Amon Amarth performs on their Viking ship set at the 2013 Mayhem Festival at San Manuel Amphitheater in Devore on June 29, 2013. (Terry Pierson/Staff Photographer)
The Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival is not for the weak. Mayhem Fest at San Manuel Amphitheater in the bright sunshine of Devore is something that only the strong survive.*
You see the casualties along the way–the sunburned; the people stretched out on the lawn who might be napping or might be passed out; the young woman who gets sick on the stairs that she’s trying to climb to get another beer. But the survivors are rallying in the pit, throwing rock horns in the air to the pulsating double bass drums. They’re up in the lawn, dancing around the bonfires, demon sprites of the heavy metal hollow.
The festival kicked off its sixth tour at ground zero for metal–the birthplace of Ozzfest, where metal ruled the Us Festival for a day, in the sweltering hills of Glen Helen–on Saturday, June 29, with main stage performances from Amon Amarth, Mastodon, Five Finger Death Punch and Rob Zombie.
The side stages, where the action happened during the hottest part of the day, hosted up-and-comers as well as heavy hitters Machine Head and Children of Bodom.
RELATED: Photo gallery from the 2013 Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival
Even Johan Hegg, vocalist for Amon Amarth, encouraged people to drink a water for every two beers they had because of the heat, noting that he doesn’t usually recommend that, but it was too hot.
The fans filled the pit, but the orchestra and loge sections had swaths of open seats (loge more so than orchestra) and the lawn seemed to have people packed in at the front, but the crowds didn’t stretch far back onto the hillside.
Amon Amarth showed a lot of promise opening the main stage, even with a minor delay of a song due to guitar troubles. The Swedish group brought out a Viking ship as part of their stage setup. Seriously, forget fire and costumes, what is more metal than a Viking ship set for a band that sings about Vikings? It would be so very Spinal Tap if not done well, but it was awesome.
Following them, Mastodon was a little more subdued. There wasn’t any flashy show, just a banner behind the band depicting the cover of “The Hunter,” the band’s most recent album. The band’s music held up, but it seemed like there were vocal problems at times during the set.
Then, Five Finger Death Punch came out, metal blazing, with their biggest stage production to date. The band is on its third tour of Mayhem. They brought gargoyles for their stage. Gargoyles make everything better. I think the band’s forthcoming double album “The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell” is going to take them to the next level. Volume 1 is due out on July 30. I talked with bassist Chris Kael about the band’s ties to Mayhem and the new music.
Rob Zombie and his flying fringe at the 2013 Mayhem Festival at San Manuel Amphitheater in Devore. (Terry Pierson/Staff Photo)
Then, the night ended with Rob Zombie, who also announced Saturday afternoon that he will be performing at his “Rob Zombie’s Great American Nightmare” Halloween experience to the Fairplex in Pomona on Nov. 2 , with even more stage production.
A curtain hiding the stage dropped at the beginning of his set to reveal Zombie atop a tall set piece that had “Zombie” written on the front and was almost like his version of the Superman S. There were video screens everywhere–behind the band, above the band, below the band–showing a mix of Zombie’s style of artwork as well as more film-like clips.
And of course there was pyro. I counted 10 plumes of flames at one point (about five times the number of bonfires going on in the lawn by then). On the hottest day of the year, I was puzzled as to why Zombie was running around in what appeared to be a full leather coat with fringe. Even at night it was still hot at San Manuel Amphitheater. But props to him for hopping and almost skipping around the stage in it before he ditched it a few songs in.
I’d love to share some of his stage banter, but I’m not sure there was anything I could print without getting fired. He’s still surly and entertaining at the same time. Let’s leave it at that.
Here’s the link for Terry Pierson’s Mayhem Fest photo gallery.
*Full disclosure, I made it over in time for the main stage acts today.
Did you go to the show? What did you think of it?
Here are some posts from social media about the show.