Sonic Temple 2025: Four Days of Pure Mayhem, Metal, and Madness
If you weren’t at Historic Crew Stadium this past May 8th – 11th, then what the hell were you even doing? Sonic Temple 2025 went off like a nuclear blast, kicking off the DWP festival season with a vengeance. For four absolutely unhinged days, over 100 bands blew the place to pieces in front of 175,000+ maniacs. With Metallica ripping through not one, but two unique headlining sets, Linkin Park coming back harder than ever, and KoRn reminding everyone who invented your favorite breakdowns—this year was nothing short of legendary.
Thursday: So Many Bands, Not Enough Neck to Headbang
Day one was a brutal buffet of metal—so stacked it felt like you needed clones just to catch it all. Sevendust lit the match early, throwing down a high-octane set that got the mosh pits spinning before most people had finished their first beer. Memphis May Fire kept the fire going with lead singer Matty Mullins playing maestro, having the whole crowd screaming every word like it was their last.
Three Days Grace hit fans right in the feels with OG frontman Adam Gontier teaming up with new frontman Matt Walst. This was a true testament of old school meets new school, and it worked. Jinjer had some tech issues for over 30 minutes, but Tatiana Shmayluk straight-up crushed it anyway—turning glitches into gasoline. She’s an absolute beast. Killswitch Engage got the pits churning again later in the evening, dropping their new banger “I Believe,” and the crowd lost it. Then KoRn rolled in and blew the place apart. After a 10 years wait, they opened with “Blind” (hell yes), hit every fan-favorite in the book, and proved nu-metal never died—it just got louder and more refined with age.
Friday: Old School Chaos Meets Metal Gods
Friday hit harder than a drop-tuned breakdown. Peeling Flesh, Frozen Soul, and Upon a Burning Body came out swinging, setting the stage for a full day of carnage. Suicidal Tendencies turned the whole Cathedral viewing area into a warzone. Mike Muir is still a wild man, and the energy protruding from the rest of the band was pure chaos. Then came Alice Cooper—yes, the Alice Cooper—still putting on a masterclass in shock rock. Theatrics, guillotines, perfect execution. At this point he just might be immortal.
Acid Bath showed up for a rare reunion and delivered the dark, dirty goods we’ve been craving for years. Even though the sun was still out, Rob Zombie didn’t hold back. His daytime set still went full freakshow and hit just as hard—who needs darkness when you’ve got riffs that heavy? Mastodon introduced their new axeman, who jumped in like he’s been part of the band for a decade, not even breaking a sweat it seemed. Then Metallica took over. First of two no-repeat nights, and they came out swinging with “72 Seasons,” “Nothing Else Matters,” “Master of Puppets,” and more. Hetfield’s grin said it all, from his view on stage, he knew they were destroying. Oh, and while Metallica was tearing up the main stage, Insane Clown Posse was throwing a Faygo apocalypse in the parking lot. Because why not?
Saturday: Feels, Fire, and Linkin Freakin’ Park
Saturday kicked off with raw emotion and zero chill. Set It Off and The Funeral Portrait woke everyone up and dragged them straight into the pit. Lead singer Lee Jennings (The Funeral Portrait) Inviting crowd surfers to hit the air early on, causing mayhem for security who wasn’t quite awake by this point either. Hoobastank (yes, them) joked about being a dad band, but their fans went full nostalgia mode for “The Reason” and the rest of their early-2000s hits.
Trivium came back swinging with help from Scott Kennedy of Bleed From Within. A metalcore power moment at its finest. The Devil Wears Prada repped Ohio hard, shaking the second stage with hometown pride. I Prevail went full arena-mode with pyro, a massive setup, and System/Deftones covers that had the whole place howling. Silverstein celebrated 25 years like champs, and Bullet For My Valentine reminded everyone they still own your emo-metal soul. When lead signer Matthew Tuck started in on “Tears Don’t Fall” acoustically, the crowd went numb and a soft serenade began, before restarting the song heavy. When the beat hit, the crowd basically exploded.
But the real jaw-dropper? Linkin Park. Yeah. With Emily Armstrong stepping in on vocals, they headlined their first fest in forever—and destroyed. The new lineup just worked, and their 22-song set had a range of emotions with fans screaming, crying, and punching the sky.
Sunday: Surprise Sets and a Metallica-Sized Finale
The last day started strong with Fame on Fire and Badflower—shoutout to “Paws” for the emotional gut punch. That had most fans crying over their beloved pets back home. Asking Alexandria came in hot—even if Danny Worsnop looked like he dressed for a snowstorm, donning black jeans, a heavy black hoody, and even gloves!!! Hollywood Undead made the place bounce like it was 2010, and Beartooth (who stepped in at the last moment to sub in for Alice in Chains) came home to prove a point. On tour with Shinedown and on their off day, getting called out by Danny Wimmer himself, brought this quintet and all of their pyro to the mainstage before Metallica. Hometown boys delivering hard and relishing in the vast awesomeness of it all.
Over on the Cathedral stage, Ice Nine Kills turned their horror-metal show into a full-blown haunted house—gore, pyro, blood, chaos. And honestly, if you weren’t crowd surfing, were you even there? Then, just when you thought it couldn’t get louder, Metallica came back to finish what they started. New tracks, deep cuts, and a final “Enter Sandman” that damn near brought down the sky. Meanwhile, Power Trip held it down on the side stage with a gritty, defiant set for the real ones who weren’t ready to say goodbye.
’Til Next Year, You Beautiful Maniacs
Sonic Temple 2025 was pure metal madness from start to finish—headliners, cult favorites, under-the-radar beasts, and more adrenaline than your heart can probably handle. This festival continuously proves why it’s the holy ground for rock and metal fans in the heart of Ohio. Sonic Temple 2026? Already counting down. Keep your horns up, stay loud, and watch Sonic Temple socials so you don’t miss what’s next.
