Slayer, Pantera, Insane Clown Posse slay it on Day 1 of Aftershock
Sacramento rock festival presents five stages, lengthiest lineup yet
More than 40,000 fans experienced the mind-boggling quake of Slayer, Pantera and Insane Clown Posse on Day 1 of Aftershock on Thursday at Discovery Park in Sacramento.
The West Coast’s biggest rock festival booked a crazy amount of bands — more than 130 — and added a fifth stage to mark its 12 year.
And there are still three days of metal madness to go.
Today —Friday, Oct. 11 — fans will see the likes of Slipknot, Five Finger Death Punch, and Evanescense.
Day 1 Highlights
• Fists in the air for Slayer who capped off Day 1 with a 20-song set to mark their second reunion show of 2024. Killer sound, impressive pyrotechnics, and a massive audience that enjoyed every second of it.
• A powerful performance by Pantera with Phil Anselmo engaging the crowd that was blown away by “Walk,” “I’m Broken,” and a touching tribute to Dimebag Darrel with an intro to “Cemetery Gates.”
• Insane Clown Posse was simply insane with Faygo soda spraying onto the crowd (You had to be there) and a raucous versions of Hokus Pokus and “The Show Must Go On.”
• Lzzy Hale of Halestorm celebrated her birthday on stage with an amazing vocal performance that few lead singers at Aftershock can match — if any at all. “I just turned 41, and I still don’t know what the hell I’m doing,” Hale shouted to fans who were were lit up by standards such as “I Miss The Misery,” “I Get Off,” and “Freak Like Me.”
• The East Coast’s Biohazard treated loyal fans with its old school brand of hardcore metal. Billy Graziadei was fired up on guitar and vocals as he confronted the crowd a few times. Mosh pit was churning. At one point, Sen Dog from Cypress Hill — fresh of CH’s own performance on of the main stages — joined Biohazard on their popular collaboration “How It Is.”
The head-banging will continue through Sunday, with Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Motley Crue leading the way.
Approximately 160,000 people are expected to pack the park during the entire festival. It’s a big win for the city of Sacramento, and it’s just the start of a lucrative October for the city. Next up, thousands of country music fans will delight in the third annual GoldenSky Country Music Festival that takes over Discovery Park on Oct. 18