Corey Taylor , originally uploaded by corey_bayless.
Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival
If you went to the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival for Hard rocking death metal and some blow your mind guitar licks, crowd surfing, and violent circle mosh pits, this festival brought exactly that, Mayhem!
From the opening set of the Jager Band Drown Mary, to the hard Rock and Roll of Airbourne to the Lady screaming Walls of Jericho Candace Kucsulain, the festival started off with a hard hitting bang.
As 5:45 began to roll around the intensity of the hard moshing and 85 degree temperatures being almost unbearable already, it was time to hit the main stage for the opening progressive metal band Mastodon. The main stage stood exactly for the shows that it was going to bestow on the crowd.
Since I did not have a press pass, I knew that getting pictures of the following acts Dragonforce, Disturbed, and the world renowned hard hitting nu metal band Slipknot, I knew this to be no simple task.
My ticket placed me center stage in the midst of the chaos. As Dragonforce came center stage I knew that these guitar solos would leave almost anyone in the dust, the fast paced rock would leave nothing but a good taste in your mouth for the next act of some could say the equivalent of rock gods.
One word, Disturbed, having three number one records, the crowd would expect nothing less than to see the spectacular David Draiman take center stage. With hits like Down with Sickness, Land of Confusion, Ten Thousand Fists, and their new hit Inside the Fire off their new album Indestructible, the crowd knew they were in for a hell of a set. Disturbed immediately demonstrated what it takes to have three number one albums and immediately stole the show. With this amazing display of musical prowess they really set the stage for what could be considered one of the best performances I had ever seen.
With Disturbed set coming to a close, the anticipation for Slipknot was now becoming a reality. As I stood my ground holding my spot 2nd row in the pit from the stage, I knew that this was going to be anything but easy to hold my amazing position.
As 10:05 rolled around discussion of the chaos that was going to unfold was now circling like a telephone game through the pit. I had planned for this, so I befriended some people to help hold our position, this would prove to be a worthy use of my time.
The lights went off; the smoke rolled out like the gates of hell had opened, Slipknot was now here to show us their power of rock. Slipknot had not toured for two years, this was their first show, and I knew that it was going to be nothing less than Phenomenal. The explosion from the pyrotechnics startled the crowd into a frenzy of moshing and crowd surfing; the next hour was going to be the most amazing experience of my life. Like every worldly known band, people knew that the show was going to be nothing less than amazing, like disturbed, Slipknot became subject to no less justification. As each power chord rang out the crowd became more and more intense, holding my position became a battle of the strongest surviving. On top of the fight was my hand sticking up with a camera trying to get shots of the illusive lead singer Corey Taylor. The struggle to get shots and hold my position was no easy one, but with the help of my newly acquired friends, it was accomplishable.
The show ended with cheers from the crowd and hands in the air after their heart pounding encore, I turned to my friend next to me and said, “We lived through that.” An experience I will never forget.
By Corey Bayless
