Mayhem descends upon the city of Mansfield like a traveling metal circus. It is hot and there is no true escape from the wet humidity. Standing in line to get in and you are already consumed by the saturation of sweat and the smell of pot and sunscreen. The music from Sumerian stage, jagermeister, and Musician institute pound the landscape in quick succession. The tents have sprouted up with old timer vendors hawking everything from bowls to breast awareness. They shimmer in black and gold like some weird medieval battlefield. The soldiers of this metal army are gathering. They move towards the stages dressed in the traditional garb of the realm; Jeans, black shirts, attitude. This is the metal family going forth to the traditional summer ritual of festival. The music draws them in. The family has arrived..let the Mayhem begin.
Huntress hits the stage with a passion unbridled. They have the energy to wake up this overheated crowd. Jill Janus and the boys own that stage. Tearing through a king diamond inspired set of killer tracks from the new album and old favorites, Huntress is a force of nature. They didn't let the crowd relax and they tore the roof off their stage. The intensity in their eyes. They let the power of the metal channel through them into the audience and back again. They stay true to the fans onstage and off. Huntress spends a lot of time meeting fans ,signing autographs. Jill even hosts the shred guitar contest on the main stage.
Butcher Babies have arrived on this stage in this place, at this time to, in their words "F... sh.. up!" And that they do. This is a true metal act. Honest and real, the two vocalists embrace their femininity and then shove it in your face. They explode across that stage with a rage that is focused and driven. This is not a gimmick band. They feel the music, it flows through them and you better believe there is a powerful energy being released. The band, and truly this is a band, they sound incredible. Tight. You can sense the friendship, the metal family. The festival is well organized and filled with all manner of metal merchandise. The festival attendees are people who have come to vent aggression through the musical release. They are happy, content in all that has been provided. The sun beats them, challenges them, yet still they rage. Still they consume all the music these bands can conjure. Still they twist and turn to the heartbeat ...the metal heart. They are its blood, the music its soul. This metal creation breathes and raises its horned fingers into the blazing sky. The heat blisters down on the metal crowd like a toaster oven. Water hoses help to cool for a minute, and then back to the sweaty, metal grind. The asphalt is hot and unrelenting like the next band taking the stage.
Scorpion Child are the modern version of zeppelin, Sabbath, and early soundgarden. They have a surprisingly simple set up and they appear on the stage, slow, purpose driven. The intensity of the real, the ushering in of the modern hard rock performance machine. The amps hum to life, the drummer begins to glide his sticks across the cymbals....What follows is an intensity and rock and roll soul performance that few other bands can achieve. This is the future of hard rock. All the bands performing in the sun drenched atmosphere, performed tremendously. So many bands on three stages plus the main stage make it difficult to review them all. The air is thick with music, metal, mayhem, and attitude. Bands like Battlecross, Emmure, Machine Head, Amon Amarth, Attika7, Mastodon, Five fingered death punch and the unstoppable Rob zombie present to you an overwhelming parade of musical talent and identity. Rob zombie has perpetuated the music festival viability. He is the ringleader, your master of ceremony. The stage, the lights, the theatrics. It is the body and mind of the musical beast. The wellspring from which it all flows. Rob and guitarist Jon5 weave a metal tinged happy hour of rock induced chaos. You leave now the arena, the field, the parking lot, drenched in the musical mayhem. Your soul has quenched its thirst. You cannot spend your money this summer on anything else and be more satisfied. Mayhem, it's where you need to be.
--MetalRising
