The metal music scene in Muncie has been up and down since it began in the 1980s, but fans can look forward to one event each year that brings locals together for an evening of shredding, trills and blast beats.
The Dead Leaf Festival, now in its sixth year, begins at 3 p.m. Saturday at Center Stage in downtown Muncie, and the show will last until 12:30 a.m. Sunday, Nathan Reese, Fallen Leaf Productions president, said. The event will feature a total of nine metal bands from Muncie, Indianapolis and Fort Wayne.
"It's about the closest kids can get to spending 50 bucks to go to Ozzfest," Dave Dalton, drummer of the Muncie metal band Legion, said. Dalton has been involved in the local hard rock scene since 1991 when he founded Legion, and his band has played at every Dead Leaf Festival.
The Dead Leaf Festival provides a place for Muncie metal fans to share their love for the genre and a place for people younger than 21 to enjoy themselves, Reese said.
"I really feel for the kids who want to go out and see bands and don't get the chance to," he said. "This is one place a year kids can go out and see their favorite metal bands."
Fallen Leaf Productions began in 1999 as a project to help revive the lackluster regional music scene, Reese said. The company has also organized the Fallen Leaf Festival, which featured general rock music, and the Budding Leaf Festival, which featured blues and jam bands, but both events have been on hiatus since 2004 due to financial issues.
The Dead Leaf Festival, however, is still going strong, and Reese estimated the event garners a crowd of about 300 people each year.
Kyle Krider, guitarist of the Muncie band Dyngyr, said the Dead Leaf Festival has done "a world of good" for the local scene. Dyngyr will co-headline the show with the band Necrodemon from Fort Wayne.
"It's given all the new local bands an opportunity to show their colors in front of their local fans," Krider said. "It's a great outlet, being that there aren't a whole lot of under-21 venues. Everyone just comes together and has a good time with it."
Dan Walter, Dan's Downtown Records owner, said the hard rock and metal scene in Muncie has had a group of loyal followers since its inception.
"For Muncie, it's a tradition, so [The Dead Leaf Festival] has always done fairly well, and the bands are fairly well- known," he said. "It's kind of underground in any sense of the word, and it's kind of a tight-knit group of kids and older people who enjoy the music."
Those interested in body modification might have an added incentive to attend the show, as employees of Skin Impressions Tattoo and Body Piercings will be at Center Stage Saturday offering tattoos and piercings, Reese said.Dead Leaf Festival gives metal bands chance to revive scene
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