New metal and rock festival for Manawatū
An all new rock and metal festival with will Manawatū bands combine with out-of-town drawcards for a one-day event.
Thirteen bands will take the stage at Castle 789 in Palmerston North on February 12 for the inaugural Distortion Fest.
Organiser Joel Thompson said there would be a good mixture of old heads and new blood on display.
The lineup featured three tribute sets and 10 original acts, made up predominantly from local bands with a few groups from around the country.
Thompson said there was a good variety of styles among the local bands and the outof-town acts would only add to that.
He ran a similar event in Hamilton called Rail Fest, and he said Manawatū bands had shown a strong interest in starting something in their region.
There hadn’t been an event like this in the Manawatū in a long time.
The featured tribute performances would celebrate three of the biggest names in hard rock and heavy metal, Metallica, Megadeth and Iron Maiden.
The Metallica and Megadeth sets would be performed by Auckland thrash tribute band Metadeth, while the Iron Maiden tribute would be performed by Deathnir.
Another out-of-town act, Kaosis, would be preforming with a heavy industrial sound and a full stage show including lasers, smoke, dancers, and cold spark pyrotechnics.
Other bands performing included The Rising Tide, Kokoa Nashi, Deadset, Defetus, Kavort, Government Pest, Drakaris, and Feral.
Thompson said tickets cost $10 and were selling well.
The low ticket price was to encourage a packed house.
The bands all had tight-knit fan bases, and they were trying to put on an event where they could all get together.
He said metal bands didn’t really get their music played on the radio and this cut out a lot of funding opportunities as well as chances to get booked for festivals.
Tickets are available on Eventfinda.