UPDATE: 8:50 PM — So White Arms Of Athena did not make it, despite the buzz I saw on the page for them and Fallujah! Major bummer. However, Vildhjarta are now in the official running and need your help to make Summer Slaughter 2012 their first American tour! Go and vote for Vildhjarta!

Last night’s scheduled announcement for The Summer Slaughter tour was a dud. They haven’t been very good on their weekly announcements on Sunday, and it’s been two weeks since the last announcement, admittedly for reasons outside of their control. There was however a legitimate update regarding the potential openers of the trek, with the top runners being Fallujah, Cerebral Bore, and Aegaeon. The Summer Slaughter Tour are still taking fan votes and are even considering letting fans choose two openers for the tour, so I’d like to extend my support towards frontrunner Fallujah and an available underdog, White Arms of Athena.

This year’s Summer Slaughter is a fairly clear-cut crossroads of death metal and prog, with Cannibal Corpse and Between the Buried and Me at opposite ends of the spectrum. This was a great move on the people who booked this tour, as there’s something for almost everyone. Here’s the thing though; balancing the lineup evenly between the two will offer maximum satisfaction for all of the fans involved. Here’s how I’m breaking down the lineup:

A: Cannibal Corpse, Hate Eternal*, Exhumed, Goatwhore, Job For A Cowboy*
B: Between the Buried and Me, The Faceless, Veil of Maya

* = rumored

As it is right now, there’s not much of a balance. Much like The Faceless, Fallujah are a shoe-in and would easily fit among the prog bands as well as the death metal crowd. I also feel that they deserve the spot as a comeback from their recent van accident. There’s not going to be too much more work involved in getting these guys on the bill, as they’ve mobilized their fanbase quite a bit already.

Here’s the hard part: White Arms of Athena. They’re much more obscure, but they’d help balance things in BTBAM’s corner considerably. These guys need a shot at bigger tours, and Summer Slaughter would be a great help for getting them a wider audience. I feel that they deserve this shot.

If you like my reasoning, go to The Summer Slaughter Tour’s Facebook page and tell them you want Fallujah and White Arms of Athena on the lineup. If you don’t like my picks, then vote for whoever you deem worthy! It’s pretty awesome of Summer Slaughter to open up the night with fans’ choices anyway, so go and take advantage!

- JR