MILWAUKEE METAL FESTIVAL 2027 Announces First Wave of Bands

Milwaukee Metal Festival 2027 is making its triumphant return and is pleased to reveal the first wave of legendary bands! Extreme metal innovators Meshuggah will be celebrating their 40 year anniversary with a headlining set and will also be joined on Friday by thrash metal vets Testament and New Orleans sludge legends Crowbar, while doom metal masters YOB and grindcore stalwarts Pig Destroyer and Repulsion will also appear during the festival. Many more bands will soon be announced... stay tuned!!

The festival will once again return to The Rave/Eagles Club and will take place from May 14 - 16, with the pre-party kicking off on May 13! Passes and tickets will be made available Friday, October 30 @ 10:00 A.M. CDT at THIS LOCATION.

Milwaukee Metal Fest 2026 will once again showcase a wide range of metal styles, including death metal, doom, hardcore, metalcore, thrash, industrial, and underground extremity, with performances spread across multiple stages throughout the venue. In addition to live music, the festival will feature a dedicated floor for merchandise and collectibles, giving fans access to exclusive band merch, vinyl, rare items, and more throughout the weekend.

The current lineup is now as follows with more TBA:

MESHUGGAH

TESTAMENT

CROWBAR

YOB

PIG DESTROYER

REPULSION

ABOUT MILWAUKEE METAL FEST

Founded in 1987, Milwaukee Metal Fest is one of the longest-running and most influential metal festivals in the United States, with a rich history of showcasing groundbreaking artists across the heavy music spectrum. After establishing itself as a cornerstone of American metal through the late 1980s and 1990s, the festival was revived in 2023 under the direction of Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta, ushering in a new era while honoring its legacy. Today, Milwaukee Metal Fest continues to unite fans and artists for an uncompromising celebration of metal across the iconic stages of The Rave/Eagles Club.

Follow Milwaukee Metal Fest:

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MESHUGGAH | The Forty-Year Anomaly - North America 2027

To celebrate the first four decades, we will return to the road across North America in 2027 with The Forty-Year Anomaly, joined by special guests TESTAMENT and BLOOD INCANTATION.

As a thank you for being a subscriber and part of the community, you get early access to tickets through our artist presale.

 

ARTIST PRESALE


Tuesday, October 27 at 1 PM ET


Password: MESHUGGAH40

 

Ticket Link: meshuggah.net/tour

 

GENERAL ON-SALE


Friday, October 30 at 10 AM local time.

The Forty-Year Anomaly Tour dates:

 

Feb-12 - Toronto, ON - Coca-Cola Coliseum

Feb-13 - Laval, QC - Place Bell

Feb-16 - Detroit, MI - Masonic Temple Theatre

Feb-17 - Chicago, IL - The Salt Shed

Feb-19 - Minneapolis, MN - The Armory

Feb-20 - Kansas City, MO - The Midland Theatre

Feb-21 - Omaha, NE - Steelhouse Omaha

Feb-23 - Chesterfield, MO - The Factory

Feb-24 - Nashville, TN - The Truth

Feb-26 - Virginia Beach, VA - The Dome by Rutter Mills

Feb-27 - Baltimore, MD - The Paramount Baltimore

Feb-28 - Pittsburgh, PA - Citizens Live at The Wylie

Mar-02 - Philadelphia, PA - The Met Philadelphia

Mar-03 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Paramount

Mar-05 - New Haven, CT - College Street Music Hall

Mar-06 - Boston, MA - MGM Music Hall at Fenway

 

Apr-15 - Vancouver, BC - PNE Forum

Apr-16 - Portland, OR - Theater of the Clouds

Apr-17 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre

Apr-19 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Union Event Center

Apr-21 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Apr-24 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theater

Apr-25 - Inglewood, CA - YouTube Theater

Apr-27 - Phoenix, AZ - Arizona Financial Theatre

Apr-30 - Houston, TX - Bayou Music Center

May-01 - San Antonio, TX - Boeing Center at Tech Port

May-02 - Oklahoma City, OK - The Criterion

May-04 - Irving, TX - The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory

May-06 - New Orleans, LA - Fillmore New Orleans

May-07 - Atlanta, GA - Coca-Cola Roxy

May-08 - Daytona Beach, FL  -  Welcome to Rockville*

May-09 - Fort Lauderdale, FL - War Memorial Auditorium

May-11 - Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Special Events Center

May-13    Columbus, OH    Sonic Temple*

May-14    Milwaukee, WI     Milwaukee Metal Fest*

 

* Festival appearance 

MESHUGGAH Release Remastered Anniversary Editions of 'Destroy Erase Improve' and 'Catch Thirtythree'

The Illustrious Swedish extreme metal band MESHUGGAH mark two notable milestones with Destroy Erase Improve: 30th Anniversary Edition and Catch Thirtythree: 20th Anniversary Edition. Released via Reigning Phoenix Music, MESHUGGAH honor two of their most influential works with these remastered anniversary editions. Both titles are available on vinyl, CD digipack, and digitally, featuring the original album artwork and newly remastered audio.

Alongside the arrival of Destroy Erase Improve: 30th Anniversary Edition, the remastered single "Suffer in Truth" is featured as one of the most revered songs on the track list.

Listen to "Suffer in Truth" below:

Order the Destroy Erase Improve: 30th Anniversary Edition here: https://meshuggah.rpm.link/destroy30PR

In celebration of Catch Thirtythree: 20th Anniversary Edition, the remastered "Dehumanization" has been unveiled as one of the album's most momentous offerings. 

Listen to "Dehumanization" here: https://meshuggah.rpm.link/dehumanization20PR

Order the Catch Thirtythree: 20th Anniversary Edition here: https://meshuggah.rpm.link/catch20PR

Originally released in 1995, Destroy Erase Improve marked a decisive turning point not only for MESHUGGAH, but for the future of heavy music itself. The album introduced a sharpened and unmistakable version of the band’s evolving language: machine-like rhythmic precision, dissonant riff architecture, jazz-fusion flashes, and a level of technical control that would become foundational to progressive, extreme, math, and djent-adjacent metal in the decades that followed. Widely regarded as one of the defining metal albums of the 1990s, Destroy Erase Improve remains a blueprint for the sound MESHUGGAH would make entirely their own.

A decade later, MESHUGGAH pushed their vision even further with Catch Thirtythree. Released in 2005, the album stands as one of the band’s most singular statements: a continuous 47-minute composition divided into 13 movements, built around hypnotic repetition, shifting rhythmic illusions, crushing eight-string guitar work, and an atmosphere that remains uniquely immersive within the band’s catalog. Self-produced by MESHUGGAH, Catch Thirtythree also marked the band’s only full-length album built with programmed drums, using Toontrack’s Drumkit From Hell technology as part of its stark, futuristic design.

Both anniversary editions reaffirm the lasting impact of MESHUGGAH’s work across generations of heavy music. From the genre-redefining force of Destroy Erase Improve to the monolithic conceptual scope of Catch Thirtythree, these remastered releases offer longtime followers and new listeners alike the chance to experience two essential chapters in the band’s history with renewed clarity and weight.

Connect with MESHUGGAH:

MESHUGGAH Announces Exclusive Signing and Limited-Edition Transformers Collaboration at San Diego Comic-Con

MESHUGGAH members Tomas Haake and Mårten Hagström will make a special appearance at San Diego Comic-Con, signing for fans at the Reigning Phoenix Music/Stern Pinball booth, #4029, on Friday, July 24, at 3:30 p.m.

The appearance will coincide with the unveiling of a limited-edition MESHUGGAH x Hasbro’s Transformers T-shirt, created to celebrate four decades of The Transformers: The Movie and three decades of MESHUGGAH’s seminal album Destroy Erase Improve.

The collaboration draws inspiration from the transformation of Megatron in the 1986 animated film. After being destroyed in battle by Optimus Prime, Megatron is betrayed by Starscream and cast into space, before being rebuilt by Unicron as Galvatron, a narrative progression that mirrors the title Destroy Erase Improve.

“Big machinery. Massive destruction. Reconfiguration. A pretty accurate analogy to our sound, is it not?” says Mårten Hagström.

The limited-edition design brings together two influential forces in music and pop culture, connecting the mechanical destruction and transformation of the Transformers universe with the precision, power and constant evolution of MESHUGGAH’s sound. The artwork was done by renowned Transformers and G.I.JOE artist, Ken Christiansen. (@ken_christiansen_art ) Ken has spent over a decade shaping the Transformers franchise's visual identity for Hasbro and Activision, from Generations toy packaging and Covenant of Primus lore art to Transformers video game concept art and IDW comic covers.

Ken comments, "Two of my favorite things are Transformers and metal music, when the chance came up to combine the two, how could I pass that up?  And to do it for a killer band like MESHUGGAH, can't get much better."

Reigning Phoenix Music will also celebrate the band’s anniversary remastered reissues of Destroy Erase Improve and Catch Thirtythree with San Diego Comic-Con-exclusive splatter vinyl variants of both releases.

Fans attending the signing will have the opportunity to meet Tomas Haake and Mårten Hagström and explore the exclusive merchandise and vinyl offerings available at the booth.

Event Details:

MESHUGGAH Signing
Friday, July 24
3:30 p.m.
Reigning Phoenix Music/Stern Pinball Booth
Booth #4029
San Diego Comic-Con

Quantities of the collaborative T-shirt and exclusive vinyl variants will be limited and available while supplies last.

Rather than following trends, MESHUGGAH have built an entire language of their own: mechanical yet human, cerebral yet crushing, and as hypnotic as it is devastating. With a reputation for uncompromising innovation and formidable live performances, MESHUGGAH continue to stand as one of the most original, challenging, and revered bands in heavy music.

Connect with MESHUGGAH:

MESHUGGAH Announce Remastered Anniversary Editions of Destroy Erase Improve and Catch Thirtythree

Swedish extreme metal architects MESHUGGAH announce the release of newly remastered anniversary editions of two of the band’s most important works: Destroy Erase Improve: 30th Anniversary Edition and Catch Thirtythree: 20th Anniversary Edition. Both titles will be available on vinyl, CD digipack, and digitally, featuring the original album artwork and newly remastered audio. Both editions will be released on July 24th, 2026 via Reigning Phoenix Music. 

The releases follow their limited Record Store Day editions, which arrived this April with alternate/reimagined cover art. For these wider anniversary editions, MESHUGGAH return both albums to their original visual identities while preserving the enhanced, remastered sound created for this milestone campaign.

Originally released in 1995, Destroy Erase Improve marked a decisive turning point not only for MESHUGGAH, but for the future of heavy music itself. The album introduced a sharpened and unmistakable version of the band’s evolving language: machine-like rhythmic precision, dissonant riff architecture, jazz-fusion flashes, and a level of technical control that would become foundational to progressive, extreme, math, and djent-adjacent metal in the decades that followed. Widely regarded as one of the defining metal albums of the 1990s, Destroy Erase Improve remains a blueprint for the sound MESHUGGAH would make entirely their own.

To accompany Destroy Erase Improve: 30th Anniversary Edition, the remastered single “Future Breed Machine” has been released, spotlighting one of the album’s most iconic and enduring tracks.

Pre-order the Destroy Erase Improve: 30th Anniversary Edition here: https://meshuggah.rpm.link/destroy30PR

A decade later, MESHUGGAH pushed their vision even further with Catch Thirtythree. Released in 2005, the album stands as one of the band’s most singular statements: a continuous 47-minute composition divided into 13 movements, built around hypnotic repetition, shifting rhythmic illusions, crushing eight-string guitar work, and an atmosphere that remains uniquely immersive within the band’s catalog. Self-produced by MESHUGGAH, Catch Thirtythree also marked the band’s only full-length album built with programmed drums, using Toontrack’s Drumkit From Hell technology as part of its stark, futuristic design.

In celebration of Catch Thirtythree: 20th Anniversary Edition, the remastered track “Shed” has been released on all streaming platforms. 

Pre-order the Catch Thirtythree: 20th Anniversary Edition here: https://meshuggah.rpm.link/catch20PR

Both anniversary editions reaffirm the lasting impact of MESHUGGAH’s work across generations of heavy music. From the genre-redefining force of Destroy Erase Improve to the monolithic conceptual scope of Catch Thirtythree, these remastered releases offer longtime followers and new listeners alike the chance to experience two essential chapters in the band’s history with renewed clarity and weight.

Destroy Erase Improve: 30th Anniversary Edition and Catch Thirtythree: 20th Anniversary Edition will be available on vinyl, CD digipack, and digital formats on July 24th. 

About MESHUGGAH:
 

Formed in Umeå, Sweden in 1987, MESHUGGAH have spent more than three decades redefining the outer limits of heavy music. Known for their groundbreaking use of complex polyrhythms, down-tuned guitars, dissonant atmospheres, and surgically precise execution, the band has become one of the most influential forces in extreme and progressive metal.

Across their catalog, MESHUGGAH have continually pushed their sound forward, from the technical thrash foundations of their earliest work to the genre-altering breakthroughs of Destroy Erase Improve, Chaosphere, Nothing, Catch Thirtythree, obZen, and beyond. Their music has had a profound impact on modern metal, inspiring generations of artists and helping shape the rhythmic vocabulary later associated with the djent movement, while remaining unmistakably singular in vision and execution.

Rather than following trends, MESHUGGAH have built an entire language of their own: mechanical yet human, cerebral yet crushing, and as hypnotic as it is devastating. With a reputation for uncompromising innovation and formidable live performances, MESHUGGAH continue to stand as one of the most original, challenging, and revered bands in heavy music.

Connect with MESHUGGAH: