Milwaukee Metal Fest 2026

On June 4-7, 2026 metalheads from around the world descended upon Milwaukee, WI for their annual pilgrimage to Milwaukee Metal Fest at the iconic Rave/Eagles Club. Having never attended myself, I was stoked for the opportunity to fly in from Los Angeles and chronicle this year’s offerings for Highwire Daze Magazine. With an eager heart and my trusty Canon R6, I was greeted by pioneers of the genre side by side with modern emissaries. Today I bring you a mere taste of my experiences throughout the weekend, with more to follow in the print edition of Highwire Daze Magazine Issue #165 coming soon.

The brutality began on Friday, across three stages. Among many others throughout the day were Eyes of the Living, Morta Skuld, Hirax, Frog Mallet (yep, songs about frogs), Creeping Death, Dusk, and Pallbearer.

At 6:30, crowned by the golden glow of late afternoon, thrash legends Death Angel took the Sumerian Records Stage in the majestic Eagles Ballroom, followed by a retrospective set of the atmospheric metal from Agalloch.

At this point in the evening, making my way through the massive venue, the joy of the experience was already overwhelming. I was surrounded by my brothers and sisters in metal, engulfed by the intoxicating adrenaline that only such a mighty venue as Milwaukee Metal Fest can provide. As Vio-lence packed the BLK II BLK/Copycats Media Stage, I stepped back into the Ballroom to see the hard-hitting Obituary from Tampa, FL, who in my opinion easily reside on the Mount Rushmore of death metal.

The highly influential sludge metal band Acid Bath brought the curtain down on night one, closing out the opening day of the festival in epic fashion. Acid Bath was a real treat for me, something I was not sure would ever happen.

Saturday brought further carnage. The sets included, but not limited to, Casket Robbery, the supremely entertaining Belushi Speed Ball, Prong, Threnody, Sacred Reich, Iron Reagan, Nunslaughter and a band I’ve wanted to see for some time, Nails, who blew me away.

From there, I quickly made my way down to the Blue Grape Music Stage to see my friends in Armored Saint perform legendary classics alongside songs from their newly released album, “Emotion Factory Reset“.

Power Trip kicked off the evening in the Ballroom, igniting bedlam among the already-amped crowd. Heading back to the Blue Grape Stage, Machine Head delivered their ever-reliable crunch, while those who missed Agalloch on day one were thankfully able to catch them afterward.

Back to the Ballroom, and Suicidal Tendencies delivered a typically life-affirming set led by the always inspiring Mike Muir, followed by Killswitch Engage. This was my first experience with Killswitch and they were fantastic.

On the morning of the last day, I emerged from bed sore, but with a smile on my face as I knew what awaited me. Among yet another stacked lineup, I was treated to pulverizing sets from Gored Embrace, Visceral Disgorge, Lecherous Nocturne, Waking the Cadaver and All Shall Perish, among others.

The unapologetic Napalm Death kicked off the final evening in the Ballroom, followed by John Bush’s highly anticipated “Anthrax Era” set.

The night’s Ballroom headliners were industrial legends Ministry led by Al Jourgensen, who leaves no stone unturned. Integrity came on to close out the Blue Grape Music Stage soon after and that was a wrap (sadly!).

As the final evening drew to a close, I left the venue bleary-eyed but full-hearted thanks to a dose of metal and hanging with some very cool like-minded people….fellow metalheads. I had hardly slept a wink in nearly 72 hours, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Sleep can wait. Milwaukee Metal Fest demands your attention. All I could think of as I boarded the 5:00 AM flight back home to Los Angeles was how grateful I was to have been there, and how eager I am to return. I’ll see you all next year in Milwaukee, with horns up high in the air!

HUGE thanks to all of the folks at the Milwaukee Metal Fest, and be sure to follow them on social media for updates. In the coming days hit my IG feed for individual posts of almost 50 bands!

Scott Waters

 
Milwaukee Metal Fest