More and more, festivals are becoming the driving force for touring rock and metal bands. While obviously there were none in 2020, festivals are returning in force in 2021, mostly in late summer and early fall. Headliners and co-headliners include such heavy hitters as Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Slipknot, Rob Zombie, the original Misfits, Korn, Judas Priest, Five Finger Death Punch and Shinedown. Live Metal’s “2021 Festival Spotlight” series aims to bring attention to some of the names in smaller print on the festival admats—the bands you can get up close and personal with at the smaller stages—along with a few higher profile acts we find worth calling out here. See you at the shows.
Playing: Rocklahoma, Blue Ridge Rock Festival, Rebel Rock
Website: www.facebook.com/lightthetorchofficial
Latest release: Light the Torch released its second album, “You Will Be the Death of Me,” on June 25 via Nuclear Blast Records.
What You Need to Know: Originally known as and releasing two albums under the name Devil You Know, Light the Torch was reborn with the release of its 2018 album, “Revival.” Featuring vocalist Howard Jones (Killswitch Engage), guitarist Franceso Artusato (All Shall Perish) and bassist Ryan Wombacher (Bleeding Through), Light the Torch is something of a metalcore supergroup, even though its sound leans more in a melodic, hard rock direction.
“‘You Will Be the Death of Me’ has been a journey—even without the pandemic,” Jones said. “This album has been emotional and rewarding in every way, and we couldn’t be more excited to finally release it. Maybe there was a bit of desperation writing and recording these songs.”
In addition to living through a pandemic along with the rest of the world, Artusato suffered an injury while writing the new album.
“This record is special to me in a different way,” he said. “From writing the music during one of the toughest times of my life while dealing with a bad injury due to a car accident to being obsessively involved with every aspect of its production, recording and creating the artwork. It’s hard to describe how I feel and to finally see this record getting ready to be released.”
What You Need to Hear:
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