Loud and unforgiving heavy metal music ripped through frigid cold night with a purpose on Jan. 17th 2026 when Warped Corps hosted a worthy charity at the Trademarks events LLC, in Woodstock Illinois called the Metal Cares Market. In turmoil times where everyone seems to be on edge, a small group of people brought the community together for a night that went beyond the stage.
Upstairs: a local DIY arts & crafts market, featuring handmade goods from area artists. It was an impressive sight to see. One could adorn themselves in handmade jewelry. Or snuggle up with adorable Satanic hand knitted dolls. Fight off the demons and ghosts with handcrafted lamps made from real animal bones. Snack on some baked breads like the maple bacon sourdough, or get a tattoo to remember the night.
Downstairs, live sets from SVNTN, Wings of Severance, Strident Escape, and Rotten Mouth turned the room into a rallying unfiltered war cry of raw energy into a fight against, sucide, drug abuse, and raising support for people experiencing homelessness. The crowd without fail, responded back to all of the bands enthralled emotions in kind by never letting the mosh pit die out completely.
Major respect to Matt Monson (guitarist for Strident Escape) for helping to organize and push this charity event forward. This kind of impact doesn’t happen without people like him stepping up.Big shout out to the vendors and supporters who helped make this all possible; Ye Olde Corner Tap, The Hideous Heart Boutique, Trademarket Events LLC, KT Cheesecakes, and many others who showed up and contributed their time, resources, and creativity. Because of kind hearted people like them, this Metal Cares charity event was able to raise over two thousand dollars!
And a hand of applause, to all those who moshed their little heads off for an excellent cause.
To learn more about the Warp Corps mission to help those who are in need, and to maybe help donate please visit, www.warpcorps.org.
Review and Photos by Eric LeClair/rantingphotos.
