Mayhem Festival- First Midwest Bank Amphitheater, Tinley Park, IL. 7/26/09

Well I am not usually a fan of big fests but this one was hard to pass up simply for the lineup and the price. I really wanted to see quite a few of the bands on this lineup, notably, Slayer, Cannibal Corpse, Job For a Cowboy, The Black Dahlia Murder and Marilyn Manson but I was quite surprised at the entire lineup. I really enjoyed this show from beginning to end. The idea of two smaller stages next to each other, one band playing right after another worked out great. Then about 6pm the main stage opened up so there was really only one overlap of band times, Cannibal Corpse, the last band on the Hot Topic stage and Bullet for My Valentine played first on the main stage. My biggest complaint was the ridiculously overpriced food and beer but big shows are like that these days, all about profit for the venue I guess.

I got there with my friends just after the opening of the gates to see the first band, White Chapel. They were quite heavy, tight and for being the first band had a great turnout for their set. I noticed a lot of kids moshing and karate kicking during their set, and people seemed to really enjoy them including myself.

The next band up was Dirge Within, formerly Dirge. They had to change their name since someone else already had that name but that didn't stop them from rocking the crowd. They were very tight, professional sounding and melodic, they sounded great.

Job For a Cowboy was one of the main bands I really wanted to see and was really looking forward to their set. I just got their new album Ruination, and I really think it rocks all the way through. So they played songs off their new album and their last album, the critically acclaimed Genesis. They were on fire, playing like this was their last show ever and the crowd got pretty wild during their set feeding off the band's energy. They are a young band and have a great future ahead of them.

God Forbid was up next on the Jagermeister stage. This is a veteran band with six albums under their belt. I got into them back in 2001 for their Determination album; however I haven't followed them lately but was quite impressed to hear they are doing great. They sounded a bit too melodic and radio friendly for my taste but I thought they were great. The singer was very energetic and funny, he seemed like he genuinely enjoyed every minute up on the stage.

I have to admit I was stuck waiting in line for beers during Behemoth, however I could see and hear them pretty well from where I was waiting. They were the only black metal band on the lineup which helped them stand out amongst the other acts. They have been together quite some time and along side Vader have led the Polish death metal. These guys are quite accomplished players and sounded pretty brutal but with the addition of keyboards, it added a layer of melody that I really enjoyed.

Next up was All That Remains, who my friend told me was going to be worth seeing. They were one of my favorite bands of the day since they were heavy, technical and also had some of the best vocals I've heard in awhile. Their singer could scream pretty well and his singing voice was incredible and they had some of the catchiest choruses I've heard in metal in quite some time. Their bassist, Jeanne Sagan, had a pretty mean backup vocal growl; she made most guys jealous with her pipes. Their lead guitarist, Oli Herbert, was fantastic and his leads were mesmerizing. I will definitely be looking into buying some of this band's albums soon!

I came to this show to see a band I have all 3 of their albums but I have never seen, The Black Dahlia Murder, they are extremely technical and brutal as well. Their singer was having so much fun getting the crowd pumped during their action packed set; the majority of the crowd watching got sucked into the mosh pit. They really delivered the goods, I was thoroughly impressed.

The last band on the Jagermeister stage was Trivium. They are well known for their catchy songs and technical proficiency. I have to admit, I really didn't know much about them but I did find them to be really good. They were full of energy and kept the crowd on their toes the whole time.

Finally the last act of the second stage was the legendary Cannibal Corpse, in my opinion the AC/DC of American death metal. They have stuck to their formula for 14 albums and do it very well. They sounded great even though the sound for most of the second stage bands wasn't the best. I pushed my way up front since I have never seen them very close up before. The sheer power of the band's flawless set was one of my favorite moments of the fest. George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher, the singer, was unusually funny and threatened to pull out the eyeballs of people throwing stuff up on the stage which added to the shows intensity! The crowd was going nuts for them, an overall joy to watch.

Unfortunately, Cannibal Corpse's set overlapped with the first act on the main stage, Bullet for My Valentine, so by the time I raced over to the main stage, the band was over. I can't really report on them, maybe next time I guess.

Next up on the main stage was Killswitch Engage. These guys have been around quite awhile and I liked them when they first came out, but they just slipped through the cracks for some reason with me and I haven't followed them for awhile. Since 2000, over the course of 5 albums, they have grown into a hugely popular band in the newer metal genre. Actually, they were quite good, they first had a really cool stage setup, and it looked like equalizers behind them going in sync with the music with multiple risers for the band to run around on similar to Iron Maiden's stage setup. They jumped around a lot, played their songs like a well-oiled metal machine and really were enjoying their set and the crowd reaction. Their songs have matured over the years. No longer are they just a metal-core band. There is definitely much more substance to their writing.

Now as the sun set for the day, the true reason many people came out for this show was the mighty Slayer. All day during the various bands, people would chant for no apparent reason "Slayer, Slayer", which other than Lynyrd Synyrd’s Freebird, is the most requested band yelled out at shows. As they broke into their first song, God Hates Us All, it was apparent why after 25 years these guys earned that rabid following. Their stage set was an eerie purple with laser pentagrams everywhere with their trademark wall of Marshall Guitar Stacks. They played with precision, energy and the crowd loved it. I was in the center, front of the lawn and could see spontaneous mosh pits breaking out everywhere. They played such classics as Chemical Warfare, Dead Skin Mask, Angel of Death and Jihad. I am sure I forgot some of the songs they played but they closed with the crowd pleaser, Reign in Blood, simply awesome!

Finally, as many of the Slayer fanatics left, the final act of the night was Marilyn Manson. Now many people may have written them off years ago as shock rock that would burn out over time. I partially agree with this but they did deliver better than I thought the band would. However, they were a bit lackluster in the energy department from past times I've seen them. The band did play very well and they did rock out some of their hits over the years. Rejoining the band after a long hiatus was Manson's old buddy, Twiggy, which I really enjoyed. Manson still was shocking people with his usual style doing such things as burning a bible onstage, mooning the crowd and dropping confetti from the ceiling onto the whole stage. My personal highlights were a nice but short version of Sweet Dreams and finally ending with The Beautiful People which drew a somewhat lackluster energetic show to a nice climactic ending.

Bill Jotzat