System of a Down, Korn to Headline New Las Vegas Metal Music Festival

Posted on: November 7, 2022, 01:52h. 

Last updated on: November 8, 2022, 05:07h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Las Vegas Myths.

What the “When We Were Young” festival meant to fans of emo music, another new music festival – set to debut on the same Las Vegas field – will mean to fans of nu metal. “Sick New World,” scheduled for the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on May 13, 2023, will feature performances from 54 artists representing the nu metal, goth, industrial, and hardcore subgenres of hard rock.

System of a Down
System of a Down will headline Sick New World, a nu metal festival debuting in Las Vegas, next May. (Image: revolvermag.com)

Staged by the same company as “When We Were Young” – which took place at the same venue last month, after its opening night was canceled because of high winds – “Sick New World” will likewise feature bands that first broke out in the late ’90s and early aughts. Its notable names include System of a Down, Korn, Deftones, Ministry, Incubus, Chevelle, Papa Roach, Evanescence, Turnstile, Skinny Puppy, KMFDM, Mr. Bungle, Killing Joke, Sevendust, Hoobastank, FIlger, Filter, and the Melvins.

Though it appears that System of a Down will headline, it can be argued that the festival will commemorate the 30th anniversary of nu metal, a subgenre of alternative metal popularized by Korn, the Bakersfield, Calif. band that formed in 1993.

Tickets for “Sick New World,” which start at $249.99, will go on sale 10 a.m. Friday, November 11, through ticketmaster.com. General admission is broken into three price tiers: $249.99, $259.99, and $279.99. General Admission Plus tickets will cost $419.99, $429.99, and $439.99. VIP, which includes a preferred viewing area by the main stage, are $519.99, $529.99, and $539.99.

The top tier, VIP Cabana, is not priced on the festival’s website, sicknewworldfest.com. Hotel and ticket pages are also available, starting at $489.

Two for the History Books

For many music fans, the festival will be most noteworthy as the first US performance in 14 years by Sisters of Mercy. The British goth icons haven’t released a new album since 1992’s Vision Thing. It is currently a three-piece featuring singer and keyboardist Andrew Eldritch – the only original member – guitarist Ben Christo and guitarist Dylan Smith.

The festival will also mark the first performance of the Texas Christian metal group Flyleaf with its original vocalist, Lacy Sturm, in 11 years. Sturm sang with Flyleaf from 2002 to 2012, recording three albums before being replaced by Kirsten May. The group has been inactive since 2016.

The Las Vegas Festival Grounds may not be as permanent a fixture of the Las Vegas music landscape as fans of these festivals would like. Its owner, hotel magnate Phil Ruffin, has been in talks with officials of the Oakland Athletics, who may purchase the property to build a new 35,000-seat stadium for their MLB team.