On July 17th, 2015, the Mayhem Festival landed in Camden, NJ. It was a perfect day for a music festival, with temperatures in the mid-80s and low humidity. As I made my 100 mile trek up Interstate 95, I wondered what to expect from this installment of the Mayhem tour. This was to be a slimmed down version of iterations past. Internet forums were broiled in discussion over the size of this year’s festival and the quality of the acts that were to perform. To add fuel to the fire, Mayhem co-founder, Kevin Lyman, stated in an interview with the Detroit Free Press, that the festival is “at risk of going away at any given moment”. He cited that the festival was constrained to operate at a specific budget and that the larger acts demanded a “certain level of fee” and that “metal never knows how to take a step back to move the whole scene forward”. Lyman later apologized for his comments, indicating that he was speaking about metal in general and not specifically about the Mayhem tour.
I entered the Susquehanna Bank Center when the gates opened at 1pm. There were several hundred fans waiting to clear security, but not nearly as many as I expected for a major music festival. When I entered the venue, I took time to walk around to check out the merchandise tents that were lined up throughout the concourse area of arena. Craft beer, whiskey, cigars, shirts, masks and other heavy metal regalia were available for purchase. I soon made my way to the Victory stage to see metalcore band, Code Orange, perform. They put on a good set, but I couldn’t help but notice the lack of fans in the audience.
Shattered Sun took the stage next and the crowd nearly doubled in size, but was still small overall. I was impressed by their set and energetic performance which was appreciated by the growing crowd. Next up was Sworn In, a young metal band out of Illinois and fronted by Tyler Dennen. This was another high energy set that got the crowd into a frenzy. At this point, the mosh pit was not only active, but looked downright brutal. Arms were wildly flailing, as bodies collided. It seemed that the pit participants were taking out a week’s worth of pent up aggression in one single 25 minute set.
Swedish band, Sister Sin, took the stage and put on a fine performance. Liv Jagrell’s vocals grabbed my attention during the set. The mosh pit settled down, but the Mayhem faithful pumped their fists and threw up the horns in appreciation of the band.
Wisconsin death metal band, Jungle Rot, hit the stage next. They put on a ferocious performance which ignited the crowd. Dave Matrise, with his steely glare, asked the crowd to crash the security barrier and “scare the shit out of these guys” (the photographers). Soon after, crowd surfing concert goers began coming over the barriers in droves as security helped them over the steel barricades. Before their third song ended, security ushered the photographers away as the wave of bodies over the barrier wasn’t slowing down.
Deathcore bands, Thy Art Is Murder and Victory Stage & headliner, Whitechapel, hit the stage in succession and the crowd seemed to be at its largest. Their respective fan bases were evident during both sets. The guttural growls and heavy riffs were well received by those in attendance.
Thereafter, the attention moved to the main stage for The Devil Wears Prada, a Christian metalcore band out of Ohio. The band was slated to begin at 6:05, but at 6:00 the pavilion wasn’t even a quarter full. The band put on a very good performance, but sadly not many ticket holders bothered to watch. I was left to wonder where the hell everyone went.
Theatrical metal band, Kissing Candice, drew a decent crowed back at the side stage. Their masks demanded attention, but even more, so did their music. I wasn’t familiar with them prior to Mayhem, but after they left the stage I knew I’d dig further into their catalogue.
Back to the main stage, heavy metal rockers, Hellyeah, took the stage and put on a great show. Drummer, Vinnie Paul, twirled his sticks, smiled and soaked in the crowd before taking his seat behind his kit. Chad Gray, with his piercing eyes, belted out lyrics with enthusiasm and at one point told the crowd that heavy metal saved his life and he’d “fucking bleed for it”. They ripped through an eight song set, including “Sangre Por Sangre” and closed with “You Wouldn’t Know”.
Metalcore band, Feed Her To The Sharks, closed out the Victory stage. Unfortunately, they were caught between the main stage acts, so their crowd was smaller than those that played just prior to them.
Back at the main stage, the crowd was buzzing for King Diamond. The pavilion seemed mostly full for the first time, but I believe that was due to those holding general admission tickets upgraded themselves to unoccupied pavilion seats. King Diamond’s stage had a gothic, Victorian feel, complete with inverted crosses, gargoyles and a balcony. The band emerged from the balcony, located just over the drum kit. The King then stepped onto the balcony with both arms raised and he was greeted with the appreciation of the Mayhem faithful. At one point it appeared that he stared directly at me and it seemed like he was trying to suck my soul from me with his icy glare and disapproving grimace. Nonetheless, he put on a theatrical 10-song set with a few from Mercyful Fate, including “Come to Sabbath” and “Evil”. At age 59, King Diamond, still puts on a hell of a show and his falsetto vocals still sound as they did decades ago.
Slayer was the final act on this tour and one was reminded of it throughout the day with shouts of “Slayer!”, from attendees. Prior to the set, the stage was cloaked by a large white sheet that hung down from the rafters. When the first note hit, the sheet dropped and Slayer took command of the venue. Kerry King played his heavy riffs and a gray bearded Tom Araya belted out the tunes. The set was thunderous and visually appealing, complete with fire effects. It was everything you’d expect from a Slayer show. They finished off their set with “South of Heaven”, “Raining Fire” and “Angel of Death”.
On my drive home, I thought quite a bit about this year’s Mayhem Festival and wondered about not only the future of the event, but the future of metal overall. In my opinion, the ticket price was well worth it just for the headliners alone. The side stage performers were very good, with some acts rising above others, but none reaching out to grab the brass ring to become the next main stage act. If Mayhem is to survive, they must figure out a way to fill venues to capacity and to exude the excitement of the metal fanbase as they have done in years past. Is it a lack of new talent, a lack of funding to pay established acts or is it a fading fanbase? This I don’t know, but I hope that Kevin Lyman and his associates can figure it out for next year. It would be a sad day for metal to see Mayhem go away.
Shattered Sun took the stage next and the crowd nearly doubled in size, but was still small overall. I was impressed by their set and energetic performance which was appreciated by the growing crowd. Next up was Sworn In, a young metal band out of Illinois and fronted by Tyler Dennen. This was another high energy set that got the crowd into a frenzy. At this point, the mosh pit was not only active, but looked downright brutal. Arms were wildly flailing, as bodies collided. It seemed that the pit participants were taking out a week’s worth of pent up aggression in one single 25 minute set.
Swedish band, Sister Sin, took the stage and put on a fine performance. Liv Jagrell’s vocals grabbed my attention during the set. The mosh pit settled down, but the Mayhem faithful pumped their fists and threw up the horns in appreciation of the band.
Wisconsin death metal band, Jungle Rot, hit the stage next. They put on a ferocious performance which ignited the crowd. Dave Matrise, with his steely glare, asked the crowd to crash the security barrier and “scare the shit out of these guys” (the photographers). Soon after, crowd surfing concert goers began coming over the barriers in droves as security helped them over the steel barricades. Before their third song ended, security ushered the photographers away as the wave of bodies over the barrier wasn’t slowing down.
Deathcore bands, Thy Art Is Murder and Victory Stage & headliner, Whitechapel, hit the stage in succession and the crowd seemed to be at its largest. Their respective fan bases were evident during both sets. The guttural growls and heavy riffs were well received by those in attendance.
Thereafter, the attention moved to the main stage for The Devil Wears Prada, a Christian metalcore band out of Ohio. The band was slated to begin at 6:05, but at 6:00 the pavilion wasn’t even a quarter full. The band put on a very good performance, but sadly not many ticket holders bothered to watch. I was left to wonder where the hell everyone went.
Theatrical metal band, Kissing Candice, drew a decent crowed back at the side stage. Their masks demanded attention, but even more, so did their music. I wasn’t familiar with them prior to Mayhem, but after they left the stage I knew I’d dig further into their catalogue.
Back to the main stage, heavy metal rockers, Hellyeah, took the stage and put on a great show. Drummer, Vinnie Paul, twirled his sticks, smiled and soaked in the crowd before taking his seat behind his kit. Chad Gray, with his piercing eyes, belted out lyrics with enthusiasm and at one point told the crowd that heavy metal saved his life and he’d “fucking bleed for it”. They ripped through an eight song set, including “Sangre Por Sangre” and closed with “You Wouldn’t Know”.
Metalcore band, Feed Her To The Sharks, closed out the Victory stage. Unfortunately, they were caught between the main stage acts, so their crowd was smaller than those that played just prior to them.
Back at the main stage, the crowd was buzzing for King Diamond. The pavilion seemed mostly full for the first time, but I believe that was due to those holding general admission tickets upgraded themselves to unoccupied pavilion seats. King Diamond’s stage had a gothic, Victorian feel, complete with inverted crosses, gargoyles and a balcony. The band emerged from the balcony, located just over the drum kit. The King then stepped onto the balcony with both arms raised and he was greeted with the appreciation of the Mayhem faithful. At one point it appeared that he stared directly at me and it seemed like he was trying to suck my soul from me with his icy glare and disapproving grimace. Nonetheless, he put on a theatrical 10-song set with a few from Mercyful Fate, including “Come to Sabbath” and “Evil”. At age 59, King Diamond, still puts on a hell of a show and his falsetto vocals still sound as they did decades ago.
Slayer was the final act on this tour and one was reminded of it throughout the day with shouts of “Slayer!”, from attendees. Prior to the set, the stage was cloaked by a large white sheet that hung down from the rafters. When the first note hit, the sheet dropped and Slayer took command of the venue. Kerry King played his heavy riffs and a gray bearded Tom Araya belted out the tunes. The set was thunderous and visually appealing, complete with fire effects. It was everything you’d expect from a Slayer show. They finished off their set with “South of Heaven”, “Raining Fire” and “Angel of Death”.
On my drive home, I thought quite a bit about this year’s Mayhem Festival and wondered about not only the future of the event, but the future of metal overall. In my opinion, the ticket price was well worth it just for the headliners alone. The side stage performers were very good, with some acts rising above others, but none reaching out to grab the brass ring to become the next main stage act. If Mayhem is to survive, they must figure out a way to fill venues to capacity and to exude the excitement of the metal fanbase as they have done in years past. Is it a lack of new talent, a lack of funding to pay established acts or is it a fading fanbase? This I don’t know, but I hope that Kevin Lyman and his associates can figure it out for next year. It would be a sad day for metal to see Mayhem go away.
