The lineup for the sixth-annual Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival was announced yesterday, and promises to be a memorable show as the tour makes its way around the country starting at the end of June and wraps up in early August.
The traveling festival will be headlined by the one and only Rob Zombie. Joining him on the main stage is the punishing Five Finger Death Punch, the spacey sludge of Mastodon, and the straight-up viking attack of Amon Amarth. All four bands are veterans of their trade, and promise to deliver a tour-de-force performance (especially from visual arts masters Zombie and Mastodon).
On the secondary Jagermeister Stage thrash titans Machine Head will take headlining duties, supported by the deathcore group Job For A Cowboy. In addition, shock-rockers Butcher Babies, the self-described "blue-collar thrash metal" Battlecross and the female-fronted Huntress will be joining the Jagermeister Stage crew.
The Musicians Institute Stage offers possibly the most exciting group of bands of the whole tour. Children of Bodom, the power/thrash veterans, will be headlining this smaller stage, despite deserving to be on the main stage. The black metal titans Behemoth will also be on the stage, in their biggest tour of America since lead singer Nergal's battle with cancer. Deathcore mainstays Emmure and tech-death masters Born of Osiris will be mixing it up, along with goth-influenced metalcore act Motionless in White and newcomers Thrown Into Exile on the stage. Finally, Sumerian Records will sponsor a local acts stage, headlined by City in the Sea.
This edition of Mayhem Fest offers some more mainstream acts like Rob Zombie while delivering some underground legends like Behemoth to please both casual and hardcore metalheads. This is definitely a concert to see from the first band until the encore. Tour Dates can be found on the Mayhem Fest 2013 Official Site.