RPM Fest… three days in the woods at Millers Falls Rod and Gun Club in Montague, Massachusetts of Western MA with all of the homies, great food, great drinks, yard games, drag bingo, metal yoga, karaoke, and more metal, punk, and ska music than you can shake a battle vest at. It’s been two years since RPM Fest happened due to the ongoing pandemic. But this year it was able to make its mighty return as the official end-of-summer send-off party that it is known to be, this past Labor Day Weekend.
Friday:
Gates opened on Friday at 5 pm and we wasted no time at all with starting off the fest with a bang. Back-to-back sets from Rock Shop and Blue Manic set a tone for the weekend. Hard riffs pits with the homies, and that philosophy carried through the entire weekend. Next on the pavilion stage was Waelmist, a three-piece thrash metal outfit out of Boston, MA. With guitarist Angel Reyes looking like the drip god that he is and Jesse and Adam in tow to pull together a quick and dirty killer set to bring things to the next level that we had for the rest of the night. Mo’ynoq, Fox 45, and Epicenter worked the mid-shift of the night with black metal, good old fashioned stoner rock, and progressive thrash metal. Vacant Eyes, Problem With Dragons, and Rig Time! made way for the headliner of the night with a solid and palatable mix of doom metal, sludgy prog metal, and straight-up beat down from Wisconsin two-piece Rig Time! Definitely band to check out if you haven’t yet.
And now to the headliner of night one of this loud-ass party in the woods, Gost. Somewhat of a different style than I was expecting from the festival, as Gost is a producer from Texas who specializes in what is called “slasherwave” or horror based synthwave. Himself and his bass player were all who were on stage and honesty, you could’ve closed your eyes and thought that there was a full band on stage akin to Pendulum with a demonic kick to it. Storming around the stage like a possessed entity from Dante’s Inferno while music that sounds like the soundtrack to a BDSM rave blaring behind him, Gost made his presence known and made sure you knew it. Coupled along with the fire dancers that were performing alongside Gost, the closing act of the night was definitely a shot out of left field but a very welcomed change of pace at the same time.
Saturday:
Day two being the longest day of the festival started with a fantasy drenched journey into the void from power metal outfit, Perennial Quest. All parts of this band were firing on all cylinders from the jump. Soaring guitar work, thick bass tone, vocal chops that rival ZP Theart, and drumming that will pummel your chest cavity in. Next over on the tent stage we have what many consider to be the RPM Fest house band, Goblet. Vocalist Jesse, now clean and sober, is in better form than he ever has been, putting on a show that you have to see to believe, Goblet is like the dirty thrash metal version of Queen and Jesse is Freddie Mercury if he crawled out of the depths of CBGB’s. Next over on the main stage we’re speed metal outfit Seax, my first time having a chance to see them perform and man, Carmine’s vocals are second to none in terms of power. After Seax cleared the stage, Cheap City started over on the pavilion stage. This is a band I was looking forward to the moment they got announced, as indie punk isn’t something we see too often at RPM Fest. Back-to-back sets after Cheap City from the infamous thrash outfit, DDB (formerly Drive-By Bukkake), Kentucky black metal band Volcandra, bass and drum doom metal duo Coma Hole, and Texas based old school heavy metal band War Cloud really came in a punched you in the gut right around lunch to give you a taste of what the rest of the day would be like. Absolutely no complaints here.
Taking a bit of a break after War Cloud to rest my old bones (I’m 31 and feel like I’m 107) and coming back just in time to catch the highlight of the weekend for many, Tower! You could’ve closed your eyes during their set and thought you were transported back to the 70’s listening to a band that’s opening for Black Sabbath or The Scorpions. Back over on the main stage we have Easthampton, MA’s own Black Pyramid. A crushing set from the 3-piece crew left me wanting more, absolutely becoming a fan 90 seconds into their set. Do yourself a favor and go check them out. Closing out the pavilion stage for night two was one of my favorite new discoveries of the weekend, a band called The Best of The Worst. Have you ever wondered what it would be like if A Day To Remember had a saxophone and a trombone player? Well, I have the answer for you. It’s this band. Since the festival I’ve already gotten all of my friends to become avid fans of this band. Closing out the tent stage tonight are RPM Fest veterans, Leather Lung. Old school heavy metal that has the bounce and vibe of a hip-hop house show? Yeah, you’re in for a good time with Leather Lung.
Take the MC5, add dragons and sci-fi imagery, and add in the grooves that’ll make you want to break out into a spontaneous dance party in the middle of the mosh pit and you have the headliner of night two… Valient Thorr. They were always a band. I’ve heard great things about, but I’ve never had the chance to see you live. And let me tell you, I’m glad I finally did get a chance to see them. Because they were some of the most fun I’ve had shooting a show in quite some time. Down and dirty rock ‘n’ roll sprinkled with nerdy nonsense, all wrapped up into a package of “We fucking got this! Just love each other and be a good person!” Valient Thorr brought the fun and chaos to the pit with grooves that felt like deranged pub disco (now THAT needs to be a genre). All in all, day two had some amazing performances and good times we’re had by all. Nap included.
Sunday:
Day three. Ah ha, Day three. We had some changes come up last minute on Day three… legendary death metal band Atheist was supposed to be the headliner for Sunday, closing out the festival, but due to a last-minute change, Atheist was no longer able to perform. So the schedule got moved around a bit before the gates even opened for the day. Opening up on the main stage was a super last minute addition, Ice Giant. Nicki Gallop and the rest of the icy crew tore through a blistering and brutal set, including some new songs off of their upcoming album. Dust Prophet opened up the tent stage with a sluggy and sweaty set along with Jobber opening up the pavilion stage for the day. And those three bands really do encapsulate the entire vibe of the festival. Fantasy driven power/death metal, stoner metal, and 1990s inspired punk rock with a wrestling gimmick. Ya gotta love it! The middle of the day ran the gamut for styles of extreme music. Sludge-punk from Crowfeeder, two-piece trash rock from BedTimeMagic, Australian thrash metal brought to you by Hidden Intent, Prog Deathcore courtesy of Monochromatic Black, paired along with blackened folk-metal from long standing outfit Dzo-Nga, crossover thrash from SkyTigers who really holds up to their mantra of “Comeback Kid meets Motorhead.” Circuit of Suns was very surprising to me, I left SkyTigers set and was heading over to the main stage to see what they were about. My brother in Christ, do me a favor and go listen to them, please. A god-damn super group with passion for twisting music into a mangled pile of sounds that you just wanna see what they do with next. Progressive rock/heavy metal MA outfit Warm, closed out the tent stage for the final night of the festival with a transcendent and ethereal set that made you feel like you were on the moon but also somehow on the shores of Hell. Go check them out. The second to last band to close out the festival is a band that many would consider the other house band of RPM Fest, Western MA’s own Lich King! Being added to the festival as a surprise band the day before the festival started, Lich King roared onto the stage, as only they truly can. Running through a cataclysmic set, spanning their entire career. And at one point vocalist Zach Smith invites everyone of the audience on stage to end their set with their requisite performance of “Combat Mosh” for a second time… Yes, because they open the set with that and God dammit, they are going to close the set with it too. Closing out the pavilion stage was a band that has been making a lot of buzz lately, Escuela Grind. Blending hardcore, and grindcore into a visceral package that’s power can absolutely not be denied. This band is something you need to experience. It is pure unbridled chaos and love wrapped up in a pair of Chuck Taylors and slam pits. Mark my words, this band will absolutely be a name to keep an eye on and hear open to.
And here we are, the final act of RPM Fest 2022… Massachusetts’ death metal legends, Pathogenic. As I said earlier, Atheist had to cancel their appearance at the last minute. A spot that Pathogenic was more than happy to fill in with their own blend of progressive death metal. Returning to the scene with a lineup change on hand as well, David Benites has left Pathogenic and original vocalist Jake Burns has returned to the mic. Tyler Montaquila is also now on drums to bring his own spin to the sonic assault the Pathogenic is legendary for. Seeing Pathogenic for the first time since before Covid was a near religious experience, much less having Jake back on vocals, it was like finding a hoodie that you thought you lost after years of looking for… all be it, a really loud hoodie, but you get the idea. Performing their new single “The New Rot” as well as a good chunk of songs off of their 2019 self-titled album. Closing out their set with bringing damn near the entire festival onto the stage to perform Metallica’s “Master of Puppets”, this really was the greatest way to end a festival two years in the making. A community driven festival for local acts and vendors to showcase the best of their best all coming together to sing into the night a song that many, if not all of us grew up learning to play and are still playing to this day. It was loud, it was chaotic, it was in your face, it was poignant… It was perfect.
After all is said and done this weekend honestly didn’t feel real, even as it was happening. This festival is such a corner-stone of the New England music and culture scene that seeing it finally come to fruition was something that myself and all the other staff members were so happy to be able to see come back at a time when we so desperately needed it.
If you’ve made it this far into my review, I thank you and I hope I’ll see at next year’s RPM Fest happening September 1st-3rd.
Stay tuned here for the 2023 fest news:
Until next time, peace and chicken grease y’all.
Smallz , signing off…
WORDS AND PHOTOS BY CHRIS SMALL