Review: Immortal Festival 2025, Part One
IMMORTAL FESTIVAL, 2025, PART 1
BMI Event Center, Versailles, OH 7/25-27/2025
by Chris Gatto
Photos by Leigh Anne Gatto
We return to Versailles, Ohio, home of cornfields, egg producers, and BMI Event Center, a one time dirt bike racetrack that owner Steve Barhorst has turned into a world class venue. And out of his heart and vision was birthed Immortal. Immortal festival, now in its fourth year, is probably the only place in the country that fans can see multiple classic christian metal bands, as well as some newer to the scene. The camaraderie of the fans and the musicians, draws the faithful back again and again, as much as the hard hitting music and message. Again this year, the festival was split into two parts. The first over the last weekend in July, and the second happening over Labor Day. Here is my overview of part 1.
DAY 1: Friday: Perennial favorite OK’s CHAOTIC RESEMBLANCE started the party. The band, made up of Travis McConell, Logan “LA” Ellis, and James Stolhammer, played almost exclusively songs from their 2022 album Nazirites. For the uninitiated, this “new” band has been playing their hybrid brand of hard rock, melodic metal, nu-metal for 19 years. Much like their peers Disciple, Chaotic’s mission is rooted in evangelism as well as music. The band made room for praise and singer Travis took time to preach and hold an altar call.
Making a return to Immortal after last year’s debut was Peoria, IL’s INNERSIEGE. The band plays a brand of power metal/ traditional metal since 2008 and is made up of: Jeremy Ray on vocals, Kevin Grose and J.L.Prater on guitars, Ravn Furfjord (Antestor, Froshardr) on bass, and Wade “Sushi King” Helm on drums. The bulk of their setlist all comes from their 2020 Qumran/No Dust Records album Fury of Ages, with two songs from the 2012 Roxx Records debut Kingdom of Shadows, and the band showcased three new songs that haven’t been released yet.
HUMAN CODE, a newer band with familiar faces, is Michael (Lee) Drive (Barren Cross, Galeforce) on vocals, George Ochoa (Deliverance, Recon, Worldview) on guitars, Todd Libby (Worldview) on bass, and Terry “The Animal” Russell (Holy Soldier, Neon Cross, D.O.G.) on drums. The band played all tracks from their 2024 debut Break the Silence on Girder Records. Human Code play hard rock that plays on every emotion of their fans. You’ve got your hard edged, socially conscious rockers like “Genetic Dysfunction” and “Socially Incorrect, ” the epic middle Eastern-sounding “Evermore,“ as well as ballads like “Rain” and “Blame Me.”
The lineup of REIGN OF GLORY has gone through more than a few changes, so I’ll give you the abbreviated version. The band’s debut album featured guitarist Nick Layton (Firewolfe), bassist extraordinaire Roger Dale Martin (Vengeance, Die Happy, Emerald, Holy Right.), master drummer Jim Chaffin (The Crucified, The Blamed, Deliverance, etc.) and the soaring vocals of Robyn Kyle Basuri (Joshua, Die Happy, Red Sea.) Robyn Kyle exited the band after the album release, so in 2023 Luke Easter (Tourniquet, solo) put in an excellent guest vocal appearance at Immortal. In 2024, Jeff McCormack (Les Carlsen) took over drums and guest vocals by Steve Braun (Siloam, Halcyon Way.) In 2025, the band secured a new singer in Mark Boals (Yngwie Malmsteen) and released their brand new album Slingshot on Roxx Records. After the album release, Roger Dale Martin exited the band, and Juan VanDunk (Les Carlsen) took over bass duties. For this year’s Immortal performance, ROG played their entire new album straight through, followed by the song “Liar” from Mark’s Yngwie years. I got to talk to Mark, he was a very personable guy. Two things that stood out were that the vocals were even better live than on the album and that Nick had no trouble covering Yngwie Malmsteen’s axework.
Making their Immortal debut and closing the night was TX’s own MILLENNIAL REIGN. The band, made up of Tiffany Galchutt on vocals, Dave Harvey on guitars, Neil Bertrand on bass, and Pedro Cortes on drums and playing a blend of power/prog metal. The band performed a selection of songs from throughout their catalog, from the self-titled “Millennial Reign,” to songs off their latest 2024 Ulterium Records release World on Fire. The band put on an excellent performance, and even seated because of a broken leg, Tiffany belted out her soaring vocals over pristine instrumentation.
Day 2: Saturday: Today began with the return of the purveyors of modern metal, KY and Mexico residents DENY THE FALLEN after a year’s absence. Deny the Fallen formed around guitarist Jonathan Johnson and vocalist Rey Parra (both of Sacred Warrior fame), but with a decidedly more gritty approach than their previous band. Several lineup changes later, the new face of DTF is Jonathan playing all the guitars and vocals, and sons Josh on drums and Jayson on bass. The trio opened with the excellent new single “The Feed,” before playing a handful of songs from their Roxx Records album Symptoms of Eternity (2018) and ep Echo Chamber (2023), including the King’s X cover “The Mission,” brand new tune “Something Good is Coming,,” and then closing with the worship song “When You Walk Into the Room.”
Next up was FEAR NOT, represented by original members Larry Worley and Chris Sorensen (guitars), Rod Romero (bass), and Gary Hanson (drums) returning to the scene, fronted by a slimmed down Eddie Green on vocals, serving up Southern fried hard rock and biker aesthetics. Hot off the heels of the release of their new EP Weight of the World, the band faced some unexpected technical issues on stage, but powered through to give us a handful of hits from the For the Wounded Heart EP in 2019 and Fields of Sorrow in 2022, as well as “Crashin’ Down” and “Blue on Black” from the new EP and closing with “We Have a God” from 1993.
SAINT have been putting smiles on headbangers’ faces and making their ears bleed for more than 40 years now. Like the titular character in Doctor Who regenerating, the main character’s face may change, but the show goes on. The Immortal faithful noticed some face changes for the traditional metal icons this time around, after 3 incredibly tight albums with the same lineup of Lynch/Nelson/Smith/Johnson/ Knowland. Main man and bassist Richard Lynch is the sole founding member left, w/ Matt Smith on the axe and Jared Knowland on drums. Guitarist Jerry Johnson retired after a 20 year tenure with the band, and singer David Nelson left a couple of his bands to focus on his VH tribute. The open mic in the Saint camp was filled by none other than Eli Prinsen (The Sacrificed, ex-Sacred Warrior) and Saint marches on. Though the band has yet to record new music with Eli, they wisely chose to release 2 official bootlegs this year- one of the band’s rehearsals for their Euro tour earlier this year, and one of the rehearsals for Immortal itself. Thus, fans curious of just how Prinsen will sound on Saint tunes from Warriors of the Son to Immortalizer, will have to wonder no longer. Under the microscope, Eli performed admirably, but rest assured I’ll be watching this beloved band closely to make sure new material meets my stamp of approval 😉
Closing night two were metal veterans WHITECROSS, anchored by famed six stringer Rex Carroll, with longtime members Michael Feighan on drums, and Benny Ramos on bass, with relative newcomer Dave Roberts bringing his raspy vocals to the mic. Their set focused heavily on their latest Fear No Evil album and 1991’s In the Kingdom (Michael’s first album with WC), drum and guitar solos, a pair of songs from Hammer and Nail, including the ballad “Walk with Me.” The other surprise was the speedy banger “Signs of the End” from the Whitecross debut, which interestingly enough, is the song Roberts used to audition for the role.
Day 3: Sunday: Designated Sanctuary Day to mark the church’s 40th anniversary, Sunday opened with a Sanctuary worship service after a lengthy delay. The promised pizza lunch never happened (again), but Sanctuary founder Pastor Bob Beeman and Rock for Life founder Bryan Kemper both gave talks.
First band of the day was WORLDVIEW, made up of Rey Parra (Sacred Warrior) on vocals, George Ochoa (Delivereance, Recon) on guitars, Todd Libby (Human Code) on bass, Terry “The Animal” Russell (Holy Soldier, Neon Cross, D.O.G.) on drums, and Crystal Mancaruso on keys. Though the band shares the same members as Human Code, with a lead singer switch, the two bands’ music is dissimilar. Worldview is heavier, with more of a power/prog metal feel than the former. The band played songs from their only album The Chosen Few (2015) and teased new ones from their upcoming Invincible release, which promises to be a new fan favorite.
Next up were the cinematic masters of metal, CA’s IRONWRATH. The trio of Sean Silas and Steve Bell on guitars and C.G.Ryche on drums goes back to a largely unknown Ironwrath with their contribution “The Stranger” on Underground Metal 2 in 1989 and even further to a band called Holy Right. Joined now by Noe Morga on bass and Steve Braun (ex-Siloam, Halcyon Way) on vocals, the band’s vision to become the next Pink Floyd or Queensryche has only become more finely tuned with the years. To say the band played would be an understatement. Their Master Storyteller performance was more like an aural and video assault upon the senses, leaving viewers speechless while the band seamlessly weaved themes of love and loss, betrayal, faith and conviction, and ultimately the need for a Saviour into epic rock and metal showpieces. Now that they’ve capably secured the vox spot with Mr. Steve Braun, I can’t wait for what’s next from these guys!
Earlier lineups for the fest had Vengeance billed, which didn’t end up materializing, but luckily the spot was filled with the iconic BARREN CROSS. The classic lineup of BC is Michael (Lee) Drive on vocals, Jim LaVerde on bass, Ray Parris on guitar, and Steve Whitaker on drums. Sadly, Steve Whitaker is in ill health, and Ray Parris has been absent the last two BC shows I’ve seen. Joining Michael Drive and Jim LaVerde were Keith Smith (Oblivion Myth, Snow Dogs) on guitar, and the husband/wife duo of Joey Mancaruso (son of Vengeance’s Glenn Mancaruso) on drums and Crystal Mancaruso (Worldview) on keys. The band played songs from their entire four album catalog, including a massive fan choir to help them sing “Rock for the King,” a rare performance of Michael singing “Your Love Gives” from the ccm market release of State of Control, BC cover of Maiden’s “Stranger in a Strange Land,” and “Imaginary Music” as an encore. Jim paid Michael a compliment onstage about his voice not losing anything over the years, and it is the truth. The current lineup certainly does the legacy of Barren Cross proud.
Kevin Young, the face and voice of DISCIPLE, has been touring and doing ministry for over three decades, but Josiah Prince on guitar and bass, Andrew Stanton on lead guitar, and Joey West on drums have been the steady lineup of the band for years now. The band never cease to inject energy into their show, playing hits from many of their albums, heavy on their latest disc Skeleton Psalms, as could be expected. It’s great when a band changes up their setlist. Fans who saw Disciple play at BMI with Deliverance in May, will notice that the band shook up the playlist for this one, going all the way back to 2006’s Scars Remain for the opener “Regime Change.” “Dear X, You Don’t Own Me,” from Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, made an appearance, Kevin did some preaching, and the band closed with the encore “Bow Down.”
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that 2025 is also the 40th anniversary of Heaven’s Metal magazine. Our founder, the one and only Doug Van Pelt, had the vision to start a magazine that would cover all the christian metal music that was just starting to spring up in 1985. Trust me when I say that journalists still mourn the extinction of print magazines as much as the fans do (it’s been quite a while since we were in print), so when Doug had the grand idea of doing a special Immortal-focused print magazine in honor of our 40th anniversary, the karew were all onboard. Get yourself a copy either from DVP’s HM Press website or from Anchor Merchandising at Immortal Fest. Until next time!
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