Maryland Deathfest (often abbreviated to MDF) is an annual American

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

festival founded in 2003 by Ryan Taylor and Evan Harting. The festival is held in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

during

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

weekend, and it features many bands from around the world that vary from a wide range of

heavy metal subgenres A number of heavy metal genres have developed since the emergence of heavy metal (often shortened to ''metal'') during the late 1960s and early 1970s. At times, heavy metal genres may overlap or are difficult to distinguish, but they can be ide ...

. It is the biggest event of its kind in North America, attracting attendees from more than 40 U.S. states and 25 countries every year. More than 700 bands from more than 35 countries have played at MDF since 2003. The concept of the event is "To bring to the world the best and most extreme bands the underground has to offer. Never conforming to trends, or being limited by genre restrictions, we want to showcase what extreme music, both new and old, is capable of." Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, MDF was cancelled in 2020 and 2021, but returned on May 26-29, 2022. Shortly before the 2022 festival, the organizers of MDF stated that the event would not happen in 2023. On August 2, 2022, it was announced that MDF will return for its 19th edition on May 23-26, 2024.

History and line-ups

Since 2003, MDF has featured over 750 bands from over 35 countries, many of which have made their US debut at the festival. The festival is promoted with the slogan: "America's biggest metal party of the year."

2003

The first installment of Maryland Deathfest was held from Friday, May 23 to Sunday, May 25 at the Thunderdome.

2004

Maryland Death Fest 2004 was held on Saturday, May 29 and Sunday, May 30 at the Thunderdome.

2005

Maryland Deathfest 2005 was held on Saturday, May 28 and Saturday, May 29 at the House of Rock.

2006

Maryland Deathfest IV was held on Saturday, May 27 and Sunday, May 28. This was the first Maryland Deathfest to be held at Sonar, which hosted every iteration of the festival from 2006 to 2012.

2007

Maryland Deathfest V was held on Saturday, May 26 and Sunday, May 27.

2008

Maryland Deathfest VI was held from Friday, May 23 to Sunday, May 25.

2009

Maryland Deathfest VII was held from Friday, May 22 to Sunday, May 24, and was the first incarnation of the festival to feature a second stage outside the venue.

2010

Maryland Deathfest VIII was held from Friday, May 28 to Sunday, May 30, with a pre-fest show taking place on Thursday, May 27.

2011

Maryland Deathfest IX was held from Thursday, May 26 to Sunday, May 29, 2011.

2012

Maryland Deathfest X was held from Thursday, May 24 to Sunday, May 27, 2012.

2013

Maryland Deathfest XI was held from Thursday, May 23 to Sunday, May 26, 2013. It was the first incarnation to feature the Baltimore Soundstage, a separate venue that catered primarily to grindcore, punk and hardcore acts. It was also the last incarnation of the festival to be hosted at the former Sonar Compound, following its sale and rebranding as the Paparazzi Nightclub. Pig Destroyer MDF 2013

2014

Maryland Deathfest XII was held from Thursday, May 22 to Sunday, May 25, 2014. The main stages were located at the Edison Lot in Baltimore, near the former Sonar location. It is the second incarnation to feature the Baltimore Soundstage, again catering primarily to punk, grindcore and hardcore. It is the first year to feature additional bands at

Rams Head Live! Rams Head Live! is an indoor music venue, club, and bar located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Located in the Power Plant Live! district of downtown Baltimore, the venue is surrounded by several other bars and clubs. Rams Head Live! ...

, which featured mainly black, death and doom metal. Sólstafir MDF 2014

2015

Maryland Deathfest XIII was held from Thursday, May 21 to Sunday, May 24, 2015. For the second time, both main stages were located at the Edison Lot in Baltimore, near the former Sonar location. It is the third incarnation to feature the Baltimore Soundstage venue, again catering primarily to punk, grindcore and hardcore, and the second to feature additional bands at

, again featuring mainly black, death and doom metal. Notably, both

Triptykon Triptykon is a Swiss extreme metal band from Zürich, formed in 2008 by Thomas Gabriel Fischer, founding member of the pioneering heavy metal music, heavy metal bands Hellhammer (band), Hellhammer, Celtic Frost and Apollyon Sun. History Fisch ...

and

Ufomammut Ufomammut () is an Italian doom metal band formed in 1999 by guitarist Poia, bassist and vocalist Urlo, and drummer Vita. They have released eight studio albums to date, the last three through Neurot Recordings. History Ufomammut was formed in ...

were scheduled to appear, after having dropped off of last year's bill.

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American hip hop duo from New York City. The duo consisted of rappers Prodigy and Havoc. They are considered to be among the principal progenitors of hardcore East Coast hip hopEdwards, Paul, 2009, ''How to Rap: The Art & Scien ...

's performance marked the first appearance of an act outside of heavy metal, hardcore or punk as part of the festival.

2016

References

External links

*

Heavy metal festivals in the United States Music festivals in Maryland Music festivals established in 2003 Festivals in Baltimore {{Metal-music-stub