Will Kriss
- Aug 19
- 6 min read

Festival Preview - Michigan Metal Fest 2024

Michigan Metal Fest will return to the Leila Arboretum in Battle Creek on Saturday, August 24, for another packed day of headbanging entertainment.

After taking two years off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival initially returned in 2022, but was marred by storms, delays and mud. There were no such delays when the event was held in 2023, marking an even stronger return.

The 2024 installment will mark the sixth annual year, and those behind it are more excited to host it than ever, according to Michigan Metal Fest (MMF) Co-Owner Steve Maple.

“We are on the sixth installment, and that makes me very happy,” Maple said in an interview. “To say that we’re now on our sixth year feels amazing, especially since we have so much help doing this now. We have so many people and companies from all over the US heavily involved with the event now. You’re gonna see a lot of really intense changes this year, really good things for the festival and for everyone who goes.”

Some of those changes include a tighter schedule and a more curated selection of bands, which will be achieved by only holding two stages for music. Historically, each installment has included three stages.

Maple had told me as much when I reviewed the festival last year, and the idea is to make sure people can watch every band performing that day with no overlap, should they choose.

“Basically, where the main stage has been recently, and where the second stage is now, that’s the two spots we’ll have music this year,” Maple said. “There will be a five-minute gap between bands, but it’ll just bounce back and forth between those two stages all day. The third stage is being completely cut, so you can catch every bit of the sets.”

Maple added that the second stage will see upgraded production as well.

In terms of music, MMF is well-known for booking very eclectic lineups featuring both big names and a “who’s who” of local and regional metal bands.

The main headliner this year will be the masked Cleveland nu-metal legends Mushroomhead, who will be performing just a few weeks after the release of their ninth studio album “Call the Devil.”

Known for their experimental and genre-bending sounds, numerous lineup changes over the years have not slowed the band down. With the addition of new vocalists on their album prior to Call the Devil, the band has essentially entered a new era, and one that I will be excited to witness.

The last time I saw Mushroomhead live was back in 2014, a time period where all three original vocalists were performing in the lineup. While that was one of the most memorable performances in my concert-going career, ten years later, I’ll be excited to see what’s in store for Mushroomhead now.

While many bands will be making their MMF debut, the 2024 lineup notably also features many returning artists, some of which haven’t played since 2019.

One such returning band is HED PE, another well-known Nu/Fusion Metal band with genre-defying characteristics.

As I’ve written before, it can be difficult to show the band to new listeners, owing to the many different styles incorporated, such as metal, rap, punk and reggae.

Regardless, they were a big hit when they last played in 2019, acting as a sort of “wild card” to the lineup.

“As far as the returning bands go, HED PE is a band that we’ve wanted to put back on since we had them the first time in 2019,” Maple said. “They really threw down - we had Chelsea Grin and Hatebreed go on after that, and the crowd was its biggest when HED PE was out there. I don't know if that was a coincidence or if they had the highest captivation rate of the night, but we ended up losing some crowd after that, which doesn’t always happen. I love Chelsea Grin and Hatebreed, so I was surprised that it happened. But they put on an absolutely electric show - I loved the act they put on at the festival, I felt like it popped off really hard. These guys really show out, and it was somebody that a lot of people requested back when we were doing surveys for returning artists.”

Interestingly enough, both bands have toured multiple times together under a banner known as the “HED to HEAD” tour. I was never able to make any of those tours, so this will be a welcome experience for me 12 years after the fact.

While there are returning bands from years past, some of them actually made their debut last year and are now returning for round two.

Those include the Florida-based metal band TRAITORS (Maple’s personal favorite set from last year), along with the mysterious Symphonic Nu-Core (my own description) Cultus Black.

“We had [Cultus Black] last year, everybody talked about them, and they did a really cool meet-and-greet afterwards,” Maple said. “I really feel like they are going to be a big band - some of those bands, you just see them and that’s all you can think. They’re not going to be where they’re at for long, so I thought it was appropriate to get them back on before their big launch. We’re making good friends with the Cultus Black boys.”

As a personal anecdote, I am very excited to see the North Carolina-based Sci-Fi metal band Voraath making a return.

Voraath was, in my opinion, the best band of the day during the 2023 event.

The trouble is, not a lot of people saw them - they were playing on the now-decommissioned third stage during the headlining main stage slots, so not a whole lot of people were actually there. I wrote as much last year, and Maple took this to heart.

“That band in particular, there’s several reasons they’re back on,” Maple said. “First of all, they’re my homies. That doesn’t necessarily get you on the lineup, but those guys, when they were out last year, you know what happened. This is part of the reason we aren’t doing that third stage this year - they got put on the stage, and nobody was over there. Nobody knew this band was even going on, they were just waiting around for what they thought was the headliner coming next. Meanwhile, Voraath is over on the farther stage, and they’re throwing down one of the best acts of the night.

They are also a band that’s going to grow fast, and they got kind of a bum deal by that, so I had them come do a headlining show earlier this year [at The Music Factory], and I offered them a spot on the main stage for Metal Fest. I want everyone to be able to see these guys and what they’re all about.”

In addition to a day full of great bands, there will be other attractions as well, including a live glassblowing show from Two Kings Glass.

“They’re very good friends and awesome people to have on the team,” Maple said. “They’re gonna put on a live glass show that has all these crazy aspects to it. They make glass everything - deluxe bongs, swords, and more. So they’ll be there all day selling MMF Glass and all kinds of different stuff.”

When asked what he would tell someone who has never been to MMF, Maple highlighted the independent roots of the event.

“I’d say I think you’re gonna love it here, because this show is built by local metalheads,” Maple said. “This cool event is curated on pure volunteer sweat. We all work our butts off to create this thing. We basically have to build an entire venue to put on this event, the small amount of money we end up with is going toward the infrastructure of the event and actually making things better. We started from scratch with no funding from a big corporation and we’re super proud of where we’ve gotten with this. We take it seriously to make sure you have a smile across your face the entire time you’re there - it’s not just show up, watch music, and leave.

We appreciate everyone who has ever bought a ticket or stepped through the gate in any form. Whether it be a fan, band, vendor, sponsor or stage worker, we just love and appreciate everybody who has been a part of this family for all these years.”

Again, the Sixth Annual Michigan Metal Fest will take place on Saturday, August 24 at the Leila Arboretum in Battle Creek.

Tickets, VIP packages and merchandise bundles can all be purchased at the official website, https://michiganmetalfest.net/.

To keep up with MMF on Social Media, visit the official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/michiganmetalfestival/.