So this belongs pretty clearly in the Better Late Than Never department, but those of us who attended Maryland Deathfest this year are already looking forward to next year’s installment, so consider this, uh, a preview of MDF VIII. Yeah.
Between photography and sheer metal overload, I saw a number of bands about which I couldn’t tell you a single word about, musically at least. Flesh Parade, Birdflesh, Misery Index, Phobia, Immolation… they may have played some great music, and I might have photographic evidence of them, but I have absolutely no memory of their sets. So instead of attempting to do a verbal recap, I’ll just let the photos do the talking, after the jump. There’s also a full Saturday gallery here, with 227 photos.
The fans up front at the outdoor stage were loving Martin van Drunen and Hail of Bullets:
General Surgery brought up the ridiculousness quotient of the day with their “nurses,” who served no purpose other than to reapply fake blood to the band’s costumes, and then wander out into the pit to anoint fans with the stuff:
As I mentioned before, seeing Napalm Death at dusk might have been the highlight of the fest for me:
Weekend Nachos brought the crazy for the entirety of their 15-minute set:
Glowsticks and absurd costumes were a welcome dose of silliness, courtesy of Birdflesh:
You won’t find a more demonstrative frontman than Brutal Truth‘s Kevin Sharp, who repeatedly slammed his mic into his forehead, eventually breaking it:
One of the sets about which I remember absolutely nothing. Sorry, Phobia:
Wolves in the Throne Room closed out the night enveloped in a deep blue fog, which was similar to my mental state after seeing 15 bands’ worth of death metal and grindcore:
And finally, I lost count of the number of t-shirts I saw at MDF that I fervently hoped were not frequently worn outside the context of a metal festival. A couple less offensive examples:
