More Mayhem Fest Mayhem: Victory Records Artists Pissed at Kerry King
The Rockstar Energy Mayhem Fest has had a rough summer. First, co-founder Kevin Lyman publicly insulted the tour and metal as a genre, and soon after Slayer guitarist Kerry King made some disparaging comments surrounding the line-up, including a jab at “that piece of shit record stage” that obviously refers to the Victory Records Stage (and on top of all that, Thy Art Is Murder asked for only yellow M&Ms, dammit).
Unsurprisingly, members of Piece of Shit Records roster bands are not pleased with Kerry. In a recent interview, Dave Matrise of Jungle Rot said:
“I’m gonna be truthful—I take it very personal. I’m a longtime Slayer fan, and I hate to say it, but now I’m gonna change my thoughts about Slayer over this. It’s because of the simple fact that there’s a lot of people, including myself, and a lot of bands here that have a lot of money invested in this tour, and we’re trying to make our money back ,and we’re trying to keep this thing rolling. And here’s this guy, and he opens his mouth and sabotages the tour, in my opinion. And then he talks shit about Victory and that’s our label as well, and calls it a ‘shit stage.’ Well, if it wasn’t for Victory probably getting this stage, this tour would’ve never even happened.
“That’s just my opinion, and if he would get off the bus once in a while instead of charging $20 for a picture or a signing or whatever the hell he does, he’d probably see that there’s some really good talent out there, man. So yeah, I take it very personal, I think he stuck his foot in his mouth and I hope this turns on him and I hope for the worst. I have had enough, the guy’s been runnin’ his mouth enough and this is the final draw.
“Everyone’s over it already, now we’re just seein’ what happens. All the band are sticking together, the crew’s workin’ hard—they’re here at 6am in the morning. He just has to think before he talks. This stuff ain’t easy, man. In livin’ this lifestyle, touring is touring and he should know. He’s been doing this for however many years. You take the punches when they roll man, on every tour. Every tour is up and down like a roller coaster—they’re all not gonna just be glamorous. It just don’t make sense to me. He could’ve waited until he was done after the tour to open his mouth. It would’ve been much better. No one would’ve cared then.”
Yikes. Never a good sign when your comments make longtime fans lose respect for you. On top of that, Jungle Rot fucking rules; I would’ve happily caught them instead of The Devil Wears Prada when I saw Mayhem Fest this summer.
Meanwhile, Joey Simpson of Kissing Candice expressed similar feelings:
“Who’s he to call us that? He started out one day, too, driving around in a van. And there are some buses on the second stage, but most of us are in vans, man. We’re eating shit, like literally. Just because we’re in band, it doesn’t mean we’re getting rich. We’re just trying to make a name, and he’s just slandering it and the Victory Records name. And I’m sure [Victory Records founder] Tony [Brummel]’s not going to be happy with it.”
Y’know, as much of a fiasco as this tour has been — and there are many, many reasons for that — I think the Victory Records guys have a point. Bashing a tour while you’re on it is a bad look, and bashing bands less famous than yours for being less famous than you are is really fucking tactless. Obviously, Kerry King won’t lose sleep over these bands’ opinions — it’s not as though the dude is known for his fair and intelligent commentary. But what if Venom had said that publicly about Slayer during that first tour? Probably would not have gone over well with King and Co.
Anyway, there are still four dates left in Mayhem Fest. Watch Rome burn at one of the stops below:
7/29 – Atlanta, GA @ Aaron’s Amphitheater at Lakewood
7/31 – San Antonio, TX @ Whitewater Amphitheater
8/1 – Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
8/2 – Dallas, TX @ Gexa Energy Amphitheater
[via The PRP]
