UPDATE 17/12/15 5.50pm: Soundwave 2016 has been officially cancelled.
It’s finally here, the Soundwave 2016 drip-feed has burst and the festival’s first major lineup announcement has arrived, featuring headliners heavy metal titans Disturbed. That’s right, prepare to get down with the sickness.
Announced live from Music Feeds studio in an Australian first, Soundwave’s latest 2016 lineup unveiling also includes acts like English electronica stalwarts The Prodigy, Chino Moreno’s Deftones, So Cal punk’s finest NOFX, seminal hip-hop vanguards Public Enemy, Arizona’s Soulfly, LA rockers L7, plus frnkiero andthe cellabration and Australia’s own punks Frenzal Rhomb.
The first full lineup is available to view below, with even more acts to be announced in the coming weeks.
12 acts were already confirmed for Soundwave 2016 prior to the festival’s first lineup announcement, including British metalcore giants Bring Me The Horizon, Welsh metal titans Bullet For My Valentine, Swedish hardcore act Refused, metal supergroups Devil You Know and Metal Allegiance, American metalcore titans Hatebreed, Sydney metal legends Northlane, homegrown rockers Dead Letter Circus, English alt-rock buzz-band Nothing But Thieves, Los Angeles alt-rockers Failure, 2006 Eurovision winners Lordi and English rockers Moose Blood.
Soundwave 2016 is scheduled to kick off in Brisbane on 23rd January, before making its way to Sydney on Sunday, 24th January and Melbourne on Tuesday, 26th January. Tickets are on sale now.
Catch Soundwave’s first major 2016 lineup announcement in full below.
UPDATE: The Soundwave 2016 lineup has expanded once again, with three new metal acts added to its roster. See the updated lineup below.
Soundwave Festival 2016 Lineup – Second Announcement
Killswitch Engage
Ill Niño
Terror Universal
Soundwave Festival 2016 Lineup – First Announcement
Disturbed
Bring Me The Horizon
The Prodigy
Deftones
NOFX
Bullet For My Valentine
Public Enemy
Refused
Metal Allegiance
Hatebreed
Soulfly
Northlane
Dead Letter Circus
L7
frnkiero andthe cellabration
Nothing But Thieves
Frenzal Rhomb
Failure
Lordi
Devil You Know
Moose Blood
+ more to be announced
Soundwave Festival 2016
Saturday, 23rd January 2016
Brisbane
Tickets: Soundwave
Sunday, 24th January 2016
Sydney
Tickets: Soundwave
Tuesday, 26th January 2016
Melbourne
Tickets: Soundwave
Gallery: 11 Unforgettable Soundwave Festival Moments
11 Unforgettable Soundwave Festival Moments
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Gwar - Soundwave 2014
Interstellar gods of metal GWAR well and truly made their mark on Australian audiences at Soundwave 2014 when front-thing Oderus Urungus used his mighty sword to decapitate an effigy of our widely-loathed PM Tony Abbott and soak the cheering crowd in his blood. Not even Napisan Plus could remove those pink stains which, for many, would soon become a sweaty memento from one of the last performances Urungus would ever give. His human alter ego, Dave Brockie, died tragically just weeks later from a heroin overdose. -
Mike Patton - Soundwave 2010
Nothing like a bit of mid-set nudity to make Faith No More’s headlining slot at Brisbane Soundwave in 2010 even more, uh, Epic. Frontman Mike Patton proved he was Just A Man by unleashing Mike Jr. from his trousered hideaway and literally rocking out with his cock out. -
Bloodhound - Soundwave 2009
An honourable mention must go to the Bloodhound Gang, who took the stage in 2009 to effectively reduce the throng of adult metalheads into sexually frustrated 13-year-olds. They did it like they did on the Discovery Channel, with healthy dose of Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo. Nostalgia was everywhere. As were bewbs. -
Alexisonfire - Soundwave 2010
As anyone who was on the scene for Sydney Soundwave 2010 can attest, that was the hottest fucking day in the history of the earth. The festival, then-held out near Eastern Creek Raceway, was one giant dustbowl, and those who withstood the 40+ temperatures were coughing up dirt for the next three days. Alexisonfire must have pre-empted this outcome and decided: fuck it. Frontman George Pettit jumped into the crowd mid-set and gave himself a dirt-bath in the middle of the pit. Who needs sunblock when you’re covered in a 2-inch thick layer of dust anyway? Epic. -
All Time Low - Soundwave 2015
When the sky opened up and unleashed a rainstorm of hell upon Sydney Soundwave earlier this year, right in the middle of All Time Low’s set, the Baltimore pop punk’s gear got wrecked, and the band were unable to play on. However, instead of letting the storm beat them, frontman Alex Gaskarth ploughed onward, leading fans in an a cappella singalong of his band’s track Weightlessas well as some of Queen’s We Will Rock You. Many people became All Time Low fans that day. -
Dallas Green – Soundwave 2008
Dallas Green performed a musical screaming eagle in ’08 when he appeared as the frontman of both Alexisonfire and City + Colour. Crushing skulls and melting hearts. All in a day’s work. -
Fucked Up - Soundwave 2011
The spirit of punk was alive and well at SW11 when Fucked Up gave an expectedly insane performance, complete with hair-ripping, sweaty hugging, and beast frontman Damien force-feeding the mic to members of the crowd. This set will probably go down in Aussie festival history. -
Killer Be Killed – Soundwave 2015
After a hurricane of hype leading up to their global live debut at Soundwave 2015, metal supergroup Killer Be Killed – featuring Max Cavalera, Greg Puciato, Troy Sanders and Ben Koller – did not disappoint, delivering an absolutely pulverising set. -
Blink-182 – Soundwave 2013
A Travis Barker-less Blink-182 shot their love all over the crowd during their headlining set at Soundwave 2013. With Bad Religion drummer Brooks Wackerman filling in on the skins, the pop punk trio capped off their first show in Australia since 2004 by wheeling out a massive confetti canon and opening fire on a sweat-drenched mosh pit, absolutely smothering fans in the coloured stuff. Many shower drains got clogged, that fateful night. -
Slash – Soundwave 2012
Alter Bridge pulled a rabbit out of their hat during their Sydney set in 2012, and by hat we mean top hat and by rabbit we mean guitar legend Slash, who was wearing the hat. The ex-Guns N’ Roses icon wasn’t even known to be in the country at the time, but he majestically appeared to claim an unused Marshall stack and Gibson Les Paul and join his singer Myles Kennedy for a few choice AB jams. You really never can tell just when #wunterslaush is going to turn up somewhere. -
Jane’s Addiction – Soundwave 2010
Soundwave 2010 was bittersweet for Jane’s Addiction fans, marking the band’s last ever tour. As ladies danced onstage and punters tried to mask their lonely tears, Eric Avery’s words rang home: “That’s it. With equal parts regret and relief, the Jane’s Addiction experiment is at an end.”
