Nasty Fancy

It’s never too early to early to plan ahead for coming shows, particularly when so many noteworthy ones are dominating your summer plans. In addition to the coming Summer Slaughter Tour this season (for which dates have not been announced yet), there’s at least one other major metal gathering coming to Ohio that deserves your attention: The Rockstar Mayhem Festival. Like the Slaughter tour, Mayhem Fest also boasts a hearty lineup of metal behemoths and contemporary favorites. However, unlike the Slaughter, which has been somewhat shrouded by a lack of details over the months, Mayhem Fest has its dates and lineups pretty much set.

Mayhem Fest comes to Cuyahoga Fall’s Blossom Music Center July 25 (which is a Wednesday for avid planners), and begins around 1 p.m. Lineups might change and I’ve found differing reports of who’s playing where online, but some of the biggest names anticipated at Blossom and other shows include Slayer, Slipknot, Motorhead and Anthrax. A dizzying array of death and metalcore supporting bands fills out that already all-star lineup. Other groups currently on the list include (in no particular order) Asking Alexandria, As I Lay Dying, Whitechapel, Upon a Burning Body, I Breather, The Devil Wears Prada and High on Fire.

The Summer Slaughter Tour and Rockstar Mayhem Festivals are tow of the most anticipated metal shows coming to Ohio this summer (of course, I’m speculating SS is coming here right now because the dates haven’t been released). Odds are, if you’re into heavy music, at least one of these two tours will give you a good reason to sweat your ass off in a crowd of smelly metalheads this summer. So dust off your dancing shoes and finest camo shorts because it’s already shaping up to be a very brutal concert season in Northeast Ohio!