This thing looks frickin’ awesome. I’m not one to tell you how to spend your time, but to look at the lineup for Shadow Woods Metal Fest 2016 and see the clear effort that’s been put into establishing an aesthetic that draws on elements of black metal, psychedelia, heavy rock, doom and more, it’s hard not to be impressed with the outcome. Especially for an event in its second year, and for one that requires coordinating things like vegan food options for four days and cabin rentals, it’s an incredible feat to be pulled off. That’s before you get to the actual bands playing. Germany’s Mantar have just been added, and there are a few other shakeups to the bill as well that the PR wire informs of below, but as you read through, try to take in the scope of everything happening over the course of that weekend and try to appreciate what’s gone into making it the way it is. No doubt a staggering and admirable amount of hours.

Dig it:

SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST Issues Updated 2016 Lineup Including The Addition Of Mantar; New Trailers Posted

SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST, the Mid-Atlantic’s only open-air camping metal party, announces several updates to this September’s installment of the event, including the addition of Mantar, Sacrificial Blood, and more.

SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST has added German metal duo, Mantar, for a special appearance Thursday, September 15th. The pair joins the mysterious Ghost Bath, Canada’s Numenoren, Baltimore’s Darsombra and several others to kick-off the three-day event, which continues through the morning of Sunday, September 18th at Camp Hidden Valley, in White Hall, Maryland. Now in its second year, SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST will host forty-one metal bands, representing diverse subgenres, on three stages at the same charming Summer camp where the fest was held previously.

“Mantar, who will be on tour with Cobalt this fall, had a free day that Thursday that fit perfectly into the schedule,” says festival organizer Mary Spiro of Metallomusikum.com / Shadow Woods Productions LLC. “Mantar blew everyone’s mind at the 2015 Maryland Deathfest, and SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST is extremely excited and deeply honored to have them help launch our second party in the woods.”

The entire festival lineup is stacked. Friday night headliners include Brooklyn’s post black metal pillagers Tombs, Mongolian folk metal warriors Tengger Cavalry, Detroit’s horror-death conjurers Acid Witch, and a special reunion performance from Philly’s blackened doom two-piece Sadgiqacea. On Saturday, black-thrash alchemists Blood Storm, Chicago’s mystic black metal kings Empyreus, and Maryland’s doom metal godfather Scott “Wino” Weinrich and friends from Faith In Jane will headline Saturday night. The fest will close that night with the return of Maine’s black metal-blues shredders, Zud.

This year’s SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST lineup also boasts several acts that have never performed on the East Coast, such as the blackened space-rock pair Lotus Thief from San Francisco, which features Otrebor of Botanist on drums, and Colorado’s Helleborus, powered by the Houseman brothers (Akhenaten; ex-Execration), who specializes in psychedelic black metal tinged with sexual mysticism. The complete lineup (listed below) surpasses the ferocity of the fest’s inaugural installment in both diversity and scope of metal styles.

Attendees will be able to munch of a plethora of food choices throughout the weekend including the return of the high octane Zeke’s Coffee, vegan selections from Headbangin’ Hotdogs, gourmet snacks from Baltimore’s Clementine, and more traditional fair foods from Funtastic Foods and Pond View Pit Beef. Along with sponsors Grimoire Records, vendors so far this year featured in the Hall Stage building include Runk the Skunk Jewelry, FTG Illustrations, Barnacle Bones Bindery, FiberParty KnitWorks, Mount Vernon Body Art and a variety of other music and arts producers. Yoga sessions will again be held every morning for those willing to brave a downward dog with a hangover and other workshops TBA have also been planned. The fest is BYOB and is 21 and up only.

Weekend Passes for SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST are available for $130 at 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. Only 400 weekend passes will be available and about one-third have sold so far. A limited number of day passes will go on sale in August.

SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST 2016 Complete Lineup:
A SOUND OF THUNDER (DC) **traditional old-school heavy metal
ATHAME (MD/WV) **black
AT THE GRAVES (MD) **solo doom-sludge
ACID WITCH (Detroit) **horror death
BLOOD STORM (PA/TX) **black thrash
BOUND BY THE GRAVE (Baltimore) *death
CEMETERY FILTH (TN) ** death
CEMETERY PISS (Baltimore) **black
COFFIN DUST (Philadelphia) **death
CORPSE LIGHT (Baltimore) *doom
DARSOMBRA (MD) **psychedelic 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
GHOST BATH (ND) **suicidal depressive black
GRAVE GNOSIS (St. Petersburg, FL) **black
HAXEN (Rhode Island) **black
HELGAMITE (VA) **doom/stoner/sludge
HELLEBORUS (Manitou Springs, CO) **black
HERON (NC) **black
HORSESKULL (NC) **sludge/doom
LOTUS THIEF (CA) **blackened space rock
MANTAR (GERMANY)**power sludge
MYOPIC (DC) **death/doom
NUMENOREAN (Calgary, AB) **post-black
SADGIQACEA (Philadelphia) **doom/sludge/black
SADISTIC VISION (PA/NC) **death
SAPREMIA (New Jersey) **death
SURGEON (Philadelphia) **progressive
TELOCH VOVIN (NY) **black
TEMPLE OF VOID (Detroit) **doom
TENGGER CAVALRY (NY/CHINA) ** Mongolian folk
T.O.M.B. (Philadelphia) **ritual noise
TOMBS (Brooklyn) ** black/post-metal
TORRID HUSK (WV) **depressive/melodic black
VORATOR (VA) ** death thrash
WINDFAERER (NJ) ** Iberian folk metal
WIZARD EYE (PA) **doom
XEUKATRE (Baltimore) **black
ZUD (Maine) ** black

http://shadowwoods2016.bpt.me/
http://www.shadowwoodsmetalfest.com
http://www.facebook.com/shadowwoodsmetalfest
https://www.facebook.com/events/1690461561167442/

Shadow Woods Metal Fest 2016 promo video

Set for Sept. 15-18 in White Hall, Maryland, Shadow Woods Metal Fest 2016 has completed its lineup. The fest runs a gamut of extremity from blackened noise to rolling stoner grooves and covers copious ground between in death metal, doom, drone and heavy rock, and the final nine acts announced only add to its breadth. This is the second year for Shadow Woods Metal Fest, and very clearly fest organizer Mary Spiro is staying true to the vision of a backwoods vibe, exploring the connection between a natural setting and various incarnations of heaviness. To be blunt, I don’t know all these bands and they’re not all really in my sphere so much as I have one, but I’d love to check this out anyway, just for the vibe of it.

Spiro works hard as hell on putting this together. Nothing but respect. Tickets are on sale now.

From the PR wire:

SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST: Complete 2016 Lineup For East Coast Open-Air Metal Fest Announced; Tickets Available + Trailers Posted

SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST, the Mid-Atlantic’s open-air camping metal party, is pleased to announce the complete lineup for the 2016 festival, which runs from Thursday, September 15th through Sunday, September 18th at Camp Hidden Valley, in White Hall, Maryland. This year, forty metal bands, representing diverse subgenres, will terrorize three stages in the woodlands of The Old Line State at the same summer camp where the fest was held last year.

Highlights of this year’s installment include a set by the mysterious GHOST BATH from North Dakota who have never performed live until this year, will be playing the event. The festival welcomes their first Canadian act to this year’s event with Calgary’s NUMENOREAN, and Baltimore’s trippy duo DARSOMBRA will headline Thursday night. Brooklyn’s post black metal pillagers TOMBS, Mongolian folk metal warriors TENGGER CAVALRY, Detroit’s horror-death conjurers ACID WITCH, and a special reunion performance from Philly’s blackened doom two-piece SADGIQACEA will ignite the fires Friday night. Black-thrash alchemists BLOOD STORM, Chicago’s mystic black metal kings EMPYREUS (featuring members of Kommandant) and the doom metal godfather SCOTT “WINO” WEINRICH and friends from Western Maryland’s FAITH IN JANE will headline Saturday night. The fest will close with the return of the black metal-blues shredders ZUD from Maine.

“We are honored and humbled that all these great acts have agreed to play our little gathering in the woods,” says festival founder Mary Spiro of Metallomusikum.com/Shadow Woods Productions LLC. “Our team has worked diligently to bring these groups to our unique performance environment, and we cannot wait to see how the weekend unfolds. This lineup stays true to the fest’s mission of showcasing the bands that metal fans ought to be seeing and hearing, not simply the bands that everyone has already seen somewhere else.”

This year’s lineup also boasts several acts that have never performed on the East Coast, such as the blackened space-rock pair LOTUS THIEF from San Francisco, which features Otrebor of Botanist on drums, and Colorado’s HELLEBORUS, powered by the Houseman brothers (Akhenaten; ex-Execration), who specialize in psychedelic black metal tinged with sexual mysticism. The complete lineup (listed below) surpasses the ferocity of the fest’s inaugural installment in both diversity and scope of metal styles.

Grimoire Records, the Baltimore-based hybrid recording and distribution label founded in February 2013, has become a co-producer with Shadow Woods Productions, LLC, and has several bands featured throughout the weekend, including CORPSE LIGHT, GENEVIEVE, MYOPIC, and TORRID HUSK.

Attendees will be able to munch of a plethora of food choices throughout the weekend including the return of the high octane Zeke’s Coffee and vegan selections from Headbangin’ Hotdogs, among several others. Jewelry, knitted-wear, art, CDs, vinyl, t-shirts and more will be on sale in the festival’s long hall. Yoga sessions will again be held each morning for those willing to brave a downward dog with a hangover. Other workshops are to be announced. The fest is BYOB and is 21 and up only. Those interested in vending, teaching a free workshop or who have specific questions should send an email with a description of your products and a website link to contact@shadowwoodsmetalfest.com

Weekend Passes for SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST are available for $130 at 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. Only 400 weekend passes will be available and about one-third have sold so far. A limited number of day passes will go on sale in August.

SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST 2016 Complete Lineup:
A SOUND OF THUNDER (DC) **traditional old-school heavy metal
ATHAME (MD/WV) **black
AT THE GRAVES (MD) **solo doom-sludge
ACID WITCH (Detroit) **horror death
BLOOD STORM (PA/TX) **black thrash
BOUND BY THE GRAVE (Baltimore) *death
CEMETERY FILTH (TN) ** death
CEMETERY PISS (Baltimore) **black
COFFIN DUST (Philadelphia) **death
CORPSE LIGHT (Baltimore) *doom
DARSOMBRA (MD) **psychedelic 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
GHOST BATH (ND) **suicidal depressive black
GRAVE GNOSIS (St. Petersburg, FL) **black
HAXEN (Rhode Island) **black
HELGAMITE (VA) **doom/stoner/sludge
HELLEBORUS (Manitou Springs, CO) **black
HERON (NC) **black
HORSESKULL (NC) **sludge/doom
LOTUS THIEF (CA) **blackened space rock
MYOPIC (DC) **death/doom
NUMENOREAN (Calgary, AB) **post-black
SACRIFICIAL BLOOD (NJ) **thrash death
SADGIQACEA (Philadelphia) **doom/sludge/black
SADISTIC VISION (PA/NC) **death
SAPREMIA (New Jersey) **death
SURGEON (Philadelphia) **progressive
TELOCH VOVIN (NY) **black
TEMPLE OF VOID (Detroit) **doom
TENGGER CAVALRY (NY/CHINA) ** Mongolian folk
T.O.M.B. (Philadelphia) **ritual noise
TOMBS (Brooklyn) ** black/post-metal
TORRID HUSK (WV) **depressive/melodic black
VORATOR (Richmond) **death/thrash
WIZARD EYE (PA) **doom
XEUKATRE (Baltimore) **black
ZUD (Maine) ** black

http://shadowwoods2016.bpt.me/
http://www.shadowwoodsmetalfest.com
http://www.facebook.com/shadowwoodsmetalfest
https://www.facebook.com/events/1690461561167442/

Shadow Woods Metal Fest 2016 promo

After a successful first installment last year, Shadow Woods Metal Fest 2016 bursts out of the gate with 20-plus bands for what’s still being touted as its initial lineup — i.e., there’s more to come. Seems reasonable. Now that they’ve shown it can happen without the universe collapsing or the ultra-oppressive Federal Forestry Service (note: I have no idea if that’s a real thing) clamping down hard on longhair campers, it seems only fair to expect the event to grow both in actual scope and reputation.

The first group of acts spans a range from extreme metal to psychedelic heavy rock, but a few highlights thus far include Maryland dronecasters Darsombra, Philly riff-rollers Wizard Eye, and MD heavy rockers Faith in Jane, who’ll team up with Scott “Wino” Weinrich himself for a special set. There have been murmurings of those two parties jamming for a little bit now, and you can see video of them doing just that from this past weekend below. It ain’t Wino Wednesday, exactly, but it’s cool to watch anyway.

Also included are Destroyer of Light from Austin, Temple of Void from Michigan and a whole bunch of others put together by fest-organizer Mary Spiro, who very clearly knows what she’s doing:

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

http://www.shadowwoodsmetalfest.com
http://www.facebook.com/shadowwoodsmetalfest

Faith in Jane & Wino, Live at Cafe Nola, Frederick, Maryland, Feb. 7, 2016

Acts are traveling from as far as Colorado to play, but even more than the geographic pull, the stylistic breadth of the inaugural Shadow Woods Metal Fest and the concept of the event are what really stun. Set to take place Sept. 25, 26 and 26 in White Hall, Maryland, the festival brings together bands from black metal, various incarnations of dark folk, psychedelia and doom for a three-day camp-out that’s as much an experiment in form as in style. Midnight headline — and if the thought of watching Midnight in the woods doesn’t appeal to you, you’ve probably never heard the band — and the likes of Iron Man, Heavy Temple, The Flight of Sleipnir, Occultation, Hercyn and Hivelords will play, among many others, on two stages that come complemented by workshops of various kinds, food and even yoga sessions.

Tickets are only being sold in advance, and if the thought of doing ritual black metal yoga in the forest isn’t enough for you, the whole thing is BYOB, so you can basically roll up with a cooler in your trunk and fantasize about an underground metal utopia where everything’s off the grid and everyone who sucks lives somewhere else. There are only 350 spots available, and I have no idea how many are left.

There is a lot of information below. If you take away anything from this, though, take away how fucking impressive I think the scope of this whole thing is and how deeply I hope they pull it off with no snags and it becomes an annual event. Also take away the ticket link, or, you know, click it.

Dig it:

SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST: Inaugural East Coast US Open Air/Camping Metal Fest

In just two weeks, the inaugural installation of SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST — the new mid-Atlantic, open-air, camping-based metal fest — kicks off, the gathering running from September 25th – 27th, 2015, in White Hall, Maryland, about thirty minutes north of Baltimore.

At the debut SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST, thirty-six bands will perform over Friday and Saturday, with lead performances from Midnight, Falls of Rauros, Occultation, Velnias, Iron Man, The Flight of Sleipnir, Dweller In The Valley, Dreadlords, Stone Breath, and many more. SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST will also be the first live performance for the surviving members of Wormreich since their tragic vehicle crash in April. The gathering showcases underground black, doom, death, and noise and experimental metal bands on three alternating stages all day Friday and Saturday. Camping and workshops on topics such as runes, guitar maintenance, yoga and more will be offered and are included in the ticket price. Artists and record labels will be vending alongside several onsite food stands.

Ticket purchasers will be given the exact street address. There will be ZERO ticket sales at the gate for SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST — advance presales to those 21 years of age and older is the only way into the fest, which is also BYOB. Tickets go off sale at 9 am on Friday, September 25th, the official time the gates open. There are only 350 tickets in total to be sold, and three-quarters have already been snapped up. For complete details and links to tickets and the fest merch store with exclusive art prints and t-shirt designs, go to www.shadowwoodsmetalfest.com

The bands chosen to perform SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST reflect the diversity of the underground music scene in the mid-Atlantic region plus a few from across the country. Official sponsors for the fest include Grimoire Records and MusicfortheDead.com.

SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST is a production of Metallomusikum.com of Baltimore, with promotional support from Lokvlt Productions in Philadelphia, WinterForge Promotions in Pittsburgh, Leftover Pizza Productions in Frederick, Maryland and Slimehole/Strange Matter in Richmond, Virginia.

SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST 2015 Alphabetical Lineup:

Anicon (New York, NY)
–black metal

Ashagal (New Hope, PA)
–Ritual folk

Black Table (NJ/NY)
–Experimental metal

Bridesmaid (Columbus, OH)
–Instrumental Doom-Sludge

Cladonia Rangiferina (MD, VA)
— ritual black metal, doom, acid rock

Dendritic Arbor (Pittsburgh, PA)
–metal; Grimoire Records

Destroying Angel (Philadelphia, PA)-
–Folk music for exorcisms

Dreadlords (Philadelphia, PA)
–Ritual black metal blues; Not Just Religious Music

Dweller in the Valley (Frederick, MD)
–Black, death, doom; Grimoire Records

Existentium (Baltimore, MD)
–melodic technical death metal

Falls of Rauros (Portland, ME)
–folk/atmospheric black metal; Bindrune Recordings

Fin (Chicago, IL)
–black metal; Behold Barbarity

Heavy Temple (Philadelphia, PA)
–psychedelic doom; Vàn Records

Hercyn (Jersey City, NJ)
–atmospheric black metal/post-rock

Hivelords (Philadephia, PA)
— experimental psychedelic black doom; Anthropic Records

Immortal Bird (Chicago, IL)
–black/death metal; Broken Limbs, Manatee Rampage

Iron Man (MD)
–doom metal/heavy rock; Rise Above Records

Midnight (Cleveland, Ohio)
–Black heavy metal; Hells Headbangers Records

Occultation (New York, NY)
–doom metal; Profound Lore Records

Oneirogen (New York, NY)
— dark, doom, drone; Denovali, Shinkoyo

Psalm Zero (New York, NY)
–experimental black doom; Profound Lore Records

Sangharsha (New York, NY)
–blackened hardcore; Alerta Antifascista Records

Sentience (Woodland Park, NJ)
–death metal

Slagstorm (Hagerstown, MD)
–prehistoric doom thrash

Snakefeast (Baltimore, MD)
–jazz metal sludge; Grimoire Records

Stone Breath (Red Lion, PA)
–experimental folk; Hand/Eye Records

The Day of the Beast (Virginia Beach, VA)
–blackened death metal

The Expanding Man (Baltimore, MD)
–solo improvisational electronic soundscapes

The Flight of Sleipnir (Denver, CO)
–black metal; Napalm Records

The Osedax (Leesburg, Va)
–black doom; Dullest Records

The Owls Are Not What They Seem (York, PA)
–experimental ritual soundscapes; Eleventh Key

Unsacred (Richmond, VA)
–savage black metal; Forcefield

Velnias (Denver, CO)
–blackened folk/doom metal; Eisenwald

Wormreich (Huntsville, AL & Nashville, TN)
–black metal; Moribund Records

Wrath of Typhon (York, PA)
–heavy metal; Eleventh KEY

ZUD (Portland, ME)
–bluesy outlaw black metal

http://shadowwoodsmetalfest.com
http://www.facebook.com/shadowwoodsmetalfest

Heavy Temple, Live in Hagerstown, MD, March 15, 2015