PSYCHO LAS Vegas Kick Off with Psycho Swim and Headliners COC

In August at 110 degrees out, it was time for PSYCHO SWIM to kickoff their 2019 festival weekend at the Daylight Beach Club at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino! Psycho Swim is the pre-party for the Psycho Las Vegas festival, and had a great lineup of bands.

The bands who played early in the day had the blazing sun beating down on them, and the majority of the fans were seeking refuge in the nice cool huge pool out front of the stage or in the back by the outdoor bar, which had 2 large swamp coolers going all day and night to help cool off the fans looking for some relief from the heat. There was plenty of room for everyone and the stage was fantastic, a huge set up with a state of the art sound system, and just past noon THROWN INTO EXILE took the stage

THROWN INTO EXILE is a metal band from Los Angeles, and these guys have opened for Testament, Sepultura and Fear Factory along with many others, and gave a high energy start to the day. The day progressed with IDLE HANDS from Portland, Oregon, a metal / goth type band that has only been together for only 2 years, and these guys had to be suffering as singer Gabriel Franco wore a black jean jacket in 110 degree temps while playing in the full blast of the sun!

HOWLING GIANT were great and a blast to see as they brought their style of stoner / psychedelic rock all the way from Nashville to the outdoor stage at Psycho Swim. ASG headed up the show next, a stoner / metal band from North Carolina who hit the stage at 3:05 right about the time when the temps outside were hitting their peak. ASG has been around since 2001 and were one of the more experienced bands playing at Psycho Swim and a great band to see live.

Perhaps the most brutal band of the entire festival, PRIMITIVE MAN combine funeral doom along with noise music and black metal to create a sound that is as harsh as anything I have ever heard. When this band started playing, the look on the Daylight beach Club employees was priceless - they had no idea what just hit them. DANAVA from Portland, a hard rock band with looks that remind you of an early Foghat, have been around since 2003 and in 2008 had a video that played on MTV2’s Headbangers Ball.

One of the most highly anticipated bands of Psycho Swim, LUCIFER took to the stage as the desert sun set over the mountains in the distance. Lucifer is led by singer Johanna Sadonis, who took to the stage wearing a red jumpsuit and drinking a bottle of wine. The band is based in Berlin, and were amazing in their performance, and as expected their sound is heavy and filled with occult rock. Lucifer surprised the crowd with a cover of Black Sabbath's "Snowblind", and was a perfect band to setup the headliner of Psycho Swim.

With the sun now down and the desert air cooling a bit it was time for the main event. Kirk Windstein of the band Crowbar surprised the crowd by coming out and announcing that it was time for CORROSION OF CONFORMITY. C.O.C. stormed the stage as the fans pushed and shoved their way to the front to get as close as possible to these metal giants. These guys have been around since 1982 and hail from North Carolina, and their sound is pure stoner / sludge / thrash and have always been a favorite of Vegas metal fans. C.O.C. opened the show with the song "Seven Days" which, to me, defines this band and it’s sound, the and this was the song that got the crowd going crazy.

After all day in the heat and drinking alcohol the fans were getting out of control, but security had the stage secure and keep the rabid fans at bay from diving. C.O.C. does not slow down, and just keeps hitting you in the face with each song harder than the previous one, and made for a great finale to the long hot day poolside. As the fans made their way out of the venue it was time to get something to eat and get some rest, as this was only a preview of what was yet to come. Psycho was just beginning.... and the festival moved inside for the next three days and nights as the Psycho train kept a rollin' at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Corrosion of Conformity photos from Harold Mountain / JustAFanPhotos