Metallica, Korn, Linkin Park to rock Historic Crew Stadium at Sonic Temple – The Columbus Dispatch

Peering into a crowd of pumping fists and moshing bodies, Mike Inez is elated as he takes in the span of ages that make up Alice in Chains‘ fan base.
„It’s absolutely multigenerational. Nothing warms my heart more than going out to play and looking out in the audience. I’ve even seen three generations at a show,“ the 58-year-old bassist said.
„Even the younger fans, they know all the songs. It’s not lost on us how heavy that is. We really, really appreciate that these songs still resonate with them, for whatever reason.“
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Pondering the universality of music, Inez said language has never been a barrier for the world-traveling grunge-metal band.
„Whether we’re in Istanbul, Turkey or Santiago, Chile, it’s so great to see them all sing our songs when they don’t even speak the language,“ he said.
Fans will certainly be singing (and screaming) the lyrics along with Alice in Chains and more than 100 other music acts that will take the stages at Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival, which runs May 8-11 at Historic Crew Stadium.
Produced by Danny Wimmer Presents (DWP), the annual event will feature headliners Korn, Linkin Park and, making their festival debut with a „No Repeat Weekend,“ Metallica will headline two nights with two unique sets.
On May 8, Korn will perform at 9:20 p.m. after supporting acts Bad Omens and Three Days Grace. Metallica will headline at 8:50 p.m. May 9, following sets by Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper.
Linkin Park will take the stage at 9:20 May 10, with support from Incubus and I Prevail. Metallica will wrap up the weekend at 8:50 p.m. May 11 after openers Alice in Chains and Chevelle.
The headliners will be featured on the Temple Stage, with other acts playing simultaneously on the Cathedral, Citadel and Sanctuary stages.
This year, three all-ages after-parties will move the mosh pits to different Columbus clubs each night after the festival ends. (A fourth party has already sold out.)
On May 9, Converge, Peeling Flesh and Bather will play at The KING of CLUBS, 6252 Busch Blvd. Doors open at 9 p.m. Tickets are $38.93 (fees included) at bit.ly/3GvMthD.
Silly Goose and Guerilla Warfare also will be performing May 9 at Ace of Cups, 2619 N. High St. Doors open at 10:30 p.m. Those under 18 must be with a parent or guardian. Tickets cost $15 (plus fees) at bit.ly/431sq26.
After working up a sweat at Sonic Temple on May 11, concertgoers can soak their duds and sip some suds at Dirty Dungarees, 2584 N. High St., where the final after-party will take place.
Doors open at 8 p.m. for the bash, which will feature Gridiron, Violent Nature, Powerball and Nothing Like You. Tickets are $26.78 (fees included) at bit.ly/4jFBD7B.
Also new, Sonic Temple has an official mobile app that fans can use to create personalized itineraries and get details about the festival. The app is available for both iPhone and Android.
Sonic Temple is on track to sell out as it has for the past few years. According to its website, the festival is 97% sold out, but you might still have a shot at scoring passes if you act quickly.
The high ticket sales speak to the popularity of music festivals, and Inez is here for it.
„I love that ‚gathering of the tribes‘ vibe at festivals — the bigger, the better. When we played Rock in Rio, there were 200,000 people with one giant mosh pit.
„There’s just nothing like that. It’s an amazing feeling when the band is tight and the crowd is with you. There’s nothing like a festival,“ Inez said.
The musician said Sonic Temple also gives him a chance to catch up with friends he made in Columbus during Alice in Chains‘ previous stops at the fest when it was still called Rock on the Range.
It’s a good thing Inez is a festival fanatic since the band will leave Sonic Temple, play a few shows every other night, then do back-to-back festivals in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Ocean City, Maryland.
Inez self-effacingly downplayed Alice in Chains‘ grueling schedule: „We’re just used to it,“ he said with a chuckle.
„This is just a really short run compared to our last world tours, where we did 43 countries in 41 days, then 33-35 countries.
„When you do 27 gigs in 32 days in 16 countries, you just get in a groove. But we don’t do the six-in-a-rows anymore. We don’t want to burn ourselves out,“ he said.
Fun fact: After the band’s current tour, Inez will play in Denmark with Bruno Mars and Elton John. The band collaborated with John in 2009 on „Black Gives Way to Blue,“ a tribute to late Alice in Chains vocalist Layne Staley, who died in 2002.
„We’ve been friends with Elton for years and years. Last year, his bass player couldn’t make it, so he had me play at the Gershwin awards,“ Inez said.
„It’s really special to play these amazing songs with him for a couple of hours. He’s just stratospheric. He’s on the next level.“
When Inez returns, Alice in Chains will rendezvous in Birmingham, England, for Black Sabbath and frontman Ozzy Osbourne’s farewell show. (Fun fact: Inez played with Osbourne from 1989-1993.)
„Metallica will be there, and other bands that were influenced by Black Sabbath,“ Inez said. „It’s going to be a mind-blowing night. We’ll be sending them off with the highest regard, which they deserve.“
As for new music from Alice in Chains, Inez said their schedule is so packed that they „haven’t gotten that far yet,“ but moreover, they don’t want to rush a release based on a timeline rather than quality.
„The songs dictate our actions. We can have a quick album like ‚Jar of Flies‘ (1994), which took 10 days to record, but the songs were good enough to dictate a release,“ he said.
„We just jam together, and stuff comes together, and we realize we have enough to put a record together. We have to let the music chart the course.“
In addition to the music component, Sonic Temple’s bigger-than-ever live art program will run the gamut of art installations.
Exhibitors come from across the country and many have produced work for well-known music artists, worldwide companies and brands, gaming, other festivals and even sports franchises.
Several Columbus artists will show their work at Sonic Temple, including Paul Giovis, Paul Rentler (aka prentler), Sick Icarus Art (Joel Chastain) and live painter Mandi Caskey (aka Miss Birdy).
Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival will be held May 8-11 at Historic Crew Stadium, 1 Black and Gold Blvd. Gates open at 11 a.m. each day. Passes range from $174.99 to $529.99 depending on the type and can be purchased at sonictemple2025.frontgatetickets.com.
Entertainment and Things to Do reporter Belinda M. Paschal can be reached at bpaschal@dispatch.com.

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