If you know me, you know that I am a death metal fanatic. So, when legendary bands Cannibal Corpse and Obituary announced that they would be touring North America with Cryptopsy and Abysmal Dawn along for the ride, I was nearly beside myself with joy. I mean, you know… brutal joy… stop judging me!

When the night of the Los Angeles tour stop rolled around (3/8/16), I showed up early because I wasn’t about to miss a minute of this stellar lineup. The show took place in downtown L.A. at the beautiful, historic Mayan theater. If you ever get a chance to see a show in this venue, do not hesitate. It really is one of the nicest venues in the L.A. metro area. The only bummer was having to fly solo for this one, as it was a sold-out show and I was on Cannibal Corpse’s guest list with no plus one. So, I didn’t get to bring my trusty sidekick, my 13-year-old son Jesse.

On October 24th and 25, 2015, my 12-year-old son Jesse and I made our second annual pilgrimage to Slipknot’s giant, weekend-long heavy metal festival Knotfest. The event once again took place at San Manuel Amphitheater at Glen Helen Regional Park in San Bernardino, California. This is a recap of our experiences on Saturday, October 24.

The event actually kicks off on Friday night with a show just for those who are fortunate enough to be holding camping or VIP passes. We were not among those folks, so we missed out on Sepultura, The Faceless, and several others. A bit of a bummer, but nothing compared to the gut-wrenching decisions that we would have to make later in the weekend with so many quality bands performing opposite each other on the side stages (more on that in a few…).