Friday 25/07/08 Rockstar Mayhem Festival @ Superpages.com Center Dallas, TX

With a title for a festival like “Rockstar Mayhem” and a lineup containing some of the current top metal acts tearing it up night after night, its no surprise that bringing your tour to one of the biggest metal cities in America was just that, mayhem.

Thrashing through an early set were stoner metal favorites, Mastodon.  Kicking off with mostly newer tracks, the band delivered a lackluster performance, clearly showing on the unengaged crowd’s faces as they casually stood still throughout. Breaking into some older, more familiar material, finally got festival goers considerably more enthused as the gig continued.

Picking up the pace were Chicago rockers Disturbed, pulling out an undeniably fantastic show to an eager Dallas crowd. Arriving on stage in a Hannibal Lector costume, singer David Draiman held the entire arena’s attention with his electrifying stage presence throughout their 60-minute set. Loosing his voice several times throughout didn’t stop the band’s momentum as they breezed through their hits with ease, including ‘Down With The Sickness’ and ‘Inside The Fire’.

Playing their first show in Dallas in almost three years, the metal crowd was beyond ready for headliner Slipknot to slaughter their way through a killer set. Walking onstage with their new trademark masks covering their faces, the band’s eerie stage presence only added to the chaos that was about to take place. Playing several of their old hits including, ‘Get This’, ‘Before I Forget’ and ‘Surfacing’ created a mass of fans flailing away to the music as they screamed the lyrics to their favorite songs.

Creating a low point in the performance were tracks from their upcoming album ‘All Hope Is Gone’, receiving a lukewarm response. Lacking the aggression and passion that surfaced from Slipknot’s previous two efforts, fans clearly were reluctant to let loose and enjoy the new songs in the same manner as others.

Ending their set with ‘People=Shit’ proved to be the spark that set a Dallas metal crowd into a frenzy.  Tearing it up for one last hurrah, fans went crazy for an old favorite that showed why Dallas really does stand a tier above the other when it comes to metal.

Have any doubts that metal is alive and kicking? The Rockstar Mayhem Festival will shatter those…and give you a good kick in the ass all in one shot.