LOUDER THAN LIFE:

"What's up, you soggy bastards?" - Ken Casey, lead singer of the Dropkick Murphys

Rain, wind and even some mud, put a damper on - but certainly didn't spoil - a celebration of a decade of incredible music.

Around 150,000 fans (aka Loudmouths) packed into the Highlands Festival Grounds in Louisville for Louder Than Life on Sept. 26 through 29.

The event had to be shortened to three days because of the effects of Hurricane Helene. Massive crowds, though, still packed the venue to witness performances from Slipknot, Five Finger Death Punch, Disturbed, Korn, Judas Priest, Motley Crue and the enigmatic Till Lindemann.

"Thank you to the rain for not ruining this," Gojira singer Joe Duplainter said on the final day of the festival.

One of the most anticipated moments of the 10th anniversary of Louder Than Life was the unholy rebirth of thrash metal legends Slayer. The band had not toured since 2019 and returned to the road this fall for only a trio of shows.

That performance never happened.

The entire Friday lineup - which also included Evanescence, Anthrax, In This Moment and Tom Morello - was canceled as tropical storm conditions swept into Kentucky.

“Loudmouths – we know how disappointing it was to miss Slayer‘s performance at Louder Than Life, and we share your heartbreak," a release from LTL said. "We spent five years working to bring that reunion to life, and not being able to deliver that moment was devastating for us too."

Festival officials allowed single-day pass holders for Sept. 27 to get free entry on either of the final two days. They also offered LTL ticket holders an opportunity to witness Slayer later this month at another Danny Wimmer Presents event - Aftershock in Sacramento, Calif.

The weather wasn't able to slow down the rest of Louder Than Life.

Almost as soon as the gates opened on Thursday morning, moshpits emerged in the frantic, raucous crowd and fans started surfing toward the stage.

Fit For A King, Starset, Highly Suspect, Seether, Halestorm and The Offspring fed the frenzy with blistering sets on the two main stages.

"There must be 100 people out there crowdsurfing," The Offspring singer Dexter Holland said.

"I wanna see 200 people crowdsurfing," The Offspring guitarist Noodles responded.

Sum 41 played its last-ever Kentucky show and Five Finger Death Punch returned to stage for a two-song encore even after singer Ivan Moody was injured. He slipped on the stage as rain began to fall and fractured a rib.

Slipknot closed out the opening night with a special treat for the "Maggots."

The band played every song from its self-titled debut album, which was released 25 years ago.

"Welcome back to 1999, you crazy motherfuckers," Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor said.

Steady rain - and some mud - on Saturday didn't keep fans from flocking back to the festival.

CKY, POD, Filter, Sleeping With Sirens, Nothing More, Dropkick Murphys and Chevelle got the party re-started, setting the stage for perhaps the most memorable moments of the weekend.

Till Lindemann - the lead singer of Rammstein - had originally been set to make his U.S. debut as a solo artist on Friday. However, after Falling In Reverse had to cancel because of the weather, he took the stage a day later.

Lindemann delivered a stunning scene which featured bondage-clad bandmates and pornographic videos, while singing in both English - on songs like "Golden Shower," and "Fat" - and in German as well.

Mastodon celebrated the 20th anniversary of the band's magnum opus - "Leviathan" - by playing the album in its entirety.

Disturbed and Motley Crue wrapped up a soggy day with sets of familiar favorites, including "Down With The Sickness," "Sound of Silence," "Girls, Girls, Girls" and "Home Sweet Home."

"I'm looking down here and I don't see one beer," Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee said to the crowd. "What is this, an AA Meeting?"

On the final day, the rain finally ended.

"Today is a beautiful day for rock n' roll," Saliva singer Bobby Amaru said.

Eagles of Death Metal, Poppy, Oxymorrons, Saliva and Drowning Pool led the charge as an energetic and intense crowd started to pour though the festival gates.

Spiritbox turned up the intensity even higher as they were joined on stage by special guests Poppy, Tatiana Shmayluk of Jinjer and Sam Carter of Architects.

French metal masters - and Olympic ceremony heroes - Gojira delivered a brilliantly brutal wall of sound which summoned a seemingly endless barrage of crowd surfers.

Staind frontman Aaron Lewis had fans singing along with the band's biggest hits, "It's Been Awhile," "Outside," and "So Far Away."

Breaking Benjamin made its fourth-appearance at LTL and closed out their set with crowd favorites, "I Will Not Bow," and "The Dairy Of Jane."

"You guys bring it every fucking time," Breaking Benjamin singer Benjamin Burnley said.

The final night of this year's Louder Than Life featured the same two headliners as the first day of the festival 10 years ago (Oct. 4, 2014) - Judas Priest and Korn.

"We were here for the very first one," Judas Priest singer Rob Halford told the audience. "It's amazing how big it has gotten. It's huge!"

Priest was back at Louder Than Life for the first time since 2021, when guitarist Richie Faulkner suffered an acute aortic aneurysm on stage. He was rushed to a Louisville hospital, where a 10-hour surgery saved his life.

Faulkner's triumphant return highlighted a 13-song set featuring icon metal hits like "Painkiller," "Breaking The Law," and "Living After Midnight," along with deep tracks such as "Devil's Child," and "Sinner," in addition to two songs off the band's latest album, "Panic Attack," and "Invincible Shield."

The "Freaks" stayed around until the very end of the festival.

And let loose - with a fury.

Korn sent an already aggressive crowd to the brink of insanity, forcing the band to stop performing at one point as officials asked fans to move back from the barrier.

The 90's nu metal legends closed out the weekend with the one of the era's biggest anthems - "Freak On A Leash."

Dates have not yet been announced for next year's Louder Than Life.