Fillmore Silver Spring | DCHeavyMetal.com

Early November Concert Recap

I went to a few shows last week that were all great and I shot a lot of photos and videos and thought I’d share them here with you all. Mercyful Fate, Katatonia and the Dave Sherman Benefit show were all great experiences, I’m so glad live concerts are back this year.

Mercyful Fate

First up was the return of Mercyful Fate at the Fillmore Silver Spring on Tuesday, November 8th. Teutonic thrash legends Kreator were the first band I saw as it took me 25 minutes (and cost me a bottle opener on my key ring) to get into the venue leading me to miss opener Midnight. King Diamond has toured the US several times since Mercyful Fate’s last US tour in 1999 but fans have long been whispering rumors of a proper Mercyful Fate tour. With a blood moon lunar eclipse in the sky and midterm election results coming in time was standing still as Mercyful Fate took the stage. You never really know if a band as old as Mercyful Fate is going to live up to the hype live but I think it is quite safe to say that this show did. King Diamond’s voice held up well and the band had great energy on stage along with a beautiful stage set up and lighting. They played a set list full of classics and a new song off an upcoming album that is yet to be named. I didn’t have a photo pass for this show, all my shots were from the audience on my phone, but I think I got a few decent ones, and I got video footage of the new song “The Jackal of Salzburg” as well as my personal favorite Mercyful Fate song, “A Dangerous Meeting.”

Click here to see all of my concert videos on YouTube.

Click here to see all of my photos from this concert on Flickr.

Mercyful Fate – The Jackal of Salzburg

Mercyful Fate – A Dangerous Meeting

Kreator – Flag of Hate / Pleasure to Kill

King Diamond of Mercyful Fate

Mercyful Fate at the Fillmore Silver Spring

Mike Wead and Hank Shermann of Mercyful Fate

Mercyful Fate at the Fillmore Silver Spring

Mercyful Fate set list 11/8/2022

Katatonia

The next night I found myself at the Black Cat to see Swedish doom band Katatonia along with the German prog band The Ocean. Again I missed the opener, Cellar Darling in this case, and I’m starting to wonder if it is just me or if shows are starting earlier now since the pandemic. This was the first night of the US tour and I wasn’t sure what kind of set list Katatonia would play, mostly newer stuff or and older “best of” style set. They played a pretty good mix with 5 songs off of The Great Cold Distance album and they even played their new song “Atrium” live for the first time ever at this show. Jonas Renkse’s voice sounded great and the band seemed fresh and really into the entire 90 minute show. The lighting has never been stellar at the Black Cat and since I just had my phone with me I didn’t get many decent shots of either band, but I did get some great video footage of Katatonia, which you can peruse below.

Katatonia – Old Heart Falls

Katatonia – Deliberation

Katatonia – Teargas

Katatonia – Leaders

Katatonia – Atrium first time ever played live

Katatonia -Evidence

Katatonia at the Black Cat

Katatonia set list 11/9/2022

Video clip of The Ocean Collective

Dave Sherman Benefit

The following Saturday, the 12th of November, I headed up to Frederick, Maryland, for the Dave Sherman Benefit show at Cafe 611. The gig was a benefit show for the family of the late, great Dave Sherman. It was also something of a memorial show for the legend of the Maryland doom metal scene after his untimely death in September, but I’ve gotta say it was a pretty uplifting and positive experience. People were happy to see each other and most of the bands played some sort of cover or tribute to Sherm during their sets. The first band went on at 3pm, which was way too early for me to get there, but I did make sure I left in time to catch Victor Griffin and his band Place of Skulls. I guess they took too long setting up because several songs were cut out of their set and they ended abruptly after playing a cover of Pentagram’s “Relentless” (which wasn’t even on their set list). Still, it’s always cool to see Victor Griffin play live. Next up was Foghound and they put on a super high energy set and got everyone in the audience to raise their hands like how Dave Sherman would imitate riding a motorcycle. After they played it was time for another great set by Borracho. The DC based stoner band has been working on some new material and playing some of the songs live here and there and I managed to get video footage of a brand new song the first time they ever played it live that night. They closed their set with a Spirit Caravan cover, one of Dave Sherman’s bands, and I’ve got footage of that below as well. Faith in Jane closed out the show and the crowd was dwindling by the time they took the stage a little before 1am but the people that were there still had some energy! Faith in Jane had some technical difficulties but even so they still somehow seem to get better each time I see them, and this time was no exception. I wish I had been able to catch Pimmit Hills and some of the other earlier bands but I still enjoyed every minute of the sets by the four bands I did catch. I’m not one to believe in any kind of afterlife but I know that Dave Sherman would have been happy and proud to see all the joy in the room and on stage that night because of him.

Place of Skulls – Lost

Foghound – Turn Off the World

Borracho – Architects of Chaos – Part 1 first time ever played live

Borracho – Fang Spirit Caravan cover

Faith in Jane I don’t know this song’s name

Victor Griffin and Place of Skulls at Cafe 611

Foghound at Cafe 611

Borracho at Cafe 611

Steve Fisher of Borracho at Cafe 611

Faith in Jane at Cafe 611

November 17, 2022
Categories: Black Cat, Classic Metal, Concert Reviews, Doom Metal, Fillmore Silver Spring, Progressive Metal, Stoner, Thrash Metal . Tags: Black Cat, Borracho, Cafe 611, Dave Sherman Benefit, Faith In Jane, Fillmore Silver Spring, Foghound, Kreator, Mercyful Fate, Place of Skulls, The Fillmore Silver Spring, The Ocean, The Ocean Collective . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: Leave a comment

Cancellations due to COVID-19

I figured I’d put a post together with updates on all the postponements, cancellations, and non-cancellations, in our area due to concerns about the COVID-19 coronavirus. I’ll try to keep this as up to date as possible as I get more info about various metal shows in the area.

On March 11th DC’s Mayor Bowser declared a state of emergency and advised that “mass gatherings” (events with more than 1,000 people in attendance) be cancelled by organizers, but it is not mandatory. You can get more info on that here.

Later the same day IMP posted (here) that they will be closing all of the venues they operate through April 1st. This includes the 9:30 Club, The Anthem, U Street Music Hall and the Lincoln Theatre.

Also on the 11th, Italian symphonic death metal band Fleshgod Apocalypse postponed their entire US tour, including their date at Baltimore Soundstage on 3/20. You can read their statement here.

On March 12th Maryland’s Governor Larry Hogan said in a press conference (here) all events with more than 250 people in attendance must be postponed or cancelled. This presumably cancels the upcoming metal shows at the Fillmore Silver Spring, including Overkill on 3/13 and Killswitch Engage on 3/14. I’m still waiting on an official statement my the Fillmore Silver Spring but I’ll update this post with that here when I see it. This also presumably cancels upcoming shows at Baltimore Soundstage, including Thy Art Is Murder on 3/13, and again I’m waiting for a statement from the venue to confirm status. UPDATE: My contact at the Fillmore Silver Spring emailed me to let me know that all shows there through March 31st are postponed. This includes the metal shows Overkill on 3/13, Killswitch Engage on 3/14 and In This Moment on 3/31. UPDATE 2: Baltimore Soundstage has posted that they will not be open for their shows this weekend, which includes the Thy Art Is Murder show. Read their statement here.

Rams Head Live was supposed to host Devin Townsend on 3/16 but Heavy Devy had already canceled his tour (statement here) before Larry Hogan’s order.

The St Thrashrick’s Fest, headlined by Lich King, was supposed to be at Angel’s Rock Bar in Powerplant in Baltimore, but it was moved to the Depot and now finally it has been cancelled. You can read the promoter’s statement about the cancellation here.

On March 13th we started seeing many tours get cancelled, especially those with foreign bands. Devastation On The Nation tour with Rotting Christ and Borknagar, scheduled to be at the Ottobar on 4/5, has been postponed. That tour is planning to reschedule for 2021 at the same venues with the same bands and you can read the statement about that by the tour promoters here.

Sepultura and Sacred Reich have postponed their tour, including their date on 4/8 at Baltimore Soundstage. You can read the statement from Sepultura about it here.

Insomnium and Omnium Gatherum cancelled their tour, despite already being in the US, and this includes their date at Fish Head Cantina on 4/18. The bands seem to be hit quite hard financially because of this and you can read their statement here.

The Rotting Kingdom show at Metro Gallery on 3/29 has been cancelled, however at the time of this writing the tour still seems to be happening, including their date at Atlas Brew Works on 4/1. You can read the statement by the promoter of the Baltimore show here.

Deafheaven has postponed their entire tour, including their 4/6 show at the 9:30 Club. You can read Deafheaven’s statement here.

After the DC Department of Health updated their recommendation to Mayor Bowser, she has now banned all events with 250 or more people in the District (more info here). This falls in line with similar bans in the states of Virginia and Maryland. So basically, the DMV will have no concerts or other events with more than 250 people in attendance in any kind of foreseeable future.

Due to the new ban the Black Cat has announced they will be closed until March 31st and you can read that statement here.

On March 14th Kayo Dot cancelled the remainder of their tour, including their show at VFW Post 9274 in Falls Church on 3/18. You can read the band’s statement here.

On March 15th Ripping Headaches Promotions cancelled their three area DIY shows in March, which are High Command at Atlas Brewery on 3/20, Midnight at Metro Gallery at 3/24 and Morpheus Descends at Atlas Brewery on 3/27. You can read their statement about these shows here.

Perdition Booking cancelled the upcoming Rippikoulu and Chthe’ilist show at the Metro Gallery on 4/9. You can read Metro Gallery’s statement about that here.

DC’s Mayor Bowser has closed all nightclubs and put restrictions on all restaurants and bars in the District. Details on that here.

On May 22nd Rams Head Live in Baltimore posted (here) that all their upcoming events through the end of May will be postponed. This presumably includes Maryland Deathfest, which is scheduled to take place May 21st thru May 24th at both Rams Head Live and Baltimore Soundstage. However, at this time I have yet to see anything official by either MDF nor BSS claiming the entire fest has been postponed.

I’m doing my best to keep up with all the cancellations and postponements but if you hear about one that I haven’t updated on the calendar or here yet, feel free to email me at DCHeavyMetal@Gmail.com

March 12, 2020
Categories: Baltimore Soundstage, Black Cat, Fillmore Silver Spring, Howard Theatre, Nightclub 9:30, Uncategorized, Washington DC / Maryland / Virginia Metal Scene . Tags: Coronavirus, COVID-19 . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: Leave a comment

Electric Wizard ticket give away

Electric Wizard at Fillmore Silver Spring

It’s late October now and the leaves are turning while the days are getting shorter. Halloween is just around the corner and to celebrate DCHM is giving away a free pair of tickets see British occult doom metal band Electric Wizard at the Fillmore Silver Spring on Monday, November 18th! Electric Wizard is known for their love of spooky films they often reference in their music so to enter: leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite scary movie is. Old or new it doesn’t matter. The contest will close at 5pm EDT on Halloween, this Thursday, October 31st. At that time the winner will be selected from all valid entries using Random.org to receive the pair of tickets to the Electric Wizard show at the Fillmore Silver Spring. 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 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 get tickets from Live Nation here.

Electric Wizard has been making their supernatural stoner doom since the 90’s but due to legal issues they didn’t tour the US for many years. Now they’re making this rare appearance in our area that you’re not going to want to miss. Even better, the blackened speed metal band Midnight has been added to the tour and it will be a great chance to see them play the big stage at the Fillmore Silver Spring. Now check out these videos by Electric Wizard and Midnight below and leave a comment telling me what your favorite horror movie is!

Electric Wizard – Satanic Rites of Drugula

Midnight – Rebirth by Blasphemy

October 29, 2019
Categories: Contests, Doom Metal, Fillmore Silver Spring, Stoner . Tags: Electric Wizard, Midnight . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 36 Comments

Meshuggah ticket give away

Meshuggah at Fillmore Silver Spring

Mother’s Day is a special day and this year it falls on Sunday, May 12th. There’s no better excuse for forgetting to call your dear ol mum than going to see the mother of all technical djent bands, Meshuggah, at the Fillmore Silver Spring on Mother’s Day! We’re pretty psyched every time Meshuggah makes the trip from Sweden to tour the US but this time around they’re bringing The Black Dahlia Murder with them so you know it will be a killer show from start to finish! To enter: just leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite Meshuggah or TBDM song is! Then on Friday, May 10th at 4pm the contest will close and I’ll pick the contest winner from all valid entries using Random.org. The winner will receive a free pair of tickets to the show! Be sure to use a valid email you check regularly 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 I haven’t heard back from the winner in 24 hours another winner will be chosen at random. If you can’t wait to see if you win or the contest is already over when you read this, then you can get tickets from Live Nation here. Now check out these videos of the bands and let me know what your Meshuggah or The Black Dahlia Murder song is!

Meshuggah – Clockworks

The Black Dahlia Murder – Nightbringers

May 8, 2019
Categories: Contests, Death Metal, Fillmore Silver Spring, Progressive Metal . Tags: Fillmore Silver Spring, Meshuggah, TBDM, The Black Dahlia Murder . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 14 Comments

Ministry ticket give away

Ministry at Fillmore Silver Spring

Al Jourgensen is bringing Ministry to the Fillmore Silver Spring on Wednesday, December 5th, for a night of industrial metal! We’re so excited about this show that we are going to give away a pair of tickets to this show. To enter: just leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite metal album of 2018 is. Then on Monday, December 3rd at 5pm EST the contest will close and a winner will be chosen at random (using Random.org) from all valid entries. The winner will get two free tickets the show! Be sure to enter using an email address you check regularly 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, I hate spam too. If I haven’t heard back from the winner in 24 hours another winner will be chosen at random. If you can’t wait to see if you win or the contest is already over when you read this, then you can get tickets from Live Nation here.

Ministry has been an innovator of the industrial metal subgenre for decades. On the band’s latest album, “AmeriKKKant,” Al Jourgensen voices his frustration with Trump’s America. Performing as Ministry’s direct support will be French synthwave artist Carpenter Brut. The opening band is an up and coming melodic thrash band from New Zealand, Alien Weaponry. Now check out these videos below of the bands playing and leave me a comment telling me what your favorite metal album of 2018 is!

Ministry – Victims of a Clown

Carpenter Brut – Turbo Killer

Alien Weaponry – Kai Tangata

November 29, 2018
Categories: Contests, Fillmore Silver Spring, Industrial . Tags: Carpenter Brut, Igorrr, Ministry . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 16 Comments

Behemoth ticket give away

Behemoth at Fillmore Silver Spring

Poland’s masters of the dark arts, Behemoth, return to the Fillmore Silver Spring on Friday, November 2nd, with a killer line up that includes At The Gates and Wolves In The Throne Room. We’re so excited about this show here at DCHM that we’re going to give away a free pair of tickets to one of you lucky readers. To enter: just leave a comment on this post telling me which of the three bands playing you’re most excited to see. On Wednesday, October 17th at 5pm EST the contest will close and a winner will be chosen at random (using Random.org) from all valid entries. The winner will get two free tickets the show! Be sure to enter using an email address you check regularly 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, I hate spam too. If I haven’t heard back from the winner in 24 hours another winner will be chosen at random. If you can’t wait to see if you win or the contest is already over when you read this, then you can get tickets from Live Nation for $29.50 here.

Behemoth just released a new album, I Loved You at Your Darkest, on Nuclear Blast Records this month. Now, after a successful summer performing as one of the support acts for Slayer’s farewell tour in North America, they’re returning to the US for a proper headlining tour. At The Gates is one of the most important bands from the famous Swedish Gothenburg death metal scene. They will probably always be most remembered for their masterpiece album Slaughter of the Soul but they also put out a new album this year, To Drink from the Night Itself. The opening band is probably the most influential US black metal band, Wolves In The Throne Room. They’re from Washington state and are one of the bands that helped make atmospheric black metal popular with a wider audience. Now go check out the videos below by these bands and leave a comment telling me which one you’re most excited to see at the Fillmore Silver Spring on November 2nd!

Behemoth – Wolves ov Siberia