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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
Metallica: Through The Never is coming to theaters everywhere on September 27th in IMAX 3D (October 4th for regular theaters) but readers of DCHM will be able to go to the advance screening, for free, on Wedneday, September 18th. The showing is at 7:30pm at the Regal Majestic Stadium theater in Silver Spring, Maryland. The movie is rated R so don’t bring the kiddies.
To get your free passes you’ll need to sign up for a free GoFobo account with a valid email address here. Don’t worry, you can turn off their “updates” if you want when you sign up. Once you’ve signed up they’ll send you a confirmation email. Once you confirm your email address go to this link here and enter the promo code: GFBS314
You’ll be sent through a few prompts and then you can print out your tickets! Supply is first come first served, as is the seating. If you’d like more info on the movie you can check out its website here or IMDB page here or simply watch the trailer below. And if you hadn’t noticed yet, DCHM is also giving away a pair of tickets to see Amon Amarth, Enslaved and Skeletonwitch at the Fillmore Silver Spring on 1/31 before they go on sale. Details on that are posted here.
Ok this is a heavy metal blog so you might be wondering what I’m doing with a post about a new movie coming out. Longtime followers of the site will remember I’ve promoted things like the Baltimore showing of Until The Light Takes Us as well as Heavy Metal Picnic when that premiered in Silver Spring. Hesher isn’t as metal related as those two, but it does seem to have a really metal soundtrack and the font on the poster is obviously taken from Metallica. It stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt (who I know from Inception and the tv show Third Rock From The Sun) as well as Natalie Portman (Queen Amidala in the Star Wars prequels, duh) and Rainn Wilson (Dwight from The Office). I could give ya a short bio of the movie but really just check out the trailer at the bottom of this post or look it up on IMDB here.
The movie comes out in Washington DC on Friday the 13th, but I’ve been given 20 pairs of tickets (40 total) to give away to you loyal readers of DCHeavyMetal.com to the sneak preview screening the night before, Thursday the 12th of May 2011. The screening will be at Landmark Theaters E Street Cinema in Washington DC at 7:30pm. They only come in pairs and when they’re gone they’re gone, first come first served. To get your free pair of tickets go to www.gofobo.com/rsvp and enter the promo code YG4D8P15 and then tell everyone how Metal Chris and DCHeavyMetal.com rules. If you’re too late and they’re all gone be sure to check it out next weekend anyways. Now, here’s the trailer:
Maryland Deathfest The Movie is now available for presale at this location. If you order a copy before the first day of Maryland Deathfest 2010 on May 28th, you will get the DVD as well a poster and you will be entered into a drawing for the entire Handshake Inc. DVD library and a 3 day pass to Maryland Deathfest IX in 2011. It’s price is $15 presale but I couldn’t find out what the shipping costs are. Apparently they will have a booth set up at this year’s MDF and if you preorder you can pick up your DVD and poster there. As far as I can tell the movie was not made by the group who runs Maryland Deathfest, but it is sanctioned by them. (UPDATE: I’ve been informed that Handshake Inc. is the creator of the movie, and Maryland Deathfest curators Ryan Taylor and Evan Harting are the executive producers). And in case you’re wondering, I have no affiliation with it either, nor do I make money on this post in any way. I just think it’s cool!
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