Maryland Death Fest Dominates Memorial Day Weekend

I realize that Maryland Death Fest at Sonar is in Central Baltimore and not North Baltimore. But when the country’s largest metal festival takes place in your city, it’s too big of a deal to ignore.

This is the ninth year of Death Fest and each year gets bigger. This year, there are three stages inside and out, with more than 50 bands slated to perform from Thursday to Sunday. As oft noted, I’m a casual metal fan, however, I’ve comprised a list of some of the more noteworthy bands out of the mass of death and gristle themed offerings.

My personal favorite band name? Impaled Nazarene.

The band I was most looking forward to seeing this year, Death Breath, ex-Hellacopters and Entombed’s Nicke Andersson, dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. So I was a bit disappointed. Thankfully there are plenty of other bands to keep me occupied.

Friday has arguably the two best bands of the festival, Corrosion of Conformity and Neurosis. CoC, veterans of 80's metal and hardcore, plays the main outdoor stage at 7:20 p.m., they’ll provide a bit of a respite from all the doom and death metal.

Stick around until 9:10 p.m. for Neurosis. Formed in 1985 in Oakland, CA, they are known for their hypnotic, atmospheric approach to metal. Their set is over an hour and a half long, and they will perform on the main outside stage.

Head back inside and mellow out a bit with the help of some Savannah,GA psych metal from Kylesa at 10:45 p.m.

Next up at 11:40 p.m. the grindcore and death metal band Exhumed performs. The night ends with Swedish black metal band Marduk.

Saturday begins at 12:30 p.m. with Masakari, a Midwestern crust metal band, and continues on through the day until Exhorder, a slash and burn groove metal band from New Orleans. Catch them on the second outside stage from 8:50 p.m. to 9:40 p.m. Then head in for Voivod. Hailing from Quebec, Voivod is a mesh of progressive and thrash metal. I like them because I can understand the lyrics, which is not the case for many of the bands.

By the time Sunday rolls around, most normal people will never want to hear another guitar solo again. But this is what separates the men from the boys.

Local doom metal band Oak play Sunday from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., and if you haven’t seen them yet, Sunday would be a good opportunity.

There is a plethora of bands on the closing day of the festival. The day's performers include Dead Congregation, Bad Acid Trip, Skinless, Gravehill and Last Days of Humanity.

One of the last bands of the festival is the veteran Swiss band Coroner, playing for an hour beginning at 9:20 p.m. They’ve been called “the Rush of thrash metal” and meld everything into metal from jazz to progressive.

The Swedish rock metal band Ghost closes out the festival on the main stage at 12:30 a.m. If you can make it till then, they will be worth it.

For the full Death Fest lineup, running order and ticket info click here.

There are other, un-metal type things to do this weekend as well:

• Friday and Saturday J. Roddy Walston and the Business are playing both nights at the Ottobar. Everyone not at Death Fest will probably be here. Doors at 9 p.m. both nights, $13.
• Sunday at CCAS; Sam LoCascio, Two Inch Astronaut, Greys, and Reverse Swan. 6p.m.  $5