NewsJuly 29, 2015 3:02 PM ET9,021 views

Mayhem Festival co-founder pens open letter

Following divisive comments from both members of bands and organizers involved in Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival 2015, festival co-founder John Reese has issued an open letter addressing the controversy:
Dear fans of heavy music and metal bands everywhere, We are one community. It is vitally important to our community that we all unite, not divide! Without each other's support, the only thing that suffers is metal as a genre! In the midst of our most challenging year in eight years of producing the festival, my partner Kevin Lyman made some comments that he has subsequently apologized for. Kevin is an honorable man and has given everything he has to the presentation of music and expanding the profile of countless artists! I am proud of our partnership and our results throughout the years! We have always tried to deliver a platform for artists to expand their fan base and the genre as a whole! In saying this, various people involved with the 2015 Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival and some from the metal community have understandably made some divisive comments regarding the event. The event has suffered as a result of these many comments. What's done is done, but I am here to say that heavy metal music is alive and well! I shouldn't have to remind everyone that we as a culture have faced ostracism from the mainstream for decades and we should not let over-sensationalized media hype separate us! I think we are ALL tired of all of the bullshit. I know I am! Let's move the conversation forward supporting each other not dividing. Thank you to Slayer, King Diamond, Hellyeah, The Devil Wears PradaA and every single one of the incredibly talented bands that have performed this year on Mayhem! I would also just like to add a few other choice things for any media conspiracy headlines: 'Can't we all just get along!' – Rodney King 1994 Marilyn Manson did NOT cause Columbine! Obama is not the Antichrist!! And he ain't taking our guns! Justin Bieber….. uhhhh… no comment! Heavy metal does not cure cancer, but it is good to fuck to. Hopefully I will see many of you at Knotfest 2015!

32 comments

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anonymous 7/29/2015 12:23:54 PM

PradaA PradaA PradaA PradaA PradaA PradaA PradaA PradaA PradaA PradaA PradaA PradaA PradaA PradaA PradaA PradaA PradaA PradaA PradaA PradaA PradaA PradaA PradaA PradaA

anonymous 7/29/2015 12:31:43 PM

leave the dumb jokes to some nobody comedians & start making Mayhem Festival awesome again

anonymous 7/29/2015 12:37:53 PM

sellout

anonymous 7/29/2015 12:40:28 PM

put Attila on the bill if you wanna sell some fcking tickets.

anonymous 7/29/2015 12:54:02 PM

My 16yr old son wuddent even go this yr CUZ IT SUCKED SO BAD. N i damn shure wasent buying hima ticket ... $$$$$uck it.

anonymous 7/29/2015 12:54:24 PM

anonymous 20 minutes ago leave the dumb jokes to some nobody comedians & start making Mayhem Festival awesome again like who? Korn? Avenge Sevenfold? Korn? Manson? Zombie? you're a douche king diamond is and always will be the only band worth seeing at this shit fest named after a shit energy drink.

anonymous 7/29/2015 12:55:21 PM

Marilyn Manson did NOT cause Columbine! Obama is not the Antichrist!! And he ain't taking our guns! Justin Bieber….. uhhhh… no comment! I feel like I would heckle this shit dick at a comedy club and smash him to the point of him leaving his set early. he'd panic harder than Kramer did droppin nog jokes

anonymous 7/29/2015 12:58:52 PM

Marilyn Manson Definetly caused columbine. Get yer facts straight.

anonymous 7/29/2015 1:17:10 PM

Damage control from a failing metal tour. The bigger story is all the big metal festivals dying. In Australia Soundwave is dead. In the UK i think Sonisphere or the other big one is dead too. Sucks.

anonymous 7/29/2015 1:28:26 PM

What do you expect when you put a band like "kissing candace" on your bill? It's a god damn joke to fans of heavy music old and new. It simply comes down to you need to pick a better bill with good bands, not labels that feed bands trying to get them to blow up. Bands like king diamond, code orange, slayer. All in the right direction....but those victory records bands. Kevin Lyman might as well be right

anonymous 7/29/2015 1:29:00 PM

The exclamation point are real

anonymous 7/29/2015 1:29:41 PM

you said Korn twice you retard. Mayhem had solid lineups from 2008-2012. put Attila on Mayhem so Gwar can come murder them

anonymous 7/29/2015 2:11:33 PM

Rodney King said that in 1992, not 1994, you stupid stupid man

anonymous 7/29/2015 2:21:34 PM

Funnie how Lambgoat left out the quote from the press release... "There are no such things as Nematoads" - Roger Klotz

anonymous 7/29/2015 2:53:06 PM

THANKS SICKIEZ 4 THE POSITIVE COMMENTS ABOUT PUTTING ATILLA AT THE TOP OF THE BILL TO GET THIS FEST OUT OF THE RED, BUT GUESS WHAT--I AIN'T DOIN IT!!! GUYS ITS FRONZ. THESE METAL BANDS FULL OF OLDS ARE SO HOPELESS!!! SLAYER COULD ATTEND MY THINKTEI CLASSES FOR 4 YRS AND GET A FRONZY DEGERR--WHAT THAT SAYING ABOUT LEADING A HORSE TO WATTER?? N GWAR IS BEYOND REPROACH. ONLY GOOD IF I COULD FILL A DUNKING TANK FULL OF RAGE AND CHARGE 25 A HEAD TO SINK THOSE MEMBERS--ONCE AND FOR ALL!! S MY F!!!!

metalmike666 7/29/2015 3:18:28 PM

I went to this year's Mayhem Fest and had a great time. I don't think it was worth $100 or worthy of being in an Amphitheater, and I honestly wouldn't have gone if I didn't get my ticket for $20. The mistake of the tour was trying to sell out 10,000 seat amphitheaters for 100 bucks a ticket. If Mayhem Fest is going to come back they need to lower prices and book smaller venues and accept that maybe metal fans aren't willing to pay outrageous prices no matter what the lineup consists of.

anonymous 7/29/2015 3:27:50 PM

This needs more exclamation points.

anonymous 7/29/2015 4:05:55 PM

Heavy metal is good to fck to? Well, I'll be.

anonymous 7/29/2015 4:26:29 PM

Sneaker Pimp's "Becoming X" is good to fck to

anonymous 7/29/2015 4:29:05 PM

"GUYS IT FRONZ" being the 3rd or fourth "sentence" in always gets me

Jemenez_Cricket 7/29/2015 4:37:26 PM

As far as any metal/hardcore fests go, D.I.Y. or die. Plain and simple.

anonymous 7/29/2015 5:51:20 PM

Dumb jokes...you're not cute, you just sound like an idiot

anonymous 7/29/2015 10:34:50 PM

sounds like he's writing to a bunch of retarded ki... god damnit.

anonymous 7/30/2015 3:39:15 AM

it is nice to fck to. a fine blush wine and some Helloween...panties drop

anonymous 7/30/2015 7:20:36 AM

I'm pretty sure this guy has seen Tom Araya's shriveled beaner bag.

anonymous 7/30/2015 7:46:41 AM

anonymous15 hours ago "GUYS IT FRONZ" being the 3rd or fourth "sentence" in always gets me Same.

anonymous 7/30/2015 7:56:36 AM

When you feel the need to go on record defending your friends integrity, it usually means he or she is a piece of shit. Kevin Lyman has fcked almost as many underaged girls as Fronz, and is even more socially awkward

anonymous 7/30/2015 12:12:54 PM

"DON'T TASE ME BRO" - Rodney King

carveyournamein 7/31/2015 4:16:00 AM

Seems like this was typed and not penned

anonymous 7/31/2015 7:30:58 AM

sounds super gay

anonymous 7/31/2015 10:40:48 AM

First off, you just quoted Rodney King, second is...you just lost all credibility for that.

anonymous 8/1/2015 7:01:32 AM

Why didn't kevin Lyman write this letter? Oh because it's a rich fat cat corporate fck boy. He's got so many sponsors pumping corporate money into every festival he does. I went to his shit for years but he's lost touch with the music, the crowd. Let's just be honest that sage is pretty much a republican now.




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