On October 24th and 25, 2015, my 12-year-old son Jesse and I made our second annual pilgrimage to Slipknot’s giant, weekend-long heavy metal festival Knotfest. The event once again took place at San Manuel Amphitheater at Glen Helen Regional Park in San Bernardino, California. This is a recap of our experiences on Saturday, October 24.

The event actually kicks off on Friday night with a show just for those who are fortunate enough to be holding camping or VIP passes. We were not among those folks, so we missed out on Sepultura, The Faceless, and several others. A bit of a bummer, but nothing compared to the gut-wrenching decisions that we would have to make later in the weekend with so many quality bands performing opposite each other on the side stages (more on that in a few…).

Canadian death metal titan Kataklysm is one of those rare bands that has managed to stay true to its brutal roots over the course of a nearly 25 year career. They have also managed the rarity of keeping a relatively stable lineup throughout their career. The band like to refer to their sound as “Northern hyperblast.”

Kataklysm continue to lay down the Northern hyperblast on their recently released twelfth studio album Of Ghosts & Gods. This week’s Massive Metal Monday track is the first single from the album “Thy Serpents Tongue.” Check out the video here below and pick up a copy of the record, which is out now worldwide on Nuclear Blast Records. You won’t be sorry!