Madison, WI – This year marked my third annual visit to the Mad With Power Festival held in Madison, WI. The experience has evolved over time. It started from a Wisconsinesque cultural endeavor, bringing back memories of my youth up Nort (how we say it) complete with hotdish references in year one, and then to a feeling of metal community in year two.
Mad With Power 8, for all practical purposes, was a prime example of what family… a metal, or just music family… should look like. Hopefully the founder of the festival, Ty Christian (aka Fang VonWrathenstein of Lords of the Trident) does not take offense to being called the nurturer of Madison Metal, but watching not only how he cares for the festival, but how he cherishes those who make it what is it, whether a patron, volunteer, or an artist, is something we need more of. Without him (please, don’t tell him, I do not want it to go to his head), this annual music family reunion would be much less and possibly be no more.
It did not take long to get the family affair rolling. As expected, my first sight after leaving the parking garage by the Sylvee in Madison, WI on June 6, 2025, was a long time family member, Joshua. I ran into him for the first time back in 2020 in NYC while photographing EPICA and have run into him at shows from NYC to Richmond, VA. He makes an annual appearance in Madison. In addition to Joshua, my MWP family would not be complete without a little talk with Dave, complete with Sabaton garb, in the line and inside the Sylvee.
After making rounds before the show, reuniting with friends old and new, and chatting with a few of the bands, night one kicked off. Ty introduced long time friend and a staple of Lords of the Trident, Brian Koenig. Brian had entered the MWP 8 fray due to a last minute cancelation, which was lucky for all in attendance. In recent years he has been doing some solo work, mostly revolving around a non-musical passion of his, video games. Ironically, the passion is the music of video games. Check out this “Country Chocobo“.
It seems every year one of the bands really hits home for me. Given my recent delve into opera and dance, it would make sense that the 2025 band would be Oryad. Following Brian’s performance, I was immediately blown away by the operatic vocals and dance by Moira Murphy. As I later discovered in a brief interview with the band, there are classical roots and it fit quite well into their doom metal style. Welcome to the family! Check out “Eve“.
Next on the agenda was a band that has played MWP before, Mega Colossus. I spoke with Bill a bit before their set at the merch table and had a couple laughs. I am horrible with genres, but what I can say about their set is it was a blast. Speed, power, and just a lot of fun! Check out their skateboarding metal melody, “Razor City“. Welcome back!!
Whether a family reunion, a Wisconsin gathering, or Mad With Power, there needs to be a time to nourish. Mad With Power has to be one of the only events of this type, festival or other, that takes a break and allows the family to eat, drink, and be merry. This hour long break is genius, as it allows the fans to leave for a bit unwind and also allows us to talk and mingle with other goers. Many people have been brought into this family during this time. It would be great if other festivals could follow suit.
To avoid the post dinner slumber, the next band was a hoot. A true pirate metal group known as The Dread Crew of Oddwood! The interesting part is, thus far we had seen what a typical family reunion looks like, where all the ‘weird’ relatives get together with all the ‘normal’ relatives and for a couple of wonderful days, they get together and have a wonderful time. Check out their song, “Leather Ship“!
Not to be outdone, the next act was none other than the comedy metal quintet, Nanowar of Steel. Before they took the stage there was a lot of hype about how they would leave you in stitches (not literally). They lived up to the hype, delivering one of the most fun sets of the night. What do you get when you have an Italian comedy metal band that likes Reggae and basking in the midnight sun Fjords? A “Norwegian Reggaeton” of course. Check it out
One of the bands that influence Lords of the Trident was the night one headliner, Firewind. With a mix of father figure power metal the band from Greece melted the faces (not to be cliche, but fire and wind, what do you expect) of the Sylvee crowd for a wonderful set to finish the night. Check out “Falling to Pieces“,
Mad With Power Night 1 Gallery
Another ritual that makes Mad With Power such a strong family is what has become known as the Cheese Curd Massacre, which is held the morning after Day 1. Imagine if you will (in my best Twilight Zone voice) a couple hundred metal fans converging on the second largest farmers market in the country! No, people were not running for cover, hiding the women and children, they were staring and chuckling in amazement as we all took over the market to partake in the solidified Wisconsin nectar known as curds!! They are whey good!!
In speaking with the band, the idea of the massacre was hatched after attending a famous metal festival in Atlanta. It was noted that there was nothing to keep the family together between the time of the last note of the day until the first note on the following day. It was a family, and they were in Wisconsin… next to the second largest farmers market in the country. The massacre was born.
Of course, the market was not enough. After consuming copious curds, on to The Capital!! Aye, we were on a mission. Since I have been doing the photos for the last three years, I can only imagine what this looks like to non-family members, as they see hundreds of metal heads in black t’s and denim patch jackets converge on the steps for a picture before passing through the rotating doors to raise their metal hands in the rotunda!! Check out the pictures of you get a feel for the strength of this family gathering at MWP.
Mad With Power The Family Photo Gallery
The second started with another band I had interviewed, Lutharo. Their music had a bit of a darker edge to it and I saw it as a way to let the darkness escape. During the interview lead singer, Krista, told me to see what I felt out of their song, “Time to Rise“. I cannot say I felt what they intended, but I felt it was an internal fight between what you know you can achieve vs. that which is holding you down. I loved the way she flawlessly transitioned between growl and melody.
The second band of the night is also no stranger to MWP, Aether Realm. Their brand of metal is also power metal and they were a lot of fun. In my interview with them I learned of their involvement with a local Richmond band, GWAR. We talked about some of their past tour experiences, and ironically some of their memorable experiences, which were quite GWAResque. Thankfully they did not do such a share on stage this night!! Take a listen to “TMHC“.
To diversity the fun, MWP has free play video and pinball games all around the venue. Of course, it would make sense to have a video game band (they did this last year also). Before the break, Bit Brigade took the stage and played their entire set as live action “Mega Man 2” was on the screen.
After dinner, we were in for another MWP dinner that couldn’t be beat and didn’t go back until the next performer…
Striker took the stage. Bringing back memories of the glam metal from my later youth and younger adulthood, I felt like tapping my heels together and saying there is no place like home. They were so much fun and, without the use of anything other than music, caused quite traumatic (in a good way) flashbacks to a time when MTV had music and it was fun!! Listen to “Former Glory” and see what I mean.
No MWP would be complete without Lords of the Trident setting up the Day Two headliner. Always a lot of fun, this is not only the chance for them to metal out the show, it is also the time when all the bands, volunteers, staff, and others get recognized and let it all hang out on stage!! In my interview with them I learned some of their history, including that of the massacre, the band name, and of Akira’s love and expertise in hot sauce. His current fave, as of 6/7/2025, was Brooklyn Grange. To order or not to order, that is the question!! Their set included “These Tower Walls“.
The festival headliner was truly the Lords of the Trident father figure, Dream Evil. As Ty told the story, this was a band that had a lot of influence on the Trident sound. It certainly showed. While they were a bit darker in tone than the Lords, the sound was certainly there. There was no better way to end MWP 8. Check out “Chosen Force“.
As the night wound down I was witness to some very emotional ‘see you next year’ exchanges. As I said so long to friends new and old, I too felt a lump in my chest. I think back to year one, where to me, it was just a festival. Other than knowing some of the Lords via social media, I knew no one. They welcomed me into the family. As we learned, next year’s MWP was in question and I think that added to the emotion in the room as the night drew to a close. Looking back it became clear that MWP is a chance for a family, consisting of some really weird people and some almost normal people to converge in Madison and become the coolest people in the city for the entire weekend! MWP meets a need!
Mad With Power Night 2 Photo Gallery
No, I didn’t forget the headline!!
So by this time you are wondering, what was the miracle, right? Well, as fate would have it, at the time next year’s lineup was to be announced, organizer, Ty Christian informed the crowd that due to some unforeseen circumstances the festival was deep in the red and it was now known if there was going to be a Mad With Power 9. He was going to sleep on it, weigh his options and once he caught up, he would sit back, see how red it finished and make the decision.
As I said, this festival and Lords of the Trident are independent. The next day Ty put out a plea for his backers, festival, Patreon, and others, to help overcome what ended up being a $15,000 loss.
In about two days Ty made the announcement that, thanks to donations, the $15K debt had been erased. Mad With Power 9 would be reality. Indeed, the miracle on Livingston Street will live on thanks to the metal family and the power of music. Stay tuned for MWP 9.
Festival Dates: June 6th and 7th, 2025
