Maryland Deathfest 2026 has officially revealed its full lineup for the annual Baltimore extreme metal festival, which takes place May 21–24 at the Hammerjacks Event Center and adjacent outdoor stages. The 24th edition of the festival — which has established itself over more than two decades as the preeminent underground extreme metal festival in North America — features over 100 bands across four indoor stages and two outdoor stages, spanning death metal, black metal, grindcore, doom metal, and the experimental fringes of all of the above.
Headlining acts for 2026 include BLOOD INCANTATION (performing their cosmic death metal set with full Hubble Space Telescope visualization component), MARDUK (playing a special set of career rarities alongside standard set material), CATTLE DECAPITATION (who headline the Saturday outdoor stage), and MISERY INDEX (celebrating their 25th anniversary with a career-spanning set). Additional confirmed acts include NECROPHAGIST (making what would be their first live performance in over a decade, if the booking holds), PORTAL, ULCERATE, GRAVE, AUTOPSY, MORTUARY, VARATHRON, INCANTATION, and over 80 additional international and North American extreme metal acts.
Full weekend passes, which went on sale in November 2025, have been sold out since December. Day tickets for Saturday and Sunday remain available in limited quantities. Maryland Deathfest is renowned not only for its lineup quality but for its organizational excellence — the festival's scheduling and production have been consistently praised by attending acts and fans as among the most efficient in the festival world, despite the enormous logistical complexity of managing over 100 acts across six stages over four days.