That haze is from the dust in the air.
Oh man, what a just absolutely sick time at Mayhem Fest yesterday. I’ll give you my band-by-band review:
Whitechapel: We were late (I know I know) and missed these guys, so nothing to report.
Soul Made Visible: The Jager “special band” of the day. They were a pretty decent basic metal group.
Behemoth: These guys were actually much better than I expected, and did a good job rocking out, corpse paint and all.
God Forbid: Great energy show, our group’s first foray into some real pit action. Definitely one of the highlights of the side stages.
The Black Dahlia Murder: Not bad, very heavy, but nothing really special either.
All That Remains: Judging from crowd reaction, these guys were definitely the fan favorite of the side stages. Put a great performance and provided us plenty more good moshing.
Job for a Cowboy: Took a water break at this point, what I heard of them didn’t sound bad though.
Trivium: One of my favorite bands and personal favorite of the side stage, these guys were excellent. My only problem with their set, not long enough! The End of Everything, Rain, When All Light Dies, Down from the Sky, Throes of Perdition, Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr.
Cannibal Corpse: Brutally heavy, and a frontman who was comically threatening (buy our cd, jump in the pit, or i’ll come down there and crush your throat). These guys were great to watch, when we could see them through the haze of dust and flying bodies.
Bullet for My Valentine: Didn’t really care to see these guys, took another water break to prepare for the main acts.
Killswitch Engage: We already had one taste of a band-come-home with All That Remains, and these guys did not fail to deliver either. Put on a kick-ass set full of energy and good metal music. My Last Serenade, Reckoning, Fixation on the Darkness, Rose of Sharyn, Light in a Darkened World, A Bid Farewell, My Curse, End of Heartache, Holy Diver.
Slayer: The mighty thrash gods, and they definitely did not disappoint! Tom Araya is surprisingly soft-spoken, but the music was incredible. So much energy and a fantastic sound, these guys were definitely the highlight of the day. I don’t know every song they played, but here’s most of it: Disciple, War Ensemble, Jihad, Psychopathy Red, Mandatory Suicide, Ghosts of War, Dead Skin Mask, Angel of Death, South of Heaven, Raining Blood.
Marilyn Manson: While I imagine that it doesn’t quite live up to their 90s prime, the show was quite a spectacle worthy of closing out the night. Other than what I felt were weaker choices off the new album (which is I’m glad to say a definite step in the right direction after the abomination that was his previous few releases), the set was filled with some good “classic” Manson songs that showed they’ve still got it in them: We’re from America, Disposable Teens, Little Horn, Irresponsible Hate Anthem, Four Rusted Horses, Arma-goddamn-motherfucking-geddon, The Dope Show, Rock Is Dead, Tourniquet, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), The Beautiful People.
