There is a whole motherfucking lot to recommend Berserker II: The insane line-up (see flyer below), a punk rock “swap meat” hosted by Tesco Vee of the Meatmen, a sweet ass T-shirt designed by Decibel‘s own Mark Rudolph, etcetera…
We recently reached out to fest organizer/Child Bite vocalist/guitarist Shawn Knight to get the inside scoop on what he and his co-conspirator/wife Veronica have planned for us in a little more than a week’s time…
Part of what makes Berserker unique is the inclusion of top notch Detroit-based bands, many of which have been gaining international attention over the past couple years. A few examples worth mentioning: sex dungeon dwellers SHITFUCKER, doom metal oppressors TEMPLE OF VOID, speed rock road warriors AGAINST THE GRAIN, and blackened death metal beasts NIGHTKIN (ex-Black Dahlia, The Red Chord).
Of course everybody is excited about our three headliners: death metal legends INCANTATION, crossover champions IRON REAGAN (members of Municipal Waste), and west coast hardcore pioneers POISON IDEA! The main room only holds about 400 people, so I expect it to get pretty fucking packed in there by the time these guys take the stage each night.
That said, right now I’d like to showcase a few of the acts traveling to Detroit next month that you may or may not be as familiar with…
LIKE RATS (Chicago, IL)
Featuring members of Weekend Nachos. Heavy-as-fuck Celtic Frostian riffs. Classic shit.
DOOMSDAY STUDENT (Providence, RI)
The weirdest band ever. Three-fourths of the dudes from Arab On Radar doing what they do under a new moniker.
LO-PAN (Columbus, OH)
Melodic stoner rock. Recently toured with High On Fire. I get a Soundgarden vibe. Good stuff.
LAZER/WULF (Atlanta, GA)
100% prog metal wizardry. Imagine Rush reinterpreting “Rust In Peace” (or something like that).
IN DEFENCE (Minneapolis, MN)
Straight up crossover thrash from these battle-tested Twin Cities goof balls.
BERSERKER takes place at The Loving Touch in Ferndale, MI on March 12-14th. The cleverly-titled free kick off party, PREserker, takes place Wednesday March 11th. $40 three-day passes and $20 single day tickets are available online as well as at select Detroit area record stores.