Cover Photo taken by @WHOISCOOP-0 at Sick New World Texas

This past weekend I had the privilege of covering Sick New World Texas for KANM Student Radio. I had the most fun at the Texas Motor Speedway and got to see so many artists. Safe to say this festival had the most artists I have ever seen in one day. The aesthetic and experience of the festival was otherworldly and the lineup was amazing. I did not personally see a single bad set that day and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to cover the event. Read along as I review every set I saw at Sick New World as well as recap my experience and other activities at the festival.

Failure:

Failure was the first set of the day. It’s tough being the first set as they set the vibe for the rest of the day. They absolutely started me off in the right mood though. Although their set was very short they played their two biggest hits and also the two songs I love “stuck on you” and “another space song”. I was completely wow’d hearing “another space song” live. It was so melodic and I just wanted to stay in that moment forever. The song has very much been on repeat since the festival.

Snot:

I had the pleasure of interviewing the band snot. Snot is an iconic band that made a huge impact on the 90s nu metal scene. Snot has their amazing album Get Some which is instantly recognizable by the album cover and it was such a pleasure getting to talk to the artists behind it. The band has yet to release any music since then but rather focusing on their other projects, as mentioned in the interview. Our interview was brief but sweet and they announced that they have their first single in 30 years coming out in January! I also got to see a bit of their set and have to say their energy is through the roof. Definitely give the interview a watch on our youtube and insta channel and stay tuned for their new releases.

Kittie:

My interview with Snot ended right before Kittie’s set so I got to catch the last bit of it! I was very excited to see Kittie this weekend. I really love Kittie and their role as women in the genre as an all female band, they’re so inspiring and amazing. In the bit I stayed I got to hear all my favorite songs like “Brackish” and “Spit”.  I enjoyed their set from afar at the Lil Sins Saloon which was a Texas themed dive bar next to the Spiral stage. The bar was complete with a complimentary photo booth which made for the perfect souvenir, next to the super cute merch being sold, and really delicious drinks.

Twin tribes:

I surprisingly have not listened to Twin Tribes before the festival but I was in awe seeing them live. I was happy to see latinx representation and I thought it was very cool that they are from Brownsville and are local. They performed extremely well, I loved their stage presence. Their music was incredible and I went in and added just about every song to my playlist after seeing them live. 

Photo by CHANNEL PURPLE at Sick New World Texas

Coal chamber:

Coal Chamber went LOCO! Everyone in the crowd loved them. There were lots of crowd surfers and mosh pits. I only knew one song, “Loco”, but still had a great time. The energy was super high and I couldn’t help but move along.

Melvins:

I, to be honest, do not know much about Melvins at all. I know how influential they are and thought they were very talented. Unfortunately it just wasn't as lively as the other sets I saw at Sick New World. I still had a fantastic time and my friends who are bigger fans were very happy

She Wants Revenge:

I was very excited to see She Wants Revenge at the festival, but was left a little disappointed. They opened with a cover of “Angel” by Massive Attack which was awesome as a big Massive Attack fan and it was very in their realm to cover, it sounded great. I did not know most of the songs they played live but they closed with “Tear You Apart” which is one of my favorite songs ever. I’m so happy I got to see the song live although it did fall flat from the recorded version. 

Clutch:

I do not know much about Clutch other than they are southern rock esque. I loved the lead singer's voice and had a great time watching their set.

Down:

When the crowd moved in for Down it was mostly all men at first which was a bit intimidating. However, it was a good set. The lead singer was very hardcore and came out on stage barefoot, which I thought was a little silly. This was probably the most energetic crowd I saw all day at the Spiral Stage. There were so many stage divers and mosh pits.

Ministry:

I LOVE ministry. I feel so lucky to have been able to see their last set in America. Al Jourgeson is retiring after 45 years of his career in music. Ministry has pioneered the industrial music scene and for that they will forever be remembered and iconic. I love their songs so much and I'm really happy with the set list they performed. Ministry is a very political band which I strongly appreciate as they use their music as a platform to share this and al even reminded the crowd to vote while performing, They just have an undeniable energetic sound that got me headbanging. I might've been the most ecstatic fan there but I was just so excited to see ministry live again, the first time being at the Freaks on Parade show with Filter, Rob Zombie, and Alice Cooper which was also amazing. I wish their set was longer but at the same time I appreciated the shorter sets as it allowed me to see more artists. Ministry's new and final album comes out this Friday October 30th and I know I'll be listening for sure. I was surprised they didn't play any new songs during their set. 

Photo by CHANNEL PURPLE at Sick New World Texas

Boy harsher:

I loved seeing Boy Harsher. I am a recent fan of their music and was looking forward to seeing them live. I didn't stay the entire set as I needed to take a moment of rest after camping out at the Spiral Stage all day. They had a fun crowd and people were dancing even all the way in the back. Their visuals were amazing and just everything about it was magical. I can't wait to add more to my playlist.

Photo by CHANNEL PURPLE at Sick New World Texas

The Prodigy:

I wasn’t originally planning on seeing The Prodigy. The festival had them set at the same time as Deftones. I am a long time Deftones fan so that's who I was originally going to see. However I’ve already seen Deftones and The Prodigy are such historical pioneers of electric rock that I had to see this band from England. I’m so glad I did. The energy at The Prodigy's set was far more entertaining then that of Deftones to be honest. They had lasers and fun lights and I am just so thankful I got to see them because it really was otherworldly especially when they played their biggest hit “Firestarter”.

Photo by CHANNEL PURPLE at Sick New World Texas

SOAD:

I only partially saw System of a Down. It was difficult as they had no one else playing at the same time the entire festival was at that one set. I was surprised that the festival hadn't prepared more speakers for their set and was shocked that I couldn't even hear the band from the back of the crowd. We moved up eventually and got to hear “Aerials”, which is one of my favorites. After that we kind of gave up on the crowd experience. We went to watch the set from a tv set out on a grassy lawn that we sat on which was quite relaxing and definitely preferable. I left their set early though because I was nervous about traffic and thank god I did because people were apparently stuck in the lot for hours while I was able to exit pretty smoothly. 

If Sick New World were to come to Texas again I would definitely attend as I felt it was very worth it and I had such a good time. I just think they need to address the sound system on the main stage as well as the parking/exiting situation. Overall for the festival's first run in Texas I thought it was amazing and am hoping to have the chance to go again next year.

Final Thoughts:

I am extremely upset that Sick New World gave Marilyn Manson a platform. I think it is absolutely crazy that he is still getting the chance to play at such big stages for so many people when it's such common knowledge how awful of a person he is. I think the only way we can see a change in society is by taking away a platform from abusers but over and over again we see that famous men seem to get away with anything unscathed. I was extremely disgusted to see him at the festival and you are absolutely safe to assume I did NOT watch his set. I think that Sick New World should do better and not allow someone of this nature to perform. The alternative community is supposed to be a safe space, and you would think the festival would like to promote a collective safe community feeling as well. How are women supposed to feel safe attending this festival, where it's already dominated by men due to the genre of the music and perceived gender types, when abusers are allowed to perform on a stage to everyone. Although I had fun I personally experienced moments of uncomfortability and harassment from men at the festival and I wonder if someone who is such a representative of negative behavior like Marilyn Manson didn't have such a big platform if people would be less likely to think it's acceptable to act horribly. 

Overall, I would like to thank Sick New World for allowing me to attend, cover, and review this incredible festival. I hope that if you’re reading this you were able to experience the music festival through me. I had such an amazing time dancing, listening to music, meeting people, and covering the festival. All of the extra experiences specific to Sick New World such as the dive bar, confessionals, and skating performances were amazing. I would like to thank Snot for allowing me to interview the band. KANM is already looking forward to a possible next year, and I know I will definitely be in attendance! Stay tuned for more interview content to come out via our Instagram and YouTube channel.