Mayhem Festival 2012 8/3/12 Mansfield MA – Comcast Center
Where to begin… well I guess I’ll do a walkthrough of the entire day. I woke up around 6:30 am after about 4 hours of sleep just because of excitement. Hung out, left around 9 to pick up/cash my check. Left my friend Mike’s around 10 to pick up 2 other guys and head for Mansfield. We stopped at Burger King along the way and feasted like no tomorrow. After that it was a straight drive to the Comcast Center. We got there around 12 and went for the doors. While waiting for them to open Mike saw some guys he used to be in a band with and I knew one of them, so we went over to chill. We ended up chilling with them for most of the day because their seats were in the row behind ours. Doors opened for pre sale a little after 1, so we headed inside to do whatever. None of the merch tents were open yet, so out of boredom we decided to go up to the Jager stage to watch the opening band, which was Dead Season. They weren’t as horrible as I remembered from last year, but nothing really all that good.
After Dead Season I went to the Slipknot merch table to grab a shirt and the Metal Blade table to say hi to Chris, who was kind enough to give me some sunglasses for the day. I then went to the Rockstar tent where I grabbed some hydration and then headed back for the Jager stage.
I The Breather was in the final parts of their set now, but damn they were energetic. Their vocalist was all over the place, and their music was getting the place going. During their last song they called for crowd surfers and it was almost too much, but I was able to use the chaos to work my way up to the rail. Despite their energetic live show their music is still pretty damn generic.
Up next was one of the bands I was most pumped for, Whitechapel. Honestly they were sort of a disappointment for me. After the novelty of seeing them open with my favorite song of theirs, Possession, their show got old quick. Their guitar tracks are insaaanely simplistic, I guess it might be because I was on the rail and they’re more “mosh music”, but I wasn’t all that impressed. The fact that I enjoy their studio music helped me through their lackluster live show. Setlist: Possession The Darkest Day of Man This is Exile I, Dementia Section 8 Possibilities of an Impossible Existence
After Whitechapel I decided to keep my rail spot through TDWP for As I Lay Dying. The Devil Wears Prada, like I The Breather, was a damn energetic live band. But at the same time, a lot of their music blends together and I can only take so much scream verse/clean chorus/breakdown before I get a little bored. It didn’t help that they were playing for 35 minutes, so after awhile I was just standing there staring at them, waiting for them to finish. The songs I knew sounded alright, like Born to Lose, Mammoth, and Dez Moines. Also the lead singer’s little quip about God and heaven at the end didn’t really sit well with me. Also, I don’t know if they played that song “Constance” or not, because Tim Lambesis didn’t come out. I’m not familiar enough with their stuff to give a full setlist, but what I know they played: Born to Lose Outnumbered Danger: Wildman Mammoth Dez Moines
Now for the side stage band I was most excited for, As I Lay Dying. Goddamn, these guys did not disappoint. Condemned was a GREAT track to open with, and the energy never let up. The side stage crowd got the most insane out of the entire day during AILD, and there were times where I honestly thought I was going to lost my rail spot. I sent the entire set headbanging and screaming the lyrics. My rail spot had shifted a bit so instead of being more towards the center of the stage I was more towards the right, but I was right in front of Nick who you could tell was having fun with the crowd. Vocals on all parts sounded nearly perfect, and I couldn’t find any faults in any of the other musicians. Fucking awesome show. Setlist: Condemned 94 Hours Anodyne Sea Nothing Left Through Stuggle Cauterize Confined The Sound of Truth
About halfway through The Sound of Truth I left my rail spot and went to the center of the action a few rows back to watch most of the song, but before it was over I headed for the rockstar tent to snag a place in line for the AILD signing where I was going to meet my friends. Ended up waiting in line for awhile because AILD was 15-20 minutes later and I had to watch the first half of Anthrax from the line. Jason Bittner did a decent job filling in for Charlie, but there were some obvious mistakes happening during Caught in a Mosh. Went through the AILD signing and talked to Nick Hipa, who is honestly one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. He said he saw me going insane during their set. All the other guys were nice but not quite as talkative as Nick. When I came up to Tim I told him that Alex from Arizona with the Shadows Are Security tattoo says hi, he just sort of stared at me blankly and was like “oh, cool…”. I then asked to get picture with him and he seemed fine with it but he didn’t really talk at all and was pretty blank. At the time I thought he was annoyed but thinking about it, it seems like he was just insanely tired. Ended up getting out of the tent and going over to the revolver tent to grab some programs, and my friends who were completely exhausted said they were headed to get some water and chill in the wooded area where the Sumerian stage was. I stuck them with my Metal Blade bag and fucking BOOKED it to the Jager stage, because Indians was starting. They were the only band I moshed to the entire day, but I moshed HARD. Throughout all of Indians and most of Madhouse I was just running around the entire place belting the lyrics, moshing, and generally having a great fuckin’ time. Towards the end of the set I chilled out a bit and pushed my way up closer to the stage (although I was already pretty close). Throughout the set there was smoke EVERYWHERE and all you could smell was weed. I saw a blunt being passed around so I took a hit which got me a little high for about 5-10 minutes. I then went insane again during I Am The Law, which Joey tried to do his intro where he chants a word then the crowd does, but we just ended up chanting the entire damn thing. He said fuck it, you guys are too stoned, let’s do this, and kicked off I Am The Law during which I went insane yet again. Ended up leaving their set during the end of the song to meet up with the guys and head for the main stage. Setlist: Caught In A Mosh Got The Time Fight ‘Em Till You Can’t Antisocial Indians Madhouse I Am The Law
I’m guessing we showed up to the main stage about halfway through Asking Alexandria, it didn’t really matter though. Everyone in our area was making fun of them anyways. We just chilled in the seats for awhile, once Motorhead started we went to get food because 1) The 3 of us had already seen them from the rail and 2) The food areas would be empty. I got fries and a Gatorade which cost me $12. Headed back halfway through Motorhead and though they sounded alright they were a bit boring for me. I mean, they were a little on the boring at Gigantour and it’s even less stimulating seeing them while sitting in an open air seat. I was pissed they cut the one song I was looking forward to seeing from them, Overkill. Setlist was the usual without Overkill at the end.
Slayer. Slayer slayer slayer slayer slayer slayer. Slayer. Slayer Slayer. GREAT fucking show. Spent the entire set headbanging, belting the lyrics, air guitaring/drumming, whatever felt good at the time. Everything sounded phenomenal, Gary Holt is a great replacement and is probably even more energetic than Hanneman, Also the stage setup was cool. Setlist: Disciple War Ensemble Die By The Sword Hate Worldwide Mandatory Suicide Altar of Sacrifice Jesus Saves Seasons in the Abyss Hell Awaits Dead Skin Mask Angel of Death South of Heaven Raining Blood
And now the headliner, Slipknot. One of the main bands that got me into metal back in middle school, finally seeing them live. They did not disappoint. The show was raw, energetic, and unreal. Every song sounded fantastic, set highlights being Eyeless, Vermilion, and Spit it Out. During Surfacing we walked down to the rail of the covered seats and watched from there while going apeshit. Great show. Setlist: Sic Eyeless Sulfur Wait and Bleed Before I Forget Disasterpiece Gently Vermilion The Heretic Anthem Psychosocial Duality Spit it Out People = Shit Surfacing
Left when they were done. Messing around with my friends on the way out resulted in me losing the $35 Slipknot shirt I bought. Sort of pissed about that, but all in all it was the best MayhemFest yet.
Ratings: Dead Season 4/10 I The Breather 6/10 Whitechapel 6/10 The Devil Wears Prada 7/10 As I Lay Dying 9/10 Anthrax 9/10 Asking Alexandria 5/10 Motorhead 6/10 Slayer 9.5/10 Slipknot 9/10
I got escorted to first aid because some employees saw me sitting on a bench with my eyes closed. I was just hot as shit and tired. Wasn't bad though got to hang out in front of a big ass fan with a bag of ice on my neck for half hour. I snuck out when I heard slipknot come on.
I think they did that too me because they had some people die there a few days ago.
Death is not the worst of evils.
You can't be down, when you're always high.
I got escorted to first aid because some employees saw me sitting on a bench with my eyes closed. I was just hot as shit and tired. Wasn't bad though got to hang out in front of a big ass fan with a bag of ice on my neck for half hour. I snuck out when I heard slipknot come on.
I think they did that too me because they had some people die there a few days ago.
I saw a 400-500 guy lying down on the concrete in front of the rockstar tent during Anthrax, employees didn't seem to care though
I forgot to mention that before TDWP this guy came up behind me and was like "Could I grab that rail spot? I might pass out if I don't lean on something". I was like no, I've been here for over an hour, if you're going to pass out you can get yourself to the med bay.
The guy ended up getting a spot next to me and was on the rail the entire show.
Comments
8/3/12
Mansfield MA – Comcast Center
Where to begin… well I guess I’ll do a walkthrough of the entire day. I woke up around 6:30 am after about 4 hours of sleep just because of excitement. Hung out, left around 9 to pick up/cash my check. Left my friend Mike’s around 10 to pick up 2 other guys and head for Mansfield. We stopped at Burger King along the way and feasted like no tomorrow. After that it was a straight drive to the Comcast Center. We got there around 12 and went for the doors. While waiting for them to open Mike saw some guys he used to be in a band with and I knew one of them, so we went over to chill. We ended up chilling with them for most of the day because their seats were in the row behind ours.
Doors opened for pre sale a little after 1, so we headed inside to do whatever. None of the merch tents were open yet, so out of boredom we decided to go up to the Jager stage to watch the opening band, which was Dead Season. They weren’t as horrible as I remembered from last year, but nothing really all that good.
After Dead Season I went to the Slipknot merch table to grab a shirt and the Metal Blade table to say hi to Chris, who was kind enough to give me some sunglasses for the day. I then went to the Rockstar tent where I grabbed some hydration and then headed back for the Jager stage.
I The Breather was in the final parts of their set now, but damn they were energetic. Their vocalist was all over the place, and their music was getting the place going. During their last song they called for crowd surfers and it was almost too much, but I was able to use the chaos to work my way up to the rail. Despite their energetic live show their music is still pretty damn generic.
Up next was one of the bands I was most pumped for, Whitechapel. Honestly they were sort of a disappointment for me. After the novelty of seeing them open with my favorite song of theirs, Possession, their show got old quick. Their guitar tracks are insaaanely simplistic, I guess it might be because I was on the rail and they’re more “mosh music”, but I wasn’t all that impressed. The fact that I enjoy their studio music helped me through their lackluster live show.
Setlist:
Possession
The Darkest Day of Man
This is Exile
I, Dementia
Section 8
Possibilities of an Impossible Existence
After Whitechapel I decided to keep my rail spot through TDWP for As I Lay Dying. The Devil Wears Prada, like I The Breather, was a damn energetic live band. But at the same time, a lot of their music blends together and I can only take so much scream verse/clean chorus/breakdown before I get a little bored. It didn’t help that they were playing for 35 minutes, so after awhile I was just standing there staring at them, waiting for them to finish. The songs I knew sounded alright, like Born to Lose, Mammoth, and Dez Moines. Also the lead singer’s little quip about God and heaven at the end didn’t really sit well with me. Also, I don’t know if they played that song “Constance” or not, because Tim Lambesis didn’t come out.
I’m not familiar enough with their stuff to give a full setlist, but what I know they played:
Born to Lose
Outnumbered
Danger: Wildman
Mammoth
Dez Moines
Now for the side stage band I was most excited for, As I Lay Dying. Goddamn, these guys did not disappoint. Condemned was a GREAT track to open with, and the energy never let up. The side stage crowd got the most insane out of the entire day during AILD, and there were times where I honestly thought I was going to lost my rail spot. I sent the entire set headbanging and screaming the lyrics. My rail spot had shifted a bit so instead of being more towards the center of the stage I was more towards the right, but I was right in front of Nick who you could tell was having fun with the crowd. Vocals on all parts sounded nearly perfect, and I couldn’t find any faults in any of the other musicians. Fucking awesome show.
Setlist:
Condemned
94 Hours
Anodyne Sea
Nothing Left
Through Stuggle
Cauterize
Confined
The Sound of Truth
About halfway through The Sound of Truth I left my rail spot and went to the center of the action a few rows back to watch most of the song, but before it was over I headed for the rockstar tent to snag a place in line for the AILD signing where I was going to meet my friends. Ended up waiting in line for awhile because AILD was 15-20 minutes later and I had to watch the first half of Anthrax from the line. Jason Bittner did a decent job filling in for Charlie, but there were some obvious mistakes happening during Caught in a Mosh. Went through the AILD signing and talked to Nick Hipa, who is honestly one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. He said he saw me going insane during their set. All the other guys were nice but not quite as talkative as Nick. When I came up to Tim I told him that Alex from Arizona with the Shadows Are Security tattoo says hi, he just sort of stared at me blankly and was like “oh, cool…”. I then asked to get picture with him and he seemed fine with it but he didn’t really talk at all and was pretty blank. At the time I thought he was annoyed but thinking about it, it seems like he was just insanely tired.
Ended up getting out of the tent and going over to the revolver tent to grab some programs, and my friends who were completely exhausted said they were headed to get some water and chill in the wooded area where the Sumerian stage was. I stuck them with my Metal Blade bag and fucking BOOKED it to the Jager stage, because Indians was starting. They were the only band I moshed to the entire day, but I moshed HARD. Throughout all of Indians and most of Madhouse I was just running around the entire place belting the lyrics, moshing, and generally having a great fuckin’ time. Towards the end of the set I chilled out a bit and pushed my way up closer to the stage (although I was already pretty close). Throughout the set there was smoke EVERYWHERE and all you could smell was weed. I saw a blunt being passed around so I took a hit which got me a little high for about 5-10 minutes. I then went insane again during I Am The Law, which Joey tried to do his intro where he chants a word then the crowd does, but we just ended up chanting the entire damn thing. He said fuck it, you guys are too stoned, let’s do this, and kicked off I Am The Law during which I went insane yet again. Ended up leaving their set during the end of the song to meet up with the guys and head for the main stage.
Setlist:
Caught In A Mosh
Got The Time
Fight ‘Em Till You Can’t
Antisocial
Indians
Madhouse
I Am The Law
I’m guessing we showed up to the main stage about halfway through Asking Alexandria, it didn’t really matter though. Everyone in our area was making fun of them anyways. We just chilled in the seats for awhile, once Motorhead started we went to get food because 1) The 3 of us had already seen them from the rail and 2) The food areas would be empty. I got fries and a Gatorade which cost me $12. Headed back halfway through Motorhead and though they sounded alright they were a bit boring for me. I mean, they were a little on the boring at Gigantour and it’s even less stimulating seeing them while sitting in an open air seat. I was pissed they cut the one song I was looking forward to seeing from them, Overkill.
Setlist was the usual without Overkill at the end.
Slayer. Slayer slayer slayer slayer slayer slayer. Slayer. Slayer Slayer.
GREAT fucking show. Spent the entire set headbanging, belting the lyrics, air guitaring/drumming, whatever felt good at the time. Everything sounded phenomenal, Gary Holt is a great replacement and is probably even more energetic than Hanneman, Also the stage setup was cool.
Setlist:
Disciple
War Ensemble
Die By The Sword
Hate Worldwide
Mandatory Suicide
Altar of Sacrifice
Jesus Saves
Seasons in the Abyss
Hell Awaits
Dead Skin Mask
Angel of Death
South of Heaven
Raining Blood
And now the headliner, Slipknot. One of the main bands that got me into metal back in middle school, finally seeing them live. They did not disappoint. The show was raw, energetic, and unreal. Every song sounded fantastic, set highlights being Eyeless, Vermilion, and Spit it Out. During Surfacing we walked down to the rail of the covered seats and watched from there while going apeshit. Great show.
Setlist:
Sic
Eyeless
Sulfur
Wait and Bleed
Before I Forget
Disasterpiece
Gently
Vermilion
The Heretic Anthem
Psychosocial
Duality
Spit it Out
People = Shit
Surfacing
Left when they were done. Messing around with my friends on the way out resulted in me losing the $35 Slipknot shirt I bought. Sort of pissed about that, but all in all it was the best MayhemFest yet.
Dead Season 4/10
I The Breather 6/10
Whitechapel 6/10
The Devil Wears Prada 7/10
As I Lay Dying 9/10
Anthrax 9/10
Asking Alexandria 5/10
Motorhead 6/10
Slayer 9.5/10
Slipknot 9/10
Swag attained:
Slipknot shirt (lost)
Whitechapel basketball shorts
Metal Blade sunglasses (for free motherfucker)
AILD Awakened Preorder
Good review though. \m/
I think they did that too me because they had some people die there a few days ago.
The guy ended up getting a spot next to me and was on the rail the entire show.
thanks brando