Review: Mayhem Festival

Extreme metal can seem completely absurd from a distance. The song titles and band names are often laughable. And Cookie Monster-style vocals will always sound ludicrous to outsiders.

Above: Trivium stirs up some mayhem out at Sandstone. Photo by Bill Brownlee, Special to The Star

But when experienced up close -- when you're sprayed with sweat from headbangers and bruised by errant elbows in the mosh pit -- the music doesn't seem so funny. In fact, the rage and despair it expresses feel all too real.

That's why the Mayhem Festival that touched down at Sandstone Amphitheater Tuesday was so undeniably vital. The apocalyptic music that blared from three stages for nine savage hours at the Bonner Springs venue served as nihilistic confirmation of the hopelessness that seemingly consumes a portion of the approximately 6,000 people in attendance. For many others, of course, the concert was just an excuse to get loud and crazy.

Marilyn Manson received top billing among the festival's 13 bands. While the shock rocker embodies the crassest aspects of his genre, he proved that he's still a viable live entertainer.

All the old bugaboos that created headlines at the pinnacle of his career ten years ago- flag desecration, Bible burning, glorification of drug abuse ("The Dope Show" remains his best song), and sexual deviancy- were present. Aided by a nonstop flurry of props and an anonymous backing band, Manson provided a visual treat. Although Manson acknowledged that "I owe you" -- a reference to an ill-fated 2003 Freakers Ball concert at the Kansas City International Raceway -- his 50-minute set seemed scandalously brief.

Unlike Manson's calculated creepiness, one band on the bill was truly terrifying. Cannibal Corpse provided the day's best performance. Their deliberately repellent death metal managed to send much of the hard-rocking audience fleeing for cover. Willfully awful, Cannibal Corpse's assault is so primitive that Motorhead's rudimentary rock sounds symphonic in comparison. As they push metal's disaffected sensibility to its logical conclusion, the band is utterly brilliant.

Slayer, the day's most highly anticipated band, was bitterly disappointing. It wasn't their fault. The legendary metal act was plagued by severe sound problems. Irate fans chanted "fix that sh*t" but just the final four songs sounded reasonably decent. Only then was Slayer able to demonstrate that they're still exceptionally fierce.

With a gleefully juvenile presentation that playfully evoked AC/DC, Killswitch Engage was extraordinarily winning. When vocalist Howard Jones isn't screaming, he can sound just like Ronnie James Dio. (The band even covers "Holy Diver.") The remainder of Killswitch Engage add a thrash element to Iron Maiden's classic attack.

Trivium is also a very good band. Their conventional metallic shredding has already elevated them to a prominent position on the hard rock heap. The slick showmanship they displayed as they headlined at a secondary stage verified that Trivium continues to climb toward mainstream success.

All That Remains also appears to be on the verge of wider commercial recognition. With their discernible melodies and sing-along choruses, the Massachusetts-based band were odd men out at Mayhem. The crowd adored their relatively accessible approach.

Job For a Cowboy doesn't seem interested in mass appeal. Pity the unfortunate person who mistakes the misleadingly named band for a country act. They played the most uncompromisingly vicious set of the day.

With their machine gun-drumming and howls of discontent, God Forbid were sufficiently cathartic. The Black Dahlia Murder isn't pretty either. Trevor Strnad spent much of his band's set alternately praising and chiding the audience. Just like his band's brutal music, the gambit was simultaneously amusing and annoying.

While they delivered the mosh pit-worthy goods, Bullet For My Valentine did little to distinguish themselves from the rest of the Mayhem lineup. It didn't matter. The crowd loved them. The extreme metal scene can look and sound scary, but viewed from within, it's full of unconditional love.

| Bill Brownlee, Special to The Star

Comments

[mankvill]

I have setlists for every band on my blog! Just click my name! And also a review of the Cannibal Corpse headlining show in Nebraska the night before!

Cannibal Corpse always tears it up, and Behemoth was the 2nd best band of the day as well. Rockstar Mayhem is kicking the crap out of Ozzfest, and it's only on its' 2nd year! Can't wait to see who's on the lineup for next year. :D

[Nivek9]

Lots of adjectives there Bill. I guess you must have seen a different show than my daughter and son-in-law. They are big Manson fans and saw him at the Uptown in 08 as well as the ill-fated Freaker's Ball show and numerous other times. They reported to me that Manson sucked and butchered his own music. They said his beer belly and lethargic movements made him appear old and over-the-hill. According to them the reason his set was brief was because no one even considered trying to get an encore out of him because they were glad it was over and they didn't have to listen to any more.

And what kind of BS is that about Cannibal Corpse? "Willfully awful" yet "utterly brilliant"? Yeah, whatever.... Sounds to me like you are giving them an excuse to suck.

[mankvill]

You went to Mayhem Fest for the sole reason of seeing Manson?

I'm...I'm sorry. :(

[andrew]

Nivek9, calm down. It's just a review, you don't have to agree with everything it says.

Gosh, it's just amazing to me how bent out of shape people get when the review doesn't 100% cater to their own experience.

At least it facilitates some [sometimes decent] discussion.

[b]

To the comment regarding Manson's hour set:

It is a co-headlining tour. Slayer and Manson were only each given an hour. It is a festival. Encores just don't happen at Kevin Lyman events. It had nothing to do with him personally 'sucking'.

You may want to stop listening to your bastard kids and actually attend it yourself rather than comment on how horrible the bands are live when you weren't even there.

[Tom]

Photos of Marilyn's beer gut, anyone?

[The DLC]

While I haven't checked in with their music for a long time, Cannibal Corpse's 90s stuff was pretty intricate and complex. Have they changed that much? Really too bad about Slayer. As far as I'm concerned, they are the godfathers of this kind of music.

[Nivek9]

@andrew - Not bent out of shape at all. Just sharing what I heard from the Manson fans in the family. An opposing viewpoint is all.

@b - Bite me a$$hole. You could have easily suggested I stop listening to my kids and attend the show without the use of the insulting adjective. Real nice...

Sounds like the show had some legitimate issues but was overall well received.

[STFUandy]

andrew, calm down. It's just a comment on a review, you don't have to agree with everything he said.

Gosh, it's just amazing to me how bent out of shape people get when the comments about review dont 100% cater to their own self loving imaginary glory(hole)

you say "At least it facilitates some [sometimes decent] discussion", dduuuurrrr. duh...and that is all you ever do, comment about commenters.blah blah balh andy, get a life, a make an origianl comment, as opposed to ONLY commenting about others.

[mankvill]

@dlc: They certainly still are the Godfathers of death metal. I saw them in Nebraska on Monday and their set on Tuesday at the fest. They still got it. They sounded spot-on and they can still solo better than most metal bands still! Corpsegrinder is still a fantastic frontman and Alex Webster is still a bass God!

[GagaFanRick46]

As I am ignorant, explain to me the musical value of Cannibal Corpse, God Forbid, behemoth, and White Chapel, as I think they are lame, no talent hack metal nobodies. Thanks.

[GagaFanRick46]

A follow up: Cannibal Corpse once described one of their songs as being inspired by "blood shooting out of ones c__k. Explain.

[mankvill]

Death Metal is fun because it's heavy, has awesome guitar solos, it's fast (sometimes) and it's good to headbang to. As soon as you can get past the ignorant stage of "They're metal and they scream, they must suck", you'll see the talent they have. Another thing that people mostly misinterpret is that although the genre is "death metal", not all bands sing about that. Behemoth, for example, sing about Sumerian Gods, ancient texts, and the like.

Examples:

Cannibal Corpse - Frantic Disembowelment (instrumental version!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOb6JSQd-Qw

Behemoth - Demigod

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFkEU2QUk_M

And although they didn't play, I'll throw in one of the best death metal songs ever written:

Death - Crystal Mountain (RIP Chuck Schuldiner!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXBK058Erw4

That should be more than enough to, hopefully, change your opinion. ;)

Also: I don't consider God Forbid or Whitechapel death metal. To me, GF is metalcore and Whitechapel is deathcore. I don't like them, so I won't bother defending them.

If you have anymore questions, click my name to go to my blog and feel free to shoot me an e-mail. :D

[mankvill]

About the other post, in regards to the Cannibal Corpse song:

There's a fantastic documentary about heavy metal music called Metal: A Headbanger's Journey by Sam Dunn which I believe everyone should see at least once. It'd answer a lot of questions. But Cannibal Corpse themselves are interviewed in the movie about censorship (the first four of their albums were banned in Germany due to violent content) and the band states that what they sing about and what is in their artwork is purely for entertainment value. They don't want you to go out and smash someone's face with a hammer, they just want you to get enjoyment out of the brutal, morbid lyrics. Each Cannibal Corpse song is, essentially, a horror movie cut down into 3 minutes or so.

[GagaFanRick46]

Explain this fascination with the morbid. Why do metal heads like horror films? Richard Christy is not alone.

[GagaFanRick46]

oh yeah, my favorite part of the show is when the hack overthetop Jersey singer said "We are about to make these clouds a Hurricane!" and then he played the Scorpions rift but played his generic metal song instead. It was great singing that while earplugs blocked out the non-awesomeness.

[Bubba]

I thought about going to DEF LEPPARD, but I wound up at MARILYN MANSON and SLAYER instead. Mankvill, I didn't see the setlist for MANSON on your site. A fun show, but like TESTAMENT a month ago at the Beaumont, MANSON cut their set short {by what appears to have been maybe four songs}. I hate it when bands do that. According to what I've seen at other recent shows, MANSON played like fifteen songs - at Sandstone, they played eleven - I believe. Still glad I went though. As for SLAYER, I could swear the sound problems were fixed after the first three songs. Whew!

[pbt1977]

I actually worked security for the show and I can say that compared to last year, the sound on the Jager and Hot Topic stages was head and shoulders above last year. As far as standout performances, on the two smaller stages Behemoth was definitely the best as far as I'm concerned, considering that they played in the middle of the afternoon and would come off better in doors at night. God Forbid was another standout for me, delivering a much better sound than their opening spot at the Uptown a couple of months ago. As far as the main stage is concerned, any fan of Manson will tell you that the show isn't about the sound as much as the overall spectacle. Much like Alice Cooper before him, what Manson delivers is a total performance. I thought the show was very good from my viewpoint and I can't wait to see what they deliver next year.

[STFUandyisadouchebag]

STFUandy, thanks for the interesting discussion. keep hiding behind a false name.

[grapevine]

...yeah, my neighbor's daughter's cousin's friend's son and his wife's sister went and they don't have a computer so they wanted me to write that Bill Brownlee is a genius and that Marilyn Manson rocked!

[Nivek9]

So what did your neighbor's daughter's cousin's friend's son and his wife's sister think of Slayer? And yes, Bill Brownlee is quite eloquent. :-)

Nice reviews and info on your site Mankvill, thanks. I didn't see anything about Manson except for your comment above though. I take it you're not a fan? Have you heard Season's After?

[annab09]

What about Seasons After? Have you heard them? What did ya think?

[annab09]

What about Seasons After? Have you heard them?

[annab09]

I'm a huge Manson fan and have been since 96' his set at Mayhem in Bonner Springs SUCKED! He's fat now and he messed up his own songs. I'm very disappointed.

[mankvill]

I didn't stay for Manson, I'm not a fan at all.

[Bubba]

I saw MANSON in later 1996 at Liberty Hall in Lawrence - during their 'Anti-****** Superstar' tour. Many don't even wish to ADMIT that show (sort of) scared them ! I know - I was there! When you walked into the concert, it REALLY was like walking into the gates of hell. Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't MANSON supposed to record a horrifying follow-up to the 'Anti' CD? Instead I believe they / he went onto be sort of glam with 'Mechanical Animals' disc.
As for the gig the other night, MARILYN MANSON isn't even shocking anymore - he IS entertaining, though - I'll say that much. Fun show - just a bit too short.

[CH]

I'm surprised their is actually a review at all here. Glad someone covered a metal show for a change.

I'd been looking forward to seeing Manson for nearly 6 years since the Freaker's Ball debacle and riot. Sadly I was extremely disappointed with his performance, so much so that we left about 40 minutes into it. His new songs are just not good, and his prancing around and writhing on stage was just lame. What made Manson, Manson is clearly gone.

Kind of wonder if his sound guys screwed up Slayer's sound on purpose. But once it was fixed they sure sounded great and overall still a very good performance considering the circumstances.

They seriously need to take the mic away from Adam in Killswitch. He tries to be funny but he just comes off as a jerk. Was actually surprised that Bullet are pretty good live.

As far as the second stages, by far my favorites were Behemoth, wish they had got to play longer. Also enjoyed Trivium, God Forbid and Black Dahlia Murder.

Overall I enjoyed the festival tremendously and hope it comes back again next year. IMHO it was much better than Rockfest, which is just way too crowded and metal is more to my taste.

[Bubba]

CH, I'm assuming the fact that MANSON quit after 50 minutes is probably because of Bonner Spring's lame-ass curfew law. Anyone ELSE notice how the show JUST ended? I'm thinking maybe they gave him a five minute warning that the power was SIMPLY going to be pulled after five minutes. I've seen it happen a couple of times before.

[annab09]

So did anyone see Seasons After on the Jager stage in St Louis yesterday. They were really good, hope to hear much more of them in the future...

[Bubba]

Metal up yer arse, people! Heard it through the grapevine that MOTORHEAD was returning to Kansas City and maybe AC/DC as well. Wow! Looks like 2009 really IS the best year for concerts here in sometime.