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Rockstar Mayhem Fest 2014: Live at San Manuel Amphitheatre, Devore CA

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The annual touring metal festival known as the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Fest returned to the Southern California area and once again gave metal and hard rock fans their fill of 19 bands to rock out to. 

This year’s edition featured main stage acts Avenged Sevenfold, Korn, Asking Alexandria and Trivium and each giving the reported attendance of 26,000 people a rock show filled with props, fire and a whole lot of loud music.

 

Headliners Avenged Sevenfold brought out a bigger live experience with a full on set with Greco-Roman-esque demons and warrior themed backdrops, often reminding of a cross between Iron Maiden and the 300 movie series, with a slight Metallica-ish metallic feel mixed in.

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Their set list featured favorites from their current Hail To the King (Warner Bros) release, as well as songs from prior releases, and having the backdrops adjust to each song. Front-man M Shadows, along with the guitar team of Synyster Gates and Zack Vengeance both worked the crowd and entertained them with a classic hard rock show filled with solos and other guitar chops that got the crowd singing along to each tune.

 

Co-headliners Korn returned to the tour with their returning guitarist Brian “Head” Welch, and got the crowd on its feet from the start. The band sounded strong and on fire, nailing every note and giving fans a classic show reminiscent of the older days. Their set list featured older favorites like ‘Got The Life’ and ‘Shoots and Ladders’, as well as current numbers from recent records, and the fans were jumping along like any other Korn show.

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Considering both headliners being relatively from the area (Avenged Sevenfold from Orange County and Korn from Bakersfield via Orange County/Long Beach), both bands’ sets felt like a hometown show with fans representing their hometown heroes. They both waved the flag for rock and metal at one point in time, and showed why their popularity helped keep heavy rock and metal’s exposure public.

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Asking Alexandria and Trivium both held their own with their respective brands of melodic hard rock and metal. Asking Alexandria has slowly crept into the mainstream with their metalcore turned modern hard rock sound, and continues to attract new fans. Trivium with their modern hard rock meets thrash sound got them in front of a larger audience and representing the metallic sounds on the main stage.

 

The two label sponsored stages were Headbang For The Highway/Sumerian Records’ stage featured deathcore heroes Veil of Maya and Upon A Burning Body, metalcore stalwarts Darkest Hour and Body Count. Victory Records’ stage featured Ill Niño, Wretched, Islander, and Erimha.

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Amongst the label sponsored stages, much of the attention went to Body Count’s anticipated return, Darkest Hour and Ill Niño. Body Count’s abbrrievated set featured older favorites, but the fact that Ice T’s animated manner got the crowd into it. While it has been a while since they last performed, it didn’t seem to phase the fans.

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Darkest Hour’s neo-thrash meets metalcore sound stood out amongst the sea of deathcore and neo nu-metal sounds found amongst the stages. Their veteran status shined through and they easily won over the crowd.

 

Ill Niño’s set consisted of largely older tunes from their first two records, but that didn’t seem to bother the crowd. Putting on their heavy groove-tinged Latin metal sound, the younger crowd were jumping along and enjoyed every second of their brief set.

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Coldcock American Herbal Whiskey Stage featured Cannibal Corpse, Suicide Silence, Miss May I, Mushroomhead, Texas Hippie Coalition, and King 810. This stage easily attracted many of the acts the crowds were eager to see, despite the vast range of bands playing on it.

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The two brutal acts – Cannibal Corpse and Suicide Silence – both slayed the crowd with their sheer angst driven assault and did what they do best. The pits opened up and the crowds responded. Miss May I was easily the most melodic band but that didn’t phase the crowd from singing along with them, as well as getting the pits going at the same time. Mushroomhead brought out their animated stage show with their Faith No More meets industrial-esque sound, with updated masks and the crowd jumping along with them. While at times the public believed they fell out of favor with the music scene, apparently today proved that myth wrong.

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WORDS BY REI NISHIMOTO

PHOTOS BY KALEY NELSON


Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival Kicks Off This Weekend

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The wait is almost over! The most fun tour outdoors for the best price this summer on US soil is without a doubt the annual Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. Ghost Cult will be on hand at the kickoff date, this Saturday in San Bernadino, CA. A total of 19 bands will play across 4 stages for the next six weeks, bringing some much needed metal to big cities as well as some places that sometimes don’t get very many shows at all the rest of the year. You may not always like all of the bands playing every year (2012, 2013, and 2009 standout as the best in our collective memory), but they definitely put on a big show that makes people fill the seats, with a little something for everyone year after year.

 

The main-stage this year is co-headlined by Avenged Sevenfold, who along with Metallica, Tool, Rob Zombie, and Slipknot are one of the the few commercially successful bands from the metal and rock world, who not only pack venues; but put on a tremendous live show. Even if you don’t count yourself as a fan of A7X (as their rabid army of fans refer to them) they always produce a spectacle live. The other main stage heavyweight is Korn. Twenty-plus years into their career Korn has returned to form with their last album The Paradigm Shift (Prospect Park/Universal). The album which features the return of co-founder Brian “Head” Welch to the band is about to see a deluxe release with bonus tracks and videos.

 

Metalcore pin updarlings Asking Alexandria is another band on the main stage that you could say are very polarizing to some. People either love them a ton or spend a lot of time making memes in tribute to their rage at them. The band will certain bring their own fans to the show and it will be interesting to see all the little tribes of metalheads vying for supremacy in the pit. Rounding out the main-stage lineup are neo-thrash favorites Trivium who have been on the big stage before at this festival, and are certainly worthy of their spot.

 

 

Heading up the Coldcock American Herbal Whiskey stage are the venerable death metal gods Cannibal Corpse. Of course they stick out like a sore thumb on this bill, but believe it, they will bring out the brutal, uncompromising musical wizardry as only they can. When they were in a similar slot in 2009, they crushed big time! Suicide Silence, armed with their new frontman Eddie Hermida (ex-All Shall Perish) are poised to be the breakout band from this tour. They are already riding high with their new album You Can’t Stop Me (Nuclear Blast) dropping the second week of the tour, so expect a deathcore party! Miss May I is also on a roll with their recent chart success and a lot of big tours under their belts. Mushroomhead makes an appearance too and should be more than a curiosity on the side stage with their costumes and effects that usually do well in darkened clubs at night. The rockers in Texas Hippie Coalition and Michigan bruisers in King 810 round out the second stage.

 

Headbang for the Highway/Sumerian tops the banner on the third stage with possibly the most anticipated band of the festival, Body Count featuring rapper/actor/celebrity Ice-T. On the strength of their new hit album Manslaughter (Sumerian), and a history of hits it should be a fun ride. Darkest Hour is another band that is a can’t fail proposition live. Other Sumerian acts such as Veil of Maya and the tasteless jokers in Upon A Burning Body round out that stage, with the local contest winners leading off in every city. Please come early for these bands, since without your locals, there are no new bands for tomorrow’s festival tours.

 

Bringing up the rear is the solid Victory Records stage, with Emmure missing the first few dates and then joining up in Auburn, Washington. This weekend, Ill Nino will carry the flag high. This should be a big comeback for these guys who have some solid albums; and their catchy, Latin-themed nu-metal, might inspire some mid-day sing-a-longs. Newer Victory bands like Wretched, Islander and Erimha round out that line-up.

 

Put on your sun block, stay hydrated and buy your tickets now!

 

 

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Download Festival Preview

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With summer right around the corner, it’s time to get psyched for festival season. In the UK, there is no event bigger or more venerable than Download. As the feisty offspring of the legendary Monsters of Rock concerts at Castle Donnington in  Donnington Park that lived in the imagination of rock and metal fans the world over for two decades, Download is as value packed as ever with bands. This years lineup shows a willingness not to be intimidated or outshine by the competition of other big festivals, the UK or elsewhere in Europe.

 

Held over three days, 13-15 of June at Donnington Park on five stages daily, the 2014 lineup is a bold one that promises something for everyone to enjoy. Bands of note for Friday include the much talked about headliners Avenged Sevenfold, Opeth, Anathema, Rob Zombie, Within Temptation, Black Label Society, Quicksand, Skindred, Miss May I, Huntress, Bloody Hammers as well as Bad Religion and Offspring.

 

Saturday blends the catchy, more mainstream fair with the best of modern underground metal. Linkin Park is playing all of their Hybrid Theory album and for fans of a certain age, that will sure bring back a few things. Among the main bands that our readers would most be interested in Killswitch Engage, Fozzy and Dying Fetus play along with Bring Me the Horizon and others. I kind of feel bad for everyone that has to follow Dying Fetus actually, so #WhyNotDyingFetus indeed. The other big band of import this day is Behemoth, who is coming of a sizzling run of shows in the UK and the USA recently. Other big bands include the reactivated American Headcharge, The Black Dahlia Murder, Orange Goblin, Monster Magnet, Battlecross, Anathema doing a special second unplugged set, Skid Row, Chevelle, and Sikth. Also for the more rock motivated Twister Sister, Status Quo and Ginger Wildhearts solo sets are are worth seeing.

 

On the final day Download has brought out the big guns, quite literally in Aerosmith. While their recent music is nothing to write home about, they always step up big live and play all of their hits brilliantly. Other worthy bands on Sunday include Alter Bridge, The Dillinger Escape Plan and their insane stage antics, Trivium, Volbeat, Philip Anselmo and the Illegals, Sabaton, Sepultura, Suicide Silence, Red Dragon Cartel, Avatar, Thy Art Is Murder, Kill Devil Hill, Monuments, Polar and Nick Oliveri (Kyuss, QOTSA, Dwarves) solo acoustic.

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Killswitch Engage – Trivium: Live at 02 Academy, Manchester UK

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Trivium Matt Heafy 2Traffic is an inconvenient thing when you’re doing anything but when you’ve got somewhere to be, it always seems to take the biscuit that little bit more. Unfortunately, this was the situation that occurred as this guy made their way to the Manchester Academy and as such, the first and second acts of the night, Battlecross and Miss May I, were not seen through these writers’ eyes. Luckily a friend with usually excellent taste was on hand to witness the Ohioan five-piece and her review, so elegantly put, was “f-ing awesome,” so lets go with that. Trivium, however, was thankfully a different story and one that starts with yours truly actually getting to observe some live music in action. Having witnessed these boys before in a fashion that brought words such as lacklustre and tedious to mind, it was with surprising but blisteringly excellent style that the Floridian metallers went about their set, showing how far they’ve come in recent years.

As for the rest of the room’s reactions, they too seemed to be more than happy with the performance in front of them, ‘Down From The Sky,’ ‘A Gun To The Head Of Trepidation’ and ‘Shogun’ being of particular vocal highlights amongst the mostly blurry-eyed fans. The music however wasn’t the only thing we were treated too. Smoke bursts and lighting effects to rival the Olympics brought another entertaining if not blinding dimension to their show, an element that always appears to come to the stage when this four-piece is in town. Ending the show with the an excellent rendition of ‘Pull Harder on the Strings Of Your Martyr,’ trivium left the stage having shot many a proverbial bullet to any trepidations that I or others may have had concerning their live prowess.

For the main act, or seemingly most popular act in the Academy anyway, it was their turn to bring the noise and this time the room tinged with so KSE Jesse Leech 1much drunken and sober (ahem) enthusiasm that it even the most cynical of spectators would have been hard pushed not to be swept up in it. Coming out to ‘Eye Of The Tiger,’ Killswitch Engage (KSE) leapt on to the stage, their leader Jesse Leech brimming with confidence and front man swagger. Launching into ‘A Bid Farewell,’ the crowd wasted no time joining in with the verbal festivities, word for word being sung back to the quintet. As for the makers of the music, chugging beer on stage, encouraging female viewers to expose their breasts when on friends shoulders and generally having fun were just a few things in the KSE repertoire, showing to those who could see the love they have for what they do.

Musically it was as tight and as brilliant as we’ve come to expect from KSE, but it was lead man Jesse who, for me anyway, really stole the show. Screaming or singing, Jesse’s vocal performance was excellent no matter which way he was vocalizing it, and having being disappointed by the Howard Jones departure before, it’s safe to say I am no longer (we still love you Howard!). A wonderful set and fantastic show by the KSE boys, the Massachusetts five-piece brought tracks such as ‘The End Of Heartache,’ ‘My Last Serenade’ and closing number ‘My Curse’ to a new level of awesome, one that they managed to bring throughout and one they will undoubtedly continue to do as long as their metal-core hearts beat on.

 

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Words: Emma Quinlan

Photos: Emma Stone


Killswitch Engage – Darkest Hour – Miss May I: Live @ The Casino Ballroom, Hampton Beach NH

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Ajax 6The Casino Ballroom in Hampton Beach, NH, is typically a very unlikely place to see a decent metal show. Sure, it happens once in a blue moon, but the acts that boast best-of-the-best status are more inclined to roll through other New England Venues, such as the Worcester Palladium and the Webster Theater. Enter Killswitch Engage playing this venue: ripping through NH with a sold-out show and forcing metalheads of all kinds to trek into the sun for the first time in months. A seemingly terrible idea for most of us, but to see KSE, it was well worth it (despite the terrible sunburn and sandy vagina).Continue reading →