In Lollapalooza‘s 30-plus year run, which bands are the heaviest to ever play the festival?
Chicago’s marquee music festival, Lollapalooza, has always been one of the most curated music events throughout North America. Founded by Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell, the festival started as a touring act to showcase the most diverse acts in rock music, before it became a one-day festival in Grant Park.
Since its inception, Lollapalooza has had an interesting relationship with heavy music. Each year is a good representation of where the sound is at, be it the industrial crush of bands like Nine Inch Nails during the festival’s debut, or the current domination of the many metalcore bands jamming out massive breakdowns.
This year is set to be no exception, with bands such as Deftones, In This Moment, Hanabie and Wisp set to bring a massive, heavy sound to the fest.
With that in mind, through its many diverse lineups, here are the 10 heaviest bands to ever play Lollapalooza.
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Nine Inch Nails (1991)
In the festival’s debut year as a traveling tour, Nine Inch Nails were at one of their most chaotic points as a band. In the above clip, Trent Reznor and company transform “Terrible Lie” into something emotionally shredding, as Reznor screams his throat out and future Filter mastermind Richard Patrick crushes out some riffs.
Nine Inch Nails would return for later appearances in 2008 and 2013 as a fully-fleshed out machine, but the grime really shows in 1991.
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Tool (1993)
Before they fully evolved into the heady, thought-provoking progressive metal act they are today, Tool were just heavy.
In 1993, the band instantly catapulted themselves to a must-see band, thanks to some incredible performances, including the clip below of them performing “Bottom” with Rage Against the Machine frontman Zack de la Rocha.
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Rage Against the Machine (1993)
Of course, de la Rocha didn’t show up for just a guest spot, as Rage Against the Machine brought their own brand of aggression to the festival that same year.
At 23, during the festival, de la Rocha is bursting with youthful energy through the performance, while Tom Morello grooves and bounces. We’re extremely jealous of the crowd singing along to “Killing in the Name.”
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Jesus Lizard (1995)
Criminally underrated post-hardcore act The Jesus Lizard made an appearance at Lollapalooza 1995, and they certainly brought the chaos.
Frontman David Yow was an absolute wildman — a tornado of limbs, as they cruised through crushers such as “Seasick.”
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Metallica (1996)
Metallica were touring on the release of Load when they played Lollapalooza in 1996, which meant a setlist of thrash staples and their then-newer hard rock cuts.
Fixtures such as “For Whom the Bell Tolls” sounded absolutely huge with the Load set up, making it a highlight appearance in the festival’s history.
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Deftones (2011)
A year prior to their appearance, Deftones dropped a career-revitalizing record with Diamond Eyes.
Firing on all cylinders, their setlist was a nice combo of classics in “My Own Summer” and newer tracks such as “Rocket Skates.” Chino Moreno was in excellent shape, leading to a lively, very active performance.
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Ghostemane (2019)
Though he’s far more suited for a nighttime performance, goth metal rapper Ghostemane delivered one of the fest’s heaviest and craziest performances in 2019.
Appearing on the fest’s mainstage, Ghostemane’s performance featured a man getting chained up onstage and his face tattooed while he and his band played a range of heavy tracks such as “Black Blood” and “Carbomb.”
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Limp Bizkit (2021)
As lockdowns began loosening, Limp Bizkit’s 2021 Lollapalooza performance felt like a sign that things were going to get better.
Fred Durst debuted both his “Dad Vibes” persona and the song itself, along with belting out classics such as “Hot Dog” and “Rollin.”
Despite being over 20 years into a career, they’ve never sounded better.
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Lorna Shore (2022)
Despite running for over 30 years, it seems like Lollapalooza is finally welcoming extreme metal bands with open arms.
No band exemplifies this more than Lorna Shore, whose mix of blackened deathcore stands as one of the heaviest performances to ever happen at the festival.
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Knocked Loose (2023)
In 2023, it felt like Knocked Loose were bringing their extreme heaviness to basically every festival in the U.S. and Lollapalooza was no safe haven from such devastation.
Playing a nighttime set, the band elicited a massive circle pit while they jammed out some of their heaviest tracks. It’s an awesome piece of history, showing them just at the beginning of their ascent into crossover appeal that coalesced with 2024’s You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To.
