Heavy Chicago II Announces 2024 Lineup with Bongripper, Earth Crisis, and Cynic to Headline

Heavy Chicago is the perfect name for a music festival. It explains what to expect in just two words, utilizing an amazing economy of language that I, obviously, am not capable of. What kind of music is it going to be? Heavy. Where is it going to be? Chicago. There, now you’re all caught up and ready to go. Most festival names don’t give you that much information. Like, the name “Capulet Fest” makes me think there’s going to be Shakespeare in the park, not a scam in Connecticut.

The second annual edition of Heavy Chicago, being billed as Heavy Chicago II, announced most of its lineup yesterday. Last year, for the inaugural edition of Heavy Chicago, the festival was spread out over two weekends, with the first day of the festival falling on October 28, and the next two days of the festival taking place a week later on November 4 and 5. That’s a complicated way to hold a festival, and makes it rather inconvenient for anyone who wants to travel to Chicago for the fest. Well, this year, they’ve solved that problem, and Heavy Chicago II will take place on three consecutive days, November 1-3.

The festival announced the lineup on social media, posting most of the bands for the three days on their Instagram. The post indicated that the headliners would be local Chicago doom act, Bonegripper, Syracuse, New York’s long-running straight edge and vegan metalcore activists, Earth Crisis, and Miami-based prog metal legends Cynic. Two spots on the revealed poster promised bands to be announced at a later date, with one promising a “Big surprise coming Sep 8” for the November 1 lineup, and another promising “Special guest revealed in Oct” for the November 3 lineup.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow here. Check out the full lineup below:

November 1:
Bongripper
TBA
Wraith
Avernus
Motherless

November 2:
Earth Crisis
Jasta
Legions Of Doom
EarthBurner
The Crosses performing Die Kreuzen set
Usurper
Masonic Wave

November 3:
Cynic
Toxic Holocaust
Profanatica
TBA 
The Skull
Lurid