The organizers of North America’s extreme metal mecca Maryland Deathfest must never get a vacation, because the hype and planning of the annual festival begins almost immediately after the last one draws to a close. Truthfully, I greatly suspect the planning for next year’s iteration began before this year’s fest even kicked off, because not a month after festivities faded out, we now find ourselves staring headlong into another year of hype and desperate budgeting to try to find the funds necessary to lock down tickets, travel, and accommodations.
Late last week, the Maryland Deathfest Facebook dropped 30 names we can expect to see next year. Among those are the high-billed Venom and a handful of Heavy Blog favorites including but not limited to Jungle Rot, Mitochondrion, and Wormed. Read the entire announced list after the jump.
Auroch (Canada)
Bongripper
Bongzilla
Denouncement Pyre (Australia)
Deströyer 666
Disgorge
Exciter
Gruesome
Haemorrhage (Spain)
Hail of Bullets (Netherlands)
The Haunted (Sweden)
Jungle Rot
Khold (Norway)
Lord Belial (Sweden)
Malignant Tumour (Czech Republic)
Mitochondrion (Canada)
Nocturnal Graves (Australia)
Phobocosm (Canada)
Putrid Pile
Samael (Switzerland) – “Ceremony of Opposites” set
Saturnalia Temple (Sweden)
Severe Torture (Netherlands)
Sinister (Netherlands)
Svartidauði (Iceland)
Svarttjern (Norway)
Thulcandra (Germany)
Tulus (Norway)
Venom (UK)
Visceral Disgorge
Wormed (Spain)
You know it’s gonna be a killer time when two different bands have “Bong” in their name.
With the announcement came 350 early bird tickets, which allegedly “sold out in approximately 15 seconds.” Fret not, more tickets will be made available at a later date that is yet to be announced. According to the organizers, we can expect another round of bands booked for the fest to emerge in a week or two. Keep your eyes on the MDF Facebook to get all the important info as it comes in, because as soon as tickets are available, they’ll be gone before you know it.
I know I’m itching to keep the necessary funds in my bank account until . Even though there’s currently only three or four bands I’d care to see (let alone fly halfway across the country for), an event like MDF is a gamble that almost always delivers. Unless you’re filthy rich and can drop the money at a moment’s notice — I’m a blogger and a social worker, I don’t even know what money is! — planning an MDF excursion, much like organizing the thing in the first place, can be a year-long event. Saving for that initial >$300 ticket purchase, finding roommates to split insane Memorial Day hotel costs, flight/travel, getting approved for the time off work, etc. I know for me, the stars have to align to make a trip like this happen, even in the off-chance I won’t be so stoked about the final lineup.
With this in mind, it’s easy to see why so many people were willing to put down what is basically a deposit on next year’s summer break in such a ravenous fashion, purely going on what could be about a third of the final lineup. So don’t get discouraged because early bird tickets sold out faster than you could get out your debit card. If you’re interested, start saving and gamble on the weekend passes when they’re released with the next run of bands. Maybe then it will be less of a gamble and more of a given, because honestly, this is MDF we’re talking about.
-JR