Tennessee Metal Devastation, Lexington, Tennessee, October 8, 2022

The inaugural Tennessee Metal Devastation Festival took place at Beech Lake in Lexington, Tennessee last weekend, featuring Summoner’s Circle and Casket Robbery.

It is always good news when a new heavy metal festival is started. Metal Devastation Radio branched out to created Tennessee Metal Devastation Music Fest, a one-day heavy metal festival held at Beech Lake in Lexington, Tennessee. It was such an immediate success that founders Zach and Raven announced toward the end of the night that they were planning to do it again next year.

The venue was the beautiful and cozy Beech Lake. The sun shined all day and the weather couldn’t have been better, even with the Fall chill that descended in the evening when the full moon rose.

Thirteen bands were scheduled to play at the event, and the start time was early. I misjudged how long a drive it was for me so I missed the first couple of acts. I got there in time to see the Louisville foursome Devil By My Judge. The response from the plentiful crowd made me think that these metal fans had been fired up by the earlier acts and were ready for more.

The Crypt and Skully from Metal-M-Mania hosted the festival and introduced the acts. They made a huge difference because you got to hear a few words about bands you might never have seen before just ahead of their set. I wish every festival did this.

I had heard Summoner’s Circle before and I was fast becoming a fan of Casket Robbery but I had never seen them perform. The other bands were new to me. All the performances were solid, and the ones that stuck with me the most other than the two I knew of were Gravehuffer, The Red Mountain, Spillage, and Deocculted. It never ceases to amaze me how many great bands there are out there in the wild. Discovering bands you didn’t know about is one the best things about going to festivals.

By the time Casket Robbery took the stage, the temperature had dipped to what felt like the forties. It didn’t seem to bother the fans who crowded down by the front of the stage, and Casket Robbery tore the place up. This show was the first stop on their tour with Summoner’s Circle – what a great way to kick off a tour. To make absolutely certain the portents were good, Summoner’s Circle offered a (symbolic) blood sacrifice during the first song of their set and the evening spiraled on from there.

I had an excellent time at the festival. Everything went so smoothly it is hard to believe this was the first year. I’m sure there were plenty of behind-the-scenes challenges and an enormous amount of work that fans were not even aware, but the experience itself was fantastic – great food, vendors, and superb metal music the entire time.

We will be posting photo galleries for the nine bands we caught live and links will be added to this article as they go up. Meanwhile, check out the links below to the bands’ pages and the festival page. And get ready for next year, because Tennessee Metal Devastation is coming back.

Photos by Wayne Edwards.

Links.

Tennessee Metal Devastation, https://metaldevastationradio.com/Metal-Devastation-Music-Fest

Summoner’s Circle, https://www.summonerscircle.com/

Casket Robbery, https://casketrobbery.com/

Deocculted, https://deocculted.net/

Spillage, https://spillage-online.com/

Eyes Of The Living, https://eyesoftheliving.com/home

Tommy Stewart’s Dyerwulf, https://tommystewartsdyerwulf.bandcamp.com/album/doomsday-deferred

Gravehuffer, https://gravehuffer.bandcamp.com/album/necroeclosion

The Red Mountain, https://www.facebook.com/THEREDMOUNTAIN/

Devil Be My Judge, https://www.ftdmusic.com/p/devil-be-my-judge.html