Mayhem Festival rocks Riverbend

It was a hot, sticky, rainy, muddy screaming mess of brutality at Riverbend Wednesday, July 21 as metal fans of all walks and ages crowded into the PNC Pavilion for the smorgasbord of rock and roll’s finest. The Rockstar Mayhem Music Festival, starring Rob Zombie and Korn, generated a fantastic turnout with mouth-watering performances that satisfied the dehydrated, devil-horn-rocking masses.

Two lucky editors from The News Record were there to take part in the deafening chaos: Seasoned Mayhem veteran Nick Grever and festival noob Kelly Tucker. The music fans cultivated two very different perspectives for those unfortunate enough to miss the event.

3 Inches of Blood

Nick Grever: Epic. That is the word that best describes 3 Inches of Blood. Without a doubt, this Canadian quartet was the most epic band on Mayhem. With majestic songs, sweet guitar solos, heroic leather and metal gauntlets and the most metal falsetto this side of Rob Halford, 3 Inches of Blood is definitely a different kind of heavy metal. But they were still able to whip the crowd into a frenzy. Their biggest hit, Deadly Sinners, was a definite crowd pleaser. Considering everyone has heard the song it seems (including our photographer, who wore flip-flops and a white tank top to a rainy, heavy metal festival), it was one brutal sing along. 3 Inches of Blood wrapped up their set with a “hammer of Thor” sized mosh pit. Epic…

Kelly Tucker: I was warned to take 3 Inches of Blood with a grain of salt. Although I only heard a few of their songs, “Deadly Sinner,” being one, I was grateful for the warning. The band, who sings about subjects akin to fairy tale role-playing types, is headed by a vocalist not unlike a more serious and highly trained Jack Black. Despite the general silliness I experienced, the band proved themselves to be just as talented as the bands they were opening for, pushing the overall musical speed record and racing through intricate guitar riffs impossible to discount.

Shadows Fall

NG: The Massachusetts quintet (sextet if you include vocalist Brian Fair’s knee length dreads) were the traditional American thrash yin to 3 Inches of Blood’s power metal yang. Shadows Fall whipped through some of their biggest hits, like “Thoughts Without Words” and “The Power of I” with their trademark blistering speed and technical brutality. Fair’s vodka hangover didn’t seem to slow him down too much as he belted his vocals and whirl winded his massive dreadlocks. It’s always a little humorous to see lead guitarist Jonathan Donais have to take a step back when Fair rocks out, but I quickly forgot about that when Donais started wailing on his axe. Shadows Fall’s set ending cover of “Bark At The Moon” was a great cap to their already thrashy set. I can’t really count the Shadows Fall rap as the end because I honestly have no idea what Fair was rhyming. Maybe the vodka affected him more than I thought.

KT: Some bands’ love of alcohol makes for a disappointing performance. Shadows Fall is not one of those bands. Brian Fair admitted early into the show that it felt like “Pure vodka is running through my veins.” If he hadn’t said anything, I never would have noticed. The vocalist appeared tiny underneath his massive hair, and appeared as free-spirited as a metal vocalist can get as he swayed on the stage, swinging his dreads to the beat. Shadows Fall somehow managed to deliver a believably hard brand of metal while conveying a sense of ease and modest confidence that can only come from their experience and devotion to their music.

In This Moment

NG: Let’s hear it for the ladies! In This Moment’s Maria Brink certainly got a lot of looks for her, well, looks. But that beautiful little blonde sure shrieks like a banshee—a metal as fuck banshee. I’m pretty sure any snickering or gawking that occurred when Brink took the stage was quickly quelched as In This Moment ripped through their set. Their new album, “A Star-Crossed Wasteland,” was heavier than their previous two CD’s and In This Moment capitalized on that. In This Moment selected their heaviest songs for their set, including “Wasteland’s” “The Gun Show.” They also gave security a workout by initiating tons of crowd surfing for “A Beautiful Tragedy.” The band’s metal chops were never in question, female vocalist be damned. Maybe, just maybe, metal heads are becoming more open-minded. There’s hope for the world, yet.

KT: Prior to the show, I’d never listened to In This Moment, and I was skeptical. Female screamers are few and far between in the world of metal, and I’ve heard even fewer who I felt truly mastered the art. However, Maria Brink far surpassed any prior expectations as she quickly flitted from ferocious screams to syrupy-sweet, feminine vocals, all while prancing across the stage in a cartoonish, frilly yellow dress.

The band’s style was more hardcore than full-on metal, which appealed more to audience members like myself who didn’t exactly grow up on Lamb of God. The songs had depth and passion, and the accomplished, lively Brink seemed to actually improve the music by adding a powerful woman’s touch to the festival’s sea of male metal heads. The band finished with “Daddy’s Falling Angel,” a moody, fast-paced song that ended the set with an unforgettably powerful punch.