ShipRocked 2016 – Day 2: Seether, Hellyeah, Avatar + More
While some heavy-eyed ShipRockers decided to sleep in, others got an early morning start on the Norwegian Pearl and waited in line for the first meet-and-greet of the cruise. Halestorm, Hellyeah, We Are Harlot and Red Sun Rising all were on hand for photo ops with fans in the swanky Spinnaker Lounge.
Cali rockers of Stitched Up Heart also had a meet-and-greet with fans later in the day but they kicked things off early on with a lively set outside on the Deck Stage. Elsewhere, Avatar completely stole the show with their set. There was a fan poll where ShipRockers could vote for a band they wanted to see that hasn’t played the cruise yet, overwhelmingly ShipRockers chose Avatar and for good reason. The band's ringleader, Johannes Eckerström, had his infamous grin from ear to ear that could put both the Joker and Cheshire Cat to shame. The crowd sang out loud to “Hail the Apocalypse” and watched in amazement as the entire band unleashed song after song. From beginning to end, Avatar mesmerized fans with their force and we can only hope that the band has a cruise of their own in the future.
The vigor on the Deck Stage continued as Hellyeah were the final band to perform on outdoor stage. Frontman Chad Gray spewed lyrics to “Hellyeah!” to start the set only to have (fake) blood spewed in his face for “Sangre por Sangre (Blood for Blood).” If Gray’s high jumps didn’t impress you then bassist Kyle Sanders continuous dread banging should have. Hellyeah poured their sweat and blood and they definitely made their mark on ShipRocked.
If all the music performances were an overload for you, there was also an abundance of activities. You could’ve eaten your heart out at a variety of restaurants or work off the calories by going bowling. You could participate in a friendly competition of Deck Wars with members of Nonpoint and stimulate the mind with a hilarious, chaotic game of Bingo with 10 Years.
But for most of us the music wasn’t enough so we headed to Stardust Theater for We Are Harlot fronted by former Asking Alexandria vocalist Danny Worsnop. The band cranked out catchy new tracks from their self-titled debut album.
Seether headlined the Stardust Theater on the second night and after years of seeing the band, this was one of the best Seether performance to date. Frontman Shaun Morgan didn’t just belt out the “Gasoline,” “Rise Above This,” “My Disaster” and “Needles” but he felt and headbanged to every heavy riff. The rest of Seether kept the packed theater pumped up for the rest of the night.
The Atrium Stage was the place to be to discover up and coming bands. Two piece act, the Standstills, the very young members of Doll Skin performed in the Atrium earlier while the very dynamic Islander hit the stage later in the day and talented Red Sun Rising took the stage at midnight. For ShipRockers who wanted to burn the midnight oil there was a DJ on hand, as well as late night and early morning karaoke.
The third day separates the veterans from the newbies as we wake up (or sleep in) in Costa Maya Mexico! Check out our recap and gallery of the second day of ShipRocked 2016 and stay tuned for coverage of the third day!