With Heavy NFLD Fest III coming to a close, let’s look back at all the shows and other events that took place over the four day festival.
Thursday, July 24, 2025
The launch party for the festival was held at Lucy’s Bar for Heavy Metal Karaoke. With the recent passing of the Prince of Darkness, a lot of the night was spent paying tribute to a legend. The Heavy Metal Karaoke Instagram stated that out of the 55 song requests, 14 of them were either Ozzy Osbourne or Black Sabbath.
From the hits like ‘No More Tears’ and ‘N.I.B’ to a song off the ‘13’ album ‘God Is Dead?’, it was a great tribute to the man who started the genre as without him, this festival would not be possible. It was also a great way to set the tone for the upcoming weekend.
Friday, July 25, 2025
The start of the festival shows started out with the only show in Corner Brook and one in St. John’s. The Corner Brook show saw out-of-province bands Ratpiss and Ibex along with Corner Brook’s own Paranoia.
The St. John’s show was held at Peter Easton’s and was a heavily doom metal focused event. All the bands performing were local bands: Jigger, Mourning Shroud, Dark Star Blues Band, Big Space, Puce, and Fog Coffin. The first show highlighted some of the talent right here in Newfoundland.
Saturday, July 26, 2025
The first of two all ages shows at The S.P.A.C.E. for the weekend kick-started the day on Saturday. The show featured acts from Kaspam Cult, Fisticuffs, Bad Intent, Buionectomy, Exorcista, Bumper Fucks, Dead Inner Youth, and two secret sets.
The night ended with the one that many people had circled for the event. This show took place at The Black Sheep and saw all of the out of province bands together on one bill as well as a local bands InfectDead and Paranoia. The energy was contagious with mosh pits starting early in the event and going all the way through the night.
While all the bands were phenomenal, Alien to the Ignorant from Saskatchewan were the band that stood out above the rest. The music was a fusion of emo bands and post hardcore, but the stage present is what separated them for the rest. Led by bassist Myk Ulan-Hohol, reminiscent of My Chemical Romance’s Frank Iero with the way he commanded the stage.
With this being a Newfoundland festival however, it was fitting that the show was opened and closed by the only two bands on the bill that are from the island.
Sunday, July 27, 2025
The last day of the festival was a busy one, with two shows, a zine workshop, a merch market, and raffles for a guitar and a skateboard. Both shows were all ages and took place at The S.P.A.C.E.
The first show took place outside. Billed as a folk punk show, it included acts from Academic Prejudice, Lost and Found, Sheila’s Bush, and The Gutter Youth Choir. This was a fun show with a broader audience on the last day of the festival.
The following show saw The Seadogs, Kicker, The Skeats, Ratpiss, Everose, ibex, Ched, Potatobug, The Way East, and Alien to the Ignorant perform half hour sets. The standout was once again Alien to the Ignorant.
In hot venue, after playing the previous two days, once in Corner Brook and then in St, John’s the night before, it would have been understandable if the band never had the same energy.
Despite this, it felt like they brought their peak energy at their final show. The on stage antics like synchronized jumps or the back and forth between the bassist and guitarist were great, and like the night before, the energy was contagious.
This whole weekend was a great experience for metal fans in the province. It was great to see some out of province bands as well as some extraordinary local talent. Metal fans are hoping the festival comes back next year for the fourth instalment of heavy music.
Thank you to Tony Dawe for use of his photos for this article.
