The metal-minded converge at Carolina Rebellion

The fifth annual Carolina Rebellion storms Concord’s Rock City Campground this weekend with Slayer, Slipknot, Korn, Godsmack, Marilyn Manson, Slayer, Slash and several other acts.

To commemorate the continuing rise of hard-rock festivals in the U.S. and the staying power of heavy guitar-based music, we spoke to Slash, Tremonti’s Mark Tremonti (Alter Bridge/Creed) and Gary Holt, who is doing double duty with his band Exodus and with Slayer. All four bands play Sunday.

Gary Holt

The founder of influential thrash-metal originators Exodus – which formed in 1980 – will perform with that band at 12:15 p.m. Sunday, then again with Slayer at 7:25 p.m. Sunday.

Q. You’ve played massive European festivals for years. How does the U.S. compare?

A. They’re starting to get it. In Europe, the audience embraces all different genres of metal. In the States, it’s not quite there yet. (Also) bad things happen in America when you put 60,000 people together. In Europe, someone falls down and they just dance around them. That said, the ones I’ve done (in the U.S.) have been good.

Q. What led you guys to create what became the thrash sound?

A. We were just writing the kind of music we wanted to hear. We took our influences from Judas Priest and Motorhead and British heavy-metal and English hardcore punk like Discharge, GBH and the Exploited and it ended up as thrash metal. We wanted to hear and play faster.

Q. Is there any genre of metal you don’t dig?

A. The whole symphonic thing is a little overboard for me. My favorite stuff was AC/DC, super stripped-down, loud rock n’ roll. I respect the musicianship and vocal ability.

Q. Why do you think metal fans are usually in it for life?

A. You don’t outgrow chocolate ice cream.

Slash

The former Guns n’ Roses and Velvet Revolver guitarist now heads up his own band: Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators, which released its second album last summer and performs at 6:20 p.m. Sunday.

Q. What’s your process now that you’ve been a band for a while?

A. I write riffs and record them when we’re touring, and we jam on some of it at sound check, and when we have a minute off we start hashing out ideas. When we do go into the studio, we rehearse the s--- out of it. Then we can do everything in between one and five takes. It’s not really a studio band where you go into the studio to write and hang out for six months. It’s the kind of rock n’ roll band that shouldn’t require too much thinking. Writing is one thing, but we’re not trying for next Peter Gabriel record.

Q. You’ve played festivals overseas for decades. How do these new U.S. festivals compare?

A. When I was a kid, we had tons of outdoor festivals like that all the time in the ’70s. Then it died out. Now it’s becoming popular again, which is nice. A great weekend is to go to an outdoor festival, hang out and listen to whoever your favorite bands are. That is one of the most liberating experiences as a kid. As a musician, it’s a hell of a lot fun.

Q. You still play Guns n’ Roses songs live. Do you feel obligated?

A. Initially, playing those songs wasn’t something I did because anybody else was interested in me doing it. It was because it was fun to do, and I hadn’t played those songs in a long time. I never had a problem with the material. I do it for the fun of it.

Mark Tremonti

The Creed and Alter Bridge guitarist will release his second solo album, “Cauterize,” in June. Tremonti performs at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

Q. Why did you decide to release two albums (“Dust” will follow later this year) in 2015?

A. I think a nice, concise 10-song record is more effective because people get lost, and I didn’t want to see these songs put away.

Q. The new record comes out swinging and the heaviness doesn’t let up for a while, but you do add some slower tracks.

A. I like the records to be dynamic and tell a story. The first eight songs we wrote were all really heavy. I put on the brakes and said, ‘Let’s go for a more atmospheric, moody song.’ If it’s all just heavy, it’s not going to be dynamic. As a songwriter, I have all kinds of different styles, but melody is the core of them all. I like real moody soundtrack-ish songs.

Q. What’s your take on U.S. festivals, having played the big ones in Europe?

A. The United States is really catching on now. Being able to watch both scenes through all these years, the States has gotten better at developing these festivals. It will be on par with the Download (Festival) in the next five years. I think they’re on the right track. I’ll go out into the crowd so I can see a band from the soundboard. You can walk around.

This story was originally published April 30, 2015 at 2:01 PM with the headline "The metal-minded converge at Carolina Rebellion."