This blog specializes in heavy metal music and how it relates to Washington DC and the surrounding area. Featuring info on upcoming metal concerts in Washington DC, Baltimore and Virginia, as well as info on local bands, area concert venues, reviews of live gigs, and lots of give aways.
So by now most of you have probably heard about the passing of Blake Harrison, of Hatebeak, Zealot R.I.P. and formerly of Pig Destroyer. Dude was one of my best friends and news of his passing has hit me pretty hard. I’ve been getting a lot of questions and emails about updates on DCHM’s calendar and right now, I just can’t. I’m not ending DCHM permanently. I’ll get things rolling again (hopefully soon) and I’m not gonna self harm or anything like that so don’t worry about me, I just need some time. Blake deserves a fitting post and this isn’t it, I really can’t muster the words right now. I’ll be at the Solace show at Atlas this Saturday if you wanna talk to me about Blake or anything else. However the main point of this post is that I wanted people to know there will be a celebration of Blake’s life at the Baltimore Soundstage on Sunday, May 24th. I’m reposting the details below, I hope anyone that cared about Blake can attend.
We will be celebrating Blake Harrison on Sunday March 24th at the Baltimore Soundstage. While the final details are still being worked out I would like to invite everyone who loved him.
We will be having a close friends and family remembrance, followed by a celebration of life. (The remembrance is the more formal ceremony).
The close friends and family remembrance will be from 12-2pm approximately.
We will have a brief set change and the celebration of life will begin at 3pm.
The celebration of life is open to everyone who knew and loved Blake. We will have Guinness, non-alcoholic drinks, and some other refreshments.
For the celebration of life, please wear *your* favorite band shirt. I think Blake would really like if someone discovered a new favorite band because he loved everything about music.
(If you are coming to both events, you are encouraged to wear something slightly more formal for the first part and welcome to change.)
We are gathering photos, short videos, and creating a playlist worthy of Blake. If you would like to contribute, please send to:
rememberingblakeharrison@gmail.com
If you feel so moved, Blake would probably like a donation to Vindicated Pit Bull Rescue. He loves Crab so much and really hated breed bans and how people misunderstand brick heads. Or you know, pick something you like. When we were starting our spring cleaning and he was getting rid of some jeans, he’d say “just give them to someone who needs them.” So if you like, and you feel moved to do so, please give to whatever your favorite organization is.
I’ve had people asking for a while now about getting DC Heavy Metal shirts and I’ve finally gotten a solution! I’ve opened a Red Bubble shop that’s print-to-order with several DCHM designs including the classic Abraham Lincoln in King Diamond corpse paint, Richard Nixon Vol. 4, and De Mysteriis Dom Metal Chris. In addition I’ve added a couple of new designs including an old school Metallica parody and for those who don’t only wear black, a white Fugazi inspired parody shirt. There’s also a shirt for my podcast, the Metal Embassy Podcast, with a logo by the Lord of the Logos himself Christophe Szpajdel.
The world is often a cruel place but we can make it a little better for those in need when we attend benefit shows that donate the proceeds to good causes. There’s a few coming up in the DMV that I thought I’d mention here real quick (you can always get the full list of upcoming metal concerts in the greater DC, Baltimore and Northern Virginia area on our handy calendar here).
Ben Blanton plays drums in Fuzz Voyage and was the original drummer for Foehammer, plus has performed in many other bands around the DMV. Additionally he is a regular face at hard rock, punk and metal shows in the DMV. Without going too much into detail, he’s had a medical emergency that left him in a coma and while he’s recovering we all know nothing about extended stays in this country’s medical system is cheap. As such there’s not one but two upcoming benefit shows for Ben scheduled right now. The first is coming right up, this Saturday, February 24th, in Frederick when Borracho headlines a show with Bloodshot, Marshal Fuzz and Et Mors also on the bill. A donation of $15 is asked for Ben but of course you’re always welcome to give more if you can. More details are on the Facebook event page for the benefit show here.
If Frederick is too far of a hike for you there’s another benefit show for Ben at the Pocket in 7DrumCity in NW Washington DC on Sunday, March 3rd. This show’s line up is headlined by Rise Defy with additional sets by Seasick Gladiator, Et Mors and Bodied. Yep Et Mors is playing both but it makes sense as the two members of the bands were originally introduced to each other by Ben. Anyways, this show is also asking for a $15 donation for Ben and more info can be found on the Facebook event page for this benefit show here.
Ever since the terrorist organization Hamas attacked Israeli civilians last October the government of Israel has been massacring Palestinians in Gaza as though they are all part of Hamas, which has created an enormous humanitarian crisis in the region. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East offers humanitarian aid in the region and this show’s proceeds will be donated to the organization. This show will be held at St. Stephen’s in Columbia Heights on Friday, March 29th. This gig will be headlined by local grind band No/Más but also performing will be the Palestinian fronted Nø/Man as well as Big No and Cimitir. They’re also asking for a $15 donation (presale tickets available here via Bandcamp) and you can get more info on this show via its Facebook event page here.
Looking for some brand spankin’ new local (and local-ish) metal releases for Bandcamp Friday (which is today)? Is it already after Bandcamp Friday but you still want to hear some new local metal? If you answered yes to either of these then keep on reading:
Sulfuric Hatred – s/t
Liam McMahon, lead guitarist of local thrashers Ninth Realm, and Alexander Jones, the vocalist of Undeath, team up on this intense black/death release that came out in December.
Nazar – First Curses 2024 Demo
This demo is the first release from a new local thrash metal band that includes members of Ilsa, Genocide Pact and Goetia.
Soul Erosion – Demo 2024
This SoCal death metal band just released their debut demo which includes Tommy Wall on bass, who you’ll know from Undeath and a bunch of local bands like Tomb Warden, Brainpan, Low Flesh and others.
At the Plates – Omnivore
NoVA based At the Plates released their second full length of culinary themed melo-death served up fresh with a side of punny song titles.
Richmond’s legendary party thrashers Municipal Waste are kicking off their next tour at the Black Cat on Thursday, February 15th and to say we’re excited here at DCHM would be an understatement! Yesterday was a holiday, today it snowed, that’s all the excuse I need to give away a pair of tickets to this show to a lucky DCHM reader. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite heavy metal album of 2023 was! It’s always hard for me to pick just one but I guess I’d go with The Rime of Memory by Panopticon, or maybe The Enduring Spirit by Tomb Mold, or Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags by Hellripper, or… well it’s so hard to narrow it down. On Friday, January 19th at 5pm Eastern the contest will close and a winner will be selected from all valid entries using Random.org! Be sure to use a valid email you check regularly when you enter so I can contact you if you win. Don’t worry, I won’t add you to any spam lists or sell your info or anything sleazy like that. If the selected winner hasn’t written me back within 24 hours then another winner will be selected. If you can’t wait to see if you win or the contest is already over when you read this, then you can purchase tickets here.
Municipal Waste always puts on a wild show so remember to wear your best crowd surfing shoes for this one! Direct support comes from Creepsylvanian messy thrashers Ghoul. If you’ve ever wondered what a low rent Gwar show would be like look no further than Ghoul! Necrot will be the most brutal band on the bill with their sick death metal riffage and infernal blast beats. Opening the show will be California based crossover thrashers Dead Heat, and up and coming band that will start the intensity off right from the get go. Seriously, that’s one hell of a stacked line up from top to bottom that’s going to make for a romantic night of thrash and death metal! Now check out the below videos by each of the bands and leave a comment telling me what your favorite metal (or metal adjacent even) album of 2023 was!
Nothing rings in the holiday season like unbridled capitalism and this year is no different! Metal heads are notoriously hard to shop for because we like weird crap that you often can’t just find on Amazon, so I’ve thrown together this list of some suggestions for the metal head in your life, or ya know, just get this stuff for yourself because we all deserve some joy in our lives. Oh, and don’t forget that Thanksgiving metal playlist I made a few years back that you can listen to here.
First up, music always makes a great gift but figuring out which specific albums someone wants can be hard. Gift cards to iTunes or similar music services often won’t be able to access those underground metal bands we all crave so see if your friend has an account on Bandcamp, which lets you see their “wishlist” and even make purchases to their account from that list. Bandcamp has been dealing with lots of layoffs and other internal turmoil lately (more info here) but they’re still kicking right now so use this resource while you can. Just go to Bandcamp.com/username/wishlish (and insert your friend’s Bandcamp username in the address of course).
Concert tickets! We’ve got an entire calendar of upcoming metal concerts in the DMV area listed here but a few choice selections for next year that would make great gifts include Municipal Waste at the Black Cat on 2/15 (tickets here), Judas Priest at the MGM Casino in National Harbor on 5/19 (tickets here) or Machine Head and Fear Factory at the Fillmore Silver Spring on 2/12 (tickets here).
Check out this Motörhead holiday shirt available in the band’s merch store here.
Iron Maiden is selling this “fire globe” featuring the artwork from their Number of the Beast album and it is available here.
Slayer has this intentionally hideous Show No Mercy ugly holiday sweater and another holiday t-shirt, but sizes are already selling out on those. They’ve got a 6 inch tall Show No Mercy ornament as well, all available here.
Sleep are selling these glass ornaments featuring the lungsman from the cover of their Dopesmoker album available here.
Who wouldn’t love this ornament featuring Darkthrone drummer Fenriz and his cat, available here.
The Australian Simpsons themed band Dr. Colossus has these Bonestorm shirts available in black and green and as both long and short sleeve, based on the classic Simpson’s holiday episode Marge Be Not Proud. Sizes are selling out already so go find them here.
Integrity has this absolutely garish stocking available featuring their iconic fanged skull logo as seen on their Systems Overload album cover. Order one here.
Wintry themed death metal band Frozen Soul sells windshield ice scrapers with their name on them (get one here), or if you’d prefer something more for the warmer months they also have branded coolers (available here).
Party thrashers Municipal Waste always have some of the sickest merch around and this holiday season is no different. It’s hard to pick just one but the Grim Reaper flipping you off while riding a jet ski beach towel is incredible. Find those here but don’t sleep on their branded Snuggies either, which you can find here.
Did you know there’s a Cannibal Corpse coffee? Available as beans or in cans, Beheaded Brewing is made by Concept Cafes Coffee and unlike many of the other metal bands that have made novelty coffee blends, this one has been a hit so they keep making it! Get it on the Concept Cafes website (here) and check out some of the other bands they offer coffee for, like Ministry and the Cavalera brothers.
Undeath is another band with lots of fun merch and recently I’ve been eyeballing the Rochester based death metal band’s pint glass that is available here.
If you’ve got a friend with a new member of the family and have no idea what to give new parents, keep in mind this branded Amon Amarth baby pacifier featuring Thor’s hammer Mjölnir, which you can get here. Because nothing says proper child rearing than Viking metal merchandise!
Did you know that local metal head and current Virginia state Senator elect Danica Roem has her own metal shirts? With artwork inspired by Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s Rat Fink character and campaign stops listed as tour dates on the back, you can’t go wrong with one of these shirts, available here. And if you want to know more about Danica’s story check out her book Burn the Pagehere. It’s highly recommended and definitely not just because it includes a shout out to yours truly in it.
Wait, are we talking about reading now? Alright let’s get to the literate part of this holiday gift guide. You’ll definitely want to check out Life?… And Napalm Death, long time Napalm Death bass player Shane Embury’s autobiography, which is available in both signed and unsigned versions here.
It’s no secret that I’m a huge comic book nerd reader and while there have been many bands of late selling their own graphic novels they all have one thing in common: they pretty much stink. Top tier writers and artists don’t usually touch these things and even if they do it’s pretty hard to translate sick riffs and bitchin’ drum fills into pictures and word balloons. Murder Falcon is different though, created by current Transformers writer/artist Daniel Warren Johnson as a personal passion project, the comic follows a group of friends in a metal band (named Murder Falcon) and discusses something I think all metal heads can relate to, how the brutal music we love helps get us through the hardest times in our lives. Oh and it’s also action packed and full of references to real metal bands like Dio, Power Trip and Khemmis! Right now the complete collected edition hardcover is on sale for just $11 from Image Comics here. And if that’s not enough comics action, be sure to check out Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman’s post-apocalyptic action comedy title Battle Pope which you can currently get the entire series of for just $5.49 here!
Don’t forget you can gift a subscription to Decibel Magazine which any metal head is going to enjoy. They’ve got both a regular subscription as well as the premium subscription that includes the exclusive flexi-disc vinyls, both options are available here.
We done talking about reading now? Cool. Now feast your eyes on this amazing dueling wizards shirt by the Denver based doomed metalers Khemmis which is available here while supplies last.
Who besides the Prince of Darkness himself would merchandise a plush bat toy with a removable Velcro attached head? Find it in Ozzy’s shop here.
If you’re looking for something extra brutal to decorate your wall be sure to check out local heavy metal artist Mark Riddick’s newest line of skate decks which just dropped at Board Pusher here.
Speaking of decorative skateboard decks be sure to check out the officially licensed decks over at Check Your Head, who currently are selling skate decks by bands like Celtic Frost, Sepultura, Wormrot, Deicide, Fit for an Autopsy and more, all in their online store here.
And last but also probably least, I finally put together a Red Bubble store to sell DCHM and Metal Embassy merch online. Right now I’ve just got that classic Abe Lincoln in King Diamond corpse paint design by Joshy of Ilsa on a shirt, but I’ll have more designs up soon (including some new ones), I promise! Plus there’s a few stickers. Anyways, check it out here.
DCHeavyMetal.com 