Rock on the Range 2015: Day 1 - Slipknot, Manson + More

Under the warm Ohio sun, metalheads and rock fans gathered in Columbus, Ohio's Mapfre Stadium for the ninth annual Rock On the Range festival. The first day of the event was a hellish carnival as Slipknot and Marilyn Manson headlined the Monster Energy Main Stage.

Headlining act Slipknot crushed it with pure mayhem (pun intended and appropriate). From “Sarcastrophe” to “Psychosocial,” the start of the set was already wearing security out as fans made a beeline towards the front of the stage. The force of Slipknot transfers to the fans and the amoeba effect of the back and forth of vitality makes for a complete sensory overload. With “Wait and Bleed,” “Before I Forget” and “Spit It Out” the energy was uncontrollable and it only heightened as the night ended with the obliterating anthem “Surfacing.”

The Pale Emperor himself, Marilyn Manson took the stage beforehand for an eerie yet fantastic set. He began with “Deep Six” off of his brand new album The Pale Emperor. Fans lost their mind to notable favorites “The Dope Show,” “Disposable Teens” and “The Beautiful People.” Onstage Manson and his band completely dominate. With well over 20 years of music Manson continues to keep his music and live performance unique, innovative and provocative and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Guitar icon Slash melted faces as he took the stage with singer Myles Kennedy and the (very awesome) Conspirators. The band was greeted warmly by thousands of fans in attendance as they rolled through a setlist featuring everything from Guns N’ Roses “Paradise City” to Velvet Revolver’s “Slither” as well as original favorites “Bent to Fly” and “Anastasia.”

Other highlights of the day included the deep melodic sounds of frontman Chris Shinn and Live as they played fan favorites “I Alone” and “All Over You” and the return of Breaking Benjamin in a tight, hits-filled set featuring “So Cold,” “Blow Me Away” and “Polyamorous,” as well as a medley of covers including Tool’s “Schism,” Nirvana's “Smells like Teen Spirit” and “Walk” by Pantera.

Meanwhile, Apocalyptica were one of the bands on the main stage that completely stole the show. Their passion and talent onstage is evident as the eclectic Finnish metalers shredded their cellos and rocked the crowd hard. And early in the day, former Asking Alexandria frontman Danny Worsnop graced the stage with his new band We Are Harlot. The band played tracks from their brand new self-titled album and fans crowd surfed their hearts out all throughout the set.

Check out photos of the Main Stage Day 1 artists in action in the gallery above!