Kittie
MAYHEM FESTIVAL
Glen Helen Amphitheater
San Bernardino, CA
10.12.24
LIVE REVIEW AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARILYN BELL
The Mayhem Festival is back! Arriving to find free general parking was a good omen for this Bad Omens headlined festival. Ash Avildsen’s Sumerian Records was heavily featured on the bill proving that he was the right guy to help bring the festival back.
Escuela Grind, Peyton Parris, It Dies Today, and Born of Osiris kicked things off at the red and black stages before System of a Down’s Shavo Odadjian’s new band Seven Hours After Violet hit the main stage. Then it was back to the red and black stages for Unearth and Japan’s metalcore girls Hanabie, who got the crowd dancing. Poppy kept the girls represented on the main stage after the Hanabie set.
Darkest Hour amped things back up on the black stage followed by Throwdown on the red stage. Throwdown’s Dave Peters came down to sing to the crowd at the barrier.
Back on the main stage, Jinjer played a ferocious set that seemed a bit out of place in broad daylight.
After the Burial kept the energy up at the black stage.
Mayhem Festival alums Suicide Silence killed the red stage and arguably had the largest crowd of festival artists and personnel watching side stage. Vocalist Eddie Hermida had the entire crowd singing with him at the barrier.
The red and black stages got a little behind schedule, so We Came as Romans were on the black stage as Architects were playing the main stage. It was a haul up and over the hill to the main stage, so the crowd remained thick at the red and black stages and were rewarded with We Came as Romans’ Dave Stephens coming out into the crowd for a song.
Kittie hit the red stage and took us through sundown. They’ve been mainstays on the festival circuit since reuniting in 2022 for When We Were Young and Blue Ridge Rock Festival.
August Burns Red closed things out on the black stage.
Parkway Drive and Bad Omens closed out the night on the main stage.
