Ieperfest 2012 details [UPDATE]

The 20th Anniversary Edition of Ieper Hardcore Fest will take place on August 10-12 in Ieper, Belgium.

Here’s the line-up:

Here’s the official word:

CRUEL HAND (US) // Portland, Maine hardcore band drawing influences from CRO-MAGS, early METALLICA and MADBALL. They played the fest 2 years ago as well, so welcome back!
DEAN DIRG (DE) // German punk band that has been around since 2000. BLACK FLAG meets The HIVES. VOID meets The REATARDS. Get on your dancing shoes!
DEEZ NUTS (AU) // Tonight we’re gonna party like there’s no tomorrow! ‘Nuff said. Oh yes, they are from Australia and feature JJ Peters of I KILLED THE PROM QUEEN.
GRAND MAGUS (SE) // BLACK SABBATH influenced Swedish stoner-laced doom in the early years, evolving into straight-up early ‘80s heavy metal. Bang your head!
HELLBASTARD (UK) // UK crust punk veterans, founded back in 1985. Together with those other legends AMEBIX, they might even be the founders of crust punk as a genre.
SYDNEY DUCKS (US) // San Francisco, California punk. Described by themselves as San Francisco geezers, paying homage to the sounds and the city they love! Think TEMPLARS crossed with IGNITION.
WITHDRAWAL (US) // Dirty metal infused hardcore, signed to A389 Rcs. This might have been a mid 90s H8000 band! Think CONGRESS, SEKTOR, CATHARSIS, INTEGRITY, etc. Faith, Flesh and Blood!
AGNOSTIC FRONT (US) // The NYHC legends turn 30 in 2012! They decided to celebrate their birthday together with Ieperfest this summer. 2nd IF performance ever.
BALANCE AND COMPOSURE (US) // Emotive hardcore act from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, formed 5 years ago. First Ieperfest performance.
The BLACK DAHLIA MURDER (US) // Death metal kings returning to Ieperfest for the third time. Perfect band to play a birthday party, heartburn!
 BOLTTHROWER (UK) // One of Europe’s most influential death metal bands of all time. Playing a short run of just 3 fests this summer. Soooo proud Ieperfest is one of them!
CATTLE DECAPITATION (US) // 100% vegetarian metal act from San Diego, California. A large number of their songs protest the mistreatment and consumption of animals, as well as the abuse of the environment. Perfect Ieperfest band!
The CHARIOT (US) // Douglasville, Georgia hardcore act formed in 2003 by ex-NORMA JEAN frontman Josh Scogin. Second time at Ieperfest, first time was in 2006.
COKE BUST (US) // Fastforward straight-edge hardcore band from Washington DC. Formed back in 2006.
CONVERGE (US) // Jacob Bannon and his troops return to Ieperfest for a second performance in three years, with a brand new release under their belt. Flagship of Deathwish Inc.
DEATH BY STEREO (US) // Orange County, California hardcore band formed 16 years ago already. After all these years, the band is still going strong and will prove it at IF summer where they will perform for the very first time.
D.O.A. (CA) // Formed 34 (!) years ago in Vancouver, Canada. D.O.A. are an early and extremely influential punk band.
INCANTATION (US) // One of New York’s flagships when it comes to death metal. They’ve been around for 23 years already, and this is their first ever Ieperfest appearance!
KNUCKLEDUST (UK) // One of the most important bands for London hardcore, with a strong connection to Ieperfest. Glad to have the boys back on stage for our anniversary!
MIDNIGHT SOULS (BE) // One of Belgium’s most promising hardcore acts. Check out their debut album “Going Through the Motions”!
The MONGOLOIDS (US) // Straight-edge hardcore band from Edison, New Jersey. On the road w/AGNOSTIC FRONT.
MUCKY PUP (US) // Legendary party band formed 27 years ago in Bergenfield, New Jersey. After their passage in February, they will be back in Europe this summer. Stoked!
MxPx ALLSTARS (US) // Honored to have these skate/poppunkrock veterans to play the fest for the first time. C’mon, let’s go to the punkrockshow!
NAYSAYER (US) // Hardcore for fans of MADBALL and other notable NYHC alumni, hailing from Richmond, Virginia.
OMEGA MASSIF (DE) // Instrumental sludge/post-metal from Würzburg, Germany, for fans of KNUT, AMENRA … We’ve been trying to get these guys for a few years now, so glad they could finally make it!
PIANOS BECOME THE TEETH (US) // Heartfelt post-rock/screamo act hailing from Baltimore, Maryland. Touring Europe in March with TOUCHE AMORE and returning in summer with BALANCE AND COMPOSURE!
PIG DESTROYER (US) // Legendary grindcore band based in Virginia. They rarely leave the States to play shows so we are extremely proud to announce they will play 2 Euro shows this summer, one of them being Ieperfest!
RISE AND FALL (BE) // Kings of Belgian hardcore playing Ieperfest once again, with a brand new full-length called “Faith” under their belt.
STILL X STRONG (BR) // Straight-edge hardcore from São Paulo, Brazil. Ieperfest has always had a thing for South-American hardcore acts, so cool to have one on the 20th edition of the festival as well!
TERROR (US) // Scott Vogel himself insisted on being here to celebrate our anniversary with us! Ieper is still trembling after the TERROR show of 2009, and now they’re back to do even better!
TOXIC HOLOCAUST (US) // Thrash! Second Ieperfest performance, after their set on Ieperfest winter 2008, when they toured with MUNICIPAL WASTE!
TRAPPED UNDER ICE (US) // Hardcore band formed 5 years ago in Baltimore, Maryland. Dark, emotional, brutal. For fans of CROWN OF THORNZ and NEXT STEP UP!
UNEARTH (US) // From Boston Massachusetts, forming the holy trinity of US melodic metalcore together with KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and AS I LAY DYING. Soooo proud they are finally playing Ieperfest!

The Ieper crew have issued a funny statement regarding the accusations raised by the fans:

To all people that claim the IEPERFEST 2012 – 20th Anniversary Edition line-up is more metal than hardcore, we would like to say the following:

1) Hardcore = MORE THAN MUSIC. The word hardcore in the fest’s name does not only stand for the style of music we program, but also for the values we believe in as a festival. One of those values is being open minded towards other genres and styles of music, including metal. But also punk rock, indie …

2) 10 out of 15 “bigger” bands we booked so far are NOT metal. The rest of the band is also predominantly NOT metal. Get your facts straight.

3) 31 bands still need to be announced. This is only the tip of the iceberg. Many more real hardcore bands still need to be announced, so STAY TUNED!

Here’s the latest update from the team:

Thank you all for coming to Ieperfest winter 2012 last Saturday. We think it’s safe to say the first edition in the new venue was a big success! Loads of people, good bands, interesting MTM-program, nice food… Everything was in place to make it a day to remember. Our allies of De Wereld Morgen have already put a short review and some pictures of the festival online. You can check them here!

Looking forward, we are now working full force on the preparations of the 20th anniversary edition of Ieperfest on 10, 11 and 12 August 2012. 33 bands have already been announced. Check out the “bands” section for more information! A few more bands have already been confirmed (yes!) and will be announced in the next weeks, and the band info will be expanded in the future, so check back frequently!

Since Saturday, we’ve started selling early bird weekend tickets for Ieperfest 2012. Only €69 for 3 days of hardcore fun! You can buy these tickets online, or in your local Free Record Shop. Fnac will be selling these tickets shortly as well! Please note that this is a special reduced price, and this offer is valid for a limited amount of time only! In a few weeks’ time, the weekend tickets will get more expensive. So don’t hesitate, and get your Ieperfest 2012 weekend ticket now!

This website will be updated and upgraded regularly in the future, so keep checking back once in a while to see what’s cooking!

Best,
Team IEPERFEST

PUBLISHED on February 19, 2012.
UPDATED on February 22, 2012 – 2 statements added.