Gothic Metal | DCHeavyMetal.com

Cradle of Filth & Suffocation ticket give away

Cradle of Filth is making their way to DC to play at the historic Black Cat venue on Monday, May 11th with death metal legends Suffocation and support from Ghost Bath and Cultus Black. We’re so excited about this show at DCHM that we’re giving away a free pair of tickets to this very show to one of you lucky readers! I’ve noticed that some of you have struggled to figure out how to leave comments in the new WordPress comment system so you can enter by either leaving a comment telling me your favorite song by any band playing this show on my Instagram post here OR you can leave a comment on this post as usual, making sure to include an email address so I can contact you if you win. If you want to double your chances of winning you can even enter in both places. Then this Thursday, May 7th at 2pm the contest will close and a winner will be selected from all valid entries using Random.org! 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.

Cradle of Filth has been releasing their unique style of extreme gothic metal since the early 90s and in March 2025 they released their 15th studio album, The Screaming of the Valkyries, however they’ll be playing some of their classic songs on this tour as well. Suffocation raised the bar of technicality and brutality in death metal when they released their debut album Effigy of the Forgotten in 1991 and they’ve never let up since! Ghost Bath are from North Dakota (not China) and play a somber style of post-black metal that fans of Alcest and Deafheaven will want to check out. The opening band, Cultus Black, is a nu-metal band formed by James Anthony Legion after he left Motograter. Now check out the videos of all of these bands below and tell me your favorite song by any band on the bill!

Cradle of Filth – Malignant Perfection

Suffocation – Seraphim Enslavement

Ghost Bath – Rose Thorn Necklace

Cultus Black – House of Straw

May 4, 2026
Categories: Black Cat, Contests, Death Metal, Melodic Black Metal . Tags: Black Cat, Black Metal, Cradle Of Filth, Cultus Black, Death Metal, Ghost Bath, Gothic Metal, Suffocation . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: 12 Comments

The best albums of 2025 (so far)

Well it’s 2025 now and I’m very behind on my 2024 best albums stuff so I thought I’d get a jump start on my best albums of 2025. This isn’t some lame list of my most anticipated albums of 2025, no this beefy list the best albums that are already released in 2025 as of January 1st. If you’re looking for fresh new tunes to ring in 2025 I got you!

Beatrix – Deathsent Ceremony
High energy blackened thrash EP from Finland that is over almost as quickly as it starts. Start the new year off with something fun!

World Eaters – Hounds of Blood
This album is re-recorded versions of this Canadian Bolt Thrower worship band’s best songs.

Vosh – Vault Vol. 1
Repulsion’s drummer and his wife started a goth band here in DC and their cover of Ozzy’s Shot in the Dark is worth the price of admission alone!

Estuarine – Corporeal Furnace
Bass driven tech/proggy death metal from Tampa that reminds me of some unholy cross between Primus and Beyond Creation, and it’s just a buck for the digital album!

Trollskogen – Snøen Kommer
This Norwegian black metal band’s debut full length is raw and chilling but with strong song writing, like a lo-fi version of Paysage d’Hiver.

Honorable mention:
Spectral Lore – IV (Part 1)
Technically this anti-fascist black metal band dropped their album in the evening of December 31st but I’m unsure if it was already past midnight in their time zone, so I’m listing it here. Massive, epic songs with a decent modern recording, a surprise release that won’t have shown up on any 2024 end of year lists but should have!

January 1, 2025
Categories: Album Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, Thrash Metal . Tags: Beatrix, Black Metal, Death Metal, Estuarine, Gothic Metal, Spectral Lore, Thrash Metal, Trollskogen, Vosh, World Eaters . Author: Metal Chris . Comments: Leave a comment

Paradise Lost ticket give away

Paradise Lost at Baltimore Soundstage

The legendary Paradise Lost is coming to Baltimore Soundstage on Tuesday, October 2nd, along with Sólstafir and The Atlas Moth. Their dark style of doom metal is perfect for this season where the weather starts to turn so we’re giving away a pair of tickets to this show to a lucky one of you DCHM readers. To enter: leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite metal band to listen to in the Autumn months. Then on Friday, September 28th at 5pm EST the contest will close and a winner will be chosen at random (using Random.org) from all valid entries. The winner will get two free tickets the show! Be sure to enter using an email address 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 from Ticket Master for $27.50 here.

Paradise Lost formed in Halifax, England, in the late 80’s and is one of the Peaceville Three, along with Anathema and My Dying Bride, who all formed a much darker take to doom metal in the early 90s while all signed to Peaceville Records. In fact it was Paradise Lost’s sophomore album, Gothic, that the genre of gothic metal gets its name from. They’ve influenced countless bands yet somehow Paradise Lost, who still features all their original members aside from the drummer, manage to put out solid material. This isn’t an old band that just plays their old classics, they still put out solid material, including their 2017 album Medusa, which was #1 on Decibel Magazine’s top 40 albums of 2017. In addition to the rare chance to see Paradise Lost in the US the tour has some excellent support acts. Sólstafir from Iceland blends post rock with viking metal, adds a pinch of country western and a heavy dose of melancholy. The opening band is The Atlas Moth, a post metal band from Chicago that has been getting better and better with every album. Now check out these videos of the bands below and leave a comment letting me know what your favorite metal band to listen to in the Autumn is.

Paradise Lost – Blood And Chaos