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XcKyle93
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2012 7:04 pm
Posts: 419
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sun May 26, 2013 3:22 am 
 

What did you guys think of Vinterland? Does anyone know why they went on at 10:00 instead of 5:00? It was a bit annoying because I kind of wanted to see Down, which I obviously couldn't because Vinterland was playing at the same time. Anyways, Vinterland started off quite well; they had a neat intro that got everyone pumped, followed by "A Vinter Breeze." Unfortunately, at some point the lead guitar amp went kaput, which lead to short break while they fixed some things. Also, there was some annoying feedback during one of the songs.

I would post the set-list, but like I mentioned in another thread, I'm horrible at remembering song titles. I think they played everything off of the album except for the piano interlude, and they played a shorter version of "Wings of Sorrow." Actually, "I'm An Other in the Night" may have been abbreviated also. If anyone's interested, I can say a bit more of what I saw/thought about their performance.

Also, just curious, did anyone see me today? I usually had on an "Iron Maiden Killers World Tour 1981" hoodie, though at some point at my "UMD Metal Club" T-shirt on.
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Zodijackyl
63 Axe Handles High

Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2008 5:39 pm
Posts: 7601
Location: United States
PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2013 1:08 am 
 

Vinterland's sound was awful but they played perfectly, it just lost the atmosphere of the music. The last two songs sounded great though, and I loved them anyway. Had a nice chat with them though, great guys!

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XcKyle93
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2012 7:04 pm
Posts: 419
Location: United States
PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2013 8:43 am 
 

Did you really think it was that bad? I just had problems hearing the lead for all but the last two songs, which of course is a pretty big deal considering the lead is the melody and Vinterland is melodic black metal.
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Sao
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Jun 30, 2010 4:40 am
Posts: 48
Location: South America
PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2013 1:28 pm 
 

I enjoyed hanging out with you cool people, but it was weird how Zodijackal carried around a stack of the latest issue of Decibel throughout the concert just so that he could talk about and quote from the article about MA.

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iamntbatman
Chaos Breed

Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 5:55 am
Posts: 11421
Location: Tyrn Gorthad
PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2013 1:51 pm 
 

I thought Vinterland sounded OK. Sure the lead guitar was a little low (and there was that big spike of feedback) but I would take the sound during their set over the ridiculous bass-heavy sound at 75% of the rest of the fest any day.

In general the fest was pretty good but there were more glaring problems this year than in years past. I think it's becoming evident that the festival is outgrowing the venue, even with the extra street closure and new stage setup. Getting to hang out with more MA people than usual helped make up for any issues, plus some of the sets were awesome.
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Krav
Metal newbie

Joined: Mon May 12, 2008 7:24 am
Posts: 398
Location: United States
PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2013 2:46 pm 
 

I thought the sound in general was pretty awful. Way too much bass, especially on stage 2. I noticed the same problem last year, but to a lesser extent.

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~Guest 226319
President Satan

Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2010 4:41 am
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PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2013 5:09 pm 
 

Lotta technical issues throughout the fest.

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XcKyle93
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2012 7:04 pm
Posts: 419
Location: United States
PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2013 5:23 pm 
 

I agree, the sound was way too bass heavy for most of the bands. At first, I just thought it was just me, because my friend said he thought the sound was fine. Maybe he likes it that way? I don't know, but I certainly don't.
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Zodijackyl
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Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2008 5:39 pm
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Location: United States
PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2013 5:35 pm 
 

Sao wrote:
I enjoyed hanging out with you cool people, but it was weird how Zodijackal carried around a stack of the latest issue of Decibel throughout the concert just so that he could talk about and quote from the article about MA.


I thought we might need placemats at lunch. extra glossy ones. I got them while waiting for everyone to gather for lunch and dropped them in the car in favor of beer afterwards, then later used them to pad a record in my suitcase. You just left before the beer part :P

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Abominatrix
Harbinger of Metal

Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2003 12:15 pm
Posts: 9311
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Tue May 28, 2013 10:19 am 
 

Well now, I feel like a right loser for not finding this thread earlier. Anyway, made it home, had a great time, met loads of cool and interesting folks (though not enough from here), and saw many of my favourite bands. There were definitely severe organisational issues this year. It's never been like that before and I think in part the fault must be that of the new Paparazzi management.

Writing a long review of the fest as I did last year; I'll most likely post it here.

The bassy sound was definitely annoying, but it helped to stand further away from the stage. You don't want to do that when Manilla Road is playing, though!!!
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Abominatrix
Harbinger of Metal

Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2003 12:15 pm
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PostPosted: Tue May 28, 2013 11:10 am 
 

hippiedrow wrote:
Too much death metal for my tastes. Oh well, they do not call it a death-fest arbitrarily!



Death metal really seemed to be in the minority compared with previous years. Not sure what constitutes "too much" in your books, but I only caught three or four death metal bands and yet was occupied hearing music pretty much all four days, with scant breaks.
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Jonpo
Hyperc6l6mb6wler

Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2007 10:05 am
Posts: 7735
PostPosted: Tue May 28, 2013 12:00 pm 
 

Abominatrix wrote:
Writing a long review of the fest as I did last year; I'll most likely post it here.


Really looking forward to this man! I was jealous of a lot of different things Jeremy got to experience this weekend but meeting you was a big one. I tried to convince him to bumrush you with a hug for me but he oddly declined hahaha.

For not being present I feel like I actually made off pretty well. Got the coolest Pagan Altar shirt ever (hooded figure, occult accoutrements in back) and also a King Diamond shirt I've wanted ever since I saw the Demontage band photo (nun grope!). Huge thanks too Count_V/Jeremy for keeping his eyes peeled for records for me. He had a rough fucking journey.
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Evil_Johnny_666
Reigning king of the night

Joined: Wed Jun 06, 2007 8:54 pm
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Location: Canada
PostPosted: Tue May 28, 2013 1:27 pm 
 

Abominatrix wrote:
Well now, I feel like a right loser for not finding this thread earlier. Anyway, made it home, had a great time, met loads of cool and interesting folks (though not enough from here), and saw many of my favourite bands. There were definitely severe organisational issues this year. It's never been like that before and I think in part the fault must be that of the new Paparazzi management.

Writing a long review of the fest as I did last year; I'll most likely post it here.

The bassy sound was definitely annoying, but it helped to stand further away from the stage. You don't want to do that when Manilla Road is playing, though!!!


I recognized you but didn't manage to talk to you :(

And yeah, I was in the second row for Manilla Road and couldn't hear that much of the guitars. But it was less worse than some other sets and I could hear the solos pretty well. The vocals needed to be louder too. But well, Manilla Road did a fantastic show. Everyone besides me were singing a shitload of lyrics haha. I had earplugs and kinda suck at this so I wasn't singing much unfortunately. Can't wait to see them playing a longer set at the Wings of Metal fest!

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Metantoine
Slave to Santa

Joined: Sat Jun 21, 2008 5:00 pm
Posts: 12030
Location: Montréal
PostPosted: Tue May 28, 2013 1:39 pm 
 

Yeah, even if I had the means to go to MDF, MR was the band I wanted to see most and I'll see them in a small venue with a better sound and a longer set!
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Evil_Johnny_666
Reigning king of the night

Joined: Wed Jun 06, 2007 8:54 pm
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Location: Canada
PostPosted: Tue May 28, 2013 1:56 pm 
 

I'm not doing a fest review but I almost forgot, I was utterly and fucking PISSED to have missed Speedwolf because of a fucking line and shitty security. It's even more infuriating that I was there, that I was standing in line and hearing them play (could barely make anything out) and then maybe recognize they were playing Out on Bail. And to add insult to injury, they made them play a second set, without telling anyone of course, during Sleep. And of course if wasn't even an option for me to miss Sleep. Carpathian Forest didn't even play they just could have postponed a bit all the tent bands instead of making a band, which obviously a lot of people wanted to see, to play in front a very small crowd. And to think I managed to get in when they just finished....

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iamntbatman
Chaos Breed

Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 5:55 am
Posts: 11421
Location: Tyrn Gorthad
PostPosted: Tue May 28, 2013 3:32 pm 
 

Here's a big, long review since no one asked for it!

My overall impression of the non-musical aspects of the festival was mixed. The new interior of the former Sonar (now apparently a club that’s not normally used for live music) was a huge improvement. The former merch room was now just a bar with plenty of room to hang out. The indoor stage room was a combo merch room/lounge with lots of seating, two big bars, lots of space for vendors that was spread out really well. Generally it was just a really nice place to hang out. The new paint and décor was nice, and the bathrooms were a lot better than they were previously.

The outdoor pavilion stage that took over for the indoor stage was somewhat lame. The sound there wasn’t very good for anyone except Bolt Thrower, it got really hot in there Thursday night (it was actually comfortably warm on other nights but would’ve been an oven in typical sweltering MDF weather). I also didn’t really like the tunnel shape compared to the open room format of previous years, and it didn’t really work as well for the ambiance of certain bands that do better indoors. The outdoor stages had good placement but Stage 2 was plagued with sound problems throughout the fest (overloud bass especially). The concert grounds were much bigger, but so was the crowd. Traffic flow from Stage 1 to Stage 2 kind of sucked – they should have moved those Stage 2 food vendors back near the fence on Holliday Street since there was tons of fenced off space back there that essentially went unused.

Stage security was great as usual – there are a couple of security guys in particular who not only seem like they’re having a good time working at the festival but also really “get it” in terms of keeping concertgoers safe, making us feel looked after but not being overbearing or pushy. Front gate security was much more of a mixed bag, with a couple familiar faces being fine but the majority being pretty shitty in general (which became really obvious after the brawls broke out at the gate Sunday night).
Cutting the power sucked, and is clearly the result of not having a real indoor stage anymore where the last few bands of the night could play without worrying about noise curfews. The whole Baltimore Soundstage thing was cool on paper but apparently sucked more in reality than even I anticipated. I thought it would be a pain in the ass to walk several blocks every time you wanted to change venues, but having to wait in line every time you re-entered Sonar made things much worse. All of this stuff points to the need for a change of location for the future, but the Deathfest dudes are apparently looking into this as well.

Band reviews!

Thursday:

Pallbearer sounded vaguely boring from outside. Maybe they were cool in the tent?
Abigail ripped. If there’s one thing you can say about Japanese metal bands, they’re definitely enthusiastic and always put on memorable sets at MDF (Church of Misery last year, Coffins a couple of years ago come to mind).
Cobalt were better than expected. The sound wasn’t ideal (not enough definition in the guitar) and the vocals were way too quiet, but Erik clearly spent a whole lot of energy teaching the riffs to the live guys. His live drumming was spot on and a pleasure to watch and listen to. Phil had really good stage presence even if his vocals were too quiet. Overall an extremely good performance that seemed more like a veteran band than their first ever show.
Bolt Thrower…what can I even say? Mildly lame that they had to end their last song a little early but the setlist was packed with some of my favorites and they managed to sound better on that stage than anyone else. Death fucking metal!

Friday:

Convulse were pretty good. They had a better sound on Stage 2 than most other bands. In general I’d rate their performance about the same as the sets Demigod and Hail of Bullets played in previous years.
Benediction were rad. Dave Hunt’s a good frontmant, better than Dave Ingram I’d say, even if he seemed a bit like an angry bro-accountant. The sound was alright but the left-side guitar cut out a bunch.
Evoken were honestly kind of boring in the tent. They would’ve worked way better inside. Also the fucking bass was ridiculous and drowned out the guitars nearly completely, so they mostly sounded like a giant bassy moan with some drums and keyboards.
Repulsion weren’t really my cup of tea, though some songs were neat. They sounded good after some tweaks.
Carcass were great, a hell of a lot better than the somewhat lackluster reunion vids I saw a year or two ago. The sound mixing was spot on (up front, at least!) and the material flowed together really well despite being from disparate eras of the band’s career. Definitely a highlight for me.
Pelican were hard to judge. Again, bad sound in the tent, but I didn’t get very close to the stage as I was pretty wiped out from Carcass at that point. They played a new song from their upcoming album which sounded heavier than anything I’ve heard by the band before, so that’s something to look forward to.

Saturday:

Iniquity were a mixed blessing. I’ve always liked Mads Haarlov’s vocals a lot more than Martin’s, so I was sort of expecting somewhat slight disappointment since Mads isn’t in the band anymore. However, I didn’t realize that the band wouldn’t be playing any Mads Haarlov material at all, so they only played stuff from the debut and The Hidden Lore plus one song from Five Across the Eyes that Mads didn’t write. Also, the guitar sound kind of sucked. Still neat to see, though.
Weedeater I’ve never really been a fan of and their live show didn’t really change my opinion all that much.
The Obsessed were cool. I’m still not the biggest fan of Wino’s vocal chops but they worked well enough, and he was entertaining to watch play so much lead guitar.
Melvins did a great set. They played “Honeybucket” which is a rarity in their live sets. They basically played their heaviest stuff and were a lot heavier than when I saw them live a while back. The mirrored drum sets are endlessly entertaining to watch and listen to.
Ihsahn was more interesting than I expected. I’m not really big on later Emperor and thought it would be mostly like that. It sort of was, but generally held my attention a lot better. That dude with the clean vocals was pretty swell.
Vinterland were neat. The lead guitar was a little fucked and there were some abrasive feedback spikes during blast sections for some reason but the performance was great.

Sunday:

Speedwolf sounded about as good as a band could possibly sound from the other side of a tent and outside the venue. Fuck that stupid line! At least I’d seen them before. Denver 666!
Cruciamentum’s soundcheck sounded like a soundcheck but I was still in fucking line and would’ve missed the whole set anyway so I left for an MA Illuminati lunch meeting instead.
Midnight were good but would’ve been way better in a dark room, especially with those black masks.
Pagan Altar I was sorta wiped out for due to Midnight, so I stood near the back where I got to listen to a shitload of bass. They sounded good though and I’m sure would’ve been way better closer to the stage. Terry Jones is a really charismatic frontman.
Sacred Reich sounded neat but I only heard a little of their set. I didn’t ever make this connection before but they kind of sound like what the Melvins would sound like if they played thrash.
Manilla Road ruled! Mark Shelton is a motherfucking badass. His vocals were a little low in the mix, as was the rhythm guitar, but his leads sounded just great. I could listen to (and watch!) him solo all day. Unfortunately I had to leave near the end of the set if I wanted to get anything resembling a decent spot for Sleep.
SLEEP. DOOOOOOOOOOOM. God, that fucking tone! Al’s bass tone sounded kind of retarded at first but by the time they lurched into “Dragonaut” near the beginning of the set everything came together. Highlights include pretty much being in a trance the entire set and Al telling the crowd to smoke more weed because the clouds were dispersing. The new song was cool, too.
Pentagram sounded like a dying manatee. Supposedly their set was pretty good but I was near the back and it was all bass except for the guitar solos. Fuck Stage 2’s sound guy!
Venom were awesome. It was honestly sort of weird to hear “Welcome to Hell” played competently. Getting the power cut to end the festival was really a bummer. I was hoping to hear “In League with Satan” and I’m not sure if it wasn’t in the setlist or if the show got shut down before they could play it. Pretty anti-climatic I guess.

So, we’ll see what next year brings. The Friday/Saturday lineup this year was sort of lackluster but still entertaining enough, so a really killer lineup and change of venue would be welcome.
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NorthernDarkness6
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Jul 23, 2009 1:35 pm
Posts: 131
Location: United States of America
PostPosted: Tue May 28, 2013 5:49 pm 
 

I attended Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, when I first got on line, I was told that my studded denim vest was not allowed. This seemed like insanity to me so I then walked up to security and asked "is this vest banned?" to which security replied "no!" Another concert goer then told me that initially Phil Anselmo wanted all studs and bullet belts banned from the venue but now they were allowed. On Sunday, a different metalhead told me that on a prior Down tour Phil had all belts with buckles banned from a show and that Phil is rumored to be a crack head. Back to Saturday, I liked Antaeus and Aosoth but they were not enough to salvage the day because people were in a very negative mood about Phil's behavior. Personally, it unnerved me that fans expressing their identities with their vests, studs, and bullet belts could be suppressed.

Sunday, I stopped off in the Fells Point section of Baltimore. The lentil soup and spinach pie lunch at Kali's Mezze would give me the energy I needed for the day. I also hit the Sound Garden music store and picked up the new Judas Priest DVD ahead of its official Tuesday release date. When I got to the venue, there was a much better vibe, and a lot of excitement in the air with the huge lines. I got in in time to catch Cruciamentum and they were excellent-wiping out the bad memories of Saturday. Manilla Road and Pagan Altar were also outstanding. VENOM RULED!!! "Black Metal" sent the crowd into a frenzy and "Leave Me in Hell" and "Bloodlust" were personal highlights. Now for the bad. Sleep went 15-20 minutes over their allotted time forcing Venom and Pentagram to start late and ultimately have their shows abruptly cut. This was poor stage management. If Venom had been warned that they only had time for one more song and ended with "Witching Hour", I would have left happy. As it was, their sound was abruptly cut off during "Warhead." Fans were understandably outraged. I heard talk of riots. One distraught woman screamed "I paid all of this money for THIS?!" Other fans screamed "THIEVES!!!" as they exited. After I exited, I noticed fans filming security and security screaming at fans. I heard that security slammed several fans to the ground, a female security person punched a female fan in the face, and one male security person was knocked to the ground. Lots of police cars with flashing lights soon arrived on the scene. One woman screamed "they attacked him for nothing!" You can see the complaints on message boards and Facebook for yourselves. People do not want to go back to Sonar or Baltimore, and the MDF organizers say that they are looking for alternate sites for 2014.

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iamntbatman
Chaos Breed

Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 5:55 am
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Location: Tyrn Gorthad
PostPosted: Tue May 28, 2013 8:31 pm 
 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=539175546128417&set=vb.100001079285374&type=2&theater
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orionmetalhead
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2006 9:54 am
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Location: United States
PostPosted: Tue May 28, 2013 11:07 pm 
 

Cool hanging out with lots of you guys at MDF this year. Manilla Road was the best band of the weekend as was expected since they ARE the best band of all time and Mark Shelton playing insane solos behind his head better than most bands played simple rhythm riffs in front of their bodies was about as awesome as anything I could ever imagine.

Beer, beer and more beer in the parking lot led to lots of fun times with Zodi in the hotel room (bibles out the window, giant beer can towers, ketchup packets flying off walls, half the tree outside the window torn apart and ended up in the hotel room - KABLAMO!)

Definitely looking forward to next year. Pissed I didn't get to see a few people from MA I would have liked to meet but I can't complain really.

That's all. Everyone else said what was necessary. It was sweet to see Speedwolf play two sets.
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godsonsafari
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Location: Sparty's Land Grant University, USA
PostPosted: Tue May 28, 2013 11:16 pm 
 

A buddy of mine posted his review of the show here:

http://avoiceofskepticism.blogspot.com/ ... ve_28.html

I don't really want to give some sort of opinion, but my sense reading reviews of the show over the last 4-5 years is that Ryan and Evan have a show that's too big for just the two of them. Its time to hire people, move the show, or do both. There's risk involved there and I can see why they aren't rushing to do it.
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Morrigan
Crone of War

Joined: Sat Aug 10, 2002 7:27 am
Posts: 10527
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Wed May 29, 2013 12:46 am 
 

This first Maryland Death Fest experience has been... um, interesting? My Thursday flight to Baltimore was at 2PM and would have had us land at a comfortable 3:30PM... and it was cancelled due to bad weather. We were booked on the next flight at 6:15. Not bad, still have time to make it for Bolt Thrower... right?

Only it kept getting delayed and delayed. Until at around 8:30 PM we were finally all boarded. I was sorta praying without believing that Bolt Thrower would be late so we could catch part of their set at least. But nope. Once everyone boarded the plane, we then all had to get off for some reason. And then get told to try again in the morning, and get only offered a discounted hotel room as consolation since the airline's not liable for the weather.

Missed Bolt Thrower.

Because of thunderstorms.

....Yeah. :durr: lolirony. (Also, FML. )

Oh, and WTF was up with the entrance security and the ridiculously long lines. Arrived well in advance on Sunday, even found Zodi in line, yet still missed Speedwolf. Wow. Terrible, terrible organization. Next year better have the dreamiest line-up ever because I don't care to repeat this experience. Then you have noise curfews and Sleep being douchetards (played 15-20 minutes over their allotted time, wankers) which cut into Pentagram and Venom's set. Literally cut into it; they cut their amps in the middle of their songs. Grrr.

It wasn't all bad though. Saw excellent sets by Benediction, Carcass, Pagan Altar, Manilla Road and Pentagram (can't say the same for Venom, their setlist honestly sucked... it didn't help that they didn't even make it as far as Countess Bathory, which I expected as closer), met with some M-A peeps, got that Decibel magazine where I'm interviewed (lol), and from the Toronto airport I managed to text John_Sunlight who was there to get him to pick up a Bolt Thrower shirt for me (so I have this little consolation prize -- thanks again mate). Missing BT really, really sucked though, they were my #1 reason for going. Pentagram being #2, as I had already seen a 3-hour headlining Pagan Altar before and I will see a headlining Manilla Road in Montreal this summer. Visited the Baltimore Aquarium and the comic book museum and ate at a few very decent restaurants (though pricey, but it's the touristic section after all) in the Inner Harbour so I even managed to do some tourism.

Still though. Missing Bolt Thrower because of thrown bolts... I'll remember that til my grave. :(
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diet
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Mon May 06, 2013 11:18 am
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PostPosted: Wed May 29, 2013 9:36 am 
 

Just a few notes from me - I'm not going to cover the large stage bands since everyone has already mentioned them.

Outside security was BS this year, but the inside security seemed to have it together. Sucks I had to miss Cruciamentum because I was stuck in line (for what reason?!) and I also missed half of Weedeater's set in line... But I was at least jamming out in line.

Contrastic played an amazing set - there weren't many people at their tent and I don't hear many talking about it but I feel as if I would have really missed out if I didn't catch them. I'm not sure if their sound is for everyone, but it translated really well live.

Was great to meet a lot of new people and to see old friends. Can't wait til next year - looking forward to hearing where the new venue is going to be.

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I Am the Law
Metalhead

Joined: Sun Mar 23, 2003 1:46 pm
Posts: 676
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed May 29, 2013 2:09 pm 
 

I never really had any problems with the security in the past. A few years ago, Mayhem went over their time which forced Asphyx (or Hail of Bullets, I can't remember) to cut their set short. They really need to do something about that. Bands can just kinda play as long as they want it seems. Too bad to hear that there were so many issues, and that the police actually showed up. I consider going every year, and I hope they can ensure a better experience next year.

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patrickblake
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2006 2:25 am
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Location: United States of America
PostPosted: Wed May 29, 2013 5:04 pm 
 

I was there! it was an incredible experience....


Last edited by patrickblake on Thu Feb 05, 2015 5:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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godsonsafari
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Dec 19, 2011 1:03 am
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Location: Sparty's Land Grant University, USA
PostPosted: Thu May 30, 2013 6:56 pm 
 

Interview (well, more an interrogation) with Evan put up post MDF.

http://dcheavymetal.com/2013/05/30/inte ... thfest-xi/

You know, at this point, with all the people going and everything, the "hey, its just the two of us" excuse needs to go out the window. Call Manpower and hire a temp if you need to. It isn't tough.
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Abominatrix
Harbinger of Metal

Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2003 12:15 pm
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Location: Canada
PostPosted: Fri May 31, 2013 10:39 am 
 

Some great reviews posted here already, and I haven't really had the time to sit down and write about anything except Thursday as yet! Crazy times and a lot of crap to deal with at work and elsewhere.

I'm really sorry for those who missed Speedwolf (the first time) as they put on one of my favourite sets of the weekend. Sunday had the worst organisational issues of all but I must say I had the most fun and enjoyment out of that day. Morrigan, it's never been anywhere as bad before as this year and I think they will have to do something now to prevent this sort of thing from happening again. But I can't believe people in places as close as Montreal and Toronto actually tried to fly to Baltimore. WTF guys? :P Train only takes eight hours or so and costs $150, and isn't so hampered by weather issues. I rode in a very cramped car, but eh, it was fine...I've takent the Greyhound to and from mDF before and I guess thats' really the only experience I wouldn't like to repeat as taking a bus back from NYC with a broken toilet in back sending clouds of awful stench into the whole bus during a torrential downpour was not my idea of a good time when tired and hungover.

Jonpo, I said it already on your facebook thing, but damn, I really wish you had been there. haha..was cool to hang with Jeremy for a little bit on Friday and he told me about the travails he had to go through to get there. Bloody cops...
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Morrigan
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PostPosted: Fri May 31, 2013 1:41 pm 
 

I couldn't find any decent train trips (below 14 hours or so), and it'd mean staying an extra hotel night too. There are no simple train routes between Montreal and Baltimore, apparently.
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patrickblake
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PostPosted: Fri May 31, 2013 7:19 pm 
 

I came out from the west coast


Last edited by patrickblake on Thu Feb 05, 2015 5:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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orionmetalhead
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PostPosted: Fri May 31, 2013 8:28 pm 
 

godsonsafari wrote:
Interview (well, more an interrogation) with Evan put up post MDF.

http://dcheavymetal.com/2013/05/30/inte ... thfest-xi/

You know, at this point, with all the people going and everything, the "hey, its just the two of us" excuse needs to go out the window. Call Manpower and hire a temp if you need to. It isn't tough.


Thanks for posting this. A great interview and you can kind of sense that Evan felt drained after the weekend, even in doing the questions. He must have been tired of answering the same questions about the security and the cut-offs and such.

Still, I like the fact that he seems dedicated to improving everything for next year. It seems like this year, they really did not get a long with the Paparazzi (ex-Sonar) venue owners/staff/operators and that made it difficult to get everything set up and working properly like past fests.
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MazeofTorment
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2005 11:06 pm
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PostPosted: Fri May 31, 2013 9:29 pm 
 

My 5th year was perhaps my best. Maybe not in terms of music, but in terms of overall experience. Had so much fucking fun hanging with everyone and drinking some fine Kentucky bourbon(Eagle Rare) I brought up for the trip. Managed to get my flask in pretty regularly despite the security pat downs. Seriously, FUCK that nonsense. I had words with one of the guys at one point but nothing happened. MDF really needs to change venues next year, it looks like. I've been saying it for the last couple of years and it looks like maybe they're getting the hint(see: their post fest facebook post).

Anyway, a brief rundown of some of my favorite performances:

Black metal wise, Aosoth nailed it. Pretty much everything I wanted. Ascension put on a good show as well even though I left before their set was over. Really dug their stage set up and the vocalist went pretty nuts. I also spotted a six pack of O'Douls on the stage as well, which was funny. Vinterland was also awesome, even though I was pretty steamed about their set being pushed back. I also apparently loved Anteaus' set, but was black out drunk, and don't even remember watching them. :lol: That flask was a bit of a detriment in that sense. Anyway, I was happy with these sets.

Bolt Thrower was....absolutely devastating. I saw them twice at MDF a few years ago but sort of from the back of the room. This time I was down in front in all the madness and it was great. Walked away from it being completely soaked in sweat(that fucking tent man, wtf). I really liked their set list though, I felt like it worked up nicely to the last half of songs, and I lost my mind during World Eater.

Cobalt was cool, but I dunno, wasn't as good as I had hoped. Was a little surprised they didn't play at least one song from War Metal but I guess with session musicians they wanted to focus on the newer material, which makes sense. I was really stoked during Arsonry though and would have been pissed if they hadn't played it, haha. Good performance though, they really brought some good intensity to the table. Should have stuck this in the Black Metal section, but oh well. Onward.

Evoken ruled hard but in retrospect, I have to agree with the comment about their set being too bassy. Guitars were pretty drowned out but their atmosphere and overall stage presence made up for it. Stoked I finally got to see them, especially after releasing the beast that is Atra Mors. Wish I had caught more of the Loss set though, what I heard sounded really good. Might have to give them another try. Wasn't that impressed with Despond in the past.

My two biggest highlights were probably Ihsahn and Anhedonist, however. I was bummed to hear that Revenge were insanely good, I wanted to check them out and should have checked out a song or two atleast but I HAD to see the legend, especially after becoming rather found of Eremita in the weeks leading up. I thought the performance was great. Set list was great, even though I somewhat question closing with The Grave. I got some pretty decent video footage to boot, so I was happy.

But Anhedonist, fuck. I love this band. They blew me away. Sounded absolutely massive and actually seemed nervous before playing based on some of the body language I saw. Not surprising or anything, its a huge stage for them to be playing on, but I just thought it was a cool in some way. Even more so when they actually started playing and fucking RULED. Absolutely massive and genuine. Their stage presence was just off the charts...made eye contact with the drummer and vocalist several times and felt utterly convinced of the melancholic nature of their songs. Estrangement was simply sublime. Total fan boy mode, I was legitimately touched by their performance.

So, having said that, I was informed on my drive home back to Kentucky that Atlanta had thrown a deathfest of their own together featuring Abigail, Rotten Sound, Anhedonist, Cruciamentum(who I missed at MDF) along with some other rad local acts such as Mangled, Sadistic Ritual, and Disfigurement. So yeah, I decided on the fly to drive through the night and catch that shindig as well. Really raped my bank account but was totally worth it. Anhedonist were great again even though their set got cut short by sound problems. Cruciamentum fucking KILLED. And I also got to see these guys in a more personal setting as well, a pretty small venue, so that was neat. Stayed with the dudes in Mangled with the understanding the Anhedonist and Cruciamentum would be staying as well, but they didn't, which was a bummer because I kept seeing some of the Anhedonist dudes around the venue after they played and I wanted to talk to them but just figured I would that night. Guess not. Oh well, haha.

So, in the end, I ended up being gone a full week. I'm broke and covered in bruises but I loved (almost) every minute of it all. Until next year!
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ogmetal
Veteran of the Psychic Wars

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PostPosted: Fri May 31, 2013 11:02 pm 
 

I'm not going to mention Anhedonist's performance because, well, I'm a little biased since they are on DD and all. This was my fifth time seeing them and numbers six and seven will be this year. The sound was massive.

I thought Manilla Road, Revenge and Bolt Thrower ruled hard. Manilla Road was pure metal and Shelton's stage presence was awesome.
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~Guest 171512
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 2:41 am 
 

Out of curiosity, did anyone else happen to run into Mike LePond (Symphony X) at MDF? I saw him in the crowd Sunday, and happened to run into him inside later that night. Got a picture with him and everything! Couldn't believe it.

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iamntbatman
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 4:14 pm 
 

Haha no, I didn't see him there, though I did meet/hang out with him for a while a year or two ago when they were touring. Our old accountant here at work is a childhood friend of Mike's so he got me VIP passes to the show.

Nice guy for sure. I kind of felt like a dick not being a bigger Symphony X fan, though.
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~Guest 226319
President Satan

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 11:11 pm 
 

So yeah. Fest was a bit wonk. Nice meeting you people. Stand out performance of the year was definitely Antaeus. Darker than black, eviler than hell.

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Heavy_T_Skubbs
Metalhead

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 5:35 am 
 

How did no one at the heavy metal festival have a wrench?
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Alsandair
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 2:58 pm 
 

John_Sunlight wrote:
So yeah. Fest was a bit wonk. Nice meeting you people. Stand out performance of the year was definitely Antaeus. Darker than black, eviler than hell.


They were my favorite for sure. Unfortunately once again I did not end up meeting any of you, but next year hopefully. The no studs and line issues were highly maddening on principle, but I didn't end up missing anyone I cared about that much so I wasn't raging as hard as other people. I was still raging hard though. The fact that there would be two gigantic lines and no indication as to which is which anywhere was really annoying. Upon arriving on Sunday and seeing the line that stretched around the block I immediatlely decided we were going to go drink downtown, which turned out to be the right choice for us. We got back in time for Glorior Belli, who I enjoyed more than I expected to. Highlights for me were Evoken, Vinterland, Ihsahn, Pentagram, Pagan Altar, Manilla Road, Antaeus, and Carcass.

I did get to meet Bragman from Vinterland and buy him a drink Sunday night at the Radisson. He was quite drunk already though so our conversation was a bit limited, very amusing though. Overall my experience this fest was one of the better ones (closer hotel, drank more, etc), but of course there were annoyances. Looking forward to next year.

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Zodijackyl
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 11:33 am 
 

Count_Venereal wrote:
How did no one at the heavy metal festival have a wrench?


Not to make you feel worse, but we actually had the tools for working on brakes in the car, but after I heard you had car troubles I couldn't find you based on my vague idea of what you look like, and after the show on Sunday the police hassled us to leave rather than waiting around for friends.

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iamntbatman
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 5:49 pm 
 

I hooked him up with some tools in the parking lot. He almost asked Mark Shelton for a wrench, haha.
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