Milwaukee Metal Fest is a heavy metal festival held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded by promoter Jack Koshick in 1987, it became one of the best-known American metal festivals of the 1990s and early 2000s, especially within death metal, thrash metal and extreme metal.
The first Milwaukee Metal Fest took place on 25 July 1987 and included bands such as Death, Death Angel, Destruction, Fates Warning, Nuclear Assault, Blood Feast and At War. As the festival grew, it became an important meeting point for underground metal bands at a time when large American festivals devoted to extreme metal were still relatively uncommon.
During its original run, Milwaukee Metal Fest brought together death metal, black metal, thrash metal, doom metal, hardcore and traditional heavy metal across large multi-band lineups. The festival became known for combining established names with underground bands, giving many extreme metal acts a place in front of larger festival audiences.
After disappearing for more than fifteen years, Milwaukee Metal Fest was revived in 2023 under the direction of Hatebreed vocalist Jamey Jasta, who had acquired the rights from Koshick. The revived festival takes place at The Rave/Eagles Club, a large multi-room concert complex on West Wisconsin Avenue in Milwaukee.
The 2023 return featured Lamb of God, Anthrax and Biohazard among the headliners, with Napalm Death, Dark Angel, Obituary, Immolation, Dying Fetus, The Black Dahlia Murder, Vio-lence, Blood Incantation and many other bands also appearing. Later editions continued the same dense festival format, with several stages inside The Rave/Eagles Club.
Bands that have played or been booked for Milwaukee Metal Fest include Death, Death Angel, Destruction, Fates Warning, Nuclear Assault, Carcass, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Deicide, Venom, Obituary, Napalm Death, Immolation, Dying Fetus, Anthrax, Biohazard, Lamb of God, Dark Angel, The Black Dahlia Murder, Vio-lence, Blood Incantation, Acid Bath, Killswitch Engage, Ministry, Machine Head, Suicidal Tendencies, Power Trip, Agalloch, Armored Saint, Sacred Reich, Prong, Incantation and Nails.
The modern festival uses the different rooms of The Rave/Eagles Club rather than a single stage. Its programme spans death metal, thrash metal, doom, hardcore, metalcore, industrial metal and other branches of heavy music, while the surrounding areas include merchandise, record vendors, signings and related festival activities.
ADDRESS:
2401 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53233
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