By Andrew Bansal
June 29th 2013, San Manuel Amphitheater, San Bernardino CA: Mayhem Festival is back with its sixth annual summer touring party, which kicked off yesterday in San Bernardino and will be running across North America for the next five weeks. They really outdid their first four editions with the kind of lineup they had last year, and it was going to take something special to top that. On paper, this year’s lineup didn’t induce any kind of excitement in me, save for a few bands, but I still made the trek to the venue, keeping an open mind about the whole thing and curious to find out how it was going to turn out.
I reached the venue at around noon. Most people were busy indulging themselves in tailgating, while others waited in line to buy tickets. The gates opened at 1 PM, the crowds flocked in, and at 1.10, the first band Thrown Into Exile got things started on the Musicians Institute stage. I’ll give props to them for their on-stage energy, and more importantly, the ability to transfer it to the crowd. Their musical style is nothing out of the ordinary, and I guess you could call it generic, but you can’t fault them for their live show.
It all moved quickly to the adjacent Jagermeister stage for the start of Huntress‘ set at 1.30. To be honest, they weren’t as bad as the last time I saw them open for Sanctuary at Club Nokia in early 2012, and the song ‘Spell Eater’ in particular was rather enjoyable. But three songs into their set, the crowd started drifting away as the band couldn’t really hold their attention. I felt the same way, specially when they played the song ‘I Want To Fuck You To Death’. Granted, the lyrics are written by Lemmy, but that song is straight-up horrible. All in all, their music isn’t half-bad but Jill Janus’ vocal delivery seemed really forced. I’ve heard her sing some kickass hard rock covers with the band Chelsea Girls in the past, but for Huntress I don’t feel she’s channeling her abilities in the right manner. Oh well, I’m glad some part of their set was good, and it wasn’t a ‘tit metal’ skin show type thing. That was to come later in the day courtesy of a different band.
Set List:
1. Senicide
2. Destroy Your Life
3. Spell Eater
4. Zenith
5. I Want To Fuck You To Death
6. Eight of Swords
The set times for the most part were very well coordinated between the three smaller stages so it gave everyone a chance to catch at least a little bit of each band, and indeed for this reviewer to be able to write about each band. Next up on the MI stage at 1.55 were Attika 7, who unfortunately did nothing to impress me. I know they have some ‘star power’ in their lineup, but that still didn’t change my opinion of their actual music, a bad rip-off of Machine Head and Black Label Society put together into one. Meanwhile, the first ‘Headbang For The Highway’ battle of the bands winner Lions Amongst Wolves started proceedings on the Sumerian stage, and sadly so generic that I moved away from that stage as quickly as I could.
So during this lull of mediocre music, I took the opportunity to scope out the surroundings. I must say, as much hate as Mayhem Festival gets for its mainstream mentality, there are certain positive aspects that come with it, like customer comfort. There were plenty of tents placed around for people to take shaded shelter under, free protein water was being handed out by Rockstar Energy, misty shower tents were provided by Jagermeister, and amenities like phone charging stations and free water fountains were in place too. In the 115-degree heat, it’s important to stay cool and hydrated, and given these kind of arrangements you could easily watch the entire fest and walk out of there without spending a single dollar.
Alright, back to the music. Battlecross on the Jagermeister stage at 2.20 was really the first band to win over a crowd that was largely unfamiliar with them. They tore it up with a fantastic performance, tight in the musicianship and high in energy. Mosh pits started breaking out and after each song, the band was greeted with a genuine round of applause from this appreciative crowd. They are one of those bands that might or might not interest you when you listen to them at home, but when you see them live you simply cannot be unimpressed. Great set from Battlecross, I’m stoked for these guys that they’re on the full Mayhem Fest run this year. Fully deserved.
Set List:
1. Breaking You
2. Man of Stone
3. Ghost Alive
4. Kaleb
5. Force Fed Lies
6. Push Pull Destroy
7. Hostile
For any band, it would have been a tough task to play after that kind of set from Battlecross, and Born Of Osiris had that unenviable task in their hands as they took the MI stage at 2.45. Their die-hard fans clearly occupied the first few rows and loved every minute of the set, but in general the band didn’t catch anyone else’s attention. That’s the thing with music such as theirs. They will always have a fan base, but there is little scope to expand as long as they continue doing the same thing. It’s no wonder that despite being around for a few years now, they are still playing in the afternoon on a side stage. The exact same thing can be said about Motionless In White and Emmure who played this stage next, Job For A Cowboy on the Jager stage, and Kaustik, Machine Empire and City In The Sea on the Sumerian stage. Generic pseudo tough guy music that’s no longer interesting for anyone outside of that sub-culture.
But amidst all this was a set by Butcher Babies, who were here to deliver the tit metal I mentioned earlier. There was absolutely nothing, and I repeat nothing redeeming about their musicianship. Yes, the two ‘singers’ both have great tits, but so do a lot of other chicks who don’t start a false pretense of a metal band to show off their wares. If I want to see tits, I’d rather go to a strip club, where the music is equally generic but not even half as annoying as that of Butcher Babies.
After all of the aforementioned bands were out of the way, the ‘business end’ of the fest was upon me, as the four bands I was most looking forward to see were going to all play back-to-back, starting with Scorpion Child who headlined the Sumerian stage at 4.35. On a day that so far hadn’t offered too much in terms of good quality music, Scorpion Child were a very refreshing break from the ‘mayhem’ that ensued elsewhere. Their 70s hard rock delivery was fascinating for one and all, as the varying tempo kept the set strong for its entirety. The slower parts gave us a chance to truly absorb some good music for a change, wherein you could actually hear the lead guitar notes, the riffs, the rhythm section, and of course the amazing vocals by Aryn Jonathan Black. He was, without doubt, the best singer I heard all day long and to add further punch to his voice he put on a proper show with his stage moves and crowd interaction. If you were there yesterday and didn’t catch this band, you missed out on what I would say was the best performance of the entire day. But if you’re going to any of the upcoming Mayhem dates, make sure you catch Scorpion Child.
Set List:
1. Kings Highway
2. Polygon Of Eyes
3. The Secret Spot
4. Salvation Slave
5. My Woman
6. She Sings
A run down the hill was required for me to get to the Jager stage in time for the start of Machine Head‘s set at 5.10. The stage setup looked grand, and having missed out on their headline tour last year, I was excited for this. They came out all guns blazing with ‘This Is The End’ from the latest album ‘Unto The Locust’, and played a 40-minute set of five long songs. Honestly, as glad as I was to see them, I’ve definitely seen better performances by them in the past. The music was played well enough but Robb Flynn’s vocals weren’t up to the mark yesterday. I’ll cut him some slack because it was the first day of a long tour, but he wasn’t sounding as ferocious as he usually does. Aside from that, they overshot their set by five minutes, which cut into Children Of Bodom’s set time. Understandably, the Bodom fans already gathered in front of the MI stage started chanting ‘Bodom, Bodom’ even as Machine Head were playing the last song of their set. So even though this wasn’t the greatest Machine Head set, it was a fun time nonetheless.
Set List:
1. This Is The End
2. Imperium
3. Old
4. Locust
5. Halo
Finally, the wait was over and Children Of Bodom hit the MI stage with ‘Silent Night, Bodom Night’. Their set was mostly filled with older material with the exception of the Halo Of Blood title track, and none of the fans had any problem with that whatsoever. It’s all the more reason why the set felt so short, because trust me, sometimes even a 25-minute set can feel long if the band isn’t doing it right. Bodom sure got it right this time, and Alexi’s leads were sounding great. All other musical elements of the band were tight as well, specially Janne on the keyboards, combining with Alexi as brilliantly as always. But before anyone could really feel the impact of this set and get involved in it, sadly it was already over and done with. A 25-minute set is criminally short for a band like Bodom. I know this is a big step for them being on such a mainstream American festival, and I hope for their sake they win some new fans, but they’re certainly not a 25-minute band.
Set List:
1. Silent Night, Bodom Night
2. Hate Me!
3. Hate Crew Deathroll
4. Angels Don’t Kill
5. Halo Of Blood
6. In Your Face
The side stages were all done with, and all the action shifted to the main stage, as thousands of people walked over in what felt like rush hour traffic. Even before I could get to my orchestra seat in the amphitheater, Amon Amarth began their set at 6.25. I’ve seen them at House Of Blues venues thrice but the sheer amount of epic that accompanied their stage setup yesterday was absolutely jaw-dropping, and was definitely the biggest production they had ever brought to the States. There was a viking ship in the center of the stage at the back of which the drumkit was perched, and other members of the band stood on the ship at various points during the set to create a spectacle of sorts. Musically, Amon Amarth always bring their A-game, and this set was no exception. They hit the peak of their performance level without seeming to make much of an effort, but the stunning stage production was what really made this Amon Amarth show stand out from their own past shows, and indeed from all other bands that played this festival. Just like Children Of Bodom, their 30-minute set felt really short and it would have been a lot more fun to watch Amon Amarth for at least an hour instead of the bands that played after them.
Set List:
1. Destroyer Of The Universe
2. The Pursuit Of Vikings
3. War Of The Gods
4. Deceiver Of The Gods
5. Death In Fire
6. Twilight Of The Thunder God
That four-band onslaught with Scorpion Child, Machine Head, Children Of Bodom and Amon Amarth was easily the best part of the entire festival, and after Amon Amarth, I might as well have gone home because none of the three bands after them did anything to make my stay worthwhile. Mastodon is one of the most boring live bands on the planet, and I would never recommend anyone to ever buy a ticket to go see them. They vindicated my opinion last night with a typically mediocre performance. I have no idea what they are doing on this festival, because I am quite sure they did not pull any sort of crowd on their own. Nobody was like, ‘I am here to see Mastodon!’ Nobody.
And what can I say about Five Finger Death Punch? The lesser said, the better. All I’d say is, their 60-minute set was the longest hour of my life thus far, and made me even more pissed off at the short sets Amon Amarth and Bodom were restricted to. After that painful hour of mindless music followed by another 30-minute wait, the headliner Rob Zombie hit the stage. I’d give him credit for beefing up the stage production and bringing out some new stage props, but the music had no juice in it, aside from whenever John 5 got a chance to play a guitar solo. He is another one of those musicians whom I absolutely admire but at the same time do not find his main band to be anything special. Zombie’s performance was half-assed for the most part, as he was pulling the same ‘jokes’ and crowd monologues as the past couple of times. There was nothing great about the set list either. The drum solo and the Grand Funk Railroad cover were lame. All in all, Rob Zombie was weak sauce last night.
Set List:
1. Theme For the Rat Vendor (Intro)
2. Teenage Nosferatu Pussy
3. Superbeast
4. Meet the Creeper
5. Living Dead Girl
6. More Human Than Human (White Zombie song)
7. Theme for an Angry Red Planet
8. Ging Gang Gong De Do Gong De Laga Raga
9. Drum Solo
10.Never Gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy)
11.Sick Bubble-Gum
12.Lords of Salem
13.Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown
14.Thunder Kiss ’65 (White Zombie song) (w/Guitar solo)
15.We’re an American Band (Grand Funk Railroad cover)
Encore:
16.Dragula
In summary, Mayhem Festival 2013 was a mixed bag. The festival experience was fun, as always, but the lineup left a lot to be desired. The turnout was poor too, where even though the seats were all occupied, the 50000-capacity lawn barely had 3000 people. I just wish for the Mayhem Festival organizers to think a little outside of their highly confined box and introduce something different. How about some punk rock or old-school metal to change things up, for example? There’s too much of the same recycled generic crap in this year’s lineup, and unless you’re really starving for a metal show, I wouldn’t suggest you to spend your money, time and effort into attending this year’s Mayhem Festival.
Check out the complete photo gallery below (with a fullscreen option):