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.
Who? Repulsion When? Saturday, April 25th Where? MGC Tavern (on the American University campus) (map) How much? $25 at the door (online ticket sales now closed)
This is one hell of a show that’s coming to the Mary Graydon Center Tavern at American University. Repulsion, along with Napalm Death and Terrorizer, is one of the founding pillars of grindcore. While they’ve played at Maryland Deathfest a few times over the years this will be their first show in Washington DC ever! Repulsion is also credited with the invention of the blast beat and their 1989 album Horrified is a classic of the genre. While they’ve gone through drummers over the years guitarist Matt Olivo and vocalist/bass player Scott Carlson are still with the band (and both were briefly members of Death back in the 80s). This Michigan based grind band is still destroying ear drums and DC area fans of extreme heavy metal do not want to miss this chance to see them here in a small venue.
If all that wasn’t enough to convince you to come out, maybe the incredible line up of local support will! Direct support will be DC/Baltimore’s own Pig Destroyer, the biggest name in grindcore in our region (but you probably already knew that). If you missed their wild, sold out show at Hardywood Brewery in Richmond then you gotta see them with Repulsion! There will also be a set by DC’s masters of crusty death/doom, Ilsa. They’ve got a new album coming out May 5th, titled The Felon’s Claw, but they’ll have CD copies of it for sale early at this show (they won’t have vinyl yet though). There’s also going to be a set by Ilsa’s A389 label mates Noisem, a young, high energy, early 90s death/thrash throwback band that also has a new album coming out soon. The opening act, Left Cross, is one I’m not too familiar with. I know they’re from Richmond but that’s about it, so it should be interesting checking them out.
The fun starts when doors open at 7pm and the first band begins at 8pm. This is a dry show so no alcohol will be served nor permitted (don’t worry, there will still be other nights to drink). If you’d like more info you can go to the official Facebook event page here. The American University Independent Arts Collective has really put together a high quality, and very rare, DIY line up for this one, don’t be a sucker and miss it! Now give a listen to these tunes below by bands that will be playing.
One of the original grind bands is teaming up with one of the original Canadian thrash bands when Napalm Death and Voivod join forces for the Through Space And Grind Tour! The tour’s only stop in our area is on Saturday, January 31st at the Baltimore SoundStage and because this show is going to be so sick we’re going to give away a pair of tickets to one of you loyal DCHM readers! To enter just leave a comment on this post telling me which band on the tour you want to see the most (choose from Napalm Death, Voivod, Exhumed, Iron Reagan, Black Crown Initiate or Ringworm). At 5pm EST on Wednesday, January 28th, a winner will be chosen at random (using Random.org) from all valid entries to win the tickets. Be sure to enter using 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 Ticket Fly for $18.70 here.
UK grind gods Napalm Death always put on a great live show and Voivod haven’t played the area since they played Maryland Deathfest in 2011! In addition there will be sets by the Carcass inspired gorey death meta band Exhumed and crossover thrash by Richmond’s Iron Reagan, a wild band featuring the vocalist and bass player of Municipal Waste! Black Crown Initiate will be playing their proggy death metal and Cleveland based thrash-core band Ringworm will get the mosh pits started early! You’ve got to admit that’s a hell of a line up,l and for under $20 too! Now check out these videos by the bands on the bill and let me know which band you’re most excited to see on the 31st at the Baltimore SoundStage!
On Saturday, September 20th, 2014, I went to the Rock & Roll Hotel at about 5pm to catch a free show by the Kentucky punk rock band Coliseum. This was part of the H Street Festival’s festivities, which had the street shut down for the day. Standing in line just to have my ID checked I was a bit worried that the place would be really packed. The sidewalks outside all the bars had little temporary fences that were packed shoulder to shoulder with hipsters drinking cheap beer as they screamed in each others faces trying to talk over each other. I guess drinking on the sidewalk in a pen is really fucking exciting to some people, but I was here to see Coliseum, a great band I’d seen play a sold out DC9 show with Pelican last November. I had no problem making my way to the front as the main show room was almost empty, except for the people in line to talk to the bartenders. The place did fill up, somewhat, when they started playing. They played for about 45 minutes and their set included a few new songs. It was a lot of fun and you can’t complain about seeing a great band for free. There were several other bands playing that day but after Coliseum played I headed over to Little Miss Whiskey’s to talk to the DC Brau folks (always a fun time).
Coliseum:
Later the same night I grabbed dinner and then picked up a six pack (which turned into a 4 pack due to the cardboard handle breaking in the parking lot of the store I had just bought it at) and I went to another show. This was a house show at a place called the Dougout in Northeast DC. I’d never been there before but it was pretty nice for a house venue, especially one that was hosting grind bands. I missed local death/grind band Genocide Pact, which sucks cause they’re good, but I’m sure I’ll get the chance to see them again at least. The first band I did see was Nervous Mothers, a powerviolence band all the way from Belgium. I’m not sure how it’s financially possible to fly all the way over from Europe to play a bunch of gigs in basements but they actually were pretty good. However next up was the band I really came to see, Cloud Rat. The grind trio is from Michigan and they released Moksha, one of my favorite grind albums of 2013 (click the name to give it a listen). They combine brutal riffs and sheer intensity perfectly and their frontwoman, Madison Marshall, has a voice that just drips frustration. In all it was a really great show at a cool DIY venue, I hope they get some more brutal bands there in the future.
Band: Pig Destroyer Album: Book Burner Release Date: 22 October 2012 Label: Relapse Records Buy From Amazon:Here Buy From Relapse:Here
Check out the DCHeavyMetal.com interview with JR Hayes here
In a genre that is often associated with incessant pig squealing and sometimes unintelligent writing, both musically and lyrically, grindcore legends Pig Destroyer‘s highly anticipated fifth full length release, Book Burner, is a welcome break. Not to suggest that there is a single second of idleness on this record, except of course in the rests written into the guitar parts by Scott Hull, a founding member of both Pig Destroyer and Agoraphobic Nosebleed. His technical yet still groovy riffs feature rests throughout and even they are loaded with the tension and savagery that fills this album. Washington DC’s Pig Destroyer have not released a full length album since 2007’s critically acclaimed Phantom Limb. Their rabid fan base and critics alike have created a ton of hype for this release. The guys in Pig Destroyer have certainly lived up to it. With 19 songs in the space of 31 minutes, the tracks range from the swift bludgeoning of “The Underground Man” to the damn near flirt with doom on “Permanent Funeral.” Along the way Hull manages to get in a vast array of styles into the riffs running from thrash to black metal to hardcore, but he never loses the essence of what makes good grindcore: never lingering for too long on any one thing to keep it swift, brutal and fresh. While the jumping of time signatures and tempos can keep the newly acquainted guessing when to head bang at times, the stretches of soon-to-be classic neck snapping riffs that lie between will ensure that you will keep listening to it until you know every rest and tempo shift.
The longtime search to replace former drummer Brian Harvey ended in 2011 when Adam Jarvis, also of Misery Index, joined Pig Destroyer. This is Jarvis’ first recording with Pig Destroyer and his addition certainly aids in “Book Burner” living up to its hype. He doesn’t simply ride the double bass throughout the entire recording either, but uses his entire kit to bring the mad rhythms to life. There is machine gun bass a plenty though, fear not! The track “The Diplomat” best reflects both of these aspects while the following track, “All Seeing Eye,” is a show of pure endurance as Jarvis blasts through a relentless, and no doubt breathless, 42 seconds of classic grindcore mayhem. Album closer “Permanent Funeral” shows that Pig Destroyer can really hold a groove and Jarvis carries it throughout the opening. I foresee many nights of head banging with a beer in my hand while this blares from my speakers. To be honest, just about every song on Book Burner oozes with the trademark head banging moshability of Pig Destroyer. I can’t wait to see “Iron Drunk” live because the pit for that song is going to be the most fun you can have wearing pants (unless you are that guy who takes off his pants in the mosh pit).
Pig Destroyer laughs at the conventional thinking that says to be brutal you must have lots of bass drops or at least a bassist of some sort. Pig Destroyer notoriously has no bassist yet that has never detracted from their sound in the slightest. What they do have is sample-man Blake Harrison. I understand that using words like “sampler” when listing band members is anathema to many metal heads out there, but the samples used throughout the album are well thought out and executed. The sample that stands out the most is on “The Bug.” The track opens with television legend Walter Cronkite reading an excerpt from Henry Miller’s Tropic Of Cancer. This is brilliant in many ways and I believe reflects the level of thought and inspiration that went into this album. To have an internationally known TV star reading from a famously banned book on an album titled Book Burner is indeed clever, especially in light of the lyrics on the album’s title track. The samples are not there simply to link the songs to create an album that never stops for 31 minutes, but to add layers to the dark atmosphere that drips from from this album.
The production value of Pig Destroyer’s discography seems to increase with each record, yet Book Burner has a bit more of a raw feeling to it. Frontman J.R. Hayes’ vocals are less processed but have a proper coating of violence and aggression that can easily take hold of the listener. Known as one of the better wordsmiths in the metal world, J.R. Hayes’ lyrics on Book Burner live up to his reputation. It is obvious that Hayes takes his literature seriously. His ability to set up the situations through the beginning of the songs and then end them with a forcible point is crucial to the shortened songs of grindcore. You can check out the lyric video to “Burning Palm” at the end of this post to see for yourself. This album also features several guest vocalists, most of whom come from the greater DC area. This includes Kat Katz, who is also in Agoraphobic Nosebleed and ex-Salome, on “Eve” and “The Bug” and Richard “The Grindfather” Johnson of Drugs Of Faith and Agoraphobic Nosebleed on “The Underground Man” and Jason Netherton of Misery Index on “The Diplomat.” It is also worth noting that the deluxe edition of the album includes a short story written by J.R. Hayes titled The Atheist which is a thrilling ride into a dystopian future where America is run by the Christian church which, in the story, is really more of a totalitarian regime. There is no direct tie in with the album, other than some name references and the same theme of distrusting and resisting organized religion. You can read the entire story over at Cvlt Nation here.
Pig Destroyer have been hailed as kings of grindcore with Scott Hull’s brutal-yet-somehow-catchy riffs, sometimes complex and sometimes direct song writing, and their well written lyrical content. Book Burner is yet another jewel on their crown. Pig Destroyer continues to be at the forefront of grindcore with this album that features performances by what can almost be called a who’s-who of grindcore today. The addition of drummer Adam Jarvis was a great move as he greatly contributes to the band, as does the dark sampling of Blake Harrison. The vocals of J.R. Hayes stand out as dirty and savage and the lyrics are a highlight of the album. D.C. is lucky to have a band this innovative and who produces such quality music with each release that they put out. Pig Destroyer has long been known to be a gateway band for those new to grindcore, and Book Burner may be more so than any of their previous albums. In fact every copy of the album should be clearly marked – Warning: Pig Destroyer’s Book Burner may lead to a serious grindcore addiction!
Friday the 26th of October 2012 was one hell of a fun night. Municipal Waste and Napalm Death were kicking off their co-headlining tour with Exhumed and Vektor at Empire (formerly Jaxx) in Springfield, Virginia that night and you just knew a line up like that was going to result in an awesome night. Apparently a lot of you had the same idea as the place was pretty packed. It was probably the best turn out I’ve seen at Empire since the new management took over back in January.
There were a couple of local openers to start the show off but I didn’t get there until Vektor was just beginning their set. They play a futuristic tech-thrash that is pretty damn fun to watch live. Their songs are long but they go all over the place so you never feel bored listening to them. The crowd surfers were already starting during their set. I had seen Vektor headline a show in mid September (ready my review of that show here) and while they didn’t play as long of a set, it was still cool seeing them on a proper stage. Also, guitarist David DiSanto was playing a new guitar this time. After Vektor played it was time for Exhumed to unleash their gory death metal on the crowd. They were as fast and brutal as ever and they’re the kind of band you can tell is having a lot of fun on stage. They had their crazy chainsaw surgeon guy come out on stage a few times with his real chain saw that he was waving over the audience and they even had blood splatter onto some of the people up close when he pulled out a decapitated head. Exhumed opened their set with several songs off their latest album, All Guts, No Glory, but started playing older songs midway through their set. They ended their set with their classic The Matter Of Splatter which really had people going nuts in the pit. Two bands in and this show was already kicking some serious ass!
Napalm Death was the next band to take the stage. They’re one of the fathers of grindcore and have consistently put out good material since they formed 31 years ago (although none of the current members have been in the band prior to 1987). In addition to that they’re also known for being one of the best live bands in extreme metal. As they opened their set they showed that their age was not slowing them down a bit. I had seen them in May at Maryland Deathfest X but this time the audience was much closer up to the band and the setting was definitely more in your face. Hell, I even saw a guy in a banana costume stage dive during their set (photo of that below). Napalm Death’s vocalist, Barney Greenway, was as spastic as ever on stage, pacing back and forth between bursts of vocal rage and showing that he’s still one of the most ferocious live vocalists in metal. Their set contained mostly material from the past 10 years or so but they did sprinkle in some key tracks from older albums throughout the set. For some reason the band played their infamous Guinness World Record holding one second track You Suffer two times during their set, that was a new one. I didn’t love their latest release, Utilitarian, because a Napalm Death album with clean vocal parts just doesn’t sound right to me. Even so, when they played The Wolf I Feed, a song from that album, it still fit in well with the rest of the songs they played despite the clean back up singing. Napalm Death played a thoroughly brutal set from start to finish and the audience seemed to love every minute of it, myself included.
The final band of the night was Richmond, Virginia’s Municipal Waste. They’re a party thrash metal band and they’re known for having a totally wild live show. Most of the band’s songs revolve around binge drinking and partying and they readily encourage stage divers. However if you stay on stage too long you’ll get an atomic wedgie, which vocalist Tony Foresta explained by making an example of one lingering stage diver during the show. They got the crowd going from the start with their songs Headbanger Face Rip and Mind Eraser. Tony said that since the band had toured so much lately they wanted to change up the set list some. This included playing A.D.D. (Attention Deficit Destroyer) for the first time ever live as well as playing the first song Municipal Waste ever wrote, Thrashin’s My Business… And Business Is Good. You can see the full set list here. The band was a bit sloppy but it didn’t matter, they’re more about having fun than playing perfectly. Guitarist Ryan Waste was sporting a new custom guitar that had a body shaped like a big M and W. At one point Tony mentioned that he didn’t like most modern thrash bands, but that he definitely approved of Vektor. An odd opinion since Municipal Waste is one of the biggest modern thrash bands. The shred-fest went on for over an hour and the mosh pit went crazy all night. Crowd surfers and stage divers were a constant presence and I’m sure a lot of people were nursing bruises afterwards, but they were well worth it to be in the middle of all the fun. As usual, you can see my photos of the bands I was there for below. I didn’t get shots of all of the band members throughout the night because it was hard to move around the wild audience that close to the stage and I was not trying to damage my camera with all the crowd surfers over head either. I have some video footage of Municipal Waste as well but due to complications from Hurricane Sandy I haven’t been able to upload those yet. I hope to add them to the end of this post in a day or two. It was great to see such a good turn out for a metal show at Empire and I hope to see more of you out at metal shows soon to help support the scene you’re a part of!
On Friday the 19th of October 2012 I headed up to the Ottobar in Baltimore to see Pig Destroyer perform at their album release show. Their new album, Book Burner, is their first full length release in over 5 years and anticipation for the album has been high not only in the DC area, which the band is from, but in the overall world of metal fandom. I missed the opening act, Wargames, though they’re a Baltimore based hardcore band so they’ll probably be playing in the area again soon. Royal Thunder was the first band I saw play. They’re a slow paced hard rock/metal band from Atlanta and while I didn’t think they were all that bad, they were certainly out of place on this bill. The crowd who showed up to see a spastic grindcore band wasn’t really interested in seeing a drowsy southern rock band with clean vocals. Royal Thunder, along with Pig Destroyer, is signed to Relapse. I guess they were just trying to get Royal Thunder more exposure by adding them to this line up but they really sucked the energy out of the place. Luckily the next band, Baltimore natives Necropsy, came to the rescue with their set and got the mosh pits started. They play some catchy death/thrash and they are really fun to watch live. They’re all pretty young, I’m not sure if any of them are over 21, but they are certainly worth checking out if you haven’t seen them yet. They’ll be opening the first day of Maryland Deathfest next May. The next band to play was Washington DC’s own Ilsa. I’ve seen them a ton of times and as always they brought the heavy, chugging riffage doused in crusty filth. They started their performance off by throwing stripper glitter on the people standing close to the stage and I have to say that was rather unexpected. Just when you think you’ve seen it all at a metal concert… Anyways, Ilsa was in really good form, mostly playing songs from their upcoming album Intoxicantations which is due out on Black Friday (Nov 23rd) from A389 Records. I’ve got the set list posted here if you’d like to see it. They didn’t play the song Frostthrower, a personal favorite of mine, but it didn’t matter, they’ve got a lot of great songs and you could tell the audience agreed. They were loving the weight of the band’s sound and I’m sure Ilsa won some new fans with their performance.
After Ilsa’s killer set it was time for Pig Destroyer. They don’t play a lot of shows in the area and there was a good sized crowd out for this rare appearance by the local grindcore legends. Vocalist JR Hayes (who I recently interviewed here) was rather jovial between songs then like a light switch he would just turn on his pent up rage and funnel it through his throat. He was like a caged wild animal suddenly set free into the confusing world with his microphone as his only weapon. Guitarist Scott Hull stayed pretty cool on the left side of the stage, grinding out his bizarrely unique riffs as the songs jarringly started and stopped. This was the first time I had seen Pig Destroyer with with their new drummer, Adam Jarvis (also of Misery Index) and apparently it was his birthday as well. Even after taking birthday whiskey shots on stage he still ripped through those crazy Pig Destroyer songs with total precision. The band doesn’t have a bass player but they do have Blake Harrison who basically “plays” some sort of DJ console making noises and adding clips and samples to their songs. Since a lot of what Blake does is basically prerecorded he spends a lot of time on stage essentially acting as a hype man by helping pump up the crowd and keep them into the show. There were also a few guest appearances during the set. Kat Katz (vocalist for the now defunct DC doom band Salome) performed vox on a few songs and the Grindfather, aka Richard Johnson of Drugs Of Faith, did some guest vocals as well. Pig Destroyer’s set list didn’t include a whole lot from the new album though they did play a cover of a Void song. You can see their full set list here. Overall it was a great performance by one of DC’s biggest bands and it was awesome to see them in a local venue. During Pig Destroyer’s set I was up front trying to get some photos and videos and, unsurprisingly, the crowd was wild, hyper and just violent overall. I’m lucky I didn’t damage my camera but I think it was worth it to get some straight on, close up shots from this rare show. The videos are all the way at the end, I hope you enjoy them. Until next time, stay metal everyone and support the scene you’re a part of!
DCHeavyMetal.com 