Metal fans from all over the world will invade Mexico October 29- November 2 to attend Metal Maya, a 4-day all-inclusive heavy metal destination festival vacation at the luxurious Now Sapphire Riviera Cancun, just south of Cancun in the paradise of Puerto Morelos on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.
Metal Maya is the perfect place to celebrate Halloween and Dia de los Muertos (also known as Day Of The Dead and “Hanal Pixán” to the Mayans of Yucatan Peninsula) and will feature performances from a dozen bands in a tropical paradise.
The over the top lineup includes Anthrax, Overkill, Superjoint (with Phillip Anselmo), heavy metal all-star band Metal Allegiance, KYNG, Death Angel, Whitechapel, OTEP and many more. SiriusXM’s Jose Mangin will host the event.
There is still time to book your trip and join the party at the beach at http://www.metalmaya.com
Glide caught up with KYNG drummer Pepe Clarke Magaña to discuss Metal Maya and their recent adventures touring on the road.
What are you most looking forward to being in Mexico at Metal Maya?
I am from Mexico originally so I am looking forward to being in Cancun. One of my best friends lives in Cancun so I am looking forward to hanging out with him. I am super excited about the lineup at the festival. The lineup is great. We are very happy to be a part of it.
Metal Allegiance will be doing a tribute to Lemmy Kilmister and Cliff Burton. Can you talk about what impact Lemmy or Cliff had on you personally or professionally?
I got into Motörhead a little bit later in life and I love the music. It wasn’t until I saw them live that I was blown away and learned how the slogan “Everything is louder than everything else” is absolutely true. It was such an incredible energy from a band that had been around so long. They set a bar so high for all bands that play heavy music. In terms of showmanship and presence, they aren’t running around or anything but they are larger than life characters that are on stage.
I could go on and on about Cliff Burton and Metallica. I taught myself to play drums with Metallica albums. It wasn’t a conscious thing, but I would listen to them so much that I would memorize them in my head and play along with them. I discover them when I was 12 or 13 when the Black album came out. That was the first album I got and I really liked it, but I worked backwards chronologically and every album, to me, got better and better and better. So, as a drummer, I enjoy Cliff’s musicianship and songwriting and everything he brought to Metallica really had an impact on my life and made me want to do what I do, become a musician.
Are there any collaborations planned for Metal Maya?
We have not planned anything specifically. I would absolutely love for there to be collaborations. I am sure we can convince Jose Mangin to do something with us. He is always down. The possibilities are endless and awesome with all these bands in one place for four days. I would love for something to happen with Superjoint. I love that band.
I have never seen Superjoint live and I am really excited to see their show.
I am extremely stoked to see Overkill. I haven’t seen them before. Bobby Blitz is an athlete on stage.
I saw you recently on tour in New Orleans with Gojira. What is your favorite tour story from the Gojira run?
One thing that was pretty awesome is they do those evil Mario videos. I got to witness the making of one of those in Birmingham. They were doing it and I was wondering what the hell they were doing since it was taking forever until I saw how elaborate they are when edited and saw how many they have. It was pretty cool to see that. Watching Gojira play live was incredible. They are one of my favorites.
The band has played a lot of festivals this summer like did Rock on the Range and Carolina Rebellion. Do you prepare differently for a festival show versus a venue show?
Usually we have shorter set times at festivals so we try to plan accordingly. We do a more radio set or heavier set, because it is a radio rock festival with a lot of metal bands on the bill. You are trying to win over new fans. That is what we think about when we are putting together a set list. We also think who is playing before us and after us. I like that we do some things different than other heavy bands but we definitely try to get others interested in our music and check out what we do.
You guys had a huge crowd at Rock on the Range.
It was awesome. Rock on the Range is always incredible. I love, love, love that festival. I love all those standing room festivals but Rock on the Range was the first one we ever played. I had never heard of it before we played it the first time many years ago and now it has become so massive. There is something really special about it. This year they had the special tribute to Chris Cornell, which also made it one we won’t forget.
You guys have the album Breathe In The Water. What is your favorite song to play live from the record?
I really like to play “Pristine Warning” from that album when we play it live. It is a heavier song and I love to play it. I always enjoy when it is coming up. I am hoping we throw in a song called “Reckoning” at Metal Maya. I really like it and I don’t think we have ever played it live.
Anything you want to tell people about Metal Maya to get people pumped up about it?
Man, that lineup speaks for itself. I think it’s going to be an amazing night. That time in Mexico with Day of the Dead coming up could be really cool.
I don’t think people understand how special November 1st is in Mexico and it is just going to be a really amazing time to be there and party.
It is going to be super fun. The people are going to be super stoked. I feel like with something like this you will get people from all over the world and it will be one to remember. We look forward to seeing everyone on the beach.
