Battlecross
I saw these guys for the first time this past summer in their hometown of Detroit, Michigan at Orion Music and More and I was blown away. The amount of talent in that band is unreal, everyone is able to hold their own and no one over powers the other. This time seeing them it was no different, they are an exciting mesh of thrash and metal that definitely draws people from a couple different crowds. During the third song frontman, Kyle Gunther took a minuet to slow down and talk about the next song they were going to play about his son, Kaleb, it was a nice personal touch from a heavy band and really allowed the crowd to make that connection.
Motionless in White
Now this is a band I have seen a couple times and every time they are so much fun to watch and photograph, but I have never really been a fan of their music. While their style just isn’t for me, their onstage persona draws a lot of people in and keeps them interested. From their eccentric outfits to their make up, these guys know how to attract a crowd. At first I was shocked that they were included on the Mayhem fest line up, the first couple of times I saw them was at Warped Tour and I wasn’t sure if the Mayhem crowd would be as accepting of them. They ended up having one of the largest crowds of the day on side stage, these guys came out and killed it. I was thoroughly impressed.
Butcher Babies
By now I am pretty sure everyone has heard of the playboy models turned heavy metal front women, but this was my first time actually seeing them. These ladies obviously have a huge draw coming out in tiny shorts and reviling leather tops, even I couldn’t stop watching. As far as their music, its no question these ladies are talented but aside from watching them run around in skimpy outfits I couldn’t even force myself to be interested in their set. Their music just wasn’t on par with the other bands preforming that day, they have the gimmick down, now they need to concentrate on their songs.
Machine Head
Machine Head is one of those bands I am always happy to see on a line up, these guys come out and tare up whatever stage they are put on. Frontman Robb Flynn is so charismatic on stage, he comes out and takes charge of the crowd. Guitarist, Phil Demmel comes onstage and just shreds the entire set, he gets in your face and really makes sure the crowd is a part of the action. These guys have been going strong for over 20 years and they show no signs of slowing down.
Children of Bodom
This is actually my first time seeing these guys and while they sounded phenomenal, they weren’t quite what I was expecting. I feel like Children of Bodom has this heavy persona, and I though in their live show that would come across a little more than it did. Like I said they sounded great, if I had to review them strictly on their sound they would get 5 stars, unfortunately they just didn’t show up the way I wanted them to. Their set was actually relatively boring in comparison to some of the other acts who were preforming at this festival. As I said this was my first time seeing them, it is possible they just don’t translate as well on a larger stage, I hope to see them agin in a club setting.
Amon Amarth
Hailing from Sweden I can honestly say I have never even heard of Amon Amarth until I walked into the photo pit, but they definitely left an impression on me and I’m sure everyone else in the crowd. Their stage was set with a large viking ship as the center piece for their set. They utilized the ship as much as possible making rounds running up and down the sides and stopping to shred towards the top of the ship. This was definitely a fun show to watch and be a part of, these guys absolutely tore up the stage, I am looking forward to seeing them again.
Mastodon
Again this was one of those bands I had expected more from, especially as a main stage act but they fell short. It just seemed like there was no effort put forth, they just stood at the mic stands going through the motions. I don’t expect every band to bring a viking ship on stage or wear crazy outfits in hopes to entertain, but interaction is what people come to these shows for and it just seemed like that was severely lacking.
Five Finger Death Punch
Every time I see these guys they kill it. Ivan Moody immediately gets the crowd on their feet and into the set, he is a hard ass but he truly cares about his fans. In the past he has grabbed kids out of the crowd and brought them on stage to rock out with them for a couple songs. Jason Hook likes to get down and in your face, he is another one who has great interactions with his fans, he likes to make faces at people, sometimes make a deeper connection and personally hand out guitar picks. I have watched these guys grow so much in the past 3 years and they have been touring relentlessly to get where they are and they deserve every second.
Rob Zombie
This guy knows what he is doing, he is so theatrical and his movies go hand in hand with his live performances. I don’t think I have seen so many props used in the course of one set before, large props, ones he rides all around the stage. But every member of this band is so talented, John 5 absolutely shreds on the guitar, he is such a presence on stage and always delivers. Keeping with the theatrical theme, all these guys have elaborate outfits and face masks on. The biggest disappointment for me was how short the set was, he played for just about an hour, for a headliner I was expecting about an hour and a half. Regardless these guys are a great live show, definitely something to check out if you have never seen Rob Zombie before.
Battlecross
Motionless in White
Butcher Babies
Machine Head
Children Of Bodom
Amon Amarth
Mastodon
Five Finger Death Punch
Rob Zombie
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