Metal Anarchy

Yesterday (July 6), I attended the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival in Mountain View, CA. The festival featured performances from Cannibal Corpse, Suicide Silence, Miss May I, Mushroomhead, Texas Hippie Coalition and King 810, on the Coldcock Whiskey Stage, Body Count, Upon a Burning Body, Veil of Maya and Darkest Hour on the Sumerian Records Stage, Ill Niño, Wretched Islander and Erimha, on the Victory Records Stage, and Avenged Sevenfold, Korn, Asking Alexandria and Trivium on the main stage.

The highlights of the Coldcock Whiskey were Suicide Silence, who had one of the most energetic sets of the day, and Cannibal Corpse, with their crushing stage show. Another standout on that stage was Mushroomhead who had an awesome stage show with their cool shock rock costumes and colorful water bursting from their drums.

The highlight of the Sumerian Records Stage were Body Count, who brought together fans young and old by playing classics like “Cop Killer” and new songs like “Manslaughter.” Upon A Burning Body had a pretty good set on that stage as well, but received some backlash from their recent publicity stunt.

The highlight of the Victory Records stage was Ill Niño, who played classics, along with new songs from their new album, Till Death, LA Familia. Another standout was Islander, who had a good, high energy set.

As for the Main Stage, Trivium opened with a thunderous set, containing songs, like “Strife,” “Dying In Your Arms,” “In Waves” etc. Then Asking Alexandria took the stage and played a mix of older songs with newer songs from their latest effort, From Death To Destiny. Then Korn took the stage, to play one of the best sets of the day. Their set included their new single “Hater,” along with songs from their latest album, The Paradigm Shift, and classics like “Freak On A Leash” and “Blind.” Then Avenged Sevenfold played an electrifying set including songs like “Hail To The King,” “Nightmare,” and “Seize The Day,” as a tribute to James “The Rev” Sullivan.