Maryland Deathfest 2022 Could Be Metal Fest’s Final Year, Per Organizers

Maryland Deathfest 2022 could be the annual extreme metal festival's final year, as its organizers revealed in a statement explaining the 2023 edition wouldn't move forward. Instead, the fest will go on hiatus.

However, Maryland Deathfest XVIII is still on for May 26–29 in Baltimore, Md., the event's home base since the first Deathfest there in 2003. This year will be its first back since missing 2021 and 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Scheduled bands include Carcass, Dismember, Obituary, Hellhammer, Hypocrisy, Triptykon, Vio-lence, Mortician, Blood Incantation, Graveyard, Acid Witch and many more.

See the full statement near the bottom of this post.

"We're sorry to inform you that we will not be organizing any festivals at all in 2023, including Maryland Deathfest," its founders, Ryan Taylor and Evan Harting, said on April 9. "There's a chance that 2022 could be the last edition of MDF, but we're unable to determine that right now one way or another."

They added, "We're going on hiatus and we'll decide during this much needed break if the festival will return in 2024." They also addressed the "many variables" that could affect that decision.

Metal events associated with Maryland Deathfest include U.K. Deathfest and Netherlands Deathfest, which each have installments planned this year. Get more info about Maryland Deathfest here.

Maryland Deathfest 2022 Lineup

Maryland Deathfest Statement - April 9, 2022

STATEMENT FROM THE FOUNDERS OF MDF:

While we continue to work diligently on the long-awaited 18th edition of MDF that will finally take place next month, we'd like to share some thoughts with you about the future of MDF.

We're sorry to inform you that we will not be organizing any festivals at all in 2023, including Maryland Deathfest. There’s a chance that 2022 could be the last edition of MDF, but we’re unable to determine that right now one way or another. What we can say now is that we're going on hiatus and we'll decide during this much needed break if the festival will return in 2024. There are many variables at play that will impact the decision to possibly bring it back in 2024, including the state of the world and if we have the ability to put other things in our personal lives on hold to give the event the kind of attention it has always needed and received.

When we set out to plan the first edition of MDF 20 years ago, we could have never imagined that we'd still be doing it all of these years later. We have committed so much time and energy into making MDF what it is, never once taking a break. Considering the grassroots nature of the event, it feels like a miracle that we've made it this far. On top of the typical stresses and challenges over the years, these last 2 years in particular have added so many additional elements of surprise and uncertainty that have added to the exhaustion of it all and led us to this decision of going on hiatus. Simply put, our minds and bodies need a break, and we hope that everyone can understand and respect this decision.

We understand how much this event means to so many of you and realize that this news can be pretty disappointing, but at the same time, we hope that we've provided you with countless positive memories and a chance to develop new friendships while attending MDF over the years. We appreciate every single person that has ever supported and attended the event, as without you, there's no way we would have made it this far. We're just a couple of guys that got into extreme music 25+ years ago in middle/high school that wanted to support the music we love, never imagining that MDF would turn into a cultural institution that has seen over 700 bands from nearly 40 countries hit the stage.
Based on this news, you should definitely soak in your experience at MDF this year more than you were already planning on. If you were on the fence about going, perhaps now is the time to fall on the side of attending, as the future is uncertain.

We look forward to finally meeting you all again next month and will be following up soon with more information about this year's event.

Ryan & Evan
Founders of MDF