LIVE SHOW REVIEW: ROCKSTAR ENERGY MAYHEM FESTIVAL – ATLANTA, GA

ROCKSTAR ENERGY MAYHEM FESTIVAL – ATLANTA, GA

By:  Sick Rick

Photos by:  Josh Rienecke, Photo Editor

Summertime in Atlanta is brutal. With temperatures in the mid to high nineties, it can feel like the weight of the south is pressing down on you in  “humid-muggy-sticky-I’m self-immolating” heat waves.  It’s in this atmosphere that the Rockstar Energy Mayhem  Festival had arrived…and arrive it did!

Huge summer festivals are nothing new.  From Ozzfests to Lollapalooza, they come and go it seems, with Mayhem being the current reigning champion. With 20 bands across four stages starting at 1:10 p.m., you had to be in for the long haul if you wanted to see everyone’s set.  Did I mention there were 20 bands across four stages? Just checking.

We arrived close to on time, (“Sick, why are you and Josh, “The Rhino” ALWAYS LATE?” ed) parked, and made our way into Aaron’s Amphitheater at Lakewood,  picked up our press credentials and headed inside to check it out.  As we had just walked maybe 1,000 yards, we immediately sought out shade where we could plan and coordinate our attack, and not die from the heat like a “replacement newbie” on his first day “in-country” in an old Vietnam war movie.

This year’s setup was pretty nice, with the merch tents set back from the three stages in two rows, and the Metal Mulisha guys on the backside jumping and leaping over random shit in the background.  You also had a “metalhead flea market” on the OTHER side, as well as food and drink vendors scattered all throughout the venue, so it had that “metal Disneyworld” feel (Except there was booze, and no pirates. Well, us maybe, but I digress.)

With each band having a merch booth, as well as sponsors booths, there was MUCH cool swag to be had, and an extra shout out to having the bands at the booths themselves after playing to sign autographs, if that’s’ your thing.  Shouts out to Attika7, Rob Zombie’s guitarist GOD John 5, and Butcher Babies for the extra mile and being there an inordinate amount of time hanging out and talking/signing merch. As there may have been more bands at the booths or backstage that we may have missed, apologies, but we kept moving to stay cool in the heat (and also to avoid incoming fire from the village and possible VC…drink!). 

The set times for each band were logically laid out, and listed in the “official tour program” along with what stage they were on, and if ya planned it just right, you could catch the set, run to the next door stage, and catch the next one, which was quite nice as far as I am concerned, as it was VERY crowded and super-hot. (Insert here big shout outs to all the beer tents – an oasis in the desert!  May the Dark Lord bless each and every one!) The five or ten minutes between each set gave you plenty of time to transfer to the next stage, but not enough time to hit the merch booths for band meet and greets without missing someone’s set.  So if your favorites were back to back, I could see that being a dilemma for the most hardcore of fans.

After five hours or so of stage transfers from the outside three, we moved into the Amphitheater proper for the headliners, of which there were FOUR.  Nice.  Each headliner had about an hour or better, with brief interludes between sets which were great for those “oasis in the desert” runs we spoke of, as well as people watching.  After dark, (why was it STILL face-melting HOT?) with the last remaining two bands to play, you really felt that the average metal fan really got their money’s worth, as this really was an ALL DAY affair.  By the end of the show, and the last encore had been done, everyone made their way to the lot in a mass exodus, looking exhausted, but satisfied.

All in all, Mayhem, now in its sixth year, is really getting it done as far as summer festivals go, with something for everyone musically, plenty of new and rare t-shirts in the merch aisles, TONS of people watching, barrels of beer, and about 15,000 fans from Josh’s guesstimate.  I would have to say I’m going to be watching for next year to see who Mayhem brings…expect a FULL review of each bands set by the end of the week, where we separate the men from the boys, and tell you who crushed it, and who sucked.  With an extra special “inside dirt” that you can’t get anywhere else…all the crazy shit seen and heard in and around backstage, from the bands to the groupies, stay tuned… 

In the meantime, grab a cold one and check out all of the kickass pictures that Josh took!  Click on the pic…

Still doubting the true depth of depravity and perspiration???

Watch the SWEATY BALLZ MESS OF MAYHEM ATLANTA!!!

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Main Stage:

Rob Zombie

Five Finger Death Punch

Mastodon

Amon Amarth 

Musicians Institute Stage:

Children Of Bodom

Emmure

Born Of Osiris

Motionless in White

Attika 7

Thrown into Exhile 

Jager Stage:

Machine Head

Job For A Cowboy

Butcher Babies

Battlecross

Huntress  

Sumerian Records Stage:

Scorpion Child

City In The Sea

HBH winner 1

HBH winner 2

HBH winner 3