Ethan Miller, Getty Images The year 2013 is shaping up to be a mammoth one for rock and metal concerts. Already, there is an incredible list of talented bands set to deliver blistering sets of hard-rocking music this year. To prepare you for the pits, we’ve put together comprehensive lists of 2013 Must-See Rock + Metal Concerts. Rock concerts act as the brightest highlights of any year for any music fan. We’ll be attending our fair share of shows throughout 2013, and as every one of these must-see tours are announced, we will add them to our rock and metal lists to keep you up-to-date with the latest and greatest happenings in concert news. Check out all of these upcoming rock and metal concerts by clicking the buttons below. See you in the pit! [button href=”http://loudwire.com/alice-in-chains-2013-must-see-rock-concerts/” title=”View the Must-See Rock Concerts of 2013″ align=”center”] ? [button href=”http://loudwire.com/new-england-metal-hardcore-festival-2013-must-see-metal-concerts/” title=”View the Must-See Metal Concerts of 2013″ align=”center”]
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Underoath performed their second show at Irving Plaza this week and their final date ever in New York City Thursday night (Jan. 17) as part of their farewell tour. The show also featured a strong support lineup, with engaging sets from mewithoutYou, As Cities Burn and Letlive . The evening began with openers Letlive, who will be headlining shows of their own soon enough. With the band’s powerful songs and undeniable stage presence, Letlive performed as if it were their last show in New York City (thankfully it’s not). Frontman Jason Aalon Butler dove into the crowd numerous times and even made his way onto the balcony where he was holding on for dear life while belting out lyrics. As Cities Burn followed with a high energy performance as they got fans singing and audience members crowd surfing. The pace slowed down when mewithoutYou took the stage. The Philadelphia-based outfit brought their indie and experimental sound to the line-up and vocalist Aaron Weiss had the grace of a ballerina onstage whether he was singing, hopping, playing accordion or the tambourine. As “Underoath” chants began to increase in volume, the band embraced the warm welcome the New York City crowed provided. They kicked off their set with three strong tracks — ‘Breathing in a New Mentality,’ ‘It’s Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door’ and ‘In Division.’ Diehard fans also sang along to favorites such as ‘In Regards to Myself,’ ‘Paper Lung,’ ‘Reinventing Your Exit’ and numerous others. Even though frontman Spencer Chamberlain stated that he was feeling under the weather, he and the rest of the band gave a stellar performance that their New York fans won’t soon forget. Underoath rounded out the set with ’Casting Such a Thin Shadow,’ ‘A Boy Brushed Red Living in Black and White’ and ‘Writing on the Walls.’ For a full list of remaining dates to Underoath’s Farewell tour, click here . Check out Photos of Underoath, mewithoutYou, As Cities Burn and Letlive Performing in NYC: Underoath: Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire mewithoutYou: Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire As Cities Burn: Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Letlive: Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire [button href=”http://loudwire.com/underoath-to-break-up-following-farewell-tour-and-career-spanning-compilation/” title=”Next: Underoath Announce Split + Career-Spanning Compilation” align=”center”]
Chris Hyde, Getty Images Although Soundgarden are in the midst of their current North America tour run, the recently reunited rockers just added a very special appearance to their itinerary. Frontman Chris Cornell has signed on to perform at the Commander-in-Chief’s Ball, helping President Obama and Vice President Biden honor U.S. armed forces, while all of Soundgarden will be providing entertainment at the Inaugural Ball on the same day. Scheduled for Monday, Jan. 21, at the Washington Convention Center, the Commander-in-Chief’s Ball will recognize Medal of Honor recipients and Wounded Warriors with a guest list that includes both active duty and reserve military. In addition to Chris Cornell, the entertainment portion of the evening includes artists and celebs like Alicia Keys, Brad Paisley, Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Hudson. Things get turned up a few notches for the Inaugural Ball, which will feature several artists, including Soundgarden, performing on multiple stages. An all-star cast of stars will join Soundgarden in the celebration, among them Stevie Wonder, Usher, Katy Perry and Smokey Robinson. Many of the artists performing have played a role in helping President Barack Obama get re-elected, including Cornell. Back in September, he joined a rally for President Barack Obama in Des Moines, Iowa, and performed a moving acoustic set. The Inaugural Ball serves to celebrate and unify Americans across the nation from community leaders to grassroots volunteers and elected officials. In addition, U.S. military around the world will be invited to join in the celebration through a live broadcast and everyone is invited to tune in here for a live stream. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/soundgarden-announce-2013-north-american-tour-unveil-been-away-too-long-video/” title=”Soundgarden 2013 North American Tour Dates” align=”center”]
Dimitrios Kambouris / Larry Busacca, Getty Images Tom Morello may not be rocking with Rage Against the Machine at the moment, but the guitarist has found another tour that will keep him occupied. Morello has agreed to play in Bruce Springsteen ‘s band for their upcoming Australian tour while regular guitarist Steven Van Zandt (above, right) takes a break to shoot episodes of his television series ‘Lilyhammer.’ The admiration between Tom Morello and Bruce Springsteen has been there for years, and the guitar great has frequently joined Springsteen for performances of ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad,’ a song that both ‘The Boss’ and Rage have recorded as part of their catalogs. In addition, Morello turned up on multiple recordings on Springsteen’s most recent album, ‘Wrecking Ball.’ The RATM axeman has also signed on to perform at the 2013 MusiCares benefit tribute saluting Springsteen next month in Los Angeles. For those wondering, Morello will perform on shows between March 14-31, with multi-night stops in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Macedon along the way. Little Steven is expected to resume his guitar duties with Springsteen’s band beginning Apr. 29 in Oslo, Norway. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/tom-morello-unsure-if-rage-against-the-machine-will-ever-perform-again/” title=”Next: Tom Morello Unsure of Rage Against the Machine’s Future” align=”center”]
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Guitarist Brian ‘Head’ Welch is keeping busy with both his current and former bands. His current group Love and Death return next week with the new album, ‘Between Here & Lost,’ but fans can check the disc out early via a preview stream. Plus, it appears Welch is expanding his temporary reunion with Korn to include their full run of European dates. As for Love and Death, fans can currently take a listen to the new album at Billboard’s website ahead of its release. The disc has already spawned the singles ‘ The Abandoning ‘ and ‘ I W8 4 U ,’ but the full effort can be heard by clicking the link here . Welch says of the new effort, “It’s night and day in every way — the clarity, the low end, the guitar tones, the drums. My first record, it took massive, massive time in the mixing process to get it to sound as good as it does. But this one sounded like a record on the rough mixes.” As for Korn, it was confirmed in November that Welch would join the group for their gigs at Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park in Germany. Now, singer Jonathan Davis also reveals that Welch will stick around for the UK’s Download fest and other European dates. Davis writes: Download has always held a special spot in Korn’s heart. I’ll never forget the year the fans almost tore the tent down on top of the second stage! This year we have Brian “Head” Welch back with us for our European dates – could it get any better? We are looking forward to it! – JD Welch had previously stated that he feels now is the right time to reunite with Korn, and that he’s looking forward to spending time and playing again with his former bandmates. For the full Korn itinerary, see the tour dates below. Korn’s 2013 European Tour 6/4 — Warsaw, Poland — Impact Festival 6/7 — Nurburgring / Eifel, Germany — Rock am Ring 6/8 — Amneville, France — Sonipshere at Snowhall Park 6/9 — Nuremberg, Germany — Rock im Park 6/14 — Donington Park, U.K. — Download Festival 6/16 — Vienna, Austria — Nova Rock Festival 6/17 — Ostrava, Czech Republic — Cez Arena 6/21 — Clisson, France — Hellfest 6/28 — Dessel, Belgium — Graspop 7/6 — Gothenburg, Sweden — Metaltown at Goteborg Galopp [button href=”http://loudwire.com/korn-munky-optimistic-permanent-reunion-brian-head-welch/” title=”Next: Korn’s Munky Optimistic About Permanent ‘Head’ Reunion” align=”center”]
Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com The temps may be chilly outside, but Down and Warbeast definitely brought the heat to West Hollywood’s Key Club Wednesday night (Jan. 16) for the Los Angeles stop of their winter tour. The two acts combined for a blistering night of rock and some rather emotional moments before all was said and done. As was announced right before the tour, both bands have dedicated the entire trek to the memory of late Rigor Mortis and Ministry guitarist Mike Scaccia and each of the acts made note of Scaccia’s legacy and friendship during their sets. During their performance, Warbeast dedicated tracks to the guitarist and urged fans to scream in his honor. It was obvious that frontman Bruce Corbitt was still feeling the loss of his onetime Rigor Mortis bandmate. Warbeast amped up the audience during their opening set. Guitarist Scott Shelby laid down some killer licks and Corbitt commanded the crowd throughout, with tracks like ‘Egotistical Bastard’ and ‘Krush the Enemy’ working the audience into a circle pit frenzy. The group ended their set on a high note with ‘It’ and ‘Birth of the Psycho,’ their two contributions to the newly released split EP with Phil Anselmo , ‘ War of the Gargantuas .’ Down were the night’s headliner and they did not disappoint with the audience passionately fist-pumping along to the band’s songs throughout the evening. Like Warbeast, Phil Anselmo offered his salute to Scaccia and also got a little teary-eyed mentioning the band’s home base of New Orleans before rocking out to ‘New Orleans Is a Dying Whore.’ But amidst the emotion, there was also some levity as Anselmo grabbed a bra that had been tossed onstage, gave it to drummer Jimmy Bower commenting that he thought it might not be big enough and then watched as Bower put on the undergarment to cover his shirtless body for the remainder of the show. Highlights of Down’s performance included a blistering version of ‘Witchtripper,’ fan favorites ‘Lifer’ and ‘Lysergic Funeral Procession,’ and the anthemic ‘Eyes of the South.’ The set also included an encore of ‘Stone the Crow’ and ‘Bury Me in Smoke,’ with members of Warbeast hopping up onstage for an extended jam on the final track. The Down / Warbeast ‘Weed and Speed’ tour rolls on into early February. To check out the remaining dates on the trek, click here . Take a look at our photo gallery from the Down / Warbeast show below. Down: Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com Warbeast: Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com (2) Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com [button href=”http://loudwire.com/down-new-musical-directions-recording-while-still-alive-being-handsome/” title=”Next: Down Discuss New Music Directions + Being Handsome” align=”center”]
Ethan Miller, Getty Images With a 3D film and a new album in the works, Metallica may not be able to spend a huge amount of time on the road this year. Given that thought, the announcement that the band will headline Japan’s Summer Sonic Festival in August makes that ticket much more valuable. The group will headline at Tokyo’s QVC Marine Field on Aug. 10, then turn around and finish things out at Osaka’s Maishima Summer Sonic site the following night (Aug. 11). In addition to Metallica, top concert draw Muse and the reunited Stone Roses have also been confirmed for the event. Aside from Summer Sonic, Metallica will kick off 2013 with dates as part of Australia’s traveling Soundwave festival running Feb. 23 through March 4. They’ve also booked a pair of shows in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa in April. In addition, Metallica have announced plans to bring back their Orion Music + More Festival for a two-night stand in June, this time located in the Detroit area. Their current final headlining appearance of the year comes Sept. 19 at the Rock in Rio festival. Though Metallica are working on new music, there’s not a high probability of any new material appearing during the band’s shows this year. The group has already stated that a 2014 release is more likely for their next disc. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/metallica-red-hot-chili-peppers-highest-grossing-touring-acts-2012/” title=”Next: Metallica Amongst 2012’s Highest Grossing Touring Acts” align=”center”]