As we get closer to an official announcement, rumors about who will appear on the 2011 Mayhem Fest lineup are continuing to fly. We gave our two cents on who we thought were strong (and weak) possibilities for the lineup when they revealed the dates. However, now The PRP is reporting that Disturbed, Megadeth, Godsmack and Unearth are the current frontrunners rumored to be on the bill. Even though nothing is official, it’s still a good indicator as to how Mayhem may turn out, especially since Mayhem Fest is expected to announce the lineup in the next few weeks.
However, I still have a hard time believing that Disturbed will be on this year’s Mayhem Fest. Not only did they just recently headline the Uproar Tour (ran by the same people behind Mayhem Fest), but Disturbed is currently doing the Music As A Weapon tour with Korn. Though the tour is about to kick off soon and is only hitting small markets, Korn and Disturbed are supposedly hitting the road together for 45 dates (with only around 20 dates revealed so far). Sure, Mayhem will be hitting larger markets in the U.S. than Music As A Weapon will, but Disturbed still risks overplaying in most of the country if they were to appear on another bill, which could limit sales of their current co-headlining tour.
I also have a hard time believing that Megadeth is on board for this year’s Mayhem Fest. The Big Four have already announced Summer shows in the U.K. and France, and the U.S. is most likely next, especially since Dave Mustaine himself hinted at it. Not to say that Megadeth can’t do both, since it’s unlikely that The Big Four will do a full blown tour (unfortunately), but it’s unlikely that they would. Plus, I can’t see Megadeth doing Mayhem Fest unless they have anything new to promote (which they don’t).
As for Godsmack, it makes sense since they are still a relatively large hard rock band. Plus, they haven’t really done much touring behind their last album The Oracle, besides their Fall tour with Five Finger Death Punch and Drowning Pool. I’d also argue that Unearth is a definite addition to the lineup. Why? Well, let’s just say that in a recent interview Metal Insider (which will be posted online soon), Unearth frontman Trevor Phipps revealed that the band was confirmed for a big Summer tour that he couldn’t name. Unless he was referring to Ozzfest, it’s safe to say that Unearth will be on the Mayhem Fest lineup this Summer. I am surprised, though, that Cradle Of Filth’s name hasn’t been thrown out there yet. Not only did guitarist Paul Allender confirm to Metal Insider that the band was “in talks” with Mayhem Fest, but frontman Dani Filth hinted at it in a recent blog posting. Unless if something changed since then, I have to believe Cradle Of Filth is a definite choice as well.
An official announcement should be made within the month. We will keep you updated when more is revealed.
UPDATE: The PRP is now reporting that Trivium, In Flames and Machine Head are also rumored to be this year’s Mayhem bill. In our predictions, we considered Trivium to be a sure thing. However, after doing so much touring behind 2007’s The Blackening, I have to believe that Machine Head will be using 2011 to record their long awaited follow up record (unless a lot of progress in the studio has already been made). And unless In Flames has found a new guitarist, I wouldn’t count them in for the tour either. But, we’ll find out for sure soon.
