A single father from Minnesota has brought his son, who suffers from cerebral palsy, to over 1,200 heavy metal concerts ever since he first saw how much joy the music genre brings to the boy.

Richard McDied first saw how much his son Mason loves heavy metal when the boy was only a little baby. Mason reportedly cried constantly from infancy until he was a toddler, but when McDied put on a Metallica video while doing dishes one day, he was shocked to see that the crying had stopped. He was even more stunned when he saw that Mason had actually fallen asleep while the music was playing!

“This was the very first time he’d done that without someone holding him,” McDeid said. “Afterwards, 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.”

McDied brought Mason to his first heavy metal concert for his 12th birthday, and since then, the father and son duo have attended over 1,200 such concerts. This includes eight Metallica concerts, each of which Mason will never forget!

Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse when Mason was hospitalized in 2017 with a 107.9 fever, and doctors said it was not looking good for him. That’s why McDied decided to throw his son the biggest, baddest birthday party that he possibly could, naming it Mason MetalFest.

“Mason was still not 110%, but we had 10 bands playing and so many of Mason’s friends and supporters from the metal scene came out,” he recalled. “All those people were nothing but positive, and it was a turning point in his path to recovery.”

Thankfully, Mason has since made a full recovery, and Mason MetalFest has become an annual event the goal of which is to raise awareness for cerebral palsy. Now 24 years of age, Mason is the official music correspondent for the event.

Sadly, Mason MetalFest had to be cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. While this was “disappointing,” McDied has been through enough medical situations with Mason that he knows better than to mess around with this.

“I take it very seriously,” McDied told City Pages. “I’ve lived the medical life for many years with Mason.”

The father and son are staying positive, however, as they see this as an opportunity to make Mason MetalFest even bigger with more bands in the years to come.

McDied added that it’s “funny” that a man like Mason who has “never spoken” has managed to connect to so many people.

“Mason’s making history,” the proud father said.