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MARYLAND DEATH FEST Announces Second Stage; First Bands Announced

File this under: Best News Ever.

The madmen behind Maryland’s goriest, circlepittiest, most blastbeat-engulfed metal festival have announced plans to include a second stage, featuring a proposed lineup of fifty (count ‘em, fifty!) crazy-awesome bands. Ten have already been announced, with many more to come.

Worried about being forced to make that agonizing choice between your favorite band and your other favorite band that the conflicting time schedules at so many festivals thrust upon us poor patrons? No worries, Ryan and Evan’ve got your back.

According to the festival organizers, “Bands that will perform on the second stage will not be scheduled to start until a band finishes playing on the main stage. This will allow every band on the second stage to play for at least 15-20 minutes when no other band is playing, not to mention many of the bands on the second stage won't need much more than 20 minutes to play.”

The first ten second stage acts will include:


Kill the Client (Texas)
Grief (Massachusetts)
Magrudergrind (Washington DC)
Lair of the Minotaur (Illinois)
Unearthly Trance (New York)
The Endless Blockade (Canda)
Maruta (Florida)
Car Bomb (New York)
Weekend Nachos (Illinois)
Drugs of Faith (Maryland)

More bands and ticket prices to be announced soon!

Already confirmed:

PESTILENCE - Netherlands
MAYHEM – Norway
ATHEIST – Florida (!!!!!)
ASPHYX – Netherlands
IMMOLATION – New York
BRUTAL TRUTH – New York
ABSCESS - California
HAIL OF BULLETS – Netherlands
GENERAL SURGERY – Sweden
TODAY IS THE DAY - Tennessee
PHOBIA – California
SAYYADINA – Sweden
FLESH PARADE – Louisiana
JIG-AI - Czech Republic
ANTIGAMA – Poland
CROWPATH – Sweden
GNOSTIC – Georgia
MAN MUST DIE – Scotland
ENTRAILS MASSACRE - Germany
TRIAC – Maryland

Pig Destroyer - Virginia
Splitter - Sweden

Tour Dates

ATHEIST, PESTILENCE, MAYHEM & three more bands confirmed for Maryland Death Fest '09

more bands soon
(SWEET MERCIFUL CRAP, DO YOU SEE THIS LINEUP?!)

To reiterate: HOLY FUCK! One of the best lineups I've ever seen, and they're sure to add at least a dozen more bands over the next few months. I swear, every Maryland Death Fest is better than the last. The fest has been grinding away since 2003, and I had the pleasure of having my guts punched in and face ripped off at the 2007 & 2008 editions. This year had Anaal Nathrakh, Nuclear Assault, Grave, Hellnation, Disfear, Coffins, Blood Duster, and Macabre; the year before featured the likes of Extreme Noise Terror, Zyklon, Ghoul, Cripple Bastards, Misery Index, Flagitious Idiosyncrasy in the Dilapidation (best all-female Japanese grind band ever) and tons more. This year? Man oh man, this year…well, read for yourself. So far, Ryan and Evan (i.e. the dudes who plan this madness) have confirmed the following bands for MDF VII:

PESTILENCE - Netherlands (!!!!)
MAYHEM – Norway (one of only three US shows! if they don't play "Chainsaw Gutsfuck," someone's gettin' smacked)
ATHEIST – Florida (!!!!!)
ASPHYX – Netherlands (words can't express how much this band rules)
IMMOLATION – New York
BRUTAL TRUTH – New York (grindgrindgrind)
ABSCESS - California (yessssss)
HAIL OF BULLETS – Netherlands (old school death done right)
GENERAL SURGERY – Sweden (FUCK YEAH!)
TODAY IS THE DAY - Tennessee (strange. very strange)
PHOBIA – California (LOUD, PROUD, AND PUNK AS FUCK! this band destroys all. poser-stomping glory)
SAYYADINA – Sweden
FLESH PARADE – Louisiana (YES)
JIG-AI - Czech Republic
ANTIGAMA – Poland
CROWPATH – Sweden
GNOSTIC – Georgia
MAN MUST DIE – Scotland
ENTRAILS MASSACRE - Germany
TRIAC – Maryland (HELL yeah)

And many more to come! Now, we all know that half of these bands might drop off in the nine months 'til the fest (considering the recurring trend that MDf's been plagued with since its inception), but goddamn is that list a beautiful sight. There's a good mix of old-school death, tech death, gore, and grind so far, with Mayhem playing the wild card. They definitely need to bring the splatterthrash and add Ghoul (come on, you KNOW they're gonna play this, just like they do every year). I'm hoping that they'll add in some more powerviolence/crusty stuff (psst, bring back Skitsystem!); I know Hellbastard's supposed to tour this spring, so I'll be crossing my fingers for that. Also, more old-school death and black metal, please!

No matter which way you slice, dice, or hack it with a chainsaw, Maryland Death Fest '09 is going to rule just as hard, if not way fucking harder than it has in previous years. It ain't called "North America's Biggest Heavy Metal Party of the Year" for nothin'! Anyone who's witnessed the crusty fights, blow-up dolls, chicken suits, fake (and real) blood, endless circle pits, Creepsylvanians, and 24-hour-blastbeat-a-thons set against the seedy Red Light background of downtown Baltimore knows what I'm talking about.

MDF VII is being held at Sonar in Baltimore, MD, May 22 – 24, 2009. No word on pricing or running order yet, but we'll keep ya posted. Check out MDF's official forum here.

Be there or you're officially fired from metal. Forever.