We in the Greater Columbus area have come to expect the lineups of Rock on The Range, one of the nation's biggest rock festivals, to come out during February, but "Christmas came early" and now we know what to expect when the ninth version of the show rolls in next May: Slipknot, Judas Priest and Linkin Park will serve as the respective headliners.
This will be Slipknot's second appearance in the top slot at Rock on The Range, having headlined last during 2009 following the release of its last album, All Hope Is Gone (and put on a fine show, we might add). This is new territory for the other two headliners, who haven't appeared yet at Rock. Judas Priest reflects the festival's plans to work in at least one "classic" act, such as Guns n' Roses last year, while of course Linkin Park is still a huge act in the hard rock scene.
Other big names that will warm up the stage for the aforementioned headliners include: Godsmack, Marilyn Manson, Rise Against and Slash (along with Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators as usual).
One interesting trend we've noticed on this year's lineup (which you can view here): Although it only consists of two acts, hip-hop seems to have found a place at Rock on The Range: Tech N9ne and Yelawolf are both listed as performers for 2015. Tech's appeal to rockers isn't surprising considering his involvement in the "horrorcore" subset of the genre and we suppose Yelawolf is a tad more raw than many others in the scene. Another interesting addition is Babymetal, the Japanese rock-pop act that puts a somewhat heavy metal spin on the tropes of J-Pop.
Keep an eye on Music Times next year for full coverage.
