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.
This Friday, August 1st, will be the first Bandcamp Friday since May of 2025! For those that don’t know, on Bandcamp Fridays the Bandcamp music site drops their cut from any sales that happen in that 24 hour period, so bands get 100% of the share of each sale (minus credit/debit card fees if you pay with one) which makes it a great day to support bands and buy some new music! To that end, I thought I’d round up a few local metal releases that have come out since the last Bandcamp day.
Obsidian Blade is a new local band with a trad metal/NWOBHM vibe but the members have all been involved in other bands in the DMV scene for some time. They’ve started playing out live a bit but so far this is their only recorded song available, and it dropped on June 10th.
The Borracho guys are at it again with their repetitive heavy grooves as their new full length album that releases on August 8th, though you can pre-order now and enjoy the 3 preview tracks right now.
Kontusion finally dropped their debut full length album on July 25th and man is this some back-to-basics filthy, brutal death metal! None of that spacey death metal that is in vogue to be found here.
Cemetery Sex is a local goth band and their debut album is dropping August 1st. The album showcases Anastasia Noire’s beautiful vocals that soar over the rainy-day vibe guitar riffs.
The most intense music in this post comes by way of Blood Monolith on their debut album that dropped on May 16th. This has been one of my favorite albums to drive around blasting this summer!
As The Sea Parts is a black/death band that formed in the 90s, went on hiatus for about 20 years or so, and finally dropped their debut full length on July 11th. The album has former Dying Fetus drummer Erik Sayenga on drums and sick cover art by Mark Riddick!
Fresh off their appearance at this year’s Maryland Deathfest, I.C.E. just released their third full length on July 11th and their frigid black metal riffs will def keep you cool in the dog days of summer.
If you dig instrumental metal with a fiddle then be sure to check out the newly remixed version of Seasick Gladiator‘s self-titled debut from 2017 that just dropped on July 12th.
That’s what I’ve got for now but if you know of any other metal releases by local bands since the last Bandcamp Day, or any that are pre-orderable just email me at DCHeavyMetal@Gmail.com and I’ll add them to this post!
Today (Tuesday, April 8th, 2025) I was invited to a press conference hosted at the Anthem with Ward 6 City Councilmember Charles Allen and several members of the local live music industry where they announced their proposed bill, the Restricting Egregious Scalping Against Live Entertainment (RESALE) Amendment Act of 2025. The bill aims to limit the amount a ticket can be resold by third party vendors to a 10% cap as well as banning the practice of selling speculative tickets (which is when a vendor lists tickets for resale it doesn’t actually have yet). Selling more than 50 tickets on the secondary market would force you to register with the city as a ticket vendor, and violations would incur a fine of $5,000 for the first offense and $10,000 for each additional offense. The bill would cover all non-sporting events in Washington DC. I shot video of the entire press conference, which you can watch above, and asked question #3 at 25:12 in. I feel like this is something that impacts not just metal heads but all concert goers in Washington DC so please take the time to listen and at least become informed on the topic regardless of your stance on it.
The accompanying press release is as follows:
Fix the Tix! Councilmember Charles Allen, DC Music Venues & NIVA Announce Bill Protecting Concertgoers by Reigning in Ticket Scalping
The bill caps re-sale prices on live performance tickets and ends speculative ticketing in which resellers are selling tickets they do not yet have in their possession.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 8, 2025) – Today, DC Councilmember Charles Allen (Ward 6), backed by a coalition of local venues, artists, and national independent music organizations announced legislation targeting scalpers and secondary ticketing platforms like StubHub, Vivid Seats, TicketNetwork, Ticket Center and SeatGeek by putting in place a price cap on resold tickets, banning speculative ticket sales, and requiring individuals and businesses selling more than 50 tickets a year to register with the District.
Joining the announcement were I.M.P. and 30 local venues and music industry organizations, including the National Independent Venues Association (NIVA), local musical artist CJ Johnson of Oh He Dead, and the Office of the DC Attorney General. The event took place inside The Anthem, one of DC’s premier live music destinations, and included representatives from many of DC’s music venues.
“Right now, people who want to go to a live show in DC are competing against companies and scalpers who make a lot of money by immediately scooping up as many tickets as possible and re-selling them at a much higher cost than the venue or performer is asking,” Councilmember Allen said. “A $40 ticket could end up reselling for over $1,000. The result is fewer fans can afford to see their favorite artist at one of the amazing venues DC has to offer. These middlemen are making millions by driving up prices, with the profit exclusively going to the scalper and never to the artists or venue. They aren’t performing, they aren’t running a venue – they’re just making it all more expensive.”
The Restricting Egregious Scalping Against Live Entertainment (RESALE) Amendment Act of 2025 proposes capping the amount a ticket can be sold for on the secondary market at face value plus up to 10%. It requires any individual or business reselling more than 50 tickets per year to register with the District, and bans the practice of “speculative ticket sales,” which means only people who already have a ticket can resell it. Violators of the law would be fined as much as $10,000 per ticket.
In just one recent example of speculative ticketing, tickets for Sparks’ show at Lincoln Theatre have not yet been released to the public, but are listed on StubHub, Vivid Seats, Ticket Center and TicketNetwork for as much as $767 at the time of writing. Tickets will be available from the Lincoln Theatre for $55.
“Washington, DC has the opportunity to stop deception and price gouging in ticketing across the nation’s capital,” said Executive Director of the National Independent Venue Association Stephen Parker. “NIVA will do everything possible to help the DC Council enshrine the RESALE Act of 2025 into law this year and fully protect consumers in the District from predatory resale practices.”
“We want fans to be able to buy real tickets at the price the artists set, not get deceived and fleeced by scalpers,” said Audrey Fix Schaefer, Director of Communications for I.M.P. “The RESALE Act, when signed into law, will protect consumers from price gouging, allowing them to go to more shows, which is good for the artists, our venues, and the city. I believe the Office of the Attorney General takes this seriously, and considering the proposed fines, I think the scalpers and the platforms that host them will take this seriously, too.”
“District consumers deserve fairness and transparency when deciding how to spend their hard-earned money,” DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb said. “As the District’s independent Attorney General, my office has taken action against companies across a range of industries —including hotels, food delivery apps, and live event ticketing companies — that deceive customers by advertising low prices and only revealing hidden junk fees later on in the purchasing process. I applaud Councilmember Allen for introducing this bill, which not only makes it crystal clear that drip pricing and junk fees are illegal under District law, but also introduces additional important and practical protections for ticket buyers.”
This legislation aims to protect artists, venues, and consumers in the District from unfair and deceptive practices in live event ticket purchases by:
Capping the price of tickets resold to the total price of the initial ticket plus up to 10%;
Clarifying the existing Consumer Protection Procedures Act with language specifying that ticket issuers, resellers, and secondary ticket exchanges must clearly and conspicuously disclose certain information upfront regarding ticket pricing;
Banning the sale of speculative tickets;
Ensuring the listing for a ticket and each step of a transaction shall clearly and conspicuously disclose the total price of the ticket, including an itemized listing of all charges, fees, and taxes;
Prescribing procedures governing the provision of refunds to consumers;
Prohibiting a ticket issuer from restricting the transferability of a ticket unless the terms and conditions on transferability are clearly disclosed to the consumer prior to purchase;
Permitting ticket issuers to maintain and enforce policies and conditions or requirements for ticket purchase with respect to conduct, behavior, public health and safety, or age at the venue or event, and establishing limits on the number of tickets that can be purchased;
Requiring a ticket issuer or secondary ticket exchange to maintain reasonable technology to prevent any machine, device, computer program, or computer software, with or without human assistance, from bypassing security measures or access control systems designed to limit the number of tickets that can be purchased by a person on a marketplace for initial purchase or secondary ticket exchange;
Requiring a reseller that sells or offers to sell 50 or more tickets per year to register annually with the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, and requiring that registered resellers provide certain information to the Department and maintain a surety bond of no less than $10,000;
Imposing responsibilities on secondary ticket exchanges to ensure fair practices on the secondary market;
Requiring the Mayor to issue rules to implement provisions governing the registration of resellers; and
Providing for civil penalties of $5,000 per ticket for the first violation and $10,000 per ticket for the second and subsequent violations.
Local Venues and Music Industry Organizations Supporting the Bill:
I.M.P.
9:30 Club
The Anthem
The Atlantis
Lincoln Theatre
Black Cat
Howard Theatre
Union Stage
The Hamilton
DC Improv
DC9
Songbyrd
Pearl Street Warehouse
Capital Turnaround
Pie Shop
U Street Music Hall Presents
All Good Presents
National Independent Venue Association
Future of Music Coalition
National Independent Talent Organization
Recording Academy
Opera America
Bandsintown
Association of Performing Arts Professionals
International Association of Venue Managers
Fan Alliance
Music Managers Forum-US
Black Music Artist Coalition
American Federation of Musicians
Music Arts Coalition
National Performance Network
National Cannabis Festival
The bill is being co-introduced by Councilmembers Robert White, Kenyan McDuffie, Zachary Parker, Christina Henderson, Brianne Nadeau, Janeese Lewis George, and Matt Frumin.
I’ve had people asking for a while now about getting DC Heavy Metal shirts and I’ve finally gotten a solution! I’ve opened a Red Bubble shop that’s print-to-order with several DCHM designs including the classic Abraham Lincoln in King Diamond corpse paint, Richard Nixon Vol. 4, and De Mysteriis Dom Metal Chris. In addition I’ve added a couple of new designs including an old school Metallica parody and for those who don’t only wear black, a white Fugazi inspired parody shirt. There’s also a shirt for my podcast, the Metal Embassy Podcast, with a logo by the Lord of the Logos himself Christophe Szpajdel.
Nothing rings in the holiday season like unbridled capitalism and this year is no different! Metal heads are notoriously hard to shop for because we like weird crap that you often can’t just find on Amazon, so I’ve thrown together this list of some suggestions for the metal head in your life, or ya know, just get this stuff for yourself because we all deserve some joy in our lives. Oh, and don’t forget that Thanksgiving metal playlist I made a few years back that you can listen to here.
First up, music always makes a great gift but figuring out which specific albums someone wants can be hard. Gift cards to iTunes or similar music services often won’t be able to access those underground metal bands we all crave so see if your friend has an account on Bandcamp, which lets you see their “wishlist” and even make purchases to their account from that list. Bandcamp has been dealing with lots of layoffs and other internal turmoil lately (more info here) but they’re still kicking right now so use this resource while you can. Just go to Bandcamp.com/username/wishlish (and insert your friend’s Bandcamp username in the address of course).
Concert tickets! We’ve got an entire calendar of upcoming metal concerts in the DMV area listed here but a few choice selections for next year that would make great gifts include Municipal Waste at the Black Cat on 2/15 (tickets here), Judas Priest at the MGM Casino in National Harbor on 5/19 (tickets here) or Machine Head and Fear Factory at the Fillmore Silver Spring on 2/12 (tickets here).
Check out this Motörhead holiday shirt available in the band’s merch store here.
Iron Maiden is selling this “fire globe” featuring the artwork from their Number of the Beast album and it is available here.
Slayer has this intentionally hideous Show No Mercy ugly holiday sweater and another holiday t-shirt, but sizes are already selling out on those. They’ve got a 6 inch tall Show No Mercy ornament as well, all available here.
Sleep are selling these glass ornaments featuring the lungsman from the cover of their Dopesmoker album available here.
Who wouldn’t love this ornament featuring Darkthrone drummer Fenriz and his cat, available here.
The Australian Simpsons themed band Dr. Colossus has these Bonestorm shirts available in black and green and as both long and short sleeve, based on the classic Simpson’s holiday episode Marge Be Not Proud. Sizes are selling out already so go find them here.
Integrity has this absolutely garish stocking available featuring their iconic fanged skull logo as seen on their Systems Overload album cover. Order one here.
Wintry themed death metal band Frozen Soul sells windshield ice scrapers with their name on them (get one here), or if you’d prefer something more for the warmer months they also have branded coolers (available here).
Party thrashers Municipal Waste always have some of the sickest merch around and this holiday season is no different. It’s hard to pick just one but the Grim Reaper flipping you off while riding a jet ski beach towel is incredible. Find those here but don’t sleep on their branded Snuggies either, which you can find here.
Did you know there’s a Cannibal Corpse coffee? Available as beans or in cans, Beheaded Brewing is made by Concept Cafes Coffee and unlike many of the other metal bands that have made novelty coffee blends, this one has been a hit so they keep making it! Get it on the Concept Cafes website (here) and check out some of the other bands they offer coffee for, like Ministry and the Cavalera brothers.
Undeath is another band with lots of fun merch and recently I’ve been eyeballing the Rochester based death metal band’s pint glass that is available here.
If you’ve got a friend with a new member of the family and have no idea what to give new parents, keep in mind this branded Amon Amarth baby pacifier featuring Thor’s hammer Mjölnir, which you can get here. Because nothing says proper child rearing than Viking metal merchandise!
Did you know that local metal head and current Virginia state Senator elect Danica Roem has her own metal shirts? With artwork inspired by Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s Rat Fink character and campaign stops listed as tour dates on the back, you can’t go wrong with one of these shirts, available here. And if you want to know more about Danica’s story check out her book Burn the Pagehere. It’s highly recommended and definitely not just because it includes a shout out to yours truly in it.
Wait, are we talking about reading now? Alright let’s get to the literate part of this holiday gift guide. You’ll definitely want to check out Life?… And Napalm Death, long time Napalm Death bass player Shane Embury’s autobiography, which is available in both signed and unsigned versions here.
It’s no secret that I’m a huge comic book nerd reader and while there have been many bands of late selling their own graphic novels they all have one thing in common: they pretty much stink. Top tier writers and artists don’t usually touch these things and even if they do it’s pretty hard to translate sick riffs and bitchin’ drum fills into pictures and word balloons. Murder Falcon is different though, created by current Transformers writer/artist Daniel Warren Johnson as a personal passion project, the comic follows a group of friends in a metal band (named Murder Falcon) and discusses something I think all metal heads can relate to, how the brutal music we love helps get us through the hardest times in our lives. Oh and it’s also action packed and full of references to real metal bands like Dio, Power Trip and Khemmis! Right now the complete collected edition hardcover is on sale for just $11 from Image Comics here. And if that’s not enough comics action, be sure to check out Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman’s post-apocalyptic action comedy title Battle Pope which you can currently get the entire series of for just $5.49 here!
Don’t forget you can gift a subscription to Decibel Magazine which any metal head is going to enjoy. They’ve got both a regular subscription as well as the premium subscription that includes the exclusive flexi-disc vinyls, both options are available here.
We done talking about reading now? Cool. Now feast your eyes on this amazing dueling wizards shirt by the Denver based doomed metalers Khemmis which is available here while supplies last.
Who besides the Prince of Darkness himself would merchandise a plush bat toy with a removable Velcro attached head? Find it in Ozzy’s shop here.
If you’re looking for something extra brutal to decorate your wall be sure to check out local heavy metal artist Mark Riddick’s newest line of skate decks which just dropped at Board Pusher here.
Speaking of decorative skateboard decks be sure to check out the officially licensed decks over at Check Your Head, who currently are selling skate decks by bands like Celtic Frost, Sepultura, Wormrot, Deicide, Fit for an Autopsy and more, all in their online store here.
And last but also probably least, I finally put together a Red Bubble store to sell DCHM and Metal Embassy merch online. Right now I’ve just got that classic Abe Lincoln in King Diamond corpse paint design by Joshy of Ilsa on a shirt, but I’ll have more designs up soon (including some new ones), I promise! Plus there’s a few stickers. Anyways, check it out 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!
I just thought I’d let you all know about the kid friendly, all ages, totally free rock concert that I’m putting on at DC Brau brewery on Saturday, July 15th from 2pm to 5pm. I did one of these last year and people seemed to really enjoy it so I’m doing another one this year. Since most rock concerts happen way past bed times it’s a fun chance to bring the kids out to a rock show but these aren’t silly kid bands like Rocknoceros so even if you don’t have kids you can come out to enjoy the tunes. There’s also a Facebook event page I made here that you can invite people to if you want.
Here’s the details: I’ve booked two bands, Borracho and Hot Blood, to play from the brewery’s truck loading bay to the audience which will be in the seated outdoor area of the brewery. There’s no entry fee but there will be food available to buy (including vegetarian options) provided by Fred the Taco Guy, who we all remember from the metal shows at Atlas. DC Brau will have craft beer, hard seltzers and boozy smoothies for sale as well. I highly recommend bringing hearing protection (esp for the kids) and probably sunscreen as well. If it’s too hot you can always hang out indoors as I assume you’ll be able to hear the bands there as well. There’s also a Roaming Rooster (best fried chicken in DC) in the shopping center and outside food is welcome at the brewery, so you can bring your own food in if you want.
DC Brau is located at 3178-B Bladensburg Rd NE, Washington, DC 20018
If you have never been there before please note that it is located on the back side of a strip mall. There’s plenty of parking in the lot on the back side but your GPS will probably direct you to the front of the shopping center. When you get there just drive down the paved ramp to the back side of the shopping center (look for the DC Brau beer can sign, it looks like this). DC Brau is the only business on that side of the shopping center so park anywhere in the lot.
If you’d like to check out the bands ahead of time here’s a bit of info. Borracho (playing first) is a DC based three piece and they actually approached me this spring about doing an all ages show that they could bring their kids to and that’s what got the ball rolling. Their sound is along the lines of 70s era Black Sabbath mixed with 90s desert rock bands like Fu Manchu and Kyuss. They have a new album coming out on August 18th and you can listen to one of those new tracks below.
The second band to play will be Hot Blood. They’re a new band with only a three song EP that was released last month out so far. They’ve got more of an 80s party rock vibe and you can hear their entire EP below.
DCHeavyMetal.com 