Sick New World Rocked Our Faces Off!
Las Vegas, Nevada is a city that never, ever sleeps. It is a place of endless excitement, with its neon lights, bustling casinos, and shows that leave you spellbound. The entertainment industry in Las Vegas is unparalleled and unrivaled; the city has been known to host some of the biggest events in the world.
From running with bulls at the Bull Run Festival to dancing with naked performers at Cirque du Soleil’s Zumanity show, Las Vegas offers an experience like no other. The city also boasts some of the most luxurious hotels and resorts in the world. With their extravagant amenities, breathtaking views, and world-class service, guests are left feeling pampered beyond measure. Despite its reputation for being a place where anything goes and everything happens behind closed doors, Las Vegas is a town that welcomes everyone with open arms.
Last weeks Mother’s Day weekend was one for the rock ‘n’ roll history books, as it featured the ultimate Las Vegas gathering of nu-metal, industrial, gothic, and alternative fans. As the inaugural Sick New World Saturday, May 13th, 2013 event saw tens of thousands of die-hard followers converge in the sweltering 90-plus degree desert heat to celebrate their favorite genres of music. The Sick New World festival boasted an impressive lineup, featuring some of the biggest names in modern hard rock/metal history such as Korn, Incubus, Kittie, Evanescence, Papa Roach, Cradle of Filth, Ice-T’s Body Count, Orgy, Cold, Hoobastank, Filter, and even KMFDM! Concert attendees were straight up drooling in anticipation, mad thrilled to see their idols take to the stage and deliver electrifying performances that left them screaming for more.
Beyond the music, it was about meeting amazing people, whom were in the same line as you for water, food or merch, etc that share the same wide arrange of music tastes as you. And then discussing your favorite bands together in super exciting tones. Because Sick New World was instantaneously a truly exhilarating experience that will be remembered for years to come.
The gothic industrial vibes beautifully erupted on Friday, May 12th, 2023! Because the Brooklyn Bowl ,located at the Las Vegas Strip, was transformed into a rock n’ roll haven,as hundreds upon hundreds of music fans flooded the venue to catch The Birthday Massacre and Stabbing Westward rock our gothic souls! The half bowling lanes and half concert venue were filled with an electrifying atmosphere that transported everyone back to the golden era of 1990’s hard rock!
The headlining band were industrial favorites Stabbing Westward. They took to the stage on Friday night and delivered an unforgettable performance that had everyone on their feet, rocking the fucking out. With their hard-hitting beats and raw vocals, they transported the audience back in time to relive some iconic hits from the 90s. The crowd’s energy was palpable as they sang along to every word of Stabbing Westwards biggest hits “What Do I Have To Do?” and “Save Yourself.” The Birthday Massacre also successfully delivered a glorious gothic evening showcase that had fans cheering the loudest during their nightmarish tinged rocker closer “In The Dark”.
As Friday’s awe-inspiring Brooklyn Bowl concert concluded, Saturday’s debut of Sick New World Festival swiftly arrived! With thousand upon thousands of fans all cheering loud and proud to finally release years of built up stress during their favorite bands sets. All thanks to the epic music vibes Sick New World was about to bring forth!
Modern rock legends Cold were officially celebrating 20th anniversary of their 2023 hard rock masterpiece “Year of the Spider” when they helped kick off Sick New World with an explosive set that had the crowd clamoring for more, long after their 30 min set had finished. Cold opened with one of their biggest hits “Stupid Girl”. As they finished off the day with their astounding banger “Just Got Wicked”! Simply put. Cold were indubitably inspirational live! Shame on you for missing their set. Salute to those that did witness their phenomenal performance!
Nu-Industrial champions Orgy shocked everyone attending Sick New World when they began their set with the fan favorite, haunting, “Queen of the Damned” single “Slept So Long”! The track was originally written by Jonathan Davis (Korn). But Jay Gordon was hired to do vocal duties when Davis’ label at the time prevented him from releasing “Slept So Long” containing his very own recorded vocals. And Jay Gordon had the Sick New World audience totally enthralled with his captivating live vocal range during “Slept So Long”. Definitely one of the major performance highlights of the day! Orgy also paid tribute to fallen Prodigy frontman Keith Flint through an mind-bending cover of “Smack My Bitch Up! Which followed up with Orgy closing out their set with their own signature cover of New Order’s “Blue Monday”. As the audience screamed so loud, their lungs were probably near bleeding. Orgy should’ve had a better time-slot. But they still rocked the Spiral Stage to its core, even with a limited set. P.S. “Stitches” and “Fiction (Dreams in Digital)” were performed by Orgy too!
Finnish Gothic metal heads The 69 Eyes head the crowd rocking their asses off with fan favorite spooky cuts such as “Brandon Lee” and “Lost Boys”. Frontman Jyrki 69’s astonishing live vocal range is to die for, as his powerful voice is capable of bringing about a sea of tears in our eyes due to how epic his voice is! And his fan base wouldn’t have it any other way.
Papa Roach kept the Sick New World crowd jumping as high as humanly possible all through out their set all. All thanks to their live soaring octane, energizing, headbanger extravaganza set! The band even brought out Funny Man of Hollywood Undead during their rock ‘n’ roller song “Swerve”. Which had the audience absolutely losing their fucking minds! But they lost their minds even more during the closing tracks ‘Between Angels and Insects” and their signature hit ‘Last Resort’! Large pits emerged during “Last Resort”. And the crowd screamed their loudest for Papa Roach during this finale. Overall, Papa Roach’s set was an majestic hard rock sight to see!
Since 1996, London Ontario’s Kittie helped break down the music barriers of female musicians pursuing the more aggressive side of metal with guttural vocals. Featured on the Sick Stage, Kittie brought on a mosh pit paradise through their heavy hitter tracks “Brackish”, “Spit”, and their brand new single that debuted at the inaugural festival “Vultures”! The metal horns were held high and mighty all through out Kittie‘s flesh ripping set. As the talented lady’s of Kittie gave it their all to accomplish bringing about a gratifying Sick Stage performance that left the crowd metaphorically battered and bruised, but feeling more a live than ever!
Concert goers at the Spiral Stage started to boo with they mistakenly thought Richard Patrick’s Filter wasn’t performing because the stage was flipped around displaying KMFDM’s logo and gear. While the staff were simply just making sure the electrical side of the instruments and stage show were ready to go, so Filter could rock our faces off. As soon as the Spiral Stage flipped back to Filter, the crowed roared in excitement!
Filter kicked off their herculean Spiral Stage set with 1999’s “Welcome to the Fold”. Then briskly jumped into the live debut of their infectious brand new single “Face Down”! Filter then closed out their virtuoso set with a triple threat that brimmed with 1990’s super hit singles “Can You Trip Like I Do”, “Take A Picture”, and “Hey Man, Nice Shot”! What made this finale even more great was the notable surprise guest appearance of Nine Inch Nail’s alumni musician Danny Lohner! When Richard Patrick announced Danny on stage, the crowd exploded in loud cheers! Above all, Filter were a major highlight of Sick New World and the entire band flourished in rock ‘n’ roll eminence!
Industrial music pioneers KMFDM epically graced the Spiral Stage during their fist pumping performance at Sick New World festival. KMFDM played in the same timeslot as Evanescence, but they were not deterred by this fact. Because they still successfully put on an electrifying show in front of thousands of screaming music fans. Lead singer/programmer Sascha Konietzko and singer Lucia Cifarelli beyond shined during classic songs “Son of a Gun” and “A Drug Against War” alongside newer tracks such as “Hyena” and “Rebels in Kontrol.” KMFDM gave it their all on the spiral stage. As the Sick New World audience were super thrilled to see them live, smiling ear to ear all through KMFDM’s entire motivational set.
After catching KMFDM, Noise From The Pit were still able to rush to witness Evanescence live during their epic finale for their mega hit “Bring Me To Life”. Which featured a surprise guest appearance from Sonny of P.O.D., who sang Paul McCoy’s (12 Stones) lyrics featured within “Bring Me To Life”. And Sonny killed it! Amy Lee’s live vocals during “Bring Me To Life” were breathtaking too! Nuff said!
California legends Incubus still have a major influence on the music industry. And of course their performance at the Sick New World festival was nothing short of amazing. At this particular festival, they aimed for more rocking material instead of the pop sound they have been leaning towards in recent years. Right when Incubus entered the stage, everyone in attendance went crazy as they began to play some of their classic songs that we have all come to love and know over the years such as “Privilege”, “Megalomaniac” “Anna Molly”, “Pardon Me”, and even “The Warmth”. The alternative rockers completely owned every moment while on stage and their energy was infectious throughout the entire venue. While audience cheered endlessly for each song as Incubus expertly melded together different genres into a sonic experience unlike any other. Their set list flowed seamlessly from one song to another and even included a brilliant cover of The Beatles classic “Come Together”, which of course instantaneously became incredibly well received by fans old and new alike.
Brandon of Incubus during “Anna Molly” at Sick New World! Photo by Hanka Photos
Alternative rock masters Hoobstank presented a flawless set that was stuffed full of their modern rock radio hits that included “The Reason”, “Crawling in the Dark”, “Remember Me” “Same Direction” “Running Away” and even “Out of Control”. The fans were gleaming in hard rock joy, majorly ecstatic to finally witness Hoobstank completely go all out at the Sick Stage through an extraordinary memorable set that will go down inside the Sick New World history records as one the major highlights of the night, due to the bands alluring and stunning stage show.
The lives of the Sick New World audience changed the day they all took a chance and bought a ticket to Sick New World. But Little did some of them know that, tucked away in the corner of the event grounds, was another giant of the vintage industrial era: My Life with The Thrill Kill Kult! From the crowd’s first live listen of their genre-shifting sound, it felt like a sonic revelation – and one that has been hard to let go since. Sick New World attendees will forever remember standing in awe as My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult filled every inch of air with their darkly captivating music. Everywhere you looked, people were dancing and singing along to this entrancing melange of gothic rock, synth pop and psychedelic blues. But what really made an impression on for the fans, was how confidently TKK embraced their own style, despite being vastly different from other acts at the festival. TKK’s set was beautifully inspiring!
Noise From The Pit were able to catch a good portion of (industrial metal icons) Ministry’s skull crushing Sick New World performance! As the entire band completely set the Spiral Stage musically ablaze with their spine shattering stage show that left concert goers totally stunned in adrenaline madness! What a sight to behold. Ministry still can melt your mind like a pound of acid after all these decades!
One of Sick New World’s major headliners, Korn, took the stage by storm and delivered an electrifying performance that left their fans musically comatosed! The nu-metal Godfathers were in top form as they belted out some of their most popular hits such as “Freak on a Leash,” “Blind,” and even “Coming Undone.” The crowd went wild as the band members jumped around sporting their classic Adidas outfits on stage, playing their instruments with incredible precision. Throughout the show, Korn kept things interesting with special effects and stunning visuals. They occasionally used a see-through video wall that could be seen from all angles of the venue. This enhanced the concert experience for everyone in attendance and made it feel like a true spectacle. From start to finish, Korn’s set was filled with energy and excitement. Their powerful vocals combined with hard-hitting beats had everyone dancing along to their music.While Korn frontman Jonathan Davis displayed a huge smile the entire evening, due to how loud the crowd positively reacted to their gut-punching live set! You could immediately tell Davis was beyond blessed to be in front of such a massive audience at Sick New World!
Industrial revivalists HEALTH completely annihilated the Sick Stage with a short face-melting set of music intensity, that most likely had sober fans among the audience thinking they were accidentally dosed with LSD. An underrated performance spectacle of the night, HEALTH presented an wondrous set that left the audience’ very own jaws dropping straight to the ground on some vintage Looney Tunes shit. Remarkably monumental!
It was not the bands fault at all. But Body Count‘s (fronted by Ice-T) raw prestigious thrashing set started out with being plagued by sound issues. But that didn’t effect Body Count whatsoever. Because the band continued to solder on with a fierce stage show that gave birth to massive mosh pits in the pit area of the Sick Stage! Body Count presented a bloodthristy cover of Slayer’s “Raining Blood” before having their set abruptly cut during their iconic anti-corruption single “Cop Killer”. Despite all the stage troubles, Body Count kicked all of our asses with a ferocious set that left headbangers chanting Body Count’s band name to keep on rocking!
1980’s Gothic new-wave legends The Sisters of Mercy presented a miraculous gloomy stage show that kept the audience clamoring for material from start to finish! Kicking off with their new single “Don’t Drive On Ice” and finishing off their noteworthy set with the 1987 classic “This Corrosion”; The Sisters of Mercy kept the gothic beauties dancing in joy all through out another underrated performance at Sick New World that left the crowd musically breathless!
England Gothic black metal elites Cradle of Filth truly lived up to their reputation during their Sick New World performance, which saw them take over the Sick Stage for a brutal, but short grandiose set. The band played through heavy hitter tracks such as “Gilded Cunt, “Nymphetamine (Fix)”, and even “Born in a Burial Gown”! As Cradle of Filth left the audience with an unforgettable experience that will be etched in their minds forever.
From the very first note, it was evident that Cradle of Filth took no prisoners during their fast-paced performance. Their trademark blend of brutality and grandeur shook the Las Vegas Fairgrounds to its core, with lead singer Dani Filth’s guttural screams cutting through the air like an ancient Knight’s battle sword. The band’s theatrics only added to the spectacle, with elaborate costumes and mesmerizing bloody medieval visuals, that transported fans to another era of life altogether. This was non-arguably black metal at its finest – raw, uncompromising and utterly spellbinding. Cradle of Filth were the final band of Sick New World!. But they totally rocked everyone to hell and back!
Final Thoughts: Sick New World is probably the most professionally ran music festival I’ve attended. Everyone had access to clean water with numerous water stations spread out across the grounds, re-entry was allowed, I even noticed nice security handing out water. Not to mention that the press lounge was actually cold for once. My only nitpicks were some sound issues and the festival should probably be held in the earlier part of the year, so the dry Vegas heat isn’t tuckering people out so fast. Despite that, Sick New World was a grand ole time for the gothic, nu-metal, alternative, industrial crowd. And hopefully Sick New World returns roaring back better than ever before very soon!
A Sick New World fan lets us know his true thoughts on the festival!
