Empire’s final concert

It was the best of venues, it was the worst of venues. Empire, Jaxx, Zaxx, whatever you called the movie theater turned concert venue located at 6355 Rolling Road in Springfield, Virginia, it was certainly one thing: the most important venue in Northern Virginia to heavy metal fans. It had been a club that transitioned through a few names and hosted many bands of various musical genres but it wasn’t until Jay Nedry took it over in 1994 that the venue became Jaxx. Jaxx became a place to see rock and heavy metal bands come through on tours and they would regularly book performances by underground and European metal bands that you just couldn’t see anywhere else in the area. In January 2012 new ownership took over Jaxx and rebranded the nightclub Empire. I personally attended literally hundreds of concerts at Jaxx/Empire over the past 20 years or so, far more than I’ve seen at any other concert venue.

It was pretty surreal going to Empire/Jaxx’s last concert on Sunday, May 3rd of 2015. I wouldn’t have gone if it wasn’t the venue’s final show ever and I think a lot of people there would have said the same thing. I said hi to lots of friends, most of whom I’d been to concerts with at the venue in the past, and I talked to a lot of the staff throughout the night. I had a lot of great concert memories at this place. I remember seeing Arch Enemy on their first US tour with Angela Gossow on vocals there and people were blown away by her stage presence. I remember seeing David Vincent’s sweaty return to Morbid Angel there, a sold out show where the AC didn’t work. I got drunk and saw Napalm Death play there on Easter one year. I saw Electric Wizard open for Macabre and Enslaved there (the only metal show I ever convinced my mom to attend with me). I saw plenty of other shows with eclectic line ups like when King Diamond played with Entombed and when Cannibal Corpse, Dimmu Borgir, The Haunted and Lamb Of God all shared the stage for a night. I remember taking a piss in that awful men’s room troth while talking to Lord Worm of Cryptopsy as he cleaned live worms in the sink to feed to fans from the stage. It was at Jaxx that Rob Dukes, at the time the vocalist for Exodus, stage dived right on top of me while he was wearing a cheerleader costume during Kreator’s encore, all while I was shooting video. These memories and more floated through my head at the final show.

But it was a show, not some flashback montage, and while my mind often wandered throughout the night there was plenty to remind me that hindsight isn’t always 20-20, it has a way of looking at things through those rosy lenses of nostalgia. The same old problems the venue had were still very apparent at the final show. The farewell show itself had way too many bands on the bill, a total of eight, only two of which were on the tour package. I had brought my nice camera hoping to take some shots of the final show but the lighting was so bad for most of the bands I didn’t even feel like bothering. And of course the same old issues of bands not being allotted enough time, or being put in the right order, were glaring. Locals Iris Divine and Oberris had been on the bill for several weeks before the announcement on April 23rd (here) that Empire would be closing on May 5th, though once word of that got out bands started jumping on to the line up. I can understand that, but the bands that were already busting their asses to promote the show shouldn’t have been bumped to play earlier and had their amount of stage time reduced. The sound guy cut off Iris Divine’s set mid song, which I thought was a technical issue at first. Then Yesterday’s Saints played, and their set wasn’t bad but I’ve seen grindcore bands put on longer sets than they were allowed to play, something like 15 minutes. A shame since they had driven home from Louisville, Kentucky the night before to be able to play this show. The final local to play, A Sound Of Thunder, was also cut off while on stage. It was all just handled poorly and left most of the locals feeling slighted to differing degrees.

After a longer break than Yesterday’s Saints was even allowed to play the first touring band came on. Next To None is a lesson on what nepotism can get you. The Pennsylvania based prog band is made up of teenagers aged 15 to 17, the most notable being Max Portnoy, son of the famous ex-Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy. Mike was even on hand to introduce his son’s band at the start of their set. I guess they were technically proficient but like most bands made up of kids, they don’t really do much besides mimic other bands. There wasn’t anything new or innovative about what they were doing, it was well rehearsed and safe, but they’re just teenagers so I guess you have to cut them some slack. I could totally see them touring with Unlocking The Truth and playing shows for younger kids.

After Next To None finished it was time for Haken to perform. I had heard they were planning a two and a half hour set this evening, which I suppose is fairly normal for prog bands, though it actually ended up being a little under 2 hours. The band is based in London and I believe this was the final date of their first US tour. I wish they had gotten a band that had played Jaxx many times over the years to close the place out, or even one that had played it once before, but that wasn’t really a practical request. The Haken vocalist, Ross Jennings, made some comments between songs about the closing a few times, wondering why the place was closing because it was so awesome and commenting that it was a strange privilege to be the last band to play there. The crowd had thinned out quite a bit by the time Haken got to their scripted encore, though the final two songs were definitely the highlight of their set. To close out the venue they played a cover of Metallica’s “Fade To Black” then Mike Portnoy got behind the drum kit and Haken covered “The Mirror” by Dream Theater to end the set, their tour, and the venue’s history of concerts.

At the end of the show I hung out and talked to a few friends while the bands tore down their gear. Eventually I said goodbye to the staff as well, who have always been good to me (going back to the Jaxx days) but that probably has something to do with the blog I run, local bands seem to have mixed reviews. The show was over but I didn’t want to say goodbye to the venue, I think I was the last person to leave that wasn’t an employee or part of the tour. I’ve spent a lot of time in that place, complained about plenty of its problems over the years, but I still kept coming back. When I first started going to see concerts that weren’t at giant amphitheaters or arenas Jaxx was there to let me see the bands I was into perform live, and to discover more bands as well. Jaxx was there showcasing locals from around the region before I even knew of any of our local bands. When I first started attempting concert photography, several years before I started this blog, the first shows I shot were Behemoth and Watain at Jaxx. I lived about a mile down the road from Jaxx for a few years as well, sometimes if I was bored on a particular night I’d check their calendar for what was playing that night and head over if it sounded interesting, or at least not terrible. Empire/Jaxx had a lot of problems though. The room wasn’t a great shape and the speakers were set up in a way that the sound was really bad in several areas of the room, and there were the days the AC would be turned off in the summer to increase drink sales at the bar. On some nights Empire would actually charge for water at the bar, a practice that isn’t illegal but is pretty underhanded and potentially dangerous. However the most polarizing aspect of the venue was always its pay to play policy, which had the local bands pre-selling tickets to the shows they were added to. It was great that they allowed locals to play on a stage that size but it was awful that they had to shake down their friends time and again to do so. Many bands boycotted playing the venue because of this policy, and many people refused to even see shows there because of the policy. The fact that after the closing announcement was made so many people took to social media to comment about it, even people that hated the venue and were glad to see it go, is a testament to the impact it had on our area’s metal scene.

Empire/Jaxx definitely wasn’t perfect, no concert venue is, but it is the one we had for so many years, a constant in our metal scene. This is officially the first day that there is no Empire, no Jaxx, in Springfield. It has been bought by the kabob restaurant next door, they want to expand to add a banquet hall for weddings and other special occasions. There is a part of me that is sad to see the end of Empire/Jaxx. I made a lot of friends and memories there, I saw many bands close up, and I probably wouldn’t be the metal concert addict that started a local metal blog if it didn’t exist for all those years. But like the overdue end to a long term relationship, I’m also glad that I don’t have to put up with its bullshit any more either.

Behemoth at Jaxx in 2007
The first concert I ever shot, I’d like to think I’m a little better by now

Rob Dukes stage dives on me while Kreator plays at Empire

May 6, 2015
Categories: Concert Reviews, Empire, Progressive Metal, Washington DC / Maryland / Virginia Metal Scene . Tags: , , , , , , , . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 2 Comments

Review of The Felon’s Claw by Ilsa

Band: Ilsa
Album: The Felon’s Claw
Release Date: 5 May 2015
Record Label: A389 Recordings
Buy digital ($5) or CD ($8.99) or 2x 12″ vinyl ($29.99) on Bandcamp: Here
Buy various bundles with merch from A389’s web store: Here

Cover of The Felon's Claw by Ilsa

Washington DC based crusty death/doom band Ilsa has a new album coming out on Baltimore based label A389. DCHM writer Buzzo Jr has written the following review of The Felon’s Claw to give you all the details about the new full length from one of my favorite area bands. As usual we’ve got a couple of songs streaming at the end of the post so give them a listen while you read!

Lets get this out of the way quick: No, you’re not the only person who is immediately reminded of Spinal Tap’s infamous and fictional Smell the Glove album when looking at the cover art for The Felon’s Claw. However, the fourth full length from DC’s Ilsa sounds nothing like everyone’s favorite fake British band, but is instead full of Ilsa’s signature crust soaked doom metal.

Ilsa is well known for mixing death/doom, with crust punk and d-beat; their previous outputs often alternating between slow doomy passages with one song and then going into frantic punk influenced tracks for the next one. On The Felon’s Claw however, the faster punk influenced tracks are more rare, with only “Oubilette,” “Buried in the Bedrock and Concrete of Our Cities,” and “Armstrong’s Mixture” venturing into full on crust punk territory. The remaining 7 songs are all sludgy doom tracks, with “Katabasis” clocking in at almost 9 minutes. The slow, sinister mood and heavy riffs in these tracks combined with the harsh, high range vocals are sometimes reminiscent of Salome; another great doom band from the DMV area that unfortunately broke up in 2011. I find that I like Ilsa’s faster tracks a bit more than the slower paced songs on this album, since they are packed with much more aggression and energy. Their death metal influences are also more prevalent on the faster tracks, blending perfectly with the punk inspired d-beat drumming. Not to say that the slower tracks aren’t any good; quite the contrary actually. What they lack in speed they greatly make up for in crushing heaviness. A favorite of mine among these slower tracks is “Pandolpho,” which is actually a reimagining of a hymn written by Robert Parsons back in 1572. On this track, the band puts their crust and doom influence into a single song; starting off at a slow steady pace and then erupting into a much faster section in the middle, and finally slowing back down to a dirge-like speed at the end.

Tim Moyer and Brendan Griffiths’ guitar work on the album is great; their mammoth tone establishing the murky atmosphere of the album and their grimy riffs chugging away, hammering the listener into submission. Large amounts of harsh feedback flows in the background, following the example of sludge bands like Eyehategod and Acid Bath. Sharad Satsangi’s basslines follow the guitars perfectly, adding even more power and filth to the mix and chugging in unison with the twin axes. Orion Peter’s vocals are as intense as they’ve ever been as well, with his tortured, painful howls penetrating through the riffs and feedback to create a sense of misanthropy and hopelessness. Orion utilizes his harsh vocals perfectly, causing a great contrast between the low end riffs and his higher range screams. Josh Brettel’s drums unfortunately don’t sound as thick and powerful as the rest of the instruments do, which is a pity seeing as they are incredibly heavy and pounding when Ilsa perform live. That being said, Josh’s drums do get the job done providing thudding beats to complement the riffs and vocals, at some points overcoming the lesser production and sounding utterly bombastic on some of the much slower tracks such as “Smoke is the Ghost of Fire.”

Ilsa’s newest offering is a filthy chunk of crusty death/doom, packed full of great riffs and screams. If you’re looking for a record to play in your dingy basement for a seedy get-together with various lowlives, you won’t find a better one than this.

May 1, 2015
Categories: Album Reviews, Doom Metal, Upcoming Album Releases, Washington DC / Maryland / Virginia Metal Scene . Tags: , , . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: Leave a comment

Review of Generation Of Vipers by Yesterday’s Saints

Band: Yesterday’s Saints
Album: Generation Of Vipers
Release Date: 3 February 2015
Buy digital ($10) or CD ($15) on Bandcamp: Here

Cover of Generation Of Vipers by Yesterday's Saints

Northern Virginia based Yesterday’s Saints have been hard at work crafting their highly anticipated debut album and today it is finally released! I won’t get too into the album here, I’ll leave that to DCHM writer Tal’s review below. You can read more of Tal’s writing on his blog In My Winter Castle but first be sure to read about Generation Of Vipers and be sure to check out the video at the bottom of the review too.

At risk of understating it, Generation of Vipers is much grander than your average death metal album. The album is built on a death metal base – rumbling bass, jackhammer guitars, low growled vocals – but it makes many flights of fancy outside the usual confines of that genre, including soaring clean vocals, furious thrash or power metal guitars at times, and spacey and doomy passages.

This reflects and develops the grandiose theme of the album – the story of Satan and the origins of humanity and the universe. Satan is of course commonplace in metal music, but this album tells his story in the vein of Milton or Dante – grand in scope, postulating about the origins of the universe and mankind, and tragic in its focus, from Satan’s fall from heaven to the ongoing corrupt nature of man. It’s not so much heretical and subversive as philosophical and poetic.

The album starts off in medias res (in the middle of the story) with the battle between Satan and the archangel Michael. The hammering opening of the first track, “Fall of the Ancients,” sets the tone for the thundering and brutal death metal base of this album, but we quickly hear what else is in store, as the song shifts to a more groovy and melodic vibe, but without losing the brutality. Combined with the low growls, it’s rather reminiscent of Dethklok. But then the vocals change, too, to soaring clean vocals as Matt Rice sings, “To trouble holy rests heaven casts thee out/
Of god you were made be free,” and then more aggressive vocals with a touch of harshness before going back to low growls. I’m guessing the low, demonic vocals portray Satan, while the more aggressive clean parts are the angel Michael. It’s a pretty cool song in terms of narrative; and the guitars, at turns pounding, furious and epic, and the contrasting vocals forcefully depict the battle.

The second song, “Origen Adamantius,” brings us to the chronological start of the story, with Satan deciding to challenge God. This song features one of the more unusual elements of the album – medieval-sounding chants in Latin (“Ego aeutem venio ad te,” meaning “I am coming for you,” and “Domine Agnus Dei,” meaning “Lamb of God”). Religious music and sounds (such as church bells) aren’t unknown in metal music (“For Whom the Bell Tolls,” anyone?), but in this case rather than being used ironically or to create a somber mood, they add to the theatricality of the song and album. This song also has its Dethklok moments, especially with lyrics like, “First raise an army, to help me seize/ the throne of God so easy to see/ violence, warfare, powerful machines.”

Then we have “The Recruitment,” which as one might guess, tells of Satan recruiting angels to fight with him against God. As a fan of the melodic and epic, of course I’m drawn to those parts of the album, and my favorite part on the whole album is actually the chorus to “The Recruitment”: “On the eve of destruction, follow me to battle/ as gods we will reign, high in the North.” The way the clean vocals soar above the drums and guitars truly elevate the song to epic levels. The vocals here make the song for me – especially the contrast between those clean vocals and the growls and thundering guitars.

After that, there’s a change of pace with the nostalgic piano and strings interlude “A Priori” (meaning “As it was before”) and the doomy “Sangreale,” which tells of Eve being seduced by Satan to father Cain. The slowdown is very sudden after the raging energy of “The Recruitment”; it feels like we suddenly skipped over a part of the story. We did – that part was told in the first song – but it still feels like a reprise or segue is necessary here. “Sangreale” is notable for the vocal tone which is different from the entire rest of the album (think Matt Barlow, formerly of Iced Earth, if he were to sing doom vocals). Although slower, the heavy parts are still driving and headbangable.

This is followed by two songs about Cain (in Christian mythology, supposedly the first-born son of Adam and Eve and the murderer of his younger brother, Abel), which are dominated by clean vocals and have a power metal feel even in some of the guitar parts. Song number 6, “Cain’s Agony,” features frequent changes in style and tempo, from the pounding, racing beginning, to a suddenly slower, almost spacy section, to churning guitars with blast drumming and twisted shrieks, and then furious riffs with grandiose clean vocals, before more shrieks and then growls. It has plenty of fast and groovy headbangable moments.

After that the album branches out to cover the plight of humanity as a whole, which the album postulates are descendants of Cain and thereby of Satan. I find this part of the album less gripping than the first part which dealt specifically with the story of Satan and then Cain. There is still a proliferation of grandiose clean vocals and demonic growls, groovy headbangable riffs and death metal thunder, which makes for enjoyable listening, but it doesn’t have the epic pull of the first half of the album.

As I’ve mentioned, this album reminds me of Dethklok in a number of ways, which I think bears talking more about. Yesterday’s Saints is perhaps a tad more in the direction of traditional death metal than Dethklok, but they both share a mix of traditional death metal thunder and demonic low growled vocals with more epic-sounding melodic flair. The rolling rhythm of the vocal lines and the brutal directness of the lyrics in some places of the album is also very reminiscent of Nathan Explosion’s handiwork. With Dethklok, this comes off as friendly mockery of metal’s obsession with being “brutal.” With this Yesterday’s Saints album, it adds to the album’s theatricality. Even the death metal parts are a rarified version of the genre itself. The brutality is as much an act as the grandiosity.

That doesn’t mean the album isn’t a solid chunk of death metal, though. If you’re looking for something to pummel your eardrums with the fury of hell, this album will probably satisfy you – as long as you can tolerate a lot of clean vocals and some other epic flights. It doesn’t quite reach the heights of the epic and melodic metal music that I usually listen to, but there’s enough raise it out of just straightforward death metal.

Tackling the epic tale of the Prince of Darkness and the origins of humanity and the universe is a monumental task. Through a mix of brutality and grandeur, Yesterday’s Saints manages to convey the demonic, rebellious, seductive and destructive aspects of the figure of Satan, the myth that purports to explain these traits in humanity itself. I’m less convinced by the story of the universe, but I’m still willing to headbang along to it.

The Recruitment:

February 3, 2015
Categories: Album Reviews, Death Metal, Local Band Info, Washington DC / Maryland / Virginia Metal Scene . Tags: , , . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: Leave a comment

Local metal studio releases in 2015

If 2014 showed me anything it’s that our area’s metal scene is very much alive and well. I’m often hearing a lot about what releases local bands have coming out so I’ve put together this post with updates on many of the DMV’s local bands and what they’re planning on releasing in 2015. I can’t say it’s all inclusive so if you know about more local releases feel free to leave info in the comment section. It’s an exciting time to be a metal head in the DMV area right now so let me tell you why…

For starters, two area bands have already released albums this year. Snakefeast and Periphery. On January 6th Baltimore based Snakefeast released The Pythoness on local label Grimoire Records. Their sound is an interesting combination of sludge metal with black metal and jazz elements and the inclusion of a cello and saxophone certainly gives them a unique sound. You can stream the album (or buy it for just $5) on Bandcamp right here.

Locals Periphery pretty much wrote the book on the djent style of prog metal. Juggernaut, released on January 27th, is the band’s most ambitious release to date. It’s a double album, one disc named Alpha and the other Omega. While it may not be the beginning and the end of metal releases in our area it does show the band returning to form after their bizarre release of Clear last year where each song was written by a different band member and unsurprisingly lacked cohesion. The band is on Sumerian Records so don’t be surprised if they turn up on some big tours Sumerian is involved with this summer like Mayhem Fest or Summer Slaughter. Check out the music video below for the song “Alpha.”

On February 3rd, that’s tomorrow to those of you reading this post when it’s fresh, Northern Virginia based Yesterday’s Saints will release their debut full length, Generation Of Vipers. The 11 track concept album is lyrically written like an opera with different acts and tells the tale of the Devil himself. You can give it a listen on Soundcloud here and you can order the album on Bandcamp here and we’ll be posting a review of it tomorrow as well.

Generation Of Vipers by Yesterday's Saints

The Vomiting Dinosaurs are a kind of goofy death/grind band from Winchester, Virginia and they’ve got a full length coming out on Grimoire Records on February 10th. The album is titled Worship The Porcelain God and you can listen to a couple tracks from it on Bandcamp here.

Worship The Porcelain God by The Vomiting Dinosaurs

Doom legends Pentagram are finishing up their next full length to be put out on Peaceville this summer, according to this Facebook post. With Victor Griffin back in the band anything is possible, and their previous album, 2011’s Last Rites, was really well put together so let’s hope they can keep the creativity going on this one.

Baltimore’s Noisem might be young, I don’t think any of them are even old enough to drink yet, but they’re really taking off. They’re a throwback to the early 90s death/thrash sound, have some fun riffs and they put on a good show. So far they haven’t released anything really groundbreaking musically but that may or may not change on their upcoming release this year, which they begin recording in February. Noisem has garnered a lot of attention since they’ve been the opening act on the last two Carcass US tours and their vocalist, Tyler Carnes, was on the cover of the April 2014 Decibel issue (along with members of Carcass and Gorguts). Noisem is signed to A389 Records in Baltimore and the band has to know everyone is wondering what they’ll put out on this next release now that everyone is watching.

Valkyrie from Harrisonburg, Virgina, has signed a deal with Relapse Records and will be putting out a full length album on the label some time this spring. The band features members of Baroness and Earthling but has a sound all their own so don’t sleep on this one.

Dave Sherman (of Spirit Caravan and Earthride fame) and his 420 friendly band Weed Is Weed will have a five song EP released later this year titled The Bong Remains The Same.

Local southern metal band King Giant had several injuries to members of the band after the release of their last album, Dismal Hollow, back in 2012. The band is looking to make a big come back this summer with the release of their third full length which was recorded and mixed by J. Robbins (who has worked with bands such as Clutch, The Sword and Wino in the past).

Northern Virginia based A Sound Of Thunder must live in a recording studio (you jealous Wintersun?) since they’ve put out at least a full length every year since 2011. 2015 will be no different and we can expect another full length of original material in late spring/summer from them. ASoT is also working on an EP release due out late this year that will consist entirely of covers of songs the members of the band love.

Sludge/doom band The Osedax has been a bit quiet since two members recently left the band however a lot has been going on behind the scenes. The band’s original drummer, Kevin Grevey, has returned to the band, which is now a three piece, and they’ve recorded a new album, titled Titan’s Lament, which will be out on Dullest Records in the spring.

Titan's Lament by The Osedax

DC based death metal band Genocide Pact (featuring two members of local grind band D.O.C.) will have a full length out in the first half of 2015 on A389 Recordings.

DC based stoner band Borracho is going to be releasing a split LP with a band outside of the DMV area in May or June. It will have three new original Borracho songs on it, which you can hear live previews of at their upcoming shows at the Velvet Lounge (2/19) and the Pinch (3/20). UPDATE: Ripple Music, the label putting out the split, has released more details (here) and announced that the other band on the split will be Atlanta’s Volume IV (not a Black Sabbath cover band, they write originals). I’ve added the cover here too.

cover of the Borrocho & Volume IV split

The crusty death/doom band Ilsa is going to put out a new full length on A389 in March, they’ve been playing some of the new material live at their recent shows and it has sounded awesome so far. This will be their second album on A389 Recordings and their first with new guitarist Tim (who was in a band with several Ilsa members years ago).

Grethor is a local death metal band whose name means Hell in the fictitious Klingon language from Star Trek. We reviewed their last EP back in 2013 (here) but now they’re looking to release a new EP titled Cloaked In Decay in the spring.

Black metal band Dispellment has finished recording their debut album (according to this post on Facebook) though there currently is no release date while they search for a label for a proper release. Apparently a three song demo of material from the album will be available sometime soon though.

Wings Denied, a proggy band in the vein of Periphery, was formed by friends attending American University. Their vocalist, Luka Kerecin, was in the US on a student visa that has now expired but they are working on getting him back over here to record another album with him some time this year.

Stoner band Caustic Casanova has signed with Retro Futurist records, a label run by members of the band Kylesa. They’ve got a not-yet-named full length in the works that should be released in the late spring or early summer.

Doom band Foehammer has their debut album, which is self titled, coming out on April 7th on Grimoire Records (vinyl via Australopithecus records). The three piece will be going on tour this summer to support the recording, and you can hear a preview track from it right here.

Foehammer s/t

Baltimore based stoner band Sixty Watt Shaman will go into the studio to record some time in the first half of 2015. This will be the band’s first recorded material since reforming, and will be their first release since 2002!

Death metal band Gloom is hitting the studio in February and they’ve got a new guitar player in the band now too. I’m not sure when the new release is expected exactly but they definitely have something in the works.

February 2, 2015
Categories: Local Band Info, Upcoming Album Releases, Washington DC / Maryland / Virginia Metal Scene . Tags: , , . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: Leave a comment

Exclusive Stream of The Nothing by Fortress

Unto The Nothing by Fortress

Fortress is a doom metal trio from Hagerstown, Maryland, and while I love their three song demo I’ve been waiting for some new material to listen to between their earth shaking live shows and now the wait is FINALLY over! Go ahead and stream the new song “The Nothing” below and be sure to crank up that volume! No seriously, more than that, this is the kind of sludgy, slow motion doom metal you’ll want to blast loud enough to feel in your bones. Fans of bands like Pallbearer, Winter and Sunn O))) are going to love this dark album.

Fortress is now signed to Unholy Anarchy Records and their debut full length, Unto The Nothing will be released on December 2nd on CD and three styles of vinyl (each limited to 100 copies) including black, grey marble and clear with black splatter. Vinyl versions will also include a digital download of the album that contains a bonus track not available on other formats. You’ll be able to buy Unto The Nothing from Unholy Anarchy’s online store here (vinyl) and here (CD) or their Bandcamp here, or from the band at an upcoming live show. And did you see that sweet album art by Aeron Alfrey up there? Well you can click on it to see the creepy, full wrap around version of the art that will be on all versions of Unto The Nothing.

“The Nothing” is some hatred drenched, depressive doom metal so I hope you weren’t already having a great day because you’re about to get bummed out, but in the best way possible!

November 11, 2014
Categories: Doom Metal, Local Band Info, Streams, Upcoming Album Releases, Washington DC / Maryland / Virginia Metal Scene . Tags: , , , , , , , . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: Leave a comment

DC’s 99 best metal show posters of the past 5 years

September is the 5th anniversary of DCHeavyMetal.com and I wanted to make a post looking back at the past five years of metal in the area. I figure that since I run the upcoming metal concert calendar that I’ve probably got the best collection of metal concert poster and flyer art of anyone in the DC area, so I’ve waded through the thousands of images I’ve acquired over the years to put together the below gallery, what I’m calling DC’s 99 best metal show posters (and flyers) of the past 5 years. They’re not in any particular order, you can decide for yourself which are your favorites. All of the images are for specific dates that happened in the DC, Baltimore and Northern Virginia area, so nothing with a list of tour dates on it. I tried to credit the artists when I could find out who they were, but if you know any I missed let me know and I’ll update it. There have been a ton of great metal shows in our area in the past five years and I hope this gallery helps remind you of some of them. Click on any of the thumbnails below to open the slideshow viewer (you’ll have to manually switch to the next image). Keep it heavy everyone, and remember to support the scene you’re a part of!

September 26, 2014
Categories: Uncategorized, Washington DC / Maryland / Virginia Metal Scene . Tags: , , , , , . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 5 Comments

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