EVERY YEAR, METALHEADS AND MUTANTS DESCEND ON BALTIMORE’S INNER HARBOR LIKE A BROOD OF CICADAS.

They make the pilgrimage from across the region, country and world. They come to see bands like Bolt Thrower, Electric Wizard and Neurosis. They wait all year for the four days that make up Maryland Deathfest, and then they rage.

But metal is more than blast beats and riff worship. It’s about community, passion and exploration. Sure there’s corpse paint, beer and piss. Fights break out and some people get arrested, but this isn’t “Heavy Metal Parking Lot.” This is two high school friends who love music and all that it inspires.

What started out as a small death metal festival has turned into the country’s premier extreme music ritual. While other fests depend on corporate sponsors and beer banners to pay for everything, Ryan Taylor and Evan Harting have dedicated their lives to doing it on their own. They book the bands, they book the hotels, they book the vendors and they book the venues. Their staff is made of friends that work for free or in exhance for tickets. It's as DIY as you can get. This is what goes on behind the scenes when no one is looking.