Aftershock 2026 Review

There are many things to look forward to and Aftershock is definitely one of them. Since I started going in 2024, I’ve decided to make this a yearly tradition. If you’ve ever listened to the Audioeclectica podcast (if you’re not you should be), Aftershock does get brought up quite a bit and that’s because it’s a great way to sort of see who will be on tour or who is starting to tour in October through the end of the year. Sometimes bands just make Aftershock their only show of that year. Either way, this is a lot of fun and with that let’s take a look……

Day 1: this year, California has been having a lot of hot weather and if you thought that coming from Southern California to Northern California would be any cooler, you’d be wrong. I don’t know Mother Nature is probably drunk or something. 90 degree heat with rock and metal?? Sign me up.

Brujeria: kick starting my festival extravaganza was Brujeria. I love the fact that they had a bit of mystery back in the day and in fact, I think people actually thought that they killed people or were part of some Mexican drug cartel. In actuality, this is a death metal band with members of bands like Fear Factory, Carcass, Faith No More, Napalm Death, and The Haunted. Now nobody from those bands were there and it was weird not seeing the two original vocalists Juan Brujo and Pinche Peach (R.I.P. to both) and it was even weirder seeing only four members when there are usually about six or so. Either way, they were great and are always a good time. Score: 10/10

Lit: I can’t even remember the last time I saw this band but they sounded great. They’re definitely one of those kind of throwback to the late 90’s/early 2000’s and they played their hits. When you only have 30 minutes to play, of course you play the hits and singles and yes they closed with “My Own Worst Enemy.” Again they were a lot of fun and the audience was singing along to all their songs. 9/10

L.S. Dunes: this supergroup consists of members from Thursday, Saosin, My Chemical Romance, and Circa Survive and I first heard of them when they were on the 2024 Aftershock. At the time when I saw them, I didn’t think they were that good but then again I was a lot more close minded. This time, I thought they were actually pretty good. They had energy and for playing relatively early, there was a pretty sizable crowd. Look for them to be in either a mixed bag review or a full review depending which comes first. Score: 8/10

Ill Niño: there must have been something going on with these guys because they went on 10 minutes late!! Of course when you are a metal band and you lose that much time, you play fast and that’s precisely what happened. I can’t even remember the last time I saw Ill Niño but they sounded fantastic. I actually like the sped up version. It made them sound almost heavier. Score: 9/10

The Union Underground: I’ll admit I was late to their set but the three songs I did see were good. To me they’re one of those bands where I wouldn’t seek them out on their own but also wouldn’t be upset if they were on a festival bill or a direct support. Interestingly , this is their first show California show in 24 years. Score: 8/10

Coal Chamber: it seems like they’re always being added to tours or added to festivals but then drop off at the last minute. I’ve seen Devildriver a bunch of times but never Coal Chamber. I have to say, they were so damn good!! How can you go wrong when you open with “Loco?” That right there is a perfect way to start and once that happened, they did not let up!! I have to say that after seeing this, I’ll definitely take Coal Chamber over Devildriver. What’s even better is that they announced that there will be a new album and tour in 2027!! Definitely one of the best bands of the day!! Score: 10/10

The Used: not to beat a dead horse or anything but if you had said to me back in my metal only days, “Justin, you’re going to go out of your way to see The Used,” I would’ve called you crazy and yet here we are in 2026 watching them at Aftershock. I must say, I can see why people like this band. I’m not super familiar with their music except for the song “Box Full Of Sharp Objects” but I enjoyed what I saw and they definitely had a couple of songs where I was like “oh so that’s who sang that song.” I for sure thought they would have played later in the day or at the very least had more than just 30 minutes. Score: 8.5/10

Sevendust: this is my second time seeing this band the first being back in 2009 with Black Label Society and they were just as good today as they were back then. Now they’re one of those bands that plays the same setlist so it was sort of a throwback kind of set. However, they sounded great and I didn’t realize how physical drummer Morgan Rose is. Like he beats those drums like they owe him money and on top of that sings backing vocals. It was really great to see this band again and there was a sense of familiarity. I wish they would play LA more. Score: 10/10

Sublime: serious question for all you Sublime fans out there. What is so great about this band?? Like honestly I really want to know. They’re not good, their songs are garbage, and they sound awful live. Now why would I be seeing them? Well that’s because I was waiting for the next band to start and their stage was the next one over. No but seriously I’ve tried to give this band a chance. I maybe thought that they would sound better live. They didn’t and they’re just as terrible if not worse live. I have decided that if you LOVE this band, I might question your decision making skills. 0/10

The Offspring: so after the stench that was Sublime, we get to The Offspring and I must say, this band is just so much fun. Of course as it is with festival sets, they played hits and classics but you know what? Those are great songs which definitely take me back to a simpler time. The last time I saw them was probably at the 2005 Warped Tour so it was time for a refresh. Both Dexter and Noodles were interacting with the crowd and were having little exchanges on stage. Things like that make sets that much more fun and after seeing them here, I kind of want to go to their next LA show. Score: 10/10

Taylor Momsen and The Pretty Reckless: that’s right from now on that’s what they should be called. But why? Well their merch focuses on Taylor Momsen and not the whole band. But that’s a topic for another day. What’s better than seeing The Pretty Reckless a few months prior? Seeing them again later in the year. This is a band I’m sorry I slept on because man they are absolutely amazing. This was the last show of their Dear God world tour and they sounded just as good when I saw them in LA as they did tonight!! Taylor Momsen absolutely commands the stage and knows how to get the crowd going while the rest of the band was firing on all cylinders. Again it was a set of hits but the songs are all great songs and I was not disappointed with their song choices. I will say though that having a jam session for (what seemed to be) 10 minutes is really really annoying. I don’t want to see a bunch of instrumental songs or just noodling around I want to see them play songs. But that aside, they were great and I feel lucky to have been able to see them twice this year. Score: 9/10

My Chemical Romance: much like The Used, if you had said that I would be seeing this band again, I would have called you crazy. But I just have to say, they were so GOOD!! It was like watching a play or a musical. Gerard Butler is so theatrical and he’s like a mix of AFI’s Davey Havok and Robert Smith of The Cure. There were lights, visuals, violin players, the works. The album The Black Parade is a concept record about a man known as The Patient who is dying from cancer and the album tells the story about the end of his life. If you’re going to make a concept record and play it live, this is exactly how it should be done. It really felt like they were telling a story and I can’t say enough great things about their show except that you simply had to be there. Now I got there right as they were starting the song “Welcome To The Black Parade” but if I’m being honest, I’m kind of sorry that I didn’t get there sooner because they played the entire thing and it would’ve been cool to see it from the start. It was so good that I (a die hard death metal fan) loved it and in fact if someone said to me “Justin let’s go see My Chemical Romance.” I’d say “ok great when do we go?” They seriously seriously impressed me. It was so good that you really have no choice but to like it. You can’t hate it. I can see why people love this album and why it was so crowded. Score: 10/10

Day 2: this year’s edition had a good amount of rap and hip hop and today was that day. Now there were bands that I had wanted to see but I was temporarily incapacitated due to an ankle injury so I spent a good chunk of the day at a picnic table in between one of the smaller stages and one of the main stages.

Rivers Of Nihil: this is a band that o had heard a lot about for a good while and until today, I didn’t really know what to expect. They actually remind me a lot of another band called The Armed except a tad more proggy. I enjoyed them and much like The Armed, they incorporate saxophone playing in their music. A very cool band and they get a score of 8/10

Peeling Flesh: I’ve always been curious about this band because they get mentioned from people about how they’re supposed to be the next big thing. Honestly, I don’t get it. To me all the songs sound the same and they got really boring really fast. Score: 1/10

P.O.D.: I’ve never really liked this band however, they were definitely a nice contrast to Peeling Flesh. Their songs never really appealed to me but seeing them live, they actually sound better. There was a good sized crowd and I’m sure a lot of it was for nostalgic reasons. Score: 2/10

Insane Clown Posse: grab some Faygo it’s time for ICP!! Some people have been insisting that I see them and well here we are. Again their music never really appealed to me and it still doesn’t but I will say, they were entertaining as hell. I remember when they were on the 2024 edition and they were on one of the smaller stages. Back then I made sure to avoid them but I didn’t hate what I saw. I will say though that for a hip hop duo that’s been around since 1989, that’s pretty impressive. No they’re not that bad and as I said they really were entertaining and I’m glad I saw them but I wouldn’t see them on their own. Score: 6/10

Kublai Khan: by now I knew I had to start moving so I made my way over to the second main stage for these guys. I know some people really like this band and they started out great but got boring really quickly. They definitely had the crowd going but again their songs all started to sound the same. Not bad though and they were a lot of fun. Score: 7/10

Cypress Hill: as far as rap/hip hop goes, I actually quite enjoy Cypress Hill. I feel like they have cross over appeal. You can be a hardcore metal head and like them and vice versa. Even before they started, the CLOUD OF SMOKE was HUGE!! If you don’t want your clothes to smell of weed, avoid their club shows. That said, they were awesome!! I forgot how fun they were live and I was hoping they would play a little longer. A really fun band but unless you enjoy getting planted, stick to seeing them at festivals. Score: 9/10

Blue Medusa: I’ve always said that the best thing Alissa White-Gluz did in Arch Enemy was leave. Since leaving that band, the blue haired vocalist formed this band and while I most likely won’t see them on their own, I actually enjoyed their set. It wasn’t anything ground breaking or mind blowing and it was pretty generic but I wouldn’t be upset if they were direct support to another band. Score: 7/10

The Black Dahlia Murder: this is my first time seeing these guys since original vocalist Trevor Strnad sadly passed away. I’m not the biggest fan of this band and to me they’re just fine. Having rhythm guitarist Brian Eschbach step into the role of vocalist for this band seems like the perfect move because he doesn’t sound that different than his predecessor. Again they really make me a fan but it’s good that they’re still out there making music and playing live. Score: 7/10

Cradle Of Filth: this is one of those bands where I feel like every chance I’ve had to see them I end up not going. I don’t know if I would consider this band a black metal band but for this year’s festival it’s the closest we have to it. In my opinion, they were just OK. I’m not too familiar with their music, but from what I saw, they sounded good but I’m not really sure I would go see them on their own. To me, they’re one of those bands that if they were direct support for someone better, I wouldn’t be upset. Glad I saw them. Don’t really need to see them again. Score: 7/10

Public Enemy: I may not be a big fan of this band or its genre but I have to say, they were pretty good. For as long as they’ve been around, they sounded great and seeing Chuck D and Flavor Flav was pretty cool. I’ve only seen Chuck when he made a guest appearance for Anthrax’s 2022 performance of “Bring The Noise” but seeing him here was pretty cool. And Flavor Flav, well let’s just say that I’ve really only seen him on those really bad VH1 reality shows so actually seeing him perform songs just felt right. Again, I’m not that familiar with them but from what I saw I thought was good. Score: 8/10

Slaughter To Prevail: this band is hands down one of the most fun bands to see. Their music isn’t anything that’s going to reinvent the wheel but when they are playing, you can’t help but have a fun time. If you haven’t seen them look up Alex The Terrible screaming without a microphone. After that, you’ll see that Alex The Terrible is one HELL of a vocalist!! And yes he did the screaming without a microphone and yes you could hear him. They had a wall of death which did not disappoint. They’re currently on their final leg of their Grizzly World Tour and seeing them twice this year was great. Score: 10/10

Wu-Tang Clan: I had heard from other people that they put on a fun show and well those people are absolutely spot on!! Again, not a hip hop fan but if I’m going to see any of those groups, this is the best one. It’s almost stepping out of my comfort zone seeing groups like this but I’m really glad I did because they sounded great really were a lot of fun and while I’m not familiar with their music, I definitely enjoyed it. Score: 9/10

Chad Gray: there are some who need to hang it up and well Chad Gray definitely needs to do so sooner rather than later. At times I couldn’t even hear his vocals but honestly him going out and singing Mudvayne songs without the rest of the band is weird. On top of that, he also added Hellyeah songs to the set and it’s like seriously?? Hellyeah was a terrible band but at least you had other legendary players in that band. As I said, his voice is pretty much gone at this point and he just needs to go away. Score: 0/10

Coheed And Cambria: after the stench of Chad Gray, Coheed closes out a very crowded Point Stage and oh man did they sound AMAZING!!! I mean they opened with “A Favor House Atlantic” which is one of my favorite Coheed songs. They wasted no time in getting through their 11 songs and they were another band that I wish had a longer set time. On top of that, everyone was just having a really good time. People were singing along, dancing, and the mood felt really nice. I definitely want to see them on their own because for as good as their albums are, they sound a lot better live!! Score: 10/10

Limp Bizkit: I think it’s great that they’ve had this huge resurgence. I think the last time I saw them was in the early 2000’s and back then I didn’t really appreciate them. But seeing them now I can safely say that it will be one of the best times you will ever have!! The crowd was moving, dancing, jumping up and down and overall, just having a great time. After seeing them here, I can honestly say that if you go and see them, you’ll definitely get your money’s worth. Fred Durst really is a great frontman who’s joking around and having fun. Of course I have to bring up Wes Borland who is definitely an extremely underrated guitar player. It was just a great, fun way to end the night. Score: 10/10

Day 3: this is probably the shortest day for me and that’s because the first band I was there to see didn’t really go on until the early afternoon. It was an interesting day because there were basically pop punk bands and sludge/stoner bands. Most of my day was spent at a stage called Point Stage (horrible cell reception BTW) with the exception of two bands that I saw that day.

The Devil Wears Prada: I remember seeing this band in the early 2000s (around 2009 at a festival) and they really haven’t changed. Now I get that there’s an audience for this kind of metal but they remind me of bands like Suicide Silence or Veil of Maya where it’s all the same sounding music with a terrible band name. He would think that they might try to evolve themselves and maybe change things up a bit, but they haven’t. I don’t know why they were put on one of the main stages, but obviously enough people like them or they’re big enough to be put on that big of stage. Either way they were boring and really didn’t enjoy them. Score: 0/10

After The Burial: to be honest, this was a band that I forgot was playing this festival and it wasn’t until I was looking at the schedule for the day that I knew I had to check them out. I also didn’t realize they had been away for a good while and all I have to say about that is welcome back!! They were so good and what makes it even better is that they announced that a new album was finished and on its way. And much like Slaughter To Prevail, they were just a really fun band. The singer did say he was just getting over pneumonia but honestly, you couldn’t tell that he was low energy or had been feeling sick. They were absolutely bad ass and I really cannot wait to see them again. Score: 9.5/10

The Melvins: now here we are at The Point Stage and up first (for me anyway) was The Melvins who absolutely crushed it!! If you’re going to have a stage with stoner bands, this is the perfect band to start. They definitely had a good mix of songs but when you have as many albums as they do, I’m sure it’s hard to pick a set list when you only have less than an hour. Score: 9/10

Kylesa: this is a band that I’ve only heard about and never really gave them a listen, but I’m glad I was able to check them out because they were really really good. They are another stoner rock band and their tone was super heavy and crushing. I do kind of wish that I would’ve listened to more of their music prior to seeing them, but I will definitely be checking them out. Of course having the legendary Roy Mayorga on drums just added to the greatness and I’m sure if I had been a little bit more familiar with their stuff I would’ve appreciated them that much more. Fun fact: this is their first West Coast show since 2015. Score: 9/10

Corrosion Of Conformity: I guess I’m late to the game with these guys but as they say better late than never. Of course they played a their classics like “Albatross” and they closed with “Clean My Wounds” but it’s the newer songs like “Asleep On The Killing Floor” which was one of their opening songs that was a real highlight. I never really appreciated Pepper Keenan as a singer because I was mostly focusing on his guitar playing in this band and in Down but I have to say he’s one hell of a vocalist. I really cannot wait to see this band again because live they are absolutely incredible. Score: 10/10

Down: I mean it’s Down. What more do you have to say?? They are one of the best bands out there and man do they put on one hell of a show!! Before the festival I was thinking maybe they would get like a half hour or 45 minutes but they played for a good solid one hour and 30 minutes and it was a great one hour and 30 minutes. Again, I wish they had a longer set time, but they definitely made good use of the time that they had. Phil and Pepper just have this chemistry that is like Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi. Of course, when you have guys like Kirk Windstein, Pat Bruders (both who are in the band Crowbar) and Jimmy Bower on drums, that just makes for an absolute perfect combination!! I really can’t say enough great things about their set. It was perfect, they sounded amazing and the only thing I wish is that they would’ve played stuff off of the third album. However, they did open with their brand new song “Blood Oath” which was a nice treat. Best part is that I was able to be against the rail so I was as close as I could get to them and that made it so much better. Score: 10/10 (as if I would give it a lower score)

Pierce The Veil: this is the band that I’ve really only heard about and I know so many people that like this band. I figured I have about 45 minutes until Black Label Society and really it was wait around or see another band and this was the only band that was playing. On top of that, it was really crowded and before they started, they had mariachis as their intro so I figured “that’s kind of a cool way to start things.” Well then they started playing and I have to say I don’t get it. I mean at the end of the day we all like what we like but seriously this?? I mean, the vocals are really, really whiny, the music is generic sounding but I will say it is catchy and that might be why a lot of people like them. I don’t know it’s just not my cup of tea. I’m not sorry that I checked them out, and if anything I was more curious to see what the hype is all about. This was definitely one of those times that I can say I saw it and I don’t really ever need to see it again. Score: 1/10

Black Label Society: it’s always great seeing Zakk Wylde and the boys because you know exactly what you’re getting with this band. Of course having a new album is just the cherry on top and yes they played songs off it which sounded amazing btw. I mean when they open with “Funeral Bell” and follow it up with “Name In Blood,” you know it’s gonna be a great time. Now while I love Black Label Society, I have to say having that dueling guitar jam session in the middle of “Fire It Up” is really annoying. I timed it and it went on for almost 10 minutes!! 10 freaking minutes!! I don’t need to see you just jamming on a guitar for that long! In that time, they could be playing another song or two. That’s when I started heading out and fortunately I’m staying within walking distance to the festival so I got to hear them finish the set in which they played “Suicide Messiah” and “Stillborn.” Both great songs but they could’ve easily added more songs instead. Ok rant over. Now as far as their performance goes, they were great, I love seeing them play, and it was kind of cool because you had people for either Pierce The Veil or Black Label Society which (number one) are two totally different bands and styles and two, you had a much younger crowd on one side and a much older crowd on the other. Just something kind of neat. Score: 9/10

Day 4: oh yes, the bittersweet fourth day and this year certainly feels the same way. I think out of all the days this year this one probably had me walking between all the different stages the most. You definitely get your steps in but it was absolutely worth it.

Ladrones: much like Sublime I have to ask the question. Who honestly likes this? Like seriously who actually listens to this band and thinks him themselves this is so good that I must go see these guys live? Now don’t get me wrong, there are good bands from Mexico (I can think of a certain Mexican band that absolutely blow these guys out of the water) but this band is not it. Now sometimes there are bands that sound better live but they’re just as terrible live. Now I’m sure you’re asking. Why would I go and see them knowing that I don’t like them?? Well the answer is simple. They were playing as I was walking in and I stuck around for a couple songs just out of curiosity. And no I’m not saying all this because I find their manager to be an insufferable dork who tries too hard. Score: 0/10

The Toadies: OK so after the stench that is Ladrones, Toadies took the Shockwave Stage!! I have never seen this band live but man did they put on a great show!! And for those that are not familiar with this band, they’re the ones that wrote that song in the 90s called “Possum Kingdom” and yes, they played it. But aside from that song, their entire set was just a great 90’s throwback and they are a band that I would absolutely see again. Score: 8/10

Helmet: i’ve said it before and I’ll say it again if you have never seen this band live, what are you even doing? I’ve seen many bands, and Helmet is one of the best. Anytime this band is added to a bill or are playing, you know you’re in for a treat. It really is too bad that this band does not get the recognition that they deserve because Page Hamilton (and the rest of his band) are incredibly underrated. I mean, they kicked their set off with the opening song off of their album Betty “Wilma’s Rainbow.” if that’s not a perfect starter then I don’t know what is. Score: 10/10

The Pretty Wild: I honestly can’t remember where I heard of this band but they were one that I’ve been curious about for a little bit now and I have to say they remind me a lot of of that band Butcher Babies except with more of a hard rock and less of a metal edge. I thought they sounded good. The two ladies on vocals seem to have great chemistry as they treated off vocal parts, but overall, I thought they were just OK. Score: 7/10

Cro-Mags: you know this is a band that I’ve never really caught out of my way to see. They’ve just always ended up playing either here or opening for other bands. It’s kind of weird to think about because this band is celebrating 40 years, which is pretty impressive for a hard hard-core band. But there’s a reason why guys like Harley Flanagan I’ve been around as long as they have. I mean, however you feel about him or the various other lineups this band is had you cannot deny that being around for 40 years is pretty damn impressive. I’ve seen this band at least three maybe four times and they’ve always sounded the same so there was some familiarity which is nice. Score: 8/10

Buckethead: I first heard of this guy because he actually replaced Slash when he left Guns N’ Roses. Now Buckethead is a weird weird guy. I’ve seen him to interview interviews with some sort of puppet and he has like over 20 albums which from what I understand are all instrumental. I will say if you are all about just weird guitar driven instrumental music than you will absolutely love Buckethead but for the average casual listener, you’re probably not gonna be into it and I don’t consider myself a casual listener, but I was getting really bored. Personally, I think he would be better off having a different vocalist on each album or if he’s on tour have just a vocalist for hire or even get some sort of legendary vocalist. There’s just something missing with his music and I think it’s a lack of vocals. Still though I’m glad I saw it because I was also very curious but I wouldn’t see it again. Score: 6.5/10

Filter: I mean, come on if you guys are playing and you don’t see them then you are definitely missing out. Now I will say that Richard Patrick’s voice can sometimes be hit or miss but for today he was on! I saw him last year when Filter opened for Jerry Cantrell and they sounded great then and they sound great now. Of course they’re going to play the hits and singles, but with a band like this, you sort of know what you’re getting. And what you’re getting is a great hard rock band. Score: 9/10

Zakk Sabbath: I’m normally not one for tribute bands because if I’m going to see someone play someone else’s material, I would rather go see the original band. However, obviously, we all know that this cannot happen with Ozzy Osbourne no longer being here so in my opinion, this is kind of the next best thing. I think Zakk does a great take on Black Sabbath songs and if you ever wanted to hear what those songs sounded like with pinch harmonics, then this is the band for you. Again, it’s a tribute band so to me it’s nothing that special but something fun to watch plus it’s Zakk Wylde and you really can’t go wrong with that. Score: 8/10

Soulfly: if you ask me the real magic that this band had when it came to their various lineups was the one from the second album. Now it just seems like it’s Max and his family that are playing these songs plus whatever hired gun they can get on second guitar. I will say, though Max has really stepped up his live performance. When I first started seeing this band, he would just sort of stand there and kind of sing. Now he’s moving around headbanging, jumping up and down, and it’s very reminiscent of the early days. Now on the second album (Primitive), there is a song called “Pain” with guest vocals from Chino Moreno from Deftones and when they played it, his son Jakobe to do his dad’s part and he absolutely nailed it. If you haven’t seen this band, definitely do so before they finally stopped touring (if that’ll ever happen). Score: 9/10

AFI: the last time I saw this band I didn’t really care about them as much as I do now. This is one of those bands that I’m sorry I’ve slept on because man what a hell of a show they put on. Frontman Davey Havok sounded great as did the rest of the band. What I like most is that in spite of having such a short time to play, they really did try to squeeze as many songs as they could in. I think I can honestly say that this is one of the best performances of the entire festival and I honestly cannot wait until the next time they come through LA. Score: 10/10

Cavalera Conspiracy: last year they did a set of songs from Chaos A.D. And this year, I guess Max decided to do a special set of Roots songs. It had to have been a shortened set because there was no way they could’ve played the entire album with the amount of time they had. Unfortunately, I had to choose between seeing this or AFI so I decided to do both. Unfortunately, because the stage where they were playing was clear across the other side I was only able to catch a couple of songs. But I did get there in time to see my favorite song off of Roots called “Attitude” and I said to myself if I could only see one song from this set, it would be this one. Max seemed to have more energy for this set, which was nice and it sucks that they had to overlap like this, but I was glad I got to see some of it. Score 10/10

Stone Temple Pilots: even now it’s still hard to believe that Scott Weiland is no longer with us but new singer, Jeff Gutt does a fantastic job. The last time I saw him with STP was back in 2018 and he seemed to do a lot of the dance moves that Scott would do. This time it wasn’t as much and he’s really coming to his own with this band. Of course the rest of the guys sounded great and this being a festival, played the hits which I was not upset about. Score: 9/10

Danny Elfman: to be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Would it be all film scores? Oingo Boingo songs? Original material nobody’s heard before? Well, it was a little bit of everything. He played songs that I had never even heard of before, he played scores from The Simpsons, Batman/Batman Returns, The Beetlejuice theme, and some Oingo Boingo songs. He even said “everything about today won’t make any sense and it’s all things that are in my fucked up mind.” He had cello players, guitars, the works. Now as I’m watching, I see a very familiar guitar player and it turns out that it’s Robin Finck of Nine Inch Nails!! I actually really enjoyed Danny Elfman’s set and he actually fit the bill quite well. Score: 9/10

Suicidal Tendencies: there’s a reason why Mike Muir is called Cyco Mike because I saw him jump into the crowd and land on top of that rail which I know has got to hurt. Now I did arrive a bit late but what a fun band this is and I definitely wish I had gotten there sooner. They definitely made the most of their time and seeing the crowd getting into it and mosh, reminded me of going to festivals like Ozzfest. It’s easy to see why this band has such a hardcore following and why that stage was so crowded. I also forgot that Rob Trujillo’s son Tye was playing bass and for being 22, is one hell of a bassist. I mean he filled in for Fieldy of Korn at age 12 and he is definitely following in his father’s footsteps. Score: 9/10

Queens Of The Stone Age: this is one of those bands that I forgot how good they are live. What made this set even better was that they played mostly old songs. I was a little surprised that they didn’t premiere any new songs from their upcoming album Perfecth (due for release on October 30th 2026) but I was very happy with the songs we did get. I love the fact that they opened with the song “Regular John” off the first album which is something I haven’t seen them do. Score: 9.5/10

Tool: for as many bands that I’ve seen, this would be my first time seeing Tool and they did not disappoint. This is one of those bands where you get an experience and I’m sure that it would’ve hit differently if I had been planted. They opened the set with “Stinkfist” and once the intro for that started, you had people sprinting to the stage. Now if they played a bunch of songs off their album Fear Innoculum, I was going to leave but they didn’t and they played a good mix but I was especially happy that they played “H,” Crawl Away,” and “The Grudge.” Of course I’m sure they’re better in like a stadium or indoor venue and of course I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention their production. I mean talk about a great light show!! If the screens aren’t going to show the band playing, then at least give us a great visual aspect and that’s precisely what they did. The visuals and the lights all matched the music perfectly and I can’t think of a better way to close out the 2026 Aftershock!! Score: 9/10

Aftershock is such a fun time and you get to see bands that you otherwise wouldn’t see on their own. To me this was a bit of a wild card year. I mean a day with rap groups?? Now as I said, I’m not really into that kind of music but if I’m going to see any rap groups, at least it’s the good ones and you know what? I actually enjoyed it. Will I start doing rap and hip hop reviews?? Not a chance in hell but seeing groups like Wu-Tang Clan and Public Enemy is important because they’ve been around for so long. Of course all the bands that I was there for did not disappoint and made me a bigger fan. I definitely can’t wait until the 2027 Aftershock because that will be the 15 year anniversary and that is for sure going to be great!!

Final Grade (all days): A+

Much like last year, the following is….

Overall 3: Down, AFI, Coheed And Cambria

Most Fun: After The Burial, Limp Bizkit, Sevendust

The Win Over: After The Burial

The Rankings (this is insanely hard):

Down
Coheed And Cambria
Corrosion Of Conformity
AFI
My Chemical Romance
Slaughter To Prevail
Helmet
Limp Bizkit
Coal Chamber
After The Burial
Kylesa
The Melvins
Sevendust
Queens Of The Stone Age
Stone Temple Pilots
Cypress Hill
Brujeria
The Toadies
Soulfly
The Used
Danny Elfman
Cavalera Conspiracy
Tool
Wu-Tang Clan
Lit
Filter
Public Enemy
Ill Niño
Suicidal Tendencies
Cro-Mags
The Offspring
Taylor Momsen And The Pretty Reckless
Black Label Society
L.S. Dunes
Zakk Sabbath
Blue Medusa
The Pretty Wild
Rivers Of Nihil
The Union Underground
Insane Clown Posse
Kublai Khan
Buckethead
Cradle Of Filth
The Black Dahlia Murder
The Devil Wears Prada
Pierce The Veil
Peeling Flesh
Chad Gray
Ladrones
Sublime

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Aftershock 2026 Review