A father who took his son with cerebral palsy to an estimated 1,200 metal shows also organized a metal festival to raise awareness about the disability that affects the young rocker named Mason.

That's how Richard McDeid came to host Mason MetalFest 2, the second benefit show assembled by the prolific concertgoer. But it all started with Mason's love of Metallica as a baby, according to The Dad. When the child couldn't be consoled, the sounds of the Bay Area thrash kings lulled him into wonderment.

"He would simply not stop, so I put him in his chair and turned on the Metallica Binge and Purge VHS tape," McDeid explained of the initial discovery that his son's cries were soothed by heavy metal.

"A few minutes later I was washing the dishes and noticed he'd stopped crying," he continued. "Afterward, it started happening in the car whenever Metallica was on. He would calm down and relax. At first, it was only Metallica and then grew to other bands as he learned to recognize them, he instantly responded and it grew from there."

The led to Mason experiencing his first concert in 2008, which was Rage Against the Machine, McDeid said. But when Mason's condition took a turn for the worse in 2017, the father wanted to do more to help.

Since March is Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month, that's when McDeid organized the first concert in honor of his son. As reported by KARE 11, the second benefit was held in Minneapolis March 8.

What other metal does Mason and his father enjoy? "It was Judas Priest … and AC/DC back in the day," he said. "Then Metallica came along. It's Mason's favorite. He's seen them eight times in the front row."

Metallica are on tour now and ticketing information can be found here.


66 Most Important Moments in Metal History