From Slayer’s Return to GWAR’s Gore: Riot Fest Delivers Unforgettable Performances

Riot Fest 2024: A Metal Lover's Dream, Rain or Shine...

 

 

Words and Photos: Emily Sisson/ESOfficial Studios

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The third and final day of RIOT FEST this year was jam packed full of incredible acts from some of the most iconic metal bands of all time.  A small rain storm the night prior left the festival slightly soggy and muddy,  but it only made the pit more fun! Bikini wrestling anyone?

Mastodon – began their show by playing a scene from the 1956 classic “Moby Dick”, in which characters on screen were preparing to slay the monstrous sea beast. A fitting introduction complementing their 2004 album cover of “Leviathan” and what we would soon witness; the stage being ravaged and rocked by the members of the band.  Starting off this set playing “Blood and Thunder”, “I Am Aha” and “Seabeast”, their talent was immediately hypnotizing as we stood powerless against its force.  Mastodon’s music is complex in a way in which audience members may find themselves easily lured into surreal and magical trances fueled by the sound. Their dark, heavy , bruting style of music naturally encouraged audience members to close their eyes, bang their heads, and enjoy the show. Guitarists Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher collaborated well, entertaining us as always and proving themselves as one of the best duos in today’s modern metal scene. Throughout the set the pair weaved interesting hooks and face melting solos, not only in an exquisite fashion, but complementing each other creating a darkly distorted, and foreboding presence.  

GWAR- Has returned to earth once again as well, honoring their regular appearances at RIOT FEST since 2010. Performing a bloody and messy set to a crowd in awe, it’s obvious this group knows by now how to put on a show. During the performance the band managed to not only rip off the face of  (fake) “President Putin”, but also massacred the remains of a pregnant “Taylor Swift” caricature.  GWAR has proven time and time again that they rock, and have no problem offending the audience. They are the antithesis of PC culture, out of this world, and people enjoy them. Early in the act,  prior to performing the song “The Sordid Soliloquy of Sawborg Destructo” ,  the band’s Nemesis  “SAWBORG DESTRUCTO”  came on stage airing out some dirty laundry from the band.  SAWBORG stated that singer BLÓTHAR had been “fucking my sweet SWEET dolphin girlfriend Dolly”. But to Guitarist  PUSTULUS MAXIMUS’s defence, “Everyone has fucked Dolly the Dolphin”.  Naturally, solving this argument with metal and violence “SAWBORG DESTRUCTO”  was promptly slaughtered as audience members screamed and were showered in his blood. The rest of the show would continue with the expected abundance of blood, gore and camp. 

Lamb Of God- recently got off tour with their Saturday slot sharing brothers Mastodon. This was the  “Ashes Of Leviathan” tour, celebrating the band’s  “Ashes of the Wake” 20th year anniversary. The band played many songs from this album including “ Laid to Rest” ,“Hourglass” and “Omerta”. Frontman Randy Blythe gave the crowd exactly what you’d expect at a LOG show, featuring crazed stage presence coupled with his authoritarian and commanding rage. Audience members wasted no time opening up mosh pits deep in mud, messing eachother up, and truly getting down and dirty.  Bottles of water and cans of beer were thrown up in every which way as the band not only watched the chaos unfold, but encouraged it. Ending with their 2006 song “Redneck” Blythe commented “ What the fuck was that RIOT FEST, I know its the last day, but did you all just get Asthma all of a sudden? I said make some noise for yourself god dammit!”. He then stated “Those of you who have seen us before, show these mother fuckers how we do it! I want to see the biggest circle pit this festival has ever seen! It is time to stop fucking around RIOT FEST! We are known for this shit!” 

Rob Zombie- Returned with a sky high performance, accompanied by the same band he started with during his first album “Hellbilly Deluxe” released in 1990. Behind a curtain projected with satanic imagery emerged a Gothic looking Rob Zombie on top of a 20 ft skull that read “Zombie”. For a period of time the stage was casted blood red and soon after, was filled with screens illuminating every inch, truly highlighting his aesthetic.  Zombie played hits that the crowd was hoping to hear like “Thunder Kiss” , “ More Human Than Human” and “Dracula”. He got the crowd going, they loved his message and theatrics. He is a fascinating musician to watch. Directorially he has become the modern day Toby Hooper, and it’s a palpable vison he brings to his shows. Quite the unique backstory, to become a rockstar and in the same life a bigshot director partnered with major backings and productions. Complete with horror and gore, the show was a memorable spectacle as the weather mirrored the insanity on stage. The clouds darkened, and a storm rolled in.

Slayer- . A band who we thought we may never see again, performed their once in a lifetime return as the catalyst of RIOT FEST this year.  Before RIOT FEST’s final lineup was even announced, the message of Slayers return debut was outpoured to fans all over the globe. After the death of Jeff Hanneman in May of 2013, some thought the band wouldn’t go on.  However they enlisted the help of their longtime friend Gary Holt from the band Exodus, and managed to continue a legacy for a bit longer. As many are aware, Slayer officially played the last show of their farewell tour in November of 2019. Holt stated “The band went out fucking on a bang, went out on Slayer’s terms, and how many people get to say they did that?”. While many were concerned that the band had cut ties with each other,  their manager Rick Sales elaborated “The band is not breaking up, they made a decision to stop touring. That doesn’t mean the end of the band. It’s just the end of touring”. Five years is a long time in the world of Thrash, but these heroes picked it up like time had stopped just for them. While Sunday rain was a problem off and on, by 7pm the weather which had been tropical all weekend had begun to turn. The rain and cold weather was still no match for the Slayer fans. The opening chords of “South of Heaven” set the tone of an epic opening, to which the crowd erupted. Slayer took no prisoners playing hits that their fans (not top 40 stations) screamed for. Fan favorites like “ Postmortem”, “Dead Skin Mask” , “War Ensemble” and “God Hates us All” were all titles we were itching to hear and no stone was left unturned. After a few moments of silence, singer Tom Araya asked the crowd  “So did you miss us?”, he was answered enthusiastically by the crowd, “..Yeah, we missed you too.”. When the rain and wind commenced the crowd clearly didn’t care, and neither did Slayer as they continued to play while billowing fire surrounded them. The stage was littered with images of inverted crosses and all types of bloodshed but Slayer’s final four encore songs were all truly visually spectacular. Slayer played the song “213” for the first time since 1998 coupled with a plethora of lights and flames . After the song “Mandatory Suicide”, two giant inverted crosses were set on fire while the song “Raining Blood”  seamlessly transitoned into “Black Magic”. Singer Tom Araya thanked the fans, ending Sunday’s legendary performance with their song ”Angel of Death” to their adoring crowd. Slayer will play a couple more festivals like “Louder Than Life” and “Aftershock”, then most likely call it a day, but judging by the fans reaction on Sunday they could keep doing this indefinitely. 

 

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