So yeah, Welcome To Rockville, the second coming. Our party of three descended upon Daytona Beach, direct from a redeye flight from Las Vegas due to some unfortunate work-related scheduling, ready to rock.
I am not sure anyone could be ready for record temperatures in Daytona that week, with the lowest daily high temperatures for the week being 92 degrees Fahrenheit, but hey, we decided to go to an outdoor festival on a racetrack in Florida in May, so we did this to ourselves. Could have been a monsoon instead, so I will take the heat. Before I get into the music, some observations about the 2025 Rockville:
· It was hot, really hot
· Taking away the astroturf for the side stages was a bad idea, given all that was left was the black asphalt.
· For the aforementioned side stages, it was a good idea to move them next to each other, rather than at each end of the track, which posed logistical nightmares last year
· The schedulers did a much better job with overlap this year, unlike last year where Clutch and Queens of the Stone Age played at the same time. This year I only missed seeing Body Count, as it conflicted with the killer Dillinger Escape Plan set
· Hats with the flap on the back rule
· The festival decision makers did a good job…after day one lowering the price of water from $4.50 to $2.00, offering more shady spots, and more water fill up stations. The festival is always very well organized, on time, parking is pretty easy, and there is a lot of help if people need it, which is all very cool and still surprises me. Now if they could just fix the merch tent issues…
· No one died, which is pretty amazing given how hot it was and how much alcohol was being consumed
· In my two years I have yet to see a fight or even an argument, again, given how hot and how much alcohol was being consumed, this is shocking. Also: Florida. I did not see the dude who was in full Nazi regalia…but if I did that may have changed…or at least I would have happily watched it happen
OK, so what about the music? Let’s start with Thursday, which for me opened with The Acacia Strain, who I was familiar with but had never seen before. The band ripped it up, sounded super tight, and really kicked off the heavy that was Thursday. My evening really started with the thrash legends Exodus, who played a short 30-minute, six songs set, that consisted of their best-known tracks, including some of my favourites, like Bonded By Blood, The Toxic Waltz, and A Lesson In Violence. Rob Dukes sounded great on vocals and the band sounded tight and seemed to be having a ton of fun. I mostly watched Gary Holt as he shredded it up. I have now seen three former/current members of Slayer in my two Rockvilles, but so far, no Slayer.
While Thursday was a rather heavy day, Friday was filled with 90s bands doing hits sets, which for people of a certain age, like me, is really fun. The disappointment of Alice In Chains cancelling was still in my brain as we watched Everclear, Candlebox, Social Distortion, Sublime, and Bush play all their hits via 30–45-minute sets in 95-degree heat.
Saturday had some of the main highlights for me, with both Mastodon and Acid Bath and the gold stars of my schedule. The day was stolen, however, by the amazing set from purveyors of old school thrash, Municipal Waste. New Florida resident Tony Foresta was on fire, whipping the crowd into a total frenzy involving an industrial sized box of water weenies and a construction garbage can in the pit, which of course someone rode around in. He even had his father, who he just reconnected with, come out to request a circle pit, only to close that song with a big Fuck You to daddy. The set was a perfect Municipal Waste festival set and they sounded great.
· It was hot, really hot
· Taking away the astroturf for the side stages was a bad idea, given all that was left was the black asphalt.
· For the aforementioned side stages, it was a good idea to move them next to each other, rather than at each end of the track, which posed logistical nightmares last year
· The schedulers did a much better job with overlap this year, unlike last year where Clutch and Queens of the Stone Age played at the same time. This year I only missed seeing Body Count, as it conflicted with the killer Dillinger Escape Plan set
· Hats with the flap on the back rule
· The festival decision makers did a good job…after day one lowering the price of water from $4.50 to $2.00, offering more shady spots, and more water fill up stations. The festival is always very well organized, on time, parking is pretty easy, and there is a lot of help if people need it, which is all very cool and still surprises me. Now if they could just fix the merch tent issues…
· No one died, which is pretty amazing given how hot it was and how much alcohol was being consumed
· In my two years I have yet to see a fight or even an argument, again, given how hot and how much alcohol was being consumed, this is shocking. Also: Florida. I did not see the dude who was in full Nazi regalia…but if I did that may have changed…or at least I would have happily watched it happen
OK, so what about the music? Let’s start with Thursday, which for me opened with The Acacia Strain, who I was familiar with but had never seen before. The band ripped it up, sounded super tight, and really kicked off the heavy that was Thursday. My evening really started with the thrash legends Exodus, who played a short 30-minute, six songs set, that consisted of their best-known tracks, including some of my favourites, like Bonded By Blood, The Toxic Waltz, and A Lesson In Violence. Rob Dukes sounded great on vocals and the band sounded tight and seemed to be having a ton of fun. I mostly watched Gary Holt as he shredded it up. I have now seen three former/current members of Slayer in my two Rockvilles, but so far, no Slayer.
Maybe next year. GWAR was next for me, and while it is always fun seeing them this performance seemed a bit tempered, but I am not so sure monsters do all that well in the heat. There was a whole Trump thing they did that seemed to turn off half the Florida crowd as well, but overall seeing GWAR is always a good time. The highlights for Thursday for me were the trio of bands playing as the sun went down.
First, and my favourite performance of the four days, was Quicksand. If you know me you know how important that band is to me, and Walter and crew did not disappoint, even as they played as a trio and as Walter had technical difficulties. He was a true pro, keeping a smile on his face, interacting with the crowd, and really enjoying himself after all these years. The setlist spanned across their discography, but was heavy on Slip, which is exactly what you want out of a Quicksand festival set.
The Garage Stage was on fire with Quicksand and then the reformed Dillinger Escape Plan up next, who were just insane. This version of the band was super tight and guitarist Ben Weinman is a madman, jumping from amps and having us all worry for his ACLs, without missing a note of some super complex parts. Current vocalist Dimitri Minakakis hung in nicely with the band, who sounded like vintage DEP.
My headliner for Thursday was Rob Zombie (I did not stay for the real headliner, Shinedown, which was a trend across all four days), and he and his band sounded just fine, hitting all the high spots and killing it on the songs from his White Zombie days, really what I was most interested. I had not seen him live in about 30 years, so it was a nice and loud piece of nostalgia for me. Overall, a fun start to the festivities, even if I had not slept for like 36 hours.
While Thursday was a rather heavy day, Friday was filled with 90s bands doing hits sets, which for people of a certain age, like me, is really fun. The disappointment of Alice In Chains cancelling was still in my brain as we watched Everclear, Candlebox, Social Distortion, Sublime, and Bush play all their hits via 30–45-minute sets in 95-degree heat.
The surprising winner of that batch of bands was Bush, who I saw almost 30 years ago to the day and who I absolutely hated live and who I subsequently wrote off. Back in 1995 Gavin Rossdale barely moved or talked and when he did, he was a total wanker, but here is 2025 he was all energy, spending an entire song in the hot and sweaty crowd and running around on stage like he was a man half his age. Hearing those hits again was fun too.
It was kind of sad seeing Everclear, as some of my favourite college shows involved them supporting the amazing Sparkle and Fade record back in the day. Art seemed tired, and didn’t really try to hit any of the higher notes. It was still cool to see them again, even if it was not their best showing. We got our punk and emo on too, with a great set from Jimmy Eat World, who leaned very heavy on their awesome 2001 record Bleed American but also covered a whole bunch of their discography (no Lucky Denver Mint unfortunately though) and New Found glory, who tried hard but seemed to be suffering from sound issues and their missing and ill guitarist. I did not stay for Good Charlotte and Green Day, but I was ensured by people who care about such things that their sets were great.
Saturday had some of the main highlights for me, with both Mastodon and Acid Bath and the gold stars of my schedule. The day was stolen, however, by the amazing set from purveyors of old school thrash, Municipal Waste. New Florida resident Tony Foresta was on fire, whipping the crowd into a total frenzy involving an industrial sized box of water weenies and a construction garbage can in the pit, which of course someone rode around in. He even had his father, who he just reconnected with, come out to request a circle pit, only to close that song with a big Fuck You to daddy. The set was a perfect Municipal Waste festival set and they sounded great.
The heavy continued with a great set from Obituary, who I had never seen before a crushed it, while Nails proved to be one of the heaviest bands I have ever seen live. This was all on the stage with the asphalt, so it was heavy and so fucking hot, but it did not bother the folks in the pit one bit. The dud of the day and really the four days was Taking Back Sunday, who just flat out sucked and pretty much showed they could care less to be there, especially the douchebag lead singer. TBS are a guilty pleasure of mine, but they can go fuck off, even if they are from the beautiful Nassau County, Long Island.
Now onto the to biggies. Acid Bath was amazing. They sounded so good, even after all this time and with this being a pretty early show in the tour. Dax voice sounded great and the band was super tight. I was really surprised at how many people were singing along to every song, showing how important to the scene the band was and is. Mastodon was how I closed my night (I skipped Linkin Park) and their stage show alone was something to behold. So trippy, and the band sounded great, even with their brand-new guitarist. The setlist hit just about every record and the crowd sung along to all of them, reminding me how big this band is, because sometimes I forget. A great Saturday was had be me and by all, if you believe the people who stayed for LP.
Sunday started early, with early nu-metal band Snot at 1:50, with a new lead singer, decades after the original frontman died in a car accident right when their debut dropped. It was a fun and emotional set, and I hope we hear more from them soon. Filter would have fit better on 90s day, but their short 30-minute set was fun, highlighted by the always great and one of the best songs of the 90s, Hey Man Nice Shot. It always surprises me that I like Sevendust, but I seem to, because I really enjoyed their set, of which I recognized most songs, even as a very casual fan.
Now onto the to biggies. Acid Bath was amazing. They sounded so good, even after all this time and with this being a pretty early show in the tour. Dax voice sounded great and the band was super tight. I was really surprised at how many people were singing along to every song, showing how important to the scene the band was and is. Mastodon was how I closed my night (I skipped Linkin Park) and their stage show alone was something to behold. So trippy, and the band sounded great, even with their brand-new guitarist. The setlist hit just about every record and the crowd sung along to all of them, reminding me how big this band is, because sometimes I forget. A great Saturday was had be me and by all, if you believe the people who stayed for LP.
Sunday started early, with early nu-metal band Snot at 1:50, with a new lead singer, decades after the original frontman died in a car accident right when their debut dropped. It was a fun and emotional set, and I hope we hear more from them soon. Filter would have fit better on 90s day, but their short 30-minute set was fun, highlighted by the always great and one of the best songs of the 90s, Hey Man Nice Shot. It always surprises me that I like Sevendust, but I seem to, because I really enjoyed their set, of which I recognized most songs, even as a very casual fan.
We got to see the tail end of the Black Dahlia Murder set, which was good, but will always lack something going forward given their unfortunate circumstances. Chevelle played the hits and the people liked it. Unfortunately, Daughtry was playing on the stage where we were resting in the shade and eating. Never do I need to hear that band cover Journey. Never again. We got the see part of the Deafheaven set, and boy did it kill. I would have loved to see the whole thing, but I had a date with some 80s thrash legends.
My night ended with a killer set from Testament, who played a bunch of songs from Practice What You Preach and even pulled out Return To Serenity from my favourite record, The Ritual. The set was amazing and they really got the crowd going, even with Marilyn Manson playing on the other side of the park. I did not stay for headliner Korn and got out of their once the Juggalos started gathering for the ICP set, but even with an early Sunday ending for me, the day was great.
So overall, Rockville was a ton of fun, record heat be damned. This is now an annual thing for our crew, so let’s hope next year we get some better headliners so this old guy doesn’t leave early to beat the traffic. It how about 70s and 80s temps instead of 90s. 8/10
Best Sets:
· Quicksand
· Municipal Waste
· Mastodon
· Acid Bath
· Dillinger Escape Plan
· Testament
Worst Sets:
· Taking Back Sunday
· Hollywood Undead (abomination)
· Daughtry
Best Day:
· Thursday/Saturday (tie)
Best Food:
· Buffalo Tots
Best VIP Perk:
· Clean Bathrooms
Needs A VIP Perk:
· Separate merch tent
So overall, Rockville was a ton of fun, record heat be damned. This is now an annual thing for our crew, so let’s hope next year we get some better headliners so this old guy doesn’t leave early to beat the traffic. It how about 70s and 80s temps instead of 90s. 8/10
Best Sets:
· Quicksand
· Municipal Waste
· Mastodon
· Acid Bath
· Dillinger Escape Plan
· Testament
Worst Sets:
· Taking Back Sunday
· Hollywood Undead (abomination)
· Daughtry
Best Day:
· Thursday/Saturday (tie)
Best Food:
· Buffalo Tots
Best VIP Perk:
· Clean Bathrooms
Needs A VIP Perk:
· Separate merch tent
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