THOUGHTS ON THE 2010 THRASH & BURN TOUR LINEUP

The Summer metal tour market for 2010 is crowded, yo.We’ve got the older and mainstream metal-skewed Rockstar Mayhem Fest (Korn, Zombie, 5FDP, Atreyu, Winds of Plague, Hatebreed) the Rockstar-branded radio metal “Uproar” Tour sure to be a hit in Red States (Disturbed, A7X, Hellyeah), the Christian, metalcore and Christian metalcore fest known as The Cool Tour (As I Lay Dying, Underoath, War of Ages, Blessthefall, and uh… BTBAM) and the sexiest of all sex kittens, Summer Slaughter (Decapitated, The Faceless, All Shall Perish, The Red Chord, other cool bands). And, if you count 6 dates as a “tour” you’ve got Ozzfest, which does a surprisingly good job of combining the old (Ozzy, Motley Crue, Rob Halford, BLS) with the new/cool (Kingdom of Sorrow, Skeletonwitch, Goatwhore, Saviours).

So with all that on our plates, we’ve got yet another tour coming down the pipe this summer? As you’ve no doubt gathered from this article’s headline and image, yes, indeed we do.

My thoughts on the 2010 Thrash & Burn lineup — and dates — after the jump.

• Asking Alexandria: I know absolutely nothing about this band, except that I’m pretty sure they play 4th-generation ripoff metalcore, have swoopy haircuts, use a lot of auto-tune and do choreographed stage moves. I just looked at the video on their MySpace. I am correct. Pass. Wait a minute… this band is popular enough to headline a major tour like this? Fuck me in the goat ass.
• Born of Osiris: I have nothing in particular against this band other than that I find that their music lacks any distinct qualities. They’re kind of baseline Sumeriancore, like your starting second basemen who bats .270 and plays adequately in the field, but is otherwise just kind of there because you haven’t got anyone better. I don’t hate ’em but I don’t love ’em either, and I certainly wouldn’t trek out to see them headline as a bunch of kids who don’t care much about the actual music do karate moves in the pit. To continue the baseball analogy, I would definitely trade this guy with a prospect at the trading deadline if someone better were available. Or I would’ve signed Orlando Hudson in the off-season. To hell with you, Luis Castillo.
• Kittie: Now this is a curious one. Between this and the ICP tour Kittie really seem to be making a concerted effort to expand their fanbase. If you’re Kittie this is an excellent idea, as their appeal as “the chick nu-metal band” has passed, but if you’re one of the aforementioned moshpit karate choppers you might be a tad bit confused. Still, they’re sure to gain new fans from these adventures. A pat on the back is in order for Kittie’s new management team for getting them on tours like this (sup Bino!), but even so I’m not exactly going to be pushing my way to the front when Kittie play. We’re 0-for-3 so far.
• Stick To Your Guns: See Asking Alexandria, above. Except with more breakdowns.
• Impending Doom: See Stick To Your Guns, above. Except with even more breakdowns and tri-tone chords aplenty.
• Through the Eyes of the Dead: OK! Finally a band I can get behind. I never got into this band the way Axl has, but I’d still be interested in seeing them.
• Evergreen Terrace: These guys play 2nd gen metalcore with good cop / bad cop vocals, right? I need this why? Let’s see you hit those high notes live, buddy… but I’ll be fair and give them a shot live. Maybe they’re fun live. File these guys under “curious.”
• Greeley Estates: uh…
• Periphery: We all know how I feel about Periphery. They’re the sole band on this bill I’d be really stoked to see.
• Motionless in White: Hands down, worst band on this entire tour… and that’s quite a distinction. See my previous thoughts on these Shitstains here.
• Chelsea Grin: I do not see the appeal of this band. Job For A Cowboy and Suicide Silence have already done this style of metal better, and I don’t particularly like those bands either. Maybe these guys do choreographed stage moves or something.

So, big shocker: MetalSucks doesn’t like the 2010 Thrash and Burn Tour. Though the 2009 version of this tour definitely had a “scene” element to it (Emmure, Oceano), it also had a number of good bands: Devildriver, Despised Icon, Veil of Maya, Periphery (again), and Thy Will Be Done. And though we were asked to sponsor the 2009 version (which we did), the tour’s creators haven’t approached us about sponsoring the 2010 version since the lineup coagulated… apparently they knew better! This year they decided to make Thrash & Burn all about “scene,” which is fine, because the same folks put together Summer Slaughter and that tour is all kinds of awesome. So if the end result is that I only have to go to one tour to see good bands instead of splitting my time between some good bands and some shitty bands at two different tours, that’s a definite win for me.

Full list of tour dates below.

-VN

7/16-Louisville, KY @ Headliners
7/17-Nashville, TN @ Rockettown
7/18-Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
7/19-Indianapolis, IN @ Emerson Theatre
7/21-Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall
7/22-Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
7/23-Las Vegas, NV @ Rock The Block
7/24-San Diego, CA @ Soma
7/25-Pomona, CA @ The Glasshouse
7/26-Fresno, CA @ The Crest Theatre
7/27-Los Angeles, CA @ House of Blues
7/28-Phoenix, AZ @ Nile Theatre
7/30-Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre
7/31-Lubbock, TX @ Lonestar Event Center
8/01-San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbit
8/02-Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
8/03-Houston, TX @ House of Blues
8/05-Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL @ State Theatre
8/06-Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
8/07-Richmond, VA @ Hat Factory
8/08-Long Island, NY @ Crazy Donkey
8/09-Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony
8/10-Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
8/11-Buffalo, NY @ Xtreme Wheels
8/12-Pittsburgh, PA @ Ches Arena
8/13-Cleveland, OH @ Peabody’s
8/14-Detroit, MI @ Harpos
8/15-Chicago, IL @ Metro