#primordial — Public Fediverse posts

@jd-vance-1.bsky.social I'm afraid you're late to the game efforts did not succeed. The #aliens did capture the rumored #Primordial #Taco on the backside of the #Moon before you could even get there. What are you afraid of? Have you heard of the #GOP? - #NoKings #NoICE #Epstein Files

Picture it. Asheville, North Carolina, 2024. A devastating hurricane had just ripped through my region, wiping out entire sections of our richest cultural centers and critical economic staples, not to mention forever impacting the lives and homes of hundreds of thousands of residents (myself included). But, as the absorbent and resilient sponge I know myself to be—and with the help of hordes of kind and loving friends and family—I persisted. Not even a full month after disaster struck, I resumed my writership by covering Greek heavy metal quintet Triumpher’s sophomore epic Spirit Invictus. An eternity spans between then and now, but like myself, Triumpher persists, Piercing the Heart of the World in 2026.

Those who heed Triumpher’s call as I do will be happy to know that the MegatonManowarsword righteousness these Greeks wield like Olympians remains as stalwart as ever. In fact, Piercing the Heart of the World marks the high-water mark of the Triumpher troupe’s songwriting skill and performative prowess. Mars Triumph puts down a vocal showcase of a singular passion, his wild and animalistic delivery reminiscent of Riot City’s early work. That invigorating spirit finds loyal and unflinching support from stellar guitar leads, galloping riffs, and scorching tremolo waves courtesy of guitarists Christopher Tsakiropoulos and Mario Ñ Peters. Meanwhile, Stelios Zoumis rumbles like a thunderous storm, throwing hefty bass bolts through every measure to anchor every one of Piercing’s 45 minutes in righteous metal. Driving the march toward inevitable WICTORY, Agis Tzoukopoulos tumbles, pounds, and stomps his way through every technique known to metalkind in the pursuit of maximum awesomeness, and finds it with alarming regularity here.

Piercing The Heart Of The World by TRIUMPHER

Piercing the Heart of the World proves that Triumpher achieved the next stage of evolution in their still-young career. With the massive one-two punch of “Black Blood” and “Destroyer,” Piercing launches with a ferocity that would intimidate the finest specimen of any apex predator family. The former song recalls the vampiric darkness that inked Storming the Walls, which is a welcome introduction, but fails in the most exhilarating way to prepare me for the sword-raising spirit of the latter. That, in turn, fails to prepare me for the epic beauty that is “The Mountain Throne.” The first of two Song o’ the Year contenders, this sub-seven-minute odyssey traverses a calming plucking melody to dive right into blackened speed and a thrashy gallop, all while Mars croons and wails atop a storm of double bass runs and blasts. Yet, the whole is smoother than chrome and sharper than scalpels, resulting in an utterly astounding listening experience. However, even it feels understated when faced with the late-album highlight “Erinyes.” Punky and thrashy in a way I never thought traditional heavy metal could be, but still possessed of that chest-thumping, fist-pumping flame that lights hearts and souls ablaze, “Erinyes” is an unqualified success of excess, exuberance, and excitement.

In the past, Triumpher’s greatest weakness was always that the highlights far outstripped the supporting cast. Not so with Piercing. Even the slow and metered “Ithaca (Return of the Eternal King),” ballad interlude “Vault of the Immortals,” and two-act closer “Naus Apidalia” find ways to make memories and stand with distinction in Triumpher’s catalog. In all cases, those memories are founded in storytelling, either by establishing new characters (as is the case with “Ithaca”), shifting the tone (“Vault”), or by resolving arcs and tying up loose ends (“Naus Apidalia”). This strategy, in turn, makes more traditional heavy metal crowd pleasers like “The Flaming Sword”—which boasts a sleeper chorus that will get stuck in your head—feel more impactful than they might’ve otherwise.

With this in mind, I found very little to complain about. If it weren’t for his sheer charisma, I would say that Mars’ vocal performance teases the “Too Much” button far more often than I prefer. Were it not for the presence of endless barnstormer solos and affecting melodies, I would bemoan the protracted runtime of the closer. The meaty bass presence foils my bubbling rant against the more aggressive compression and increased loudness of this master. The caveats persist, leaving behind a wake of hobbled criticisms that would conspire to chip away at Triumpher’s final score. The damage they perpetrated amounts to mere flesh wounds in the end. Put simply, Piercing the Heart of the World is Triumpher’s greatest triumph yet, and you’d do well to hear it!

Rating: Great!
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: No Remorse Records
Websites: triumpher.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/Triumpher.official
Releases Worldwide: March 6th, 2026

Steel Druhm

I was unaware of Greek mega-trve metal warriors Triumpher until Kenstrosity tackled their Storming the Walls debut back in 2023. I was immediately intrigued by the Manowar-meets-Megaton Sword-meets-Primordial sound they brought to the battlefield, and though there were some trials, tribulations, and rough spots to their presentation, the core of something bigger was there. Things improved on 2024s Spirit Invictus, as the Triumpher sound became more potent and consistently enthralling, and they seemed poised to usurp the throne of trve metal through sheer might and mayhem. Fast-forward to 2026, and their third crusade is set to kick off with Piercing the Heart of the World. I came into this hoping and expecting to be shocked and awed by sword, shield, and steroidal masculinity. Could Triumpher be the Manowar for this new age? That’s a mighty big loincloth to fill, but hope hung thickly in the air.

My anticipation of excessive glory overload was slaked by ginormous opener “Black Blood,” and woe to those who don’t bend the knee. It’s a volatile mash-up of Manowar, Primordial, and Doomsword, with a structure that starts out larger-than-life and tries to stack vainglorious and titanic moments upon one another like a grand memorial to the Elder Gods. Vocalist Mars Triumph channels Manowar’s legendary Eric Adams while also referencing Primordial’s A.A. Nemtheanga. This makes the song a total barn burner and exactly what I was hoping for. They follow this up with the uber-beefy, badass “Destroyer,” which reeks of Manowar’s The Triumph of Steel era. Grandiose choral segments and black metal influences elbow their way in, but this is a trve metal chariot ride through the Nine Worlds. Keeping the sword between the ribs, “The Mountain Throne” finds Triumpher pushing every lever to MAX GLORY as the false and weak flee for the safety of their fortifications. This one brings a lot of the same energy as the recent Fer De Lance, and there are touches of Lost Horizon, too. Mars stretches his vocals to the very edge of madness, and the chorus is as mighty as a barrel full of Wotans. Those who make it through this will be gifted a lifetime supply of wisdom, power, and back hair.

What could stop such a mighty and righteous host after such a rousing start? A soft and flabby middle, that’s what. “Ithaca (Return of the Eternal King)” is a slow-burning epical ballad that keeps building toward a massive release of rage and wiolence, but the release never arrives, and you’re kept on the edge of something for nearly 7 minutes with no somethings in sight. This results in the condition known as Blue Baldur. “Ithaca” is immediately followed by the 2-minute interlude “Vaults of Immortals,” which is equally restrained and subdued, making for 9 minutes stuck in emo-fied low-gear. This blunts the album’s momentum, taking you out of battle rage and into resource management. Steel cares not for resource herding when they are enemies left to be smottened! While things pick up with “The Flaming Sword,” and especially the trve-meets-semi-black-thrash of “Erinyes,” it feels like the album never fully regains its war footing, and 9-minute plus closer “Naus Apidalia” is merely good, not great, and suffers from some very Virgin Steele-esque compositional sinkholes and ego bloat. At a reasonable 44:44, Piercing the Heart of the World feels much longer than that, and though the first 16 or so minutes are massive, the rest of the album can’t sustain the prolonged siege.

I’m impressed with Mars Triumph’s performance. He’s gotten more proficient from album to album, and he has a crazy broad range. Anyone who can approximate Eric Adams is talented, and his black and death vocals are good as well. That said, he can and does overdo things at times, pushing his tonsils beyond human control. I can’t even suggest he dial things back, since that is not what Triumpher is all about. You just take the good with the weird and ride on. The guitar work from Christopher Tsakiropoulos and Mario Ñ Peters brings the thunder to the tundra, borrowing from a raft of trve and heavy influences while injecting enough blackened edges to make things extra deadly and dangerous. As the riffs roar and soar, Agis Tzoukopoulos delivers Scott Columbus-approved war drumming that embiggens the sword and spirit. This is a talented horde, and it’s the songwriting missteps that ultimately derail their relentless advance.

Triumpher have all the tools to forge a world-beating heavy metal monsterpiece, but Piercing the Heart of the World fails to penetrate my armor and score a critical hit. I heartily enjoy the opening trilogy, and there’s solid stuff later on, but this isn’t an album that captivates me from start to finish, despite my fervent wishes that it did. Piercing loses some of the ground won by Spirit Invictus, but I haven’t lost heart. The warrior spirit will endure and rise again if Crom wills it. Onward to great deeds!

Rating: 3.0/5.0

As 2025 winds to a close, the depleted promo pit growls with hunger, eager for the new year and a fresh bucket o’ chum.1 As I sift through the meager mid-December hopefuls, I detect a flash of black and silver. Snatching the promo, I discover clarinet-wielding Vittorio Sabelli and his project Dawn of a Dark Age, along with ninth album Ver Sacrum. Released between 2014 and 2017, the band’s first five albums examined The Six Elements. Ver Sacrum is the conclusion of a tetralogy that explores the Samnites, a Roman-conquered civilization with roots in modern-day central Italy.2 Dear Hollow found the first part of the tetralogy wondrous at its best, but undercut by a tedious, ill-conceived back half. Even so, I couldn’t resist the allure of clarinet metal. After nine albums and a bit of baggage, can Sabelli & Co. bring a warm light to dreary days, or are we left in the dark of a false dawn?

At its core, Dawn of a Dark Age plays avant-garde black metal with folksy instrumentation, and on Ver Sacrum they set aside the scathing hostility found on earlier works to hone mood and atmosphere. Though the speed varies throughout the album, proceedings mostly stick to mid-paced tempos. Sound-wise, Dawn of a Dark Age sits at a crossroads of influences, eliciting the tribal spirit of Wardruna, the wistful temperament of Primordial, and the post-black pangs of White Ward.3 While these comparisons help orient expectations, Dawn of a Dark Age’s milieu is uniquely their own, and despite some imperfections, the band clearly demonstrates lessons learned.

Ver Sacrum by DAWN OF A DARK AGE

In addition to supplying much of the instrumentation throughout Ver Sacrum, Sabelli surrounds himself with a strong cast. Drummer Diego ‘Aeternus’ Tasciotti returns, skillfully supporting Dawn of a Dark Age with subdued cymbals and calculated double-bass rolls. In fact, Aeternus’ subtle kitwork deftly boosts the drama as slower passages accelerate and guitars and bass frolic with clarinets and keys. I particularly enjoy the accordion’s role, conjuring vivid Arcadian imagery as its lilting wheeze plays counter to delicate bass grooves and acoustic strums. Most distinctive, though, are the clarinet and bass clarinet. Outside Van Halen’s “Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now),” I don’t recall any clarinet-centric passages in metal, and Ver Sacrum gives the ol’ licorice stick headlining prominence. Mixing clarinets with metal isn’t a combination I’d ever considered, but on Ver Sacrum, Dawn of a Dark Age convinces me there’s plenty of room for its warm, sulky timbre. Atop the music, new vocalist Ignazio Cuga saunters in with a deep, resonant style that ably treads ground covering croaks, growls, and throat singing.4 All told, Ver Sacrum creates an evocative atmosphere that mostly enchants with its rustic drones and occasional black metal bursts.

While Dawn of a Dark Age sharply demonstrates invigorated songwriting and improvements on the pitfalls from prior outings, Ver Sacrum still encounters a few snags. The 40-minute album length is just right, but the tendency to linger on passages remains, drawing beguiling moments past their prime. And though the awkward transitions found on La Tovola Osca have been largely addressed, a few are present here. Aside from these, performances sizzle, the production suits the music, and the assorted instruments and pacing concoct an engaging, well-manicured experience. The only thing holding back Ver Sacrum from higher praise is the lack of standout moments. I sink into the music every time I spin it, yet once it’s over, I’m left with impressions of the overall sound, absent specific refrains to call me back. Multiple listens reinforce Dawn of a Dark Age’s understated grace, but transitioning away from passages earlier would help build bigger climaxes and elevate Ver Sacrum’s immediacy.

Over eleven years and nine albums, Dawn of a Dark Age has whetted an uncanny aptitude for creating diverse textures and ambiances. Despite my gripes, Ver Sacrum hits more often than misses, and stands as a solid release in a month where good new music is in short supply. Further, this is a must-listen for anyone who wants to like black metal but generally finds it inaccessible. Dawn of a Dark Age takes harsher components of the genre and softens the edges, creating a concise yet engrossing experience for anyone looking to dip their toes into befolkened black waters.

Rating: Good!
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: My Kingdom Music
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: December 12th, 2025

Photos/Review: Primordial’s Triumphant Return to NYC @ TV Eye – 3/20/2025

#Primordial #Sonja #TheWatcher #TVEye #LiveGig #LiveReview #LivePhotos

Link: https://metalinsider.net/photos/photos-review-primordials-triumphant-return-to-nyc-tv-eye-3-20-2025

Photos/Review: Primordial’s Triumphant Return to NYC @ TV Eye – 3/20/2025

#Primordial #Sonja #TheWatcher #TVEye #LiveGig #LiveReview #LivePhotos

Link: https://metalinsider.net/photos/photos-review-primordials-triumphant-return-to-nyc-tv-eye-3-20-2025

This article is starting something that I hope to continue in the future. Diegetic is an adjective derived from the noun diegesis, which just means conveying information in fiction via narrative. Diegetic generally means: existing or occurring within the world of a narrative rather than as something external to that world. The term is usually used when referring to music, which means, the music in a movie, play, or show is music that exists in the world, that the characters can hear, versus something like the soundtrack, which is a storytelling convention to convey emotion to the viewer, which is not part of the world, or something the characters can hear.

I’ve used this a little looser when talking about how things like rolling big numbers on damage roles convey information in the story. The number doesn’t literally exist, but the “rating” of how effective the attack is does exist in the setting. That’s not to say you shouldn’t attempt to wrap that number in descriptions, but the number itself is already starting to convey the story when it’s generated.

Mission Statement

I’m looking at something a little more specific in this series. Some rules constrain how level-based fantasy games work. Some of those rules don’t mean anything in the narrative of the world itself. For example, people don’t express all of the skills you can learn in a culture with a set list of skill names, but the rules define skills to make it easier to determine what characters can do, and how often they can leverage those abilities. Some rules tell you the upper limit of how many skills or languages your character can have at the start of the campaign, but no one in the campaign is going to say that someone can’t know more than X number of languages.

On the other hand, some rules are simplifications of the reality of the world you are using in your story. In most settings, we assume that people in the setting have an idea of what a cleric, druid, or paladin is. Magical scholars understand what the different magical sources are, and in many 5e SRD settings, many scholars have expressly discussed magic as categorized into the schools that exist in the SRD rules. What I want to look at in this series is how these diegetic rules can inform the story of your game.

Tales of the Valiant: Ritual Spells

In Tales of the Valiant, in contrast to ritual spells as defined in the standard 5e SRD, ritual spells aren’t spells that can be cast as rituals instead of spending a spell slot. They are spells that can only be cast as rituals, and the number of rituals available to spellcasters is tracked separately from spells cast with slots. In a way, it’s an extension of the concept of cantrips, in that they are magical abilities that a spellcaster always has access to, without being limited to a finite number of resources per long rest.

Something that 5e SRD rules, as well as the Black Flag SR, communicates, is that NPCs aren’t always built the same way as player characters. A stat block representing a cleric may be able to add spells into multi-attack routines, may have magical attacks only defined in the stat block, and not by external rules text, or may have a signature ability of a subclass that they can access, but with the details calculated in a different manner than the PC version of the ability, or expressed as a recharge ability instead of “proficiency bonus number per long rest,” as an example.

Some groups want to feel like characters with player-character abilities are among the very few in the world with that amount of easily available power. There may be spellcasters, but they aren’t slinging multiple combat-ready spells a dozen times per day. The tactic of saying that NPCs don’t have comparable abilities similar to PCs can work, but in some cases, you may not want there to be a lack of powerful NPC spellcasters, you may just want a dearth of adventuring spellcasters.

Because of the division of spells into standard spells and ritual spells, a GM running Tales of the Valiant has an additional storytelling tool that they can access. What if most of your NPCs only have access to rituals? How does that change the tone and feel of the setting? What would those spellcasters contribute to the world, and what would player characters be able to count on if this is true?

What Creates the Divide

We’re going to look like what ritual abilities look like for different sources of power, but before we look at that, why would player characters access magic in a different way than NPCs? While player characters may be just that exceptional, I think we have some real-world examples that can inform why PCs and NPCs don’t wield the same magical resources.

It’s possible that being able to cast non-ritual spells is the equivalent of being a magical athlete. With enough dedication and practice, anyone that can wield magic could cast non-ritual spells, but it takes constant practice and use to maintain that style of magic. Spell slots are essentially packets of energy, and not every spellcaster may practice the talent to collect and hold enough discreet energy to power non-ritual spells.

That also means that an adventurer who retires from adventuring may not retain their ability to cast non-ritual spells. Like an athlete who doesn’t continue to practice their sport, the ability to use that extraordinary ability might atrophy. In that way, you can have your powerful casters as quest-givers who remember adventuring, but they’re in no shape to delve into dungeons and sling fireballs because they’ve only been dealing with rituals for the last decade or so.

Non-Adventuring Spellcaster Capabilities

Because NPCs can have whatever stat block the GM wants to use, there is no reason to overly quantify what NPC spellcasters can do, in similar terms to how player characters access their powers. However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t useful to think about what it would mean for spellcasters to only have access to ritual spells.

One consideration should be cantrips. Cantrips don’t require spell slots, so even a spellcasters that can only use ritual spells may retain the ability to use cantrips. This works well to represent spellcasters that were once adventurers, because they may not have spell slots, but they still know how to throw a firebolt enough to make it hurt. If you don’t want your NPC spellcasters to even have this level of combat, it’s easy to assume that your NPC spellcasters don’t have cantrips that do damage, change armor class, or modify armor class.

NPC spellcasters may also spend their time crafting items, rather than practicing their day-to-day spellcasting. It can take a long time to craft really powerful items, and maybe not spending time on gathering ambient energy into spell slots makes that process just a wee bit faster. These spellcasters can still count as a particular class when it comes to having access to magic items, so they may still be carrying powerful items. Attunement slots can help to explain why that NPC doesn’t have enough magic on them to annihilate others even without spell slots, because there will be a limit to what they can have attuned at any given time.

Wyrd Ritualists are probably the trickiest to support with this approach, because a Wyrd Ritualist with cantrips, rituals, but no spell slots, doesn’t look a lot different than a warlock. In fact, in Tales of the Valiant, it makes them look more like a 2014 Warlock. If you are going to present NPC spellcasters as “similar to PC classes, without spell slots,” you may also want to assume that a Wyrd Ritualist doesn’t have the Pact Magic feature, either. This makes sense if you assume that the Wyrd Ritualist is constantly making situational deals, rather than having one specific patron to grant more persistent abilities.

Wizards Are Always the Exception

One of the defining characteristics of the wizard is that they can continually add spells to their spellbooks, when they encounter new spells and can spend time studying them. That would seem to make wizard NPCs that don’t have access to spell slots a strange disconnect, implying that they may be entirely neglecting magic, not just the specialized practice of gathering energy for spell slots.

That doesn’t necessarily need to be the case. Wizards that don’t use spell slots can still get some utility from having tons of non-ritual spells in their spell books, outside of just keeping score with other wizards. While I’m mainly looking at wizards, to reflect why even a non-spell slot using wizard would still be collecting non-ritual spells, the following is true of most spellcasting NPCs.

Non-spellcasting NPCs might spend some of their time preparing scrolls, just in case they need to use something on the fly. Being loaded down with scrolls that require time and money to create isn’t really a viable alternative to having ready access to spell slots, when it comes to adventuring, but that old wizard that likes to take his time with his spellcasting may still feel as if it’s prudent to resources squirreled away, and they may also get a thrill learning a new spell, and enacting the spell as part of committing it to a scroll.

This also provides a reason for wizards, as well as other spellcasters, to have a number of scrolls on hand to either give to the PCs to aid them in their assigned tasks, as payment for their efforts, or as something available for purchase and trade.

Alternatives to Spellbooks

One other consideration you may want to make, specifically related to wizards, is what it means for a wizard to find a spell. If your NPC spellcasters are more likely to be magical theoreticians, you may want to introduce magical workbooks or theses. A player character wizard may be able to study this work and add a spell to their spellbook based on what they learned from the various topics expressed in the work. This shouldn’t take any more time or money than copying a spell from a spellbook.

You may want to quantify exactly what the PC wizard can get from a given thesis. You should probably specify what magical school the topics intersect with, and the most powerful effects the book details. That means you could detail a scholarly work like this:

• Title of the Work
• Subject of the Work
• Resources Gained

In other words, if a wizard finds The Parameters and Intensity of Warding Symbols, you might determine that the book can be used to add Abjuration spells to a spellbook, and for the resources gained, you could say that a wizard studying the work can add up to three spells to their spellbook, which are of the 4th circle or lower. That same wizard can’t read the book again later, and get any more benefit, at least in terms of spells added to their spellbook. Those spells are literally in the book, but the topic combined with the native knowledge of the wizard, allows them to make a breakthrough in recreating various spells.

What Do Dedicated Ritual Casters Look Like

Not every ritual circle is created equal. It’s possible in the future, we’ll have more utility items that make sense for non-adventuring spellcasters, and you can also assume that ritual spellcasters have some utility rituals that haven’t been defined in the rules, although you should still be careful not to expand those undefined abilities beyond what the various power sources normally allow.

It may also be useful to think about what it means to be a ritual caster. As we discussed above, these may be retired adventurers, in which case, your casters are still defined as being wizards, clerics, etc. But if you increase the presence of ritual only casters, some of those casters may never have defined their spellcasting in the same way that various player character classes do.

Dedicated Ritualists in a Setting

Arcane Ritualists may be sages that study the flow of ambient magic, untethered by other forces. This does mean that Arcane Ritualists are probably, by default, going to feel a little more like Wizards, or maybe Bards, rather than Sorcerers. You may still have a sage or expert that doesn’t study magic so much as they never fully explored the source of their sorcerous powers, but regularly cast rituals in their everyday life, or as a profession. That may look a little more like a fortune teller or a medium than a more scholarly Arcane Ritualist.

Divine Ritualists may be dedicated to the worship of a single god or religious practice, but they are also a great example of what a priest may look like that is trained in the observance of worship for a pantheon or family of deities. They might invoke different religious rituals, targeting different gods, depending on the ritual being utilized.

Primordial Ritualists may have a more difficult time accessing Primordial energies outside of the wilder places in the world. They may not be able to do so if they aren’t under an open sky, or within a natural cavern or cave. They may not be able to perform rituals on drastically modified lands, like farms. In this way, trained druids may serve as the ambassadors to the places in the world that push out Primordial energies, in a way that a Primordial Ritualist cannot. Even a Primordial Ritualist from a more agrarian culture may still need to take a pilgrimage to untouched wilderness when they want to perform rituals, and people that want to interact with the ritualist and benefit from those rituals may need to climb or swim to reach those areas of Primordial power, or they may need to endure cold or heat while waiting for rituals to complete.

Tales of the Valiant presents us with an interesting story element in this regard. What does a Wyrd Ritualist look like? They won’t have the persistent connection from a patron helping them to access the power source, but these aren’t natural energies that would be quantified in the same way that you might assume an arcane sage to be measuring. In this case, a dedicated ritual caster using the Wyrd power source may need to make some kind of sacrifice or short-term promise to a different entity each time they enact a ritual.

In fact, if the PCs go to them for help, the PCs may need to sacrifice something meaningful to themselves so the ritual caster can proceed. You may be able to present an interesting contrast between an Arcane Ritualist working as a fortune teller or medium, or the potentially more dangerous and unpredictable Wyrd Ritualist fortune teller or medium, and there may be a rivalry between those practicing similar professions in the same area.

A Day in the Life

I wanted to wrap all of this up by looking at what dedicated ritual casters would look like for each of the power sources, and what they would likely be able to provide for anyone that visits them. This is separate from assuming they might be able to prepare scrolls and potions, or that they may have magic items available to them.

Arcane Ritualists

Arcane Ritualists are going to be providing gathered information at lower levels, as well as having a few situationally useful abilities to place on objects. At higher levels, they are good at warding things and locations and pronouncing judgments on already incapacitated creatures. Transportation networks are going to be a big thing that powerful Arcane Ritualists can be in charge of, and potentially sending mysterious messages over great distances.

There are enough rituals available to them to make planar servants or undead justifiable retainers to add to their domains. Arcane Ritualists will be able to have weird, hard to find places to live that can punish unwanted visitors.

• Arcane Ritualist Novices (+2 PB)–Novices may have familiars to help them with research and gathering information. Identify is a useful ability but presupposes magic items to examine with the abilities. Unseen servants are going to be fairly common to take care of day-to-day needs. Novices may create coded messages for people, but that’s probably going to be very situational. Locking items, adding auras, or adding spoken messages are going to be situationally useful. Locate is probably one of their most useful utility spells. In fact, cantrips are probably going to be more generally useful, with the ability to mend, send messages, or do whatever things you can come up with using
• Arcane Ritualist Practitioner (+3 PB)—Animate Dead could be popular, in places where it’s considered acceptable, or people are too cowed by spellcasters to complain. Clairvoyance and Fabricate are probably the most useful rituals at this stratum of power. I can see there being a market for Glyph of Warding being placed on things. Magic Circle, and Tiny Hut probably requires the Arcane Ritualist to get out in be in potential danger. Hallucinatory Terrain and Private Sanctum would be good for the Arcane Ritualist’s reputation and privacy. Secret Chest might be a spell that the ritualist uses to hide away other people’s important items as well as their own.
• Arcane Ritualist Expert (+4 PB)–This degree of proficiency is where the Arcane Ritualist is going to really start to shine. Contact Other Plane and Creation are widely useful. Planar Binding and Create Undead are going to be great for getting the Arcane Ritualist some substantial servants. Scrying is one of the signature things you expect from the Arcane Ritualist sitting in their tower. Dream is going to be useful for the Arcane Ritualist needing to reach out to others to communicate. Geas might be a useful ability for sealing the terms of employment with retainers, and Guards and Wards are another signature means of protecting the ritualist’s home. Being able to create and maintain a Teleportation Circle network is going to be very important for people that are on good terms with the ritualist.
• Arcane Ritualist Specialists (+5 PB)–at this degree of proficiency, your Arcane Ritualist is going to have a nice, impressive, secure home with rituals like Magnificent Mansion, Mirage Arcane and Antipathy/Sympathy. Simulacrum and Clone are your go to spells for the paranoid Arcane Ritualist, and Simulacrum may be interesting if the ritualist wants to accompany employees in the field. Symbol is an amazing thing to be able to conjure, and once it’s in place, it’s going to show off the ritualist’s potential power, if they have the time to use it.
• Arcane Ritualist Masters (+6 PB)–An Arcane Ritualist may not be as dangerous in the moment, but being able to astrally project, utilize Foresight, or pronounce an Imprisonment on something dangerous that has been brought to them is pretty impressive.

Divine Ritualists

The lower powered Divine rituals feel very community service oriented. Toward the middle of their progression, they dovetail a lot with Arcane rituals, although from a narrative element, Arcane ritualist feel more like they are forcing concessions for the universe, while Divine rituals feel more like just imploring the deities for major events to happen. Reversing death and major injuries are very much signature abilities.

• Divine Ritualist Novices (+2 PB)—Purify Food and Drink, Augury, and Locate are all things I can envision a general priest doing as a useful ritual. Detect Poison and Disease may be an interesting thing for a Divine Ritualist to use on an afflicted person brought to them, which may then allow them to attempt an alchemical or herbal treatment or let them get out a scroll if the affliction is bad enough. Prayer of Healing could be good for injuries that aren’t immediately life-threatening, possibly as a follow-up to using Spare the Dying on someone.
• Divine Ritualist Practitioner (+3 PB)–Divine Ritualists gain similar abilities to Arcane Ritualists, except that they get much more definitive information gathering with access to Divination, which feels logical considering they are literally connected with the divine.
• Divine Ritualist Expert (+4 PB)–This tier of ability continues to be similar to Arcane Ritualists, except for a few really important differences. Raise Dead is a game changer, meaning that Divine Ritualists have some power over life and death when they are more powerful. Heroes’ Feast is also a major boost for Divine Ritualists sending champions out to perform a mission for their god or gods.
• Divine Ritualist Specialists (+5 PB)–The Divine Ritualist at this level has fewer options than the Arcane Ritualist, but Regenerate is an interesting “someone injured is brought to them” narrative element. Resurrection reinforces the access to the gods and powers over life and death, and Control Weather feels like something important for priests of some churches to be able to enact.
• Divine Ritualist Masters (+6 PB)–Divine Ritualists share Foresight with Arcane Ritualists, and True Resurrection is the kind of ability that can actually call legendary figures back from the afterlife.

Primordial Ritualists

Primordial Ritualists serve a very similar purpose to Divine Ritualists, but they take longer to have ritual access to some kind of immediate healing. They do maintain the “cast something to send off your champions” abilities, but they can’t negate death, at least not in the same way as a Divine Ritualist. It could be an interesting plot point for the PCs to be tasked with awakening animals that are important for some reason. They’re also obviously going to be the go-to for petitioning for a change in the weather.

• Primordial Ritualist Novices (+2 PB)–Primordial Ritualists early on have traits that lean close to Divine Ritualists, with a little bit of the Arcane Ritualist’s options to communicate via Animal Messenger, and to make a location more dangerous, via Circle of Stones.
• Primordial Ritualist Practitioner (+3 PB)–This tier of ability has fewer options for an NPC that is sedentary, and for rituals that aren’t supplemental to someone that’s an adventurer to begin with. Trestle and Water Walk are all about being able to move more easily or in a different way. Song of the Forest may be situationally useful if the Primordial Ritualist needs to examine something in their close vicinity, but Briar Rose is the most useful ritual here for an NPC Primordial Ritualist, as it can create something that is given to others to use later.
• Primordial Ritualist Expert (+4 PB)–This level of proficiency for the Primordial Ritualist is very similar to what the Divine Ritualist gets, but with a few changes. Primordial Ritualists don’t get the same mastery over life and death, but they can change common beasts into sapient beings, which can be a major plot point in a story, creating new helpers or retainers for the ritualist. They get the same “sending off the champion” ability with Heroes’ Feast. I’m going to play my “this opinion isn’t helpful in this context” card and say I can even touch on Reincarnation because it just bothers me as a concept, expressly in the way it’s used with this spell, in multiple editions of D&D. Moving on.
• Primordial Ritualist Specialists (+5 PB)—Oculus Blossoms may not be greatly useful for an NPC residing at a particular location, but it is a fun power for a character to use to prove they know everything going on in their personal domain. Control Weather is the signature Primordial ritual at this tier of access.
• Primordial Ritualist Masters (+6 PB)–There is only one new ritual option at this tier, which does allow the Primordial Ritualist to permanently alter something’s form, which feels potentially fitting to the theme. It is a reason that people would seek this NPC out, if no one in their party can do that.

Wyrd Ritualists

Wyrd Ritualists, as NPCs to consult, or as a patron to send the party to do things, should probably feel dangerous, and like a last resort. A lot of what will make them seem powerful at the lowest tiers of abilities will likely be via cantrips, with some situational use of other powers. Missions where PCs must bring a person or thing to the Wyrd Ritualist are going to be strongly thematic, and potentially supported by their ritual abilities.

• Wyrd Ritualist Novices (+2 PB)–At this early tier, the Wyrd Ritualist has similar access to abilities that Arcane Ritualists can use, but if it takes some kind of risk or sacrifice to perform this magic, there isn’t as much of a risk/reward calculation at this stratum. It does give the Wyrd Ritualist the possibility of an advisor in the form of a familiar.
• Wyrd Ritualist Practitioner (+3 PB)–This tier continues the trend of the previous tier of power, where the risk/reward for some of their utility may not feel like a great payoff depending on the sacrifice, although access to Speak with Dead is an important ability both as a worthwhile personal ability and as something others would seek them out to perform.
• Wyrd Ritualist Expert (+4 PB)–This is the strata of power where the Wyrd Ritualist is going to get more bang for their sacrificial buck, with powerful divinations, communications, and the ability to bind servants to them. Magic Jar is one of those abilities that sems to require the Wyrd Rituals to tag along with adventurers, but it does seem like you could work in some plot points where the PCs have to voice for the body swapped Wyrd Ritualist, after bringing them the person to swap with.
• Wyrd Ritualist Specialists (+5 PB)–They don’t get quite as many home base fortification abilities at lower levels, the way Arcane Ritualists do, but Wyrd Ritualists get some of that “warp my headquarters” abilities in this range.
• Wyrd Ritualist Masters (+6 PB)—Astral Projection and Imprisonment are both very thematic for a Wyrd Ritualist, as someone that can scout locations out of their bodies, or trap someone, somewhere, away from anyone else’s access. In fact, Imprisonment feels like a tool to “pay off” some entities that have granted powers elsewhere.

Building Around The Concepts

I haven’t had much time to implement this kind of world-building assumption in my games up to this point. There is something appealing to considering NPC spellcasters in my Thrones and Bones game, because that feels thematically appropriate for that setting.

If you give these concepts a try in your campaigns, or if you have already adopted something similar to this paradigm, I would love to hear about it. I’m intrigued at the inspiration provided to me by the implications of certain rules, and rituals seem to be a fertile ground for story-based inclusion. It’s also interesting to see how the ritual spell lists play into the themes of different types of magic. I really want to see more rituals across the board, and I hope that introducing additional rituals doesn’t blur the themes too much.

https://whatdoiknowjr.com/2024/10/12/what-do-i-know-about-diegetic-rules-tales-of-the-valiant-rituals/

#Arcane #BlackFlagRoleplaying #d20 #Divine #dnd #DungeonsDragons #DungeonsDragons5e #DungeonsAndDragons #KoboldPress #Primordial #Rituals #rpg #TalesOfTheValiant #Wyrd

The Maryland Deathfest Chronicles

By Mark Z.

Sup fukkers! I’m back, having spent the last few years getting a law degree, trying to land a job, and settling into married life. But through it all, I haven’t lost sight of what’s truly important. I still buy records. I still go to shows. I still have a burning desire to blast Impiety so fukkin loud that my skull implodes and my internal organs turn into a thick pink paste that probably looks like the stuff chicken nuggets are made from. And what better way to prove that the metalized blood still flows through my veins than by providing you with a live report of the most brutal festival this side of the Atlantic—Maryland Deathfest?

Held over Memorial Day weekend in downtown Baltimore, Maryland Deathfest is arguably the premiere underground metal festival in the United States. The four‑day event welcomes dozens of bands from all over the extreme metal spectrum and beyond, including styles like grindcore and hardcore punk. While the fest has taken place almost every year since 2003, this year’s edition was particularly special, as there was a very real possibility it was never going to happen. After the 2020 and 2021 editions were canceled due to the pandemic, the 2022 edition proved to be a logistical nightmare for festival organizers Ryan Taylor and Evan Harting, with visa issues and other challenges causing the two to announce that they needed some time off. As a result, they stated that there would be no 2023 edition and that there might never be another edition at all.

Fortunately, Ryan and Evan decided to continue the fest, leading to a 2024 edition that was absolutely stacked with great bands. Dismember, Sodom, Primordial, Aura Noir, and Archgoat were just a few of the groups I was excited to see, and even with the unfortunate cancellations of groups like My Dying Bride and Coffins, having Agalloch and Morta Skuld as replacements definitely softened the blow. With my time off from work confirmed and my metal shirts freshly laundered, I mentally prepared myself for four days of blast beats, moshing, and other heavy metal mayhem!

If only I knew what awaited me.

Thursday

As the morning light pours into my bedroom, I make a mental note to drink a Red Bull at some point today. I’ve slept like crap, probably due to a combination of being excited for the festival, having a stuffy bedroom, and being constantly awakened by a 55-pound pit bull that insisted on plopping her entire body onto my side of the bed. Fortunately, I now live only a 30-minute drive from downtown Baltimore, so I don’t have to worry about catching a flight or paying an exorbitant price for a hotel. Unfortunately, this means I’ll have to suffer through the I-95 traffic that has only gotten worse with the recent Key Bridge collapse.

After taking a strange detour to avoid an accident (and almost getting into one myself), I arrive in Baltimore. The sun is bright, small groups of people in black shirts are walking around, and the air feels electric with anticipation. While I’m a bit bummed that I’m attending by myself this year, it’s still hard not to be excited.

I get my wristband and head to Baltimore Soundstage for the festival’s first band: Depulsed. Even though the sole release of this Las Vegas brutal death metal group is a 2019 demo that contains just one song, the venue is surprisingly crowded—probably full of people who, like me, couldn’t get a ticket to last night’s Pre‑Fest and are eager to finally hear some live metal. Fortunately, this quartet don’t disappoint, as their destructive grooves and occasionally atypical riffing make for a rousing start to the festivities. It’s clear the band is having a great time, too, and there’s plenty of headbanging all around.

When Depulsed finishes, I go across the street to Rams Head Live!, the festival’s main other indoor venue. While Soundstage is a pretty traditional midsized venue, Rams Head is an open‑concept, multi‑level nightclub with a large raised stage as its focal point. Once inside, I snag a prime upper‑level spot for the evening’s next band: Fossilization. This Brazilian doom-death metal group sent some shockwaves through the underground last year with their Leprous Daylight debut, and their live performance is equally captivating. The group use lots of tight and hammering blast beats, and it seems the “doom” in their sound comes primarily from the monolithic heaviness of their guitars rather than their scattered moments of slower tempos. With an imposing stage presence and growls so deep that they shake the floor of the balcony I’m standing on, their performance is one to remember.

I’m not particularly interested in the brutal death metal at Soundstage tonight, so I decide to stick around Rams Head. I realize this is a good call as soon as Pittsburgh doom-death metal quartet Derkéta begin playing. Formed in 1988 and considered to be the first all-female death metal band (though today they have a male drummer), the group keep heads bobbing with assertive chugs and massive riffs that sound like Black Sabbath with a mound of graveyard dirt dropped on top. The live mix in the venue seems especially clear and powerful tonight, and apparently, I’m not the only one who notices. Between songs, frontwoman Sharon Bascovsky takes time to compliment the venue’s sound engineer before kicking back in with more hefty riffs and reverberating growls.

Deviating from the doom theme, Canadian weirdos Chthe’ilist are up next. While I wasn’t particularly excited for their Demilich‑influenced death metal, the group play like this is the only performance that has ever mattered. They sound warped, alien, and impossibly tight as if they’ve perfected a style of death metal that independently evolved in another dimension. Meanwhile, their vocalist has a wild‑eyed expression that makes him look like he’s just returned from that dimension and is attempting to describe it to the audience through a series of shrieks, croaks, and everything in between. With lots of onstage energy and an endless onslaught of strange yet catchy riffs, the band quickly inspire a wild mosh pit. If anyone knew how to pronounce the band’s name, I’m sure they’d be chanting it between songs.

Sadly, the first sign of trouble emerges during their set. About three‑fourths of the way through, I find myself within the blast radius of a miasmatic eruption of flatulence that smells like a mix of raw sewage and rotting meat. When the band finishes and the smell clears, I learn from the Maryland Deathfest Facebook group that such occurrences seem to be particularly prevalent at this year’s festival. Some theorize the new taco place is to blame. Others claim that body odor, rather than gas, may be the true cause of the smells. I realize then that I may have let one or two of my own expulsions squeak out in the heat of the moment, and I wonder how much I contributed to what others are experiencing.

But there’s no time to dwell on such matters, as Morta Skuld soon come onstage. With the unfortunate last‑minute cancellation of Coffins, this Wisconsin death metal institution stepped up to the plate as replacements. Like Chthe’ilist, Morta Skuld wasn’t a band I was particularly excited for, but my attitude quickly changes. With meaty riffs, catchy chugs, and the forceful yet intelligible vocals of frontman Dave Gregor, the band sound gigantic and utterly commanding. The crowd pulsates to the rhythms as the band tear through cuts from their 1993 debut Dying Remains and this year’s Creation Undone. Their set ends up being an utter blast and one of my overall favorites from the festival.

After Morta Skuld, I head outside to the Power Plant stage, the only outdoor venue open today. The stage is located just outside of Rams Head in the Power Plant Live! complex, which is a multi-level outdoor entertainment area consisting mostly of bars and restaurants. The Power Plant stage itself is located in the back of the complex at the end of a somewhat narrow corridor. The feature band out here tonight is German thrash legends Sodom, who are playing the entirety of their 1989 classic Agent Orange album. No one could say it’s a bad performance, but I have a tough time staying engaged being so far from the stage and constantly having to deal with people squeezing past me. After “Baptism of Fire,” I decide not to stick around for their encore and head back into Rams Head.

I snag another balcony spot for U.K. funeral doom band Esoteric, who provide a great break from the faster bands I’ve watched. While I’m not much of a doom guy, I discovered Esoteric very early in my metal journey and have always had a soft spot for them. In a live setting, the group is utterly entrancing. A trippy video backdrop plays as the band open with the cleanly picked intro of “Circle,” the first song from the group’s 2008 opus The Maniacal Vale. Once the distortion hits, the guitars envelop the room with a sense of heaviness that sounds like tectonic plates shifting. The group’s atmosphere is so dense you can taste it, and the wailing guitar leads conjure huge climaxes between the doomy trudges and anguished roars. It’s a terrific and mesmerizing performance.

Once Esoteric finishes, I trudge back over to Soundstage to catch the final band of the night: Chicago death metal legends Broken Hope. The group are already about halfway through their set by the time I arrive, and the packed venue is absolutely loving it. Crunchy riffs, punchy grooves, and violent blasts have created a human maelstrom in the center of the venue that seems to be growing stronger with each passing song. Guitarist and sole original member Jeremy Wagner thanks the crowd for their support before the band conclude their set with some especially brutal cuts from their 1991 debut Swamped in Gore. The set is so fun, that I almost want to stick around just to chat with people after it’s over. But it’s late, I’m tired, and my balls feel like they need a good wash. I drive home and go to bed.

Friday

I wake up and finally wash my balls. After once again fighting through traffic to get to Baltimore, I head to Soundstage to catch Kontusion. Though this group’s only release is a short demo, their members bring experience playing in bands from all over the Mid-Atlantic. Perhaps because of that experience, the group’s live performance is powerful and tight, with the band offering up belligerent and bludgeoning death metal that manages to be cavernous yet aggressive. For a band I had no expectations for, they definitely leave an impression.

As an added plus, they even have the courtesy of finishing a few minutes early so I don’t have to miss any of Defeated Sanity’s set. The German brutal death metal group are playing right outside of Soundstage on the Market Place stage, which has just opened today and is a new feature at the fest this year. Borrowing the idea from last year’s Hell in the Harbor festival, the Deathfest organizers opted to fence off an entire city block just outside of Soundstage and use the space to set up an outdoor stage, a merch tent, and a bunch of bars and food vendors. What’s most amusing about the setup, however, is that a narrow pedestrian walkway allows unsuspecting members of the public to still pass down the block and be subjected to whatever vile noise happens to be emanating from the Market Place stage at the time. I glance over to see families with kids walking by in bewilderment, their peaceful Friday stroll ruined by Defeated Sanity’s ear-rupturing slams and sewer monster gurgles. I chuckle to myself and proceed to bob my head to the band’s fun set of intricate riffs, stringy bass guitar, and devastating grooves.

I stick around Market Place for Aura Noir, who unfortunately start a bit later than expected. Once they get going, however, the Norwegian group’s trebly black-thrash metal quickly inspires a wild circle pit and several crowd surfers. I would have preferred it if they played a few less deep cuts (and a few more songs from Black Thrash Attack), but the group still offer plenty of good fist-raisers like “The Stalker” and “Condor.” “We’re the ugliest band in the world!” proclaims bassist and vocalist Apollyon as he looks over the crowd with his permanent sneer.

At this point, the late afternoon sun is beating down on me, and I’m sweating so much that my groin is about to become a government-designated wetland. Once Aura Noir finishes, I dip inside Soundstage to cool off and catch New Jersey death metal troupe Siege Column. Due to Aura Noir’s late start, Siege Column is already partially through their set, and I’m utterly confused by the scene I walk into. On record, Siege Column almost sound like a war metal band. Yet here, the group appear to forgo any spiked gauntlets or bullet belts and instead opt for a bright and colorful backdrop, with two of the four members wearing Ray Ban-style sunglasses. It’s odd at first, but somehow the aesthetic works. It’s like stepping into an alternate reality where war metal evolved in the early 80s and somehow became the music of choice for boardwalk arcades on the Jersey Shore. Looks aside, the group’s performance is an utter assault. The band sound like a grenade launcher being fired at the audience, with whiffs of Bolt Thrower apparent in their blaring and stompy riffing. “That was fucking awesome,” says a random guy next to me when their set is over. I’m inclined to agree.

Having cooled off enough for my groin to narrowly avoid the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act, I take some time to get some food and browse the Maryland Deathfest Facebook group. The farting, it seems, has not subsided today, and some contend that it has actually grown worse. One person has unofficially dubbed the festival “Maryland Fartfest.” As I’m reading this, I realize that I’m halfway through eating a piece of pizza topped with mozzarella sticks and did not bring my Lactaid pills with me. Maryland Fartfest, it seems, is just getting started.

But the flatulence is not here yet. I finish my food and head across the street to the Power Plant complex, where a village of merch vendors are set up and peddling shirts, banners, vinyl, leather, and everything else a metalhead could desire. I take some time to peruse the selections before heading to Angels Rock Bar, a cozy upstairs establishment in the Power Plant complex. Angels Rock Bar is very much the “bonus venue” of the festival, with the small establishment featuring mostly local metal bands. As I enter the dimly lit bar, I see it’s lined with people who are hunched over and looking like they’ve never given a fuck about anything in their entire life.

It’s a perfect setting for some brutal death metal. Entrail Asphyxiation are a young Maryland band, and I’m not just referring to their formation date. As the group are doing their sound check, I notice that none of the members appear to be older than twenty. “Alright, let’s hear the drum triggers,” says the sound engineer. “He doesn’t use triggers,” says the band’s bassist. It turns out, the drummer doesn’t use triggers because he doesn’t need them. Despite their age, Entrail Asphyxiation sound like seasoned veterans, delivering a tight as fuck performance that people go absolutely apeshit over. As the fat guitars and bass break in, the set takes on the vibe of a sweaty basement show, with the front of the crowd whipping around like they’re trapped in a blender. The vocalist offers some unusual tortured shrieks and gets a few chuckles as she introduces a Mortician cover by saying, “If you know the words sing along—because I don’t.” Their set ends up being one of the most fun performances of the night.

Coming off that high, I head back over to Market Place for Agalloch. As a band whose first three records are easily on my list of Top 25 favorite albums of all time, this Oregon atmospheric metal group are one of the bands I’m looking forward to the most. I haven’t seen them since 2012, and I’m especially excited to see them tonight given that this is their first East Coast show since reforming last year. Fortunately, they don’t disappoint. As the wailing ambiance of “Limbs” begins their set, I’m instantly transported back to being a college freshman and having lyrics from Ashes Against the Grain stuck in my head while jogging in the dense woods around campus. By the time that track’s accelerating drumbeat hits just a few minutes later, I’m broken and totally given over to whatever the band have to offer. The set ends up pulling from all eras of their discography, with many selections from Ashes Against the Grain. While John Haughm’s vocals are a little loud in the mix, I love the fact that they actually seem to play all their clean guitar parts rather than relying on samples.

As the performance continues, their elegant and ethereal sound becomes transcendent. In front of me, I see a group of people I’ve seen at festivals before, laughing and chatting with each other while the beautiful leads of “Falling Snow” play in the background. I suddenly feel stupid standing here by myself, wearing a poorly made battle vest and a Bewitcher shirt that’s too small for me. As the final guitar lines of “Bloodbirds” echo throughout downtown Baltimore, I feel like I’m trying to swallow an apple whole.

When the set ends, I blink rapidly a few times before walking back across the street to see Ahab on the Power Plant stage. The German funeral doom band’s nautical theme is present in full force with their stage backdrop, which looks like a scene from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. As they begin playing, their guitars sound crisp and immense, though the group don’t feel quite as atmospheric as I would have expected. Nonetheless, frontman Daniel Droste does an outstanding job on vocals, excelling at both his mighty growls and crooning clean singing. The band are proficient players and feel like they carry the full crushing force of the abyssal zone with them. By the time they hit that chunky break midway through “Old Thunder,” I’m thoroughly impressed.

Still, it’s getting late, I’m growing weary, and I can feel an ominous pressure building in my intestines. But the night isn’t over yet. I head back to Soundstage, where Tennessee brutal death metal troupe Brodequin are in the middle of bashing in skulls with their barrage of blast beats, slammy grooves, and militant riffing. After the group finish, there’s a short break before the recently reunited Weekend Nachos take the stage. Coming out to the Mortal Kombat theme song, people seem pumped for them, and their vocalist has huge amounts of energy as he jumps around and invites people to talk with him about the upcoming Mortal Kombat movie in between songs. I’m admittedly not super familiar with Weekend Nachos, and while I feel as though I should love any band that mixes powerviolence and sludge, I don’t find their music very interesting at all. It probably doesn’t help that I’m tired and my feet hurt. When their set ends, I go home and fall asleep immediately.

Saturday

BRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTT. The first fart of the day echoes through my bedroom, almost certainly the result of my failure to take a Lactaid during yesterday’s lunch. Fortunately, the foul smell only makes it easier to pull myself out of bed and start my drive, which isn’t nearly as bad as the past two days. Upon arrival, I head to Market Place to see the old school Spanish death metal band Avulsed. While I’m not familiar with them, their catchy tremolo runs and combative riffing make for a great start to the day, even inspiring the first wall of death I’ve seen at the fest so far.

I leave a bit early to see Impure over at Rams Head. With a backdrop featuring Jesus hanging from a noose (pulled from the artwork of their Satan’s Eclipse album), this young American project offer scalding hot and ritualistic black metal that gives off big Beherit vibes. The group prove that simple ideas and tight performances can go a long way, with the warm surging riffs and big chunky rhythms practically forcing heads to be banged. The only disappointing thing about them is that they end up being sold out of my shirt size when I try to buy one later.

After Impure, I head outside to the Power Plant stage, arriving early to get a good spot for Perdition Temple. The band is the brainchild of guitarist Gene Palubicki, who has had several cool projects over the years but is probably best known for his work in Angelcorpse. As a big fan of his, I’m looking forward to Perdition Temple’s blackened death metal assault. When they take the stage and launch into “Nemesis Obsecration,” I can’t help but bang my fist to Gene’s dexterous fretwork, scalding tremolo lines, and lightning-quick tempo shifts. Unlike previous times I’ve seen Perdition Temple, Gene and main vocalist Alex Blume (of Ares Kingdom fame) trade off on vocals this time, subjecting the audience to a dual vocal attack that only makes the pummeling blast beats and relentless riffing that much more chaotic and enjoyable. By the set’s end, I only wish the band had been given more time to play.

Once they finish, I head into Rams Head to cool off and take a breather before Norwegian thrash metal maniacs Deathhammer take the stage. Once they do, it’s only seconds into their first song before the group whip the crowd into a total fucking frenzy. The band sound frantic and unhinged, with random wild screeches and quick power chords generating one of the fastest pits I’ve seen yet. My head is banging faster and faster, and before I know it, I’m in the pit myself, running in circles and pumping my fists in the air like a madman. “This one’s for the man downstairs,” says vocalist and guitarist Sergeant Salsten, introducing the song “Satan Is Back.” That sentence turns out to be one of the only bits of banter I’m able to understand from Mr. Salsten for their entire set. I’m not sure if it’s a language barrier thing or an alcohol intoxication thing, but the man sounds like he’s slurring his words into an unintelligible mess in between songs. Fortunately, their playing is on point, and I gladly join in screaming along to “Fullmoon Sorcery” as I continue bumping into fellow moshers. Being in my mid-30s, I didn’t think anything would be able to bring me out of mosh pit retirement, but Deathhammer managed to do it.

Following their set, I join the mass migration of thrash fiends heading to Market Place to catch Canadian thrash metal institution Sacrifice. While they seem solid, I’m still catching my breath from Deathhammer. Maybe for that reason, one of my favorite songs they play is the title track from Soldiers of Misfortune, which offers a welcome respite with its cleanly picked intro and relatively slower tempos. Once they’re done, I head into Soundstage to check out the powerviolence band Lack of Interest, whose name more or less captures how I end up feeling about them. I like their energy level and the constipated lumberjack vocals, but not much else about them stands out to me.

Afterwards, I head back out to Market Place for the festival’s premiere band: Dismember. After it was announced last-minute that they were unable to play the 2022 Deathfest as planned, excitement for these Swedish death metal gods seems to be at fever pitch this year. The Market Place area is packed even though it’s begun raining and increasingly ominous clouds are looming overhead. Fortunately, the weather isn’t bad enough to cause a cancelation or delay, and the band come out with a ferocious amount of energy. Unfortunately, their live mix ends up sounding quite muddy, which could admittedly be due to where I’m standing. Nonetheless, the sound isn’t unlistenable, and the group’s songs are strong enough to shine through regardless. They do a great job picking stylistically diverse tracks from all over their catalog, from the essential “Override of the Overture” to the groovy “Skinfather” to the melodic “Tragedy of the Faithful” to the bludgeoning “Europa Burns.” The closing one-two punch of “Dreaming in Red” and “Life – Another Shape of Sorrow” hits particularly hard.

Spectral Voice and Soilent Green are both great bands, and both happen to be playing on other stages after Dismember finishes. But it’s late, I’m getting tired, and all I want is to sit down somewhere and eat a cheeseburger. I decide to do just that. Unfortunately, my cheeseburger isn’t ready until seconds before Beheaded take the stage, and I find myself rushing into Soundstage and shoveling ground beef into my mouth right as the Maltese death metal band start their first song. While their most recent record didn’t generate high marks around here, there’s something to be said for well-executed, prefix-less death metal. That’s exactly what Beheaded provide. They play tight, blasting music with plenty of potent riffs that get the crowd going nuts. I love the occasional epic edge of their riffing and how the band are both technical and brutal while still delivering pretty digestible songwriting. Maybe I’m just easy to please when it comes to death metal, but I enjoy their set a lot.

After they finish, Soundstage gets even more crowded for the night’s final band: Spanish goregrind wackos Haemorrhage. Several members dressed in medical scrubs play an instrumental opening before vocalist Lugubrious emerges, crazy-eyed and soaked in (hopefully) fake blood. From there, the venue goes berserk. Between the grimy riffs, pounding blast beats, and staccato rhythms, the band generate one of the craziest crowd responses I’ve seen so far. Glow sticks and beach balls are tossed overhead, while the mosh pit looks like a battle scene from The Lord of the Rings. Meanwhile, crowd surfers and stage divers are everywhere. Amidst it all, the songs themselves feature a surprising amount of variety, and I gleefully bang my head for almost the entirety of their 50-minute set.

As the smiling crowd shuffles out afterward, I check the Deathfest Facebook group to see the latest on the flatulence situation. Things have become dire, it seems. Reports indicate that the farts have not subsided, with some even stating that they had to leave certain venues due to the smells. Were these mere exaggerations? Or were these tales true? And what would the next day hold?

Sunday

My bedroom smells like somebody shoved a rotten egg up their ass and then shat it out in a salt marsh at low tide. I briefly thank whatever higher power may exist that my wife is on a business trip this week, as I couldn’t bear to deal with her chastising me over my gas right now. Feeling exhausted after standing for three days straight, I manage to pull myself out of bed and make the final trip into Baltimore.

It turns out to be a funny sight in the parking garage, as several groups are sitting or standing around sipping beers like a 2024 version of Heavy Metal Parking Lot. I chuckle as I head to Market Place to catch the day’s first band, Chilean thrash metal group Ripper. While the rest of the audience seems to love their extreme take on thrash metal, there’s a bit too much noodling bass guitar for me. I head to Rams Head partway through their set to catch a thrashy band that’s a little more up my alley: Daeva.

While I’ve seen Daeva at an earlier Deathfest, this is the first time I’ve seen them since they released their Through Sheer Will and Black Magic debut in 2022. Since last time, their songs and performances have only gotten better. The Philadelphia group deliver manic blackened thrash that pulls heavily from fast-as-fuck approach of Absu. Today, they have loads of energy, with vocalist Edward Gonet gesticulating wildly over the crowd while the guitars veer madly between frantic thrash riffs, swift chugs, and epic blackened moments. It’s an awesome set that inspires me to pick up a CD from their merch booth later.

After Daeva, I head back to Market Place and catch a few minutes of Artificial Brain, whose strange and warped riffing provides a nice counterpoint to the more traditional approach of most of the bands I’ve been watching. Following their set, I grab a crab cake sandwich meal and notice that the fries seem to taste like the porta potties smell. Or maybe, I’m just tasting my own dirty fingers. In any case, I’m glad I still have a few sick days left at work.

With my meal finished, I remain at Market Place for Primordial. While I haven’t listened to this Irish metal band in years, it’s only moments into their performance that I remember how captivating they can be. That’s just as true live as on record, as frontman A.A. Nemtheanga has the most commanding stage presence of any musician I’ve seen at the festival so far. Coming onstage with white face paint, a noose draped around his neck, and a resolute look on his face, he immediately draws in the audience with his forlorn singing and lyrics of historic struggles. Songs like “The Coffin Ships” hit all the harder knowing that the track is about the tragic past of his own country. The pounding drums and grandiose riffs only add to the drama, and by the time the group closes with “Empire Falls,” most of the crowd joins together in screaming the chorus. Even if their recent albums haven’t quite been met with acclaim, their live show makes clear that Primordial is a band that offers something truly special.

After Primordial, I dip back into Soundstage to check out the French goregrind band Blue Holocaust. I know nothing about this group, but catching a band that’s new to me seems more appealing than watching the other artists playing right now. As the group starts, I quickly become happy with my decision. The bespectacled vocalist betrays his slightly nerdy appearance with a monstrous gurgle that perfectly complements the band’s pummeling approach. While the music is suitably nasty and brutal, there are still plenty of tempo shifts and discernible riffs to keep the crowd hooked. Judging by the screams from the audience, the rest of the crowd seemed to enjoy their set just as much as me.

I leave Soundstage afterward and walk into what feels like an outdoor party. The Market Place area has become an ocean of people, with beach balls flying overhead and Abbath’s epic riffs blaring throughout the block. It’s a cool sight, but I choose to leave for Rams Head after a few minutes to get a good spot for Grave Miasma.

With most festival attendees apparently watching Abbath, Rams Head feels like a cool empty cavern. I snag a prime balcony spot and hang out a bit before Grave Miasma starts. Once they do, I’m thoroughly engaged. This English death metal group sound like a black force of nature that moves relentlessly forward and chokes out all sense of hope and life. The guitars are thick, and the overall sound is cavernous yet riffy. The drums are also just as tight live as they are on record, shifting deftly between blast beats and driving rhythms. After watching their set, I’m all the happier that I managed to pick up one of their shirts earlier in the day.

With no bands scheduled at Rams Head or Power Plant for over an hour after Grave Miasma finish, I once again go back across the street to the Market Place area. Once there, I head into Soundstage to watch the powerviolence duo Iron Lung. Even though they’re scheduled at the same time as Mayhem, the group seem to take it all in stride. “Thanks for coming to the fest, guys,” their drummer and vocalist says, “and sorry you had to pay such an exorbitant ticket price just to see us.”

Once they start, the performance is an utter assault. Somehow having the drummer perform vocals makes the whole thing feel more intense, and something about his battering drumming feels downright violent. The crowd eats it up. The mosh pit is vicious, and several participants began whipping each other with what look like inflatable pool toys. While I’m not a big powerviolence guy, the duo’s raw energy is infectious. Just watching them makes me feel reinvigorated.

Rather than stay to see the last few minutes of Mayhem after Iron Lung finish, I instead scurry back across the road to catch Bloodbath at the Power Plant stage. The group sound good, but I choose to only stick around for a few songs before heading into Rams Head to see Archgoat. Once inside, I take a spot on the main level, just on the outskirts of where I think the mosh pit will form. I gaze at the massive logo projected over the stage and feel like something big is about to happen.

That feeling turns out to be correct. The Finnish bestial black metal trio take their places on the stage and look utterly imposing, like they’re about to subject the audience to some sort of grand ritual. Suddenly, their ragged riffing kicks in, and I’m immediately drenched by some sort of sugary drink that’s thrown on my head from the balcony above. The crowd loses their goddamn minds. A merciless mosh pit forms right in front of me as Archgoat’s hammering blast beats and deep demonic croaks engulf the venue. I see a muscular dude level someone half his size, while other people in the pit appear to have no regard whatsoever for whether they’re running into people who aren’t trying to mosh. Meanwhile, the person behind me is jamming their arm uncomfortably into my back even though I’m standing on the edge of the pit and just trying to survive.

Suddenly, something changes within me. After four days of carelessly eating shitty food, my intestinal gas has ripened to the point where I can no longer contain it within me while in public. I feel my insides gurgle as I struggle in vain to prevent the release. Finally, I can bear it no longer. The mosh pit is twirling rapidly, and with each strike of a person against me, a gas bubble bursts from my backside and into the crowd behind me. No matter how many bubbles are expelled, it seems that more are always waiting to be dislodged the next time I’m bumped by someone. I may have let some slip in previous days, but a mass release like this is entirely unprecedented. The moment, it seems, has finally come. Maryland Fartfest is being consummated.

Unfortunately, the smell is not enough to stop the person behind me from jamming their arm into my back. I quickly come up with a plan. I notice two heavy guys collide with each other and start barreling together in my direction. Thinking fast, I take a quick step forward and immediately turn around to see them crash into the side of the pit, forming a crater in the crowd right where I stood a moment before. The arm-jabber is no more. I briefly wonder if what I did was a dick move before karma strikes in the form of a 200-pound man ramming into my left shoulder. I know at once I deserve it.

I shake it off and perk up as I hear the squealing intro of “Messiah of Pigs” start playing. For the rest of the set, my fist is in the air, pounding to the battering rhythms of tracks like “Darkness Has Returned” and “Hammer of Satan.” As the final cries of “Hail Satan!” echo throughout Rams Head, I realize just how much I’ve enjoyed the wild ride.

Then, reality sets in. It’s after midnight, and I’m tired, smelly, and sticky. When the band leave the stage, I retreat to the balcony and catch my breath for the final band of the festival: Mortuary Drape. Like Archgoat, this classic Italian black metal group have a strong ritualistic vibe, but the performance feels more occult and less violent. The entire band is clad in cloaks, and vocalist “Wilderness Perversion” performs over a makeshift altar that makes him appear like he’s delivering a bizarre sermon. The group’s chunky black metal riffs and surprisingly melodic lead guitars make for an enthralling and mystical end to four days of craziness.

When the band finishes, everyone somehow still seems to have plenty of energy as we filter out onto the Baltimore sidewalk. I walk by the Power Plant complex and see mostly empty, rain-soaked streets where the merch village once stood. It’s almost as if the entire festival was a bizarre dream. Exhausted yet thoroughly satisfied, I make my way to my car and start my final drive home.

Conclusion

I’ve attended many festivals over the years, and I can safely say that Maryland Deathfest 2024 was one of the best of them all. Almost every band I saw gave an awesome performance, the sound quality was almost always great (and in some cases, exceptional), and the sheer quality of the lineup left no shortage of great bands to see. Likewise, having all the venues within a short walk of each other was a godsend, especially for those who remember how annoying it was to walk 15 minutes to the outdoor Edison Lot stages in previous years. Most importantly, it seemed like a general air of positive energy permeated the whole experience as if everyone knew that we were all just coming here to listen to the music we love and have a great time.

The whole experience makes me so grateful that festivals like this exist, and attending this year served as a stark reminder to take advantage of seeing older bands while we can. After all, how much longer are some of these classic artists still going to be playing live? Ten more years? Fifteen? These years, I think, will be remembered as the golden age of metal—the years when many of the pioneers and classic groups are still around, playing right alongside a plethora of young hungry acts. Take advantage of this time while you can.

At least, this is what I tell myself as I click the “Check Out” button and purchase my 4-Day Pass to Maryland Deathfest 2025. It’s happening, folks—farts and all. See you fukkers there!

Author’s Note: I would like to thank Steel Druhm for allowing me to rejoin the AMG ranks after several years away, as well as the entire AMG crew for welcoming me back with open arms. This piece is dedicated to all the contributors, editors, and everyone else that makes this amazing site possible.

#Abbath #Agalloch #Ahab #Archgoat #ArtificialBrain #AuraNoir #Avulsed #Beheaded #Bloodbath #BlueHolocaust #Brodequin #BrokenHope #ChtheIlist #Daeva #Deathhammer #DefeatedSanity #Depulsed #Derkéta #Dismember #EntrailAsphyxiation #Esoteric #Fossilization #GraveMiasma #Haemorrhage #Impure #IronLung #Kontusion #LackOfInterest #MortaSkuld #MortuaryDrape #PerditionTemple #Primordial #Ripper #Sacrifice #SiegeColumn #Sodom #WeekendNachos

The Maryland Deathfest Chronicles

By Mark Z.

Sup fukkers! I’m back, having spent the last few years getting a law degree, trying to land a job, and settling into married life. But through it all, I haven’t lost sight of what’s truly important. I still buy records. I still go to shows. I still have a burning desire to blast Impiety so fukkin loud that my skull implodes and my internal organs turn into a thick pink paste that probably looks like the stuff chicken nuggets are made from. And what better way to prove that the metalized blood still flows through my veins than by providing you with a live report of the most brutal festival this side of the Atlantic—Maryland Deathfest?

Held over Memorial Day weekend in downtown Baltimore, Maryland Deathfest is arguably the premiere underground metal festival in the United States. The four‑day event welcomes dozens of bands from all over the extreme metal spectrum and beyond, including styles like grindcore and hardcore punk. While the fest has taken place almost every year since 2003, this year’s edition was particularly special, as there was a very real possibility it was never going to happen. After the 2020 and 2021 editions were canceled due to the pandemic, the 2022 edition proved to be a logistical nightmare for festival organizers Ryan Taylor and Evan Harting, with visa issues and other challenges causing the two to announce that they needed some time off. As a result, they stated that there would be no 2023 edition and that there might never be another edition at all.

Fortunately, Ryan and Evan decided to continue the fest, leading to a 2024 edition that was absolutely stacked with great bands. Dismember, Sodom, Primordial, Aura Noir, and Archgoat were just a few of the groups I was excited to see, and even with the unfortunate cancellations of groups like My Dying Bride and Coffins, having Agalloch and Morta Skuld as replacements definitely softened the blow. With my time off from work confirmed and my metal shirts freshly laundered, I mentally prepared myself for four days of blast beats, moshing, and other heavy metal mayhem!

If only I knew what awaited me.

Thursday

As the morning light pours into my bedroom, I make a mental note to drink a Red Bull at some point today. I’ve slept like crap, probably due to a combination of being excited for the festival, having a stuffy bedroom, and being constantly awakened by a 55-pound pit bull that insisted on plopping her entire body onto my side of the bed. Fortunately, I now live only a 30-minute drive from downtown Baltimore, so I don’t have to worry about catching a flight or paying an exorbitant price for a hotel. Unfortunately, this means I’ll have to suffer through the I-95 traffic that has only gotten worse with the recent Key Bridge collapse.

After taking a strange detour to avoid an accident (and almost getting into one myself), I arrive in Baltimore. The sun is bright, small groups of people in black shirts are walking around, and the air feels electric with anticipation. While I’m a bit bummed that I’m attending by myself this year, it’s still hard not to be excited.

I get my wristband and head to Baltimore Soundstage for the festival’s first band: Depulsed. Even though the sole release of this Las Vegas brutal death metal group is a 2019 demo that contains just one song, the venue is surprisingly crowded—probably full of people who, like me, couldn’t get a ticket to last night’s Pre‑Fest and are eager to finally hear some live metal. Fortunately, this quartet don’t disappoint, as their destructive grooves and occasionally atypical riffing make for a rousing start to the festivities. It’s clear the band is having a great time, too, and there’s plenty of headbanging all around.

When Depulsed finishes, I go across the street to Rams Head Live!, the festival’s main other indoor venue. While Soundstage is a pretty traditional midsized venue, Rams Head is an open‑concept, multi‑level nightclub with a large raised stage as its focal point. Once inside, I snag a prime upper‑level spot for the evening’s next band: Fossilization. This Brazilian doom-death metal group sent some shockwaves through the underground last year with their Leprous Daylight debut, and their live performance is equally captivating. The group use lots of tight and hammering blast beats, and it seems the “doom” in their sound comes primarily from the monolithic heaviness of their guitars rather than their scattered moments of slower tempos. With an imposing stage presence and growls so deep that they shake the floor of the balcony I’m standing on, their performance is one to remember.

I’m not particularly interested in the brutal death metal at Soundstage tonight, so I decide to stick around Rams Head. I realize this is a good call as soon as Pittsburgh doom-death metal quartet Derkéta begin playing. Formed in 1988 and considered to be the first all-female death metal band (though today they have a male drummer), the group keep heads bobbing with assertive chugs and massive riffs that sound like Black Sabbath with a mound of graveyard dirt dropped on top. The live mix in the venue seems especially clear and powerful tonight, and apparently, I’m not the only one who notices. Between songs, frontwoman Sharon Bascovsky takes time to compliment the venue’s sound engineer before kicking back in with more hefty riffs and reverberating growls.

Deviating from the doom theme, Canadian weirdos Chthe’ilist are up next. While I wasn’t particularly excited for their Demilich‑influenced death metal, the group play like this is the only performance that has ever mattered. They sound warped, alien, and impossibly tight as if they’ve perfected a style of death metal that independently evolved in another dimension. Meanwhile, their vocalist has a wild‑eyed expression that makes him look like he’s just returned from that dimension and is attempting to describe it to the audience through a series of shrieks, croaks, and everything in between. With lots of onstage energy and an endless onslaught of strange yet catchy riffs, the band quickly inspire a wild mosh pit. If anyone knew how to pronounce the band’s name, I’m sure they’d be chanting it between songs.

Sadly, the first sign of trouble emerges during their set. About three‑fourths of the way through, I find myself within the blast radius of a miasmatic eruption of flatulence that smells like a mix of raw sewage and rotting meat. When the band finishes and the smell clears, I learn from the Maryland Deathfest Facebook group that such occurrences seem to be particularly prevalent at this year’s festival. Some theorize the new taco place is to blame. Others claim that body odor, rather than gas, may be the true cause of the smells. I realize then that I may have let one or two of my own expulsions squeak out in the heat of the moment, and I wonder how much I contributed to what others are experiencing.

But there’s no time to dwell on such matters, as Morta Skuld soon come onstage. With the unfortunate last‑minute cancellation of Coffins, this Wisconsin death metal institution stepped up to the plate as replacements. Like Chthe’ilist, Morta Skuld wasn’t a band I was particularly excited for, but my attitude quickly changes. With meaty riffs, catchy chugs, and the forceful yet intelligible vocals of frontman Dave Gregor, the band sound gigantic and utterly commanding. The crowd pulsates to the rhythms as the band tear through cuts from their 1993 debut Dying Remains and this year’s Creation Undone. Their set ends up being an utter blast and one of my overall favorites from the festival.

After Morta Skuld, I head outside to the Power Plant stage, the only outdoor venue open today. The stage is located just outside of Rams Head in the Power Plant Live! complex, which is a multi-level outdoor entertainment area consisting mostly of bars and restaurants. The Power Plant stage itself is located in the back of the complex at the end of a somewhat narrow corridor. The feature band out here tonight is German thrash legends Sodom, who are playing the entirety of their 1989 classic Agent Orange album. No one could say it’s a bad performance, but I have a tough time staying engaged being so far from the stage and constantly having to deal with people squeezing past me. After “Baptism of Fire,” I decide not to stick around for their encore and head back into Rams Head.

I snag another balcony spot for U.K. funeral doom band Esoteric, who provide a great break from the faster bands I’ve watched. While I’m not much of a doom guy, I discovered Esoteric very early in my metal journey and have always had a soft spot for them. In a live setting, the group is utterly entrancing. A trippy video backdrop plays as the band open with the cleanly picked intro of “Circle,” the first song from the group’s 2008 opus The Maniacal Vale. Once the distortion hits, the guitars envelop the room with a sense of heaviness that sounds like tectonic plates shifting. The group’s atmosphere is so dense you can taste it, and the wailing guitar leads conjure huge climaxes between the doomy trudges and anguished roars. It’s a terrific and mesmerizing performance.

Once Esoteric finishes, I trudge back over to Soundstage to catch the final band of the night: Chicago death metal legends Broken Hope. The group are already about halfway through their set by the time I arrive, and the packed venue is absolutely loving it. Crunchy riffs, punchy grooves, and violent blasts have created a human maelstrom in the center of the venue that seems to be growing stronger with each passing song. Guitarist and sole original member Jeremy Wagner thanks the crowd for their support before the band conclude their set with some especially brutal cuts from their 1991 debut Swamped in Gore. The set is so fun, that I almost want to stick around just to chat with people after it’s over. But it’s late, I’m tired, and my balls feel like they need a good wash. I drive home and go to bed.

Friday

I wake up and finally wash my balls. After once again fighting through traffic to get to Baltimore, I head to Soundstage to catch Kontusion. Though this group’s only release is a short demo, their members bring experience playing in bands from all over the Mid-Atlantic. Perhaps because of that experience, the group’s live performance is powerful and tight, with the band offering up belligerent and bludgeoning death metal that manages to be cavernous yet aggressive. For a band I had no expectations for, they definitely leave an impression.

As an added plus, they even have the courtesy of finishing a few minutes early so I don’t have to miss any of Defeated Sanity’s set. The German brutal death metal group are playing right outside of Soundstage on the Market Place stage, which has just opened today and is a new feature at the fest this year. Borrowing the idea from last year’s Hell in the Harbor festival, the Deathfest organizers opted to fence off an entire city block just outside of Soundstage and use the space to set up an outdoor stage, a merch tent, and a bunch of bars and food vendors. What’s most amusing about the setup, however, is that a narrow pedestrian walkway allows unsuspecting members of the public to still pass down the block and be subjected to whatever vile noise happens to be emanating from the Market Place stage at the time. I glance over to see families with kids walking by in bewilderment, their peaceful Friday stroll ruined by Defeated Sanity’s ear-rupturing slams and sewer monster gurgles. I chuckle to myself and proceed to bob my head to the band’s fun set of intricate riffs, stringy bass guitar, and devastating grooves.

I stick around Market Place for Aura Noir, who unfortunately start a bit later than expected. Once they get going, however, the Norwegian group’s trebly black-thrash metal quickly inspires a wild circle pit and several crowd surfers. I would have preferred it if they played a few less deep cuts (and a few more songs from Black Thrash Attack), but the group still offer plenty of good fist-raisers like “The Stalker” and “Condor.” “We’re the ugliest band in the world!” proclaims bassist and vocalist Apollyon as he looks over the crowd with his permanent sneer.

At this point, the late afternoon sun is beating down on me, and I’m sweating so much that my groin is about to become a government-designated wetland. Once Aura Noir finishes, I dip inside Soundstage to cool off and catch New Jersey death metal troupe Siege Column. Due to Aura Noir’s late start, Siege Column is already partially through their set, and I’m utterly confused by the scene I walk into. On record, Siege Column almost sound like a war metal band. Yet here, the group appear to forgo any spiked gauntlets or bullet belts and instead opt for a bright and colorful backdrop, with two of the four members wearing Ray Ban-style sunglasses. It’s odd at first, but somehow the aesthetic works. It’s like stepping into an alternate reality where war metal evolved in the early 80s and somehow became the music of choice for boardwalk arcades on the Jersey Shore. Looks aside, the group’s performance is an utter assault. The band sound like a grenade launcher being fired at the audience, with whiffs of Bolt Thrower apparent in their blaring and stompy riffing. “That was fucking awesome,” says a random guy next to me when their set is over. I’m inclined to agree.

Having cooled off enough for my groin to narrowly avoid the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act, I take some time to get some food and browse the Maryland Deathfest Facebook group. The farting, it seems, has not subsided today, and some contend that it has actually grown worse. One person has unofficially dubbed the festival “Maryland Fartfest.” As I’m reading this, I realize that I’m halfway through eating a piece of pizza topped with mozzarella sticks and did not bring my Lactaid pills with me. Maryland Fartfest, it seems, is just getting started.

But the flatulence is not here yet. I finish my food and head across the street to the Power Plant complex, where a village of merch vendors are set up and peddling shirts, banners, vinyl, leather, and everything else a metalhead could desire. I take some time to peruse the selections before heading to Angels Rock Bar, a cozy upstairs establishment in the Power Plant complex. Angels Rock Bar is very much the “bonus venue” of the festival, with the small establishment featuring mostly local metal bands. As I enter the dimly lit bar, I see it’s lined with people who are hunched over and looking like they’ve never given a fuck about anything in their entire life.

It’s a perfect setting for some brutal death metal. Entrail Asphyxiation are a young Maryland band, and I’m not just referring to their formation date. As the group are doing their sound check, I notice that none of the members appear to be older than twenty. “Alright, let’s hear the drum triggers,” says the sound engineer. “He doesn’t use triggers,” says the band’s bassist. It turns out, the drummer doesn’t use triggers because he doesn’t need them. Despite their age, Entrail Asphyxiation sound like seasoned veterans, delivering a tight as fuck performance that people go absolutely apeshit over. As the fat guitars and bass break in, the set takes on the vibe of a sweaty basement show, with the front of the crowd whipping around like they’re trapped in a blender. The vocalist offers some unusual tortured shrieks and gets a few chuckles as she introduces a Mortician cover by saying, “If you know the words sing along—because I don’t.” Their set ends up being one of the most fun performances of the night.

Coming off that high, I head back over to Market Place for Agalloch. As a band whose first three records are easily on my list of Top 25 favorite albums of all time, this Oregon atmospheric metal group are one of the bands I’m looking forward to the most. I haven’t seen them since 2012, and I’m especially excited to see them tonight given that this is their first East Coast show since reforming last year. Fortunately, they don’t disappoint. As the wailing ambiance of “Limbs” begins their set, I’m instantly transported back to being a college freshman and having lyrics from Ashes Against the Grain stuck in my head while jogging in the dense woods around campus. By the time that track’s accelerating drumbeat hits just a few minutes later, I’m broken and totally given over to whatever the band have to offer. The set ends up pulling from all eras of their discography, with many selections from Ashes Against the Grain. While John Haughm’s vocals are a little loud in the mix, I love the fact that they actually seem to play all their clean guitar parts rather than relying on samples.

As the performance continues, their elegant and ethereal sound becomes transcendent. In front of me, I see a group of people I’ve seen at festivals before, laughing and chatting with each other while the beautiful leads of “Falling Snow” play in the background. I suddenly feel stupid standing here by myself, wearing a poorly made battle vest and a Bewitcher shirt that’s too small for me. As the final guitar lines of “Bloodbirds” echo throughout downtown Baltimore, I feel like I’m trying to swallow an apple whole.

When the set ends, I blink rapidly a few times before walking back across the street to see Ahab on the Power Plant stage. The German funeral doom band’s nautical theme is present in full force with their stage backdrop, which looks like a scene from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. As they begin playing, their guitars sound crisp and immense, though the group don’t feel quite as atmospheric as I would have expected. Nonetheless, frontman Daniel Droste does an outstanding job on vocals, excelling at both his mighty growls and crooning clean singing. The band are proficient players and feel like they carry the full crushing force of the abyssal zone with them. By the time they hit that chunky break midway through “Old Thunder,” I’m thoroughly impressed.

Still, it’s getting late, I’m growing weary, and I can feel an ominous pressure building in my intestines. But the night isn’t over yet. I head back to Soundstage, where Tennessee brutal death metal troupe Brodequin are in the middle of bashing in skulls with their barrage of blast beats, slammy grooves, and militant riffing. After the group finish, there’s a short break before the recently reunited Weekend Nachos take the stage. Coming out to the Mortal Kombat theme song, people seem pumped for them, and their vocalist has huge amounts of energy as he jumps around and invites people to talk with him about the upcoming Mortal Kombat movie in between songs. I’m admittedly not super familiar with Weekend Nachos, and while I feel as though I should love any band that mixes powerviolence and sludge, I don’t find their music very interesting at all. It probably doesn’t help that I’m tired and my feet hurt. When their set ends, I go home and fall asleep immediately.

Saturday

BRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTT. The first fart of the day echoes through my bedroom, almost certainly the result of my failure to take a Lactaid during yesterday’s lunch. Fortunately, the foul smell only makes it easier to pull myself out of bed and start my drive, which isn’t nearly as bad as the past two days. Upon arrival, I head to Market Place to see the old school Spanish death metal band Avulsed. While I’m not familiar with them, their catchy tremolo runs and combative riffing make for a great start to the day, even inspiring the first wall of death I’ve seen at the fest so far.

I leave a bit early to see Impure over at Rams Head. With a backdrop featuring Jesus hanging from a noose (pulled from the artwork of their Satan’s Eclipse album), this young American project offer scalding hot and ritualistic black metal that gives off big Beherit vibes. The group prove that simple ideas and tight performances can go a long way, with the warm surging riffs and big chunky rhythms practically forcing heads to be banged. The only disappointing thing about them is that they end up being sold out of my shirt size when I try to buy one later.

After Impure, I head outside to the Power Plant stage, arriving early to get a good spot for Perdition Temple. The band is the brainchild of guitarist Gene Palubicki, who has had several cool projects over the years but is probably best known for his work in Angelcorpse. As a big fan of his, I’m looking forward to Perdition Temple’s blackened death metal assault. When they take the stage and launch into “Nemesis Obsecration,” I can’t help but bang my fist to Gene’s dexterous fretwork, scalding tremolo lines, and lightning-quick tempo shifts. Unlike previous times I’ve seen Perdition Temple, Gene and main vocalist Alex Blume (of Ares Kingdom fame) trade off on vocals this time, subjecting the audience to a dual vocal attack that only makes the pummeling blast beats and relentless riffing that much more chaotic and enjoyable. By the set’s end, I only wish the band had been given more time to play.

Once they finish, I head into Rams Head to cool off and take a breather before Norwegian thrash metal maniacs Deathhammer take the stage. Once they do, it’s only seconds into their first song before the group whip the crowd into a total fucking frenzy. The band sound frantic and unhinged, with random wild screeches and quick power chords generating one of the fastest pits I’ve seen yet. My head is banging faster and faster, and before I know it, I’m in the pit myself, running in circles and pumping my fists in the air like a madman. “This one’s for the man downstairs,” says vocalist and guitarist Sergeant Salsten, introducing the song “Satan Is Back.” That sentence turns out to be one of the only bits of banter I’m able to understand from Mr. Salsten for their entire set. I’m not sure if it’s a language barrier thing or an alcohol intoxication thing, but the man sounds like he’s slurring his words into an unintelligible mess in between songs. Fortunately, their playing is on point, and I gladly join in screaming along to “Fullmoon Sorcery” as I continue bumping into fellow moshers. Being in my mid-30s, I didn’t think anything would be able to bring me out of mosh pit retirement, but Deathhammer managed to do it.

Following their set, I join the mass migration of thrash fiends heading to Market Place to catch Canadian thrash metal institution Sacrifice. While they seem solid, I’m still catching my breath from Deathhammer. Maybe for that reason, one of my favorite songs they play is the title track from Soldiers of Misfortune, which offers a welcome respite with its cleanly picked intro and relatively slower tempos. Once they’re done, I head into Soundstage to check out the powerviolence band Lack of Interest, whose name more or less captures how I end up feeling about them. I like their energy level and the constipated lumberjack vocals, but not much else about them stands out to me.

Afterwards, I head back out to Market Place for the festival’s premiere band: Dismember. After it was announced last-minute that they were unable to play the 2022 Deathfest as planned, excitement for these Swedish death metal gods seems to be at fever pitch this year. The Market Place area is packed even though it’s begun raining and increasingly ominous clouds are looming overhead. Fortunately, the weather isn’t bad enough to cause a cancelation or delay, and the band come out with a ferocious amount of energy. Unfortunately, their live mix ends up sounding quite muddy, which could admittedly be due to where I’m standing. Nonetheless, the sound isn’t unlistenable, and the group’s songs are strong enough to shine through regardless. They do a great job picking stylistically diverse tracks from all over their catalog, from the essential “Override of the Overture” to the groovy “Skinfather” to the melodic “Tragedy of the Faithful” to the bludgeoning “Europa Burns.” The closing one-two punch of “Dreaming in Red” and “Life – Another Shape of Sorrow” hits particularly hard.

Spectral Voice and Soilent Green are both great bands, and both happen to be playing on other stages after Dismember finishes. But it’s late, I’m getting tired, and all I want is to sit down somewhere and eat a cheeseburger. I decide to do just that. Unfortunately, my cheeseburger isn’t ready until seconds before Beheaded take the stage, and I find myself rushing into Soundstage and shoveling ground beef into my mouth right as the Maltese death metal band start their first song. While their most recent record didn’t generate high marks around here, there’s something to be said for well-executed, prefix-less death metal. That’s exactly what Beheaded provide. They play tight, blasting music with plenty of potent riffs that get the crowd going nuts. I love the occasional epic edge of their riffing and how the band are both technical and brutal while still delivering pretty digestible songwriting. Maybe I’m just easy to please when it comes to death metal, but I enjoy their set a lot.

After they finish, Soundstage gets even more crowded for the night’s final band: Spanish goregrind wackos Haemorrhage. Several members dressed in medical scrubs play an instrumental opening before vocalist Lugubrious emerges, crazy-eyed and soaked in (hopefully) fake blood. From there, the venue goes berserk. Between the grimy riffs, pounding blast beats, and staccato rhythms, the band generate one of the craziest crowd responses I’ve seen so far. Glow sticks and beach balls are tossed overhead, while the mosh pit looks like a battle scene from The Lord of the Rings. Meanwhile, crowd surfers and stage divers are everywhere. Amidst it all, the songs themselves feature a surprising amount of variety, and I gleefully bang my head for almost the entirety of their 50-minute set.

As the smiling crowd shuffles out afterward, I check the Deathfest Facebook group to see the latest on the flatulence situation. Things have become dire, it seems. Reports indicate that the farts have not subsided, with some even stating that they had to leave certain venues due to the smells. Were these mere exaggerations? Or were these tales true? And what would the next day hold?

Sunday

My bedroom smells like somebody shoved a rotten egg up their ass and then shat it out in a salt marsh at low tide. I briefly thank whatever higher power may exist that my wife is on a business trip this week, as I couldn’t bear to deal with her chastising me over my gas right now. Feeling exhausted after standing for three days straight, I manage to pull myself out of bed and make the final trip into Baltimore.

It turns out to be a funny sight in the parking garage, as several groups are sitting or standing around sipping beers like a 2024 version of Heavy Metal Parking Lot. I chuckle as I head to Market Place to catch the day’s first band, Chilean thrash metal group Ripper. While the rest of the audience seems to love their extreme take on thrash metal, there’s a bit too much noodling bass guitar for me. I head to Rams Head partway through their set to catch a thrashy band that’s a little more up my alley: Daeva.

While I’ve seen Daeva at an earlier Deathfest, this is the first time I’ve seen them since they released their Through Sheer Will and Black Magic debut in 2022. Since last time, their songs and performances have only gotten better. The Philadelphia group deliver manic blackened thrash that pulls heavily from fast-as-fuck approach of Absu. Today, they have loads of energy, with vocalist Edward Gonet gesticulating wildly over the crowd while the guitars veer madly between frantic thrash riffs, swift chugs, and epic blackened moments. It’s an awesome set that inspires me to pick up a CD from their merch booth later.

After Daeva, I head back to Market Place and catch a few minutes of Artificial Brain, whose strange and warped riffing provides a nice counterpoint to the more traditional approach of most of the bands I’ve been watching. Following their set, I grab a crab cake sandwich meal and notice that the fries seem to taste like the porta potties smell. Or maybe, I’m just tasting my own dirty fingers. In any case, I’m glad I still have a few sick days left at work.

With my meal finished, I remain at Market Place for Primordial. While I haven’t listened to this Irish metal band in years, it’s only moments into their performance that I remember how captivating they can be. That’s just as true live as on record, as frontman A.A. Nemtheanga has the most commanding stage presence of any musician I’ve seen at the festival so far. Coming onstage with white face paint, a noose draped around his neck, and a resolute look on his face, he immediately draws in the audience with his forlorn singing and lyrics of historic struggles. Songs like “The Coffin Ships” hit all the harder knowing that the track is about the tragic past of his own country. The pounding drums and grandiose riffs only add to the drama, and by the time the group closes with “Empire Falls,” most of the crowd joins together in screaming the chorus. Even if their recent albums haven’t quite been met with acclaim, their live show makes clear that Primordial is a band that offers something truly special.

After Primordial, I dip back into Soundstage to check out the French goregrind band Blue Holocaust. I know nothing about this group, but catching a band that’s new to me seems more appealing than watching the other artists playing right now. As the group starts, I quickly become happy with my decision. The bespectacled vocalist betrays his slightly nerdy appearance with a monstrous gurgle that perfectly complements the band’s pummeling approach. While the music is suitably nasty and brutal, there are still plenty of tempo shifts and discernible riffs to keep the crowd hooked. Judging by the screams from the audience, the rest of the crowd seemed to enjoy their set just as much as me.

I leave Soundstage afterward and walk into what feels like an outdoor party. The Market Place area has become an ocean of people, with beach balls flying overhead and Abbath’s epic riffs blaring throughout the block. It’s a cool sight, but I choose to leave for Rams Head after a few minutes to get a good spot for Grave Miasma.

With most festival attendees apparently watching Abbath, Rams Head feels like a cool empty cavern. I snag a prime balcony spot and hang out a bit before Grave Miasma starts. Once they do, I’m thoroughly engaged. This English death metal group sound like a black force of nature that moves relentlessly forward and chokes out all sense of hope and life. The guitars are thick, and the overall sound is cavernous yet riffy. The drums are also just as tight live as they are on record, shifting deftly between blast beats and driving rhythms. After watching their set, I’m all the happier that I managed to pick up one of their shirts earlier in the day.

With no bands scheduled at Rams Head or Power Plant for over an hour after Grave Miasma finish, I once again go back across the street to the Market Place area. Once there, I head into Soundstage to watch the powerviolence duo Iron Lung. Even though they’re scheduled at the same time as Mayhem, the group seem to take it all in stride. “Thanks for coming to the fest, guys,” their drummer and vocalist says, “and sorry you had to pay such an exorbitant ticket price just to see us.”

Once they start, the performance is an utter assault. Somehow having the drummer perform vocals makes the whole thing feel more intense, and something about his battering drumming feels downright violent. The crowd eats it up. The mosh pit is vicious, and several participants began whipping each other with what look like inflatable pool toys. While I’m not a big powerviolence guy, the duo’s raw energy is infectious. Just watching them makes me feel reinvigorated.

Rather than stay to see the last few minutes of Mayhem after Iron Lung finish, I instead scurry back across the road to catch Bloodbath at the Power Plant stage. The group sound good, but I choose to only stick around for a few songs before heading into Rams Head to see Archgoat. Once inside, I take a spot on the main level, just on the outskirts of where I think the mosh pit will form. I gaze at the massive logo projected over the stage and feel like something big is about to happen.

That feeling turns out to be correct. The Finnish bestial black metal trio take their places on the stage and look utterly imposing, like they’re about to subject the audience to some sort of grand ritual. Suddenly, their ragged riffing kicks in, and I’m immediately drenched by some sort of sugary drink that’s thrown on my head from the balcony above. The crowd loses their goddamn minds. A merciless mosh pit forms right in front of me as Archgoat’s hammering blast beats and deep demonic croaks engulf the venue. I see a muscular dude level someone half his size, while other people in the pit appear to have no regard whatsoever for whether they’re running into people who aren’t trying to mosh. Meanwhile, the person behind me is jamming their arm uncomfortably into my back even though I’m standing on the edge of the pit and just trying to survive.

Suddenly, something changes within me. After four days of carelessly eating shitty food, my intestinal gas has ripened to the point where I can no longer contain it within me while in public. I feel my insides gurgle as I struggle in vain to prevent the release. Finally, I can bear it no longer. The mosh pit is twirling rapidly, and with each strike of a person against me, a gas bubble bursts from my backside and into the crowd behind me. No matter how many bubbles are expelled, it seems that more are always waiting to be dislodged the next time I’m bumped by someone. I may have let some slip in previous days, but a mass release like this is entirely unprecedented. The moment, it seems, has finally come. Maryland Fartfest is being consummated.

Unfortunately, the smell is not enough to stop the person behind me from jamming their arm into my back. I quickly come up with a plan. I notice two heavy guys collide with each other and start barreling together in my direction. Thinking fast, I take a quick step forward and immediately turn around to see them crash into the side of the pit, forming a crater in the crowd right where I stood a moment before. The arm-jabber is no more. I briefly wonder if what I did was a dick move before karma strikes in the form of a 200-pound man ramming into my left shoulder. I know at once I deserve it.

I shake it off and perk up as I hear the squealing intro of “Messiah of Pigs” start playing. For the rest of the set, my fist is in the air, pounding to the battering rhythms of tracks like “Darkness Has Returned” and “Hammer of Satan.” As the final cries of “Hail Satan!” echo throughout Rams Head, I realize just how much I’ve enjoyed the wild ride.

Then, reality sets in. It’s after midnight, and I’m tired, smelly, and sticky. When the band leave the stage, I retreat to the balcony and catch my breath for the final band of the festival: Mortuary Drape. Like Archgoat, this classic Italian black metal group have a strong ritualistic vibe, but the performance feels more occult and less violent. The entire band is clad in cloaks, and vocalist “Wilderness Perversion” performs over a makeshift altar that makes him appear like he’s delivering a bizarre sermon. The group’s chunky black metal riffs and surprisingly melodic lead guitars make for an enthralling and mystical end to four days of craziness.

When the band finishes, everyone somehow still seems to have plenty of energy as we filter out onto the Baltimore sidewalk. I walk by the Power Plant complex and see mostly empty, rain-soaked streets where the merch village once stood. It’s almost as if the entire festival was a bizarre dream. Exhausted yet thoroughly satisfied, I make my way to my car and start my final drive home.

Conclusion

I’ve attended many festivals over the years, and I can safely say that Maryland Deathfest 2024 was one of the best of them all. Almost every band I saw gave an awesome performance, the sound quality was almost always great (and in some cases, exceptional), and the sheer quality of the lineup left no shortage of great bands to see. Likewise, having all the venues within a short walk of each other was a godsend, especially for those who remember how annoying it was to walk 15 minutes to the outdoor Edison Lot stages in previous years. Most importantly, it seemed like a general air of positive energy permeated the whole experience as if everyone knew that we were all just coming here to listen to the music we love and have a great time.

The whole experience makes me so grateful that festivals like this exist, and attending this year served as a stark reminder to take advantage of seeing older bands while we can. After all, how much longer are some of these classic artists still going to be playing live? Ten more years? Fifteen? These years, I think, will be remembered as the golden age of metal—the years when many of the pioneers and classic groups are still around, playing right alongside a plethora of young hungry acts. Take advantage of this time while you can.

At least, this is what I tell myself as I click the “Check Out” button and purchase my 4-Day Pass to Maryland Deathfest 2025. It’s happening, folks—farts and all. See you fukkers there!

Author’s Note: I would like to thank Steel Druhm for allowing me to rejoin the AMG ranks after several years away, as well as the entire AMG crew for welcoming me back with open arms. This piece is dedicated to all the contributors, editors, and everyone else that makes this amazing site possible.

#Abbath #Agalloch #Ahab #Archgoat #ArtificialBrain #AuraNoir #Avulsed #Beheaded #Bloodbath #BlueHolocaust #Brodequin #BrokenHope #ChtheIlist #Daeva #Deathhammer #DefeatedSanity #Depulsed #Derkéta #Dismember #EntrailAsphyxiation #Esoteric #Fossilization #GraveMiasma #Haemorrhage #Impure #IronLung #Kontusion #LackOfInterest #MortaSkuld #MortuaryDrape #PerditionTemple #Primordial #Ripper #Sacrifice #SiegeColumn #Sodom #WeekendNachos

Playlist update ❤
Seths Magic O Metal Mania

You can find fresh tracks from #Beartooth , #Firewind , #Killingarlings , #Primordial , #Varg , #Crisix , #COSMICSOULS , #RiversAblaze , #OnThornsILay , #FortressUnderSiege , #DécembreNoir, #STORTREGN and many more!

Check the playlist via: 🔗 https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5xGcIh0TmRxea3SqMnnWGo
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Album cover: Beartooth
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Photo of Seth Abrikoos by: Arjan Van Hoorn
#magicometal #sethsmagicometalmania #sethpicturesmusic #sethabrikoos #metal #metalgirl #metalhead

🤘✌️

Playlist update ❤
Seths Magic O Metal Mania

You can find fresh tracks from #Beartooth , #Firewind , #Killingarlings , #Primordial , #Varg , #Crisix , #COSMICSOULS , #RiversAblaze , #OnThornsILay , #FortressUnderSiege , #DécembreNoir, #STORTREGN and many more!

Check the playlist via: 🔗 https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5xGcIh0TmRxea3SqMnnWGo
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Album cover: Beartooth
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Photo of Seth Abrikoos by: Arjan Van Hoorn
#magicometal #sethsmagicometalmania #sethpicturesmusic #sethabrikoos #metal #metalgirl #metalhead

🤘✌️

Playlist update ❤
Seths Magic O Metal Mania

You can find fresh tracks from #Beartooth , #Firewind , #Killingarlings , #Primordial , #Varg , #Crisix , #COSMICSOULS , #RiversAblaze , #OnThornsILay , #FortressUnderSiege , #DécembreNoir, #STORTREGN and many more!

Check the playlist via: 🔗 https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5xGcIh0TmRxea3SqMnnWGo
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Album cover: Beartooth
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Photo of Seth Abrikoos by: Arjan Van Hoorn
#magicometal #sethsmagicometalmania #sethpicturesmusic #sethabrikoos #metal #metalgirl #metalhead

🤘✌️

Playlist update ❤
Seths Magic O Metal Mania

You can find fresh tracks from #Beartooth , #Firewind , #Killingarlings , #Primordial , #Varg , #Crisix , #COSMICSOULS , #RiversAblaze , #OnThornsILay , #FortressUnderSiege , #DécembreNoir, #STORTREGN and many more!

Check the playlist via: 🔗 https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5xGcIh0TmRxea3SqMnnWGo
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Album cover: Beartooth
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Photo of Seth Abrikoos by: Arjan Van Hoorn
#magicometal #sethsmagicometalmania #sethpicturesmusic #sethabrikoos #metal #metalgirl #metalhead

🤘✌️

Titel: in der Urzeit-Ebene (in the layer of primordial times); Acryl; 150 x 150 cm (59.1 x 59.1"); Februar 2021
Link: https://gallery.b22.de/werk/?Qwd=./Wirkwelten/Anderswelt&Qif=in%20der%20Urzeit-Ebene.jpg&Qiv=thumbs&Qis=FS

#art #odenwald #kunst #mythicalart #Bensheim #Zwingenberg #artfrankfurt #kreisbergstrasse #artnews #abstractexpressionism #germanartist #abstraktekunst #kunstinsüdhessen #abstractpainting #Anderswelt #otherworld #layersofreality #Wirklichkeitsebenen #neoexpressionist #visionaryart #rawart #outsiderart #kunstinhessen #orangepainting #primordial #Urzeit

Is this … a pre-existent primordial tradition?

#meme #IsThis #butterfly #PreExistent #primordial #tradition #traditionalist

#Kulturtheorie als #primordial im #Verhältnis zu #Soziologie; #Entstehung von #Differenzierung durch #Arbeit an der Differenzierung des #Sozialen.

#aas #aau #Bedingungen

#Theorie #Thread

https://w3rkhof.zone/@sms2sms/102549621775630084

https://ifwo.eu/@sozialwelten/102559464901723886

https://w3rkhof.zone/@sms2sms/102559719884862152