The inaugural edition of Saddest Day Fest went down on Saturday, December 13 at Roadrunner in Allston, featuring a full day of incredible heavy music and local vendors. The festival was curated and headlined by Converge, Boston’s metal heroes. The band are arguably the biggest metal group to ever come out of the area, and certainly one of the most acclaimed. They rounded up a bunch of groups consisting of fellow lifers that they’ve toured with and younger groups they’re excited by for a rousing, rollicking day of music.
For a first time festival, the day ran pretty smoothly. All nine bands played on a stage set up in front of the main stage. The actual stage was behind a banner and housed the gear for all the bands. The timing was a little off as some bands ended early and others started late. However it was not a particularly frustrating adjustment, the ship mostly steered on course. Upstairs in Roadrunner was a number of vendor and art booths selling merch, thrifted clothes and mountains of vinyl records. It was a good way for people to take a break and support some local businesses. Everything remained fun, as evidenced by couples dancing to Christmas songs between bands. Full of Hell soundchecking while the Alvin & the Chipmunks song played was one of the more surreal moments of the year.
Although the festival was a celebration of friendship and the successes of these bands, it was also a celebration of left-wing politics in metal. The genre remains conservative, so to bring together a full day of left-wing bands was a rousing endorsement of good politics in metal. Soul Glo singer Pierce Jordan came out in a Chris Dorner t-shirt and musicians from both Coalesce and Stress Positions had anti-ICE shirts on. Planned Parenthood had a booth, and rallying cries of “fuck ICE” and “free Palestine” fell to massive cheers throughout the whole day.
The riffs came immediately at 3:30 with Wormwood taking the stage, playing to what was already a respectably sized crowd. It was an interesting way to kick off; in a day filled with fast music, Wormwood were the only band playing more doom-inspired songs. Though officially billed as black metal, the Swedish group took inspirations from stoner metal as well, creating songs that were predictable in punishing riffs, but unpredictable in structure, length and tone. It was a fun set and got the fans off on the right foot.
Chicago hardcore punk band Stress Positions followed, who promptly put on one of the best sets of the day. Singer Stephanie Brooks came out in a full hooded tracksuit for the first song but quickly derobed. Brooks was one of the most theatrical singers in a day full of energy, throwing herself around the stage while screaming through songs from the band’s recent album Human Zoo. Those that got to the festival early got a real treat and a number of new fans were made.
Year of the Knife were next, bringing their riotous hardcore/grindcore melting pot up from Delaware. They were maybe the most down-to-earth group of the day, in the most unassuming attire and with the least on-stage motion, which if anything was a good break from the manic energy of all eight bands before and after. Singer Madison Watkins dominated the stage, screaming through the band’s whiplash tracks. By this point, the crowd had grown sizable and rowdy, so the band’s manic metal played right into the energy.
Soul Glo theoretically represented a break in the action, as their blend of rap-rock with punk isn’t necessarily as rapid-fire as the bands surrounding them on the bill. But there was no dip in energy. The Philly-based band brought nothing but heat, pounding through tunes from their instant-classic 2022 album Diaspora Problems. This was roughly where the crowdsurfing truly began, the band’s punk energy brought out the slamdancing in everyone. Once the crowdsurfing started, it never stopped until the end of the night.
Maryland’s Full of Hell followed, who had potential for the most cacophonous set of the whole night. They indeed delivered a nonstop onslaught of chaos. The band mixes grindcore with experimental metal and sheer noise in an ongoing effort to create the loudest music possible. The group pulled from their dense catalog, with singer Dylan Walker flailing all around the stage so rapidly that he couldn’t always be seen. The band is a rising force in metal, and put their stamp on the genre on this day.
Hometown hardcore heroes The Hope Conspiracy took the stage next, representing a true veteran presence. Like multiple other acts, singer Kevin Baker talked about how critical Converge was for their band, taking them on their first big tour. The band has a little more of a traditional, Boston street-punk sound and attitude which was a welcome break from the grindcore and not out of place at the same time. The band is 26 years deep, and although they only have four albums to their name, they had quite a collection to pull from.
Coalesce got a huge stage to perform a victory lap, although their set was stunted due to some unknown delays. The Missouri metalcore vets have only played a handful of shows since their initial 2010 break-up, so their presence here was a huge deal. Coalesce have had some legendarily chaotic live shows, and although age and stage may have prevented the craziness of their heydays, it was still a wild set. They covered Minor Threat’s “Seeing Red,” brought out Stephen Brodsky, and debuted a few new songs – marking their first potential new music since 2009. So many crowdsurfers ran on stage that the band got crowded, but they powered through with some mathcore brilliance. [Editor’s note: Allston Pudding has been made aware of recent misconduct allegations against Coalesce guitarist Jes Steineger, which came to light after this piece was finalized. AP does not condone nor tolerate misconduct of any kind. Please read here for more info.]
Touché Amoré took the stage next, to a nearly rabid audience. The Californian post-hardcore group has a massive, devoted fanbase, and they arguably had as much of a crowd as Converge did. The band was playing tunes off their 2024 album Spiral In A Straight Line, and songs from four of their previous five albums. To say they had the crowd in the palms of their hands was an understatement, the building could hardly contain the raucousness. Mosh pits, stagedivers and a massive crowd all screaming along – it was a set for the ages.
Finally, after a long day of almost non-stop metal, the local legends Converge took the stage. The band is teasing a new album, their eleventh, out next month. They opened with the title track “Love Is Not Enough,” and premiered “We Were Never The Same” during the set. They played 22 songs, touching nine of their albums (including Enough), and one song off their 1999 split The Poacher Diaries. At one point, they brought out Full of Hell to play “Axe To Fall” – surprisingly, this was the only guest appearance that Dylan Walker made on this day, as he’s recorded with a few other bands on this line-up. During the encore – predictably, “The Saddest Day” – singer Jacob Bannon appeared emotional, ecstatic that they were able to pull together such a fulfilling and rousing day of music. While Converge were curators and stars, the day was about those who influenced and were influenced by them, with an all-around celebration. Bannon stated that this is not a one-off, something also confirmed to me by bassist Nate Newton.
It’s marvelous that Saddest Day even got off the ground. Converge drummer Ben Koller apparently got into a bad car accident days before the festival, and both Year of the Knife and Full of Hell were playing their first shows after lineup changes. But the festival went cleanly, and everyone in attendance can say that it wasn’t the Saddest Day at all.
Check out some photos of the festival below!
