The sun was noon high when I arrived at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, turning into the giant parking lot for a day in the shade-less venue. I can see a massive inflatable Rockstar Energy can looming in the distance, it’s clear that I’m here for the seventh installment of the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival. The parking lot was full of people of all ages, races, and social statuses, most appropriately in black metal shirts. For the uninitiated, Mayhem is more or less the new Ozzfest, being the de facto major metal summer tour in the US since 2008. I’ve attended two in the past and always walked away having an awesome time, this time around was yet another great time.

After getting my press bracelet and skipping through the massive hoard of people in makeshift lines at the gates, I was inside and I waited for Upon A Burning Body to perform. While I waited, I could see and hear from a distance King 810. Prior to the festival, the band made headlines for their stage show featuring armed men flanking the stage. This was on display in full force, as news clips about Flint, MI played as the band took stage. I’m not sure why the gunman were there to be honest, like what’s the point? Am I supposed to fear you? Am I supposed to be intimated by this? It didn’t help that the music and the performance by the band was pretty unmemorable, not to mention ridiculous with not only the armed men on either side of the stage but also with the use of smoke machines and strobe lights for some reason. Out of all the performances I saw that day, King 810 was by far the weakest.

Not long after King 810 left the stage, intro music blared from the Summerian Stage and the crowd surrounding went wild. Upon A Burning Body took the stage and immediately dove into Red Razor Wrists, a blistering track that turned the crowd into a frenzy. UABB has been on the rise since the release of Red. Green. White, and the sizable crowd more than proved just how popular the band has become. The band played an intense set of old and new, never once letting down the fast and intense energy their live performances are known for. With the release of their new record, The World Is My Enemy Now, looming in the distance, I can see the band only getting bigger from here. Hell, I imagine they’ll be a big draw on a future lineup of the tour, calling it now.

Setlist

1. Red Razor Wrists
2. Intermission
3. Mimic
4. Texas Blood Money
5. Scars
6. Sin City

With time to kill, I wandered around the venue and checked out the various merch tents scattered about in the second stage area. I always found the vendors to be quite a departure from those you’d at Warped, Mayhem’s co-founder Kevin Lyman’s main baby. Instead of PETA, To Write Love On Her Arms, and various environmental and political tents, you have Marlboro, various alcohol vendors (PBR was a big one as I recall), Zippo, and others you’d expect to be at a metal concert. Personally, I wish the Marlboro tents would have been close to the Truth truck, something I found to of stuck out like a sore thumb. Nothing was more interesting to watch than people lighting up around the truck while a DJ played bad remixes and a man with a microphone told people how bad smoking was. Truly ironic.

While I walked around, Texas Hippie Coalition played in the background. I found to of enjoyed their sound quite a bit, sounding like a heavy as hell bar band with riffs that Dimebag would of been proud of. It was a nice departure from the heavy music music that filled up most of the day, a band I would of cracked a beer to if the venue didn’t charge twelve dollar for a tall boy and I still drank. A shame they didn’t get to play longer, I wanted hear more of vocalist Big Dad Rich’s excellent banter in one of the thickest Texas draws I’ve ever heard come out of a human being.

As soon as THC left the stage, cheers could be heard from the Summerian Stage. It was time for Darkest Hour to take the stage, playing their well-know brand of melodic death metal to the Mayhem crowd. It was interesting to see them play on the Summerian Stage, as Victory Records, the band’s former label of a decade, had their own stage looming in the distance. As a long time fan of the band who discovered them watching DVDs included with other Victory releases, it’s strange to see them play for a different label like Summerian but at the same time, I couldn’t be more happy to see them on a label that will give them the boost they needed all these years. Also as a long time fan, I was very disappointed in the overall setlist. Not knocking the new material here (which sounds great btw) and I understand they have a new record to promote, but I found the setlist to be a missed opportunity to introduce new fans some of their awesome older material but beggars can’t be choosers. Despite the alright setlist, the band was excellent and it was yet another great performance by the band.  

Setlist

1. Wasteland
2. The Rapture In Exile
3. Demon(s)
4. Savor The Kill
5. Violent By Nature
6. With A Thousand Words But One

At the tail end of DH’s set, I headed over to the Coldcock stage to see Mushroomhead perform. Mushroomhead and I go back a little bit, back in the days of the early 00’s when I was an angst-ridden teenager who listened to just about anything that was angry and sounded like something that’d piss off my parents. Now as a 26 year old man, I’m not so angsty anymore and my parents don’t really seem to care that I listen to music full of blast beats and screaming and nor should they.

However, Mushroomhead really hasn’t changed all that much at all. That’s not so bad though, as the band is pretty damn good at keeping the nu-metal flame alive with their electronic-heavy sound. More importantly, the band’s image, while not exactly ripping off Slipknot at this point but are getting pretty damn close, is quite a sight to behold. With masks seemingly made at a Hollywood FX shop, the amount of detail in them are quite impressive and I just couldn’t take my eyes off of them. Musically, it was like I was sucked in a time vortex back when Bush was in office and I had spiky hair held up by too much hair gel. By the time Solitaire/Unraveling started playing, I was having flashbacks to my middle school days. While I’m not the biggest fan of the band, they did a decent job from what I saw so good on them!

While Mushroomhead continued on with their nu-metal sonic attack, the eerie intro of Subject Zero blared from the Sumerian Stage, signalling the beginning of Veil of Maya’s set. VOM was a band I very much looked forward to seeing on the bill, I’ve been listening to the band for some time but never got the chance to see them live. It was well worth the wait, as the band put on easily one of the best performances of the day. Playing their well received technical death metal with the intensity of a man with nothing to lose, the band dazzled the crowd with technical ability that made me reflect on my own meager playing ability and cry. A personal highlight was watching bassist Danny Hauser play on his seven string bass, both by being completely impressed by his playing of the instrument and by wondering just how heavy that thing had to be. If I was a casual fan before, I’m definitely a fan for life after seeing that set.

Setlist

1. Subject Zero
2. Punisher
3. 20/200
4. Crawl Back
5. Unbreakable
6. It’s Not Safe To Swim Today

After VOM’s blistering set, it was back to the Coldcock Stage for yet another performance. This time, it happened to be one of my personal favorite bands, Miss May I. The band blew me away when I saw them last summer on Killswitch Engage’s headliner and this performance was more the same. Kicking off with Refuse To Believe, the opener from their new record Rise of The Lion, the band launched into a very energetic set that got the crowd moving. While the band played mostly newer material, I felt it was still a strong setlist for the band. The only real flaw from the set was bassist and clean vocalist Ryan Neff, who’s vocals were not that strong during the performance. Having seen him live prior, I knew he was just having a bit of an off day so nothing against him for that. Overall, the band did great and I hope they won over a bunch of new fans out of it.

Setlist

1. Refuse To Believe
2. Relentless Chaos
3. Day By Day
4. Gone
5. Hero With No Name
6. You Want Me
7. Hey Mister

After MMI’s set, I took off to Darkest Hour’s signing (nabbing a sweet signed poster out of the deal) and I could hear Emmure launching into their set. Now to be honest, I actually liked their set when I got around to watching it. I liked their set a lot. While not really working for me on record, the band’s signature chugging deathcore translated far better live to me than any of their records could. Their music is aggressive and nasty and yet, as I stood there under the sun in a hot parking lot, I totally clicked into it. I didn’t stay long to watch as I went over to watch Suicide Silence but you know what, Emmure, you earned a future concert attendance out of me with that set.

I made my way back to Coldcock yet again, this time to watch Suicide Silence rise from the ashes. The last time the band was on the tour, it was 2012 and former frontman Mitch Lucker was still alive and well when he performed with the band on that tour. Sadly, Mitch would die later that fall in a tragic motorcycle accident on Halloween night. The band soldiered on after losing their iconic frontman, picking All Shall Perish’s Eddie Hermida to replace Mitch and record a new album with him. Needless to say, Eddie has pretty big shoes to fill but it’s clear that he is the perfect candidate to be Mitch’s replacement.

Kicking off with The Cleansing’s punishing opener, Unanswered, Eddie wasted no time in proving his worth playing with the band. Hitting Mitch’s highs and lows with relative ease, it became clear the band had picked the right man for the job. The rest of the band was just as good, playing their beloved deathcore with a high level of precision. The crowd could not contain themselves during the band’s set, going into a frenzy that would of made me fear for my life had I been in that crowd. Overall, Eddie proved that he was here to stay with his performance and no doubt won me over with it. Time remains to show if the band will ever again reach the popularity level they once enjoyed with Mitch fronting the band but after seeing them with Eddie, I think they have a pretty good shot at it.

Setlist

1. Unanswered
2. No Pity For A Coward
3. Cease To Exist
4. Fuck Everything
5. Wake Up
6. You Can’t Stop Me
7. You Only Live Once

Next up was the one and only Body Count, headed by the original OG, Ice-T. Out of all the bands that played, Body Count was probably the most fun I had watching a band that day. Ice-T was incredibly charismatic on stage, getting the crowd to eagerly eat out of the palm of his hand with every word he said. The band’s metal/punk hybrid sound was in a word, fun. I could not stop grinning during the time I saw the band, I had so much fun listening to Ice-T yell at people about shooting people. The last song of the set, the infamous Cop Killer, had the crowd chanting along with Ice-T screaming, ”FUCK THE POLICE!”, while proudly waving the finger in the air. It was truly a sight to behold and something I don't think I'm ever going to forget. Oh and yes, Coco is that gorgeous in real life.

I didn’t spend much time watching Cannibal Corpse admittedly, as I had to leg it over to the main stage to get a good spot in the lawn. However, what little I saw of the Corpse was excellent as per usual. The band’s tried and true death metal filled the air, with the crowd more or less tearing each other apart in the pit in a bloodthirsty frenzy. I was a bit bummed the band couldn’t get a spot on the main stage, the band are metal legends and deserves a chance to play for a wider audience. There was no shortage of people watching the band though, gaining what I felt was one of the biggest crowds of the day.

After taking a little breather to rest on the lawn after running around the second stage area for most of the day, it was time for Trivium to take the main stage. It’s been a long time coming for Trivium being on main, the band started out on the second stage level of the tour back in ‘09 and over the year moved on up to the East Side. The band wasted no time after their triumphant intro, diving right into Black and melting off the faces of all those in the crowd. I’ve always been impressed by Trivium’s live show, the band always brings excellent musicianship to the table every time I’ve seen them and I have to see the band flub a song yet. Setlist-wise, I was hoping for more older material like with other bands of the day but I was still pleased with it. I could see Trivium making it to one of the top two headlining slots one day if they keep it up, at least I’d like to see that happen anyway.

Setlist

1. Black
2. Built To Fall
3. Through Blood and Dirt and Bone
4. Strife
5. Dying In Your Arms
6. Anthem (We Are The Fire)
7. In Waves

It was during Trivium's set that I made my way to the press area to conduct my interview Levi Benton from Miss May I, which you can read here, where I got to sit backstage in the catering area and watch what was literally a high school cafeteria filled with metal bands. While I waited for Levi to show up for the interview (He ended up being about 15 or so minutes late for it, no worries though as the thing went great), I could hear Asking Alexandria come up on stage. Look, I'm not going to front here, I really could care less about AA or their music. While I could hear the music being played, it merely reinforced my stance on the band. Thankfully, I had work to do prior to the interview so I didn't have to pay too much attention to the band's set. God help me if I have to sit the band's antics at a future date, I'll sit in one of VWA's disgusting stalls bare assed with my fingers in my ears and hum loudly than sit through that again.

After I finished the interview, AA had left the stage and I returned back to the lawn to watch Korn's set. Korn and I, like Mushroomhead, has a history together, going way back to 1999. I was about to turn twelve and like many kids around that age at that time, I'd watch the living shit out of MTV back when the channel was still the de facto place for music television. It was then that I became aware of Korn and their aggressive nu-metal sound on TRL of all places. It clicked with me in a way that no band had before, I totally got what the band was doing and I wanted to be a part of that. In fact, I'll admit with no shame that if it wasn't for Korn, I'd probably wouldn't be writing this right now. They're an important part of my musical journey so it made me excited to see the band that set me on my path.

Thankfully, I wasn't let down by Korn's set at all. In fact, I was blown away by just how good the band was live. It was the product of years and years on the road, gaining the ability to play those song with laser precision. I won't lie to you people, I lost my fucking mind during their set. I stomped my feet, I pumped my fists, I screamed along to all of Korn's old hits. When the crushing riff to Here To Stay came through the speakers, I probably banged my head to a point where I had a headache for a little but it was worth it. I felt like that younger version who discovered the band all those years ago, it really took me back seeing the band live.

Setlist

1. Falling Away From Me
2. Twist
3. Got The Life
4. Love & Meth
5. Spike In My Veins
6. Hater
7. Shoots and Ladders
8. Coming Undone
9. Here To Stay
10. Never Never
11. Freak On A Leash
12. Blind

The sun was setting down in the lawn section and a massive curtain was pulled across the stage. From the side, I could see a massive set being built behind the curtain. This set belonged to none other than the headliner of the day, Avenged Sevenfold. It was dark when the house lights went dark and the curtain was pulled back to reveal a massive castle like set, complete with massive LED screens playing videos. The band appeared and kicked right into Shepard of Fire, while a massive pyro display went off behind them. The band's set went through all of their biggest hits, from Bat Country to Hail To The King, which the band channeled their inner Iron Maiden and produced a massive statue of the skeleton king on the cover of their newest record with a wall of fire in front of it. I've seen a lot of awesome stage designs in my life but that was one of the cooler ones I've seen.

At one point, the band played their tribute to The Rev, So Far Away, as they do at every show since his untimely death. During the song, M. Shadows made a speech about not taking moments with your friends for granted to a sea of phone screens and lighters. It was a very emotional and moving moment, I myself got a little verklempt during it. The band overall did an amazing job, I'm not the biggest A7X fan in the world but I'd be lying if I said the band didn't put on a good show. Good job, boys!

Setlist

1. Shepard of Fire
2. Nightmare
3. Bat Country
4. Hail To The King
5. Almost Easy
6. Buried Alive
7. So Far Away
8. Afterlife
9. This Means War

Encore

1. A Little Piece of Heaven
2. Unholy Confessions

To sum up the day, I felt it was a solid iteration of the tour. Aside from a few bands I didn't really care about, I felt it was the strongest lineup the tour has had since 2009. I look forward to next year's tour in a year's time, hopefully it'll be just as good as this year's. I hope so anyway.