HOLY METALFEST, BATMAN! U.S. FINALLY JUMPS ON THE EUROPEAN FESTIVAL BANDWAGON.
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009 at 3:40pm by Vince Neilstein
In the summer of 2006, before MetalSucks was even a twinkle in our young, stoned eyes, Axl and I headed across the pond to England’s famous Download Festival at Castle Donington to get our metal on. Our minds were literally blown; neither of us had ever been to an event of such magnitude and we were literally shocked at the seemingly endless and welcoming metal community in Europe. In 2007 and 2008 we talked of going to other European festival mainstays like Wacken and Hellfest, and though we never made it back we were continually jealous of the rich European metal festival scene.
Americans have reason to be jealous of their European forefathers no more; a glut of both indoor and outdoor festivals have hit the American circuit in the past few of years, and in 2009 even more promoters are jumping on the bandwagon with a glut of killer destination metal festivals already lined up.
There’s the obvious ones, festivals that traditionally haven’t catered to metal audiences but have hosted metal bands recently. Much was made last year of Metallica’s headlining slot on the hippie-throwdown Bonnaroo festival, and this year’s lineup already features Nine Inch Nails and Down. California’s Coachella festival, held the weekend of April 17-19, already boasts appearances by Mastodon, Genghis Tron, Henry Rollins, and Mike Patton & Rahzel on top of their usually indie-centric lineup.
But let’s cut to the real shit; no metal head in their right mind would withstand dozens of hours of hipster wank to catch a couple of bands that tour all the time anyway. Right? Right.
The New England Metal and Hardcore Festival celebrates its 11th year in Worcester, Mass the same weekend as Coachella and features a two-day all-star lineup we’ve already publicized plenty in this space. And you all well know about the ridiculously awesome and slightly more left-of-center Scion Rock Fest going down in Atlanta at the end of February (win tickets from us here!).
Maryland Deathfest, now in its 7th year, is kicking off May 22nd and boasts a roster of 50+ bands including just about every band on Relapse and any band you’d be likely to read about in the pages of Decibel. Read: lots of old-school death, grind and other off-the-wall shit. Samples: Bolt Thrower, Napalm Death, Pestilence, Aura Noir, Misery Index, The Red Chord, Brutal Truth, Immolation, Pig Destroyer, Today is the Day, just to name a few. How ’bout them apples?
But wait, there’s more!
Several readers have emailed us about California Metalfest (in its 3rd year, from what I can tell) which takes place March 28th at The Grove in Anaheim and features a lineup that’s pretty much a who’s who of modern death metal; The Faceless, Whitechapel, Arsis, Decrepit Birth, Veil of Maya, and Psycroptic. Long-established heavy hitters Carcass, Exodus, Suffocation and Samael round out the top of the bill, and the festival MySpace page boasts “many more TBA.” The Texas Metal Up Your Ass festival features all of the same bands — minus Exodus, plus Suicide Silence — and takes place exactly one week earlier at The Ridglea in Fort Worth. A scaled down version of this tour being billed as “Texas Metal Fest” also appears to be hitting Houston the next night.
Lastly, a press release that came in this morning at 4:31am announces L.A. Murderfest 5.0 at The Knitting Factory in Los Angeles on May 9th and 10th. The lineup features Eyehategod, General Surgery, Outlaw Order (aka Eyehategod minus Jimmy Bower), Coffins, 16, Abysmal Dawn, Braindrill and a shitload of others.
So there are plenty of options to get your metal on this summer outside of the usual touring package scene (Mayhem, Ozzfest if it happens, etc). Furthermore, American festival promoters smartly chose not to compete with their European brethren, instead choosing to hold their festivals in the Spring as opposed to the Summer.
So what the fuck are Americans complaining about? Get in your fuckin’ car or buy a bargain-basement flight and get your ass out there.
-VN
There is also the second edition of HEAVY MTL in Montreal, QC ….
Last year Maiden and the Crue headlined the two day outdoor festival !
I went to the last three Hellfest’s before they got shut down. Yes, the American Hellfest that lasted like nine years. Three days, 3-5 stages, outdoors or indoors, and over 100 bands the last couple of years. It was amazing.
And there are tons of smaller festivals all across the country. 10-25 bands for fifteen bucks, how can you not love that?
If only Chicago Powerfest were in Tinley Park
let’s not forget the tba summer slaughter tour…
I remember there was a classic metalfest in Grand Rapids Michigan many years ago. Apparently the draw was low, and it died. Typically these sorts of festivals similar to Wacken don’t fare well in the US. America is big and difficult to traverse. We don’t have high speed rails or government subsidized airlines, nor do we have a network of quality hostels. So I have no faith in the US ever making something half as big and important as the misnamed Summer Breeze festival, which sounds like some sort of Lillith Fair deal, doesn’t it?
disagree!
america has not successfully jumped on the ‘bandwagon’
the fests here still have sucky lineups.
the new england ‘metalfest’ is a crappy nightmare. have you actually been to that shithole?
i’ve been to tuska [FI], nebelmond metal party [discontinued, DE], earthshaker [discontinued, DE], roskilde [DK], and metalcamp [SLVN].
all the fests here have strict rules, outrageously overpriced beer/food, and lineups that leave much to be desired.
there is NO comparison.
And what a great Download that was in 06. Metallica playing MOP in it’s entirety. Apart from the Axl Rose show on the Sunday it was a great lineup. Unfortunately it slipped in 07 but rumours are that this year will be one of the biggest.
Might want to keep it quiet that you guys didn’t quite do it hard and sleep with the peasants in the camp ground, preferring to take the comfort of a nice warm bed, hot shower, and hot breakfast at a nearby hotel instead!
Not having experienced a yanky festival (yet) I can’t compare but the Europeans put on great festivals. Now I just need to convince the powers that be to take the experience of the US/Europe and bring more than a single day festival to the other side of the world.
\”/
yaya great article kool tours, but am i the only one who thinks the babe in the pic is BLAZIN!?
Brandon- So you’ve clearly never been to Maryland Death.
IE, You have no fucking idea what you’re talking about
Lame timing. Those festivals do so well because they ARE in the summer, and most people want an awesome excuse to get the fuck out of America. Who wants to go hang out in Maryland? I mean, I’m not saying I won’t consider going, but for those of us in college, summer is the only time to shine. I’d rather spend an extra 2-3 hundred bucks and travel to Slovania for Metalcamp than go hang out in the ghettos of Atlanta, breathe in the Smog of LA or do what-ever it is the fuck they do in Maryland. Maybe its just me.
You should come to Graspop Metal Meeting, belgium.
Last Years lineup:
36 Crazyfists
Action In DC
After All
Agent Steel
Alchemist
Alestorm
Apocalyptica
Arch Enemy
At The Gates
Avenged Sevenfold
Behemoth
Black Stone Cherry
Black Tide
Bleeding Through
Bring Me The Horizon
Bullet For My Valentine
Cavalera Conspiracy
Comeback Kid
Converge
Damn Your Idols
Deathstars
Dedicted
Def Leppard
Delain
Die Mannequin
Disfear
Dying Fetus
Firewind
Forbidden
Hacride
Helmet
Hollenthon
Iced Earth
Immortal
In Flames
Iron Maiden
Judas Priest
Kiss
Korpiklaani
Lauren Harris
The Lucifer Principle
Madball
Ministry
Moonspell
Morbid Angel
My Dying Bride
Nile
Novembers Doom
Obituary
Opeth
Primordial
Rose Tattoo
Rotting Christ
Sabaton
Saxon
The Seventh
Shai Hulud
Skindred
Soilwork
Sonata Arctica
Steak n° 8
Symphony X
Tesla
Testament
Throwdown
Valient Thorr
Volbeat
Whitesnake
Witchsmeller Pursuivant
Yngwie Malmsteen
Hope this years lineup will be as awesome as last year
How about a trip to France’s Hellfest dudes? ;)
I’ll sure be there, it’s going to be heavy as shit. I’ll go for sure.
I agree with Brandon, you CAN NOT compare these cool but tiny US festivals with the likes of Wacken, Hellfest or Graspop. We are not even close to any of them.
Sure, the US can’t really compare with european metal festivals, but it’s a step in the right direction. I for one am proud and excited to see numerous metal fests popping up all around North America. Unfortunately, I live in Canada and have no travelling budget.
I know the first post mentioned a second edition of Heavy MTL, any word on if that’s actually happening? I had an awesome time last year on the day with Iron Maiden.
Just be thankful you’ve got something to go to these days.
Milwaukee Metal Fest R.I.P.
For those who went in the early years, MMF used to be quite a prestigious event. So many hot bands used to come to Brew-Town back in the day. Believe it or not, it was once THE *PREMIER* metal event in North America. I remember when I lived in AZ for a couple years, I’d make a point to fly back to Milwaukee every year in late July just for MMF – it didn’t matter that I hadn’t seen the lineup, you always KNEW you’d catch some wicked shit! (too many great gigs to mention here)
Then, as the ’90s dragged on, so did the event. The event turned into a “pay-to-play” situation, so you ended up with dozens of no-name bands from central Indiana, Kentucky, or some shit, and the quality of headliners just got worse and worse, because many knew there were sometimes problems getting paid.
Unannounced, last minute slot changes and band cancellations became the norm, rather than the exception; merch vendor numbers dwindled; in some cases no one knew which area venue would host the event until the last minute. All in all, it became one giant clusterfuck.
So, be thankful there are kindred spirits out there willing to at least TRY to put together a decent lineup for you to check out. Sure, no event’s perfect, but enjoy it while you can.
Sadly, those glory days have long passed for what was every year – for one shining weekend – the Metal Capital of the World!
p.s. If you need anything fucked up, give former MMF promoter Jack Koshick a call. I’m sure he’ll be happy to do what he does best.
Yeah yeah, festivals, shows, whatever…
What’s with all the retards in the picture wearing those stupid fucked up boots for? Everyone’s got a pair on, like they were passing out free fishing waders when you showed up for the show. Hey but a ticket and you get a complementary pair of fishing boots…hell yeah I’m down, free rubber boots….the fuck?
A. well, if you like Maryland Death Fest, you clearly have different taste in metal.
B. you can’t compare an open air fest w/camping with thousands of metalheads to seeing bands in the same old club setting while staying in a hotel in…Baltimore.
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i wouldn’t go out of the way for some of these USA fests that just take tours that are already in progress, put them in the same room, and cut your favorite bands’ set times in half. that’s just lame.