Carcass ticket give away

Carcass at the Fillmore Silver Spring

Carcass is a band that started as vegetarian grindcore and evolved over the years into one of the pioneers of melodic death metal. They broke up in 1995 only to return recently with last year’s release of Surgical Steel and now, on Sunday, April 13th they’ll be playing songs spanning the entire history of the band at the Fillmore Silver Spring as they headline the 2014 line up of the Decibel Magazine Tour. We here at DCHM are pretty damn excited about this tour and so we’re going to give away a free pair of tickets to this show to one of you lucky readers. To enter: leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite Carcass album is. If you need help you can find their discography listed here. If you’re not a huge Carcass fan but more into one of the other bands on the tour, then tell me what you favorite album by one of them is instead. At 5pm EST this Friday, April 4th, a winner will be chosen at random (using Random.org) from all valid entries to receive two tickets to the show! Be sure to use 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 right now for $26.50 from Live Nation here.

Not only are death metal legends Carcass playing this show but a ton of other great bands as well. The Black Dahlia Murder is from Michigan and the melodic death metal band’s 2013 release Everdark might be their best album yet. Canadian techdeath masters Gorguts have also reunited and they’ll be destroying eardrums at this show as well. Gorguts may be the most brutal band to ever grace the stage at the Fillmore Silver Spring! Baltimore’s death/thrash upstarts Noisem are really starting to take off and they’ll be on the entire tour, not just our date, and for good reason: their high energy live show slays audiences! And for this date of the tour only straight edge hardcore band Coke Bust will be opening the show. Now that’s what I call a killer line up! Be sure to check out these killer tunes by all the bands playing the show and tell me what your favorite Carcass album is in the comments!

Carcass – Captive Bolt Pistol

The Black Dahlia Murder – Goat Of Departure

Gorguts – Forgotten Arrows

Noisem – Split From The Inside Out

Coke Bust – Lines In The Sand

March 31, 2014
Categories: Contests, Death Metal, Fillmore Silver Spring, Tech Death . Tags: , , , , , , , . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 61 Comments

Metal Show Of The Week: Obliteration

Who? Obliteration
When? Thursday, March 20th
Where? Metro Gallery (map) in Baltimore
How much? $14 cash at the door or $14.50 from Mission Tix

This week’s pick for Metal Show Of The Week goes to a gig up in Baltimore but if you’re down in DC or NoVA it’s definitely worth driving up for, even on a week night, and I’ll explain why. The headliner is a death metal band from Norway called Obliteration. They’re playing a string of shows while they’re in the US for SXSW and the Metro Gallery in Baltimore is going to be their only stop in our area. The chance to catch these guys live in the US is pretty rare, you might never get to see them on this side of the ocean ever again. And while Obliteration is from Norway they’re straight up death metal, not black metal, and not the breakdown laden slam-core style of death metal that has become so popular of late. No, Obliteration has an old school sound that isn’t far off from early recordings by bands like Darkthrone and Sepultura. Their raw, aggressive sound is surprisingly clean on their third album, Black Death Horizon, which was released by Relapse Records late last year. You can stream the entire album on Bandcamp here or just scroll down to the end of this post to check out the second track, “Goat Skull Crown.”

There’s more than just a rare chance to see a killer Norwegian death metal band in their prime at this show though. Also playing will be Northless, a heavy sludge band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin that has a dark, foreboding sound not far off from bands like Rwake and Czar. They aren’t on tour with Obliteration, we’re just lucky that they’re both playing Baltimore the same night and their shows were combined. And let’s not forget the killer locals on this show including DC’s Ilsa, a crusty death/doom band that is heavy as fuck and always leaves the audience floored by the end of their sets. Baltimore’s own Cemetery Piss brings their blackened thrash to the stage as well and the opening band will be Putrisect, a death metal band from Baltimore. This is one hell of an all ages bill for under $15 at a venue with good sound and a solid beer selection too. Still not convinced? Then jam out to the following tunes by the bands playing and get ready to head out to the Metro Gallery this Thursday!

Obliteration – Goat Skull Crown:

Northless – Communion:

Ilsa – Frostthrower:

Cemetery Piss – Such The Vulture’s Love

March 18, 2014
Categories: Death Metal, Metal Show Of The Week . Tags: , , , , , , , . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 1 Comment

Review of Tales Of Ruin by Cavern

Band: Cavern
Album: Tales Of Ruin
Release Date: 4 March 2014
Record Label: Grimoire Records
Buy digital ($3) or cassette ($5) from Bandcamp: Here

Cover of Tales Of Ruin by Cavern

We’re back with another review of a release by a band on Grimoire Records, this time it’s the new EP by the Maryland three piece Cavern. Their sound is hard to categorize so I suggest giving them a listen by streaming the song at the end of the post or listing to the entire EP here while you read this review. And be sure to check out more of Tal’s writing on her blog here.

One of the cool things about reviewing albums is that I end up listening to things I would probably not seek out on my own – such as Cavern’s EP Tales Of Ruin. I’m usually more in the mood for atmosphere and melody or heavy, headbangable riffage, and didn’t expect to find either on an album with strong stoner vibes. While the album is dominated by a sludgy stoner sound, it’s not just that; there’s a lot going on that’s not covered by that label. (The same is also true of Cavern’s self-titled debut, released in April 2013.)

Tales Of Ruin starts out with a leisurely rhythm and melody, but the pace picks up about a minute into the first song, and the guitars charge into energetic riffs. Sometimes the band even races into hammering black metal-like segments or plays rocking classic metal riffs, though even these segments are thick with doom sound. Whether fast or moderate, their guitar riffs are pretty infectious – this is music you won’t be able to help bobbing your head along to. There are a few parts where the band slows down or gets downright spacey, but most of the album holds my attention with energetic and catchy guitar work.

In the first song, “The Pathway | The Void,” Cavern mixes it up constantly. Though they’ll repeat the same riff for several measures, the tempo and riffs change often. I love the moments where they launch into classic heavy metal riffs for a few seconds. The second song, “Colours,” is groovy, but the guitar riffs are rather repetitive. There are some intense moments, though, when the drums thunder or the guitars gallop into headbangable riffs. There’s a truly plodding part near the end of the song, but it’s relieved by a lovely sorrowful melodic lead. The third song, “Stretcher,” takes a while to build up with a churning intro, but once it gets going it has a nice momentum, helped along by the forceful, deep vocals. I enjoyed the bridge near the end, thick and heavy, atmospheric in a way different from the cold, dark sound of say, atmospheric black metal. After that, there’s over a minute of spacey distortion at the end of the song, which is a cool effect at first, but goes a little too long.

The vocals seem rather distant at the start of the album, nearly buried among the instruments. They come closer to the fore later, but are still a bit low in the mix. In the first two songs, the vocals are mostly an angry shout – not angry in a punk way, but more despairing. In the third song, the vocals are a gravelly baritone, which I find more fitting with the thick, heavy sound of the band’s music.

The last song is a cover of “Grounds For Divorce” by Seattle stoner/sludge band Big Business (who shares two members with The Melvins). This cover song is the most energetic song on the EP, with zooming guitars (that literally sound like a vacuum cleaner at times) and lively vocals. I can’t help headbanging to its insistent pace. Cavern’s take is a little thicker and sludgier than the original, with lower and gravellier vocals. The rest of the album sounds good, but this song sounds great – it’s the catchiest and most intense song on the album.

Despite not being a fan of stoner metal in general, I found myself enjoying this album, especially the guitars. The guitars were more energetic than I expected, even a bit catchy. I felt like the shouted vocals didn’t do much for the songs, though; especially when they were quite low in the mix, they just sounded like background noise. The gravelly vocals contributed more to the heavy sludgy feeling. With more vocals like that along with the catchy guitars, this EP might actually have converted me to their distinctive sound. The guitars at least should satisfy those who are already fans of sludgy stoner music.

March 14, 2014
Categories: Album Reviews . Tags: , , . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: Leave a comment

Review of As The Palaces Burn documentary

Lamb Of God: As The Palaces Burn

We’re going to try something new here on DCHM and doing a review of the new documentary about Lamb Of God called As The Palaces Burn. It will be showing at the Howard Theatre in Washington DC on March 4th and at the Ottobar in Baltimore on March 14th, but I was lucky enough to get my hands on an advance copy of it to watch ahead of time. We’ve never really reviewed a documentary or any kind of movie on DCHM before but in the last few years the documentary film world has grown bigger and bigger. There have been many documentaries made about heavy metal so maybe if you guys like this kind of thing we’ll start covering them regularly, give us feedback and let us know. Now check out the film’s trailer below and I hope you enjoy the read.

As The Palaces Burn starts off as a behind the scenes look at the guys in Richmond’s biggest metal band, Lamb Of God. You see a bit of their families and home life and the band’s lead singer, Randy Blythe, shows the camera crew a few of his favorite places in Richmond. You get to see the band preparing for their upcoming world tour as well as some old photos and other relics dug up for the cameras. You also get a good sense that while these guys are paying their bills, they’re not billionaires. One band member is shown with his Prius, not exactly the Italian sports car you’d imagine a rock star having. If you’re familiar with the legal troubles Randy went through on this tour then you’ll recognize that a lot of the quotes by the band’s members seem to ominously foreshadow the struggles they’d soon be going through.

Apparently the film was originally intended to not only follow the band around on their 2012 world tour following the release of their sixth studio album, Resolution, but also to highlight some of their different fans around the world while doing so. The first leg of the tour takes Lamb Of God to South America and the film crew interviews a die hard Lamb Of God fan in Bogotá, Colombia named Oscar. He’s surprisingly fluent in English but the film seems to spend a lot of time on his back story. Next we find the band relaxing in Israel and between shots of them visiting various tourist attractions they talk about Randy’s struggles with alcohol and how, at the time of filming, he has been sober for about a year and a half. Next the film goes to India and we meet a fan named Pratika. Out of India’s more than one billion people she is one of only two females to front a metal band there, which I thought was very interesting. Unfortunately the film makers talk to her more about how being a metal head makes you different and ostracized in India, which just isn’t as compelling of a story to me. We then see the band meeting with some very excited fans in India prior to a performance before moving on to the European leg of the tour.

Lamb Of God

About 30 minutes into the film that time bomb we’re all waiting to go off finally does when the band arrives in the city of Prague in the Czech Republic. The band is immediately apprehended at the airport and we find out that Randy has been arrested for manslaughter. The documentary takes a drastic turn at this point and is suddenly no longer about the fans and the tour but the legal battle that is unfolding and all the strong emotions tied to it. This is where the film really shines as the crew has excellent access to not only the band members but also the meetings with their lawyers and agents, and even in court footage that really makes you feel like you’re sitting there along with the band throughout this intense situation. If you’re unfamiliar with what happened, the band played Prague in 2010 and a fan named Daniel Nosek jumped up on stage and allegedly Randy pushed him back into the audience, though unfortunately Daniel sustained some sort of injury from this and ended up going into a coma hours after the show and died two months later. The band had no knowledge of this and their arrival in Prague was the first they had ever heard of it. The film does a very good job of explaining how the legal process works in the Czech Republic, something the American press didn’t do very well at all while this was going on. There are also lots of close ups of evidence submitted in the trial and audio, with translations, of several witnesses speaking in the courtroom.

There are some really touching moments in this film about a heavy metal band, such as Randy’s return home to Richmond after spending over a month in a Czech prison, his first show back with the band, and when he looks at photos of Daniel, but I think the way he reacts to his verdict is the best part of the film. Once the arrest happens the film focuses on Randy the most, though there is a good portion where Randy isn’t present due to his incarceration and we see how it is affecting the other members of the band. There are brief on-screen appearances by several big names in heavy music, including Slash, Corey Taylor of Slipknot and Oderus Urungus of Gwar, though I think the most compelling was hearing a member of Daniel’s family speak. The band, and particularly Randy himself, make it clear thoughout that this isn’t just about their own legal struggle but the loss of a fan and how his family is left with far greater struggles than their own.

Free Randy Blythe

This film is very unique and it goes beyond just seeing a band behind the scenes, it really documents how Lamb Of God dealt with a crisis that I’m sure would have destroyed many bands. You don’t have to be a fan of Lamb Of God, or even heavy metal, to enjoy this film either because it’s a very intimate look at how the criminal legal process works for musicians. I was reminded of other legal battles involving Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, Varg Vikernes and Tim Lambesis as I watched it. The compelling story that unfolds is presented in a way that keeps your attention throughout its 90 minute run time and left me with a better understanding of what it takes to keep a band together through hard times.

But wait, there’s more! If you go to one of the film’s screenings you’ll be able to watch an exclusive (as in, will not be on the DVD version) 30 minute Q&A with the band and the film’s director, recorded on what appears to be a tour bus. This is footage that Lamb Of God fans do not want to miss as they discuss things like why Randy’s wife wasn’t in the film, if they’ll ever play in the Czech Republic again and how the events have changed the band. The bottom line: you will not look at Lamb Of God the same way after seeing As The Palaces Burn and while you’re watching it, you’ll feel like you’re a member of the band as they struggle to deal with the tragic loss of a fan’s life.

February 28, 2014
Categories: Film Reviews . Tags: , , , , , . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 1 Comment

As The Palaces Burn ticket give away

Lamb Of God: As The Palaces Burn

As The Palaces Burn is a new documentary about Richmond metal band Lamb Of God and select cities are getting special screenings of it which, lucky for us, includes Washington DC. On Tuesday, March 4th (that’s Tuesday of next week!) the Howard Theatre will be showing the movie for DC area metal fans. This is a band documentary like no other (there’s more details on what it is about in the next paragraph) and DCHM is giving away a free pair of tickets to this screening to one of you readers of the site. To enter: just let me know what your favorite heavy metal related movie or documentary is by leaving a comment on the bottom of this post. Maybe it’s This Is Spinal Tap? Some Kind Of Monster? The Story Of Anvil? Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey? At 5pm EST this Friday, February 28th, a winner will be chosen at random (using Random.org) from all valid entries to receive two tickets to this special screening! Be sure to use 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, I hate spam too. 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 right now for $18.30 here.

In 2012 Lamb Of God embarked on a world tour with a film crew following them along as they played in different cities around the world. As The Palaces Burn, named after the band’s 2003 album with the same name, starts as a sort of tour diary with behind the scenes interviews with band members and interactions with fans encountered on the tour. Where this documentary takes a drastic turn was when Lamb Of God arrives in the city of Prague in the Czech Republic to play a show. Their vocalist, Randy Blythe, was arrested for manslaughter upon their arrival for an incident that allegedly took place at a Lamb Of God concert in Prague years before involving the death of a fan. The documentary follows the legal and other issues they all face as the tour is halted immediately and Randy’s freedom, and the band’s very existence, are in jeopardy. The best thing about this documentary is you don’t even have to be a fan of Lamb Of God to enjoy As The Palaces Burn as it tells an intense tale that no other movie about a band does. If you’ve never been to the Howard Theatre before you’ll find that it is just off the U Street Corridor near the 9:30 Club, DC9 and Velvet Lounge. The historic building was originally built in 1910 and eventually closed only to be reopened in 2012 after $29 million in renovations. It’s a beautiful building inside and out and should be a great place to sit back with a beer and watch As The Palaces Burn. Please note that this film screening is a seated event. Now watch the trailer for As The Palaces Burn below and tell me what your favorite metal related movie or documentary is in the comment section below!

Official Trailer:

February 24, 2014
Categories: Contests, Howard Theatre . Tags: , , , , , , , . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 14 Comments

Review of Caesious by Torrid Husk

Band: Torrid Husk
Album: Caesious
Release Date: 4 February 2014
Record Label: Grimoire Records
Buy digital ($3), cassette ($5) or CD ($7) from Bandcamp: Here

Cover of Caesious by Torrid Husk

DCHM album reviewer Tal was particularly taken by the new Torrid Husk EP Caesious and she really wanted to review it. I’m not one much for turning down enthusiastic album review requests and this is a pretty sweet slab of black metal from West Virginia. Be sure to check out Tal’s other writings, such as local concert reviews, on her personal blog here and of course you can stream a song from this EP at the end of the post.

If you’ve read any of my other reviews (here), you probably know I adore melodies. I also like heaviness, intensity, thunder, darkness – and Torrid Husk’s Caesious delivers on all these fronts. It’s poignantly melodic and atmospheric, with all the evil-sounding raspy vocals and blast beat thunder you’d expect from a black metal band.

The first song, “Cut With Rain,” sets the melodic bar rather high – the other two songs don’t quite meet that level of melody, unfortunately. “Cut With Rain” begins softly, but soon turns into an intense melodic assault with blast beats on top of flowing tremolo guitar work. The repeated flowing melody gives the impression of sheets of heavy rain sweeping across the land, and the raspy vocals give this land a sense of darkness — and then death, as the vocals dip into guttural death metal territory. The vocals are a little lost under the onslaught of guitars and drums, and there’s no hope of understanding what Tyler Collins, the guitarist/vocalist, is saying. Halfway through the song, we’re granted a breather, as the drums slow down for an atmospheric bridge. It doesn’t last long before the assault starts again. Toward the end of the song, there’s a neat moment where the band suddenly charges into headbang-worthy classic heavy metal riffs (played with black metal techniques), but they quickly become distorted back to a black metal sound, before becoming totally chaotic. The song goes out on an extremely fast note as the drums and vocals seem to race each other to the finish. For its combination of melody and aggression, “Cut With Rain” is undoubtedly my favorite song on the EP.

The second song, “Thunder Like Scorn,” is rather chaotic and churning. Various sounds in the song give the impression of thunder – the repeated buzzsaw riffs at the beginning, the cacophony of drums and guitars later on, the booming low growls. Even as the song slows a third of the way in, the tempest seems to churn on. There is a tranquil melodic segment in the middle, like the eye of the storm, but just as it starts to get relaxing, the drums thunder in even more aggressive than before. The song slows again toward the end, as though the storm is drawing away, and the vocals become more prominent – up to that point, they’re a bit lost among the instruments.

The last song, “Paranoia,” starts off just as fast and intense as the song before it, with a frenzied sound again matching the title. Interestingly, the two songs are connected by a ringing feedback note that ends the previous song and starts this one. “Paranoia” is a bit more varied than “Thunder Like Scorn,” though, with some slower atmospheric guitar, sometimes laid over hammering drums and sometimes dominating the tempo; a bridge that, with its dissonant buzzing notes followed by gentle strumming, gives the impression of a catatonic state; and vocals ranging from drawn-out, agonized screams to furious ranting. The drums, whether battering fiercely or insistently enforcing a slower tempo, the uneasy-sounding guitar riffs and the agonized or infuriated vocals certainly create the impression of intense anxiety.

Compared to Torrid Husk’s earlier album Mingo (released in June 2013), the drums are more prominent on Caesious, and the guitars and vocals take a back seat to them. Rather than being swept over by cascades of atmospheric guitar, Caesious is dominated by blasting drums. As I greatly enjoy atmospheric guitars, I find this a little disappointing. Despite this, Caesious is still a solid release that should put a dent in anyone’s cravings for darkness, thunder and even a bit of melody.

February 21, 2014
Categories: Album Reviews, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal . Tags: , , , . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: Leave a comment

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