Deathfest in Charm City

On Sunday my wife and I spent the day in Baltimore at the Maryland Deathfest. I am not usually a big fan of festivals. My attention span has gotten super-low as I get older. But this year I saw that Windhand and Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats were both playing the same day, so I took the plunge and got tickets.

I've written about Uncle Acid before. I've written about Windhand before. Both bands are perfect examples of what is good about the current metal scene. Windhand do their thing slow and heavy. Uncle Acid play Sabbath-inspired melodic rockers that go fast-slow-fast. I was at first chagrined that Windhand was playing first at 1:30, but Uncle Acid wouldn't take the stage until 7:40.

Programs!

Never fear! The festival remained engaging the entire time. Sure, Jodi and I spent plenty of time hanging out in one of the quieter zones of the festival, but that's just because we had to get out of the sun and off our feet. Across the board it was a great experience. Interesting music, interesting and friendly people, crazy tats, scary tee shirts, awesome vibe.

We arrived about 12:30. Plenty of parking available right by the gates. Security checked IDs and gave us can-drink-wristband, then we had our tickets checked and got a let-us-in-wristband. Jodi had to open her bag and show what was in it. I had to lift up my tee shirt to show I wasn't packing knives or anything troublesome.

We had an hour to kill so we wandered through the copious merchandise area. Lots of vendors, some from metal record labels, were all selling tons of tee shirts, books, bongs, vinyl, CDs, posters, stickers and patches. Every metal band on the planet seemed to have a tee shirt there. I scored a sweet looking Windhand shirt and grabbed a sticker for my guitar case. Jodi enjoyed their set so she went back and got herself a tee-shirt, which she plans on cutting the sleeves off of.

Swag!

Vinyl-wise, I wound up getting an import 7" from Satan's Satyrs, a local DC band produced by my band's producer Don Zientara. I also got a re-released double LP of ASG's Win Us Over from the Relapse Records table. I could easily have spent a shitload more but for once restraint was in place.

Since we had nearly 8 hours to spend there, we would have to get something to eat. I got a couple hot dogs for lunch, then got some excellent Thai food from one of the vendors. There was plenty of beer and drinks to be had, but I was sensible and stayed with a ton of water, except for one A-Treat soda I couldn't resist.

Pseudogod

Soilent Green

But what about the music!?! The bands leaned more brutal than I go for. Windhand and Uncle Acid were definitely the high points for me. Jodi remarked afterwards that Uncle Acid were very different than the other bands. They almost felt out of place. The one that stood out to me was Pseudogod. They are from Russia and look particularly scary, covered in red paint and looking like stand-ins for The Devil's Rejects. We watched Inquisition and then Soilent Green for a while. Both were obviously great at what they did, but it was not quite my thing. I dug it though.

Windhand

Windhand started the day off perfectly. Jodi asked me if we really would need ear plugs. We were standing in front of one of the speakers and as soon as the drums started going we just grinned at each other. The reverberations seemed to be going right through us. I can only imagine what was happening to our organs. Windhand played 30 minutes and were fantastic. Sorry they only had that short of set. When Jodi got her tee shirt I realized their singer was working the merchandise table. I thanked her for a killer set and shook her hand. Doing the doom slow-heavy thing their songs tend to bleed into one another, but that's part of the charm. They set a mood of heaviness that just knocks me out. Tremendous band.

Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats

Five and a half hours later Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats took the stage. They were worth the wait. This is their first US appearance so it was especially exciting. This is the kind of music a motorcycle gang would dig. Jodi heard one kid having a fit for whatever reason, saying something about this Sabbath cover band not helping. HA! That's an easy descriptor. But they are doing Sabbath better than Sabbath is doing Sabbath these days. They played 45ish minutes and it was outstanding. I fled back to the merchandise table before their set ended in hopes of getting a tee bit I couldn't score one because all they and left were mediums and extra-large. Meh. The music did sound better from way back though. I had ear plugs in for most of the day and while it helped with my tinnitus, it took something away from the sound. Sacrifices for hearing the next week, right?

We left after they played. Candlemass and My Dying Bride still were up but we were both beat and had to drive back from Baltimore. But it was a great day. A very interesting experience. Depending on the band splaying I would go again. I think there would need to be at least two bands I am really into before investing the day again. I was impressed with the overall competence and arrangement of the whole shindig. Kudos to the producers!

Here's a few more sights from the festival!