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.
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.
Local stoner/doom masters Borracho have released their 5th full length album, Blurring the Lines of Reality, and on Saturday, September 9th, they’re holding an album release show at the Runaway in Brookland! DCHM are long time fans of Borracho so I’m excited to be giving away a pair of tickets to the album release show as well as a prize pack that includes some sweet swag like a signed copy of the new album (on your choice of vinyl or CD), a Borracho t-shirt in the size of your choice, a Borracho sticker and high fives from the band! All you’ve got to do to enter is leave a comment on this post telling me your all time favorite album by a local musician. Then on Wednesday, September 6th 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.
Borracho album release shows are always must-see events but let’s not forget about the two other bands on the bill. Direct support comes from the Frederick, Maryland, based stoner band Faith in Jane. Faith in Jane is a stoner/doom band that I’ve booked myself in the past and I swear they get better each time I see them. The opening band is DC’s own Sorge. They bring a psychedelic vibe to their brand of stoner jams and make this a must see bill from top to bottom. I’m not sure what else there is to say about this killer line up other than to leave a comment telling me what your all time favorite album by a local band is. Don’t forget to check out these killer tunes by the bands on the bill too!
Hell in the Harbor Fest really was a hell of a way to spend Memorial Day Weekend. The entire block of Market Street in front of the Baltimore Soundstage was blocked off and fenced in for the festival. The single outdoor stage located on the northbound lane of Market Street faced North with East Pratt Street to its back which lead to lots of pedestrians hanging around gawking and the bands performing there. The event was sold out and it got pretty crowded in the street near the stage when the more popular bands were playing there, especially since some of the food and drink vendors were located very close to the outdoor stage. That said, it def had the feel of that era of Maryland Deathfest with the single stage outside of Sonar back in the day. Everything went off pretty well it seemed, only one band canceled out of the entire line up and there was even a surprise set by Jivebomb atop a shipping container located inside the fenced in area of the fest. Big props to Adam Savage for putting this all together and to Mike O’Brien at Baltimore Soundstage for letting me cover it (and give away tickets to one lucky DCHM fan!). Below I’m posting just some of my favorite photos and videos that I shot at Hell in the Harbor Fest but you can see all of my photos from the festival on Flickr here and all of the videos I shot at the fest and other shows on my YouTube page here. And if that’s not enough for you be sure to check out other coverage of the fest by people like Melissa Suarez Photography, Hillarie Jason Photography, Return to the Pit / Aaron Pepelis, and Misery Cartel Photos.
Friday the 26th of May was the pre-show for the fest at Baltimore Soundstage. Nothing took place outdoors that night and I only shot a bit of the set of the headliner, the Swedish doom metal band Candlemass. Below is my video of their final two songs, “Solitude” and “Demon’s Gate,” but I also shot footage of their song “The Bells of Acheron” which you can see here.
The first full day of Hell in the Harbor Fest was on Saturday the 27th and the weather was sunny and warm. The first band I caught was the Ohio based death metal band Sanguisugabogg on the outdoor stage. They
Georgia based sludge band Black Tusk put on a super high energy set on the Baltimore Soundstage’s stage. It’s been a while since I have seen them live but their live show has really improved in that time, I was definitely impressed. They also played a new song, titled Brush Fire, which I shot video footage of that you can see below.
Next I saw Maryland’s own Dying Fetus perform their style of slam death metal on the outdoor stage.
The main headliner of day one was the most famous death metal band in the world, Cannibal Corpse! This was my first time catching them live since Erik Rutan joined the band and I’ve got to say they seemed even tighter with him in the line up. In the video I shot below lead vocalist George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher challenged the audience to best him at head banging (I don’t think anyone beat him tbh).
Eventually I found my way over to Angel’s Rock Bar inside the Power Plant area to catch Tombs play. They were solid but they had the stage lights turned down low and a ton of fog so the conditions we’re pretty poor to try to shoot anything in.
Sunday the 28th of May was the final day of Hell in the Harbor Fest but had what I considered the best line up of the weekend. The first band I caught was the chainmail wearing blackened speed metal band Demiser from South Carolina inside Baltimore Soundstage. I shot the below video of them including an epic stage dive by DCHM contributor Vivek at the 4:11 mark.
After Demiser I went outside to catch Misery Index on the outdoor stage. They’re always a fun band that is mostly local (founding member Jason Netherton now lives in Sweden) and they always do a good job of song selection for their live shows. Their drummer, Adam Jarvis, had an intense day as he also played with Pig Destroyer, the next band to play on the same stage that day.
I saw Michigan based grind band Cloud Rat perform next inside Baltimore Soundstage, but their set was really short (even by grindcore standards) due to technical issues causing them to start about when their allotted time was supposed to end. Luckily I’ve seen them before but next up I headed outside to catch local grindcore legends Pig Destroyer on the outdoor stage. By this point there were a lot of normies hanging around the outside of the festival watching what was going on not just on the street but even in the nearby stores such as the second story of the Marshall’s. Pig Destroyer vocalist even gave a shout out to all the onlookers on the street and in the IHOP and Marshall’s. The crowd surfers were starting to show up during their set and there’s something very Baltimore about witnessing the Chicken Man crowd surf in front of a Popeye’s. It was a fun set as always
The next band I caught was the Toronto based black metal band Spectral Wound. I had never seen them before and they put on a spooky show with lots of fog. The band came ready to play and their set was tight and very high energy as well. I shot a video of them playing their incredible song “Frigid and Spellbound” followed by a new song that I don’t know the title of, check it out below!
I really wanted to catch all of Spectral Wound’s grim and frostbitten set but I left about four songs in because one of my all time favorite bands to see live was on the outdoor stage at the same time, the legendary Napalm Death! I don’t know how they continue to do it but one of the oldest bands on the bill still puts on one of the best live shows of any metal band in the world. Always intense and fun, Napalm Death blasting out into the Inner Harbor of Baltimore was just awesome. The crowd surfers went wild during their set, the most I saw for any band the entire fest. I shot video of the last nine minutes of their set, which includes their cover of the Dead Kennedys classic Nazi Punks Fuck Off! which you can see below.
By the time Napalm Death ended their set Richmond’s Inter Arma was already on stage inside the Baltimore Soundstage. Another band that I love to see live, this was the first time I’d seen them with a theremin player on stage.
When Inter Arma’s set ended I had just seen several killer sets back to back to back and it was time for a bit of relaxing (read: tailgating) during High on Fire’s set. It’s not that I don’t like Matt Pike’s thrashy sludge band but I have seen them a ton of times in the past. I made it back in time to catch Undeath‘s wild set inside Baltimore Soundstage. The stage divers were going nuts during their brutal set and played a new song, titled “Brandish the Blade” (see it here). The Chicken Man was up to his normal antics and managed to get up on stage with a flag during “Enhancing the Dead” that I captured on video that you can see below.
I headed over to Angel’s Rock Bar for Philadelphia’s Sonja. I had caught them at a house show in Takoma Park back in December but that show suffered a bunch of technical issues so the sound was not idea. That’s fairly typical for house shows but their performance at Angel’s definitely seemed like more of a real show this time.
After Sonja played it was time for New York City’s Tower to close out Angel’s Rock Bar. I wasn’t familiar with Tower but they played an energetic style of traditional metal lead by frontwoman Sarabeth Linden. They were one of those bands that you can just tell is having a blast performing together, really fun to watch. Unfortunately they blew an amp head and while they were figuring that out I headed over to catch the end of Hulder‘s set at Baltimore Soundstage. Luckily I had seen Hulder in NYC back in February with Blackbraid because they cut their set short by about 15 minutes. Kind of a weird way to end the fest but as the lights came on I started doing my goodbyes to people I’d seen there. In all Hell in the Harbor Fest was executed really well. Aside from a few issues about crowding near the outdoor stage, there really wasn’t much to complain about (ok drink prices were pretty high too). I got to see some great performances by great bands, some that I’d seen before and some that I hadn’t, and of course the best part was getting to see a good chunk of the people I typically run into at Maryland Deathfest despite no MDF this year.
The inaugural Hell in the Harbor Fest is just days away now (May 27th and 28th) and with tickets almost sold out I figured now would be a great time to give away a pair of weekend passes to the fest. To really sweeten the deal I’ve also got a pair of tickets to the pre-fest party on Friday, May 26th at Baltimore Soundstage that is headlined by Candlemass. But wait there’s more! I’ll also be throwing in a swag bag full of merch (some of which is still to be determined) that the winner will pick up at the fest. That’s right, the winner gets 2 weekend passes, 2 pre-fest passes and a swag bag of merch! All you’ve got to do to enter is leave a comment on this post telling me which band you’re most excited to see at Hell in the Harbor Fest! See the image below with set times for the full line up if you need help remembering. Then on This Friday, May 19th at 1pm Eastern, this 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. Single day tickets are also now available!
Memorial Day Weekend has traditionally been the weekend of Maryland Deathfest every year but the MDF organizers decided to take 2023 off before returning in 2024. That gave local Baltimore venues the chance to book Hell in the Harbor Fest this year which, I gotta say, has a killer line up worthy of the area’s metal fans! Death metal, grind, stoner, black metal, there’s something here for just about every metal head. With three stages, all within a block of each other, the party is going to be raging! So what are you doing still reading this? Go leave a comment on this post and tell me which band you’re the most excited to see at Hell in the Harbor Fest!
Today is another Bandcamp Friday, which means today until 3am Eastern time Bandcamp waves their cut from all music and merch sales on the site. I just thought I’d mention a few new releases from local bands of the metal variety that you can support this Bandcamp Friday (or afterwards as well). Let me know if there’s more releases from the past month that I should add.
Goetia is a new death metal band that includes members of Genocide Pact, Deliriant Nerve and Perpetuated. Their debut release dropped today and is available digitally or on cassette.
Local stoner band Borracho just dropped two new instrumental songs last week which are their most spacey tracks yet! It’s just $3 too.
Life is an Option is the DSBM side project of Zak Suleri, a musician who is involved with a bunch of local doom bands like Torvus, Et Mors and Foehammer. This project’s debut just released on April 21st.
Local thrash metal band Ninth Realm just dropped a new split with the British band Inhuman Nature earlier this week that you can pick up for just $2.
Mast Year lies somewhere between post metal and noise rock. Their debut album, Knife, was released on April 7th via Baltimore label Grimoire Records and is available on CD as well as digitally.
Falls Church based sludge band dirt eater released two new songs on April 21st and you get them both for just $5.
Local progressive metal band Wings Denied released a new song on April 7th that you can get for just $1.
And if all of that isn’t enough be sure to check out Weedian‘s newest stoner and doom metal compilation. This one features 39 tracks by 39 different bands from Virginia and West Virginia including the likes of Windhand, Karma to Burn, Cough, Earthling and more! It’s name your price and all tracks are posted with the permission of the bands.
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 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
DCHeavyMetal.com 