Richmond, VA – The first night of the festival starts off with mostly regional bands including Richmond’s blackened death metal outfit Appalling, death grinders Disrotter, black/gothic metal twosome Sepulchral Blood, Charlottesville’s paranormal death metal band Ekktoplasm, Norfolk’s nature themed black metal band Lichen, and Brooklyn, New York’s death grind band Skullshitter.
I was getting back into metal music when Drew and Elway made Heart Of Winter Fest happen in Richmond, Virginia venues Strange Matter and Alley Katz from 2008 to 2011. The previous festivals have included bands I have known and seen live such as Battlemaster, Black Anvil, Druglord, Ravn and Throne of Carrion. Favorites from the three festivals are included in the 2026 lineup such as Woe, Inter Arma and Saturday night’s headliner Evoken. For a festival put on by a couple of people, there are a number of heavy hitter bands on this lineup which makes it seem less like a DIY event and more like a smaller black and doom metal version of Maryland Deathfest.
Unfortunately, life got in the way and after 2011 there was no Heart Of Winter Fest. This reminds me of another event that used to take place in Richmond that faded away, GWAR-B-Q. After some consideration Drew and Elway decided to resurrect Heart Of Winter, select new venues and bring in some old favorites and new faces to celebrate the doom and gloom of the post holiday season.
Kicking off the night was Appalling, a band I haven’t seen live since 2024’s Something Dead In The Water II. My friends wasted no time in firing up the crowd and kicking ass. It was good to see them throw down again!!!
Shameful Kiss
Father Inferior
Holy Water Boarding
Life in Prism
Fraternize at Dusk
Change Your Life by Taking Lives
Appalling online
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Next up was Ekktoplasm, a band who for me has the right mix of spectacle, interesting songs and the right amount of brutality. They have been playing a lot of shows lately and it was a good call to have them play the festival.
Dunlora
The Exchange
Nevermore
Amityville
Peyton Randolph House
Jilted Bride Suicide
Ekktoplasm online
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This is my first time seeing Disrotter live and with former Murdersome bass player Joe Adams and current Murdersome guitarist Ramzi Aboulhosn, I knew these guys were going to bring the heavy and they did not disappoint. Their set was short, but the songs were like a punch to the gut, what I really like about grind. If you haven’t seen Disrotter, make it a point to change that.
Thriving in Decay
Putrid Fate
Restless Death
Retched End
Nightmare Flesh
Disfigure
Conjuring Entities
Perish Forth
Disrotter online
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Initially, I had trouble finding out anything about Sepulchral Blood until I focused my efforts on Instagram exclusively. Once there I found out about them and the number of shows they have performed in the area. Their set consisted of what I believe to be three tunes that are gothically based with no vocals. While I thought there could have been more to their performance, others in the audience seemed fine with their music.
I have know Casey Williams, Sam Fox and Joe Arida for years and have followed them on their musical journey through multiple bands. Of those, Lichen is the most brutal of their musical endeavors. On June 29th, 2025, Lichen released “Mossblood” their second full length album and they gave us a taste of while performing their nature based black metal. They were well received by the crowd and I hope to see more of them in the future.
Symbiogenesis
Old and Far Away
Mycorrhizal Trepanation
From Life to Loam
Solar Hammer
Satan My Master (Bathory cover)
Lichen online
Instagram|Bandcamp
When I read the lineup for the Thursday night show and saw Skullshitter, I thought to myself “this is my kind of band!!” Until the festival, I had never seen or heard of them. They put on a solid performance playing songs from their two full length albums “Transmission: Command” and “Goat Claw”. I look forward to seeing these guys blow it up again.
Escape from War
Digitally Reproductive World
Playing With My Vomit
Angel of Decay
The Beast
Unpure
Auto Cannibal Nihilistic Creep
F.P.O.S.
Morbid Tomb
Skullshitter online
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The first night of Heart Of Winter was also like a family reunion, where I got to hang out with a lot of my friends who I have not seen in some time. It was a good night out with friends to spend time together and listen to some cool music.
Show Date: 01.08.2026
