Displaying items by tag: Brian Head Welch

The First Midwest Bank Amphitheater in Tinley Park was a metal haven on Sunday – all day long and going well into the night. That’s because the Rockstar Mayhem Festival was in town and we all know what that means by now – some twenty odd bands spread out onto four stages complete with some heavyweight headliners.

This year’s headlining acts were goodies. Avenged Sevenfold (A7X) took top billing while Korn took on the supporting role with Asking Alexandria and Trivium kicking things off on the main stage. In all actuality, based on the crowd reaction, it wouldn’t have mattered who got top billing between Korn and Avenged Sevenfold, as both are major impact players and favorites in the metal scene, but I have to admit that I was glad it was A7X if just to get that extra fifteen minutes of stage time. Without question, the main stage acts were enough to pack the venue themselves, though it was nice to see a platform provided for the many more obscure, or lesser known, metal acts such as Mushroom Head, Cannibal Corpse, Wretched, Ill Nino, Suicide Silence and even Body Count featuring Ice-T.  

After Trivium and Asking Alexandria got the crowd fired up, Korn proceeded to take the stage and promptly kicked it into overdrive (tuned down growling guitars and all) with “Falling Away from Me” and never looked back, playing more classic faves such as “Shoots and Ladders”, Freak on A Leash” and “Got the Life”. Also, touching on some material from their latest release, The Paradigm Shift, the band belted out “Prey for Me” and the anthem-like “Never, Never”. Korn ended their set with a driving performance of “Blind” where singer Johnathan Davis brought who appeared to be some of the band members kids on stage to rock out with the band. Though it was nice to hear some solo material from axe man Brian “Head” Welch during his seven-year hiatus, it was sure nice to see him back on the stage with Korn. Original lineup together again, barring longtime drummer David Silveria, Korn is men amongst boys with a veteran presence to be reckoned with that is not to be taken lightly. They are polished, professional and entertaining as hell.   

Should Korn have had a longer set, that probably would have been enough to close the show, the fans departing happy and fulfilled from the ten or so hours of metal. But then it was time for Avenged Sevenfold – massive set and all. As the band went into their opening number “Shepherd of Fire” they take the stage one at a time until explosions cue the charging entrance of singer frontman M. Shadows and the band quickly goes into full on assault mode.  Even with their shorter than normal set due to festival restrictions, A7X packs a nonstop punch with a deadly combination of thunderous drums and bass, blazing guitars and an insane amount of pyrotechnics. “Almost Easy”, “Afterlife” and “Bat Country” are always givens at an Avenged concert, but the band was also sure to include a handful of songs from their new album, Hail to the King, including its title track and “This Means War”.  The band ended their high energy attack on a high note with two fan favorites, “A Little Piece of Heaven” and “Unholy Confessions” before saying their goodbyes to which they spent a good amount of time tossing out keepsakes to the crowd and interacting with the fans as much as they could from the stage.

Bottom line – Korn was on top of their game and I for one look forward to the day they return to Chicago (or thereabouts) to play a full set. Avenged Sevenfold - dare I say such a cliché? Um, yes. I’ll say it – they kicked ass and took names as fully expected. But most importantly of all, ok, just as important - Rockstar Mayhem Festival offers a stage for so many deserving bands to be discovered by new fans and enjoyed by the supporters they already have.

Total success, Rockstar. Looking forward to next year’s lineup.   

*Top - Avenged Sevenfold

*Bottom - Korn