SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST, the Mid-Atlantic’s open-air camping metal party, will once again terrorize the woodlands of central Maryland this fall with three days of more than thirty bands from diverse metal genres and regions. The 2016 festival runs from Thursday, September 15th through Sunday, September 18th at Camp Hidden Valley, in White Hall, Maryland, the same location where the maiden edition of the fest was held last year.
Organizers of SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST began announcing performers in mid-January and have been carefully curating this year’s lineup. “The response from performers and attendees to the 2015 event was overwhelmingly positive with many people telling me it was the best weekend of their lives!” says festival founder Mary Spiro of Metallomusikum.com/Shadow Woods Productions LLC. “We are humbled and frankly completely surprised by the outpouring of praise for the fest. There has been enormous interest from the metal community for certain bands to perform. Our team is taking its time to make sure the lineup matches our attendee’s expectations and sets us apart from other fests. We also want each day to have flow. It’s a balancing act.”
Spiro says that when all is said and done, the final lineup will surpass the ferocity of the inaugural installment. As of February 9th, twenty-one bands have been announced, including horror death mongers Acid Witch, death thrashers Coffin Dust, underground black metal kings Blood Storm, doom merchants Wizard Eye, psychedelic black metal gurus Helleborus, and Maryland doom trio Faith In Jane joins forces with the genre’s godfather Scott “Wino” Weinrich (The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, Saint Vitus) for an exclusive SWMF performance, with much more to be announced.
Early Bird Weekend Passes for SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST go on sale at noon EST, February 12th for $115 on BrownPaperTickets.com.
Tent camping is included with the weekend pass. People who want to reserve cabin beds can do so for an additional $20 for the duration of the fest.
“It could be late Spring before we have the whole lineup in hand,” Spiro said. “It’s taking longer than we anticipated, but we think our patience will be rewarded, and festival goers will be really pleased with the bands yet to be announced.”
SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST 2016 Confirmed Lineup:
A SOUND OF THUNDER (DC) **traditional old-school heavy metal
ACID WITCH (Detroit) **horror death
BLOOD STORM (PA/TX) **black thrash
BOUND BY THE GRAVE (Baltimore) *death
CEMETERY PISS (Baltimore) **black
COFFIN DUST (Philadelphia) **death
CORPSE LIGHT (Baltimore) *doom
DARSOMBRA (MD) **metal drone
DESTROYER OF LIGHT (Austin, TX) **sludge
EMPYREUS(Chicago) **black
FAITH IN JANE FEATURING WINO (MD) ** doom trio joined by the godfather of the sound
GENEVIEVE (MD) **experimental black
GRAVE GNOSIS (St. Petersburg, FL) **black
HAXEN (Rhode Island) **black
HELLEBORUS (Manitou Springs, CO) **black
MYOPIC (DC) **death/doom
SAPREMIA (New Jersey) **death
TELOCH VOVIN (NY) **black
TEMPLE OF VOID (Detroit) **doom
WIZARD EYE (PA) **doom
XEUKATRE (Baltimore) **black
MANY MORE BANDS YET TO BE ANNOUNCED
Grimoire Records, who were sponsors of Shadow Woods Metal Fest 2015, have made a more substantial investment for 2016 and are now named as co-producers of this year’s fest. “I really believe in what Mary and the SHADOW WOODS team have started, and we are very excited to help keep it going,” says Philip Doccolo, who with Noel Mueller co-founded the Baltimore-based hybrid recording and distribution label in February 2013. Expect to see Grimoire labelmates Myopic, Corpse Light, Genevieve and others performing throughout the weekend.
Lokvlt Productions out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Leftover Pizza Productions from Frederick, Maryland will continue to lend their booking expertise and scene knowledge. New to the SHADOW WOODS planning team is Washington, DC area metal hype-machine LCnK Promotions and online metal blog Metal Junkie Zine, both of who will be spreading the good news about Shadow Woods to their constituency.
“We were so impressed with the quality of the lineup and how well the fest was run last year, that we really wanted to take a more active role in 2016,” says I.O. Kirkwood, founder of Metal Junkie Zine, who will be organizing volunteers.
Here are what some of the metal press had to say about the 2015 SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST:
“The atmosphere of SHADOW WOODS cannot be undersold, as the stages ranged from a small club-like inside stage, to a large field venue where space was a premium, to the near-occult-like amphitheater that lay down a trail surrounded by trees.” – No Clean Singing
“For a first metal camping experience, I couldn’t have asked for a more rewarding environment. The organization of the event was top-notch, the facilities were apropos, and I made so many new friends I’m still trying to process it all.” – Metal Junkie Zine
“It is at gatherings like these where real magick is bound to happen. And happen it did – not only among attendees, but on the three masterfully crafted stages and within every square inch of the camp. Metal heads and musicians sat by firesides, stood stoically, stumbled down paths after dark and stirred up pits together. There were those who consorted by the cabins, others who hopped among the many tents scattered around the perimeter or tucked away in the surrounding forest. To my knowledge, not a single unfortunate event occurred throughout the weekend. Not one fight, not one mishap, not one unpleasant incident. From what I was able to gather and observe, everyone there had an incredible time.” – The Metal Maiden
“People traveled from as far away as Maine, Texas, the Florida Keys, and Ontario to have a good time and listen to dozens of bands they may not get a chance to see. Some firsts happened at the festival including the blackened thrash band Midnight playing the longest set of their career and the appearance of the black metal band, Wormreich, the first since their accident in April.” – National Rock Review
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