The Bad Penny (beta)

In just one month — 31 days, to be precise — the most anticipated heavy-music festival in the U.S. will kick off once again. Stationed for the first time at Resorts World, the fest is headlined by Mercyful Fate, Suicidal Tendencies and Emperor, the latter being one of the major bands set to play last year but forced to reschedule due to COVID-related complications.

Now in its sixth year, the festival appears to be reverting back to its roots with a lineup concentrated more on metal and less on indie rock, into which territory it ventured in 2019 and 2021. There are exceptions, of course — Warpaint, the Black Angels, Allah-Las and various members of the Wu-Tang Clan among them — but, by and large, attendees will once again gamble with the threat of going deaf.