Lyman accused "old, fat and bald" metal bands of inflicting long-term damage on the genre, although he later apologised. His outburst led King to bite back, criticising the quality of the bill and particularly of a label-sponsored stage.

Reese then admitted the spat had hurt the event financially, and called on supporters of metal to unite behind the genre's ideals. This week he posted a photo of himself with King Diamond on Facebook and said: "So amazing to have The King on the last Mayhem evah."