If you’re a fan of metal then you were probably at Mayhem Fest yesterday. The heat certainly didn’t stop huge crowds from flooding Superpages.com Center. And with bands like BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, SLAYER and MARILYN MANSON you can see why.
I missed most of the second and third stage bands, unfortunately. Planning on getting there for ALL THAT REMAIN’S set – which my set list said started at 4:35 – ended up being a no go. I arrived in what would have been plenty of time but apparently those stages were running a good ten minutes early. From what I could hear, though, they did an okay job but the sound seemed a bit off. BEHEMOTH, however, had the crowd chanting their name before they hit the stage and put on a hell of a set. I had to feel a little sorry for them in those costumes and face paint though. August in Texas is not very forgiving.
I hid from the heat in the press tent for a bit – at least until the power went out. Thankfully it was only in some backstage areas (and a bit of the food court) and the main stage was just fine because it was time to shoot the big acts and they did not disappoint. BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE was up first and my hearing was pretty much gone from then on. KILLSWITCH ENGAGE decided to add to the heat of the day with some pyro and while it might have made us poor photogs down in the pit melt it provided some great pictures. These guys were definitely on top of their game and seemed to be having a great time, as was the audience.
Things were amped up several notices when gods of metal, SLAYER, took the stage. Believe it or not this was my first time to see SLAYER play and I was very impressed. Fantastic stage presence and they are still showing the younger guys how it’s done. I had heard that at some other stops on this tour large portions of the crowd left before MANSON took the stage. That was not the case in Dallas. Seats and lawn were packed and the sound deafening as the lights began to flash behind the huge black curtain covering the stage. MANSON came out to a roar from the crowd and I was surprised. Many of the pictures I’ve seen of him lately had him looking bloated and not well but last night he looked good. He prowled the stage, spitting drinks over the audience and crouching down at the end of the catwalk to touch hands with those on the front row – much to their delight. I have to admit I found it funny when he would blindly hold out a hand and some stage lackey came running with a drink or when another came and put a pack of ice on the back of his neck. I guess the heat in Dallas was to much for him even after ten.
I’d love to give you a list of songs from these bands but I’ll admit – this generally isn’t my type of music so I don’t know them. Don’t get me wrong, I like metal, but I prefer the type where the singers – you know – sing. Not scream. A bit of screaming here and there can add to it but when it’s the vast majority of the song I just lose interest. That being said I still thoroughly enjoyed the acts on the main stage, even MANSON who I’ve never really been much of a fan of. They survived the Texas heat and put on a great show.
Many more pictures will be up at RenegadePhotos later today so keep checking back
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