It should be illegal how fast this weekend has gone by, but with Sunday already here, so is the third and final day of Riot Fest 2024 with a truly insane rock block of bands to close out one of the most chaotic years for the fest in an equally chaotic fashion. First up for me was the Saxsquatch, which, as the name implies, is a dude in a giant Bigfoot costume playing the sax while wearing Pit Viper sunglasses because why not!
Coming from the press tent and watching Huge Euge’s set as I’m walking, slightly confused by his rambunctious antics and fast-paced party beats was the perfect transition I needed for Saxsquatch as he performed his own catchy mashup of live instrumental saxophone with upbeat bass lines and funky electronic beats curating an addicting, mellow, and hilarious vibe. Saxsquatch was one of the most interesting and uniquely fun sets I had the pleasure of checking out for the first time this year, so if he’s at a fest near you, I encourage you to set the time aside to check him out.
Thankfully I was able to squeeze in Nekrogoblikon and Fiddlehead back to back. I’ve caught Nekrogoblikon in the past during Warped, so I’m glad to report that they’re just as entertaining, heavy, and goofy as ever. Hard-hitting metalcore, Nekrogoblikon move at full steam as they truck through their set with the ever-endearing help of their famous and iconic mascot, The Goblin. Running over from Nekrogoblikon to Fiddlehead energized me to be fully ready for how awesome Fiddlehead was about to be.
Performing even better than when I last saw them, Fiddlehead hit the runway feet-first to a screaming crowd, giving as much energy to the crowd as they were to them. Featuring members of Have Heart, Fiddlehead have been steadily gaining momentum and popularity, becoming one of the bigger household names for newer acts over the last few years. Fiddlehead are being talked about for good reason, so you should probably make a point to check them out when they play a show near you.
One of the biggest up-and-coming names in hardcore today, Sunami blew the roof off the place (if it had a roof, that is) with their violent, intense, take-no-prisoners sound. Featuring members from an insane amount of other Bay Area bands such as Gulch, Hands of God, Drain, Lead Dream, and more, Sunami started off a light-hearted project with no serious intentions, quickly exploding into a whole other entity. As the rain kept going during the midday, the field quickly turned into a mud pit, resulting in antics like people scooping mud up and throwing it all over and whipping McDonalds hamburger patties at people. Wherever Sunami plays is guaranteed to leave devastation in their wake.
Creating a short little rock block of hardcore, Gel followed up to an equally muddy crowd as people started mud wrestling before their set. Fast-paced and to-the-point, Gel focused solely on the music as they ripped through their set with traditional, fast-paced hardcore sounds to an equally enthusiastic crowd that also decided it was appropriate to throw Mcdonald’s nuggets on stage to show their appreciation.
The juggernauts of modern metal, Mastodon hit the stage performing their iconic Leviathan album in full. While only the second album by Mastodon, Leviathan placed Mastodon within the conversation of elite metal bands due to Leviathan’s rampaging flow that balances the more modern and crazy new aspects with traditional, classic moments. A concept record based around the Moby-Dick novel, Leviathan features many of Mastodon’s breakout hits including “Blood and Thunder,” “Iron Tusk,” and “Seabeast,” all certified bangers. Having just wrapped up an entire tour supporting the anniversary of this record alongside Lamb of God, who also celebrated the anniversary of Ashes of the Wake, the hype for this set was huge since that tour didn’t come through the Chicagoland area. Mastodon always put on a tight set, and this was no different, as they went through the entire record from start to finish, giving fans the opportunity to see it not only in full, but hear a few songs that haven’t been played since it came out too.
After the blood-spewing and South Park-esq humor-filled set of GWAR, the titans of metal, Lamb of God, stormed the stage with incomparable and unmatched ferocity and intensity. While I wish Lamb of God was performing Ashes of the Wake in full since they just wrapped that tour up, they still put on an A1 set with the mandatory must-play heaters and fan-favorites for the special occasion. As each riff and breakdown rattles your chest and ribcage, few comparisons can be made on sonic heaviness and quality than Lamb of God. One of the best live metal bands you’ll see, Lamb of God not only will sonically crush you, but the intensity of the crowd shouldn’t be taken lightly either as Randy commands a field full of rapid fans at his fingertips, ensighting circle pits, crowd surfing, and walls of death at his will. The crowd was extra hyped up from start to finish, almost drowning out the band at times if you were up front as people came over the top crowd surfing left and right.
The metal gods were blessing us on the holiest of days (Riot Fest Day Three) as following Mastodon, GWAR, and Lamb of God was the man, the myth, the legend in the flesh, Rob Zombie. One of my most anticipated sets, Rob Zombie puts on such a tight, engaging, and exhilarating set that is as fun as it is heavy. Similar to Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie emphasizes theatrics, engaging in borderline storytelling throughout his set as the stage props and production change with each song to match the theme. Hitting every song you could want to hear out of a Rob Zombie show, plus some White Zombie tracks (I still pray a reunion may happen one day), you can’t help but jump along, sing every word to “Dragula,” or air guitar when that opening riff to “Thunder Kiss ’65” hits.
What I think was probably the most active crowd of the night (with a close second to Lamb of God), Rob Zombie’s set was packed like sardines from front to back, side to side as you can see the waves of hands and heads bouncing up and down to the rhythms of each song like a tidal wave, all while crowd surfers relentlessly came over the barricade non-stop the entire set and people sat on each other’s shoulders to get a better view, making it look like the crowd shots of the live concert movies we’ve seen countless times. Most importantly, Rob Zombie crushes every single set he does never letting up off the gas. Still after so many years in the game, I’ve never heard a negative story about a lackluster or disappointing Rob Zombie performance, which is even more important today as ticket prices continue to rise, so in true rockstar professionalism, no matter the circumstances, Rob Zombie will also be on his A game, giving the fans the best show possible.
You could feel the anticipation in the air as Slayer set up their gear for their big return to the stage since breaking up in 2019. It’s almost hard to describe just how thick the air was with energy following the absolute rock block of the last several bands. The people were extra torqued up and ready for the metal god’s return. While it feels like yesterday, five years go by fast, and I don’t think anyone is going to be mad at Slayer playing shows again. I never got the chance to see Slayer before they initially wrapped it up due to not having money or things not working out on their final run, so being here in 2024 finally seeing them was just as exciting to me. With a shot and a bang and a curtain drop, the legends walked out on stage to a roaring Douglass Park shouting “SSSSLLLAAAYYYYEEERRRRR” in unison as they rip into a nearly-two-hour onslaught hitting the high marks, b-sides, deep cuts, and everything in-between. Each era of the band got its moment to shine with songs like “Repentless,” “South of Heaven,” “Seasons in the Abyss,” “Raining Blood,” and “Hell Awaits.”
While tensions have been tough between members over the years, in true rockstar professionalism you wouldn’t know it as they chugged and shredded through their set without issues and problems putting differences aside focusing entirely on the music and putting on a high-quality gig for the fans. Always upping the ante since day one, it wouldn’t be a Slayer reunion if they didn’t throw a few surprises at us by playing “2:13” live for the first since 1998 and two massive, burning upside down crosses taking over the back of the stage.
Hearing those guitar solos, iconic Slayer riffs, and mosh-pit anthems in person simply hits different, thus making you appreciate just how good they really are, along with just how far and wide their influence has been over the years. The opening riff to “Mandatory Suicide” by itself has inspired entire sub-genres of metal and hardcore crossover music where I still hear that riff being played in songs today. Not only that, but their downtuned rhythms and violent lyrics would eventually give rise and inspiration to death metal. When people say Slayer is the greatest metal band on Earth, it isn’t without reason. From the influence and inspiration to the general extremeness of their lyrics and imagery forever changing the face of metal to their razor-sharp tightness and balances in their songs resulting in an all-out sonic assault, Slayer are in the top-tier elite category of goats in metal … the goats among goats … your favorite bands’ favorite band.
