Local bands did make up a sizeable majority of the bands on the bill, with many Detroit bands making the hour and a half trip up I-75 with bands from the Lansing and Grand Rapids areas making the voyage to Dirtfest as well. But the most attention was paid to the “Thrash and Burn” Tour, featuring Darkest Hour, that made its Michigan stop and took over the Dirtfest main stage. So, instead of giving a blow by blow account of everything that went on, we weaved through the sea of hardcore kids, here are the intriguing notes of DirtFest 2008:

-First off, the Traveling Kid Stage was a local stage with such bands as American Modifer and Ports of Aidia leaned more of the emo side of things, which really seemed out of place at the metal and hardcore heavy festival. Crowds varied in the dozens, which were more than likely friends of the band.

-Another local stage, the Metal City stage featured bands that were a bit more in line with what the majority of the crowd wanted, but a couple bands stood out. Detroit-based Strength Beyond U delivered a strong set, which came off as a cross between Sevendust and Chimaira. The band is supporting their album, The New Truth. Another quality band was the mid-Michigan based Beast in the Field, who definitely take a page from the experimental hard rock route, borrowing from bands like the Sword and Isis. The size of  the set of stage headliner For the Fallen Dreams rivaled that of the main headliner, Darkest Hour. For the Fallen Dreams commanded the stage with a vigor that sent their fans into an frenzy. (Check out an interview with drummer Andrew Tkacyzk here.)

-Over on the main stage, which was taken up by most of the bands on the “Thrash and Burn” tour, bands met with some success, while others were met with indifference. Local band I Decay seemed to attract an early following, as the barefooted band on stage saw the first mosh pits of the day.

-The first bands on the “Thrash and Burn” tour, such as Arsonists Get All The Girls and Abigail Williams had their small but hardcore following, but didn’t seem to make a big impression on the audience. More hardcore based bands Stick To Your Guns and Australian band Parkway Drive got the youngn’s moving and showed the first signs of weakness of the barrier at the main stage.

-Whatever hope for a calm and peaceful time in front of the stage was obliterated by Los Angeles based band Winds of Plague, whose set seemed to be the defining set of the day. From the set opener, “Origins and Endings” til the close, the band’s brutal performance broke the barrier and had security guards doing their best to stop the onslaught of fans. Plague lead singer Jon Cooke (aka Johnny Plague) swung from the top support beam near the stage as fans tried to catch him. This might have been the most intense set in DirtFest history, with organizers notifying backstage onlookers to move out due to fears of the stage getting overrun. Thankfully, that didn’t happen.

-Headliner Darkest Hour may have the better records and more hard hitting, political leaning lyrics, but after listening and watching the crowd’s reaction to tracks like “Doomsayer” and “Sadist Nation," Darkest Hour had the crowd right where they wanted them. Lead singer John Henry was keeping up with the crowd’s drinking, and was flailing around during the band’s set. Even with the solid set from the headliner, it seemed as if the band was upstaged by Winds of Plague on this day.