Padded Cell Productions and BMF Productions present Metal in the Mountains 2026. To be held at Beechworth Historic Precinct, 100 Ford Street, Beechworth, Victoria, from November 13 to 15, this dose of alternative, underground culture proudly stands behind the Historic Precinct buildings of Beechworth.
Returning for a massive seventh year in the centre of Beechworth with a full range of heavy bands, ready to pummel the granite foundations into sand, this year’s show will not hold back. The peaceful citizens of the quiet historic township of Beechworth will be shaken from their vintage homes. The earth itself will quake, and the cockatoos will scream from the trees. All within earshot will know that Metalhead Ned is back in town.
The full line up is Segression, Elm Street, PistonFist, Kitchen Witch, Hematemesis, Helluloid, Virulent Invocation and Raise The Fallen. HEAVY has sent out Q&A’s to all of the bands to find out more about them and what to expect, with Segression the focus of todays session.
VIRULENT INVOCATION
If you like your heavy metal dark, unholy, and heavy enough to split the earth wide open, then Melbourne’s Virulent Invocation needs to be blasted at maximum volume immediately. Emerging from Victoria’s fertile extreme music underground, this brutal five-piece doesn’t just play blackened death metal—they unleash an absolute sonic exorcism that hits like a freight train.
Formed around a shared love for ancient history, mythology, misanthropy, and pure blasphemy, Virulent Invocation serves up a sound that is as intellectually dark as it is sonically devastating. They first started turning heads with raw releases like their COVID-19 Demos, proving that even global lockdowns couldn’t stifle their aggressive creativity. Tracks like Husk and Cultist highlight their absolute mastery of the genre, blending the hyper-speed chaos of black metal with the guttural, bone-crushing weight of old-school death metal.
What makes this band a true force to be reckoned with is their relentless, powerhouse energy. After navigating line-up shifts, they have solidified a monstrous rhythm section and blistering twin-guitar attack that makes their studio material heavier than the Large Hadron Collider. But it’s on the live front where they truly claim their crown. Tearing up the stages of Melbourne institutions like The Tote and the Bergy Bandroom alongside underground heavyweights, they deliver an infectious, full-force sonic assault. Virulent Invocation is the real deal—capturing a raw, menacing vibe that leaves audiences absolutely floored. Keep your eyes locked on them!
Q & A
HEAVY: METAL IN THE MOUNTAINS returns to Beechworth this November. How excited were you to get the call up?
VIRULENT INVOCATION: Due to the fact that our leader regularly communes with South American deities, and an appropriate number of TripleMMM listeners were sacrificed to said deities in support of our desire to play MITM, we knew we were going to play. Our excitement stemmed from the knowledge that the heavens approve of and endorse all that Virulent Invocation is and strives to be.
HEAVY: What does it mean to your band to be playing MIM?
VIRULENT INVOCATION: It means the souls of 150 commercial radio listeners were sacrificed for the betterment of all mankind’s musical taste.
HEAVY: Have you ever been to MIM as a punter?
VIRULENT INVOCATION: I have previously attended in my capacity as a drunken fool.
HEAVY: What were your best memories of the day?
VIRULENT INVOCATION: Very few memories due to aforementioned drunkenness. The morning-after pie certainly captured a few neurons.
HEAVY: It’s a long day of music. What will you be doing to make sure you will still be standing come your set time?
VIRULENT INVOCATION: To guarantee peak performative freshness, we are bringing cryogenic chambers within which we shall be stored, emerging only to play our set for more rabid soon-to-be devotees.
HEAVY: Give me your Top 3 Festival survival tips
VIRULENT INVOCATION:
Tip 1: Bring previously mentioned cryogenic chambers.
Tip 2: Bring professionally produced fake ID in case of search and seizure by the authorities.
Tip 3: Sacrifice extra peons for the guarantee of a good harvest of metal.
HEAVY: Which band – other than yourself – do you think will get up to the most mischief on the day?
VIRULENT INVOCATION: We are always on the look out for deserving sacrificial victims, so hopefully most bands on the day get up to some form of death deserving tomfoolery. The cryogenic chambers can be used as storage for the return journey.
HEAVY: Run us through your typical live show and what punters can expect.
VIRULENT INVOCATION: Punters can expect a rousing and intense performance of such virulence, they may feel the need to sacrifice to the gods themselves. Spare underwear is recommended.
HEAVY: If you could get one band on the line-up to cover one of your songs who would it be and what song would they cover?
VIRULENT INVOCATION: We would love to see The Spice Girls cover Cultist, followed by more sacrificing.
HEAVY: What’s your latest release?
VIRULENT INVOCATION:A 2 track EP called Samsara.
HEAVY: Finally, what plans does your band have for the rest of 2026 into 2027?
VIRULENT INVOCATION: Virulent Invocation intend to continue on gathering worthy sacrificial victims to honour our heavenly benefactors, write better songs, and etch our name in the annals of Australian metal!
Metal In The Mountains 2026 will be held at Beechworth Historic Precinct, 100 Ford Street, Beechworth, Victoria, from November 13 to 15. Tickets HERE
