The fourth annual Monster Energy Rock Allegiance returned to Camden, New Jersey’s BB&T Pavilion for a day and night full of rockin’ performances from acts like Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, Beartooth, Skillet, Fozzy, The Fever 333, Devour The Day, Of Mice & Men, Bullet For My Valentine, Bad Omens, Knocked Loose, and of course hometown heroes Siravo, From Ashes to New and Motionless In White, along with the blood drenching, raunchy GWAR and the Faygo showering, Insane Clown Posse. Although, it was a very high humidity day with a high of just 68 degrees, Rock Allegiance performers heated up the BB&T Pavilion with a fiery day of hit rock music.
Launching the day for us was Philadelphia’s own Siravo, opening up the Plaza Stage with an unforgettable set on the stage which was headlined by Insane Clown Posse later that evening. Bringing their own signature sound to Rock Allegiance, performing a great cover of Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4.” Siravo frontman, Mike Archangelo, sounding just about identical to Chicago frontman Robert Hamm mixed with Trivium frontman, Matt Heafy, throughout their entire set. The day of rock moving along rather quickly to another band from the Pennsylvania area, From Ashes To New, launching the main stage at Rock Allegiance this year inside the amphitheater in which they brought along a massive crowd who were eagerly awaiting the bands performance. Mostly, awaiting to hear their incredible new music from their latest record, The Future, in which was heavily showcased during their set. Bursting into their set with the title track off their new record “The Future,” in which started with Matt Brandyberry and the band before introducing to the packed house, frontman Danny Case who brought his fantastic vocals out for the chorus of the song singing “We are the future, we are the future,” in which the crowd serenaded the words back to the band like a choir. The band unfortunately only getting a brief opening set of 30-minute which most bands got throughout the day, but From Ashes to New were able to blow the minds of those in attendance with their music and the statement, bring awareness to the struggle of depression and anxiety in which Brandyberry told the crowd you are not alone, I have been there. From Ashes To New actually recently partnered with a foundation called “Love Is Louder” to help amplify the message of “love and support are louder than any voice that tries to bring us down.” We had the opportunity to speak with Brandyberry at the festival about their partnership and their new music, which you can watch, HERE. Another notable mention during FATN’s set would be their impeccable cover melody of Linkin Park’s “Heavy” and “Papercut.”
Fozzy took to the main-stage next, bringing their unique take to rock’n roll to Rock Allegiance with frontman Chris Jericho commanding the fans attention even jumping into the crowd during their performance of their dance driven rock song, “Burn Me Out.” The amount of energy that poured forth from the stage was both hypnotic and engaging from the entire band. We are always open to attend a rockin’ Fozzy party anytime especially with a setlist packed with songs from their latest record, Judas, performing singles like the title track “Judas,” “Painless” and more recently “Burn Me Out.” You can check out our interview with Chris Jericho of Fozzy from Rock Allegiance, HERE. Then treking down to the Wiggins’ Park stage for Badflower which we will say is very far from the other two stages and at times hard to get to between sets due to the distance, if you want to see all of the bands the distance of this stage makes that impossible. Although, the stage did allow for a beautiful Delaware River backdrop complete with the Philadelphia skyline. We really enjoyed Badflower’s performance of their first No. 1 single in the country, “Ghost” in which got the crowd singing along almost immediately as fans thoroughly enjoy it! Check out our interview with Badflower, HERE.
Bad Omens then powering through a fierce set on the Plaza Stage before Beartooth took control of the main stage for one of the best performances of the day. The growth from Beartooth is a force to the reckoned with, from touring clubs opening for bigger acts to headline festival appearances, we have watched Beartooth grow into the insanely talented, high energy band that they are today. Their live shows are fierce, wild, and driven off the energy that frontman Caleb Shomo has while putting forth all of the raw emotion that is within their lyrics, giving the crowd an unbelievably good show. We will say that Beartooth, Skillet, From Ashes To New and Papa Roach were the best of the best performances of the festival. Beartooth giving fans that in your face rock’n roll, performing their hit songs like “Aggressive,” “The Lines,” “Hated,” and then giving fans a taste of their incredibly successful new album, Disease, performing songs like “Bad Listener,” “Disease,” and “You Never Know” off the recently released new record.
GWAR then taking to the stage, beheading the Pope showering the crowd in his blood, after the Pope gave a brief speech on the way the world currently is. GWAR conquered Rock Allegiance with a gore-filled performance throughout their 30-minute set killing off several people including the Pope, President Trump, and more. GWAR fans love the thrill of their show bathing them in red and blue blood, but the fans come for that and their brutal rock tunes. Just when we think that GWAR can’t go any further with their on-stage antics, they totally surprise us and their performance was as bloody as ever! Read our interview with Beefcake The Mighty of GWAR from Rock Allegiance, HERE. Next up, was the forever fabulous performers Skillet, who gave the crowd a well deserved rock show from some of the best to ever do it. Bringing along a bit of production with them from handheld co2 cannons on John Skillet to the lovely and talented Korey Cooper and Jen Ledger rockin’ their purple hair on guitar and drums. The band knows how to commandeer a stage and they held the audience captive from start to finish. We could have watched Skillet perform all night long. Skillet never fails to blow the minds of all watching grasping their attention and keeping it till the end of their set, when they then beg for more. Read out interview with John Cooper of Skillet at Rock Allegiance, HERE.
As Skillet echoed over the hill to the Plaza Stage it was time to get drenched in Faygo with Insane Clown Posse, bringing their freak show to Camden, NJ’s Rock Allegiance as if there was not enough freaks already in Camden. ‘Whoop Whoop’ can be heard from a far as fans anxiously awaiting the band to take the stage and after going on about 25 minutes later then expected to, ICP took to the stage with their three-ring circus, soaking the crowd in Faygo, whilst also throwing the empty bottles further then the eye could see. Their set was all we could have asked for from their signature Faygo, and their unique take on music, the two clowns kept the crowd completely engaged commanding their attention and keeping fans on high alert or else they’d be hit with a 2-liter bottle of Faygo.
Of Mice & Men and Bullet For My Valentine shredding through their energetic sets on the Wiggins’ Park stage before Pennsylvania’s own Motionless In White brought their spooky set to the main stage complete with pumpkins, statues, and great music. The band was added just a few weeks before the festival after Avenged Sevenfold cancelled off the festival’s lineup due to M. Shadows’ illness. Motionless always bring a haunting rock show whenever they perform, with a unique stage vibe to their signature sound and the blending of both makes for a perfect rock show.
Papa Roach then commanding the stage as their Crooked Teeth curtain dropped unveiling the band as their performed their new single “Renegade Music” for only the second time live, the band sounding better then ever before. Papa Roach truly are a band who gets better time after time that we see them, with their attention grasping frontman Jacoby Shaddix who demands the crowds attention and even joins the crowd at times during their set making for their arena level show to be more intimate. The band also performed their other new single “Who Do You Trust?” off their soon to be announced new album which is rumored to be titled the same, the song is currently the most added song to active rock radio and it is well deserved. Tell me what other band with the longevity of a career like Papa Roach puts out a better album each time they release one with their singles conquering rock radio everywhere with sold out shows on all of their tours? No one. Papa Roach is one of the best to ever do it. The band even threw down a cover of Blur’s “Song Two,” which honestly sounded even better then their original. Papa Roach even included their classics like “Scars”, “Getting Away With Murder,” “Between Angels and Insects” and of course “Last Resort” which ended their dominating performance.
Ending the evening was Limp Bizkit, and during their set Insane Clown Posse’s Shaggy 2 Dope attempted to dropkick Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst on-stage and although he failed at his attempt, it was hilarious and a great way to end Rock Allegiance. If the music all day long wasn’t enough for you, you hopefully got the chance to check out one of the mouth-watering food trucks/vendors, providing some of the best “man food” around.
