Summer Slaughter lineup announced (mostly)

Happy Friday, everyone. Before we call it a week, let's share some exciting news in the form of the always highly anticipated Summer Slaughter Tour. Since 2007, this has been the metal tour of the summer, the one place to see some of the best (usually) death metal bands around in a country where the only metal festivals are the mainstream ones like Mayhem and Ozzfest. No offense to them, I've had some great times at both of those festivals, but let's be real, you're not gonna see bands like Necrophagist or Dying Fetus playing arenas anytime soon. There may have been some hiccups along the way (Winds of Plague, After the Burial AND Born of Osiris in 2009? Really?), and this lineup isn't picture-perfect either, but there are plenty of good bands on the bill as well, more than enough to balance out the crappy ones, and they haven't even announced all of them yet. The lineup as of now includes The Black Dahlia Murder, Whitechapel, Darkest Hour, Six Feet Under, Dying Fetus, As Blood Runs Black (meh), Oceano (also meh), Fleshgod Apocalypse (if anyone says "meh" to them I'll eat you), and instrumental tech-power metal goofballs Powerglove are set to be the quote unquote "halftime show". Why you would have a band playing as a halftime show when the show is nothing but bands playing is beyond me, but it's still funny, and Powerglove are cool, so we'll just go with it. There is still one band left to be announced, and the promoters have left it up to us, the fans, to decide who gets to open the show. Head on over to the Summer Slaughter Facebook page to cast your vote, let your voices be heard! The final lineup and tour dates will be announced on April 20th (aka Christmas if you're a stoner), so now you know what article will be up here that day. Tell us who you voted for in the comments below, and have a great weekend everyone.

-BK