So it is written

I am really concerned as I write this. Was this really the last Mayhem Festival? Did I just experience a small piece of U.S. rock history? Was Dallas, Texas really where it all ended? I was there, happy I was, and here I will bring you the main stage in all it's glory.

Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival (http://rockstarmayhemfest.com/) 2015 came to a close in Dallas, Texas. With little fanfare or hurrah it did. But OH MY! The 4 main stage acts were stellar. If this was the last breath, at least it was with all of the fire and metal it deserved and we, the fans, deserved! And poetic at that with main stage headliners King Diamond and HELLYEAH reigning from Dallas, Texas. How apropos.

The Festival as a whole was condensed down somewhat, to a single side stage (the Victory Records (https://www.victoryrecords.com/) stage) and the main stage. There also seemed plenty to do and look at in the atrium of the GEXA pavilion. I sadly picked up a Mayhem 2015 shirt and happily picked up a King Diamond hat - been waiting almost 20 years for that!.

Check out the photos and reviews of the bands from the Victory Stage here (http://livemusicintexas.blogspot.com/2015/08/until-end.html).

The Devil Wears Prada (http://www.tdwpband.com/) was the first band up on the main stage. I have actually seen them previously in Austin, Tx (http://livemusicinaustin.blogspot.com/2010/02/dark-tranquilitydevil-wears_26.html). Then it was an amazing performance. Every one in the band was hitting hit. they were all in sync and the dual lead vocals were just amazing. Tonight...not so much. The music was good, but there didn't seem to be that much excitement within the band and it translated into a mediocre performance. There were definitely some folks in the crowd that were enjoying the performance, but the crowd as a whole just seemed to acknowledge that there was another band on stage. I would say it wasn't worthy of being main stage. Would I go see them again in Austin...Hell yes! I would like to blame the heat of the day and the long tour on their lackluster performance, but the next band came out and proved The Devil Wears Prada was in the opening slot for a reason.

HELLYEAH! (http://hellyeahband.com/) came out next. Oh, my did they! Playing before a home town crowd on the final date of their tour, they were PUMPED! With some slight, but powerful changes to the lineup, HELLYEAH! was unleashed on Dallas at Mayhem. No question the energy of the home town crowd excited the band. With hometown hero Vinnie Paul show boating as good as you can from behind the drum kit, it felt like a party. It even seemed like a party with things being thrown around, apparently to the disagreement of their guitar player. After throwing a microphone stand out towards the crowd and telling some rowdy fans "FUCK YOU!", it just got crazier. In the 100 degree shade of the GEXA amphitheatre, the mosh pit was churning, blood was spewing from the lead singer, and it was simply the perfect moment in a metal performance to say 'HELLYEAH!"

King Diamond (http://www.kingdiamondcoven.com/site/) arose somewhere from the pits of hell. Appearing on the stage at the top of the interior of Amon, it was glorious! From the opening notes, to the complete theatrics, I understand now why he is King. I have been a fan of King Diamond since about 1986. Never having seen a performance, I was excited like it was Christmas 1777. Grandma was there and Abigail too!

For over an hour the crowd was transported through the mind and world of what is King Diamond music. Even being joined on stage by another king, Kerry King of Slayer to provide us with the metal flashback that was the greatest black metal of all, Mercyful Fate! King Diamonds voice did not disappoint. He could have performed any or all of the Epic stories he has created, and hours later I don't think the crowd would have disagreed. It was very short performance for what King Diamond can do, but it was majestic. As you can tell, I was thrilled and elated that I had become part of the Puppet Masters world.

Slayer (http://www.kingdiamondcoven.com/site/). The final act on the final stage in what seems to be the final Mayhem Festival. Slayer KILLED THEM ALL! The epitome of what heavy metal is, what speed metal is, and what hell could be. With all of the fire and glory, Tom Araya and the band did try to wake the devil in Dallas this night. With our musical souls bared, we stared into the eyes of metal mayhem at it's purest and best, and we all loved it. The crowd was utterly non stop. Only for the few moments when Tom would walk up to the microphone after a song, stand in silence in a single pin spot, smile at us all, thank us, and then proceed to brutalize us again with the music.

I did see Slayer just a few short months ago in Austin  (http://livemusicinaustin.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-return-of-hell.html). I thought that performance was great. It was, but it was with flashy lights and upside down neon crosses. A Vegas show compared to what all in attendance experienced in Dallas. With fire, and flames forming upside down crosses, and horrific videos and visions, This was absolutely the finest way for Mayhem festival to end...in flames!


























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