It's been four years since Mayhem Fest toured the United States. For the late '00s and early '10s, it was the biggest metal event of the summer, playing ampitheaters across the country, anchored by headline acts like Slipknot, Slayer, Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie and then featuring a smorgasbord of underground bands on the side stage from Cannibal Corpse and Hatebreed to Suicide Silence, In This Moment, The Red Chord, and Veil of Maya.
In the annual summer festival's absence, there hasn't been any touring metal fest to take its place. Instead, a series of destination festivals have cropped up all over the country, like Welcome to Rockville in Florida, Chicago Open Air and Sonic Temple but could there be room for Mayhem Fest to stage a comeback?
That's what the festival's co-founder, John Reese, was wondering out loud when he posted on the Mayhem Fest Facebook page yesterday:
I have very fond memories of Mayhem Fest being a fun destination to see top headliners and some cool up and coming acts that would normally never tour with each other. Perhaps it's due for another round, but it all depends on the lineup that could be available. Would you go?
Mayhem Fest went away in 2015 after disappointing ticket salesand a big PR mistake by co-founder Kevin Lyman who gave an interview bemoaning the lack of headliners in the genre (not wrong) but then also calling metal "old, gray and fat," which resulted in backlash from headliners and bands not even on the tour, John Reese, the other co-founder of the fest confirmed that this was the last year for the festival and tried to call for a truce in the scene.
Either way, I would imagine it's too late for anything to happen this year and it would be more likely for 2020.
Here are some fun videos from Mayhem Fest we posted throughout the years:
[MetalSucks via Ghost Cult]
