The Official "I'm going to Maryland Deathfest Too!" Thread
- Thread starter Palabra de Dios
- Start date
General Zod
Ruler of Australia
I've listened to Aura Noir. Their sound is fine, their songs don't grab me.
Zod
eppst1
Member
Let us know how things were (review, best band, worst band, etc...). I was really diappointed that Pestilence couldn't make the fest. They would have been one of the major reasons I would have went to the fest.
Diabolik
Member
War Ensemble
Enos, You Dipstick!
I was bummed by Pestilence not being able to get into the country. Getting a second Bolt Thrower performance in place of that was great.
Asphyx, Bolt Thrower (both times), General Surgery, & Birdflesh were some of my favorite performances of the weekend.
If I get time, I will try to write more about it.
Asphyx, Bolt Thrower (both times), General Surgery, & Birdflesh were some of my favorite performances of the weekend.
If I get time, I will try to write more about it.
Here's my review of the bands that I watched. It should be noted that I avoided most of the bands on the inside stage, as I didn't know a lot of them and it was actually hotter and less comfortable indoors than out.
Friday
Cattle Decapitation
They were on stage when I arrived to the festival. Unfortunately they were playing at the same time Gnostic was playing, and I was trying to work my way through the see of already sweaty people outside to get my bearings straight on how the venue works. The part of their set that I caught sounded pretty good, with singer Travis Ryan drenched in sweat or water or both and very red in the face as he put everything into the performance. They performed a few tracks that I hadn't heard from the new album that sounded good. Overall, they sounded like each of the times I had seen them before.
Marduk
Unfortunately didn't play due to visa problems...unfortunately not the only high profile act to have this issue.
Cephalic Carnage
They took Marduk's spot during the day outside, and boy was I happy to see that. Disappointing that Marduk couldn't play, but I've been waiting to see these guys for a while and they were originally scheduled to play at fucking 12:40 at night (yeah, that's when they were supposed to begin...ouch!). So I got to see their whole set, and it was monster. They plowed through awesome tracks on Lucid Interval, the new album, and a few others. Their set had a bit of political charge, mostly focusing on the legalization of marijuana, but that idea jumped the shark when they actually brought a cartoonish weed nugget mascot on stage...not joking. I thought it was pretty funny, but it was campy at best. Although, their humor didn't stop their...they played a song called "Black Metal Sabbath" and the band all put on masks mimicking corpse paint for the whole song (with Lenzig, the vocalist putting on spiked gauntlets as well). Pretty cool.
Mayhem
Certainly not your grandma's black metal by any means. Their set was enjoyable if you're familiar with their music and know what you're getting into. Their music sounds very dissonant and tortured and Attila Csihar is one of the weirdest frontmen I've ever seen. He was dressed sort of like a priest with a gigantic inverted crucifix with 4 arms around his neck....WTF? But they did the old school fans justice by playing several tracks from Deathcrush and De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. In fact, they went through song after song and I couldn't pick out them playing anything from their newest album...hmm. But I was able to get moderately close by the end of their set, and it sounded much better if you were close than if you were farther away. Attila is very charismatic though, and I enjoyed their sound (and the songs that I recognized at the very least).
Asphyx:
Easily the best band from Friday that I saw, and one of the best bands of the whole fest. Their was much anticipation for Asphyx, and when Martin Van Drunen finally wandered on stage everyone cheered. I was luckily on the rail by the time they started (after a sound-check/setup that took longer than usual). Since setup took a bit longer, and they had an 11pm curfew, the set cut just a bit short, but in the hour that they played, they taught all the kiddies what fucking death metal is all about: simple brutality. Their set was exactly what I wanted it to be: 80% focusing on the first two albums, easily their best stuff. And they didn't disappoint, all the slow parts were crushing all the fast parts were brutal and Martin's voice was in fine form. I fucking loved their set and had a great time.
Friday
Cattle Decapitation
They were on stage when I arrived to the festival. Unfortunately they were playing at the same time Gnostic was playing, and I was trying to work my way through the see of already sweaty people outside to get my bearings straight on how the venue works. The part of their set that I caught sounded pretty good, with singer Travis Ryan drenched in sweat or water or both and very red in the face as he put everything into the performance. They performed a few tracks that I hadn't heard from the new album that sounded good. Overall, they sounded like each of the times I had seen them before.
Marduk
Unfortunately didn't play due to visa problems...unfortunately not the only high profile act to have this issue.
Cephalic Carnage
They took Marduk's spot during the day outside, and boy was I happy to see that. Disappointing that Marduk couldn't play, but I've been waiting to see these guys for a while and they were originally scheduled to play at fucking 12:40 at night (yeah, that's when they were supposed to begin...ouch!). So I got to see their whole set, and it was monster. They plowed through awesome tracks on Lucid Interval, the new album, and a few others. Their set had a bit of political charge, mostly focusing on the legalization of marijuana, but that idea jumped the shark when they actually brought a cartoonish weed nugget mascot on stage...not joking. I thought it was pretty funny, but it was campy at best. Although, their humor didn't stop their...they played a song called "Black Metal Sabbath" and the band all put on masks mimicking corpse paint for the whole song (with Lenzig, the vocalist putting on spiked gauntlets as well). Pretty cool.
Mayhem
Certainly not your grandma's black metal by any means. Their set was enjoyable if you're familiar with their music and know what you're getting into. Their music sounds very dissonant and tortured and Attila Csihar is one of the weirdest frontmen I've ever seen. He was dressed sort of like a priest with a gigantic inverted crucifix with 4 arms around his neck....WTF? But they did the old school fans justice by playing several tracks from Deathcrush and De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. In fact, they went through song after song and I couldn't pick out them playing anything from their newest album...hmm. But I was able to get moderately close by the end of their set, and it sounded much better if you were close than if you were farther away. Attila is very charismatic though, and I enjoyed their sound (and the songs that I recognized at the very least).
Asphyx:
Easily the best band from Friday that I saw, and one of the best bands of the whole fest. Their was much anticipation for Asphyx, and when Martin Van Drunen finally wandered on stage everyone cheered. I was luckily on the rail by the time they started (after a sound-check/setup that took longer than usual). Since setup took a bit longer, and they had an 11pm curfew, the set cut just a bit short, but in the hour that they played, they taught all the kiddies what fucking death metal is all about: simple brutality. Their set was exactly what I wanted it to be: 80% focusing on the first two albums, easily their best stuff. And they didn't disappoint, all the slow parts were crushing all the fast parts were brutal and Martin's voice was in fine form. I fucking loved their set and had a great time.
Saturday
Hail of Bullets
Hey, wait, didn't I see this band last night?
Hail of Bullets is a supergroup comprised of Martin Van Drunen (from Asphyx), Ed Warby (Gorefest and Ayreon), and two dudes from the band Thanatos. They play old-school death metal very similar to the style of early Asphyx, Bolt Thrower, and others like that. I love their CD, and they played most of my favorites from it. Their sound is similar to Asphyx, but the band was a bit tighter than Asphyx (probably due to uber-pro Ed Warby on drums). I really enjoyed their set, as short as it was (maybe 30 minutes).
After Hail of Bullets, I went around to buy some merch (which included me buying a shit ton of CDs), and then we went to dinner, we did not have much interest in seeing the inside or outside bands that played right after HoB (Brutal Truth outside, Misery Index inside).
Immolation
We arrived during their last few songs. They always are pretty good, and I saw these songs from the very back, and what I heard was okay. The dudes I was with had no interest in them at all, so I made the sacrifice of not seeing Immolation for the fourth or fifth time. I've seen them headline before, so I wasn't too bummed for missing most of their set. They did play "Into Everlasting Fire" from the first album, which was fucking awesome to see.
Birdflesh
These grindcore jokesters played indoors, and I only caught a few of their very short songs. And they were pretty cool. They're not to be taken too seriously, but the band is awesome at what they do. Their live show is much more interesting than their CD music, and I had seen them at a previous MDF, so I was just fine with only seeing about 2 songs.
Atheist
Let me get something out really quickly: I love Atheist. Their 3 albums changed my view of metal when I first heard them, they are death metal for intellectuals and I love every song just about. I saw them at Chicago Powerfest and had a freaking ball. That said, at MDF, something was missing. They were still good, no doubt, and I was still able to enjoy their set, which included the classics "Mother Man," "On They Slay," "Piece of Time," "Retribution," and "Unholy War" (not in that order). One issue is the guitar players, who are neither Kelly (who can't play) or Rand (who's not in the band any more). They actually are the two guitarists from Gnostic, and their chops are good, but at times it seems that both guitarists (who are much younger than their veteran bandmates) cannot completely keep up with the composition of the old Atheist tunes. Maybe it's just because I've listened to those songs so much that I know them note for note, and when they miss several notes in one of my favorite solos, I get a bit perturbed, I don't know. Drummer Steve Flynn wasn't at his best either...maybe a bit strained from playing with Gnostic too? Hmm. Tony Choy was awesome, and will continue to be one of my favorite bassists ever. What a cool dude. Too bad this was his only performance of the festival.....damn.
Napalm Death:
I'm not wildly familiar with their immense body of work, but there were so many fans of theirs in the audience. After Atheist, I worked my way even closer into the mob of people, and they were rowdy by the time Napalm started. Singer Barney Greenway is certainly more intelligent than what you'd think, as he explains what each song is about and trying to get the crowd into their politically charged lyrics. Despite the anger in their music, Barney has that British charm that certainly won me over, and I was able to find elements that I enjoyed from their set, which was mostly stuff I had never heard before. They ended with a cover of Dead Kennedys' "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" which pleased many a fan. I can say one more thing about the crowd, though: very violent, and trying to stay afloat amidst such a rowdy bunch definitely passed the time through an hour long set, trying to stay at the front for Bolt Thrower...
Bolt Fucking Thrower
I made it to the rail! I made it to the rail! My torso/abdomen/chest hates me for being on the rail, but I made it. Okay, Bolt Thrower was the reason the fest is outside. Seriously...they sold so many tickets for this that they moved it outside so they could sell more tickets. And the crowd was fucking packed behind me, check out pictures if you can find them. I feel honored to be at the front during their set, which was...MONUMENTAL. They destroyed everyone else at the festival with their performance. The setlist was a bit iffy (not playing all of World Eater..., playing one too many songs from Mercenary), but it had its very strong points...like playing the song "Warmaster". I would have liked more songs from Realm of Chaos and VIth Crusade, but overall they just fucking crushed. Their hour-and-a-half could have easily been 2 hours and I'd have still had fun. The only thing that took away from their amazing-ness was the number of people crowd surfing. I had to avoid being kicked in the head with some asshole's boots at least 3 times a song! But I loved Bolt Thrower's show so much.
One more day left...
Hail of Bullets
Hey, wait, didn't I see this band last night?
Hail of Bullets is a supergroup comprised of Martin Van Drunen (from Asphyx), Ed Warby (Gorefest and Ayreon), and two dudes from the band Thanatos. They play old-school death metal very similar to the style of early Asphyx, Bolt Thrower, and others like that. I love their CD, and they played most of my favorites from it. Their sound is similar to Asphyx, but the band was a bit tighter than Asphyx (probably due to uber-pro Ed Warby on drums). I really enjoyed their set, as short as it was (maybe 30 minutes). After Hail of Bullets, I went around to buy some merch (which included me buying a shit ton of CDs), and then we went to dinner, we did not have much interest in seeing the inside or outside bands that played right after HoB (Brutal Truth outside, Misery Index inside).
Immolation
We arrived during their last few songs. They always are pretty good, and I saw these songs from the very back, and what I heard was okay. The dudes I was with had no interest in them at all, so I made the sacrifice of not seeing Immolation for the fourth or fifth time. I've seen them headline before, so I wasn't too bummed for missing most of their set. They did play "Into Everlasting Fire" from the first album, which was fucking awesome to see.
Birdflesh
These grindcore jokesters played indoors, and I only caught a few of their very short songs. And they were pretty cool. They're not to be taken too seriously, but the band is awesome at what they do. Their live show is much more interesting than their CD music, and I had seen them at a previous MDF, so I was just fine with only seeing about 2 songs.
Atheist
Let me get something out really quickly: I love Atheist. Their 3 albums changed my view of metal when I first heard them, they are death metal for intellectuals and I love every song just about. I saw them at Chicago Powerfest and had a freaking ball. That said, at MDF, something was missing. They were still good, no doubt, and I was still able to enjoy their set, which included the classics "Mother Man," "On They Slay," "Piece of Time," "Retribution," and "Unholy War" (not in that order). One issue is the guitar players, who are neither Kelly (who can't play) or Rand (who's not in the band any more). They actually are the two guitarists from Gnostic, and their chops are good, but at times it seems that both guitarists (who are much younger than their veteran bandmates) cannot completely keep up with the composition of the old Atheist tunes. Maybe it's just because I've listened to those songs so much that I know them note for note, and when they miss several notes in one of my favorite solos, I get a bit perturbed, I don't know. Drummer Steve Flynn wasn't at his best either...maybe a bit strained from playing with Gnostic too? Hmm. Tony Choy was awesome, and will continue to be one of my favorite bassists ever. What a cool dude. Too bad this was his only performance of the festival.....damn.
Napalm Death:
I'm not wildly familiar with their immense body of work, but there were so many fans of theirs in the audience. After Atheist, I worked my way even closer into the mob of people, and they were rowdy by the time Napalm started. Singer Barney Greenway is certainly more intelligent than what you'd think, as he explains what each song is about and trying to get the crowd into their politically charged lyrics. Despite the anger in their music, Barney has that British charm that certainly won me over, and I was able to find elements that I enjoyed from their set, which was mostly stuff I had never heard before. They ended with a cover of Dead Kennedys' "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" which pleased many a fan. I can say one more thing about the crowd, though: very violent, and trying to stay afloat amidst such a rowdy bunch definitely passed the time through an hour long set, trying to stay at the front for Bolt Thrower...
Bolt Fucking ThrowerI made it to the rail! I made it to the rail! My torso/abdomen/chest hates me for being on the rail, but I made it. Okay, Bolt Thrower was the reason the fest is outside. Seriously...they sold so many tickets for this that they moved it outside so they could sell more tickets. And the crowd was fucking packed behind me, check out pictures if you can find them. I feel honored to be at the front during their set, which was...MONUMENTAL. They destroyed everyone else at the festival with their performance. The setlist was a bit iffy (not playing all of World Eater..., playing one too many songs from Mercenary), but it had its very strong points...like playing the song "Warmaster". I would have liked more songs from Realm of Chaos and VIth Crusade, but overall they just fucking crushed. Their hour-and-a-half could have easily been 2 hours and I'd have still had fun. The only thing that took away from their amazing-ness was the number of people crowd surfing. I had to avoid being kicked in the head with some asshole's boots at least 3 times a song! But I loved Bolt Thrower's show so much.
One more day left...
Sunday
Yakuza
The first band that I watched the whole set from that played indoors. I really enjoy them on CD, and I loved them live. Their singer/saxophonist/fearless leader gets very into the music, which sometimes plods along for upwards of 7 or 8 minutes. They had some really heavy bits, some really spacy bits, and it all came together really well. They played my favorite song from their latest album, which I have no idea the name of, but they played it and I was happy. I wish their set was longer, and I wish they had brought shirts to sell.
Absu
One of my most anticipated acts. They took forever to set up. After like 25 minutes of "WTF WHERE ARE THEY?" they finally started the intro stuff while they stood their so serious with their instruments. I knew that drummer/vocalist Proscriptor takes his shit seriously, and seriously he did. Any time he introduced a song he spoke in the rasp of his alter-ego and not as Texas-born Russ Givens (his real name), which would have been beneath them. They fucking killed, though. Their brand of thrashy black metal went over very well with the crowd, and they played about 2 songs from each album, which satisfied me, a long time fan. They played an unexpected song from their seminal album Tara (Four Crossed Wands), and everything sounded so fucking good. It was awesome to see the dual-vocal delivery of Proscriptor with a mic mounted to his head and bassist Aethyris. They ended their set with a Morbid Scream cover, "The Coming of War". Loved every minute of it.
I skipped Abscess outside and Krallice inside, both of whom I have seen before and enjoyed, in order to take a much needed water/bathroom break and scope out more merch. It was at this time that I noticed that Pestilence's name had been etched out of the schedule. I went around trying to find out what the deal was, and it was visa issues for them too! Holy fucking shit! I hate that it takes so much to get into the USA...well, apparently they got to the USA, but their papers weren't all correct and after 4 hours they were sent back to Holland. Dammit! However, a "surprise performance" was announced for 10pm indoors...wonder what that could be?
Aura Noir
I met some really cool dudes that were only there for Aura Noir and Destroyer 666...totally into the black thrash scene. Cool by me, I like that scene a lot too, and I was fucking stoked. Aura Noir was one of the best of the fest too. Like seriously, they killed. I know a few of their songs, but it did not matter whether or not you knew one note of their music. If you like thrash, you would have like Aura Noir...their riffs sounded so good, the drumming so awesome, it was nearly danceable. I almost MOSHED for them. I didn't, because I liked my blood inside my skin and my bones unbroken, but I felt almost compelled to do that which the Neanderthal metalheads love so much. Every bit of their set was exactly the way it should have been. I will support everything they do from now on, and vocalist Carl-Michael Eide (the man, the legend) was just awesome...so hateful, so dead on, and so exciting to watch.
Destroyer 666
So remember those awesome thrash dudes I met? They told me what the surprise performance was going to be. I was skeptical, but then I got confirmation from a very reliable source. And believe me, I was torn. I wanted to see Destroyer 666 really bad, but the surprise was NOT TO BE MISSED. And Destroyer took even longer than Absu to set up. They took almost 30 minutes, and it was killing me. Finally, they started...I watched a few songs and had to peel myself away to go inside and watch the mystery band set up. What I heard from Destroyer was awesome...they looked every bit the part of the angriest band from Australia and they were heavy as all fuck too. I wish they would've set up quicker and I could have seen their whole set.
Mystery Band
It was no mystery by the time a bunch of us filed inside. I was able to be in the 3rd row for what everyone knew by then---- Bolt Thrower playing their second set of the festival. In all seriousness, I'd rather see BT twice than Pestilence once, so I wasn't too peeved. And I promise you, they killed it again. They really did. They were amazing. The only disappointing thing about their set is that the song list was just about the same as the previous night. Chalk it up to the fact that those songs were perhaps their most recently rehearsed, but still. I got to see Bolt Thrower twice, I was a very happy metalhead.
I skipped Devourment, due to the fact that their genericism outweighs my desire to see another death metal band. But I had to stick around...Sigh was closing out the festival, and they're not to be missed by any means.
Sigh
One of the weirdest bands ever. Luckily, the people who are only into death metal left after Devourment and I was able to score a spot on the rail. After watching Mirai's keyboard almost fall to the ground during setup, the band took the stage with no other issue. And they were maniacal. Before I saw them, I was sort of peeved that they added an extra member ("Dr. Mikannibal", the sexy female saxophonist/vocalist/weirdness extraordinaire), but somehow it worked. Mirai and Mikannibal traded vocals on some songs, and she was running around like a maniac, blowing fireballs, dripping hot wax onto her body (seriously) and doing crazy shit...for Sigh, it worked. It all worked. They were fantastic. The only thing missing were ALL the weird noises/synth parts, but still, the core songs were there, and performed with class, style, and professionalism. Mirai is a madman. They ended their already awesome set with two Venom covers: Countess Bathory (featuring Dan Lilker from Brutal Truth) and Black Metal. Their set was just under an hour, but I was freaking exhausted and I didn't care that it was shorter than the usual headliner. I just wish I could have stayed around and met the band, but it was already almost 1:30 in the morning and we had to hit the road after an awesome festival!!!
As a post-script to my review, I'll add that despite how rowdy the crowd was, the security their was some of the best I've ever seen at a concert. Ever. I know that venues have cracked down on stage diving and crowd surfing, but there were just so many people at MDF that they did their best to keep those in the front safe. I had my fair share of people surfing over me, but the security did a great job of catching all the crowd surfers and avoiding any real injury to those in the crowd. Kudos to the Sonar for their great staff. I hope next year's MDF lineup is as strong as this one!
Yakuza
The first band that I watched the whole set from that played indoors. I really enjoy them on CD, and I loved them live. Their singer/saxophonist/fearless leader gets very into the music, which sometimes plods along for upwards of 7 or 8 minutes. They had some really heavy bits, some really spacy bits, and it all came together really well. They played my favorite song from their latest album, which I have no idea the name of, but they played it and I was happy. I wish their set was longer, and I wish they had brought shirts to sell.
Absu
One of my most anticipated acts. They took forever to set up. After like 25 minutes of "WTF WHERE ARE THEY?" they finally started the intro stuff while they stood their so serious with their instruments. I knew that drummer/vocalist Proscriptor takes his shit seriously, and seriously he did. Any time he introduced a song he spoke in the rasp of his alter-ego and not as Texas-born Russ Givens (his real name), which would have been beneath them. They fucking killed, though. Their brand of thrashy black metal went over very well with the crowd, and they played about 2 songs from each album, which satisfied me, a long time fan. They played an unexpected song from their seminal album Tara (Four Crossed Wands), and everything sounded so fucking good. It was awesome to see the dual-vocal delivery of Proscriptor with a mic mounted to his head and bassist Aethyris. They ended their set with a Morbid Scream cover, "The Coming of War". Loved every minute of it.
I skipped Abscess outside and Krallice inside, both of whom I have seen before and enjoyed, in order to take a much needed water/bathroom break and scope out more merch. It was at this time that I noticed that Pestilence's name had been etched out of the schedule. I went around trying to find out what the deal was, and it was visa issues for them too! Holy fucking shit! I hate that it takes so much to get into the USA...well, apparently they got to the USA, but their papers weren't all correct and after 4 hours they were sent back to Holland. Dammit! However, a "surprise performance" was announced for 10pm indoors...wonder what that could be?
Aura Noir
I met some really cool dudes that were only there for Aura Noir and Destroyer 666...totally into the black thrash scene. Cool by me, I like that scene a lot too, and I was fucking stoked. Aura Noir was one of the best of the fest too. Like seriously, they killed. I know a few of their songs, but it did not matter whether or not you knew one note of their music. If you like thrash, you would have like Aura Noir...their riffs sounded so good, the drumming so awesome, it was nearly danceable. I almost MOSHED for them. I didn't, because I liked my blood inside my skin and my bones unbroken, but I felt almost compelled to do that which the Neanderthal metalheads love so much. Every bit of their set was exactly the way it should have been. I will support everything they do from now on, and vocalist Carl-Michael Eide (the man, the legend) was just awesome...so hateful, so dead on, and so exciting to watch.
Destroyer 666
So remember those awesome thrash dudes I met? They told me what the surprise performance was going to be. I was skeptical, but then I got confirmation from a very reliable source. And believe me, I was torn. I wanted to see Destroyer 666 really bad, but the surprise was NOT TO BE MISSED. And Destroyer took even longer than Absu to set up. They took almost 30 minutes, and it was killing me. Finally, they started...I watched a few songs and had to peel myself away to go inside and watch the mystery band set up. What I heard from Destroyer was awesome...they looked every bit the part of the angriest band from Australia and they were heavy as all fuck too. I wish they would've set up quicker and I could have seen their whole set.
Mystery Band
It was no mystery by the time a bunch of us filed inside. I was able to be in the 3rd row for what everyone knew by then---- Bolt Thrower playing their second set of the festival. In all seriousness, I'd rather see BT twice than Pestilence once, so I wasn't too peeved. And I promise you, they killed it again. They really did. They were amazing. The only disappointing thing about their set is that the song list was just about the same as the previous night. Chalk it up to the fact that those songs were perhaps their most recently rehearsed, but still. I got to see Bolt Thrower twice, I was a very happy metalhead.
I skipped Devourment, due to the fact that their genericism outweighs my desire to see another death metal band. But I had to stick around...Sigh was closing out the festival, and they're not to be missed by any means.
Sigh
One of the weirdest bands ever. Luckily, the people who are only into death metal left after Devourment and I was able to score a spot on the rail. After watching Mirai's keyboard almost fall to the ground during setup, the band took the stage with no other issue. And they were maniacal. Before I saw them, I was sort of peeved that they added an extra member ("Dr. Mikannibal", the sexy female saxophonist/vocalist/weirdness extraordinaire), but somehow it worked. Mirai and Mikannibal traded vocals on some songs, and she was running around like a maniac, blowing fireballs, dripping hot wax onto her body (seriously) and doing crazy shit...for Sigh, it worked. It all worked. They were fantastic. The only thing missing were ALL the weird noises/synth parts, but still, the core songs were there, and performed with class, style, and professionalism. Mirai is a madman. They ended their already awesome set with two Venom covers: Countess Bathory (featuring Dan Lilker from Brutal Truth) and Black Metal. Their set was just under an hour, but I was freaking exhausted and I didn't care that it was shorter than the usual headliner. I just wish I could have stayed around and met the band, but it was already almost 1:30 in the morning and we had to hit the road after an awesome festival!!!
As a post-script to my review, I'll add that despite how rowdy the crowd was, the security their was some of the best I've ever seen at a concert. Ever. I know that venues have cracked down on stage diving and crowd surfing, but there were just so many people at MDF that they did their best to keep those in the front safe. I had my fair share of people surfing over me, but the security did a great job of catching all the crowd surfers and avoiding any real injury to those in the crowd. Kudos to the Sonar for their great staff. I hope next year's MDF lineup is as strong as this one!
eppst1
Member
Aura Noir were the surprise of the festival for me. I like them on disc, but they killed it on stage. D666 were awesome, but I too left early to see Bolt Thrower again. It is impossible not to move to their songs. Sigh was great as well. I thought the sound could've been better, but that's what happens at a festival used to tuning death metal bands. Asphyx were worth the price of admission. I was so pumped when they played "The Rack." I also got to meet my favorite fighter, Josh Barnett. He is a huge Bolt Thrower fan and I saw him on the side of the stage. I had to sneak back there after BT to talk to him. He is an awesome guy.
I forgot, Lair of the Minotaur were awesome on Sunday. More people need to respect the power of the riff.
Bolt Thrower and Asphyx were fucking incredible. So awesome to experience that. Napalm Death was fucking awesome, even though I've seen them tons of times. Same goes for Cephalic Carnage and Immolation. Flesh Parade, Jig Ai, Pigsty, Sayyadina, Kill The Client, Withered were all fantastic too. The vocalists from Flesh Parade and Pigsty amaze me with their vocals, so tortured yet so tight.
Brutal Truth were good, but I think I would have enjoyed them more if I were closer and thus more absorbed into the show. I was a good bit back and kind of hanging out and talking. Atheist were not as good as I was hoping. I'm sure partly because Rand Burkey wasn't there.
I didn't watch General Surgery or Phobia because they were right after Bolt Thrower and I was exhausted at that point. I like both bands live a lot but have seen both. Everyone kept telling me how awesome General Surgery was though, wish I could have gotten a better look at the bloody nurses on stage.
Ghoul was awesome at the pre-fest too. They did a cover of "The Kids in America" by Kim Wylde, but changed the chorus to "Kill the kids!" instead of "We're the kids"
And I'm totally kicking myself for missing Sigh
The outdoor stage turned out really well. The sound was pretty good (or not good depending where you stood). With the extra amount of must-see bands, and extra amount of people, hanging out and partying didn't occur as much during previous years with everyone being so exhausted and spread out. All in all though another great year!
Brutal Truth were good, but I think I would have enjoyed them more if I were closer and thus more absorbed into the show. I was a good bit back and kind of hanging out and talking. Atheist were not as good as I was hoping. I'm sure partly because Rand Burkey wasn't there.
I didn't watch General Surgery or Phobia because they were right after Bolt Thrower and I was exhausted at that point. I like both bands live a lot but have seen both. Everyone kept telling me how awesome General Surgery was though, wish I could have gotten a better look at the bloody nurses on stage.
Ghoul was awesome at the pre-fest too. They did a cover of "The Kids in America" by Kim Wylde, but changed the chorus to "Kill the kids!" instead of "We're the kids"
And I'm totally kicking myself for missing Sigh
The outdoor stage turned out really well. The sound was pretty good (or not good depending where you stood). With the extra amount of must-see bands, and extra amount of people, hanging out and partying didn't occur as much during previous years with everyone being so exhausted and spread out. All in all though another great year!
War Ensemble
Enos, You Dipstick!
General Surgery was indeed awesome. I am so glad that I hung around to see them.
The bloody nurses were in back selling the General Surgery merchandise Saturday afternoon/evening.
raising_iron
Member
- Nov 3, 2006
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Thanks for the extensive review Palabra De Dios! Wish I coulda been there, still, I would've been bummed that Pestilence AND Marduk didn't make it.
I was more bummed about Pestilence than Marduk, but I hear ya. I would have been interested to see what Marduk sounds like live nowadays.
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