The Top 7 Bands We Want Down Under in 2019
New Year = New Tours and you better believe we are keen as fuck to get amongst them all again. Already the year is off to a great start with upcoming shows from Dee Snider, Karnivool, Stick To Your Guns, Slash, Red Hot Chili Peppers tantalising our tastebuds for rock and heavy music, but as we think ahead, we can’t help but think who else should visit our shores again (or for the first time), so we’ve compiled our list of the Top 7 Bands We Want Down Under in 2019…
#7 – Ice Nine Kills
The I9K lads have never, I repeat NEVER visited Australia in the 17 years they’ve been a band. Only recently have they gained some widespread success down under following the release of their incredible new album The Silver Scream (our review here), but according to frontman Spencer Charnas when he spoke with us, we may not have to wait much longer: “There has been talk of doing a Japanese tour, I’m hoping we can do Japan and Australia in one swing and finally get there, because it has been long overdue.”
#6 – Megadeth
Between the last time Megadeth were on our shores in 2015 and now, they released a new album (Dystopia), launched the MegaCruise, won a Grammy and have started teasing their sixteenth studio album which is scheduled for release later this year. But, we are yet to have them back down to our beautiful country playing songs they didn’t get the chance to get through on their last tour alongside Children of Bodom. So, here’s hoping (either before or after the new album is out), they’ll change that in 2019.
#5 – Beartooth
The Ohio natives released their third studio album Disease last year (our review here) and have visited Australia three times, all of which have been in support slots, but enough is enough. It’s about time someone brought the band to Australia for a headline tour. They have enough of a following down here and plenty of songs to fill up a headline show so now, more than ever, its time for the Tooth to get back and play longer, fuller shows… please!
#4 – Tool
Not only do we want a new Tool album (who doesn’t!?) but we also want an extensive Australian Tour dammit! The last time these guys were here was way back in 2013 for an East Coast Tour (+ Adelaide) and the time before that was their Big Day Out headline slots (+ sideshows) in 2011. The band have been announced for plenty of UK Festivals, including Download Fest in June, so if we don’t see them beforehand, we’re chucking them in for contention for our own Australian Download Festival run in 2020.
#3 – Iron Maiden
The band are set to continue their Legacy of the Beast Tour between July – October 2019, but no Aussie dates have been announced yet… Frontman Bruce Dickinson‘s recent Spoken Word Tour did pretty well for fans (and himself), so given that there’s enough want/need for him on his own at those types of shows, imagine what reaction the full band can accomplish with an extensive tour again? The last time they were here was for 2016’s The Book of Souls Tour and wasn’t that a spectacle and a half…
#2 – Rammstein
The year was 2011, Tool and Rammstein headlined one of Australia’s most popular and iconic music festivals, pleasing the pickiest heavy metal fans getting around at the time and following this, no love in Australia from our fav Germans. A couple of years back, some hardcore fans noticed their World Tour Merch had Australia written on it (we’re trying to track down this image again), but no dates were ever announced. With the band embarking on a three-year tour, surely one of the first stops needs to be here?
and the winner is…
#1 – Metallica
The awesome foursome almost always sells out shows when they hit our shores, this was evident by 2010’s Death Magnetic Tour where multiple, additional shows for each state were announced minutes after the last sold out. From there, they headlined the EPIC 2013 Soundwave Festival alongside Linkin Park and blink-182, but zero sideshows were announced.
From there, they’ve released 2016’s Hardwired… to Self-Destruct,an album which also scored them three Grammy Nominations (Best Rock Song ‘Hardwired‘ in 2017 and Best Rock Album and Best Rock Song ‘Atlas, Rise!’ in 2018) and toured almost everywhere except Australia/New Zealand. Could they finally be breaking the dry-spell in 2019, six years after their last appearance? We surely hope so and when they do, it’ll be glorious.
Written by Browny @brownypaul
