Metallica, Korn and Linkin Park brought heavy music worshipers out in force as Sonic Temple Festival returned to Historic Crew Stadium, in Columbus, Ohio, from 8th-11th May, 2025. Back for its seventh outing, the event also saw Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper, Testament, Beartooth, and more grace its four stages.
Photo; Press / DWP.
Featuring some of the biggest names heavy music, Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival - to be given it's full moniker -featured not just world class acts, but art installations, side attractions, signings, dive bars, and beyond. Held at the Ohio state capital's original soccer stadium, the four-day event solidified its reputation as one of the premier rock and metal festivals in the U.S. Drawing a sold-out crowd of 175,000 across four-days, Sonic Temple featured more than one hundred bands, delivering a diverse and electrifying line up.
Kicking off on Thursday [8th May], those getting in at early doors were greeted to sets from death pop heroes Orgy, nu metal stars Alien Ant Farm, and alt metallers Sevendust, on the Temple stage, before Ontario natives 3 Days Grace put in an energetic set that brought the perfect vibes to match the late afternoon sun.
Over on the Sanctuary stage, alt and industrial was the flavour of the day, with Filter's electro-infused set and Ministry's abrasive sound ensuring there was something for those with a leaning for '90s aural aesthetics. Coincidentally toasting three decades of their biggest hit 'Hey Man Nice Shot', Filter's Richard Patrick said; "thirty years ago to the day, this songs came out on radio. That's why we have great hair!", before urging the crowd to "celebrate with us".
It was Korn whoever who the day belonged to, with the Bakersfield five-piece putting in a high-energy set to a packed to capacity stadium. Opening with the song that introduced them to the world thirty years ago - a euphoric 'Blind' - like Filter, Jonathan Davis and had a good reason to look back. "I just want to thank everybody who stuck around all day to see us", he said; "It's because of you that were still here thirty years later".
Blasting through their biggest hits including an unhinged 'Coming Undone' , a revived 'Twisted Transistor' - last played live in 2019 - and ode to leisure wear / leisure time 'A.D.I.D.A.S', Korn proved the perfect day one closer.
Kicking off on Thursday [8th May], those getting in at early doors were greeted to sets from death pop heroes Orgy, nu metal stars Alien Ant Farm, and alt metallers Sevendust, on the Temple stage, before Ontario natives 3 Days Grace put in an energetic set that brought the perfect vibes to match the late afternoon sun.
Over on the Sanctuary stage, alt and industrial was the flavour of the day, with Filter's electro-infused set and Ministry's abrasive sound ensuring there was something for those with a leaning for '90s aural aesthetics. Coincidentally toasting three decades of their biggest hit 'Hey Man Nice Shot', Filter's Richard Patrick said; "thirty years ago to the day, this songs came out on radio. That's why we have great hair!", before urging the crowd to "celebrate with us".
It was Korn whoever who the day belonged to, with the Bakersfield five-piece putting in a high-energy set to a packed to capacity stadium. Opening with the song that introduced them to the world thirty years ago - a euphoric 'Blind' - like Filter, Jonathan Davis and had a good reason to look back. "I just want to thank everybody who stuck around all day to see us", he said; "It's because of you that were still here thirty years later".
Blasting through their biggest hits including an unhinged 'Coming Undone' , a revived 'Twisted Transistor' - last played live in 2019 - and ode to leisure wear / leisure time 'A.D.I.D.A.S', Korn proved the perfect day one closer.
Photo; Press / DWP.
Day two [Friday 9th May] saw the main stage crammed with rock and metal royalty, which could loosely be divided into two camps; shock rock spectaculars, and thrash master originators.
Saving "the best 'til first", as front man Bobby 'Blitz' Ellsworth comically put it, Overkill's buzzsaw set was filled with speed metal attitude, in sharp contrast to the beautiful sunshiny weather which was seducing everyone to just chill. "Let's get this party started!", implored the singer, as the New Yorkers blasted through a searing 'Scorched', and lightning fast 'Elimination'.
Reintroducing front man Rob Dukes for the first time in more than a decade, Exodus went back to the start with opener 'Bonded by Blood'. Earning the title of thrashiest band on the bill by some margin, the Bay Area heroes proved that despite changing line ups, they've lost none of their bite.
In a radical overhaul of their most recent sets and in preparation for a tour where they'll play the album in full, Testament focused heavily on 1989 release 'Practice What You Preach'. Opening with the brutal title track, before delivering a further five from the seminal release, it was a set crammed with deep cuts. The highlight came however when the band took the foot off the gas for a sublime 'Return to Serenity'. With guitarist Alex Skolnick, singer Chuck Billy and the rest of the band in indecently good form, Testament proved exactly why they're so enduring.
Over on the Cathedral stage, Suicidal Tendencies hit hard opening with their two most well known tracks, back to back, in an always devastating 'You Can't Bring Me Down', and ode to teenage angst 'Institutionalized', while Mastodon introduced latest fill-in guitarist Nick Johnston.
Back on the Temple stage, it was a back to back theatrical masterclass, with successive sets by Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie. With the former Vincent Furnier cramming his set with '70s classics - 'Go to Hell', 'Billion Dollar Babies' - '80s gems - 'Poison', 'Bed of Nails' - and '90s fan favourites - 'Hey Stoopid', 'Feed my Frankenstein' the shock rocker may have had the most hits-filled set of the day.
Rob Zombie meanwhile suffered from technical difficulties that saw him stop his performance a number of times, with tempers rising. "I'm going to party with you people if it fucking kills me!", he declared, exasperated. With gremlins banished, what followed was a brilliantly over the top theatrical display that featured ghouls, freaks, monsters, spacemen and more. Simply captivating.
And so it fell to Metallica to close out day two. Opening with a stunning three song run of 'Creeping Death', 'Harvester of Sorrow' and live rarity 'The Shortest Straw' [performed only nine times in the last decade], the metal masters delivered an arresting performance from the off. Touching on latest album '72 Seasons' with 'If Darkness Had a Son', and the title track, they played tracks from right across their carrier, with highlights including an emotive 'Orion', which was, as usual, dedicated to late bassist Cliff Burton.
Closing with a celebratory 'Seek and Destroy' - with towering yellow and black beach balls bounding over the arena - and a furious 'Master of Puppets', James Hetfield signed off asking knowingly; "Columbus, Ohio, Sonic Temple, did you have fun tonight?", before adding; "we certainly did. We'll see you Sunday!"
Saving "the best 'til first", as front man Bobby 'Blitz' Ellsworth comically put it, Overkill's buzzsaw set was filled with speed metal attitude, in sharp contrast to the beautiful sunshiny weather which was seducing everyone to just chill. "Let's get this party started!", implored the singer, as the New Yorkers blasted through a searing 'Scorched', and lightning fast 'Elimination'.
Reintroducing front man Rob Dukes for the first time in more than a decade, Exodus went back to the start with opener 'Bonded by Blood'. Earning the title of thrashiest band on the bill by some margin, the Bay Area heroes proved that despite changing line ups, they've lost none of their bite.
In a radical overhaul of their most recent sets and in preparation for a tour where they'll play the album in full, Testament focused heavily on 1989 release 'Practice What You Preach'. Opening with the brutal title track, before delivering a further five from the seminal release, it was a set crammed with deep cuts. The highlight came however when the band took the foot off the gas for a sublime 'Return to Serenity'. With guitarist Alex Skolnick, singer Chuck Billy and the rest of the band in indecently good form, Testament proved exactly why they're so enduring.
Over on the Cathedral stage, Suicidal Tendencies hit hard opening with their two most well known tracks, back to back, in an always devastating 'You Can't Bring Me Down', and ode to teenage angst 'Institutionalized', while Mastodon introduced latest fill-in guitarist Nick Johnston.
Back on the Temple stage, it was a back to back theatrical masterclass, with successive sets by Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie. With the former Vincent Furnier cramming his set with '70s classics - 'Go to Hell', 'Billion Dollar Babies' - '80s gems - 'Poison', 'Bed of Nails' - and '90s fan favourites - 'Hey Stoopid', 'Feed my Frankenstein' the shock rocker may have had the most hits-filled set of the day.
Rob Zombie meanwhile suffered from technical difficulties that saw him stop his performance a number of times, with tempers rising. "I'm going to party with you people if it fucking kills me!", he declared, exasperated. With gremlins banished, what followed was a brilliantly over the top theatrical display that featured ghouls, freaks, monsters, spacemen and more. Simply captivating.
And so it fell to Metallica to close out day two. Opening with a stunning three song run of 'Creeping Death', 'Harvester of Sorrow' and live rarity 'The Shortest Straw' [performed only nine times in the last decade], the metal masters delivered an arresting performance from the off. Touching on latest album '72 Seasons' with 'If Darkness Had a Son', and the title track, they played tracks from right across their carrier, with highlights including an emotive 'Orion', which was, as usual, dedicated to late bassist Cliff Burton.
Closing with a celebratory 'Seek and Destroy' - with towering yellow and black beach balls bounding over the arena - and a furious 'Master of Puppets', James Hetfield signed off asking knowingly; "Columbus, Ohio, Sonic Temple, did you have fun tonight?", before adding; "we certainly did. We'll see you Sunday!"
Photo; Press / DWP.
Saturday [10th May] delivered an electrifying penultimate day of music, with the pop punks Jimmy Eat World and Welsh metalcore outfit Bullet For my Valentine tearing up the Cathedral stage, and Canadian emo act Silverstein and screamo kings Underoath raising the roof on the Sanctuary stage.
Over on the Temple stage, despite a no show from mega-selling alt funk act Incubus, the day carried on with Trivium putting in a spirited set, and I Prevail paying tribute to the festival's other cancellation Alice in Chains, as well as Deftones and System of a Down, by teasing snippets of their songs.
However it was Linkin Park who most had come to see. Back from the brink late last year with a new album 'From Zero' and a new line-up, the lauded nu metallers returned to retake their crown as the genre's undisputed leaders. Mixing up their emotive set with tracks from their latest release along with those from their twenty-five year career, the Californians proved one of the weekend's most popular acts.
Greeting the crowd, a grateful Mike Shinoda said; "This is the first proper festival show that we've played as a band. The response on coming back this past year had been absolutely overwhelming to us. It's been insane for us. From the bottom of out hearts, thank you so much for the support on out new music".
With 'Numb' and 'In the End' seeing euphoric singalongs as well myriad crowd surfers, it was clear that this incarnation of the band - co-fronted by new addition Emily Armstrong - has the full support of the fanbase.
Over on the Temple stage, despite a no show from mega-selling alt funk act Incubus, the day carried on with Trivium putting in a spirited set, and I Prevail paying tribute to the festival's other cancellation Alice in Chains, as well as Deftones and System of a Down, by teasing snippets of their songs.
However it was Linkin Park who most had come to see. Back from the brink late last year with a new album 'From Zero' and a new line-up, the lauded nu metallers returned to retake their crown as the genre's undisputed leaders. Mixing up their emotive set with tracks from their latest release along with those from their twenty-five year career, the Californians proved one of the weekend's most popular acts.
Greeting the crowd, a grateful Mike Shinoda said; "This is the first proper festival show that we've played as a band. The response on coming back this past year had been absolutely overwhelming to us. It's been insane for us. From the bottom of out hearts, thank you so much for the support on out new music".
With 'Numb' and 'In the End' seeing euphoric singalongs as well myriad crowd surfers, it was clear that this incarnation of the band - co-fronted by new addition Emily Armstrong - has the full support of the fanbase.
Photo; Press / DWP.
With day four [Sunday 12th May] arriving much too soon, the bleary were shaken awake by Cavalera, who's early afternoon set celebrated the best of Sepultura, and Corrosion of Conformity, in their debut appearance with newest member, bassist Bobby Landgraf.
With Alice in Chains pulling out due to medical issues with drummer Sean Kinney, it fell to local heroes Beartooth to save the day. "I'm supposed to be in bed right now!", declared an embattled Caleb Shomo as their set kicked off. Flown in at the last minute to replace the grunge superstars, the band wowed the hometown crowd, something they were only too happy to do. "Yesterday we got a call to give our services to rock and roll. This is an honour and a privilege to be on this stage!", declared an awestruck Shomo.
And so it fell to Metallica to close out the festival, with their second of their 'No Repeat Weekend' show. Stating the obvious, main man James Hetfield declared; "oh yeah, we're gonna have some fun tonight!" as frenetic opener 'Whiplash' ended.
Playing a more focused set than night one, with a heavy emphasis on 1984's 'Ride the Lightning', as well as '72 Seasons', the band appeared to be having as much fun on stage as those in the crowd; "Metallica is so lucky. We get to play here twice! That's pretty cool", gushed the on-form singer.
Once again dedicating the instrumental to Cliff Burton, this time in an inspired 'The Call of Ktulu', an emotional Hetfield admitted; "we love you, and fuck, we miss you".
Meanwhile, dropping in some unexpected gems in 'No Leaf Clover', 'Wherever I May Roam', and 'Fight Fire With Fire', Metallica remain almost singularly inspiring when it comes to the fluidity of their song choices.
With its expansive line-up, engaging experiences, and enthusiastic crowd, Sonic Temple delivered what's sure to be remembered as one of 2025's most memorable music highlights, further cementing its status as one of the US's best festivals.
Reflecting on the weekend, and announcing a new five-year commitment with the venue, organiser Danny Wimmer said; "It’s been nearly twenty years since I first became involved in bringing large-scale rock music to Columbus, and the city has had a special place in my heart ever since. The energy of this city, the passion of the fans, and the strength of our local partnerships have made it one of our most meaningful homes. Extending our partnership with the Historic Crew Stadium through 2030 is more than just a milestone—it’s a reflection of our long-standing commitment to this community. Together with our incredible local partners and stakeholders, we’re not only growing Sonic Temple—we’re building a cultural presence that cements Columbus as a true destination for live music”.
Sonic Temple returns in 2026. For the latest updates, visit the official site.
With Alice in Chains pulling out due to medical issues with drummer Sean Kinney, it fell to local heroes Beartooth to save the day. "I'm supposed to be in bed right now!", declared an embattled Caleb Shomo as their set kicked off. Flown in at the last minute to replace the grunge superstars, the band wowed the hometown crowd, something they were only too happy to do. "Yesterday we got a call to give our services to rock and roll. This is an honour and a privilege to be on this stage!", declared an awestruck Shomo.
And so it fell to Metallica to close out the festival, with their second of their 'No Repeat Weekend' show. Stating the obvious, main man James Hetfield declared; "oh yeah, we're gonna have some fun tonight!" as frenetic opener 'Whiplash' ended.
Playing a more focused set than night one, with a heavy emphasis on 1984's 'Ride the Lightning', as well as '72 Seasons', the band appeared to be having as much fun on stage as those in the crowd; "Metallica is so lucky. We get to play here twice! That's pretty cool", gushed the on-form singer.
Once again dedicating the instrumental to Cliff Burton, this time in an inspired 'The Call of Ktulu', an emotional Hetfield admitted; "we love you, and fuck, we miss you".
Meanwhile, dropping in some unexpected gems in 'No Leaf Clover', 'Wherever I May Roam', and 'Fight Fire With Fire', Metallica remain almost singularly inspiring when it comes to the fluidity of their song choices.
With its expansive line-up, engaging experiences, and enthusiastic crowd, Sonic Temple delivered what's sure to be remembered as one of 2025's most memorable music highlights, further cementing its status as one of the US's best festivals.
Reflecting on the weekend, and announcing a new five-year commitment with the venue, organiser Danny Wimmer said; "It’s been nearly twenty years since I first became involved in bringing large-scale rock music to Columbus, and the city has had a special place in my heart ever since. The energy of this city, the passion of the fans, and the strength of our local partnerships have made it one of our most meaningful homes. Extending our partnership with the Historic Crew Stadium through 2030 is more than just a milestone—it’s a reflection of our long-standing commitment to this community. Together with our incredible local partners and stakeholders, we’re not only growing Sonic Temple—we’re building a cultural presence that cements Columbus as a true destination for live music”.
Sonic Temple returns in 2026. For the latest updates, visit the official site.