Lamb of God Plan to Continue ‘Pummeling Process’ at Mayhem Fest 2010

Mayhem Fest 2010 will offer Lamb of God a good opportunity to reach new audiences and, hopefully, build their following to Pantera-like proportions. While they're easily the most extreme main stage band at the festival, they're also one of the most sincere and charismatic and, on a good night, their live show is nothing short of mesmerizing.

Lamb of God are no strangers to big touring festivals. In 2004, they played the Ozzfest second stage, then returned to the festival in 2007 to rock the main stage right before Ozzy Osbourne. In 2005, they headlined Sounds of the Underground and played select dates on the tour's 2007 outing. And in 2006 they ripped at Unholy Alliance alongside Slayer, Mastodon, Children of Bodom and Thine Eyes Bleed. The same year, they tore it up at Gigantour with Megadeth, Opeth, Arch Enemy and Overkill.

Yet while Mayhem Fest 2010 could be one of Lamb of God's many triumphs it might also be one of their greatest touring challenges. They go on right before Rob Zombie, whose fans -- according to Zombie -- are generally only there to see Rob Zombie. And the show is being headlined by Korn, whose audiences are mostly older than Lamb of Gods' and whose music has a far different vibe. It's easy to understand how the same demographic could listen to main stage openers Five Finger Death Punch, Zombie and Korn. But those very listeners could be resistant to a band as brutal and nonconformist as Lamb of God. Still, Mayhem Fest 2010 could yet be Lamb of God's for the taking -- especially if the crowds who are there for the less commercial Mayhem Festival Stage and Jägermeister Stage rally for the cause.

We recently asked Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler his thoughts about Mayhem Fest 2010:



What bands are you looking forward to seeing at Mayhem?

Chris Adler: Winds of Plague, 3 Inches of Blood and Chimaira.



Anyone catch your ear lately?

This or the Apocalypse and Between the Buried and Me. Also, [Polish death metal band] Decapitated is back together and I'm stoked on that (RIP Vitek).

What are you planning for your own Mayhem set?

We plan on using our slot to complete the pummeling process begun on the Jägermeister Stage. We've been reaching back to the 'As the Palaces Burn' and 'New American Gospel' records a bit on the more recent European shows, and I think we will make sure to have a few of those songs in there. At this point, it's difficult to cram everything everyone hopes for from six albums into one set, but we try to mix it up.



How are you planning on spending your downtime this summer at Mayhem?

My plan is to learn a few new drum tricks from [Winds of Plague drummer] Art [Cruz] and [Korn drummer] Ray [Luzier] and then have a few drinks. We're also winding up the two years of touring on our newest album 'Wrath,' so we may take some time to begin assembling ideas for the next one. We always say that, but typically we end up too busy with all the drinking.