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Sick New World Las Vegas 2026

How It Began

What happens in Vegas ain’t staying. After a year away, Sick New World came roaring back to the Las Vegas Festival Grounds.Honestly, It felt like the city had been holding its breath waiting for this one. More than 50 bands, four stages, 50,000+ rockers and metalheads in attendance descending on one spot to celebrate the music that raised them. Twelve hours of the most heavy, raw, and unfiltered music the genre has to offer, and the faithful showed up early and ready. We’re talking 3+ hours before gates opened, thousands deep in the entrance line already repping their favourite bands before the first note hits.

Once doors swung open at 11am, the stampede toward the pit barriers was on. But first, a little detour was very much worth taking. Because this year’s festival was also home to a full-blown time capsule museum celebrating the 25th anniversary of System of a Down’s Toxicity. Yeah, 25 years since one of the most important albums in alt-metal history landed on the world. The museum was a trip. Memorabilia, photos, artifacts, the whole era lovingly preserved for fans to walk through and lose their minds over. Throughout the day, fans also got to sign the System wall, adding their own piece to festival history. Turning this from a great to unforgettable festival.

Now let’s talk about the lineup, because this year Sick New World was absolutely stacked. On the legacy and nostalgia side you had Evanescence, Korn, AFI, Marilyn Manson, Danny Elfman and System of a Down. And running alongside those titans were a wave of newer acts making their case for that same legendary status. Speed of Light, Violent Vira, Bloodywood, The Dark.FM and many more. We were lucky enough to catch a bunch of these sets and we genuinely cannot wait to get into all of them.

Speed of Light

I have a belief that the starting artist of a festival is as important as the final act.They set the tone, give the crowd its first read of the day, and either earn the room or lose it. Speed of Light? They absolutely earned it. The sibling trio of Riley, Cameron, and Tyler have been quietly building something special in the rock world, operating under the Velvet Hammer banner alongside the likes of Avenged Sevenfold, Deftones, and a handful of fellow SNW acts. Including SOAD, Korn, and AFI. Fresh off a run with legendary punk/rock group Rise Against, they brought nine tracks of their very best to Vegas and delivered something genuinely magnetic. Even fans rushing toward the pit at other stages were stopping mid-stride to catch a glimpse of the sibling chemistry on display. By the time closer “Kill the Vibe” wrapped up, they’d done the exact opposite of what the song title suggested. They brought the festival to life.

Violent Vira

Next up, Violent Vira arrived at Sick New World with industrial-tinged intensity and walked away with hundreds of new devotees. The sheer turnout for her set was a statement in itself. This isn’t someone people are casually curious about, but one fans get excited for. Tracks like “Little Crush” and “Burn Me With a Bible” cast a spell over the crowd. One that nobody seemed particularly eager to shake. There’s a growing Mt. Rushmore of up-and-coming female-led alt-rock acts and Vira is making a very convincing case for her spot on it. If this were SNW attendees’ first time in her world, it wasn’t going to be their last.

Failure

Don’t let the name throw you off because this performance was anything but that. Failure has been at it since the 90s and are somehow still putting out records that hold their own against anything in the game right now. In fact, just one day before Sick New World, they dropped their 7th studio album Location Lost. Meaning fans got to experience brand new material live before the songs fully settled in. “A Way Down” and single “The Air’s on Fire” were among the fresh cuts on display, and if those tracks are any indication. Location Lost is going to be an album worth digging into. From first listen “Someday Soon,” “Moonlight Understands,” and “The Rising Skyline” featuring rock royalty Hayley Williams are standout picks. The set was a smart cross-section of the band’s catalog and the crowd ate it up.

The Dark.FM

Every now and then you discover a band that just sticks for you and you can’t get out of your head. For me, that band was The Dark.FM. Led by the perpetually shades-wearing Craig Johns Jr. alongside ex-Of Mice & Men guitarist Alan Ashby, Nick Goins and Derek Voutrinot. The group delivered a heavy darkwave set that felt like it existed in the exact Venn diagram overlap between Deftones and Nine Inch Nails. “Chemicals,” “Slip Away,” and latest track “Zippermouth” have been bouncing around my head for days straight and refuse to show signs of leaving. If there’s one act from this entire festival I want to see headlining their own tour in the near future, it’s them.

P.O.D (Payable On Death)

C’mon, if there’s any band you’re gonna know one song from its P.O.D with “ Boom.” A song so recognizable, so iconic, that they had the ballsy move of opening their Sick New World set with it. Mind you, there’s probably no better way to activate the crowd than this song. P.O.D was the band young skateboarders in the early 00’s looked to when they wanted to crush a rockstar while hitting the skatepark. Speaking of that, Rockstar being a huge sponsor of Sick New World allowed those memories to flow right back as they had a halfpipe with boarders pressing moves throughout the fest. It was like witnessing my youth play out in real time. A nostalgic core memory of sorts as P.O.D blasted in the background like the “good ol’ days.” Their set was all the classics “Youth of the Nation,” “Southtown,” and of course there was no better cap-off than “Alive.” The blast from the past had concert goers crowd-surfing as vocalist Sonny Sandoval whipped a red microphone around the stage. It was a timeless set.

Bloodywood

If you want to talk about a band doing something truly unlike anyone else, Bloodywood is your answer. The New Delhi band, formed in 2016, has spent the past year absolutely blowing up, and what started as a genuinely novel idea has grown into something undeniable. They’ve headlined North American tours and shared stages with BabyMetal, Jinjer and Black Veil Brides. The fusion of metalcore with Indian traditional music is something the western side of the world hadn’t really encountered before. With it, the reception has been nothing short of remarkable. The thousand-plus fans showing up for their SNW set weren’t curious onlookers, but instead devotees finally getting to experience these songs live after years of streaming them. “Bekhauf,” “Aaj,” and “Dana Dan” lit the crowd up, and by the time “Nu Delhi” closed out the set, people were genuinely screaming for an encore. If you weren’t there, do yourself a favour and get to a Bloodywood show the next time they roll through your city. You’ll understand immediately.

Cypress Hill

If there’s a more reliable elevating force in music than Cypress Hill, I haven’t found it yet. B-Real, Sen Dog, Bobo and crew rolled through a seven-track set that was basically a masterclass in keeping thousands of people completely locked in. “I Wanna Get High,” “Insane in the Brain,” “When the Shit Goes Down,” bangers stacked on bangers. Then they pulled out a couple of wild cards. A run at RATM’s “Bombtrack” and closing the whole thing out with House of Pain’s “Jump Around.” Which had exactly the effect you’d expect it to have on a crowd of thousands. The set was magnetic enough to pull in System’s Shavo and legend Tony Hawk. Both apparently unable to resist the gravitational pull of Cypress Hill. A huge chunk of the crowd was younger fans, many of them clearly introduced to Cypress Hill by their parents, some of whom were right there in the crowd experiencing it alongside them. That kind of cross-generational moment is what festivals are made for, an all-timer of a set.

AFI

Back-to-back weekends catching AFI and somehow it keeps getting better. For a band that’s been doing this since the mid-90s, they have absolutely no business being this good live, and yet here we are. Where the Vancouver show a week prior leaned into surprises, the Sick New World set was pure hits from start to finish. “Girl’s Not Grey,” “Love Like Winter,” “Silver and Cold,” “The Leaving Song Pt. II,” and “Miss Murder.” Davey, Hunter, Jade, and Adam were performing on all cylinders. Havok in particular had the crowd questioning whether or not he’s operating under normal human physics with wild acrobatics on display. Watching AFI in this era of Silver Bleeds is a genuine gift. If you haven’t taken the opportunity to see them live yet, fix that immediately. Trust me when I tell you it’s non-negotiable.

Knocked Loose

So how do you follow AFI? You hand it to Knocked Loose, apparently. The Kentucky hardcore crew arrived with a giant cross lighting up on stage (their signature at this point). Drummer Kevin Kaine threw a thumbs up, and “Blinding Faith” absolutely detonated the crowd. Yellow smoke poured through the air, circle pits opened up everywhere, crowd surfers launched themselves into the void. Bryan Garris made it crystal clear right from the jump. They were there to cause chaos. Two-steps, walls of death, sixteen tracks of relentless intensity including hits like “Suffocate” and “Counting Worms.” The latter being dedicated to Bo Leuders of Harm’s Way. A live premiere of new track “Hive Mind” dropped like a bomb, and then actual flames shot on stage like a jumpscare. Sending the crowd into an absolute frenzy. This was the most unhinged set of the entire day, and somehow it landed right in the middle of it. Leaving everyone’s adrenaline cranked and ready for what came next.

Marilyn Manson

Since the 90s, there’s been exactly one figure in music who can walk on stage and instantly make people hold their breath. That figure being Marilyn Manson. He’s been a tabloid target for years and he has absolutely never cared, carrying that massive, irreverent energy like armour everywhere he goes. Personally, seeing Manson live has been on the list for what feels like forever and Sick New World finally delivered. Legendary guitarist Tim Skold, Gil Sharone and the rest of the band opened with a full-on summoning. The kind of build that made the hair on your arms stand up. Then, out of the shadows came the man himself. “They tried to stop me, but I’m still here.” The crowd absolutely lost it. Twelve tracks of the greatest hits later, Manson had done exactly what he’s always done. Silenced the noise and reminded everyone why he’s a legend. Between sobriety and whatever else he’s been working on, he looked and sounded sharper than he has in years. With a fur coat and infantry officer cap, it was like witnessing a peak performance from 1998. The energy radiating out from that stage was felt across the entire festival grounds. Manson is an act that still genuinely hits, and the wild stories from Sick New World are going to be told for a very long time.

Evanescence

One word… Iconic. Four times seeing Evanescence live and the Sick New World performance was easily up there as the best. Since 2003, Amy Lee and crew have been a constant in so many people’s lives, and in 2026 they’re somehow more vital than ever. “Afterlife,” which first dropped as part of Devil May Cry season 1 last year, and brand new track “Who Will You Follow.” Have delivered that Fallen-era sound that fans have been craving for. There’s a full-blown Evanescence resurgence happening right now and the SNW crowd was absolutely living in it. The moment that iconic E logo illuminated the LED wall, the entire crowd collectively knew they were about to witness something special. “Afterlife” kicked things off and established an instant back-and-forth between Amy and the audience. One that didn’t let up for the entire set. The band were visibly loving every second of it, catching each other’s eyes and grinning through the whole thing. The setlist reached across nearly every era of their discography but gave special, well-deserved love to Fallen & The Bitter Truth. “Imaginary,” “Broken Pieces,” “Use My Voice,” “Going Under,” “Bring Me to Life.” Also present: “Lithium,” “Wasted on You,” “What You Want,” and more. The genuinely jaw-dropping moment came when “Who Will You Follow”live performance premiered and a crowd that had barely a week with the song sang it back like they’d known it for twenty years. By the time “Bring Me to Life” arrived, the SNW crowd was in full euphoria mode. It was a once-in-a-generation track and a once-in-a-generation performance of it. That euphoria gave into the performance to follow, Bring Me The Horizon.

Bring Me The Horizon

Full disclosure, somehow, until this exact performance, BMTH had flown under my radar. I knew “Teardrops,” “Obey,” “Throne,” “Doomed,” sure. But nothing prepared me for the reality of what a Bring Me The Horizon headline set actually feels like. They opened the headliner portion of the night and if you have any issue with confined spaces, you would have been in genuine trouble. Every direction was an ocean of fans, forty thousand deep minimum, screaming every word to every song. Oli Sykes is an absolute masterclass of a frontman; a single hand wave and he’s got fans on shoulders, arms in the air, circle pits forming, entire sections dropping to their knees before exploding back up again. The twelve-track set hit every major moment from the past decade-plus. The visuals genuinely looked like they were ripped straight out of a video game and the stage will be living in my brain for months. BMTH get described as “the next Linkin Park” and while Linkin Park are very much still out here killing it themselves, the comparison makes complete sense. These are artists who make you feel something huge. Bring Me The Horizon is a must-see and I’ll be telling people I saw this set for years. Probably annoyingly so.

Danny Elfman

Legend… Oh, you want more than that? Fine. Going in, I honestly wasn’t sure what form this was going to take. Would it be a concert? A film score experience? Some kind of theatrical chaos? The answer turned out to be all of the above, somehow simultaneously. Las Vegas got treated to a full cross-section of Danny’s world. Tracks from 2021’s Big Mess, the Oingo Boingo deep cuts, and the theme songs that soundtracked so many childhoods. “Spider-Man,” “The Simpsons,” “Beetlejuice,” “Wednesday” and “Batman.” All of them performed live. Iconic genuinely doesn’t begin to cover it. Oingo Boingo tracks “Insects,” “Only a Lad,” and “No One Lives Forever” made the cut alongside solo material including “Happy,” “Kick Me,” “Sorry,” and “True.” Long-time collaborator and fellow Oingo Boingo member Steve Bartek handled conductor duties. And the band? A truly unhinged lineup. Nine Inch Nails’ Josh Freese on drums, fellow Nails member Robin Finck on guitar, Code Orange’s Reba Myers, and Dethklok’s Nili Brosh. This is the kind of set you watch happen and spend the next week trying to convince people it was real.

Korn

ARE YOU READY?! “Blind” hit and that was it. Everyone was fully sent. Korn opening with “Blind” is basically a legal threat and Las Vegas accepted the terms immediately. “Twist,” “Got That Life,” “Y’All Want a Single,” the catalogue was fully open for business and Jonathan Davis had the whole crowd eating out of his hands from note one. Korn are exactly the kind of band that festivals like Sick New World are designed around. The legends who remind you why you love this music in the first place. Fans had spent hours working their way toward the barriers and once Davis locked in, it became a full human tide pushing toward the stage. Security was locked in completely; it looked like footage from an early 00s nu-metal music video. Somehow it stayed safe, which, honestly, speaks to something real about metalhead culture. Tough on the outside, genuinely looking out for each other underneath. Munky, Luzier, Head, and Ra Diaz were simply reminding the world why Korn still runs this genre. Saw them on the Kanada Tour last year and thought nothing could touch that. Well, the SNW set touched it. Closing out with “Freak on a Leash,” the energy was peaking hard… but Sick New World wasn’t done just yet.

System Of A Down

If you ever need a master class in how to close a festival. Study what System of a Down did. Twenty-five tracks. The crowd left speechless. The only real summary from fans nearby? “Holy sh*t.” That about covers it. System rarely plays outside of festival settings anymore. Which means being one of 50,000+ people there for this felt like winning the lottery. The second Serj, Daron, Shavo, and John hit the stage, something shifted in the air. The only thought in my head was “oh, this is actually happening right now.” “Suite-Pee” opened the gates and the crowd poured everything they had into it. System had the hearts and souls of every single person in that crowd and they weren’t giving them back until the final note. “Prison Song,” “B.Y.O.B,” “Aerials,” “ATWA,” and that was just the warm-up. Nine Toxicity tracks made the set in honour of the album’s 25th birthday and every single one landed like a freight train.

Then in the second half, it started to rain. Perfect timing? Cruel joke? Neither. Because what happened next was one of the most genuinely beautiful moments I’ve witnessed at a live show. Lasers cutting through rain in the Las Vegas night sky, mixing with the performance formed into something that looked like it belonged in a film. Everyone just stood there and let it happen. Daron stopped between songs to say: “Stop letting the media divide you. Stop letting the government divide you. If we can be on stage together with different thoughts and different beliefs, you can be together too.” If that crowd wasn’t already one unified thing, that statement finished the job. “Psycho,” “Chop Suey!,” “Lost in Hollywood,” “Toxicity,” and then “Sugar” to close out the night and the festival. The electricity in that performance was something else entirely. People were completely emotional by the end and it made total sense. The applause that rang out wasn’t just for System of a Down. It was for Sick New World Las Vegas itself.

In Closing

Sick New World Las Vegas 2026 was the kind of day that makes you immediately start scheming about next year the second you leave the gates. Every genre of heavy you could ask for, some of the most iconic performers of the past three decades. A lineup that had the old heads losing their minds and the new generation discovering exactly why this music matters so much. Days later and the FOMO is real, like if I could wake up back in Vegas and run the whole thing again I absolutely would without hesitating for a second. Beyond the music itself, the people running this thing deserve genuine flowers. I’ve been to festivals where everything falls apart by noon. From credential pickup to the walk out at the end of the night, Sick New World ran smooth, felt safe, and kept everyone taken care of. The Rockstar halfpipe had a vibe. The Toxicity museum was genuinely one of the coolest festival installations I’ve seen. Everything added up to something bigger than the sum of its parts. If Sick New World ever comes to a city near you or you get the chance to make the trip to Vegas for it, don’t think twice. Just go.

Thank You

I’d like to thank the Sick New World Crew for the hospitality and allowing me to experience one of this year’s events. There’s still time to get tickets for Sick New World Texas, so what are you waiting for? Here’s a link to where you can get tickets: https://www.sicknewworldfest.com/texas