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Review of Grimscape ’14 at the Sidebar

On Saturday, July 26th I made it up to the first Grimscape at the Sidebar in Baltimore. The place isn’t very big, I think the max capacity is around 100 people, and most of the walls and pipes in the place are covered in the stickers of bands that have played there in the past. The stage is only a few inches tall and the lighting isn’t anything worth bragging about, but it’s a great spot for DIY punk and metal shows. This evening the Sidebar was hosting the inaugural Grimscape that will apparently become an annual event. It collected a bunch of mostly local black metal bands with the headliner, Pact, coming down from Erie, Pennsylvania, to play. Apparently Helgardh was supposed to be on the bill but for whatever reason they dropped off and were replaced by a band called Hex Temple. This was apparently Hex Temple’s first live show but I didn’t get there in time to see them. I did however get to see the next band, Antikosmos, who were also making their live debut at this show. They were entertaining for sure. Frontwoman Victoria Atkins commands the audience’s attention with her striking blonde hair and wild facial expressions, though she was standing on the stage behind a couple of the band members who were on the floor which obscured her from view at times. They played a Watain cover and a Bathory cover as well as a pair of originals. They’re still figuring out their own sound, which is mostly dominated by their influences, but that’s to be expected from any young band really. There was quite a large crowd there while they played and I think a lot of people came just to see their friends in Antikosmos perform for the first time.

After Antikosmos played Inverted Trifixion was set to play next. I was hungry though, and the Sidebar doesn’t serve food, so I ran out for a bite to eat at Joe Squared, hoping to make it back in time to catch the end of Inverted Trifixion’s set. Unfortunately I didn’t make it back that quickly as Dispellment was setting up when I returned. Dispellment is a three piece black metal band from Northern Virginia and they’re pretty damn good. Their style is fast and energetic and reminds me of something similar to Taake mixed with older Marduk. The band is well rehearsed and performs together as a tight unit. Although their songs are often punishing they do have room in there for some catchy riffs even a moderate black metal fan can appreciate. Their stage set up with deer antlers and various tree branches in addition to their messy corpse paint is pretty entertaining, and their bass player often walked right into the audience with a menacing look on his face making sure you couldn’t simply ignore Dispellment’s performance.

Finally it was time for the headliner, Pact. Unfortunately most of the audience that had been there earlier in the night had left by this point and it was a shame cause these guys were pretty sick. Their vocalist came out wearing a black robe with a big hood on it and some sort of bandage on his right hand. One of the guitar players had some crazy looking custom guitar that looked like the cover to Morbid Angel’s Altars Of Madness covered in a sickly ashen bile. These guys were also very well practiced and tight, you could tell they knew their material inside and out. Pact was the most aggressive sounding band that I saw at Grimscape combining a raw intensity with some unholy riffage that oddly reminded me of mid-90s era Dark Funeral at times. Their vocalist did a lot of hand gestures to the crowd and sometimes it almost seemed like he was practicing some sort of martial arts moves with his hands.

In all it was a great DIY black metal show and a great time over all. Thanks to Mary Spiro of Metallomusikum (and the curator of the Black Metal Baltimore group on Facebook) for getting the bands to come out, the turn out seemed pretty good so I’m betting there will be a second installment in 2015. Let’s hope more people (including members of the bands earlier on the bill) stay next time cause the later bands were great! I’ve posted some of my favorite photos that I shot Saturday below, but you can see all of them, and in full size, on Flickr here. Keep it metal everyone and keep on supporting the scene that you’re a part of!

Antikosmos:

Dispellment:

Pact:

July 30, 2014
Categories: Black Metal, Concert Reviews . Tags: Antikosmos, Black Metal, Dispellment, Grimscape, Grimscape '14, Pact, Sidebar . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 2 Comments

Deafheaven ticket give away

Deafheaven at the Rock & Roll Hotel

One of 2013’s hit albums in the world of metal was Sunbather by Deafheaven. In 2012 Pallbearer‘s debut album Sorrow & Extinction was a hit as well. On Tuesday, June 10th these two bands will both be playing at the Rock & Roll Hotel! We’re so excited at DCHM that we’re giving away a free pair of tickets to this very show to one of you lucky readers. To enter leave a comment on this post mentioning one of your favorite metal albums of 2014. At 5pm EST this Friday, June 6th, a winner will be chosen at random (using Random.org) from all valid entries to receive two 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 within 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 Ticket Fly right now for $15 here.

San Francisco’s Deafheaven took the frostbitten grimness normally associated with black metal and turned it completely around with their album Sunbather by conjuring images of summer heatwaves, blinding sunlight and burnt skin. Their atmospheric black metal is almost hypnotic and they manage to take the listener on quite the journey in each song. Pallbearer is a doom metal band from Arkansas that has managed to find a perfect balance between ultra heavy riffs and catchy songwriting. Their clean singing vocal style adds a layer of depth to their slow, down tuned songs and since they have a new album due out soon we may be lucky enough to hear some of their new material at this show too. Also on this bill will be the opener Wreck And Reference, a California based drone/ambient band. Be sure to check out a song by each band on the bill below and let me know what your favorite albums in 2014 so far are.

Deafheaven – Dream House

Pallbearer – Devoid Of Redemption

Wreck And Reference – Absurdities And Echoes

June 2, 2014
Categories: Black Metal, Contests, Doom Metal, Drone, Rock And Roll Hotel . Tags: Contest, Contests, deafheaven, Pallbearer, Wreck And Reference . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 21 Comments

Review of Deathwomb Catechesis by Pseudogod

Band: Pseudogod
Album: Deathwomb Catechesis
Release Date: 24 April 2012
Record Label: KVLT
Performing at Maryland Deathfest XII: 3:40pm Sunday at Edison Lot B

Cover of Deathwomb Catechesis by Pseudogod

Here’s our second album review in our series highlighting some of the less famous, but must see, bands at Maryland Deathfest XII. These reviews feature more background about the bands than our normal album reviews and hopefully they’ll convince you to check these less known acts out at this year’s Deathfest. So read about Pseudogod, the final band added to the Maryland Deathfest XII line up (besides fill-in bands replacing cancellations) and be sure to stream their tracks at the end of the post to hear them for yourself.

The 2014 edition of Maryland Deathfest has no shortage of rare appearances by obscure metal bands from around the world. One of the more exotic bands this year is Pseudogod, a blackened death metal band from Russia. Unlike some of the (relatively) more famous Russian metal bands, such as Arkona and Korrozia Metalla, they don’t originate in the large city of Moscow. Pseudogod’s home is over 700 miles east in a city known as Perm located at the feet of the Ural Mountains. You may never get another chance in your lifetime to see a band from this region. So are they actually worth seeing at Maryland Deathfest? To put it bluntly, I think you’d be a fool to miss them if you’re going to be at Deathfest on Sunday.

Pseudogod was formed in 2004 but they had only released a demo and several splits until their only full length album, Deathwomb Catechesis, was released in 2012. The songs on Deathwomb Catechesis are punishing and exploding with riffs that will surely get the mosh pits at Deathfest moving. The band’s sound is a mix of black and death metal which makes some sense because half of their members come from a raw black metal band named Groth and the others from a brutal death metal band called Act Of God. Pseudogod’s guitar tone is certainly more black metal but the pummeling percussive aggression comes from death metal. The songs are almost relentless in their delivery of blast beats but several songs do have moments where they turn down the intensity and they show their range with slower, simple riffs that keep the setting dark but let you catch your breath. They make the most of these lulls by drawing you in with catchy rhythms only to have you jarred back into submission when the beating suddenly starts again.

The vocals throughout the album are coarse and guttural with thick reverb added to them in studio to make vocalist I.S.K.H.’s voice sound distant and haunting. Lyrically the songs are fairly standard Satanic fare focusing more on the mystical side of things such as prayers for “Malignant spears/To the womb of god!” The lyrics are primarily in English though one song on the album, “Encarnación del mal,” is written entirely in Spanish. You probably wouldn’t even notice this at first because of the growled vocals.

Pseudogod used to wear corpse paint during live performances but they seem to have stopped doing that at some point it appears, however they still wear upside down crosses and lots of leather on stage. Most of the live footage I’ve seen of them is at smaller bars and club venues, their performance at Maryland Deathfest might be one of the biggest stages they’ve ever played on. They go on fairly early Sunday, at 3:40pm on the Edison Lot’s outdoor stage B, but you should make time to catch them because you really don’t want to miss this rare chance to see them perform live.

Azazel:

Encarnación del mal:

The Seraphim Of Ultimate Void (live):

May 13, 2014
Categories: Album Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, Maryland Deathfest . Tags: Death Metal, Deathwomb Catechesis, Maryland Deathfest, Maryland Deathfest XII, MDF, MDF XII Review, Pseudogod . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 1 Comment

Review of With Hearts Toward None by Mgła

Band: Mgła
Album: With Hearts Toward None
Release Date: 28 February 2012
Record Label: Northern Heritage Records
Performing at Maryland Deathfest XII: 3:45pm Friday at Edison Lot B

Cover of With Hearts Toward None by Mgła

It’s already May and that means it’s almost time for the area’s biggest metal event of the year, Maryland Deathfest! Soon I’ll be posting the annual Maryland Deathfest Survival Guide but to get our MDF coverage started a little earlier this year we’ll be reviewing the latest albums by some bands playing MDF that aren’t the big headliner acts but are smaller bands you won’t want to miss. These reviews will cover a bit more background about these more obscure acts in their reviews and hopefully they’ll convince you to get into their music before heading to Maryland Deathfest XII. Sometimes at Deathfest bands come over that are a bit past their primes but Mgła is a band hitting their stride right now. Tal wrote this review and as always you can read more of her material on her own personal blog here. Be sure to stream the songs at the end of this post and start getting psyched for Maryland Deathfest XII!

Mgła is pronounced “mgwah” and means “fog” in Polish.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk about what they actually are – a black metal band from Kraków, Poland, known in underground circles for their melodic grooves, which don’t get in the way at all of being dark and Satanic. They were solely a studio act for the first twelve years of their existence, but have recently begun to perform live shows, and we’ll be lucky enough to see them appear at this year’s Maryland Deathfest, their first ever US appearance.

Mgła consists of Mikołaj “M.” Żentara on guitar, bass and vocals and Maciej “Darkside” Kowalski on drums, both of whom are also in the black metal band Kriegsmaschine (which is a bit heavier and less melodic than Mgła). Mgla was something of a studio side project for these guys, but the two bands switched roles in 2012. The band explained on their Facebook page (here), “Primary reason for playing live is will to perform music in complete band setting. Attempt was made after Kriegsmaschine essentially became a studio project; roles switched as KSM used to operate as ‘band’ and Mgła as ‘project’.” Since starting to tour, Mgła has found “much higher interest that anticipated” in their live shows.

This is undoubtedly partly due to their 2012 release With Hearts Toward None, which was enthusiastically welcomed by the underground black metal community. The band weaves together melodic leads, cascades of atmospheric guitars, blasting drums and crushingly evil growls into a mind-bending juxtaposition of beauty and light with darkness and annihilation. The album really gets good around the IIIrd and IVth track (the tracks don’t have unique names, but are just identified with Roman numerals after the album name), when the guitars get really groovy, without losing the atmospheric feel. Some may find it repetitive, but I could listen to these riffs wash over me all day. I also found myself frequently noticing the cymbals; they’re very distinct and Darkside uses them to create some unusual rhythms.

While there are some more aggressive songs on the album, such as VI and VII, which feature some segments of faster, driving guitars, most of the songs have gentler, flowing guitar work that contrasts strangely with the dark subject matter embodied in the lyrics. The atmospheric guitar work, which often makes me think of sheets of falling rain, isn’t quite calming since it’s generally accompanied by battering drums, raspy growled vocals or ominous rumbling bass. But it has a hopeful, upward momentum that’s at odds with what the band says in their lyrics. At first I thought this reflected a certain Satanic faith in the individual, which is what the first track describes:

I shall erect myself over transience
I shall ascend over flesh
Steadfastly tearing through aether
I shall rise to the beyond
I shall reveal heights
not yet imagined
I shall rewrite Summa de homine
I shall speak with tongues of angels
And I shall burn with pure light

In “III,” the contrast between music and lyrics is starker, as the lyrics describe a world of darkness and ruin, covered in gray ash and despair, and yet the guitars seem filled with light and hope. There was a ray of hope in the lyrics with the lines, “And you shall know perdition/And it will set you free.” By “VI,” though, this hope is no more; the end of the song calls for the day “Where all flesh dies/that moves upon the earth/And this rotten cesspool/is swept clean.” Gone is the supreme confidence in the self of the first song; nothing is worth saving. It’s like the worst moments of depression, when there is absolutely no point to anything. The last track seems to actually act out this nihilistic wish in a storm of destruction; the ten-minute song finishes with a couple of instrumental minutes, where the drums suddenly go into a frenzy about a minute from the end, faster and faster, the storm overtaking us, and waves of atmospheric guitars inexorably wash over us, until finally the guitar fades out as all is destroyed. I suppose to some the end of the world is beautiful.

Contradictions are inherent in almost everything in existence, though, and the tension created thereby makes the music more interesting – the melodic grooves are all the more enjoyable for being presented alongside loathing for society, humanity and existence.

Your chance to see Mgła rain annihilation live will be on Friday, May 23rd at 3:45pm at the Edison Lot’s outdoor stage B. They’ll probably also play material from their previous releases, which include one other full-length, Groza (2008) and several EPs. Based on YouTube videos and the band’s own comments, you can expect a very simple stage show. The band appears in leather jackets over hooded sweatshirts, grim but not overly theatrical, and the lighting is atmospheric but unvarying, evoking the fog their name refers to. There are no stage antics – in fact, hardly any movement at all. The band has commented (here), “Presentation of Mgła live is simple to the point of unattractive. We do not use any symbolism or other ‘hints’ how to interpret as most natural response is the most welcome. Everyone is encouraged to think for themselves.” A very Satanist approach, actually. And in fact, their appearance seems to create just the right amount of atmosphere for getting into the dark mood of their music, without distracting at all from experiencing the music itself.

Mgła was in fact the band that convinced me that I should attend Maryland Deathfest this year, so I hope you’ll join me as they bring down the end of the world on May 23rd. Even if you’re not a diehard black metal fan, their melodic grooves should get you headbanging.

With Hearts Toward None III:

With Hearts Toward None VII:

With Hearts Toward None I (live):

May 7, 2014
Categories: Album Reviews, Black Metal, Maryland Deathfest . Tags: Maryland Deathfest, Maryland Deathfest XII, MDF, MDF XII Review, Mgła, Tal, With Hearts Toward None . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: Leave a comment

Review of Caesious by Torrid Husk

Band: Torrid Husk
Album: Caesious
Release Date: 4 February 2014
Record Label: Grimoire Records
Buy digital ($3), cassette ($5) or CD ($7) from Bandcamp: Here

Cover of Caesious by Torrid Husk

DCHM album reviewer Tal was particularly taken by the new Torrid Husk EP Caesious and she really wanted to review it. I’m not one much for turning down enthusiastic album review requests and this is a pretty sweet slab of black metal from West Virginia. Be sure to check out Tal’s other writings, such as local concert reviews, on her personal blog here and of course you can stream a song from this EP at the end of the post.

If you’ve read any of my other reviews (here), you probably know I adore melodies. I also like heaviness, intensity, thunder, darkness – and Torrid Husk’s Caesious delivers on all these fronts. It’s poignantly melodic and atmospheric, with all the evil-sounding raspy vocals and blast beat thunder you’d expect from a black metal band.

The first song, “Cut With Rain,” sets the melodic bar rather high – the other two songs don’t quite meet that level of melody, unfortunately. “Cut With Rain” begins softly, but soon turns into an intense melodic assault with blast beats on top of flowing tremolo guitar work. The repeated flowing melody gives the impression of sheets of heavy rain sweeping across the land, and the raspy vocals give this land a sense of darkness — and then death, as the vocals dip into guttural death metal territory. The vocals are a little lost under the onslaught of guitars and drums, and there’s no hope of understanding what Tyler Collins, the guitarist/vocalist, is saying. Halfway through the song, we’re granted a breather, as the drums slow down for an atmospheric bridge. It doesn’t last long before the assault starts again. Toward the end of the song, there’s a neat moment where the band suddenly charges into headbang-worthy classic heavy metal riffs (played with black metal techniques), but they quickly become distorted back to a black metal sound, before becoming totally chaotic. The song goes out on an extremely fast note as the drums and vocals seem to race each other to the finish. For its combination of melody and aggression, “Cut With Rain” is undoubtedly my favorite song on the EP.

The second song, “Thunder Like Scorn,” is rather chaotic and churning. Various sounds in the song give the impression of thunder – the repeated buzzsaw riffs at the beginning, the cacophony of drums and guitars later on, the booming low growls. Even as the song slows a third of the way in, the tempest seems to churn on. There is a tranquil melodic segment in the middle, like the eye of the storm, but just as it starts to get relaxing, the drums thunder in even more aggressive than before. The song slows again toward the end, as though the storm is drawing away, and the vocals become more prominent – up to that point, they’re a bit lost among the instruments.

The last song, “Paranoia,” starts off just as fast and intense as the song before it, with a frenzied sound again matching the title. Interestingly, the two songs are connected by a ringing feedback note that ends the previous song and starts this one. “Paranoia” is a bit more varied than “Thunder Like Scorn,” though, with some slower atmospheric guitar, sometimes laid over hammering drums and sometimes dominating the tempo; a bridge that, with its dissonant buzzing notes followed by gentle strumming, gives the impression of a catatonic state; and vocals ranging from drawn-out, agonized screams to furious ranting. The drums, whether battering fiercely or insistently enforcing a slower tempo, the uneasy-sounding guitar riffs and the agonized or infuriated vocals certainly create the impression of intense anxiety.

Compared to Torrid Husk’s earlier album Mingo (released in June 2013), the drums are more prominent on Caesious, and the guitars and vocals take a back seat to them. Rather than being swept over by cascades of atmospheric guitar, Caesious is dominated by blasting drums. As I greatly enjoy atmospheric guitars, I find this a little disappointing. Despite this, Caesious is still a solid release that should put a dent in anyone’s cravings for darkness, thunder and even a bit of melody.

February 21, 2014
Categories: Album Reviews, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal . Tags: Album Review, Caesious, Tal, Torrid Husk . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: Leave a comment

Review of Echoes Of Battle by Caladan Brood

Band: Caladan Brood
Album: Echoes Of Battle
Release Date: 15 February 2013
Record Label: Northern Silence Productions
Buy from Bandcamp (digital) for $10: Here
Buy from Storenvy (CD or vinyl): Here (temporarily sold out)

Cover of Echoes Of Battle by Caladan Brood

We don’t usually cover albums from bands outside the greater DC area but to end 2013 I gave my album reviewers the chance to write about their favorite album of the year that they felt deserved more attention. Tal has done a great job relating how one of her favorite albums this year influenced her in the following review of Echoes Of Battle by Caladan Brood. You can always get more of Tal’s writing on her blog In My Winter Castle. I posted Grimy Grant’s choice, On The Edge by Volture, earlier today and you can read that post here.

In addition to spouting my opinions about metal (and sometimes other music), I also write fiction, generally of the wilderness-trekking, cavalry-charging, fireball-lobbing, epic clash of good and evil variety, and that metal in its various forms serves as inspiration for pretty much every scene I write (the good scenes, anyway). This fall, I embarked on a dark post-apocalyptic fantasy novel, and ended up wading into the marshes of black metal (fairly unfamiliar to me) to see what I could find that was suitably dark and fantastic enough to inspire my story. After struggling with the likes of Hollenthon (too grandiose) and Morgul (too creepy), I finally found what I was looking for in Austrian epic black metal band Summoning – and then I discovered newcomer Caladan Brood of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Indeed, I think Caladan Brood has bested Summoning at their own game this year. While songs like “Mirdautas Vras” and “Land of the Dead” off Summoning’s 2006 release Oath Bound fired my imagination, I didn’t find their 2013 release, Old Mornings Dawn, very inspiring. Caladan Brood’s debut album Echoes of Battle, on the other hand, made my heart soar and my fingers fly.

Caladan Brood takes their cue from Summoning’s darkly epic style, with its morose atmospheric guitars, medieval-sounding melodies and peculiarly evil vocals. Like Summoning, Caladan Brood mainly uses a raspy growled vocal style, like some dark creature that crept out of the earth, perhaps a more evil version of the cave-dwelling, croaking creature Gollum from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. But adding to the epic reach of the album, Caladan Brood also uses resounding clean vocals that sound like they could fill a cathedral. Further setting themselves apart from Summoning, Caladan Brood also augments the dark maelstrom of atmospheric guitar with some heavy guitar riffs and wailing guitar solos.

Where Summoning explores Tolkien’s Middle Earth, Caladan Brood takes on a different fantasy universe, the world of Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen. I must admit I’m not familiar with Erikson’s series – but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the album. The music paints such an epic picture of great cities, sweeping landscapes, huge armies and the devastation they bring, fallen empires and fallen warriors, that for some time I didn’t even need to read the lyrics. The song titles alone are evocative of fantastic images: “City of Azure Fire,” “Wild Autumn Wind,” “To Walk the Ashes of Dead Empires.”

Amazingly, this debut album from an unknown band topped the release from the masters of the fantasy metal genre. Summoning’s new album sounds a bit monotonous to me, a continuous flow of raspy vocals over a swirl of melodies and ominous guitar, just on the beautiful side of creepy. It’s nice as a non-distracting backdrop, but not much stands out or catches my attention. Echoes of Battle, by contrast, is full of epic moments that injected life into my writing, and should enflame the imagination of any fan of fantasy, whether writer or reader.

My favorite moment is in the second song, the eponymous “Echoes of Battle.” The song is full of epic melodic guitar, but about halfway through, the guitars sweep skyward in wave after wave, and even the rasped vocals seem to reach for the heavens as they lament about “Swords held high to the desert sky at such great a cost / Standards fly above funeral pyres.” It’s impossible not to be caught up in the soaring energy of the song; the brightest moment in my dark novel was brought about by this song, and I still have to stop what I’m doing and wave my fist in somber triumph whenever I hear this song.

The following song, “Wild Autumn Wind,” is driven by a lovely keyboard melody. Even the rasped vocals can’t take away from the beauty of this song. The atmospheric guitars and harsh vocals keep things grim, especially with lyrical themes involving the fleetingness of not just lives but whole civilizations:

“The bones of beasts and the bones of kings
Become dust in the wake of the hymn
Mighty kingdoms rise, but they all will fall
No more than a breath on the wind“

But the keyboard rises above the desolate imagery, giving it a romantic beauty. After all, the rise and fall of mighty kingdoms lie at the heart of every great epic story.

Another favorite moment of mine is at the very end the album, where the choir-like clean vocals urge the warriors ever onward:

“Strap on your shields and raise your banners
Hear the call of raging battle
Beneath a hail of burning arrows
Push ever forward, never surrender
Siege weapons tolling out like thunder
Ripping the city walls asunder
Columns of flame reach ever skyward
Horizons filled with burning pyres”

In general, this final song, “Book of the Fallen,” wraps up the album in a satisfying way – with mournful vocals and dirge-like keyboard, the guitars at times hymnal, at times heavy and atmospheric, bidding farewell and encouraging us onward at the same time. Because for a fantasy writer or reader, the story is never over, but lives on and on in our imaginations; we relive the carnage and remember the fallen, and look forward to the next battle.

Though I started out listening to this album without any knowledge of the story behind it – and even used it to fuel my own, completely unrelated story – now I find I need to read the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. Caladan Brood’s take on the story has left me hungry to know more about the world of grandeur, bloodshed, loss and memory that they’ve evoked. I only hope that the books live up to epic yet dark vision they’ve painted with Echoes of Battle.

Echoes of Battle: