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.
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.
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.
Alright you primitive screwheads listen up! There’s a new installment of the Evil Dead movies titled Evil Dead Rise coming to theaters on April 21st! As a big fan of the Evil Dead/Army of Darkness franchise myself I’m really excited to be giving away 10 pairs of tickets (for a total of 20 tickets!) to an advance screening of the film this Tuesday, April 18th at the Regal Majestic in Silver Spring. The screening starts at 7pm but you’ve got to be there by 6:40pm to pick up these special advance tickets at will call. In addition, one extra lucky winner will also be getting a prize pack full of Evil Dead Rise swag that I’ll be handing over to them at the showing. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post telling me your all time favorite horror movie. Then at 5pm on Sunday, April 16th at 5pm Eastern 10 winners will be selected from all valid entries using Random.org and each winner will get two tickets to the advance screening of Evil Dead Rise. Groovy! 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 another winner will be selected.
In Evil Dead Rise, which is executive produced by Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell, we find out what happens when the infamous Necronomicon finds its way into a family’s Los Angeles apartment. Be sure to watch the Evil Dead Rise trailer below to learn more and let me know in the comments what your favorite horror movie is!
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