briefly redeem themselves afterwards by ending with “Damage Inc.” and “Creeping Death,” it still did not measure up by any means to their Friday night set. But I think it’s safe to say that all those who attended and lived through the incredible, exhausting experience that was Welcome to Rockville 2021 will surely have many a story to tell for a long, long time.