Unlike those spoiled Europeans, America does not currently have an abundance of awesome annual metal festivals; there’s Maryland Deathfest, New England Metal and Hardcore Fest, and I guess Scion Rock Fest, although that one changes locations every year so I dunno if it counts, even if they’ve done a great job putting together a killer line-up three years running now.

My point being, there’s a reason Maryland Deathfest is so revered by metal fans in this country. And next year being the tenth edition of the fest, you would expects its organizers to put together something pretty special to celebrate.

And they have — they’ve snagged what looks to be Godflesh’s first performance on North American soil in a decade.

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I stole this photo from Invisible Oranges.

I wasn’t a big fan of last year’s Maryland Deathfest: The Movie. But I haven’t seen Maryland Deathfest: The Movie II, so for all I know, filmmaker David Hall knocked the ball out of the park the second go-round. And one way or the other, I respect that Hall is trying to do something different from most metal concert films, and I respect that Hall is working with some very cool bands (he’s also directed films for Today is the Day and Fuck the Facts) for what I’m assuming is pretty much no money. If your goal is to be a wealthy man, you don’t make documentaries about death metal festivals. Clearly, Hall loves his subject matter.

So I was pretty bummed to read “Don’t Be a Dick: A Tale of Indie Filmmaking, Extortion and MDF,” a guest post he wrote for The Deciblog today in which he tells the completely awful and depressing story of why the footage he shot at last month’s Maryland Deathfest 9 will never see the light of day.

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So the good news is, after a scare last week that the Sonar in Baltimore might be shut down and that, consequently, the revered Maryland Deathfest would need to find another venue IMMEDIATLEY, it’s looking like the Sonar will remain open after all. This means that the fest will go forward as planned, with a minimum of headaches.

That’s the good news.

The not-great news is that Death Breath have had to drop off the bill due to scheduling conflicts. That obviously has nothing to do with the almost-issue of the venue, and would have happened one way or the other; also, there’s still SO MANY KILLER BANDS playing the show (see poster above, proceed to splooge in shorts) that I kinda think, with all due respect to Death Breath, that one band more or less really isn’t gonna make much difference to attendees’ enjoyment of the show. Still, I’m sure some of you will be bummed.

But here’s something that might cheer you up: entering in the MDF MVP contest we’re doing with Relapse!!! You could win any 2 shirts, 1 LP, 2 CDs , and a  mystery prize from the Relapse booth at this year’s MDF (Relapse titles only), and the contest is being judged by a who’s who of MDF luminaries: Andres Erickson (General Surgery/Sayyadina), Matt Harvey (Exhumed/Depakitator), Rich Hoak (Brutal Truth/Total Fucking Destruction), Mike Hrubovcak (Monstosity), Mike Majewski (Devourment), Matt Moore (Absu/ Rumpelstiltskin Grinder),  and Proscriptor (Absu)! Go here for all details on how to enter. The contest ends next Monday, May 16 at midnight EST, so if you haven’t entered already, you’d best get crackin’!!!

-AR

The Sonar in Baltimore, Maryland has been shut down due to an expired liquor license and a subsequent dispute amongst several of the people who run the venue.

“So?” you may be thinking. “Venues get shut down all the time. Such is life. Why should I care?”

Well, this particular venue was supposed to host Maryland Deathfest (plus two sold-out Deftones/Dillinger Escape Plan shows) at the end of this month. Which means the MDF, one of, if not the, most revered extreme music festivals in North America, only has a few weeks to find a new venue.

But don’t fret! According to Metal Underground, “The festival organizers claim to have a backup plan that should involve little to no inconvenience to ticket holders (even those coming from out of town) and will be releasng more details soon.” So it looks like the festival is going forward as planned, which is obviously a major relief. It would be a serious tragedy if the festival had been derailed because somebody couldn’t keep track of an important date.

The final line-up for the fest, as well as set times for each band, is after the jump, although please note that it’s all subject to change once the new venue is announced.

In the meantime, don’t forget that you still have ’til Monday, May 16 at midnight EST to enter the awesome MDF MVP contest we’re doing with Relapse. You could win any 2 shirts, 1 LP, 2 CDs , and a  mystery prize from the Relapse booth at this year’s MDF (Relapse titles only), and the contest is being judged by a who’s who of MDF luminaries: Andres Erickson (General Surgery/Sayyadina), Matt Harvey (Exhumed/Depakitator), Rich Hoak (Brutal Truth/Total Fucking Destruction), Mike Hrubovcak (Monstosity), Mike Majewski (Devourment), Matt Moore (Absu/ Rumpelstiltskin Grinder),  and Proscriptor (Absu)! Go here for all details on how to enter.

And now those set times…

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IN CASE Y’ALL SOMEHOW FORGOT!!!

The ninth annual installement of Maryland Deathfest, arguably America’s best extreme music festival, will take place from May 26 – 29, and will feature performances from Neurosis, Coroner, Voivod, Nuclear Assault, Corrosion of Conformity, Cathedral, Exhorder, Ghost, Kylesa, Exhumed, and tons more! You can get more details and tickets here.

To celebrate this stupendous occasion, MetalSucks is teaming up with Relapse Records for an incredibly cool contest: THE MDF MVP. Here’s how it’s gonna work:

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The ninth annual installement of Maryland Deathfet, arguably America’s best extreme music festival, is just around the corner! This year’s fest will take place from May 26 – 29, and, as usual, has a ridiculously strong line-up: Neurosis, Coroner, Voivod, Nuclear Assault, Corrosion of Conformity, Cathedral, Exhorder, Ghost, Kylesa, Exhumed, and tons more will all be playing during the course of the weekend. You can get more details and tickets here.

To celebrate this stupendous occasion, MetalSucks is teaming up with Relapse Records for an incredibly cool contest: THE MDF MVP. Here’s how it’s gonna work:

• Anytime between now and Monday, May 16 at midnight EST, send an e-mail to news AT metalsucks DOT net with the subject line “MDF MVP.”
• The contents of the e-mail should include anything and everything you think proves that you should be this year’s MDF MVP. How many other installments of the fest have you attended? Have any great stories? Pictures? Memorabilia? Memories of great or terrible bands? It’s up to you to convince the panel of judges that you deserve to win.
• Speaking of the panel of judges, look at the MDF MVPs we ‘ve rounded up to reign over this contest! Andres Erickson (General Surgery/Sayyadina), Matt Harvey (Exhumed/Depakitator), Rich Hoak (Brutal Truth/Total Fucking Destruction), Mike Hrubovcak (Monstosity), Mike Majewski (Devourment), Matt Moore (Absu/ Rumpelstiltskin Grinder),  and Proscriptor (Absu) will look over the entries and choose the MDF MVP!!!
• The winner gets  any 2 shirts, 1 LP, 2 CDs , and a  mystery prize from the Relapse booth at this year’s MDF (Relapse titles only).
• The winner will be announced the week of May 23.

And that’s it! This should be a really fun contest that separates the real fans from the chumps… so get crackin’ on those entries!!!

-Axl, Vince, and Everyone at MetalSucks

We’re just days away from Maryland Deathfest 2010, which will take place from May 28-30 in Baltimore, Maryland. This year’s edition of the annual fest promises to be the best one yet, with a line-up that includes Gorguts, Autopsy, Obituary, Entombed, Sodom, Repulsion, D.R.I., and a ton of other kick-ass bands. In anticipation of the event, we thought it would be fun to get some recollections of past MDFs from artists who were there. So we’re teaming up with Relapse Records to do just that! Read the raucous inaugural entry by Matt from Rumpelstiltskin Grinder, memories of a jam-packed day from Tomas Lindberg of Disfear (and At the Gates), how Pete Benumb of Agenda of Swine got swindled, John from Weekend Nachos’ memories of the Bolt Thrower show, and today’s final entries, a double-shot from Dan Lilker of Autopsy, Brutal Truth and Nuclear Assault fame, and Marc from Fuck the Facts. Have fun at MDF!

I am definitely looking forward to this year’s MDF for a very good reason – I will be playing bass for Autopsy there.

I’ve had the pleasure of playing MDF a couple of times with Brutal Truth and once each with Nuclear Assault and Venomous Concept, but even with all that in mind this will be a special one for me due to the honor bestowed on me by Chris and the guys by asking me to fill in on bass. As most people know, Autopsy has not performed live since the early 90s, so this will be the first show in a very long time for a band that was “kult” before that word was intentionally misspelled by a bunch of message board members.

I hope all you motherfuckers come down to witness a little death metal history!!

- Dan Lilker / Autopsy, Brutal Truth, Nuclear Assault

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We’re just one week away from Maryland Deathfest 2010, which will take place from May 28-30 in (duh) Baltimore, Maryland. This year’s edition of the annual fest promises to be the best one yet, with a line-up that includes Gorguts, Autopsy, Obituary, Entombed, Sodom, Repulsion, D.R.I., and a ton of other kick-ass bands. In anticipation of the event, we thought it would be fun to get some recollections of past MDFs from artists who were there. So we’re teaming up with Relapse Records to do just that! Read the raucous inaugural entry by Matt from Rumpelstiltskin Grinder, memories of a jam-packed day from Tomas Lindberg of Disfear (and At the Gates), how Pete Benumb of Agenda of Swine got swindled, and the latest entry from John of Weekend Nachos, below.

Least memorable thing about MDF 2009:

I saw Bolt Thrower play and not one single person moshed. This, to me, was a travesty. The fact that some of the hardest music of all time is being played and metalheads are too boring to even move their dirty feet is beyond insane to me.

I doubt it mattered either way to Bolt Thrower, considering they were up there doing their thing and being evil as fuck no matter what and totally blowing everybody away, but still… if this were a room full of hardcore kids you would’ve seen some serious blood in the pit. Major letdown. I expect violence during a band like Bolt Thrower. Even some old man push-mosh would’ve been better than nothing! Pantera and Slayer shows at least have old dudes being ignorant and beating each others’ brains out.

- John, Weekend Nachos

We’re just a couple of weeks away from Maryland Deathfest 2010, which will take place from May 28-30 in (duh) Baltimore, Maryland. This year’s edition of the annual fest promises to be the best one yet, with a line-up that includes Gorguts, Autopsy, Obituary, Entombed, Sodom, Repulsion, D.R.I., and a ton of other kick-ass bands. In anticipation of the event, we thought it would be fun to get some recollections of past MDFs from artists who were there. So we’re teaming up with Relapse Records to do just that! Read the raucous inaugural entry by Matt from Rumpelstiltskin Grinder, memories of a jam-packed day from Tomas Lindberg of Disfear (and At the Gates) and the latest entry from Pete Benumb of Agenda of Swine, below. We’ve got two more entries left before the fest starts.

2009 was my first MDF. It goes without saying that it was awesome. Got to play the same fest as Misery Index, Immolation, The Red Chord, Despise You, Abscess, Kill the Client, Catheter and Plf. Got to catch up and actually hang with old and dear friends!

We had just finished playing and went back to the hotel room to dump our gear. I am really not much of a drinker, but I was enjoying a beer with Jason and John. Glancing at the time, I only had a few minutes to catch Kill The Client’s set. So I slammed a second beer and walked out into the heat, but the mix of heat and alcohol helped my buzz a bit too well.

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Yep, we talked a lot of smack on Joey Belladonna this week, much to the chagrin of, well, an awful lot of you. I think we’re done for a little while… but I can’t make any promises. Our job at MetalSucks is to amuse ourselves first and foremost, and, well, we thought it was pretty damned funny. So ppppfffftttt.

Here’s what else went down this week:

• We debuted the title track from Nachtmystium’s new album, Addicts.
• Genetic’s Dallas Coyle called us “influential,” Disfear’s Tomas Lindberg shared some Maryland Deathfest memories, The Austerity Program’s Justin Foley unveiled his top four Taco Riffs, Cynic’s Paul Masvidal got burglarized, As I Lay Dying’s Nick Hipa made some new revelations about L O S T, God Forbid’s Doc Coyle worried about turning into an old geezer, Daath’s Eyal Levi gave us a lesson in stage etiquette, and Batillus’ Geoff Summers gave us a new studio update.
• We spoke to The Melvins’ Buzz Osborne, Periphery’s Misha “Bulb” Mansoor, Testament’s Chuck Billy, and Sick of it All’s Lou Koller.
• We checked out new releases by Korn and Ufomammut and Year of No Light.
• Is Mastodon’s Brent Hinds a Mastodick?
• Sergeant D sez Cunthunt777 are your new favorite band.
• Don’t worry, baby, Dr. Danzig gonna cure what ails you.
• Hot chick loves Nergal, hates the Bible.
• Boy oh boy, do we love the new Limp Bizkit cover art!
• If you’re looking for new band members, don’t do this.

Alright. We’re gonna go get drunk and crank We’ve Come For You All in John Bush’s honor. Have a great weekend, everyone.

-AR

We’re just a couple of weeks away from Maryland Deathfest 2010, which will take place from May 28-30 in (duh) Baltimore, Maryland. This year’s edition of the annual fest promises to be the best one yet, with a line-up that includes Gorguts, Autopsy, Obituary, Entombed, Sodom, Repulsion, D.R.I., and a ton of other kick-ass bands. In anticipation of the event, we thought it would be fun to get some recollections of past MDFs from artists who were there. So we’re teaming up with Relapse Records to do just that! Read the raucous inaugural entry by Matt from Rumpelstiltskin Grinder, and the latest from Tomas Lindberg of Disfear (and At the Gates) below. We’ll continue to post more MDF Memories from other metal dudes as the event draws closer. Enjoy…

In 2008 it was time once again for us happy chaps in Disfear to get the chance to (as Kevin Sharp recently put it) “do our song and dance at the MDF.” We had a good time there a couple of years earlier (2006), even though we had to rush out to play a show in Philly the same night (with our friends in Tragedy/ Forward/ Warhead). Great times! This time the scene is somehow similar; we have a show booked in Philly later on in the evening, in the same club even. We play with Kylesa, Trap Them, Straightjacket Nation and Thrones (!!!), so once again we have a long day ahead of us (and no room for hotel thrashing/late night sessions in Baltimore).

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A few hours ago authorities evacuated Times Square for the second time in a week after someone found a “suspicious cooler” on the street. Of course, everyone was just being overly cautious, but as long as it doesn’t infringe on my civil rights, there’s nothing necessarily wrong with that. I think Vince was in Michigan when 9/11 went down, but I was here, and if I never see another tank rolling down my street again or run all over the city because there’s no cell service and I need to make sure that all of my friends and family are still alive, well, I’ll be good.

While I nurse my PTSD, here are some happier, metalier things that happened this week:

• We’re streaming Keep of Kalessin’s new album, Reptilian. We also debuted new music by Lamb of God and The Funeral Pyre.
• We also also also debuted new videos by Soulfly and Cancer Bats.
• We also also also also debuted our new cooking show, Cooking Contaminated.
• Cynic’s Paul Masvidal discussed the shape of silence, Periphery’s Bulb taught you how to get that “big” studio tone, As I Lay Dying’s Nick Hipa had some questions about L O S T, Matt from Rumpelstiltskin Grinder fondly recalled Maryland Deathfest, and Batillus bassist Willi Stabenau gave us a studio update.
• We talked to Darkest Hour’s Mike Schleibaum, Reign Supreme’s Jay Pepito,  Jackyl’s Jesse James Dupree, and unveiled part one of our massive two-part interview with Buzz Osborne.
• We checked out the latest release by The Howling Wind.
• Does the fact that Mike Portnoy is touring with Avenged Sevenfold make you wanna see ‘em?
• We don’t want Joey Belladonna to return to Anthrax. Seriously.
• Sergeant D. wants to know if u mosh 4 Christ???
• Damnocracy’s Evan Seinfeld and his porno Howdy Doody also do bar mitzvahs.
• We wish there was really such a thing as a Slayer burrito.

Next week brings even more betterer br00tal goodness – interviews, debuts, guest blogs, all that shit. It’s gonna get real up in this bitch. See ya then.

-AR

2009 was a banner year for metal festivals in the U.S., but one extreme music festival has outlived and out-brutaled all the rest: Maryland Deathfest. Now going into its 8th year, Maryland Deathfest is the flagship metal festival in the U.S. bar none, the closest we have to anything resembling the myriad European Summer festivals. The next iteration is still 7 months away, but already the lineup is well on its way to continuing the excellent tradition of past Deathfests.

Confirmed bands for 2010 that I’d be interested in seeing: Sodom, Obituary, Possessed, Pentagram, Gorguts, Entombed, Eyehategod, Converge, Melechesh, Gorod, 16 and Howl. And that’s only a portion of the whole list of bands who have been confirmed.

Rumors have been a swirlin’ about a reprise of last year’s highly successful Scion Rock Fest in Atlanta, but as of yet nothing has been announced. Either way, MDF 2010 is gonna be hard to beat.

-VN

Ah, McSweeney’s. You make me giggle.

Their latest bit of metal humor? A statement announcing the cancellation of a fictional metal fest:

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