As the beloved folk of House Stark have always insisted: “Winter is coming”

…and so now it is here!

The 16th bi-annual event hosted by metal4africa is approaching on Saturday 02 August at it’s usual abode in the student mecca of Stellenbosch, near Cape Town. The venue, Klein Libertas Theatre, lends itself perfectly to the volume of people who regularly attend these festivities, with a cosy but sufficiently spacious atmosphere. There is also plenty of sheltered room outdoors for smokers and non-live-music activities such as DJ’s playing the best of all known metal, burlesque-styled performers, and whatever other tricks we might pull from our gauntlets.

Kicking off the live entertainment at five o’clock sharp will be Cape Town’s freshest live act, also releasing their debut EP at WinterFest’14, A Price On The King’s Head. The band has been muscling their way into the heart of the local scene with vigor in recent months with their upfront metal style.

Following hot on their heels, Animus Fall are another fresh act with an even more refreshing sound. They bring new life to Cape Town’s melodic metal arsenal with their mouth-watering guitar riffage and a dynamic vocal range.

Peasant will bring a dramatic change to the pace! Crossing over from the hardcore scene, these guys are becoming well-known and well-loved for bringing a darker edge to traditional hardcore sounds, reminiscent of sludge metal.

Returning to the metal4africa stage since their first appearance at SummerFest’13, Messiah Complex are blasting their way up through the local metal hierarchy with their relentlessly intense sound, perfect for anybody needing to really blow off some steam in the moshpit.

For those with any energy left in their bodies, we’ve decided to throttle it full-steam for a little longer; after all, it is an icy winter and we need to keep the blood in circulation, right? There is no better act to carry out this solemn duty than the speed-thrash stalwarts known simply as ING, with their cheeky lyrics and darkly satirical humour.

If you have not yet heard of South Africa’s premier power metal act, Strident, then now is your opportunity. These golden boys of local metal bring power, elation, and deeply satisfying musical hooks together into one epic adventure of musical story-telling. Beware the spontaneous desire to join your voice to the rising crescendo of others in song!

Maximum Carnage will be returning to Cape Town from distant Pretoria, bringing along their hard-hitting groovy death metal sounds which we have yearned for since their first visit last year when touring with Egypt’s Anarchy. Give them a warm Cape Town welcome to lift the Winter chill.

From this point onward, the stage will be given over to the fairer gender. Following a short burlesque extravaganza on the indoor stage with BOB’s Beasties, Terminatryx will bring the live music to a close with their darker sounds, introducing a new set in celebration of their recently released Shadow album. In summary:

17h00 – A Price On The Kings Head

17h45 – Animus Fall

18h30 – Peasant

19h15 – Messiah Complex

20h00 – ING

20h55 – Strident

21h55 – Maximum Carnage

22h45 – BOBs Beasties

23h20 – Terminatryx

WinterFest’14 will also feature two bar areas, merchandise stalls, and a party bus to shuttle passengers in from the city and surrounding suburbs (limited seats, bookings in advance only). Doors open at 16h00 and entry will cost R70 (tickets at door only, except for party bus passengers and True Believer members). Live music continues from 17h00 till 00h00, and bars close at 02h00.

Join our official M4A WinterFest’14 facebook event page for regular updates and to share in the rising anticipation.

A separate event page will be created soon for those who wish to travel on the Party Bus to WinterFest’14.

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