Due to computer issues, that involve me not hitting the save button. This article is a couple of weeks later than it is supposed to be, however it is now official that myself and fellow Moshville Times reviewer Kristal will be returning to Austria this June for the 15th Anniversary edition of Nova Rock Festival.
2018 was our first trip to Nickelsdorf for last year’s Nova Rock festival and we enjoyed it so much that we have been planning our return ever since we got back to the UK. When the 2019 lineup started to be released, this sealed the deal for our return. With the line-up now complete we are taking a look at which bands we are really looking forward to seeing at this year’s event.
While there are some huge bands at the top of the bill for each day including Slipknot, Sum 41, The Cure and Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators that we are of course looking forward to. It is however some of the bands lower down the proceedings that are getting us really excited.
Thursday’s lineup looks brilliant but the main highlights we are looking forward to are two bands I have seen recently who really impressed me and a band that I have been looking forward to seeing ever since discovering them. The first of these is Three Days Grace whose October 2018 tour with Bad Wolves was one of the best gigs I attended last year. Godsmack are another band I was lucky enough to see and photograph recently and who I can’t wait to see again. I Prevail are the band that I have yet to see but will definitely be seeing their set at Nova Rock.
Friday sees Slayer’s Final World Tour arrive in Nickelsdorf and obviously is a must-see as this will probably be my only chance to catch this legendary thrash metal band. Other highlights include Our Last Night, a band which have created a huge online following by coverings pop songs in a rock/metal style but are now a fully-fledged band in their own right with several albums of original material under their belt. Starset’s set will also be a huge highlight, their support slot for Shinedown’s UK tour last year was mind-blowing. With their backstory and interesting costume choice they are bound to go down well on one of the main stages at Nova Rock this year.
Saturday we will finally get to see Die Toten Hosen, one of the bands we highlighted in last year’s festival preview. However due to health problems the band had to withdraw from the event at the last minute. As one of my favourite bands Papa Roach are bound to be one of the best moments of not only the Saturday line-up but the whole festival, I can’t wait to hear some of their new material live. Beyond The Black are a band that I have only just discovered when researching some of the bands on the line-up to write this review but they have impressed from the first track I heard, so I am really looking forward to seeing their live set.
On the final day of the festival, San Francisco punk cover band Me First and The Gimme Gimmes are bound to keep the crowd as energetic as they were on the first of the four days. Within Temptation’s set is going to be another massive highlight of the festival with the brilliant voice of lead vocalist Sharon den Adel. The band that I am arguably most looking forward to seeing out of the whole festival line-up is Bad Wolves, they impressed massively when they supported Three Days Grace last year and lead singer Tommy Vext had just got out of hospital, so their set should be epic.
The Red Bull Stage, the smaller of the three main stages at Nova Rock also has an impressive line-up this year with bands such as The Amity Affliction, While She Sleeps and Puddle of Mudd headlining on two of the nights. Other bands that I am looking forward to seeing on this stage include Like A Storm, Nothing Nowhere and Austria’s own All Faces Down.
Tickets for the festival are still on sale and there are still some cheap flights available from a variety of UK airports to both Vienna or Bratislava airports which are both a short distance away from the festival site. So, if you haven’t got your tickets for Download festival yet, why not try something a little different this year and come join us in Austria for a long weekend?
