Earlier this year, two of heavy rock's biggest performers, Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson, took to performing on the same stage.
It's a combination that makes perfect sense. Throughout the '90s and into the 2000s, the two have dominated pop culture with their theatrical blend of heavy metal and pop, B-movie glee, and often controversial run-ins with the media and parental-concern groups. That the two would team up for the massive "Twins of Evil" tour is a given.
That their tour stop coincides with Phoenix's biggest metal festival of the year? Now, that's less expected, but it's a terrific boon to metal fans.
KUPD's Desert Uprising combines the "Twins of Evil" tour with this year's installment of the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival at Ashley Furniture HomeStore Pavilion, packing in a whole weekend of heavy sounds, the kind of "active rock" that's never gone out of style in Phoenix: Friday features Manson and Zombie, along with Buckcherry, Corey Taylor (of Slipknot), Redline Chemistry, All That Remains, New Medicine, Otherwise, and the Valley's own Digital Summer. Saturday takes a more melodic turn, featuring P.O.D., HellYeah, Godsmack, Fozzy, Adelitas Way, Shinedown, and more.
But even with the stacked lineup, the main attraction will no doubt be Friday's headliners.
"This kickoff show in Phoenix will be different from what we've done before," says Rob Zombie. "We're in the process of building a new show."
Zombie's guitarist, John 5, says that the stage setup will be worth the price of admission.
"There's something that's going to happen that I haven't seen yet," he says. "I've only heard about it." -- Lauren Wise (Read more about Desert Uprising.)
