Mayhem Festival was headlined by bands like Slayer, King Diamond, and Avenged Sevenfold during its original run between 2008 and 2024. Then Mayhem Festival came back last weekend and it had a noticeably different lineup featuring bands like headliners Bad Omens alongside Parkway Drive and Architects.
So why the shift? According to Mayhem Festival organizer (and Sumerian Records owner) Ash Avildsen in an interview with Revolver, it's all about bringing up the next wave of festival headliners.
"I love all the older acts that headline a lot of the rock festivals in the U.S. But I think it’s a bit naïve to think that there's not an urgent need to break new headlining bands," said Avildsen. "When I think back to when I was a teenager in the Nineties, the whole new wave of big bands like Korn and Slipknot were young guys.
"It's been a long time since we've had a wave of bands with singers that are in their twenties that can really headline festivals. I feel like we're finally there with a number of bands, [and] I think Mayhem can really help elevate this era the same way that it had elevated bands 10-15 years ago."
Which isn't a surprising opinion given Avildsen's controversial lineup for the return of Summer Slaughter. Avildsen later noted that he plans to make Mayhem Festival a touring festival once again in 2025: "We decided [to] bring it back for one day and reestablish that the brand is back, and that will give us a lot more lead time to assemble a full [2025] summer tour."
Given the above comments, it seems like Mayhem Festival as a touring unit would likely be that same vibe. Though Avildsen's original idea for Summer Slaughter was a lot more brutal, so who knows.
