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New and Returning DIY Venues

With shows starting to really come back full swing this spring we’ve seen some new DIY venues in the area popping up, as well as some older venues returning to hosting DIY metal shows. I often hear people telling me they didn’t know certain shows or venues even existed, so hopefully this post will enlighten some of you on some of the places to catch upcoming metal bands play live. Of course you can always check out the handy DCHM calendar (here) for listings of every upcoming metal show in the area from DIY to arena bands.

First up this Friday, March 17th, (which is also St. Patrick’s Day) we’ve got the French death metal band Gorod appearing at Atlas brewery in the Ivy City neighborhood of Northeast DC. Originally scheduled to be at Pie Shop, it was moved to Atlas and will be the first public metal show there since they suddenly shut down last summer when the entire staff was let go. That halted all public operations in their tap room, including their scheduled upcoming metal shows. They’ve been open for months now with their new staff in place and this show will be their first with the new management so be sure to come out and help this show get a solid turn out so they’ll be happy to host more metal shows. Atlas was once at the center of the DC DIY metal scene and hopefully if things go well it can return to that status as a great place for metal shows in DC proper. You can check out the show’s Facebook event page here or buy a ticket from Etix here.

Then on the following night, Saturday, March 18th, there’s a free DIY metal show happening at the Döner Bistro in Leesburg, Virginia. The venue is starting to host regular metal shows on the 3rd Saturday of every month and this weekend’s line up includes the brand new stoner doom band Mammoth Rider along with the bands Druid Stone, Skomucon and Downe Lands. Hopefully they can get a decent turn out at this event and they venue will continue hosting more and more local metal bands there every month. More info on this show can be found on the Facebook event page here.

The next night, Sunday, March 19th, you can head over to Fat Tuesday’s on the back side of University Mall in Fairfax, Virginia, (near George Mason University) for a free show with a killer line up of local metal bands including old school thrashers Desolus, gothy/doomy (like a modern take on the Peaceville 3 sound) Torvus, Baltimore grind band Ixais and the war band Servitude. I’m pretty sure this is the dive bar’s first metal show since 2017, and a rare chance for NoVA fans to catch some of these great locals in Fairfax on a weekend night even. Hell, there’s 2 nights in a row of metal shows in NoVA and I’m not sure when the last time that happened was to be honest. Also, the bass player for Desolus is one of DCHM’s contributors so ya know, go out and support Vivek!

The final show I’m going to mention here isn’t until April 28th, but the Sky Lounge in Silver Spring has been getting a few metal (and other genre) DIY shows lately. At this show in late April the blackened death metal band Krvsade from Charlotte, North Carolina, will be coming up (give them a listen here) to play with the excellent local bands Nuclear Tomb (death/thrash), Sickdeer (black metal) and Goetia who are brand new (but include members of Genocide Pact and Deliriant Nerve). The venue is located on the 2nd floor at 11272 Georgia Ave and it should be a killer show. More details on the Facebook event page for this show here.

Of course you can always catch DIY shows at the already solidified venues like Pie Shop, The Runaway, Slash Run and Songbyrd but good turn outs at each of these four shows will help encourage those venues to start hosting more metal shows as well. I hope to see some of you at each of these!

March 13, 2023
Categories: Atlas Brew Works, Concert Venues, Döner Bistro, Death Metal, Fat Tuesdays, Sky Lounge . Tags: Atlas Brew Works, Desolus, DIY, Gorod, Krvsade . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: Leave a comment

Interview with Andrew Lee of Ripped To Shreds

I recently interviewed Andrew Lee, the mastermind behind the death metal band Ripped to Shreds, which aired on the Metal Embassy Radio Show. I also posted the interview portion of the radio show as a podcast so if you missed it you can listen to the interview that way. We talked about the new Ripped to Shreds album 劇變 (Jubian), working with the Japanese band Pharmacist, his solo project Heavy Metal Shrapnel, plus other subjects like what it’s like being an Asian American involved the heavy metal world of the West.

Metal Embassy Podcast episode 14: Andrew Lee of Ripped To Shreds

You can also listen to the Metal Embassy Podcast by searching for Metal Embassy in most podcast apps (such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music/Audible, iHeartRadio and more).

You can listen to all previous episodes of the Metal Embassy Radio Show here after they air.

You can buy or stream the new album 劇變 (Jubian) by Ripped to Shreds on Bandcamp below.

Ripped to Shreds music video for the song “Reek of Burning Freedom”

October 24, 2022
Categories: Death Metal, Interviews, Podcast . Tags: Andrew Lee, Death Metal, Heavy Metal Shrapnel, Pharmacist, Ripped To Shreds . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: Leave a comment

Local picks for Bandcamp Friday

I just thought that I’d throw together a list of some recent local metal releases for Bandcamp Friday (or whenever you’re reading this).

Borracho – Pound Of Flesh
Release date: 6 August 2021
It’s hard to believe that it has been 5 years since DC’s best stoner metal band has released a full length but Pound of Flesh is finally here!

So Be It – Let The End Begin
Release date: 6 August 2021
So Be It is a death/thrash band based out of Silver Spring that is dropping their second full length today for Bandcamp Friday. Cathy riffs abound on these mosh pit friendly songs.

Grishka – Death Throes Radio Vol 1. – Grishka Live Set
Release date: 6 August 2021
Grishka is a new extreme metal band that actually formed during the pandemic era of no concerts. They did live perform on a Death Throes Radio livestream event back in April and the audio from their entire 17 minute set is now up on Bandcamp. Be sure to check out their debut album (here) if you haven’t yet!

Misery Index – Coffin Up the Nails
Release date: 20 July 2021
This release by death/grind band Misery Index isn’t a proper album but a collection of covers and demo versions of other songs scattered among b-sides and such of previous releases. The Bolt Thrower and Sepultura covers are worth the price of admission alone though!

Spiral Grave – Legacy of the Anointed
Release date: 16 July 2021
When Iron Man founding member Al Morris passed away in 2018 the remaining members of his band regrouped with Willy Rivera of Lord to form Spiral Grave. This is the doom band’s debut full length and while it has a freshness to it you still get that classic Maryland doom metal sound too.

Blunt Horse / Grilth – split
Release date: 16 July 2021
Blunt Horse is a proggy sludge band from DC and this split with Grilth (who are from upstate New York) includes three tracks of the band showing their wide range but always keeping it weird.

Unendlich – Paradox of a Broken World
Release date: 9 July 2021
Unendlich is a local one man black metal band that plays in a more aggressive style of the genre. This fourth full length album is the band’s first since the pandemic took hold in early 2020 and it was worth the wait!

Honey Spreader / Reeking Cross – split
Release date: 2 July 2021
Honey Spreader is a harsh noise duo consisting of Blake Harrison (Pig Destroyer, Zealot R.I.P.) and Alex Cha. This split with Reeking Cross, who is a more powerviolence/grind style band, is short but brutal and I think the Honey Spreader song titled “Cement Mixer of Emotion” sums up this release pretty well.

Bonus tracks! Here’s a couple of upcoming releases by local bands that you can preorder on Bandcamp right now.

Zealot R.I.P. – The Extinction of You
Release date: 10 September 2021
Guitarist Mick Schleibaum (Darkest Hour), Blake Harrison (Pig Destroyer) and Jason Hamacher (Frodus) make up the core of Zealot R.I.P. which has a sound somewhere between DC hardcore and Entombed. This is their debut EP and it is sure to be a rager!

Full of Hell – Garden of Burning Apparitions
Release date: 1 October 2021
Ocean City based grind band Full of Hell have been getting more and more experimental with each release while keeping the heavy on full blast. I can’t wait to hear the rest of this upcoming release this fall.

August 6, 2021
Categories: Album Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Local Band Info, Progressive Metal, Sludge Metal, Stoner, Thrash Metal, Upcoming Album Releases, Washington DC / Maryland / Virginia Metal Scene . Tags: Bandcamp, Bandcamp Friday, Blunt Horse, Borracho, Full Of Hell, Grishka, Honey Spreader, Misery Index, So Be It, Spiral Grave, Unendlich, Zealot RIP . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: Leave a comment

New Metal Embassy episode about overcoming the murder of a band member

On this episode Metal Chris interviews Rodrigo Salguero of the Salvadorian death/thrash metal band Apes of God. The band’s vocalist was murdered on stage during a performance in 2019 and Rodrigo explains how the band managed to overcome this tragedy and continue on, even recording a new full length album that was just released in April. For some reason this story was never really covered much in the English press, until now!

You can listen to this episode on the player below or by searching for Metal Embassy in most podcast apps (such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music/Audible, iHeartRadio and more). We’re on Bandcamp now too!

Metal Embassy – 007 – Apes of God (El Salvador)

June 1, 2021
Categories: Death Metal, Interviews, Podcast, Thrash Metal . Tags: Apes of God, El Salvador, Metal Embassy, Rodrigo Salguero . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 2 Comments

Metal Chris’ favorite death metal albums of 2020

It’s the end of the year so it’s time for my end of year album lists! I’m posting several lists, each for a different subgenre/category, and ordered by release date instead of ranking them. 2020 has been a unique year with unique challenges, to say the least, and I fully expect that to be reflected in my lists. This death metal list is my third of these lists and you can find my black metal list here and my stoner and doom list here.

Black Curse – Endless Wound
Released on 2 April 2020 by Sepulchral Voice Records
I guess you could call Black Curse a Denver based “super group” since the band members are from bands like Blood Incantation, Khemmis, Primitive Man and Spectral Voice, but honestly they don’t sound like any of those bands. This blackened death is brutality combined with some great songwriting that keeps it from getting monotonous and boring.

Funeral Leech – Death Meditation
Released 17 April 2020 by Carbonized Records
This debut full length from New York City based Funeral Leech takes that creeping cavernous death metal sound of bands like Blood Incantation, Tomb Mold and many others but slows it way down creating a death/doom sound with a big emphasis on the doom. Perfect music to listen to while relaxing after a long day of digging graves.

Ripped to Shreds – 亂 (Luan)
Released 17 April 2020 by Pulverised Records
Ripped to Shreds is based out of both California and Taiwan as band leader Andrew Lee has different line ups in each location. They play a death metal that has a strong Bay Area thrash element to it that keeps things both fun and brutal as Lee shreds away.

Ulcerate – Stare into Death and Be Still
Released on 24 April 2020 by Debemur Morti Productions
The new Ulcerate has appeared on many year end lists and while I debated adding the newest Cytotoxin album as the tech-death entry on this year’s list, I simply couldn’t ignore just how killer this new direction for Ulcerate is. They have streamlined their sound to keep the heaviness intact while still giving (arguably the best drummer in metal) Jamie Saint Merat plenty of room to show off. Despite being an hour long Stare into Death and Be Still somehow manages to always end too soon.

Dehumanaut – Dust in the Giant’s Hand
Self-released on 21 May 2020
This is probably the most fun album on this list. Guitarist Katy Montgomerie has packed this album full of catchy riffs that are held together by an underlying groove that never comes across cheesy. I really can’t wait to see what this three piece from England does next after this killer debut.

Battlemaster – Ghastly, Graven & Grimoireless
Released on 26 June 2020 by Forcefield Records
Richmond’s Battlemaster is obsessed with the most brutal parts of combat in Dungeons & Dragons and their first release in five years is no different. The riffs are as catchy as ever but what is different is the production on this album is a lot better than their previous. This is a perfect album to play your favorite RPG to.

Undeath – Lesions of a Different Kind
Released 23 October 2020 by Prosthetic Records
Undeath from Rochester, New York, released one hell of a slamming death metal album here. Undeath’s debut full length blends elements of modern cavernous death metal with old school NYDM style grooves and perfectly balances those sounds.

Of Feather and Bone – Sulfuric Disintegration
Released 13 November 2020 by Profound Lore Records
This is the most brutal release on this list! High energy, intense and almost relentless pummeling best describe this third release by this Denver band. They’ve stepped up their game on Sulfuric Disintegration so if you’re into death metal (and why else would you be reading this post if you aren’t?) then don’t sleep on this one!

Glorious Depravity – Ageless Violence
Released 27 November 2020 by Translation Loss Records
Based out of Brooklyn and featuring members of bands like Mutilation Rites, Woe and Pyrrhon, you knew Glorious Depravity was going to get some attention. Ageless Violence lives up to expectations and I’d dare say even exceeds them. The album is packed with sick riffs and some of the most mental lyrics on this entire list.

Undergang – Aldrig i livet
Released 4 December 2020 by Dark Descent Records
Danish death metal band Undergang returns with another filthy album of down tuned riffs and those infectious rhythms they have made a name for themselves doing. There’s nothing too unusual about this release compared to their earlier albums, but they’re perfecting that death metal from the sewer sound more and more with each release.

January 8, 2021
Categories: 2020 End Of Year Lists, Album Reviews, Death Metal, Tech Death . Tags: Battlemaster, Black Curse, Death Metal, Dehumanaut, Funeral Leech, Glorious Depravity, Of Feather and Bone, Ripped To Shreds, Ulcerate, Undeath, Undergang . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: Leave a comment

Darkest Hour benefit for the Black Cat

When the COVID-19 pandemic came to town in March it shut down all of the area’s live shows, including metal shows. However at 7pm this Saturday, September 26th, Darkest Hour will be streaming a performance that was just recorded at the Black Cat! The show itself won’t be live because there are many guest performers involved who had to be recorded playing from their own locations since it isn’t safe to fly them in right now. However there will be a live chat during the stream where fans can interact with the band and guest musicians in real time as everyone watches the stream. The audio has also been professionally mixed and mastered so the sound quality will be closer in quality to a live album than a regular livestream. On top of all that, everyone that buys a ticket will get an invite to the virtual afterparty on Zoom with Darkest Hour members and some of special guests after the performance ends!

Tickets to watch the stream (which includes access to the Zoom afterparty) are available from Veeps.com (here) for $10 or at the same link you can buy a bundle that comes with an exclusive shirt (shown below) made just for this performance for $35.

I spoke with Darkest Hour guitarist and founding member Mike Schleibaum and he told me that this event ties in with the band’s 25th anniversary (which was on Wednesday, 9/23). Along with some of the band’s most popular songs, the setlist will include some of their oldest songs performed with guest appearances by former band members. Other performing guests include Doc Coyle (Bad Wolves, God Forbid), Mark Heylmun (Suicide Silence), Buz McGrath (Unearth), Fella Di Cicco (Dreamshade) and more! Mike Schleibaum went on to say, “all of the Darkest Hour parts were shot on the Black Cat stage with multiple cameras.” When pressed about exactly how much of the ticket price went to the venue, Mike said, “100% of ticket sales go to the Black Cat. So when you buy a $10 ticket they get all of the $10. There’s also going to be a donation feature while the performance is streaming so people watching can also donate that way.”

This isn’t a live stream but it sounds like they’ve really upped the production value for this using multiple cameras, top notch sound quality and out of area guest musicians to make this closer to something you’d see on a band’s live DVD release. And while I’ve watch several band live streams they do kind of all seem like you’re just watching a rehearsal with poor sound quality. This event sounds like a great way to do something bigger for the fans, celebrate the band’s 25th anniversary, and donate to one of Washington DC’s live music institutions. If you can’t watch it when it starts or you just want to replay the show, a ticket purchase will grant you access to it for 24 hours. You can check the event’s Facebook page here for info and once again you can get tickets here.