Reviews

It’s entirely fitting (if a bit wearing in the summer heat) that the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, featuring acts like Slipknot and Disturbed, should follow Crüe Fest at Superpages.com Center.

After all, if acts like Mötley Crüe were the second generation of metal after the likes of Black Sabbath and Alice Cooper, surely these nu-metal mavens are the third.

About 9,000 fans eventually gathered to hear the late-afternoon and evening lineup. Early acts like Dragonforce (perfect name) charmed Southern rock ’n’ roll fans with a reliance on double lead that would gratify any Allman Brothers fan.

Disturbed turned up the energy a bit, with rhythms and guitar parts that were more bombastic and vocals that were more scolding. Animated by a more sophisticated, mature take on teen angst, songs such as “Indestructible” and “Down With the Sickness” (the sickness being applicable to any number of modern, mainstream ills) scolded the crowd while inspiring them to whip their heads about with abandon.

Slipknot, the headliner, was even more intense. “I think it’s time we went on down there,” a young fan told her boyfriend before the last act, and she wasn’t alone in her feeling — it seemed like half the lawn migrated, or at least tried — to the covered part of the seating before the band took the stage.

It was clear that anticipation of All Hope Is Gone, scheduled for release on Aug. 26, was a prime motivator for the crowd, which surged, moshed and devil-horned against the stage like a sweaty sea.

The band is known for a sense of hyper-theatricality, wearing masks and uniforms that evoke images from Jason Voorhees to Hieronymous Bosch. They were even more severe in their presentation, using strobe lights and balls of fire to animate songs like “Psychosocial” (supposedly the first single off the new album) and old favorites like “Prosthetics,” from their self-titled 1999 album.