One of the largest celebrations of underground heavy metal in the country kicks off Friday in Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Metalfest, in its 12th year, features the top international death metal acts and other subgenres including thrash, grindcore, metalcore, progmetal, black metal, doom and industrial.

The festival is also traditionally a stepping stone for young groups, this year more so than ever with Metalfest XII adding a third stage to help showcase new talent.

The top-billed slot on the 100-plus band line-up goes to Mercyful Fate, a thrash metal band from Denmark who just released their seventh CD, this one on the Metal Blade label. They're fronted by the flamboyant King Diamond who also leads his own self-named group. Star billing also goes to Norway's Emperor (a death metal act whose former drummer, Faust, is reported to have been convicted of burning down churches); Florida's Death, and New York's Cannibal Corpse (described by the "All Music Guide" as some of the most extreme, violent death-metal sounds and subject matter ever committed to tape). Other notables include Sodom, Destruction, Mayhem, Meshuggah, Iced Earth, Blood Storm, Sarcophagus, Angel Corpse, Mortimer Dipthong, Jungle Rot, White Knuckle Trip, Opressor, Suffocation, Pessimist, Death of Millions, Cephalic Carnage and Waco Jesus.

The festival runs Friday and Saturday on three stages at the Eagles Ballroom and The Rave in downtown Milwaukee and also features booths, autograph sessions, a festival CD and other perks.

For a schedule of the performances and other information, check out www.metalfest.com.